Review of LCA studies of solid waste management systems – Part I: Lessons learned and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurent, Alexis; Bakas, Ioannis; Clavreul, Julie; Bernstad, Anna; Niero, Monia; Gentil, Emmanuel; Hauschild, Michael Z.; Christensen, Thomas H.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We perform a critical review of 222 LCA studies of solid waste management systems. • Studies mainly concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. • Assessments of relevant waste types apart from household waste have been overlooked. • Local specificities of systems prevent a meaningful generalisation of the LCA results. • LCA should support recommendations representative of the local conditions. - Abstract: The continuously increasing solid waste generation worldwide calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool, which can contribute to answer that call. But how, where and to which extent has it been applied to solid waste management systems (SWMSs) until now, and which lessons can be learnt from the findings of these LCA applications? To address these questions, we performed a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of SWMS. We first analysed the geographic distribution and found that the published studies have primarily been concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. In terms of technological coverage, they have largely overlooked application of LCA to waste prevention activities and to relevant waste types apart from household waste, e.g. construction and demolition waste. Waste management practitioners are thus encouraged to abridge these gaps in future applications of LCA. In addition to this contextual analysis, we also evaluated the findings of selected studies of good quality and found that there is little agreement in the conclusions among them. The strong dependence of each SWMS on local conditions, such as waste composition or energy system, prevents a meaningful generalisation of the LCA results as we find it in the waste hierarchy. We therefore recommend stakeholders in solid waste management to regard LCA as a tool, which, by its ability of

Review of LCA studies of solid waste management systems – Part I: Lessons learned and perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laurent, Alexis, E-mail: alau@dtu.dk [Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Bakas, Ioannis [Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Clavreul, Julie [Residual Resources Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Bernstad, Anna [Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, 221 00 Lund (Sweden); Niero, Monia [Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); ECO – Ecosystems and Environmental Sustainability, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Gentil, Emmanuel [Copenhagen Resource Institute, 1215 Copenhagen K (Denmark); Hauschild, Michael Z. [Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Christensen, Thomas H. [Residual Resources Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

2014-03-01

Highlights: • We perform a critical review of 222 LCA studies of solid waste management systems. • Studies mainly concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. • Assessments of relevant waste types apart from household waste have been overlooked. • Local specificities of systems prevent a meaningful generalisation of the LCA results. • LCA should support recommendations representative of the local conditions. - Abstract: The continuously increasing solid waste generation worldwide calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool, which can contribute to answer that call. But how, where and to which extent has it been applied to solid waste management systems (SWMSs) until now, and which lessons can be learnt from the findings of these LCA applications? To address these questions, we performed a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of SWMS. We first analysed the geographic distribution and found that the published studies have primarily been concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. In terms of technological coverage, they have largely overlooked application of LCA to waste prevention activities and to relevant waste types apart from household waste, e.g. construction and demolition waste. Waste management practitioners are thus encouraged to abridge these gaps in future applications of LCA. In addition to this contextual analysis, we also evaluated the findings of selected studies of good quality and found that there is little agreement in the conclusions among them. The strong dependence of each SWMS on local conditions, such as waste composition or energy system, prevents a meaningful generalisation of the LCA results as we find it in the waste hierarchy. We therefore recommend stakeholders in solid waste management to regard LCA as a tool, which, by its ability of

Systematic, efficient and consistent LCA calculations for chemical and biochemical processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petchkaewkul, Kaesinee; Malakul, Pomthong; Gani, Rafiqul

2016-01-01

that allow a wider coverage of chemical and biochemical processes. Improvements of LCIA calculations and eco-efficiency evaluation are introduced. Also, a new model for photochemical ozone formation has been developed and implemented. Performance of LCSoft in terms of accuracy and reliability is compared......Life Cycle Assessment or LCA is a technique, which is applied for the study and evaluation of quantitative environmental impacts through the entire life cycle of products, processes or services in order to improve and/or evaluate the design of existing as well as new processes. The LCA factors can...... with another well-known LCA-software, SimaPro for a biochemical process – the production of bioethanol from cassava rhizome. The results show a very good match of new added impact categories. Also, the results from a new feature in LCSoft, which is eco-efficiency evaluation, are presented....

How Well Does LCA Model Land Use Impacts on Biodiversity?--A Comparison with Approaches from Ecology and Conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Michael; de Souza, Danielle Maia; Antón, Assumpció; Teixeira, Ricardo F M; Michelsen, Ottar; Vidal-Legaz, Beatriz; Sala, Serenella; Milà i Canals, Llorenç

2016-03-15

The modeling of land use impacts on biodiversity is considered a priority in life cycle assessment (LCA). Many diverging approaches have been proposed in an expanding literature on the topic. The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative is engaged in building consensus on a shared modeling framework to highlight best-practice and guide model application by practitioners. In this paper, we evaluated the performance of 31 models from both the LCA and the ecology/conservation literature (20 from LCA, 11 from non-LCA fields) according to a set of criteria reflecting (i) model completeness, (ii) biodiversity representation, (iii) impact pathway coverage, (iv) scientific quality, and (v) stakeholder acceptance. We show that LCA models tend to perform worse than those from ecology and conservation (although not significantly), implying room for improvement. We identify seven best-practice recommendations that can be implemented immediately to improve LCA models based on existing approaches in the literature. We further propose building a "consensus model" through weighted averaging of existing information, to complement future development. While our research focuses on conceptual model design, further quantitative comparison of promising models in shared case studies is an essential prerequisite for future informed model choice.

Transportation Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Synthesis, Phase II

Science.gov (United States)

2018-04-24

The Transportation Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Synthesis includes an LCA Learning Module Series, case studies, and analytics on the use of the modules. The module series is a set of narrated slideshows on topics related to environmental LCA. Phase I ...

Milestone 4.1 ∙ First draft on complemented LCA methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik Fred; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

As described in deliverable 4.1, D4.1 (Larsen et al. 2007) NEPTUNE is using two main types of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodologies when doing LCA studies on the waste water treatment technologies included. The basic methodology is the well known existing EDIP97 methodology (Wenzel et...

LCA Experiences in Danish Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broberg, Ole; Christensen, Per

1999-01-01

of the products with subsequent new priorities in the environmental efforts. Only a few enterprises have built up in-house LCA competence whereas consultants are heavily involved in LCA work. In large enterprises LCA work is pre-dominantly carried out by environmental staff members, but also product development...

Quantifying uncertainty in LCA-modelling of waste management systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clavreul, Julie; Guyonnet, D.; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2012-01-01

Uncertainty analysis in LCA studies has been subject to major progress over the last years. In the context of waste management, various methods have been implemented but a systematic method for uncertainty analysis of waste-LCA studies is lacking. The objective of this paper is (1) to present...... the sources of uncertainty specifically inherent to waste-LCA studies, (2) to select and apply several methods for uncertainty analysis and (3) to develop a general framework for quantitative uncertainty assessment of LCA of waste management systems. The suggested method is a sequence of four steps combining...

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thrane, Mikkel; Schmidt, Jannick Andresen

2004-01-01

The chapter introduces Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its application according to the ISO 1404043 standards.......The chapter introduces Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its application according to the ISO 1404043 standards....

Cradle to Cradle and LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Hauschild, Michael Z.

2018-01-01

with the circular economy , the C2C certification and examples of C2C certified or inspired products and systems. This is followed by a comparison of C2C with eco-efficiency and LCA . Because of their important differences, we conclude that care should be taken when combing C2C and LCA, e.g. using LCA to evaluate......Cradle to Cradle (C2C) offers a positive vision of a future, where products are radically redesigned to be beneficial to humans and the environment. The idea is not to reduce negative impacts (as in LCA), but to increase positive impacts . This chapter presents the C2C concept and its relationship...... products inspired by C2C. We then provide an in-depth analysis of the conflicts between C2C and LCA and offer solutions. Finally, we reflect upon how LCA practitioners can learn from C2C in terms of providing a vision of a sustainable future, creating a sense of urgency for change and communicating results...

LCA of Solid Waste Management Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakas, Ioannis; Laurent, Alexis; Clavreul, Julie

2018-01-01

The chapter explores the application of LCA to solid waste management systems through the review of published studies on the subject. The environmental implications of choices involved in the modelling setup of waste management systems are increasingly in the spotlight, due to public health...... concerns and new legislation addressing the impacts from managing our waste. The application of LCA to solid waste management systems, sometimes called “waste LCA”, is distinctive in that system boundaries are rigorously defined to exclude all life cycle stages except from the end-of-life. Moreover...... LCA on solid waste systems....

LCA of Energy Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurent, Alexis; Espinosa Martinez, Nieves; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2018-01-01

Energy systems are essential in the support of modern societies’ activities, and can span a wide spectrum of electricity and heat generation systems and cooling systems. Along with their central role and large diversity, these systems have been demonstrated to cause serious impacts on human health...... , ecosystems and natural resources. Over the past two decades, energy systems have thus been the focus of more than 1000 LCA studies, with the aim to identify and reduce these impacts. This chapter addresses LCA applications to energy systems for generation of electricity and heat . The chapter gives insight...

Mapping and characterization of LCA networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Laurent, Alexis

2013-01-01

Purpose: The aims of this study were to provide an up-todate overview of global, regional and local networks supporting life cycle thinking and to characterize them according to their structure and activities. Methods: Following a tentative life cycle assessment (LCA) network definition, a mapping......: The provided list of LCA networks is currently the most comprehensive, publicly available mapping. We believe that the results of this mapping can serve as a basis for deciding where priorities should be set to increase the dissemination and development of LCA worldwide. In this aim, we also advocate...... was performed based on (1) a literature search, (2) a web search and (3) an inquiry to stakeholders distributed via the two largest LCA fora. Networks were characterized based on responses from a survey. Results and discussion: We identified 100 networks, of which 29 fulfilled all six criteria composing our...

Study for a simplified LCA methodology adapted to bio-products. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Agricultural resources form a renewable stock of raw materials that can be used for various purposes: food supply, production of energy (including biofuels), bio-products and bio-based construction materials. The use of agricultural resources to produce bio-products is expanding in France and throughout the world, partly due to the presumed advantages of these products towards the environment. In this context, ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency) commissioned a study for the development of a methodological framework to evaluate the environmental impacts of bio-products. This study was also in charge of the identification of areas of improvement for the 'Bilan Produit', an environmental assessment tool developed by ADEME, in order to allow a future integration of bio-products. The first step of this study consisted of a comparative review of the existing bio-products' LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). This review underlined a deep heterogeneity among the methodologies used, as well as a lack of transparency in the results displayed. In a second step of the project, all the methodological issues in the evaluation of bio-products were studied, and recommendations for the resolution of each one of them have been proposed. These critical analyses are presented in individual fact-sheets, which detail the specific issues of each question, facts from the bibliographic review, the results of the tests conducted on three bio-products, and finally the methodological recommendations to answer the question. This project showed that some methodological recommendations had to be specified depending on the objective of the LCA: eco-design, environmental labeling or comparative LCA. The work conducted also identified some necessary improvements to the Bilan Produit tool, which come under four categories: addition of the missing inventories, integration of metadata regarding the inventories, consideration for the specific end-of-life scenarios of bio-products, and

Review of LCA studies of solid waste management systems – Part I: Lessons learned and perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurent, Alexis; Bakas, Ioannis; Clavreul, Julie

2014-01-01

distribution and found that the published studies have primarily been concentrated in Europe with little application in developing countries. In terms of technological coverage, they have largely overlooked application of LCA to waste prevention activities and to relevant waste types apart from household waste......The continuously increasing solid waste generation worldwide calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool, which can contribute to answer that call. But how, where...... and to which extent has it been applied to solid waste management systems (SWMSs) until now, and which lessons can be learnt from the findings of these LCA applications? To address these questions, we performed a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of SWMS. We first analysed the geographic...

Development of a Carbon Emission Calculations System for Optimizing Building Plan Based on the LCA Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feifei Fu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Life cycle thinking has become widely applied in the assessment for building environmental performance. Various tool are developed to support the application of life cycle assessment (LCA method. This paper focuses on the carbon emission during the building construction stage. A partial LCA framework is established to assess the carbon emission in this phase. Furthermore, five typical LCA tools programs have been compared and analyzed for demonstrating the current application of LCA tools and their limitations in the building construction stage. Based on the analysis of existing tools and sustainability demands in building, a new computer calculation system has been developed to calculate the carbon emission for optimizing the sustainability during the construction stage. The system structure and detail functions are described in this paper. Finally, a case study is analyzed to demonstrate the designed LCA framework and system functions. This case is based on a typical building in UK with different plans of masonry wall and timber frame to make a comparison. The final results disclose that a timber frame wall has less embodied carbon emission than a similar masonry structure. 16% reduction was found in this study.

Evaluation of environmental impact by LCA method. LCA shuho ni yoru kankyo fuka hyoka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakamura, H.; Utsuno, F.; Yasui, I. (The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan). Institute of Industrial Science)

1994-06-01

This paper explains the concept, history, and analytic methods of life cycle assessment (LCA), showing its application to beer bottles and cement factories as specific examples. The LCA is a method to calculate substances and energies put into the whole process of production of a product from raw material mining to product wasting and environmental loads emitted therefrom. It also evaluates the result collectively and quantitatively. A first case of the research is reportedly the one performed at Coca-Cola Co., Ltd. in 1969. Full-scale researches have gone forward in European countries in the recent several years, and are progressing to international networks. The analytic methods can be divided largely into an accumulation method to analyze data in each process and add them up, and a method to use an industrial association table. The former method is the most generally used method currently in overseas countries if referred to the LCA. Because the LCA can cause the analytic result and evaluation to vary depending on the purpose, it is important to define the goal, and set the scope. The LCA must develop in the future although it has a number of problems. 10 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.

Production of recyclates – compared with virgin Plastics – a LCA Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Storm Birgit Kjærside

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Plastix A/S is a Danish cleantech company transforming discarded fishing trawls and nets into valuable green raw materials. Plastix– technology and processes solve a maritime waste problem and contribute to a more circular green economy and reduce landfilling, marine pollution, CO2 emissions and especially loss of valuable resources. Plastix– recycling technology enables recovery of discarded fishing trawls and nets via mechanical and thermal processes transforming the waste into valuable recycles which can be converted into plastic products replacing virgin raw materials. The performance has been proved through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA study. The results from the LCA study are compared with the production of virgin materials. The results of the LCA show that especially the carbon footprint is remarkable better for Oceanix than for virgin plastics. Oceanix HDPE is 5 times better than virgin HDPE, when talking about the carbon foot print, and the results for Oceanix PP and Oceanix PA6 are 5 times and 20 times better compared with virgin PP and PA6. Also other environmental indicators are better for Oceanix compared with virgin plastics.

LCA of Chemicals and Chemical Products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fantke, Peter; Ernstoff, Alexi

2018-01-01

This chapter focuses on the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance of chemicals as well as of products and processes where chemicals play a key role. The life cycle stages of chemical products, such as pharmaceuticals drugs or plant protection products......, are discussed and differentiated into extraction of abiotic and biotic raw materials, chemical synthesis and processing, material processing, product manufacturing, professional or consumer product use, and finally end-of-life . LCA is discussed in relation to other chemicals management frameworks and concepts...... including risk assessment , green and sustainable chemistry , and chemical alternatives assessment. A large number of LCA studies focus on contrasting different feedstocks or chemical synthesis processes, thereby often conducting a cradle to (factory) gate assessment. While typically a large share...

USEEIOv1.1 - openLCA

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This is a version of the full USEEIO v1.1 model in the openLCA schema serialized as JSON-LD that can be imported into openLCA software (www.openlca.org) v1.5 and...

Use of Input–Output Analysis in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mattila, Tuomas J.

2018-01-01

Input–output analysis can be used as a tool for complementing the traditionally process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) with macroeconomic data from the background systems. Properly used, it can result in faster and more accurate LCA. It also provides opportunities for streamlining the LCA inve...

