1. Life Cycle Inventory for winter and spring rapeseed production in Northern Europe.
- Author
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Fridrihsone, Anda, Romagnoli, Francesco, and Cabulis, Ugis
- Subjects
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RENEWABLE energy sources , *POLYURETHANES , *ORGANIC compounds manufacturing , *RAW materials , *SEED harvesting - Abstract
Rapeseed is currently cultivated as an industrial crop in Latvia as a source of oil rich biomass to contribute to renewable energy goals of the European Union. However, rapeseed oil can also be used as a feedstock biobased polyurethane production. Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry have developed polyols based on rapeseed oil and have developed biobased and volatile organic compounds-free polyurethane coatings. The main aim of this study was to present a Life Cycle Inventory of spring and winter rapeseed produced in Northern European country Latvia based on primary data of agricultural practices used in this region. The study was carried in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Data were collected from a large crop company in Latvia to ensure a specific and accurate data collection for the definition of the complete supply chain. The reference unit of this study was defined as 1 ha, time horizon 2008–2016, stages from the raw materials production to the seed harvesting were considered. The data presented will add to and expand the existing knowledge of rapeseed production in other European countries. Lastly, this paper is the first in a series of papers that will result in a complete Life Cycle Assessment for these develop polyurethane coatings based on rapeseed oil polyols to avoid black box unit process and provide transparent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
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