| dc.description.abstract | Creosote-treated railroad ties represent a hazardous biomass waste stream with significant
environmental and disposal challenges. In the United States, these chemically treated wood
products are commonly reused, landfilled, or combusted, practices with well-documented
toxicological risks that persist due to regulatory gaps and economic convenience. This thesis
investigates a sustainable alternative: converting these used railroad ties into biocoal through
high-temperature carbonisation, aiming to substitute fossil coal in the Dutch steel industry.
Using an attributional life cycle assessment, the study models a transatlantic supply chain from
feedstock collection in South Carolina to fuel delivery in the Netherlands. Three scenarios
addressing surplus electricity generation during carbonisation are evaluated: a baseline with no
co-product credit, allocation based on energy content, and system expansion with local grid
electricity substitution. Additionally, a qualitative analysis compares the environmental
implications of carbonisation with conventional disposal methods in the United States.
Results indicate that biocoal substantially outperforms fossil coal across key impact categories,
including climate change, water consumption, and ecotoxicity, particularly when surplus
energy is effectively utilised. Under the system expansion scenario, net-negative emissions are
achievable, highlighting significant climate mitigation potential. Remaining environmental
impacts predominantly arise from long-distance transport, suggesting opportunities for further
improvements as transportation becomes decarbonised. Given the carbon-neutral end-use
combustion of biocoal, the proposed supply chain offers potential for near-zero or negative
emissions if integrated with carbon capture technologies.
Despite these promising results, the study faced constraints from limited stakeholder input and
data availability, restricting the quantification of toxicological impacts and detailed real-world
variability in process operations. Nonetheless, the findings strongly support the environmental
and circular economy benefits of converting creosote-treated wood into biocoal. Future
research should prioritise empirical measurements of toxic flows, detailed techno-economic
analyses, | |