Prospective time-resolved LCA of fully electric supercap vehicles in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Benedikt M; Dura, Hanna; Baumann, Manuel J; Weil, Marcel R

2015-07-01

The ongoing transition of the German electricity supply toward a higher share of renewable and sustainable energy sources, called Energiewende in German, has led to dynamic changes in the environmental impact of electricity over the last few years. Prominent scenario studies predict that comparable dynamics will continue in the coming decades, which will further improve the environmental performance of Germany's electricity supply. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the methodology commonly used to evaluate environmental performance. Previous LCA studies on electric vehicles have shown that the electricity supply for the vehicles' operation is responsible for the major part of their environmental impact. The core question of this study is how the prospective dynamic development of the German electricity mix will affect the impact of electric vehicles operated in Germany and how LCA can be adapted to analyze this impact in a more robust manner. The previously suggested approach of time-resolved LCA, which is located between static and dynamic LCA, is used in this study and compared with several static approaches. Furthermore, the uncertainty issue associated with scenario studies is addressed in general and in relation to time-resolved LCA. Two scenario studies relevant to policy making have been selected, but a moderate number of modifications have been necessary to adapt the data to the requirements of a life cycle inventory. A potential, fully electric vehicle powered by a supercapacitor energy storage system is used as a generic example. The results show that substantial improvements in the environmental repercussions of the electricity supply and, consequentially, of electric vehicles will be achieved between 2020 and 2031 on the basis of the energy mixes predicted in both studies. This study concludes that although scenarios might not be able to predict the future, they should nonetheless be used as data sources in prospective LCA studies, because in many cases

Organisational LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martínez-Blanco, Julia; Finkbeiner, Matthias

2018-01-01

environmental performance over time, supporting strategic decisions, and informing corporate sustainability reporting. Several initiatives are on the way for the LCA of organisations: the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative published the ‘Guidance on organizational LCA’, using ISO/TS 14072 as a backbone; moreover......, when the unit of analysis and the system boundaries are defined. Also, the approach for data collection needs to be fixed. Organisational LCA is a compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of the activities associated with the organisation adopting a life...... cycle perspective. It includes not only the facilities of the organisation itself, but also the activities upstream and downstream the value chain. This methodology is capable of serving multiple goals at the same time, like identifying environmental hotspots throughout the value chain, tracking...

Bridging the gap between LCA, LCC and CBA as sustainability assessment tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogmartens, Rob, E-mail: rob.hoogmartens@uhasselt.be [Hasselt University, Faculty of Business Economics, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Van Passel, Steven, E-mail: steven.vanpassel@uhasselt.be [Hasselt University, Faculty of Business Economics, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Van Acker, Karel, E-mail: karel.vanacker@lrd.kuleuven.be [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Dubois, Maarten, E-mail: maarten.dubois@kuleuven.be [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Policy Research Centre for Sustainable Materials, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2014-09-15

Increasing interest in sustainability has led to the development of sustainability assessment tools such as Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA). Due to methodological disparity of these three tools, conflicting assessment results generate confusion for many policy and business decisions. In order to interpret and integrate assessment results, the paper provides a framework that clarifies the connections and coherence between the included assessment methodologies. Building on this framework, the paper further focuses on key aspects to adapt any of the methodologies to full sustainability assessments. Aspects dealt with in the review are for example the reported metrics, the scope, data requirements, discounting, product- or project-related and approaches with respect to scarcity and labor requirements. In addition to these key aspects, the review shows that important connections exist: (i) the three tools can cope with social inequality, (ii) processes such as valuation techniques for LCC and CBA are common, (iii) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used as input in both LCA and CBA and (iv) LCA can be used in parallel with LCC. Furthermore, the most integrated sustainability approach combines elements of LCA and LCC to achieve the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). The key aspects and the connections referred to in the review are illustrated with a case study on the treatment of end-of-life automotive glass. - Highlights: • Proliferation of assessment tools creates ambiguity and confusion. • The developed assessment framework clarifies connections between assessment tools. • Broadening LCA, key aspects are metric and data requirements. • Broadening LCC, key aspects are scope, time frame and discounting. • Broadening CBA, focus point, timespan, references, labor and scarcity are key.

Bridging the gap between LCA, LCC and CBA as sustainability assessment tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogmartens, Rob; Van Passel, Steven; Van Acker, Karel; Dubois, Maarten

2014-01-01

Increasing interest in sustainability has led to the development of sustainability assessment tools such as Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA). Due to methodological disparity of these three tools, conflicting assessment results generate confusion for many policy and business decisions. In order to interpret and integrate assessment results, the paper provides a framework that clarifies the connections and coherence between the included assessment methodologies. Building on this framework, the paper further focuses on key aspects to adapt any of the methodologies to full sustainability assessments. Aspects dealt with in the review are for example the reported metrics, the scope, data requirements, discounting, product- or project-related and approaches with respect to scarcity and labor requirements. In addition to these key aspects, the review shows that important connections exist: (i) the three tools can cope with social inequality, (ii) processes such as valuation techniques for LCC and CBA are common, (iii) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used as input in both LCA and CBA and (iv) LCA can be used in parallel with LCC. Furthermore, the most integrated sustainability approach combines elements of LCA and LCC to achieve the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). The key aspects and the connections referred to in the review are illustrated with a case study on the treatment of end-of-life automotive glass. - Highlights: • Proliferation of assessment tools creates ambiguity and confusion. • The developed assessment framework clarifies connections between assessment tools. • Broadening LCA, key aspects are metric and data requirements. • Broadening LCC, key aspects are scope, time frame and discounting. • Broadening CBA, focus point, timespan, references, labor and scarcity are key

LCA as a Tool to Evaluate Green Infrastructure's Environmental Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Catalano De Sousa, M.; Erispaha, A.; Spatari, S.; Montalto, F.

2011-12-01

Decentralized approaches to managing urban stormwater through use of green infrastructure (GI) often lead to system-wide efficiency gains within the urban watershed's energy supply system. These efficiencies lead to direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings, and also restore some ecosystem functions within the urban landscape. We developed a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) model to estimate the life cycle energy, global warming potential (GWP), and payback times for each if GI were applied within a select neighborhood in New York City. We applied the SIMAPRO LCA software and the economic input-output LCA (EIO-LCA) tool developed by Carnegie Mellon University. The results showed that for a new intersection installation highlighted in this study a conventional infrastructure construction would emit and use approximately 3 times more for both CO2 and energy than a design using GI. Two GI benefits were analyzed with regards to retrofitting the existing intersection. The first was related to the savings in energy and CO2 at the Waste Water Treatment Plant via runoff reduction accrued from GI use. The second benefit was related to the avoided environmental costs associated with an additional new grey infrastructure installation needed to prevent CSO in case of no GI implementation. The first benefit indicated a high payback time for a GI installation in terms of CO2 and energy demand (80 and 90 years respectively) and suggest a slow energy and carbon recovery time. However, concerning to the second benefit, GI proved to be a sustainable alternative considering the high CO2 releases (429 MTE) and energy demand (5.5 TJ) associated with a grey infrastructure construction.

LCA Experiences in Danish Industry: Results of a Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broberg, Ole; Christensen, Per

1999-01-01

A study on Danish industry's experiences with LCA has been performed. Twenty-six enterprises from different sectors filled in a questionnaire. The enterprises are still in an adoption and learning phase and experiences with full-blown LCA's are sparse. Expectations of future market pressure...

Antifreeze life cycle assessment (LCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kesić Jelena

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Antifreeze based on ethylene glycol is a commonly used commercial product The classification of ethylene glycol as a toxic material increased the disposal costs for used antifreeze and life cycle assessment became a necessity. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA considers the identification and quantification of raw materials and energy inputs and waste outputs during the whole life cycle of the analyzed product. The objectives of LCA are the evaluation of impacts on the environment and improvements of processes in order to reduce and/or eliminate waste. LCA is conducted through a mathematical model derived from mass and energy balances of all the processes included in the life cycle. In all energy processes the part of energy that can be transformed into some other kind of energy is called exergy. The concept of exergy considers the quality of different types of energy and the quality of different materials. It is also a connection between energy and mass transformations. The whole life cycle can be described by the value of the total loss of exergy. The physical meaning of this value is the loss of material and energy that can be used. The results of LCA are very useful for the analyzed products and processes and for the determined conditions under which the analysis was conducted. The results of this study indicate that recycling is the most satisfactory solution for the treatment of used antifreeze regarding material and energy consumption but the re-use of antifreeze should not be neglected as a solution.

Environmental impact assessment of CCS chains – Lessons learned and limitations from LCA literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Corsten, M.A.M.; Ramirez, C.A.; Shen, L.; Koornneef, A.; Faaij, A.P.C.

2013-01-01

This study performs an assessment of existing LCA literature to obtain insights into potential environmental impacts over the complete life cycle of fossil fuel fired power plants with CCS. CCS results in a net reduction of the GWP of power plants through their life cycle in the order of 65–84%

Revision and extension of Eco-LCA metrics for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shiying; Yang, Siyu; Kraslawski, Andrzej; Qian, Yu

2013-12-17

Ecologically based life cycle assessment (Eco-LCA) is an appealing approach for the evaluation of resources utilization and environmental impacts of the process industries from an ecological scale. However, the aggregated metrics of Eco-LCA suffer from some drawbacks: the environmental impact metric has limited applicability; the resource utilization metric ignores indirect consumption; the renewability metric fails to address the quantitative distinction of resources availability; the productivity metric seems self-contradictory. In this paper, the existing Eco-LCA metrics are revised and extended for sustainability assessment of the energy and chemical processes. A new Eco-LCA metrics system is proposed, including four independent dimensions: environmental impact, resource utilization, resource availability, and economic effectiveness. An illustrative example of comparing assessment between a gas boiler and a solar boiler process provides insight into the features of the proposed approach.

Review of LCA studies of solid waste management systems – Part II: Methodological guidance for a better practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurent, Alexis; Clavreul, Julie; Bernstad, Anna

2014-01-01

conduct of the LCA. How has LCA been applied until now? Are there any inconsistencies in the past practice? To answer these questions, we draw on a critical review of 222 published LCA studies of solid waste management systems. We analyse the past practice against the ISO standard requirements......Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used in waste management to identify strategies that prevent or minimise negative impacts on ecosystems, human health or natural resources. However, the quality of the provided support to decision- and policy-makers is strongly dependent on a proper...... compositions into the inventory, and a frequent lack of essential sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Many of these aspects are important for the reliability of the results. For each of them, we therefore provide detailed recommendations to practitioners of waste management LCAs. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All...

LCA of Drinking Water Supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Godskesen, Berit; Meron, Noa; Rygaard, Martin

2018-01-01

Water supplies around the globe are growing complex and include more intense treatment methods than just decades ago. Now, desalination of seawater and wastewater reuse for both non-potable and potable water supply have become common practice in many places. LCA has been used to assess...... the potentials and reveal hotspots among the possible technologies and scenarios for water supplies of the future. LCA studies have been used to support decisions in the planning of urban water systems and some important findings include documentation of reduced environmental impact from desalination of brackish...... water over sea water, the significant impacts from changed drinking water quality and reduced environmental burden from wastewater reuse instead of desalination. Some of the main challenges in conducting LCAs of water supply systems are their complexity and diversity, requiring very large data...

Open-loop recycling: A LCA case study of PET bottle-to-fibre-recycling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shen, L.; Worrell, E.; Patel, M.K.

2010-01-01

This study assesses the environmental impact of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle-to-fibre recycling using the methodology of life-cycle assessment (LCA). Four recycling cases, including mechanical recycling, semi-mechanical recycling, back-to-oligomer recycling and back-to-monomer recycling

Assessment of the GHG Reduction Potential from Energy Crops Using a Combined LCA and Biogeochemical Process Models: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Jiang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose for developing biofuel is to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas emissions, but the comprehensive environmental impact of such fuels is not clear. Life cycle analysis (LCA, as a complete comprehensive analysis method, has been widely used in bioenergy assessment studies. Great efforts have been directed toward establishing an efficient method for comprehensively estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG emission reduction potential from the large-scale cultivation of energy plants by combining LCA with ecosystem/biogeochemical process models. LCA presents a general framework for evaluating the energy consumption and GHG emission from energy crop planting, yield acquisition, production, product use, and postprocessing. Meanwhile, ecosystem/biogeochemical process models are adopted to simulate the fluxes and storage of energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen in the soil-plant (energy crops soil continuum. Although clear progress has been made in recent years, some problems still exist in current studies and should be addressed. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art method for estimating GHG emission reduction through developing energy crops and introduces in detail a new approach for assessing GHG emission reduction by combining LCA with biogeochemical process models. The main achievements of this study along with the problems in current studies are described and discussed.

LCA of pork products & evaluation of alternative super-chilling techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonou, Alexandra; Birkved, Morten

after cooling technologies, which affect the products’ shelf life: The purpose is to identify the technology leading to least environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective; also to facilitate a benchmarking of these technologies relative to existing after-cooling approaches i.e. freezing.......This LCA study has two aims: 1) The environmental assessment of Danish pork products (Danish Landrace breed): The purpose is to put the pork production system into perspective and to identify the relative contribution of different life cycle stages; 2) The comparative assessment of alternative...

Life cycle thinking in impact assessment—Current practice and LCA gains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bidstrup, Morten, E-mail: Bidstrup@plan.aau.dk

2015-09-15

It has been advocated that life cycle thinking (LCT) should be applied in impact assessment (IA) to a greater extent, since some development proposals pose a risk of significant impacts throughout the interconnected activities of product systems. Multiple authors have proposed the usage of life cycle assessment (LCA) for such analytical advancement, but little to no research on this tool application has been founded in IA practice so far. The aim of this article is to elaborate further on the gains assigned to application of LCA. The research builds on a review of 85 Danish IA reports, which were analysed for analytical appropriateness and application of LCT. Through a focus on the non-technical summary, the conclusion and the use of specific search words, passages containing LCT were searched for in each IA report. These passages were then analysed with a generic framework. The results reveal that LCT is appropriate for most of the IAs, but that LCA is rarely applied to provide such a perspective. Without LCA, the IAs show mixed performance in regard to LCT. Most IAs do consider the product provision of development proposals, but they rarely relate impacts to this function explicitly. Many IAs do consider downstream impacts, but assessments of upstream, distant impacts are generally absent. It is concluded that multiple analytical gains can be attributed to greater application of LCA in IA practice, though some level of LCT already exists. - Highlights: • Life cycle thinking is appropriate across the types and topics of impact assessment. • Yet, life cycle assessment is rarely used for adding such perspective. • Impact assessment practice does apply some degree of life cycle thinking. • However, application of life cycle assessment could bring analytical gains.

Life cycle thinking in impact assessment—Current practice and LCA gains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidstrup, Morten

2015-01-01

It has been advocated that life cycle thinking (LCT) should be applied in impact assessment (IA) to a greater extent, since some development proposals pose a risk of significant impacts throughout the interconnected activities of product systems. Multiple authors have proposed the usage of life cycle assessment (LCA) for such analytical advancement, but little to no research on this tool application has been founded in IA practice so far. The aim of this article is to elaborate further on the gains assigned to application of LCA. The research builds on a review of 85 Danish IA reports, which were analysed for analytical appropriateness and application of LCT. Through a focus on the non-technical summary, the conclusion and the use of specific search words, passages containing LCT were searched for in each IA report. These passages were then analysed with a generic framework. The results reveal that LCT is appropriate for most of the IAs, but that LCA is rarely applied to provide such a perspective. Without LCA, the IAs show mixed performance in regard to LCT. Most IAs do consider the product provision of development proposals, but they rarely relate impacts to this function explicitly. Many IAs do consider downstream impacts, but assessments of upstream, distant impacts are generally absent. It is concluded that multiple analytical gains can be attributed to greater application of LCA in IA practice, though some level of LCT already exists. - Highlights: • Life cycle thinking is appropriate across the types and topics of impact assessment. • Yet, life cycle assessment is rarely used for adding such perspective. • Impact assessment practice does apply some degree of life cycle thinking. • However, application of life cycle assessment could bring analytical gains

Future-Oriented LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving; Borup, Mads; Andersen, Per Dannemand

2018-01-01

LCA is often applied for decision-making that concerns actions reaching near or far into the future. However, traditional life cycle assessment methodology must be adjusted for the prospective and change-oriented purposes, but no standardised way of doing this has emerged yet. In this chapter some...... challenges are described and some learnings are derived. Many of the future-oriented LCAs published so far perform relatively short-term prediction of simple comparisons. But for more long-term time horizons foresight methods can be of help. Scenarios established by qualified experts about future...... technological and economic developments are indispensable in future technology assessments. The uncertainties in future-oriented LCAs are to a large extent qualitative and it is important to emphasise that LCA of future technologies will provide a set of answers and not ‘the’ answer....

