Figure: K. Höglmeier, Photos: HFM / R. Rosin

As an environmentally favorable resource, wood plays an important role when aiming to develop sustainable buildings. It is renewable and sequesters and stores carbon from the atmosphere, thereby contributing to mitigation of climate change. However, these characteristics are up to now not incorporated sufficiently in most building certification schemes. The life cycle assessments (LCA) which are the foundation for the certification and labeling of new buildings assume an incineration for energy production of wooden building components at their end-of-life. Possible benefits associated with the option of one or more times of material recycling preceding the energy production (“cascading”) are not taken into account. The project aims to assess these benefits by conducting LCA studies of a cascading use of recovered wood from the building sector. Options to integrate cascading as a regular end-of-life option in LCAs of wood products will be developed and evaluated. Ultimately, recommendation for an

Seminar of the PhD candidates at the ETH Zürich 2013, Photo: © SSM 

Publikationen:

Höglmeier., K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2016: Kaskadennutzung von Altholz in Bayern. Mengenpotenziale aus dem Gebäudebestand und ökologische Bewertung. LWFaktuell 109 (2/2016), 8-11. 

Höglmeier, K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2016: Evaluation of wood cascading. In: Dewulf, J., Meester, S. de Alvarenga, R. (eds) (2016) Sustainability Assessment of Renewables-Based Products: Methods and Case Studies, Chapter 22, Wiley, 335-346. doi: 10.1002/9781118933916.ch22.

Höglmeier, K.; 2015: Holznutzung in Kaskaden: Ansätze zur Potentialanalyse und zur ökobilanziellen Bewertung. Dissertation Technische Universität München.

Höglmeier, K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2015: Effiziente Erfassung und Aufbereitung notwendig. Ökobilanz Studie von Altholz-Verwertungsoptionen geht der Frage nach: Lohnt sich die Kaskadennutzung aus Umweltsicht. Holz-Zentralblatt 5 (30. Januar 2015), 108-109.

Höglmeier, K.; Steubing, B.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2015: LCA-based optimization of wood utilization in southeast Germany under special consideration of a cascading use of wood. Journal of Environmental Management 152, 158-170. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.01.018.

Höglmeier, K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2014: Utilization of recovered wood in cascades versus utilization of primary wood - a comparison with life cycle assessment using system expansion. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 19, 1755–1766. doi: 10.1007/s11367-014-0774-6. 

Höglmeier, K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2013: Potentials for cascading of recovered wood from the building deconstruction – a case study for south-east Germany. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 78, 81–91. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.07.004; ERRATUM: Höglmeier, K.; Weber-Blaschke, G.; Richter, K.; 2017: Potentials for cascading of recovered wood from the building deconstruction – a case study for south-east Germany. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 117, 304–314. doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.10.030

Doctoral examination:
Dr. rer. silv. Karin Höglmeier am 05.05.2015