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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION OF NATURALCORK STOPPERS FOR STILL WINEX. Gabarrell
1,2
; J. Rives
1
; J. Rieradevall
1,2
; I. Fernandez-Rodriguez
3
1
SosteniPrA: UAB – IRTA – Inèdit Innovació, Insitut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals(ICTA),
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
2
Departament d’Enginyeria Química,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
(UAB), 08193Bellaterra, Barcelona
3
Abstract
This paper presents an evaluation of the natural cork stoppers production for still wine, usingthe methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in order to identify which stages causemost pollution. The system considered the transportation of the cork from the forest, thepreparation of the cork planks, the manufacture of the natural cork stoppers, the finishing of the products, the distribution and finally, it was also included their disposal. Data wascollected from 5 different representative Catalan companies and subsequently was averaged inorder to obtain a general framework of the sector.The LCA methodology was used in order to quantify the potential environmental impacts of the product, following the ISO 14040 regulations. The Functional Unit used to reference allthe flows was a million of natural cork stoppers, which were a diameter of 24±0.5 mm, alength of 44-49 mm and a weight of 3.7 g. Results indicate that the manufacturing stage wasthe stage causing the greatest impact in 8 of 10 impact categories (ADP, GWP, AP, ODP,HTP, TETP, FAETP, MAETP), and more specifically, the second boiling was the processwhich most contributed to some of this impact.
Abstract (catalan)
En aquest article es descriu l’avaluació ambiental de la producció dels taps de suro per vi, totutilitzant la metodologia de l’Anàlisis del Cicle de Vida (ACV), amb l’objectiu d’identificarquines etapes generen més contaminació. El sistema considera el transport del suro des delbosc, la preparació del suro, la producció del tap de suro, l’acabament del tap, la sevadistribució i finalment, també la seva disposició final. Les dades van ser recollides de 5empreses catalanes representatives i, per tant, es va considerar la mitjana per tal d’obtenir unavisió global del sector.La metodologia de l’ACV va ser utilitzada per quantificar els potencials impactes ambientalsdel producte, tot seguint la norma ISO 14040 . La Unitat Funcional utilitzada per referenciartots els fluxos va ser un milió de taps de suro, que tinguessin un diàmetre de 24±0,5 mm, una1
longitud de 44-49 mm i pesessin 3,7 g. Els resultats indiquen que l’etapa de producció eral’etapa que causava els majors impactes en 8 de 10 categories d’impacte (ADP, GWP, AP,ODP, HTP, TETP, FAETP, MAETP), i més especficament, la segona bullida era el procésque més contribuïa a alguns d’aquests impactes.
Key words
Cork sector, eco-efficiency, LCA, Mediterranean, stopper, wine.
Introduction
Cork oak tree (Quercus suber L.) grows mainly in Mediterranean areas, especially in Portugaland Spain, where more of 80% of the world cork extraction is concentrated. Climate andenvironmental conditions cause a different cork oak tree’s growth, and consequently the timeof extraction of the cork varies from 9-13 years, depending on the area where the forest islocated (Pereira, 2007). Cork forests contribute to different environmental services such ascarbon dioxide fixing, hydrology regulation, prevention of desertification, preservation of thewildlife, and other functions. In addition to the environmental value, cork forests also suppliesdifferent kind of natural products to human activities such as cork barks, cork to agglomerate,mushrooms, biomass, and other forest products.Due to the fact that cork exploitation is done mainly in the Iberian Peninsula, and also due tothe fact that more than 60% of the world’s wine production is concentrated in the EU, causedthat cork industry was developed especially in these regions (Faostat, 2010). In Catalonia(Northern Spain), there were 82 companies involved in the cork industry in 2008, and theturnover reached 228.35 million Euros. Besides, more than 1.200 workers were employeddirectly from this industry. It is estimated that Catalonia concentrate 10% of the world naturalcork stoppers production (ICSuro, 2008).Cork is a natural, environmental and renewable industrial raw material that supports anintegrated chain from production to the consumer with an important impact at economic,social and environmental levels in the corresponding regions of production andtransformation. It is very useful to produce different kind of products such as insulators,floorings, boards, insoles so on. But, the products that represent the most importanteconomical resource are the natural cork stoppers to top still wine. (Pereira, 2007). The maincharacteristics of natural cork stopper are a diameter of 24±0.5 mm, a length of 44-49 mm anda weight of 3.7 g.2
TRANSPORT FROM THE FORESTCORK PREPARATIONCORK STOPPER MANUFACTURECORK STOPPER FINISHING TRANSPORT TO WINERIES WASTE MANAGEMENT
(END OF LIFE)
USE OF CORK STOPPERS
TRANSPORT FROM THE FORESTCORK PREPARATIONCORK STOPPER MANUFACTURECORK STOPPER FINISHING TRANSPORT TO WINERIES WASTE MANAGEMENT
(END OF LIFE)
USE OF CORK STOPPERS
Figure 1. Main stages considered in the natural cork stoppers production system
In figure 1, the system considered can be observed. The main stages of the natural cork stoppers production are the cork preparation, the cork stoppers manufacturing and the cork stoppers finishing. Below this stages are described:
•
The system started when the cork was transported to the preparation factory. Thecork preparation stage consisted in different operations in order to obtain planksto produce stoppers. Some of their operations consisted in the selection of planksdeleting those planks with unpleasant defects such as green cork, yellow spots orclayed cork. Furthermore, the main characteristic activity of this stage is to boiland stabilise the cork slabs, generally done by immersing the slabs in hot water(95ºC).
•
The stoppers manufacturing was the subsequent stage, and it was composed of different processes such as boiling for a second time, cutting the cork into stripsand punching it into cylindrical pieces, sanding the cork down in order to obtainthe required length and diameter, and, in some cases, depending on theenterprise, selecting the cork using a machine with cameras, and manualselection carried out by experienced workers.
•
Before transportation to wineries, the cork stoppers are put through the finishingstage that consists of different processes in order to optimise the quality of theproducts. Firstly, the natural cork stoppers are washed. Following this operation,the stoppers are selected and later, a thin film of silicone and/or paraffin isapplied to the cork stoppers to facilitate their insertion into and removal from thebottles. Subsequently, the stoppers are branded or printed with inks and/or fire.Finally, the stoppers were packaged and transported to wineries.3
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