LCA of Biofuels and Biomaterials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjuler, Susanne Vedel; Hansen, Sune Balle

2018-01-01

, the potential of bio-products as substitutes for fossil-based products is receiving much attention. According to many LCA studies, bio-products are environmentally superior to fossil products in some life cycle impact categories, while the picture is often opposite in others. Bio-products is a highly diverse...

From LCC to LCA Using a Hybrid Input Output Model – A Maritime Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Louise Laumann; Pagoropoulos, Aris; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2015-01-01

As companies try to embrace life cycle thinking, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) have proven to be powerful tools. In this paper, an Environmental Input-Output model is used for analysis as it enables an LCA using the same economic input data as LCC. This approach helps...

Involvement of LCA5 in Leber congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa in the Spanish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Corton, Marta; Avila-Fernandez, Almudena; Vallespín, Elena; López-Molina, María Isabel; Almoguera, Berta; Martín-Garrido, Esther; Tatu, Sorina D; Khan, M Imran; Blanco-Kelly, Fiona; Riveiro-Alvarez, Rosa; Brión, María; García-Sandoval, Blanca; Cremers, Frans P M; Carracedo, Angel; Ayuso, Carmen

2014-01-01

showed fundus features of pigmentary retinopathy with atrophic macular lesions. This work reveals a higher frequency of LCA5 mutations in a Spanish LCA cohort than in other populations. This study established gene-specific frequencies and the underlying phenotype of LCA5 mutations in the Spanish population. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying best existing practice for characterization modeling in life cycle impact assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Goedkoop, Mark; Guinée, Jeroen

2013-01-01

Purpose: Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is a field of active development. The last decade has seen prolific publication of new impact assessment methods covering many different impact categories and providing characterization factors that often deviate from each other for the same substance...... and impact. The LCA standard ISO 14044 is rather general and unspecific in its requirements and offers little help to the LCA practitioner who needs to make a choice. With the aim to identify the best among existing characterization models and provide recommendations to the LCA practitioner, a study...... was performed for the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). Methods Existing LCIA methods were collected and their individual characterization models identified at both midpoint and endpoint levels and supplemented with other environmental models of potential use for LCIA. No new developments...

The landscape of existing models for high-throughput exposure assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jolliet, O.; Fantke, Peter; Huang, L.

2017-01-01

and ability to easily handle large datasets. For building materials a series of diffusion-based models have been developed to predict the chemicals emissions from building materials to indoor air, but existing models require complex analytical or numerical solutions, which are not suitable for LCA or HTS...... applications. Thus, existing model solutions needed to be simplified for application in LCA and HTS, and a parsimonious model has been developed by Huang et al. (2017) to address this need. For SVOCs, simplified solutions do exist, assuming constant SVOC concentrations in building materials and steadystate...... for skin permeation and volatilization as competing processes and that requires a limited number of readily available physiochemical properties would be suitable for LCA and HTS purposes. Thus, the multi-pathway exposure model for chemicals in cosmetics developed by Ernstoff et al.constitutes a suitable...

Temporal Considerations of Carbon Sequestration in LCA

Science.gov (United States)

James Salazar; Richard Bergman

2013-01-01

Accounting for carbon sequestration in LCA illustrates the limitations of a single global warming characterization factor. Typical cradle-to-grave LCA models all emissions from end-of-life processes and then characterizes these flows by IPCC GWP (100-yr) factors. A novel method estimates climate change impact by characterizing annual emissions with the IPCC GHG forcing...

Innovation strategies in a fruit growers association impacts assessment by using combined LCA and s-LCA methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tecco, Nadia; Baudino, Claudio; Girgenti, Vincenzo; Peano, Cristiana

2016-10-15

In the challenging world of territorial transformations within the agriculture, there is an increasing need for an integrated methodological framework of assessment that is able to reconcile the demand for solutions that are both economically sustainable and contribute to environmental and social improvement. This study aims to assess the introduction of innovation into agro-food systems by combining an environmental life cycle (LCA) assessment and a social life cycle assessment (s-LCA) to support the decision making process of a fruit growers co-op for the adoption of mulching and covering in raspberry farming. LCA and s-LCA have been applied independently under specific consistency requirements, selecting two scenarios to compare the impact with (1) and without (2) the innovation and then combined within a cause-effect chain. The interactions between the environment and socioeconomic components were considered within a nested frameset of business and territorial features. The total emissions from raspberry production in Scenario 1, according to the Global Warming Potential (GWP) Impact Category amounted to 2.2840kg of CO2 eq. In Scenario 2, the impact of production was associated with a GWP of 0.1682kg of CO2 eq. Social repercussions analysis from Scenario 1 compared to Scenario 2 indicate more satisfaction for working conditions and the management of climate risks. The mulching and covering, implemented within a given framework of farm activity, created conditions for the preservation of a model in which raspberry production contributes to landscape protection, the business sustainability of farms and the creation of employment. The combined use of the two methods contributes to the development of a strategy planning due to its ability to deliver, as well as specific analysis at a functional level, a wider framework for assessing the consistency of the impacts related to innovation in raspberry production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LCA of a condensing boiler according to EuP Directive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tremonti, M.; Breedvelt, L.; Padovan, G.; Bosio, S.; Corsini, M.

2008-01-01

In the light of the EuP Directive (2005/32/EC), producers of Energy using Product (EuP) are obliged to initiate eco design activities. Fourteen product groups are currently under study, one being the preparatory EC study Eco Boiler, and will result in a EuP Working Plan. The LCA of a condensing boiler, commissionated by an Italian SME in the Lombardy Region, has been conducted to support its environmental strategy and communication, to start implementing eco design activities and to anticipate implications to the EuP Directive. In line with the Eco Boiler study, no detailed LCA has been applied, instead a simplified LCA proves to be a strategic tool to support the company environmental objectives. Specifically, the condensing boiler (the option with the best environmental performance and the lowest life cycle costs for the final consumer) has been internally compared to other boilers, resulting in useful eco design recommendations

Survey on the Use of LCA in European Chemical Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving

1999-01-01

During 1997 a questionnaire was sent to 40 European chemical manufacturers representing different positions in the supply chain. 25 companies (62.5%) responded, of which 23 had been involved in LCA to some degree. The questionnaire consisted of 30 questions divided into four parts dealing...... industry has taken up the LCA methodology and is testing its applicability for their purposes, although they still feel the methodology is a bit immature. The resources devoted to LCA depends to a great extent on the company's position in the supply chain and on the size of the company. Many of the LCA...

Life cycle assessment: Existing building retrofit versus replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Darabi, Nura

The embodied energy in building materials constitutes a large part of the total energy required for any building (Thormark 2001, 429). In working to make buildings more energy efficient this needs to be considered. Integrating considerations about life cycle assessment for buildings and materials is one promising way to reduce the amount of energy consumption being used within the building sector and the environmental impacts associated with that energy. A life cycle assessment (LCA) model can be utilized to help evaluate the embodied energy in building materials in comparison to the buildings operational energy. This thesis takes into consideration the potential life cycle reductions in energy and CO2 emissions that can be made through an energy retrofit of an existing building verses demolition and replacement with a new energy efficient building. A 95,000 square foot institutional building built in the 1960`s was used as a case study for a building LCA, along with a calibrated energy model of the existing building created as part of a previous Masters of Building Science thesis. The chosen case study building was compared to 10 possible improvement options of either energy retrofit or replacement of the existing building with a higher energy performing building in order to see the life cycle relationship between embodied energy, operational energy, and C02 emissions. As a result of completing the LCA, it is shown under which scenarios building retrofit saves more energy over the lifespan of the building than replacement with new construction. It was calculated that energy retrofit of the chosen existing institutional building would reduce the amount of energy and C02 emissions associated with that building over its life span.

Making the most of LCA in technical inter-organisational R&D projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandin, Gustav; Clancy, Gunilla; Heimersson, Sara

2014-01-01

In technical Research and Development (R&D) projects, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the technology under development is sometimes carried out. Particularly in inter-organisational R&D projects, the roles of LCAs tend to be unclear and arbitrary, and as a consequence, LCA work is not adequately...... designed for the needs of the project. There is a need for research on how to choose an appropriate role for LCA in such projects and how to plan LCA work accordingly. We have identified some possible roles of LCA in inter-organisational R&D projects and used experiences from LCA work in different...... such projects to identify four project characteristics that are decisive for what roles the LCA can have. The project characteristics are: (i) the project's potential influence on environmental impacts, (ii) the degrees of freedom available for the technical direction of the project, (iii) the project...

Differences between LCA for analysis and LCA for policy : A case study on the consequences of allocation choices in bio-energy policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wardenaar, T.; Van Ruijven, T.W.J.; Beltran, A.M.; Vad, K.; Guinee, J.; Heijungs, R.

2012-01-01

Purpose - The increasing concern for adverse effects of climate change has spurred the search for alternatives for conventional energy sources. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has increasingly been used to assess the potential of these alternatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The popularity of

Differences between LCA for analysis and LCA for policy : A case study on the consequences of allocation choices in bio-energy policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wardenaar, Tjerk; Van Ruijven, Theo; Beltran, Angelica Mendoza; Vad, Kathrine; Guinée, Jeroen B.; Heijungs, Reinout

Purpose: The increasing concern for adverse effects of climate change has spurred the search for alternatives for conventional energy sources. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has increasingly been used to assess the potential of these alternatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The popularity of

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA AS A TOOL FOR BUSINESS STRATEGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Salvador

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The growing concern about the development of sustainable production systems leads organizations to seek the support of management tools for decision-making. Considering the whole life cycle of the product, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA has an important role in this scenario. The objective of this paper is to present, through the theoretical discussion, the role of LCA in strategic planning of the organization. It showed the enormous potential for decision making on the environmental aspect, but also the critical factor in the development shares in the competitive context. The use of LCA can reduce the environmental impacts of the system under study (primary purpose and guide the range of advantages in the fields of marketing, legislation and environmental labeling, competitive strategies, efficiency use of resources and others.

LCA Study for Pilot Scale Production of Cellulose Nano Crystals (CNC) from Wood Pulp

Science.gov (United States)

Hongmei Gu; Richard Reiner; Richard Bergman; Alan Rudie

2015-01-01

Interest in cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) made from woody biomass has been growing rapidly with close attention from pulp and paper industry, governments, universities, and research institutes. Many new products development with CNCs have been studied intensively. However, little life-cycle analysis (LCA) has been conducted for the...

Broadening GHG accounting with LCA: application to a waste management business unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Fallaha, Sophie; Martineau, Geneviève; Bécaert, Valérie; Margni, Manuele; Deschênes, Louise; Samson, Réjean; Aoustin, Emmanuelle

2009-11-01

In an effort to obtain the most accurate climate change impact assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting is evolving to include life-cycle thinking. This study (1) identifies similarities and key differences between GHG accounting and life-cycle assessment (LCA), (2) compares them on a consistent basis through a case study on a waste management business unit. First, GHG accounting is performed. According to the GHG Protocol, annual emissions are categorized into three scopes: direct GHG emissions (scope 1), indirect emissions related to electricity, heat and steam production (scope 2) and other indirect emissions (scope 3). The LCA is then structured into a comparable framework: each LCA process is disaggregated into these three scopes, the annual operating activities are assessed, and the environmental impacts are determined using the IMPACT2002+ method. By comparing these two approaches it is concluded that both LCA and GHG accounting provide similar climate change impact results as the same major GHG contributors are determined for scope 1 emissions. The emissions from scope 2 appear negligible whereas emissions from scope 3 cannot be neglected since they contribute to around 10% of the climate change impact of the waste management business unit. This statement is strengthened by the fact that scope 3 generates 75% of the resource use damage and 30% of the ecosystem quality damage categories. The study also shows that LCA can help in setting up the framework for a annual GHG accounting by determining the major climate change contributors.

Simplified LCA and matrix methods in identifying the environmental aspects of a product system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hur, Tak; Lee, Jiyong; Ryu, Jiyeon; Kwon, Eunsun

2005-05-01

In order to effectively integrate environmental attributes into the product design and development processes, it is crucial to identify the significant environmental aspects related to a product system within a relatively short period of time. In this study, the usefulness of life cycle assessment (LCA) and a matrix method as tools for identifying the key environmental issues of a product system were examined. For this, a simplified LCA (SLCA) method that can be applied to Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) was developed to efficiently identify their significant environmental aspects for eco-design, since a full scale LCA study is usually very detailed, expensive and time-consuming. The environmentally responsible product assessment (ERPA) method, which is one of the matrix methods, was also analyzed. Then, the usefulness of each method in eco-design processes was evaluated and compared using the case studies of the cellular phone and vacuum cleaner systems. It was found that the SLCA and the ERPA methods provided different information but they complemented each other to some extent. The SLCA method generated more information on the inherent environmental characteristics of a product system so that it might be useful for new design/eco-innovation when developing a completely new product or method where environmental considerations play a major role from the beginning. On the other hand, the ERPA method gave more information on the potential for improving a product so that it could be effectively used in eco-redesign which intends to alleviate environmental impacts of an existing product or process.

A thematic review of life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to pig production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McAuliffe, Graham A.; Chapman, Deborah V.; Sage, Colin L.

2016-01-01

Commercial livestock production is known to have significant impacts on the environment. Pig production is a complex system which involves the production of animal feed, transportation, animal rearing and waste management. One tool for assessing the environmental performance of such complex systems is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA has been applied to pig production considerably to date. This paper provides a chronological review of state-of-the-art pig production LCAs under three themes: feed production; entire-system livestock rearing; and waste management. The study considers how LCA applications have addressed technological improvements in animal husbandry, and highlights methodological limitations, particularly related to cross-study comparisons. Recent research demonstrates crude protein reduction in feed and anaerobic treatment of pig excreta resulting in bioenergy production are the key targets for environmental performance improvements related to pig production. - Highlights: • An extensive review of LCA applied to pig production is provided chronologically over the past decade. • Individual studies have been categorised into feed, whole-system pig production and waste management themes. • We consider how LCAs have addressed state-of-the-art pig husbandry. • We offer a discussion on key findings, limitations and future research.

A thematic review of life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to pig production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McAuliffe, Graham A., E-mail: g.a.mcauliffe@umail.ucc.ie [Department of Geography, University College Cork, O' Donovan' s Road, Cork (Ireland); School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork (Ireland); Chapman, Deborah V. [School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork (Ireland); Sage, Colin L. [Department of Geography, University College Cork, O' Donovan' s Road, Cork (Ireland)

2016-01-15

Commercial livestock production is known to have significant impacts on the environment. Pig production is a complex system which involves the production of animal feed, transportation, animal rearing and waste management. One tool for assessing the environmental performance of such complex systems is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA has been applied to pig production considerably to date. This paper provides a chronological review of state-of-the-art pig production LCAs under three themes: feed production; entire-system livestock rearing; and waste management. The study considers how LCA applications have addressed technological improvements in animal husbandry, and highlights methodological limitations, particularly related to cross-study comparisons. Recent research demonstrates crude protein reduction in feed and anaerobic treatment of pig excreta resulting in bioenergy production are the key targets for environmental performance improvements related to pig production. - Highlights: • An extensive review of LCA applied to pig production is provided chronologically over the past decade. • Individual studies have been categorised into feed, whole-system pig production and waste management themes. • We consider how LCAs have addressed state-of-the-art pig husbandry. • We offer a discussion on key findings, limitations and future research.

Roadmap toward addressing and communicating uncertainty in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurin, Lise; Vigon, Bruce; Fantke, Peter

2017-01-01

-characterized uncertainty. The group has investigated current best LCA practices, such as refinements to the pedigree matrix used to assess LCI data quality. In parallel, in the frame of UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative flagship project on providing Harmonization and Global Guidance for Environmental Life Cycle Impact...... uncertainty is further related to input data, model selection and choices, amongst other aspects. Currently, methods exist to assess and assign uncertainty and variability on LCI data as well as LCIA characterization results. However, often uncertainty is only assessed and reported qualitatively......, is not comparable across impact categories and not consistently assessed and reported across levels of detail. Furthermore, many existing methods and models do not report uncertainty at all or limit their uncertainty assessment to a sensitivity analysis of selected input parameters, while ignoring variability...

