A major restraint in choosing bio-based materials (i.e. wood-based) for external use, is the lack of confidence that architects, designers and customers have toward these materials. In particular, the limit state of bio-based materials, which defines the frequency of maintenance operations, might be reached earlier for wood than for other materials (i.e. concrete). On the other hand, resource and energy scarcity together with increasing concern for climate change consequences are raising the demand for competitive bio-based materials in the built environment as substitutes for other energy-intensive materials. Therefore, novel and traditional protective treatments are used to improve the performance of woody materials for outdoor use. Nonetheless, the environmental and economic burden of such treatments is often unknown. The number of LCA (life cycle assessment) studies on the topic is low, with geographically sparse data and non-uniform assessment protocols. This study provides a novel approach to assess the in-service performance, maintenance requirements and end-of-service-life options for over one hundred bio-based materials for façades. The protection techniques of the materials under examination include: chemical modification, thermal treatment, impregnation, hybrid treatments, and surface treatments (bio-film, coating and nanocoating). Natural, untreated wood and composite materials such as wood-plastic composites are included as well. The in-service environmental performance is analysed by considering the amount of material, energy, water and waste that are used and/or produced to maintain one square meter of façade. The options for end-of-service-life include: panel manufacturing, pelletizing, animal bedding, liquefaction, insect conversion, fungal conversion, combustion, incineration, gasification and pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, composting and landfilling. For each material group, the possibility for cascading use is assessed. The overall goal is to increase the confidence in bio-based building materials by tackling environmental issues related to wood modification processes.

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