Material choice in the laboratory: steel or HPL – what is really sustainable

01The wrong question: which material is greener?

For fume cupboards and laboratory furniture, three types of construction are often compared: coated steel, solid compact panels made of high-pressure laminate (HPL), and wood-based panels with a thin HPL facing. The discussion quickly becomes a matter of principle – steel is said to be energy-intensive, synthetic resin difficult to dispose of. Both are true, and neither on its own leads to the right choice.

02The fallacy: per kilogram instead of per component

Steel is energy- and CO₂-intensive to produce when one kilogram is considered. In furniture and fume cupboard construction, however, thin sheet metal is used. Compact panels, by contrast, are solid: according to EN 438 they have a density of at least 1.35 g/cm³, and in fume cupboards they tend to be used in 19 mm rather than thin gauges.

×2.3more mass per square metre for a 19 mm compact panel compared with 1.5 mm sheet steel

In addition, there is a reading trap in environmental product declarations: wood-based materials store biogenic carbon, so their total global warming potential can be very low or even negative. For a fair comparison, the fossil share, the primary energy and the end of life belong alongside it.

03The principle: service life beats production

The most important lever is usually not production, but whether a component has to be replaced after ten years or can be reconfigured and repaired for thirty years and, at the end, recycled as a single-material fraction. Bolted steel carcasses can be recoated, fitted with spare parts and returned as recyclable material. Compact panels are moisture- and impact-resistant, but as a thermoset composite they cannot be melted down – reuse as a whole panel makes sense. HPL-faced panels become critical as soon as moisture or chemical vapours reach the substrate via edges and drilled holes: repair is then hardly possible, and the real service life tips the balance.

With fume cupboards, a second lever comes into play. A fume cupboard moves large volumes of air over decades, and this operating energy can clearly outweigh the question of material. An ecologically favourable carcass achieves little if the fume cupboard permanently needs too much air.

04Separated by function rather than by material principle

The most robust solution is seldom a pure steel or pure panel construction. Steel is suitable for the supporting structure and carcass, where modularity, non-combustibility and dismantling count. Interiors and work surfaces are chosen according to the actual chemistry – for very aggressive media such as hydrofluoric acid or perchloric acid, neither standard steel nor standard panels, but tested special materials. HPL-faced panels belong in dry, protected areas with permanently sealed edges.

05What you should require in the tender

• Environmental product declaration to EN 15804 for the product offered, not just for the material
• Material masses per component
• Dismantling and spare parts concept: bolted rather than bonded, separable into single-material fractions
• Chemical resistance for the actual use
• Reaction to fire to EN 13501-1 and emission certificates for panels and adhesives
• For fume cupboards: test values to EN 14175 and airflows in operation

In this way, material choice becomes a traceable decision for each component – and not a question of principle.

Takeaway

Sustainability is not a particular material, but the material that enables the longest, most repairable and safest use in its position.

SEDC AG · Article from our internal training series “Technik Praxis”, abridged for clients and users.