Estimating pesticide emission fractions for use in LCA: A global consensus-building effort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fantke, Peter; Anton, Assumpcio; Basset-Mens, Claudine

2016-01-01

agreement on recommended default agricultural pesticide emission fractions to environmental media. Consensual decisions on the assessment framework are (a) primary distributions are used as inputs for LCIA, while further investigating how to assess secondary emissions, (b) framework and LCA application...... and application method scenarios will be based on sensitiv ity analysis, (g) default emission estimates for LCA will be derived from production-weighted averages, and (h) emission fractions will be reported spatially disaggregated. Recommendations for LCA practitioners and database developers are (a) LCA studies...... the field as part of technosphere and ecosphere, (e) fate and exposure processes should be included in LCIA (e.g. crop uptake), (f) default emission estimates should be used in absence of detailed scenario data, (g) and all assumptions should be reported. The recommended pesticide emission fractions results...

Study on the impact assessment for the life cycle assessment (LCA); Kankyo fuka bunseki ni okeru impact assessment ni kansuru chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This report describes the impact assessment which is an important step for LCA. For classification of the impact assessment, the existing literature was reviewed and a skeleton for the classification was proposed. The weighting factors for nine selected impact categories, which were used to calculate environmental load point (ELP) for the valuation, were obtained for two overseas groups, i.e., students of Amsterdam University and SETAC Europe members. It was found that the former provided the similar trends to general Japanese, however that the latter gave high weighting in the global warming and depletion of ozone layer. The ELP was proposed and applied to automatic washing machine, coffee maker, waste incineration power generation system, and co-generation system. As a result, its effectiveness was demonstrated. This report also describes problems for the LCA of thermal and material recycling of PS trays. 99 refs., 96 figs., 73 tabs.

LCA of Wastewater Treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik Fred

2018-01-01

of LCA studies addressing wastewater treatment have from the very first published cases, been on energy and resource consumption. In recent time, the use of characterisation has increased and besides global warming potential, especially eutrophication is in focus. Even the toxicity-related impact......The main purpose of wastewater treatment is to protect humans against waterborne diseases and to safeguard aquatic bio-resources like fish. The dominating environmental concerns within this domain are indeed still potential aquatic eutrophication/oxygen depletion due to nutrient/organic matter...

On process optimization considering LCA methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pieragostini, Carla; Mussati, Miguel C; Aguirre, Pío

2012-04-15

The goal of this work is to research the state-of-the-art in process optimization techniques and tools based on LCA, focused in the process engineering field. A collection of methods, approaches, applications, specific software packages, and insights regarding experiences and progress made in applying the LCA methodology coupled to optimization frameworks is provided, and general trends are identified. The "cradle-to-gate" concept to define the system boundaries is the most used approach in practice, instead of the "cradle-to-grave" approach. Normally, the relationship between inventory data and impact category indicators is linearly expressed by the characterization factors; then, synergic effects of the contaminants are neglected. Among the LCIA methods, the eco-indicator 99, which is based on the endpoint category and the panel method, is the most used in practice. A single environmental impact function, resulting from the aggregation of environmental impacts, is formulated as the environmental objective in most analyzed cases. SimaPro is the most used software for LCA applications in literature analyzed. The multi-objective optimization is the most used approach for dealing with this kind of problems, where the ε-constraint method for generating the Pareto set is the most applied technique. However, a renewed interest in formulating a single economic objective function in optimization frameworks can be observed, favored by the development of life cycle cost software and progress made in assessing costs of environmental externalities. Finally, a trend to deal with multi-period scenarios into integrated LCA-optimization frameworks can be distinguished providing more accurate results upon data availability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction to LCA Methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Z.

2018-01-01

In order to offer the reader an overview of the LCA methodology in the preparation of the more detailed description of its different phases, a brief introduction is given to the methodological framework according to the ISO 14040 standard and the main elements of each of its phases. Emphasis...

Addressing crop interactions within cropping systems in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goglio, Pietro; Brankatschk, Gerhard; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman

2018-01-01

objectives of this discussion article are as follows: (i) to discuss the characteristics of cropping systems which might affect the LCA methodology, (ii) to discuss the advantages and the disadvantages of the current available methods for the life-cycle assessment of cropping systems, and (iii) to offer...... management and emissions, and (3) functional unit issues. The LCA approaches presented are as follows: cropping system, allocation approaches, crop-by-crop approach, and combined approaches. The various approaches are described together with their advantages and disadvantages, applicability...... considers cropping system issues if they are related to multiproduct and nutrient cycling, while the crop-by-crop approach is highly affected by assumptions and considers cropping system issues only if they are related to the analyzed crop. Conclusions Each LCA approach presents advantages and disadvantages...

Paper waste - Recycling, incineration or landfilling? A review of existing life cycle assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villanueva, A.; Wenzel, H.

2007-01-01

A review of existing life cycle assessments (LCAs) on paper and cardboard waste has been undertaken. The objectives of the review were threefold. Firstly, to see whether a consistent message comes out of published LCA literature on optimum disposal or recycling solutions for this waste type. Such message has implications for current policy formulation on material recycling and disposal in the EU. Secondly, to identify key methodological issues of paper waste management LCAs, and enlighten the influence of such issues on the conclusions of the LCA studies. Thirdly, in light of the analysis made, to discuss whether it is at all valid to use the LCA methodology in its current development state to guide policy decisions on paper waste. A total of nine LCA studies containing altogether 73 scenarios were selected from a thorough, international literature search. The selected studies are LCAs including comparisons of different management options for waste paper. Despite claims of inconsistency, the LCAs reviewed illustrate the environmental benefits in recycling over incineration or landfill options, for paper and cardboard waste. This broad consensus was found despite differences in geographic location and definitions of the paper recycling/disposal systems studied. A systematic exploration of the LCA studies showed, however, important methodological pitfalls and sources of error, mainly concerning differences in the definition of the system boundaries. Fifteen key assumptions were identified that cover the three paper cycle system areas: raw materials and forestry, paper production, and disposal/recovery. It was found that the outcome of the individual LCA studies largely depended on the choices made in some of these assumptions, most specifically the ones concerning energy use and generation, and forestry

LCA profiles for building components:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marsh, Rob

2016-01-01

. A full bivariate linear regression analysis is performed, showing statistically significant correlations with strong direct relationships between environmental impact categories. A simplified LCA profile consisting of total primary energy, global warming potential and acidification potential is developed...

Comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel and fossil diesel fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spirinckx, C.; Xeuterick, D.

1997-01-01

Complementary to VlTO's demonstration project on the use of biodiesel as engine fuel (including on the road emission measurements) in Flanders, Belgium, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out for rapeseed methyl ester (RME) and fossil diesel fuel. The primary concern of this study is the question as to whether or not the production of biodiesel is comparable to the production of fossil diesel fuel from an environmental point of view, taking into account all stages of the life cycle of these two products. The study covers: (1) a description of the LCA methodology used; (2) a definition of the goal and scope of the study: (3) an inventory of the consumption of energy and materials and the discharges to the environment, from the cradle to the grave, for both alternative fuels: (4) a comparative impact assessment; and (5) the interpretation of the results. The results of this comparative LCA can be used in the final decision making process next to the results of a social and economical assessment. 6 refs

Life cycle assessment of products and technologies. LCA Symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koukkari, H.; Nors, M. (eds.)

2009-12-15

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland organised a Symposium 'Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Technologies' on the 6th of October, 2009. The Symposium gave a good overview of methods, tools and applications of Life Cycle Assessment developed and utilised in several technology fields of VTT. The 12 Symposium papers deal with recent LCA studies on products and technologies. The scope ranges from beverage cups to urban planning, from inventory databases to rating systems. Topical issues relating to climate change concern biorefineries and the overall impacts of the utilisation of biomass. The calculation of carbon footprints is also introduced through paper products and magazines. One example of LCA tools developed at VTT addresses cement manufacturing. VTT's transport emission database, LIPASTO, was introduced in detail. The use of LCA methods and life cycle thinking is described in various contexts: product development in relation to precision instruments; selection of materials and work processes in relation to sediment remediation project; and procedures of sustainability rating through VTT's office building Digitalo. The Climate Bonus project presented a demonstrated ICT support that informs about the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints of households. (orig.)

LCA of Soil and Groundwater Remediation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Gitte Lemming; Owsianiak, Mikolaj

2018-01-01

Today, there is increasing interest in applying LCA to support decision-makers in contaminated site management. In this chapter, we introduce remediation technologies and associated environmental impacts, present an overview of literature findings on LCA applied to remediation technologies...... and present methodological issues to consider when conducting LCAs within the area. Within the field of contaminated site remediation , a terminology distinguishing three types of environmental impacts: primary, secondary and tertiary, is often applied. Primary impacts are the site-related impacts due...... and efficiency of remediation, which are important for assessment or primary impacts; (ii) robust assessment of primary impacts using site-specific fate and exposure models; (iii) weighting of primary and secondary (or tertiary) impacts to evaluate trade-offs between life cycle impacts from remediation...

Beginning LCA. A guide into environmental life cycle assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van den Berg, N.W. [ed.; Huppes, G. [Centre of Environmental Science CLM, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands); Dutilh, C.E. [Unilever, Van den Bergh Netherlands, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

1995-02-01

The main goal of this document is to provide practical guidance for those who want to start with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The document has been set up in the form of modules. Module 1 provides arguments to decide whether or not LCA is the right tool to use in a particular case. In this module other ways to study interactions with the environment will be mentioned as well. Module 2 explains the process of formulating the purpose and scope of the study. The results will give a general picture of the characteristics of the LCA. The next step, which is called the inventory analysis, represents the largest amount of work and is split up into four parts, i.e. Modules 3,4,5, and 6. Module 3 gives guidelines and detailed examples on how to construct a flowchart of the study. Module 5 describes how to collect the required data and Module 4 how to define the system boundaries. Finally, the processing of data is described in Module 6. The result of the inventory is a list of emissions and extractions for all processes involved in manufacturing and required for the functioning of a product, service or activity during the entire life cycle. Sometimes results are so clear that you may decide to stop after the inventory stage. Usually however, it is useful to carry out the impact assessment, which is split up into two parts (Modules 7 and 8). Instructions are given on how to translate the list of environmental interventions of the entire life cycle of the product into a table with scores on environmental themes: the classification/characterization. A basic substance list that might be used is added (Module 7). Also a description showing how to evaluate the results of the classification/characterization is given, so that conclusions may be drawn on the information that has been generated (Module 8). Module 9, the last module, describes how to complete the LCA. It provides suggestions on how to present the results and indications about the improvement analysis.

IAQ performance of interior finishing products and the role of LCA

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ampofo-Anti, N

2010-01-01

Full Text Available of interior finishing products to be more performance-oriented, where performance is defined in terms of the life cycle human health effects 4 . 3.0 LCA – the science-based tool Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a science-based tool which is designed... of interior finishing products and the role of LCA Naalamkai Ampofo-Anti, Senior Researcher, CSIR 1.0 Introduction The environmental rating and certification of products is a voluntary, market-based response by industry and business to the consumer’s...

Globalisation and Mainstreaming of LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wangel, Arne

2018-01-01

The chapter describes how a globalised economy exacerbates the need of a mainstreaming of LCA, in particular the emergence of long, complex and geographically highly dispersed global value chains (GVCs). In documenting the three phases of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, a conventional roadmap...

LCA-LCCA of oil fired steam turbine power plant in Singapore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kannan, R.; Tso, C.P.; Osman, Ramli; Ho, H.K.

2004-01-01

A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to quantify the non-renewable energy use and global warming potential in electricity generation from a typical oil fired steam turbine plant in Singapore. As the conventional LCA does not include any cost analysis, which is a major criterion in decision making, the cost of power generation is estimated using a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool. It is estimated that the hidden processes consumed about 9% additional energy on top of the fuel embedded energy, while the hidden GHG emission is about 12%. A correlation is established to estimate the life cycle energy use and GHG emissions directly from the power plant net efficiency. The study methodology, results and the empirical relations are presented, together with a brief overview of the Singapore power sector. It also highlights the need for consideration of the reserves availability in the pricing mechanism and how such cost indices could be developed based on the LCA-LCCA. (Author)

LCA-LCCA of oil fired steam turbine power plant in Singapore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kannan, R.; Tso, C.P.; Osman, Ramli; Ho, H.K.

2004-01-01

A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to quantify the non-renewable energy use and global warming potential in electricity generation from a typical oil fired steam turbine plant in Singapore. As the conventional LCA does not include any cost analysis, which is a major criterion in decision making, the cost of power generation is estimated using a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool. It is estimated that the hidden processes consumed about 9% additional energy on top of the fuel embedded energy, while the hidden GHG emission is about 12%. A correlation is established to estimate the life cycle energy use and GHG emissions directly from the power plant net efficiency. The study methodology, results and the empirical relations are presented, together with a brief overview of the Singapore power sector. It also highlights the need for consideration of the reserves availability in the pricing mechanism and how such cost indices could be developed based on the LCA-LCCA

The importance of the application context for the design of Social LCA methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Andreas

comprises users of the Social LCA, their target audience, ethical considerations of relevance to the application of Social LCA, and legal limitations. The users of the Social LCA are either companies, NGOs or GOs, and the target audience is the recipients of the assessment results from the above mentioned...... user groups. Both users’ and their target audience’s views are found through analysis of interviews with potential user groups. Ethical considerations concern negative social impacts that may occur in relation to the application of Social LCA. These are included here, as it is assumed that the overall...

Case Study: LCA Methodology Applied to Materials Management in a Brazilian Residential Construction Site

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João de Lassio

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The construction industry is increasingly concerned with improving the social, economic, and environmental indicators of sustainability. More than ever, the growing demand for construction materials reflects increased consumption of raw materials and energy, particularly during the phases of extraction, processing, and transportation of materials. This work aims to help decision-makers and to promote life cycle thinking in the construction industry. For this purpose, the life cycle assessment (LCA methodology was chosen to analyze the environmental impacts of building materials used in the construction of a residence project in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The LCA methodology, based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 guidelines, is applied with available databases and the SimaPro program. As a result, this work shows that there is a substantial waste of nonrenewable energy, increasing global warming and harm to human health in this type of construction. This study also points out that, for this type of Brazilian construction, ceramic materials account for a high percentage of the mass of a total building and are thus responsible for the majority of environmental impacts.

Use of LCA as a Tool for Building Ecodesign. A Case Study of a Low Energy Building in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Jáñez

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This paper demonstrates how to achieve energy savings in the construction and operation of buildings by promoting the use of life cycle assessment techniques in the design for new buildings and for refurbishment. The paper aims to draw on the application of a specific methodology for low energy consumption, integrated planning, environmental performance evaluation of buildings, and design for sustainability and LCA techniques applied to buildings. The ENergy Saving through promotion of LIfe Cycle assessment in buildings (ENSLIC methodology based on LCA for use in an integral planning process has been promoted to stakeholders who require a means to optimize the environmental performance of buildings. Feedback from the stakeholders has facilitated the creation of simplified LCA guidelines, a systematic approach guiding the user through the alternative options regarding software choices, their strengths and weaknesses, the databases available, the usefulness of different indicators, aggregation, definition of limits and options for simplifying the process. As a result, this paper presents the applied results of a case study where this methodology is implemented serving as an energy savings evaluation tool for decision makers, end-users, professionals involved in the different stages of construction, etc. Finally, it is demonstrated how LCA can facilitate comparisons between different buildings, showing the influence of all variables on a building’s life cycle environmental impact and showing the potential for energy savings. Removing market barriers to sustainable construction is actually stricter and this is good news for promoting higher energy efficiency in buildings.

Understanding the LCA and ISO water footprint: A response to ...

