fd8c8ad3-8973-4e0e-8837-40265e25d66cFiberglass Loose Filltechnology mixproduction mix, at producerThe specific application will dictate the appropriate R-value for insulation and therefore the appropriate mass of the insulation.glass wool, insulationSystemsConstructionThe unit flow out of this dataset is a mass flow, which is a reference flow and not a functional unit of insulation. The specific application will dictate the appropriate R-value for a residential structure -- and therefore the appropriate mass of the insulation.
For fiberglass insulation products, all data are entered in the model on a weight basis. From a usage standpoint, fiberglass insulation can be commercialized on an area- as well as a weight-basis. The chosen functional unit for fiberglass insulation products is as follows: One kilogram (1 kg) of insulation product
This mass includes fiberglass, as well as binder, facing, and packaging if applicable. The dataset represents mass-weighted production average from four NAIMA member companies, all located in the US and Canada.352The geographical coverage for the production of fiberglass products studied is North America. NAIMA members providing primary data for the study as a whole were located in the US (Alabama, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia) and Canada.Foreground system: The system boundaries comprise the cradle to gate life cycle of this fiberglass insulation product.
The data reflect the technology used at the manufacturing plants in 2007. The processes are described by NAIMA published guidelines, Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), Insulation Contractors Association of America (ICAA) and the National Insulation Association (NIA). A complete list of these standards is beyond the scope of this study. In the study, site-specific data representative of current technology used in North America in the reference year 2007 were collected and analyzed. In cases when no primary data were available, either estimations provided by the involved companies or calculated data were used.
Fiberglass is manufactured primarily from silica, plus additives to modify the glass properties. Melter technology is a combination of electric furnace, oxy-fuel furnace, and fuel furnace wtih electric boosting. Technology mix also includes environmental equipment in place in 2007. Only a subset of manufacturing locations have the equipment such as electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers, and fabric filters. A water suspension of Phenol Formaldehyde is used as a binder for the board products. Packaging such as shrink film and bailing wires is also included.
The background system is addressed as follows: Electricity, Thermal energy: The electricity (and thermal energy as by-product) used is modelled according to the individual country-specific situation. The country-specific modelling is achieved on multiple levels. Firstly the individual power plants in service are modelled according to the current national grid. This includes net losses and imported electricity. Second, the national emission and efficiency standards of the power plants are modelled. Third, the country-specific fuel supply (share of resources used, by import and / or domestic supply) including the country-specific properties (e.g. element and energy contents) are accounted for. Fourth, the import, transport, mining and exploration processes for the energy carrier supply chain are modelled according to the specific situation of each power-producing country. The different mining and exploration techniques (emissions and efficiencies) in the different exploration countries are accounted for according to current engineering knowledge and information. Insulation of buildings.
This product is one of six common products in the fiberglass insulation industry:
1. Fiberglass loose fill that is used to provide thermal insulation;
2. Fiberglass batt that is used to provide thermal insulation;
3. Kraft faced fiberglass batt that is used to provide thermal insulation;
4. Fiberglass duct board that is used to construct ducts and provide thermal and acoustic insulation;
5. Fiberglass duct wrap that is used to provide thermal insulation to ducts and plenums;
6. Fiberglass pipe insulation that is used to provide thermal and acoustic insulation and condensation control.Buildings_US_NAIMA_fiberglass_photoBuildings_US_NAIMA_fiberglass_production_plantBuildings_US_NAIMA fiberglass flow diagramLCI resultAttributionalNoneAllocation - market valueAllocation - net calorific valueAllocation - massOtherMember companies used mass allocation to report data, when several products were manufactured at the same plant. Mass allocation has been selected based on the actual physical relationships within the process: the environmental burden in the industrial process (energy consumption, emissions, etc.) is mostly determined by the mass throughput at each sub-process.
With respect to background data (energy and materials):
Energy data (e.g. refinery products like diesel, gasoline, fuel oil, and propane) are allocated by mass in relation to the refinery emissions and energy demands are allocated by energy content in relation to the crude oil consumption.
Materials and chemicals needed during manufacturing are modeled using economic allocation when multiple products are manufactured by the respective processes. Where appropriate, the use of waste material (either recycled or collected from other sites) as input to this process will be considered as a burden free material (if coming from another site, transportation will be considered). This is the case for cullet, which has been modeled as burden-free when entering the system. This is consistent with all LCA guidance documentation in ISO 14040.Data for all upstream materials, electricity, and energy carriers were obtained from the GaBi 4 database 2006. The emissions (CO2, etc.) due to the use of electricity and gasoline (for transport) are accounted for with the use of the database process. Natural gas combustion emissions during processing are assumed to be 0.0553 kg CO2 per MJ of net energy content.
