Packaging sustainability has become one of the most notable issues of this era. Many researchers have endeavored to characterize or compare the environmental burdens of a single level of packaging, such as primary, secondary, or tertiary packaging. However, goods are often handled, stored, and transported through the supply chain system in unit load form consisting of pallets, corrugated boxes, and load stabilizers. Hence, it is important to holistically understand the environmental impact of not only individual packaging levels, but also the unit load form. We can use the interactions between the unit load components to reduce the environmental burdens generated in the supply chain system.
Past studies discovered that pallet top deck thickness has a huge effect on corrugated box compression strength. Using this knowledge, researchers were able to optimize the cost of unit loads by increasing pallet top deck thickness and reducing the board grade of corrugated boxes. This study (1) further discovered how different unit load design factors, such as initial top deck thickness, pallet wood species, box size, and board grade, affect the performance of the previously proposed unit load design optimization method, and (2) we investigated if the unit load optimization method could also enhance unit load sustainability.
The study's first phase identified that the benefits of increasing top deck thickness were more pronounced as the initial top deck thickness decreased, higher board grade boxes were initially utilized, and smaller-sized boxes were used. The second phase of this study showed that increasing top deck thickness and reducing the board grade of corrugated boxes could offset environmental impacts by as much as 23%. Environmental benefits were mostly achieved by reducing the amount of relatively more-processed materials in the corrugated boards. This phase also provided preliminary unit load conditions as guidance for unit load professionals to estimate the possibility of optimizing their unit load design in an environmentally beneficial way. / Master of Science / Sustainability-minded individuals, industries, and policymakers recently recognized the environmental burdens associated with packaging as a critical concern to society. Many initiatives and studies have been conducted to prevent and reduce the environmental impacts of individual packaging systems, such as corrugated boxes, plastic bottles, and pallets. However, not many efforts have been made to enhance the environmental performance of a whole unit load, which is the most common distribution packaging form used to transport and store goods. It is essential to understand the physical interactions between unit load components, such as corrugated boxes and pallets, in order to improve a unit load's environmental performance effectively.
The unit load optimization concept introduced in the past study, which showed that increasing top deck thickness can reduce the needed board grade of corrugated boxes, was further investigated and utilized in this study to offset the environmental burdens of a unit load by substituting different materials used. To assess the environmental performance of that unit load design optimization method, this study first endeavored to understand further how various unit load design factors could affect the result of unit load optimization, and second, we analyzed many different scenarios using a life cycle analysis method.
The study found that the unit load design method that uses deck board thickness to change the amount of corrugated board needed had more potential for lighter pallets with thinner deck boards carrying heavier loads. The results also showed that increasing top deck board thickness and reducing the board grade of the corrugated board could improve the environmental performance of a unit load when the corrugated material is sufficiently substituted with a reasonable amount of pallet material.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111516 |
| Date | 12 August 2022 |
| Creators | Kim, Saewhan |
| Contributors | Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Horvath, Laszlo, Park, Jonghun, Russell, Jennifer D. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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