Science.gov (United States)

Water footprinting has emerged as an important approach to assess water use related effects from consumption of goods and services. Assessment methods are proposed by two different communities, the Water Footprint Network (WFN) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) community. The proposed methods are broadly similar and encompass both the computation of water use and its impacts, but differ in communication of a water footprint result. In this paper, we explain the role and goal of LCA and ISO-compatible water footprinting and resolve the six issues raised by Hoekstra (2016) in “A critique on the water-scarcity weighted water footprint in LCA”. By clarifying the concerns, we identify both the overlapping goals in the WFN and LCA water footprint assessments and discrepancies between them. The main differing perspective between the WFN and LCA-based approach seems to relate to the fact that LCA aims to account for environmental impacts, while the WFN aims to account for water productivity of global fresh water as a limited resource. We conclude that there is potential to use synergies in research for the two approaches and highlight the need for proper declaration of the methods applied. This paper advances efforts to understand ways to accurately capture use of water in life cycle analysis in other contexts. As the paper indicates, there is a discussion about whether quantities of water should be weighted by some local stress factor. This paper attempts to brid

Potential and limitations of environmental design with LCA tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Hollberg

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The built environment has a very high impact on the environment. Architects can largely define the environmental impact a building will cause throughout its lifetime through its design. Especially the choice of material and the type of construction can be influenced in early design stages. To quantify the environmental impact, tools for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA are used. This paper discusses the results of four case studies of applying four different novel LCA tools in four different academic courses at different universities. The results show that the success of applying LCA tools highly depends on the point of time during the design process and the design strategy the student pursues. If the right tool is used at the right moment and matches the design strategy, it can help to improve the architectural quality and reduce environmental impacts. In most cases however, the time of application did not fit, resulting in additional effort for applying the LCA tool. In consequence, the architectural elaboration of the design and the improvement of environmental performance compete against each other. Either the architectural quality suffers or the tool is employed late and the environmental performance cannot be improved. Even if the point in time of the tool application is right, the success depends highly on the design strategy. The number of tools is growing and there is an adequate tool available for each design stage. The design strategy has to match the tool and this requires a willingness to adapt the design approach. The issue of environmental design shifted from a lack of adequate tools to the lack of adequate design approaches. Tools can be easily taught in seminars. Environmental design strategies, however, have to be included in design studios and developed throughout the entire design phase to become part of architectural education.

Review of existing LCA studies on the recycling and disposal of paper and cardboard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villanueva, Alejandro; Wenzel, Henrik

, forestry services, and parallel services provided by the existing waste management systems. Comparative LCAs should, as far as possible, include such services in order to describe correctly the environmental consequences occurring when choosing one alternative over the other. These parameters...... both landfilling and incineration. The impact categories for the environmental assessment of paper systems used in this study, representing the scope of categories contained in the analysed LCAs, are: „X Energy use (or generation) „X Resource consumption „X Energy related impacts „X Toxicity (of...... of system parameters and boundary assumptions, which not all LCAs include. These parameters and assumptions should cover all essential activities/processes in the technosphere affected by the choice, including secondary services such as generation of energy from wood residues and paper incineration...

LCA of a washing machine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erichsen, Hanne K. Linnet

1997-01-01

Task 2.1 has the aim to generate inforamtion of the present situation for electrical motors through life cycle assessment (LCA). When assessing the environmental burdens through out the life cycle of the motor it is necessary to look at the life cycle of the product in which the motor is used...

2d-LCA - an alternative to x-wires

Science.gov (United States)

Puczylowski, Jaroslaw; Hölling, Michael; Peinke, Joachim

2014-11-01

The 2d-Laser Cantilever Anemometer (2d-LCA) is an innovative sensor for two-dimensional velocity measurements in fluids. It uses a micostructured cantilever made of silicon and SU-8 as a sensing element and is capable of performing mesurements with extremly high temporal resolutions up to 150 kHz. The size of the cantilever defines its spatial resolution, which is in the order of 150 μm only. Another big feature is a large angular range of 180° in total. The 2d-LCA has been developed as an alternative measurement method to x-wires with the motivation to create a sensor that can operate in areas where the use of hot-wire anemometry is difficult. These areas include measurements in liquids and in near-wall or particle-laden flows. Unlike hot-wires, the resolution power of the 2d-LCA does not decrease with increasing flow velocity, making it particularly suitable for measurements in high speed flows. Comparative measurements with the 2d-LCA and hot-wires have been carried out in order to assess the performance of the new anemometer. The data of both measurement techniques were analyzed using the same stochastic methods including a spectral analysis as well as an inspection of increment statistics and structure functions. Furthermore, key parameters, such as mean values of both velocity components, angles of attack and the characteristic length scales were determined from both data sets. The analysis reveals a great agreement between both anemometers and thus confirms the new approach.

Enabling optimization in LCA: from “ad hoc” to “structural” LCA approach—based on a biodiesel well-to-wheel case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Lundberg-Jensen, Martin; Jørgensen, Andreas

2014-01-01

for searching or screening product systems for environmental optimization potentials. In the presented case, the design has been a rather simple full factorial design. More complicated problems or designs, such as fractional designs, nested designs, split plot designs, and/or unbalanced data, in the context...... 2005). Through a biodiesel well-to-wheel study, we demonstrate a generic approach of applying explanatory variables and corresponding impact categories within the LCA methodology. Explanatory variables are product system variables that can influence the environmental impacts from the system....... Furthermore, using the structural approach enables two different possibilities for optimization: (1) single-objective optimization (SO) based on response surface methodology (Montgomery 2005) and (2) multiobjective optimization (MO) by the hypervolume estimation taboo search (HETS) method. HETS enables MO...

Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfister, Stephan; Koehler, Annette; Hellweg, Stefanie

2009-06-01

A method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. This method considers damages to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The method can be used within most existing life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. The relative importance of water consumption was analyzed by integrating the method into the Eco-indicator-99 LCIA method. The relative impact of water consumption in LCIA was analyzed with a case study on worldwide cotton production. The importance of regionalized characterization factors for water use was also examined in the case study. In arid regions, water consumption may dominate the aggregated life-cycle impacts of cotton-textile production. Therefore, the consideration of water consumption is crucial in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies that include water-intensive products, such as agricultural goods. A regionalized assessment is necessary, since the impacts of water use vary greatly as a function of location. The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.

Characterisation of social impacts in LCA. Part 1: Development of indicators for labour rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreyer, Louise Camilla; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Schierbeck, Jens

2010-01-01

dignity and well-being as the ultimate goal and area of protection of Social LCA. The intended main application of this framework for Social LCA was to support management decisions in companies who wish to conduct business in a socially responsible manner, by providing information about the potential...... social impacts on people caused by the activities in the life cycle of a product. Environmental LCA normally uses quantitative and comparable indicators to provide a simple representation of the environmental impacts from the product lifecycle. This poses a challenge to the Social LCA framework because......Background, Aim and Scope The authors have earlier suggested a framework for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to form the modelling basis of Social LCA. In this framework the fundamental labour rights were pointed out as obligatory issues to be addressed, and protection and promotion of human...

LCA sensitivity analysis of a multi-megawatt wind turbine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, E.; Jimenez, E.; Blanco, J.; Sanz, F.

2010-01-01

During recent years renewables have been acquiring gradually a significant importance in the world market (especially in the Spanish energetic market) and in society; this fact makes clear the need to increase and improve knowledge of these power sources. Starting from the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a multi-megawatt wind turbine, this work is aimed to assess the relevance of different choices that have been made during its development. Looking always to cover the largest possible spectrum of options, four scenarios have been analysed, focused on four main phases of lifecycle: maintenance, manufacturing, dismantling, and recycling. These scenarios facilitate to assess the degree of uncertainty of the developed LCA due to choices made, excluding from the assessment the uncertainty due to the inaccuracy and the simplification of the environmental models used or spatial and temporal variability in different parameters. The work has been developed at all times using the of Eco-indicator99 LCA method. (author)

LCA sensitivity analysis of a multi-megawatt wind turbine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, E. [Grupo Eolicas Riojanas, Carretera de Laguardia, 91-93, 26006 Logrono, La Rioja (Spain); Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logrono, La Rioja (Spain); Jimenez, E. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logrono, La Rioja (Spain); Blanco, J.; Sanz, F. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, Logrono, La Rioja (Spain)

2010-07-15

During recent years renewables have been acquiring gradually a significant importance in the world market (especially in the Spanish energetic market) and in society; this fact makes clear the need to increase and improve knowledge of these power sources. Starting from the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a multi-megawatt wind turbine, this work is aimed to assess the relevance of different choices that have been made during its development. Looking always to cover the largest possible spectrum of options, four scenarios have been analysed, focused on four main phases of lifecycle: maintenance, manufacturing, dismantling, and recycling. These scenarios facilitate to assess the degree of uncertainty of the developed LCA due to choices made, excluding from the assessment the uncertainty due to the inaccuracy and the simplification of the environmental models used or spatial and temporal variability in different parameters. The work has been developed at all times using the of Eco-indicator99 LCA method. (author)

LCA single score analysis of man-made cellulose fibres

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shen, L.; Patel, M.K.

2010-01-01

In this study, the LCA report “Life Cycle assessment of man-made cellulose fibres” [3] is extended to the single score analysis in order to provide an additional basis for decision making. The single score analysis covers 9 to 11 environmental impact categories. Three single score methods (Single

Innovative Chemical Process for Recycling Thermosets Cured with Recyclamines® by Converting Bio-Epoxy Composites in Reusable Thermoplastic—An LCA Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela D. La Rosa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available An innovative recycling process for thermoset polymer composites developed by Connora Technologies (Hayward, CA, USA was studied. The process efficacy has already been tested, and it is currently working at the plant level. The main aspect investigated in the present paper was the environmental impact by means of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA method. Because of the need to recycle and recover materials at their end of life, the Connora process creates a great innovation in the market of epoxy composites, as they are notoriously not recyclable. Connora Technologies developed a relatively gentle chemical recycling process that induces the conversion of thermosets into thermoplastics. The LCA demonstrated that low environmental burdens are associated with the process itself and, furthermore, impacts are avoided due to the recovery of the epoxy-composite constituents (fibres and matrix. A carbon fibre (CF epoxy-composite panel was produced through Vacuum Resin Transfer Moulding (VRTM and afterwards treated using the Connora recycling process. The LCA results of both the production and the recycling phases are reported.

Life cycle assessment of engineered nanomaterials: state of the art and strategies to overcome existing gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Hischier, Roland; Walser, Tobias

2012-05-15

The use of engineered nanomaterials offers advantages as well as disadvantages from a sustainability perspective. It is important to identify such points as early as possible in order to be able to build on existing strengths, while counteracting disadvantages. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a suitable method to assess the environmental performance of a product or process. But so far studies applying LCA to the area of nanotechnology have been scarce. One reason might be that the LCA framework has a whole list of issues that need further precision in order to be applicable to nanotechnologies: system boundaries and a functional unit have to be chosen in a way that allows one to do a comparison of equal functionalities; adequate and comprehensive life cycle inventory data for engineered nanomaterials are the key on the level of inventory analysis; and the impact assessment step requires a clear definition of the degree of detail on the level of nanoparticle emissions. The LCA studies existing thus far in the area of nanotechnology have barely begun to cover all these aspects. Thus, in order to improve the current situation, the authors propose to go ahead in each of the LCA stages as far as scientific advances allow. For the inventory modelling this means e.g. that comprehensive, transparently documented and quality ensured data of the most important engineered nanomaterials should be collected and made available in a widely-accepted format. Concerning nanoparticle emissions, as many parameters as possible have to be collected pertaining to the production, use, and the disposal phase of these engineered nanomaterials. Furthermore, on the level of impact assessment, relevant physical characteristics have to be identified for a toxicity assessment of nanoparticles and a consensus has to be found for a limited but sufficient number of independent parameters influencing toxicity to be collected. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The value of the exergetic life cycle assessment besides the LCA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cornelissen, Rene; Hirs, Gerard

2002-01-01

In this paper the value of the exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) has been analysed. The ELCA uses the framework of the life cycle assessment (LCA) and can be seen as the exergy analysis of a complete life cycle. The value of the ELCA besides the LCA has been discussed. It is shown that the ELCA

Decision support for green supply chain operations by integrating dynamic simulation and LCA indicators: diaper case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Adhitya, Arief; Halim, Iskandar; Srinivasan, Rajagopalan

2011-12-01

As the issue of environmental sustainability is becoming an important business factor, companies are now looking for decision support tools to assess the fuller picture of the environmental impacts associated with their manufacturing operations and supply chain (SC) activities. Lifecycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to measure the environmental consequences assignable to a product. However, it is usually limited to a high-level snapshot of the environmental implications over the product value chain without consideration of the dynamics arising from the multitiered structure and the interactions along the SC. This paper proposes a framework for green supply chain management by integrating a SC dynamic simulation and LCA indicators to evaluate both the economic and environmental impacts of various SC decisions such as inventories, distribution network configuration, and ordering policy. The advantages of this framework are demonstrated through an industrially motivated case study involving diaper production. Three distinct scenarios are evaluated to highlight how the proposed approach enables integrated decision support for green SC design and operation.

Recent LCA Developments In Waste Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard; Brogaard, Line Kai-Sørensen

2015-01-01

Based on 10 years of experience we briefly present key issues which should receive special attention when waste LCA is performed. Attention paid to the importance of good data on waste composition, the contribution of environmental impacts from capital goods, assessing the value of recovered mate...

LCA applied to elucidate opportunities for biogas from wastewaters in Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Meneses-Jácome, A; Osorio-Molina, A; Parra-Saldívar, R; Gallego-Suárez, D; Velásquez-Arredondo, H I; Ruiz-Colorado, A A

2015-01-01

Biogas produced in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities (BWWF) is a resource wasted in several socio-economic contexts. BWWF-based projects are compared against energy projects using conventional electricity or natural gas (NG), following strict economic considerations that usually tip the balance in favour of conventional energy supply. This is because the economic gain associated with the environmental benefits of using small biogas sources like BWWF does not overcome the technical and financial effort required in these types of project. This paper shows a broader application of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to explore opportunities for positive (or effective) utilization of BWWF in the Colombian context. LCA has been used to evaluate the supply-chain of NG which is the direct competitor of BWWF, in three different Colombian regions, in order to identify those where higher NG environmental impacts offer increased environmental added-value to BWWF use. LCA was also applied to study two BWWF valorization scenarios in the poultry processing industry. It shows how valorization options for BWWF are more realistic and effective when specific-regional loads are applied to the environmental assessment of NG supply-chain and BWWF valorization.

A LCA (life cycle assessment) of the methanol production from sugarcane bagasse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reno, Maria Luiza Grillo; Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva; Palacio, Jose Carlos Escobar; Venturini, Osvaldo Jose; Buchgeister, Jens; Almazan, Oscar

2011-01-01

Nowadays one of the most important environmental issues is the exponential increase of the greenhouse effect by the polluting action of the industrial and transport sectors. The production of biofuels is considered a viable alternative for the pollution mitigation but also to promote rural development. The work presents an analysis of the environmental impacts of the methanol production from sugarcane bagasse, taking into consideration the balance of the energy life cycle and its net environmental impacts, both are included in a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) approach. The evaluation is done as a case study of a 100,000 t/y methanol plant, using sugarcane bagasse as raw material. The methanol is produced through the BTL (Biomass to Liquid) route. The results of the environmental impacts were compared to others LCA studies of biofuel and it was showed that there are significant differences of environmental performance among the existing biofuel production system, even for the same feedstock. The differences are dependent on many factors such as farming practices, technology of the biomass conversion. With relation to the result of output/input ratio, the methanol production from sugarcane bagasse showed to be a feasible alternative for the substitution of an amount of fossil methanol obtained from natural gas. -- Highlights: → High and favorable energy ratio value of methanol from bagasse. → Sugarcane production has a low participation on environmental impacts. → The gasification and methanol synthesis can be combined in a biorefinery. → Farming biomass could cause the environmental impact land competition. → The trash of sugarcane can be used successfully in methanol production.

