Oral Presentation Fourth Biennial Australian Industrial Hemp Conference 2024

Environmental life cycle assessment of non-load bearing hemp-based boards. (#46)

Daniela Rivas Aybar 1
  1. Curtin University, Bentley, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, Australia

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in hemp-based construction materials as environmentally friendly alternatives to carbon-intensive counterparts. Utilising hemp (Cannabis sativa L) in construction offers the advantage of carbon sequestration during plant growth, potentially leading to the development of carbon-negative materials. Despite these benefits, the production of hemp-based materials can pose environmental challenges, including land use change, acidification, and eutrophication. This study employs environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate strategies for enhancing the sustainability of non-load-bearing hemp-based boards during production in Australia. The findings reveal that incorporating solar electricity in the post-farm stage of hemp-based board production can result in a notable 26% reduction in environmental impact.