Raw material production wood

Wood is one of the most widely used and methodologically complex materials in furniture production.
To ensure robust climate footprint calculations, the raw material stage is modelled in three distinct steps:

Why wood is used as a methodological example

Wood and textiles are among the most complex materials to model accurately in furniture LCAs.

This is due to:

• Species variability
• Moisture-dependent energy demand
• Process-specific drying dynamics
• Geographic variation in forestry practices

By modelling these parameters explicitly, Målbar avoids oversimplified raw material averages.

Forestry emissions

Forestry emissions are modelled using Ecoinvent datasets specific to wood species and forest management type.

Example dataset:

Ecoinvent 3.11
“hardwood forestry, oak, sustainable forest management, sawlog and veneer log, hardwood, measured as solid wood under bark”

Data is converted from m³ to kg using species-specific dry density values to ensure mass-based consistency in the life cycle model.

Forestry modelling reflects:

• Species-specific characteristics
• Sustainable forest management practices
• Geographically specific electricity mixes

The dataset includes:

Electricity consumption

Process-related waste

Conversion losses

Impacts are converted to kg dry wood to ensure consistency
with downstream kiln drying modelling.

 

Sawmilling

Sawmilling energy use and material losses are modelled using:

Ecoinvent 3.11
“sawing, hardwood, sawnwood, hardwood, raw”

Kiln drying

(10% moisture content)
Furniture wood is typically kiln dried to approximately 10% moisture content (MC).

The required electricity and heat are derived from:

Ecoinvent dataset
“board, hardwood, raw, kiln drying to u=10%”

Drying energy is adjusted based on:

• Wood species
• Board thickness
• Final moisture content

To isolate oak-specific energy use from mixed hardwood datasets (oak, beech, birch), drying time assumptions are based on:

Denig et al., 2000 (USDA)
Life Cycle Assessment of Rough-sawn Kiln-dried Hardwood Lumber (AHEC, 2012)

Drying factors are modelled as functions of:

• Thickness (mm)
• Exit moisture content (% MC)

This avoids applying generic drying averages and improves species-level accuracy.

Energy modelling principles

Forestry and electricity mixes are geographically specific.

Heat in kiln drying is typically generated from wood residues (biogenic sources), although fossil heat may be used in some installations.

Energy modelling therefore reflects:

• Residual electricity mixes by country
• Biomass-based heat where applicable
• Conservative assumptions where primary data is unavailable