LCA as an environmental technology development performance indicator of engineered nano-materials and their application in polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miseljic, Mirko; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

project is aimed to be holistic and thereby include the entire life cycle of the nano‐polymer products and not be like the current frequently applied nano‐material LCA case study approaches where the life cycle is reduced and system boundaries substantially limited. In order to perform accurate......Engineered nano‐material (ENM) application in products has in recent years developed to an important market segment but with rising environmental concerns, as the environmental life cycle impacts, especially toxicity of nanoparticles, are not assessed. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic tool...... to the conventional ways of attaining these in the polymer product industry. To assure environmental sustainability LCA will be performed within the MINANO project and more precisely comparing the new ENM technology and the conventional technology approach to attain the same functionalities. The LCA in the MINANO...

Characterisation of social impacts in LCA. Part 2: implementation in six company case studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreyer, Louise Camilla; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Schierbeck, Jens

2010-01-01

, Restrictions of freedom of association and collective bargaining, and Child labour (Dreyer et al, 2009a). These impact categories are considered by the authors to be among the obligatory impact categories in a Social LCA. The characterisation models combine information about the way a company manages its...... or industrial branch or sector) of the company. The resulting indicator score represents the risk that violations take place of the labour right represented by the impact category. Results The social impact characterisation is performed for each of the six case studies using the methodology earlier developed...

The applicability of LCA to evaluate the key environmental challenges in food supply chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aronsson, Anna K.S.; Landquist, Birgit; Esturo, Aintzane

2014-01-01

System analysis was performed to gain an overview of key environmental challenges and pinpoint hotspots causing environmental impacts in three European food supply chains. An overview was obtained based on a review on LCA studies for beef, dairy, orange juice and aquaculture food supply chains....... Similarities of the main environmental impacts were identified to rationalize and justify the selection of key performance indicators chosen for a simplified web based LCA tool developed within the EC funded project SENSE (FP7). Life Cycle Assessment methodology covered many of the key challenges identified...... but will not be sufficient to address all environmental impacts generated from the food supply chains. Especially for aquaculture impacts that are not taken into account with LCA are i.e. nutrient and organic matter releases, impacts associated with feed provision, diseases introduction, escapes, and changed usage...

Fuzzy rule-based landslide susceptibility mapping in Yığılca Forest District (Northwest of Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdurrahim Aydın

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Landslide susceptibility map of Yığılca Forest District was formed based on developed fuzzy rules using GIS-based FuzzyCell software. An inventory of 315 landslides was updated through fieldworks after inventory map previously generated by the authors. Based on the landslide susceptibility mapping study previously made in the same area, for the comparison of two maps, same 8 landslide conditioning parameters were selected and then fuzzified for the landslide susceptibility mapping: land use, lithology, elevation, slope, aspect, distance to streams, distance to roads, and plan curvature. Mamdani model was selected as fuzzy inference system. After fuzzy rules definition, Center of Area (COA was selected as defuzzification method in model. The output of developed model was normalized between 0 and 1, and then divided five classes such as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. According to developed model based 8 conditioning parameters, landslide susceptibility in Yığılca Forest District varies between 32 and 67 (in range of 0-100 with 0.703 Area Under the Curve (AUC value. According to classified landslide susceptibility map, in Yığılca Forest District, 32.89% of the total area has high and very high susceptibility while 29.59% of the area has low and very low susceptibility and the rest located in moderate susceptibility. The result of developed fuzzy rule based model compared with previously generated landslide map with logistic regression (LR. According to comparison of the results of two studies, higher differences exist in terms of AUC value and dispersion of susceptibility classes. This is because fuzzy rule based model completely depends on how parameters are classified and fuzzified and also depends on how truly the expert composed the rules. Even so, GIS-based fuzzy applications provide very valuable facilities for reasoning, which makes it possible to take into account inaccuracies and uncertainties.

How methodological choices affect LCA climate impact results: the case of structural timber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Rosa, Michele; Pizzol, Massimo; Schmidt, Jannick

2018-01-01

Purpose Life cycle assessment (LCA) is broadly applied to assess the environmental impact of products through their life cycle. LCA of bio-based products is particularly challenging due to the uncertainties in modeling the natural biomass production process. While uncertainties related to invento...

77 FR 17037 - Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-23

... Environmental Impact Statement for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA)--Louisiana, Mississippi River Hydrodynamic... impact statement (EIS) for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA)--Louisiana, Mississippi River Hydrodynamic... tiered off of the November 2004, programmatic EIS for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana...

Neonatal disease environment limits the efficacy of retinal transplantation in the LCA8 mouse model

OpenAIRE

Cho, Seo-Hee; Song, Ji Yun; Shin, Jinyeon; Kim, Seonhee

2016-01-01

Background Mutations of Crb1 gene cause irreversible and incurable visual impairment in humans. This study aims to use an LCA8-like mouse model to identify host-mediated responses that might interfere with survival, retinal integration and differentiation of grafted cells during neonatal cell therapy. Methods Mixed retinal donor cells (1?~?2???104) isolated from neural retinas of neonatal eGFP transgenic mice were injected into the subretinal space of LCA8-like model neonatal mice. Markers of...

From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: a case-study in the south of Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cellura, Maurizio; Ardente, Fulvio; Longo, Sonia

2012-01-01

In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a 'support tool', to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a 'knowledge base' for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distributed to producers to determine the life cycle of different protected crops (tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, melons and zucchinis), and obtain information on greenhouse usage (e.g. tunnel vs. pavilion). Ecoprofiles of products in the district were also estimated, to identify supply chain elements with the highest impact in terms of global energy requirements, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, water consumption and waste production. These results of this study enable selection of the 'best practices' and ecodesign solutions, to reduce the environmental impact of these products. Finally, sensitivity analysis of key LCA issues was performed, to assess the variability associated with different parameters: vegetable production; water usage; fertiliser and pesticide usage; shared greenhouse use; substitution of plastics coverings; and waste recycling. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An improved model for estimating pesticide emissions for agricultural LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dijkman, Teunis Johannes; Birkved, Morten; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2011-01-01

Credible quantification of chemical emissions in the inventory phase of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is crucial since chemicals are the dominating cause of the human and ecotoxicity-related environmental impacts in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). When applying LCA for assessment of agricultural...... products, off-target pesticide emissions need to be quantified as accurately as possible because of the considerable toxicity effects associated with chemicals designed to have a high impact on biological organisms like for example insects or weed plants. PestLCI was developed to estimate the fractions...

Mutations in LCA5, encoding the ciliary protein lebercilin, cause Leber congenital amaurosis.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hollander, A.I. den; Koenekoop, R.K.; Mohamed, M.D.; Arts, H.H.; Boldt, K.; Towns, K.V.; Sedmak, T.; Beer, M. de; Nagel-Wolfrum, K.; McKibbin, M.; Dharmaraj, S.; Lopez, I.; Ivings, L.; Williams, G.A.; Springell, K.; Woods, C.G.; Jafri, H.; Rashid, Y.; Strom, T.M.; Zwaag, B. van der; Gosens, I.; Kersten, F.F.J.; Wijk, E. van; Veltman, J.A.; Zonneveld, M.N.; Beersum, S.E.C. van; Maumenee, I.H.; Wolfrum, U.; Cheetham, M.E.; Ueffing, M.; Cremers, F.P.M.; Inglehearn, C.F.; Roepman, R.

2007-01-01

Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) causes blindness or severe visual impairment at or within a few months of birth. Here we show, using homozygosity mapping, that the LCA5 gene on chromosome 6q14, which encodes the previously unknown ciliary protein lebercilin, is associated with this disease. We

Global warming impact assessment of a crop residue gasification project—A dynamic LCA perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jin; Chen, Bin

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A dynamic LCA is proposed considering time-varying factors. • Dynamic LCA is used to highlight GHG emission hotspots of gasification projects. • Indicators are proposed to reflect GHG emission performance. • Dynamic LCA alters the static LCA results. • Crop residue gasification project has high GHG abatement potential. - Abstract: Bioenergy from crop residues is one of the prevailing sustainable energy sources owing to the abundant reserves worldwide. Amongst a wide variety of energy conversion technologies, crop residue gasification has been regarded as promising owing to its higher energy efficiency than that of direct combustion. However, prior to large-scale application of crop residue gasification, the lifetime environmental performance should be investigated to shed light on sustainable strategies. As traditional static life cycle assessment (LCA) does not include temporal information for dynamic processes, we proposed a dynamic life cycle assessment approach, which improves the static LCA approach by considering time-varying factors, e.g., greenhouse gas characterization factors and energy intensity. As the gasification project can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) discharge compared with traditional direct fuel combustion, trade-offs between the benefits of global warming mitigation and the impact on global warming of crop residue gasification should be considered. Therefore, indicators of net global warming mitigation benefit and global warming impact mitigation period are put forward to justify the feasibility of the crop residue gasification project. The proposed dynamic LCA and indicators were then applied to estimate the life cycle global warming impact of a crop residue gasification system in China. Results show that the crop residue gasification project has high net global warming mitigation benefit and a short global warming impact mitigation period, indicating its prominent potential in alleviating global warming impact. During

Towards a meaningful assessment of marine ecological impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA).

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, John S; Veltman, Karin; Huijbregts, Mark A J; Verones, Francesca; Hertwich, Edgar G

2016-01-01

Human demands on marine resources and space are currently unprecedented and concerns are rising over observed declines in marine biodiversity. A quantitative understanding of the impact of industrial activities on the marine environment is thus essential. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely applied method for quantifying the environmental impact of products and processes. LCA was originally developed to assess the impacts of land-based industries on mainly terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. As such, impact indicators for major drivers of marine biodiversity loss are currently lacking. We review quantitative approaches for cause-effect assessment of seven major drivers of marine biodiversity loss: climate change, ocean acidification, eutrophication-induced hypoxia, seabed damage, overexploitation of biotic resources, invasive species and marine plastic debris. Our review shows that impact indicators can be developed for all identified drivers, albeit at different levels of coverage of cause-effect pathways and variable levels of uncertainty and spatial coverage. Modeling approaches to predict the spatial distribution and intensity of human-driven interventions in the marine environment are relatively well-established and can be employed to develop spatially-explicit LCA fate factors. Modeling approaches to quantify the effects of these interventions on marine biodiversity are less well-developed. We highlight specific research challenges to facilitate a coherent incorporation of marine biodiversity loss in LCA, thereby making LCA a more comprehensive and robust environmental impact assessment tool. Research challenges of particular importance include i) incorporation of the non-linear behavior of global circulation models (GCMs) within an LCA framework and ii) improving spatial differentiation, especially the representation of coastal regions in GCMs and ocean-carbon cycle models. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing sustainability of a low-input single-farm vegetable box-scheme using emergy and LCA methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markussen, Mads Ville; Kulak, M.; Østergård, Hanne

2012-01-01

for minimizing resource use are fuels and electricity. Substitution of these would require the use of renewable energy. However, an increase in inputs from society may imply a lower net-yield to society from the farm and would thus be less desirable. The LCA data are currently being analysed and these results......Sustainable development implies necessarily making use of renewable resources to a larger extent. Thus a sustainability assessment has to identify hotspots for reducing use of non-renewable resources and potentials for substitution of these with renewable resources. LCA as well as emergy assessment......, the emergy method lacks some of the standardization and robustness of LCA. In this study we apply both methods to the same case study. The case considered is an organic stockless vegetable farm of 7 ha in UK which distributes its products in weekly boxes to 250 local consumers. The farm has systematically...

Deliverable 4.1 Homogeneous LCA methodology agreed by NEPTUNE and INNOWATECH

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik Fred; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Wenzel, Henrik

2007-01-01

In order to do a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a waste water treatment technique, a system to handle the mapped inventory data and a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method/model is needed. Besides NEPTUNE, another EU-funded project has the same methodology need namely INNOWATECH (contract No....... 036882) running in parallel with NEPTUNE but focusing on industrial waste water. With the aim of facilitating cooperation between the two projects a common LCA methodology framework has been worked out and is described in the following. This methodology work has been done as a joint effort between...... NEPTUNE WP4 and INNOWATECH WP4 represented by the WP4 lead partner IVL. The aim of the co-operation is to establish common methodologies and/or LCA models and/or tools in order to achieve a homogenous approach in INNOWATECH and NEPTUNE. Further, the aim is to facilitate possibilities of data exchange...

Comparison of environmental impact and energy efficiency of desalination processes by LCA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tarnacki, K.M.; Melin, T.; Jansen, A.E.; Medevoort, J. van

2011-01-01

In this study two desalination technologies have been compared by means of LCA with the focus on energy supply with a variety of scenarios based on different assumptions. The studied technologies are reverse osmosis and the newly developed technology Memstill where electrical energy demand is

LCA of Food and Agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dijkman, Teunis Johannes; Basset-Mens, Claudine; Antón, Assumpció

2018-01-01

, preparation and waste of the food. In the waste management stage, food waste can be handled using a number of technologies, such as landfilling, incineration , composting or digestion. A number of case studies are looked at here where the life cycles of typical food products (meat , cheese, bread, tomatoes......This chapter deals with the application of Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the environmental sustainability of agriculture and food processing. The life cycle of a food product is split into six stages: production and transportation of inputs to the farm, cultivation, processing, distribution...... , consumption and waste management . A large number of LCA studies focus on the two first stages in cradle-to-farm gate studies, as they are the stages where most impacts typically occur, due to animal husbandry and manure handling, production and use of fertilisers and the consumption of fuel to operate farm...

The 2d-LCA as an alternative to x-wires

Science.gov (United States)

Puczylowski, Jaroslaw; Hölling, Michael; Peinke, Joachim

2015-11-01

The 2d-Laser Cantilever Anemometer (2d-LCA) is an innovative sensor for two-dimensional velocity measurements in fluids. It uses a micostructured cantilever made of silicon and SU-8 as a sensing element and is capable of performing mesurements with extremly high temporal resolutions up to 150kHz. The size of the cantilever defines its spatial resolution, which is in the order of 150 μm only. Another big feature is a large angular range of 180° in total. The 2d-LCA has been developed as an alternative measurement method to x-wires with the motivation to create a sensor that can operate in areas where the use of hot-wire anemometry is difficult. These areas include measurements in liquids and in near-wall or particle-laden flows. Unlike hot-wires, the resolution power of the 2d-LCA does not decrease with increasing flow velocity, making it particularly suitable for measurements in high speed flows. Comparative measurements with the 2d-LCA and hot-wires have been carried out in order to assess the performance of the new anemometer. The data of both measurement techniques were analyzed using the same stochastic methods including a spectral analysis as well as an inspection of increment statistics and structure functions. Furthermore, key parameters, such as mean values of both velocity components, angles of attack and the characteristic length scales were determined from both data sets. The analysis reveals a great agreement between both anemometers and thus confirms the new approach.

Environmental assessment of solid waste landfilling technologies by means of LCA-modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manfredi, Simone; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2009-01-01

By using life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling, this paper compares the environmental performance of six landfilling technologies (open dump, conventional landfill with flares, conventional landfill with energy recovery, standard bioreactor landfill, flushing bioreactor landfill and semi......-aerobic landfill) and assesses the influence of the active operations practiced on these performances. The environmental assessments have been performed by means of the LCA-based tool EASEWASTE, whereby the functional unit utilized for the LCA is “landfilling of 1 ton of wet household waste in a 10 m deep landfill...... that it is crucially important to ensure the highest collection efficiency of landfill gas and leachate since a poor capture compromises the overall environmental performance. Once gas and leachate are collected and treated, the potential impacts in the standard environmental categories and on spoiled groundwater...

Sustainable Design with Respect to LCA Using Parametric Design and BIM Tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsikos, Marios; Negendahl, Kristoffer

minimize their design’s environmental impacts. To achieve this, this study evaluated the potential of integrating LCA into BIM, developed and proposed an Integrated Dynamic Model using Revit, Dynamo and Excel. The Integrated Dynamic model was used in case studies the results of which were compared...

Cradle to Cradle and LCA – is there a conflict?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2011-01-01

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) approach to ecodesign has been gaining increasing interest among industries, authorities and consumers over the last years. With its focus on resource conservation through closing loops, use of solar-based energy sources, avoidance of certain chemicals and the stated aim...... to create good rather than just avoid doing too much evil, it appeals more to industry than traditional LCA-based ecodesign. What are the real differences between the two approaches, and is there a conflict? Potential points of divergence between C2C and LCA are identified and the ability of C2C to support...