Emissions associated with transportation were determined by capturing the logistical operations of member companies (data collected from the companies for the reference year). Energy use and the associated emissions were calculated using pre-configured transportation models from the GaBi 4 database 2006.NoneThe cut-off criteria for including or excluding materials, energy and emissions data of the study are as follows:
# Mass: If a flow is less than 2% of the cumulative mass of the model it may be excluded, providing its environmental relevance is not a concern.
# Energy: If a flow is less than 2% of the cumulative energy of the model it may be excluded, providing its environmental relevance is not a concern.
# Environmental relevance: If a flow meets the above criteria for exclusion, yet is thought to potentially have a significant environmental impact, it will be included. Material flows which leave the system (emissions) and whose environmental impact is greater than 2% of the whole impact of an impact category that has been considered in the assessment must be covered. This judgment will be done based on experience and documented as necessary.The cullet source for glass production is represented as burden-free cullet. According to the LCA of glass study done under the auspices of the Glass Packaging Institute (PE Americas, 2009), the impact of the cullet represents <5% of the batch environmental impacts for glass.Primary data were collected from four NAIMA member companies. All data were collected and provided in a consistent way: the data collection sheets enabled the member companies to report the same type of data, with the same level of aggregation, and all data went through the same quality check procedure. In addition to primary process data, each model obtains upstream and downstream background data from GaBi databases. Consistent background data sets were used for all raw materials production, energy sources and transportation processes.
Transportation is included for the raw material shipping to the factory gate and for the transport of manufacturing waste from the factory to the disposal site. Outbound transportation of the final product to the customer or building site is not included (although the report associated with this dataset accounts for this life cycle phase). Average transportation distances and modes of transportation were collected from the member companies and aggregated to create a regional average.
Data from the four NAIMA member companies were combined into this dataset using a mass-weighted production average.NonePE 2011 - Life Cycle Assessment of Fiberglass Insulation Products, Final ReportPE 2009 - Life Cycle Assessment of Container Glass in North America80.0Sales volume data is typically kept confidential by manufacturers, as is their own internal estimation of market penetration. Given that this study includes four of the larger fiberglass manufacturers in North America, it is estimated that as much as 80% of the fiberglass insulation production for North America is represented in this study.Calendar year 2007This aggregate process dataset does not include outbound transport from the producer to the consumer.
Although the study report associated with this dataset does include outbound transport,this dataset covers only a cradle-to-factory-gate scope.No statementCopy of review statement from final LCA report:
Critical Review Panel Final Report
November 8, 2011
This critical review of the above-noted LCA report provides the comments of the Review Panel composed of the following reviewers:
# Wayne Trusty, Past President, Athena Institute (Chair)
# Lindita Bushi, Ph.D Eng., Senior Research Associate, Athena Institute
# Joseph Fiksel, Executive Director, Center for Resilience, Ohio State University
# C. Philip Ross, Glass Industry Consulting # Creative Opportunities, Inc.
The review was performed according to Clause 7.3.3 of ISO 14040 (2006) and Clause 6.3 of ISO 14044 (2006) and takes into consideration the ISO 14040 series of standards requirements and recommendations.
The Critical Review Panel finds that the above-noted LCA report is fully in compliance with the ISO 14040 (2006) and 14044 (2006) standards. The Panel commends NAIMA and its consultants for a very comprehensive study and for their willingness to take account of and incorporate Panel comments.GaBi Modelling Principles 2007Fully compliantNot definedNot compliantFully compliantFully compliantNot definedGaBi databasesFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantNot definedNorth American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA)Life Cycle Assessment of Fiberglass Insulation ProductsThis dataset is intended to clarify the environmental profile of fiberglass insulation products. The intended audience for this information is the building and construction technical community, however it is likely that consumer-level communications will emerge over time as well.
This background LCI data set can be used for LCA studies of buildings and built environments, where the thermal insulation requirements (R-value) of walls and ceilings, or the mass input of insulation, are known.thinkstep2019-02-01T00:00:00.000ILCD format 1.1thinkstep2019-02-01T00:00:00.00000.00.001Data set finalised; entirely publishedNorth American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA)trueOtherGaBi (source code, database including extension modules and single data sets, documentation) remains property of thinkstep AG. thinkstep AG delivers GaBi licenses comprising data storage medium and manual as ordered by the customer. The license guarantees the right of use for one installation of GaBi. Further installations using the same license are not permitted. Additional licenses are only valid if the licensee holds at least one main license. Licenses are not transferable and must only be used within the licensee's organisation. Data sets may be copied for internal use. The number of copies is restricted to the number of licenses of the software system GaBi the licensee owns. The right of use is exclusively valid for the licensee. All rights reserved.Loose fillOutput1.01.00Mixed primary / secondaryUnknown derivationvaluable