Life Cycle Assessment of Pavements: A Critical Review of Existing Literature and Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santero, Nicholas; Masanet, Eric; Horvath, Arpad

2010-04-20

This report provides a critical review of existing literature and modeling tools related to life-cycle assessment (LCA) applied to pavements. The review finds that pavement LCA is an expanding but still limited research topic in the literature, and that the existing body of work exhibits methodological deficiencies and incompatibilities that serve as barriers to the widespread utilization of LCA by pavement engineers and policy makers. This review identifies five key issues in the current body of work: inconsistent functional units, improper system boundaries, imbalanced data for asphalt and cement, use of limited inventory and impact assessment categories, and poor overall utility. This review also identifies common data and modeling gaps in pavement LCAs that should be addressed in future work. These gaps include: the use phase (rolling resistance, albedo, carbonation, lighting, leachate, and tire wear and emissions), asphalt fumes, feedstock energy of bitumen, traffic delay, the maintenance phase, and the end-of-life phase. This review concludes with a comprehensive list of recommendations for future research, which shed light on where improvements in knowledge can be made that will benefit the accuracy and comprehensiveness of pavement LCAs moving forward.

LCA Study of Oleaginous Bioenergy Chains in a Mediterranean Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Cocco

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper reports outcomes of life cycle assessments (LCAs of three different oleaginous bioenergy chains (oilseed rape, Ethiopian mustard and cardoon under Southern Europe conditions. Accurate data on field practices previously collected during a three-year study at two sites were used. The vegetable oil produced by oleaginous seeds was used for power generation in medium-speed diesel engines while the crop residues were used in steam power plants. For each bioenergy chain, the environmental impact related to cultivation, transportation of agricultural products and industrial conversion for power generation was evaluated by calculating cumulative energy demand, acidification potential and global warming potential. For all three bioenergy chains, the results of the LCA study show a considerable saving of primary energy (from 70 to 86 GJ·ha−1 and greenhouse gas emissions (from 4.1 to 5.2 t CO2·ha−1 in comparison to power generation from fossil fuels, although the acidification potential of these bioenergy chains may be twice that of conventional power generation. In addition, the study highlights that land use changes due to the cultivation of the abovementioned crops reduce soil organic content and therefore worsen and increase greenhouse gas emissions for all three bioenergy chains. The study also demonstrates that the exploitation of crop residues for energy production greatly contributes to managing environmental impact of the three bioenergy chains.

LCA as a decision support tool in policy making: the case study of Danish spring barley production in a changed climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niero, Monia; Ingvordsen, Cathrine Heinz; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2015-01-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can support policy makers in the choice of the most effective measures to adapt to climate change in crop production. A case study involving spring barley cultivation in Denmark under changed climate conditions has been performed using primary data from future climate...

The Glasgow consensus on the delineation between pesticide emission inventory and impact assessment for LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Anton, Assumpció; Bengoa, Xavier

2015-01-01

Pesticides are applied to agricultural fields to optimise crop yield and their global use is substantial. Their consideration in life cycle assessment (LCA) is affected by important inconsistencies between the emission inventory and impact assessment phases of LCA. A clear definition...

Life cycle assessment (LCA of lead-free solders from the environmental protection aspect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitovski Aleksandra M.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Life-cycle assessment (LCA presents a relatively new approach, which allows comprehensive environmental consequences analysis of a product system over its entire life. This analysis is increasingly being used in the industry, as a tool for investigation of the influence of the product system on the environment, and serves as a protection and prevention tool in ecological management. This method is used to predict possible influences of a certain material to the environment through different development stages of the material. In LCA, the product systems are evaluated on a functionally equivalent basis, which, in this case, was 1000 cubic centimeters of an alloy. Two of the LCA phases, life-cycle inventory (LCA and life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA, are needed to calculate the environmental impacts. Methodology of LCIA applied in this analysis aligns every input and output influence into 16 different categories, divided in two subcategories. The life-cycle assessment reaserch review of the leadfree solders Sn-Cu, SAC (Sn-Ag-Cu, BSA (Bi-Sb-Ag and SABC (Sn-Ag-Bi-Cu respectively, is given in this paper, from the environmental protection aspect starting from production, through application process and finally, reclamation at the end-of-life, i.e. recycling. There are several opportunities for reducing the overall environmental and human health impacts of solder used in electronics manufacturing based on the results of the LCA, such as: using secondary metals reclaimed through post-industrial recycling; power consumption reducing by replacing older, less efficient reflow assembly equipment, or by optimizing the current equipment to perform at the elevated temperatures required for lead-free soldering, etc. The LCA analysis was done comparatively in relation to widely used Sn-Pb solder material. Additionally, the impact factors of material consumption, energy use, water and air reserves, human health and ecotoxicity have been ALSO considered including

Environmental assessment of amine-based carbon capture Scenario modelling with life cycle assessment (LCA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brekke, Andreas; Askham, Cecilia; Modahl, Ingunn Saur; Vold, Bjoern Ivar; Johnsen, Fredrik Moltu

2012-07-01

This report contains a first attempt at introducing the environmental impacts associated with amines and derivatives in a life cycle assessment (LCA) of gas power production with carbon capture and comparing these with other environmental impacts associated with the production system. The report aims to identify data gaps and methodological challenges connected both to modelling toxicity of amines and derivatives and weighting of environmental impacts. A scenario based modelling exercise was performed on a theoretical gas power plant with carbon capture, where emission levels of nitrosamines were varied between zero (gas power without CCS) to a worst case level (outside the probable range of actual carbon capture facilities). Because of extensive research and development in the areas of solvents and emissions from carbon capture facilities in the latter years, data used in the exercise may be outdated and results should therefore not be taken at face value.The results from the exercise showed: According to UseTox, emissions of nitrosamines are less important than emissions of formaldehyde with regard to toxicity related to operation of (i.e. both inputs to and outputs from) a carbon capture facility. If characterisation factors for emissions of metals are included, these outweigh all other toxic emissions in the study. None of the most recent weighting methods in LCA include characterisation factors for nitrosamines, and these are therefore not part of the environmental ranking.These results shows that the EDecIDe project has an important role to play in developing LCA methodology useful for assessing the environmental performance of amine based carbon capture in particular and CCS in general. The EDecIDe project will examine the toxicity models used in LCA in more detail, specifically UseTox. The applicability of the LCA compartment models and site specificity issues for a Norwegian/Arctic situation will be explored. This applies to the environmental compartments

How can LCA approaches contribute to improve geo-cycles management

Science.gov (United States)

Carreiras, M.; Ferreira, A. J. D.; Esteves, T. C. J.; Delgado, F.; Andrade, F.; Franco, J.; Pereira, C. D.

2012-04-01

as a basis for prioritizing industrial technologies, procedures or materials, based on the reduction of impacts. The ECODEEP project intents to contribute to the competitiveness of the national agri-food sector in particular the Central Region of Portugal. Through the development of eco-efficiency tools it allows a more careful management of inputs, optimizing consumption energy and raw materials. ECODEEP seeks to improve the performance of the sector, allowing an improvement of production processes and a reduction of the investment on end-of-line solutions, therefore reducing products costs, which become more competitive, while reducing the impact on geo-cycles and the ecosystems. The overall purpose of this paper is, based on a case study, discuss the use of LCA approach to improve overall competitiveness while reducing the impact over the geo-cycles and the environment in general.

Carbon Reduction Measures-Based LCA of Prefabricated Temporary Housing with Renewable Energy Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Dong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Temporary housing plays an important role in providing secure, hygienic, private, and comfortable shelter in the aftermath of disaster (such as flood, fire, earthquake, etc.. Additionally, temporary housing can also be used as a sustainable form of on-site residences for construction workers. While most of the building components used in temporary housing can be manufactured in a plant, prefabrication technology improves the production efficiency of temporary housing; furthermore, integrated renewable energy systems, for example, solar photovoltaic (PV system, offer benefits for temporary housing operations. In order to assess the environmental impacts of prefabricated temporary housing equipped with renewable energy systems, this study first divides the life cycle of temporary housing into six stages, and then establishes a life cycle assessment (LCA model for each stage. Furthermore, with the aim of reducing the environmental impacts, life cycle carbon reduction measures are proposed for each stage of temporary housing. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using a case study in China. Based on the proposed carbon reduction measures, the LCA of a prefabricated temporary housing case study building equipped with renewable energy systems indicates a carbon emissions intensity of 35.7 kg/m2·per year, as well as a reduction in material embodied emissions of 18%, assembly emissions of 17.5%, and operational emissions of 91.5%. This research proposes a carbon reduction-driven LCA of temporary housing and contributes to promoting sustainable development of prefabricated temporary housing equipped with renewable energy systems.

LCA of waste management systems: Development of tools for modeling and uncertainty analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clavreul, Julie

Since the late 1990s, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly applied to waste management to quantify direct, indirect and avoided impacts from various treatment options. The construction of inventories for waste management systems differs from classical product-LCAs in that (1...... to be modelled rather than monitored as in classical LCA (e.g. landfilling or the application of processed waste on agricultural land). Therefore LCA-tools are needed which specifically address these issues and enable practitioners to model properly their systems. In this thesis several pieces of work...... in waste treatment technologies. These material transfer functions specify how substances in input flows are transferred to output flows and environmental compartments and include for example processes for anaerobic digestion or landfill gas generation. • Offering a flexible user interface where the user...

Involvement of LCA5 in Leber congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa in the Spanish population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Corton, M.; Avila-Fernandez, A.; Vallespin, E.; Lopez-Molina, M.I.; Almoguera, B.; Martin-Garrido, E.; Tatu, S.D.; Khan, M.I.; Blanco-Kelly, F.; Riveiro-Alvarez, R.; Brion, M.; Garcia-Sandoval, B.; Cremers, F.P.M.; Carracedo, A.; Ayuso, C.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify novel genetic defects in the LCA5 gene underlying Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) in the Spanish population and to describe the associated phenotype. DESIGN: Case series. PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 217 unrelated Spanish families affected by autosomal recessive or

Leaving the lecture room and learning LCM: - Experiences from Aalborg University after 13 years and 1950 students on LCA and related issues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riisgaard, Henrik

2003-01-01

the above with focus on learning processes other than courses. The empirical data stems from 13 years experience of facilitating learning processes and a study of Aalborg University graduates with a professional career based on LCA. Besides ordinary LCA courses, this papers describes the problem...

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of electricity generation technologies: Overview, comparability and limitations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turconi, Roberto; Boldrin, Alessio; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2013-01-01

, nuclear, biomass, hydroelectric, solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind was carried out to identify ranges of emission data for GHG, NOx and SO2 related to individual technologies. It was shown that GHG emissions could not be used as a single indicator to represent the environmental performance of a system...... identified as follows: the energy recovery efficiency and the flue gas cleaning system for fossil fuel technologies; the electricity mix used during both the manufacturing and the construction phases for nuclear and renewable technologies; and the type, quality and origin of feedstock, as well as the amount....... The most critical methodological aspects in relation to LCA studies were identified as follows: definition of the functional unit, the LCA method employed (e.g., IOA, PCA and hybrid), the emission allocation principle and/or system boundary expansion. The most important technological aspects were...

LCA of strippable coatings and of steam vacuum technology used for nuclear plants decontamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidi, Giambattista; Cumo, Fabrizio; Santoli, Livio de

2010-01-01

The application of strippable coatings is an innovative technology for decontamination of nuclear plants and for any decontamination project aiming at removing surface contamination. An adhesive plastic coating is applied on the contaminated surface. The strippable coating is allowed to cure for up to 24 h, after which it can be easily peeled. The coating traps the contaminants in the polymer matrix. Strippable coatings are non-toxic and do not contain volatile compounds or heavy metals. Since the coating constitutes a solid waste, disposal is easier than treating contaminated liquid wastes, produced by the baseline technology: steam vacuum cleaning, based upon superheated pressurized water in order to remove contaminants from floors and walls. A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out with the purpose of comparing the strippable coating with the steam vacuum technology. The functional unit of the study is represented by a surface of 1 m 2 to be decontaminated. The results of LCA achieved using Sima Pro 5.0 registered software confirm the good environmental performances of strippable coatings. Taking into account both LCA and environmental costs for liquid wastes, the advantages of strippable coatings will be more and more evident. (orig.)

Modelling sensitivity and uncertainty in a LCA model for waste management systems - EASETECH

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Anders; Clavreul, Julie; Baumeister, Hubert

2013-01-01

In the new model, EASETECH, developed for LCA modelling of waste management systems, a general approach for sensitivity and uncertainty assessment for waste management studies has been implemented. First general contribution analysis is done through a regular interpretation of inventory and impact...

Application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Sugar Industries

Science.gov (United States)

Astuti, Arieyanti Dwi; Astuti, Rahayu Siwi Dwi; Hadiyanto, Hadiyanto

2018-02-01

Sugar is one of the main commodities that are needed for human life. The demand of sugar is very high with the trend increase from year to year. This condition makes the sugar industry become a leading industry that must be maintained sustainability. The sustainability of the sugar industry is influenced by the use of energy and natural resources and the resulting environmental impacts. Therefore, an effort is needed to analyze the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts resulting from a product (sugar), by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is a very important tool for the analysis of a process/system from its cradle to grave. This technique is very useful in the estimation of energy usage and environmental load of a product/system. This paper aims to describe the main elements of sugar industries using Life Cycle Assessment.

poLCA: An R Package for Polytomous Variable Latent Class Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drew A. Linzer

2011-08-01

Full Text Available poLCA is a software package for the estimation of latent class and latent class regression models for polytomous outcome variables, implemented in the R statistical computing environment. Both models can be called using a single simple command line. The basic latent class model is a finite mixture model in which the component distributions are assumed to be multi-way cross-classification tables with all variables mutually independent. The latent class regression model further enables the researcher to estimate the effects of covariates on predicting latent class membership. poLCA uses expectation-maximization and Newton-Raphson algorithms to find maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters.

LCA as an environmental technology development performance indicator of engineered nano-materials and their application in polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miseljic, Mirko; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Engineered nano‐material (ENM) application in products has in recent years developed to an important market segment but with rising environmental concerns, as the environmental life cycle impacts, especially toxicity of nanoparticles, are not assessed. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic tool...... project is aimed to be holistic and thereby include the entire life cycle of the nano‐polymer products and not be like the current frequently applied nano‐material LCA case study approaches where the life cycle is reduced and system boundaries substantially limited. In order to perform accurate...

Using existing questionnaires in latent class analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anne Molgaard; Vach, Werner; Kent, Peter

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Latent class analysis (LCA) is increasingly being used in health research, but optimal approaches to handling complex clinical data are unclear. One issue is that commonly used questionnaires are multidimensional, but expressed as summary scores. Using the example of low back pain (LBP......), the aim of this study was to explore and descriptively compare the application of LCA when using questionnaire summary scores and when using single items to subgrouping of patients based on multidimensional data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Baseline data from 928 LBP patients in an observational study were...

LCA of greywater management within a water circular economy restorative thinking framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Dominguez, Sara; Laso, Jara; Margallo, María; Aldaco, Rubén; Rivero, Maria J; Irabien, Ángel; Ortiz, Inmaculada

2018-04-15

Greywater reuse is an attractive option for the sustainable management of water under water scarcity circumstances, within a water circular economy restorative thinking framework. Its successful deployment relies on the availability of low cost and environmentally friendly technologies. The life cycle assessment (LCA) approach provides the appropriate methodological tool for the evaluation of alternative treatments based on environmental decision criteria and, therefore, it is highly useful during the process conceptual design. This methodology should be employed in the early design phase to select those technologies with lower environmental impact. This work reports the comparative LCA of three scenarios for greywater reuse: photocatalysis, photovoltaic solar-driven photocatalysis and membrane biological reactor, in order to help the selection of the most environmentally friendly technology. The study has been focused on the removal of the surfactant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, which is used in the formulation of detergents and personal care products and, thus, widely present in greywater. LCA was applied using the Environmental Sustainability Assessment methodology to obtain two main environmental indicators in order to simplify the decision making process: natural resources and environmental burdens. Energy consumption is the main contributor to both indicators owing to the high energy consumption of the light source for the photocatalytic greywater treatment. In order to reduce its environmental burdens, the most desirable scenario would be the use of solar light for the photocatalytic transformation. However, while the technological challenge of direct use of solar light is approached, the environmental suitability of the photovoltaic solar energy driven photocatalysis technology to greywater reuse has been demonstrated, as it involves the smallest environmental impact among the three studied alternatives. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights

Optimal utilization of waste-to-energy in an LCA perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fruergaard, Thilde; Astrup, Thomas

2011-01-01

Energy production from two types of municipal solid waste was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA): (1) mixed high calorific waste suitable for production of solid recovered fuels (SRF) and (2) source separated organic waste. For SRF, co-combustion was compared with mass burn incineration....... For organic waste, anaerobic digestion (AD) was compared with mass burn incineration. In the case of mass burn incineration, incineration with and without energy recovery was modelled. Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion was evaluated for use both as transportation fuel and for heat and power production....... All relevant consequences for energy and resource consumptions, emissions to air, water and soil, upstream processes and downstream processes were included in the LCA. Energy substitutions were considered with respect to two different energy systems: a present-day Danish system based on fossil fuels...

Minimization of the LCA impact of thermodynamic cycles using a combined simulation-optimization approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunet, Robert; Cortés, Daniel; Guillén-Gosálbez, Gonzalo; Jiménez, Laureano; Boer, Dieter

2012-01-01

This work presents a computational approach for the simultaneous minimization of the total cost and environmental impact of thermodynamic cycles. Our method combines process simulation, multi-objective optimization and life cycle assessment (LCA) within a unified framework that identifies in a systematic manner optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Our approach takes advantages of the complementary strengths of process simulation (in which mass, energy balances and thermodynamic calculations are implemented in an easy manner) and rigorous deterministic optimization tools. We demonstrate the capabilities of this strategy by means of two case studies in which we address the design of a 10 MW Rankine cycle modeled in Aspen Hysys, and a 90 kW ammonia-water absorption cooling cycle implemented in Aspen Plus. Numerical results show that it is possible to achieve environmental and cost savings using our rigorous approach. - Highlights: ► Novel framework for the optimal design of thermdoynamic cycles. ► Combined use of simulation and optimization tools. ► Optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. ► Design of a 10MW Rankine cycle in Aspen Hysys, and a 90kW absorption cycle in Aspen Plus.

Minimization of the LCA impact of thermodynamic cycles using a combined simulation-optimization approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunet, Robert; Cortes, Daniel [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Guillen-Gosalbez, Gonzalo [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Jimenez, Laureano [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Boer, Dieter [Departament d' Enginyeria Mecanica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007, Tarragona (Spain)

2012-12-15

This work presents a computational approach for the simultaneous minimization of the total cost and environmental impact of thermodynamic cycles. Our method combines process simulation, multi-objective optimization and life cycle assessment (LCA) within a unified framework that identifies in a systematic manner optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Our approach takes advantages of the complementary strengths of process simulation (in which mass, energy balances and thermodynamic calculations are implemented in an easy manner) and rigorous deterministic optimization tools. We demonstrate the capabilities of this strategy by means of two case studies in which we address the design of a 10 MW Rankine cycle modeled in Aspen Hysys, and a 90 kW ammonia-water absorption cooling cycle implemented in Aspen Plus. Numerical results show that it is possible to achieve environmental and cost savings using our rigorous approach. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Novel framework for the optimal design of thermdoynamic cycles. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Combined use of simulation and optimization tools. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Design of a 10MW Rankine cycle in Aspen Hysys, and a 90kW absorption cycle in Aspen Plus.

Choice of mineral fertilizer substitution principle strongly influences LCA environmental benefits of nutrient cycling in the agri-food system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanserud, Ola Stedje; Cherubini, Francesco; Øgaard, Anne Falk; Müller, Daniel B; Brattebø, Helge

2018-02-15

Increased nutrient cycling in the agri-food system is a way to achieve a healthier nutrient stewardship and more sustainable food production. In life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, use of recycled fertilizer products is often credited by the substitution method, which subtracts the environmental burdens associated with avoided production of mineral fertilizer from the system under study. The environmental benefits from avoided fertilizer production can make an important contribution to the results, but different calculation principles and often implicit assumptions are used to estimate the amount of avoided mineral fertilizer. This may hinder comparisons between studies. The present study therefore examines how the choice of substitution principles influences LCA results. Three different substitution principles, called one-to-one, maintenance, and adjusted maintenance, are identified, and we test the importance of these in a case study on cattle slurry management. We show that the inventory of avoided mineral fertilizer varies greatly when the different principles are applied, with strong influences on two-thirds of LCA impact categories. With the one-to-one principle, there is a risk of systematically over-estimating the environmental benefits from nutrient cycling. In a sensitivity analysis we show that the difference between the principles is closely related to the application rate and levels of residual nutrients in the soil. We recommend that LCA practitioners first and foremost state and justify the substitution method they use, in order to increase transparency and comparability with other studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The study of potable water treatment process in Algeria (boudouaou station) -by the application of life cycle assessment (LCA).

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed-Zine, Messaoud-Boureghda; Hamouche, Aksas; Krim, Louhab

2013-12-19

Environmental impact assessment will soon become a compulsory phase in future potable water production projects, in algeria, especially, when alternative treatment processes such sedimentation ,coagulation sand filtration and Desinfection are considered. An impact assessment tool is therefore developed for the environmental evaluation of potable water production. in our study The evaluation method used is the life cycle assessment (LCA) for the determination and evaluation of potential impact of a drink water station ,near algiers (SEAL-Boudouaoua).LCA requires both the identification and quantification of materials and energy used in all stages of the product's life, when the inventory information is acquired, it will then be interpreted into the form of potential impact " eco-indicators 99" towards study areas covered by LCA, using the simapro6 soft ware for water treatment process is necessary to discover the weaknesses in the water treatment process in order for it to be further improved ensuring quality life. The main source shown that for the studied water treatment process, the highest environmental burdens are coagulant preparation (30% for all impacts), mineral resource and ozone layer depletion the repartition of the impacts among the different processes varies in comparison with the other impacts. Mineral resources are mainly consumed during alumine sulfate solution preparation; Ozone layer depletion originates mostly from tetrachloromethane emissions during alumine sulfate production. It should also be noted that, despite the small doses needed, ozone and active Carbone treatment generate significant impacts with a contribution of 10% for most of the impacts.Moreover impacts of energy are used in producing pumps (20-25 GHC) for plant operation and the unitary processes (coagulation, sand filtration decantation) and the most important impacts are localized in the same equipment (40-75 GHC) and we can conclude that:- Pre-treatment, pumping and EDR (EDR: 0

Introduction to Part III: Application of LCA in Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Ralph K.

2018-01-01

While Part II of this book presents the theoretical foundation and methodology of LCA, Part III is dedicated to a comprehensive discussion of how this methodology has been adapted and applied in practice. The chapters of Part III provide an easily readable and accessible introduction to different...

Analysis and Assessment of Environmental Load of Vending Machines by a LCA Method, and Eco-Improvement Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Kimura, Yukio; Sadamichi, Yucho; Maruyama, Naoki; Kato, Seizo

These days the environmental impact due to vending machines'(VM) diffusion has greatly been discussed. This paper describes the numerical evaluation of the environmental impact by using the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) scheme and then proposes eco-improvements' strategy toward environmentally conscious products(ECP). A new objective and universal consolidated method for the LCA-evaluation, so-called LCA-NETS(Numerical Eco-load Standardization ) developed by the authors is applied to the present issue. As a result, the environmental loads at the 5years' operation and the material procurement stages are found to dominate others over the life cycle. Further eco-improvement is realized by following the order of the LCA-NETS magnitude; namely, energy saving, materials reducing, parts' re-using, and replacing with low environmental load material. Above all, parts' re-using is specially recommendable for significant reduction of the environmental loads toward ECP.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of an energy recovery plant in the olive oil industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Intini, Francesca; Kuhtz, Silvana [Dep. Engineering and Environmental Physics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Basilicata (Italy); Gianluca Rospi, [Dep. Engineering and Environmental Physics, Faculty of Architecture, University of Basilicata (Italy)

2012-07-01

To reduce the GHG emissions in the UE and to increase the produced energy it is important to spread out decentralized technologies for renewable energy production. In this paper a power plant fed with biomass is studied, in particular the biomass considered is the waste of the olive oil industries. This study focuses on the possibility of using the de-oiled pomace and waste wood as fuel. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of a biomass power plant located in the South of Italy was performed. The global warming potential has been calculated and compared with that of a plant for energy production that uses refuse derived fuel (RDF) and that of one that uses coal. The LCA shows the important environmental advantages of biomass utilization in terms of greenhouse gas emissions reduction. An improved impact assessment methodology may better underline the advantages due to the biomass utilization.

Panorama 2013 - Using LCA in selecting technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collet, Pierre

2012-12-01

Our society is increasingly concerned with safeguarding the environment. By assessing the impact that the manufacture of a product or the delivery of a service can have on the environment, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be used to identify key sources of pollution and possible ways of mitigating against it. The ways in which this tool can be used are demonstrated here by various projects which help define innovative energy production systems. (author)

Impact Assessment of Abiotic Resources in LCA: Quantitative Comparison of Selected Characterization Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rørbech, Jakob Thaysen; Vadenbo, Carl; Hellweg, Stefanie

2014-01-01

Resources have received significant attention in recent years resulting in development of a wide range of resource depletion indicators within life cycle assessment (LCA). Understanding the differences in assessment principles used to derive these indicators and the effects on the impact assessment...... results is critical for indicator selection and interpretation of the results. Eleven resource depletion methods were evaluated quantitatively with respect to resource coverage, characterization factors (CF), impact contributions from individual resources, and total impact scores. We included 2247...... groups, according to method focus and modeling approach, to aid method selection within LCA....

Integrating LCA and EHS expertise in the assessment of nanoparticles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving; Hankin, Steve; Chaudry, Qasim

DTU with their expertise in LCA have joined forces with IOM in two nanotechnology-related projects, one of which additionally involves and is lead by FERA. The first project, Nancore, includes the evaluation of health risks and environmental impacts over the life cycle concurrently with the devel......DTU with their expertise in LCA have joined forces with IOM in two nanotechnology-related projects, one of which additionally involves and is lead by FERA. The first project, Nancore, includes the evaluation of health risks and environmental impacts over the life cycle concurrently...... the overall environmental impacts of the technology. Through the concurrent assessments, the strengths of the two tools are combined to provide a more qualified assessment of both the health and safety aspects and the life cycle impacts. The overall aim of the second project, sponsored by Defra...

Challenges in LCA modelling of multiple loops for aluminium cans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niero, Monia; Olsen, Stig Irving

considered the case of closed-loop recycling for aluminium cans, where body and lid are different alloys, and discussed the abovementioned challenge. The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) modelling of aluminium processes is traditionally based on a pure aluminium flow, therefore neglecting the presence of alloying...... elements. We included the effect of alloying elements on the LCA modelling of aluminium can recycling. First, we performed a mass balance of the main alloying elements (Mn, Fe, Si, Cu) in aluminium can recycling at increasing levels of recycling rate. The analysis distinguished between different aluminium...... packaging scrap sources (i.e. used beverage can and mixed aluminium packaging) to understand the limiting factors for multiple loop aluminium can recycling. Secondly, we performed a comparative LCA of aluminium can production and recycling in multiple loops considering the two aluminium packaging scrap...

Exposure to chemicals in food packaging as a sustainability trade-off in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstoff, Alexi; Muncke, Jane; Trier, Xenia

2016-01-01

Hazardous chemicals in packaging, including ‘eco-friendly’ and recycled food packaging, can migrate into food and expose humans. LCA has been fundamental to indicate more ‘eco-friendly’ packages, but currently LCA does not consider exposure to chemical migrants and methods have not yet been...... but to provide life cycle context to compare the magnitude of characterized exposure to chemicals in packaging, in order to elucidate if this exposure pathway is important. We detail estimates of life cycle exposure to one known hazardous chemical in polystyrene packaging (styrene) that has data available...... developed. In this study we question if exposure to chemicals in food packaging should be considered as a sustainable design consideration, i.e. if this human health risk is relevant in a life cycle context. To answer this question, we focus on developing methods to quantify exposure to chemicals in food...

Intervenção da fisioterapia após ligamentoplastia do LCA

OpenAIRE

Bonança, Daniela

2014-01-01

RESUMO: Objectivo: Este estudo teve por objectivo descrever a prática clínica e os resultados da intervenção da fisioterapia, às 6, 12 e 24 semanas, em indivíduos após ligamentoplastia do LCA. Introdução: O sucesso da ligamentoplastia do LCA está directamente relacionado com a reabilitação após a realização da mesma, permitindo ao utente o retorno a um estilo de vida activo. Apesar de se saber que um programa de reabilitação estruturado e baseado na evidência tem um papel fulcral nos resul...

Environmental assessment of digestate treatment technologies using LCA methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Golkowska, Katarzyna; Lebuf, Viooltje; Vaneeckhaute, Céline; Michels, Evi; Meers, Erik; Benetto, Enrico; Koster, Daniel

2015-09-01

The production of biogas from energy crops, organic waste and manure has augmented considerably the amounts of digestate available in Flanders. This has pushed authorities to steadily introduce legislative changes to promote its use as a fertilising agent. There is limited arable land in Flanders, which entails that digestate has to compete with animal manure to be spread. This forces many anaerobic digestion plants to further treat digestate in such a way that it can either be exported or the nitrogen be removed. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of these treatment options is still widely unknown, as well as the influence of these impacts on the sustainability of Flemish anaerobic digestion plants in comparison to other regions where spreading of raw digestate is allowed. Despite important economic aspects that must be considered, the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is suggested in this study to identify the environmental impacts of spreading digestate directly as compared to four different treatment technologies. Results suggest relevant environmental gains when the digestate mix is treated using the examined conversion technologies prior to spreading, although important trade-offs between impact categories were observed and discussed. The promising results of digestate conversion technologies suggest that further LCA analyses should be performed to delve into, for instance, the appropriateness to shift to nutrient recovery technologies rather than digestate conversion treatments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proposal of Environmental Impact Assessment Method for Concrete in South Korea: An Application in LCA (Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Hyoung Kim

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study aims to develop a system for assessing the impact of the substances discharged from concrete production process on six environmental impact categories, i.e., global warming (GWP, acidification (AP, eutrophication (EP, abiotic depletion (ADP, ozone depletion (ODP, and photochemical oxidant creation (POCP, using the life a cycle assessment (LCA method. To achieve this, this study proposed an LCA method specifically applicable to the Korean concrete industry by adapting the ISO standards to suit the Korean situations. The proposed LCA method involves a system that performs environmental impact assessment on the basis of input information on concrete mix design, transport distance, and energy consumption in a batch plant. The Concrete Lifecycle Assessment System (CLAS thus developed provides user-friendly support for environmental impact assessment with specialized database for concrete mix materials and energy sources. In the case analysis using the CLAS, among the substances discharged from the production of 24 MPa concrete, those contributing to GWP, AP, EP, ADP, ODP, and POCP were assessed to amount to 309 kg-CO2 eq/m3, 28.7 kg-SO2 eq/m3, 5.21 kg-PO43− eq/m3, 0.000049 kg-CFC11 eq/m3, 34 kg/m3, and 21 kg-Ethylene eq/m3, respectively. Of these six environmental impact categories selected for the LCA in this study, ordinary Portland cement (OPC was found to contribute most intensely to GWP and POCP, and aggregates, to AP, EP, ODP, and ADP. It was also found that the mix design with increased prop proportion of recycled aggregate was found to contribute to reducing the impact in all other categories.

Review of methodologies for Social LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Andreas; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

on their approaches to the goal and scope definition, inventory, and impact assessment phases of LCA. The review concludes that a main methodical difference lies in the definition of impact categories to be included in the assessment as well as in the formulation of indicators. Another challenging aspect is the data...... collection. Some SLCA proposals opinion that the use of generic process data is not feasible in SLCA, because social impacts are claimed not to be process specific but rather company specific. This change could easily imply a strong need for site-specific data leading to a very demanding data collection...

A tomato ER-type Ca2+-ATPase, LCA1, has a low thapsigargin-sensitivity and can transport manganese

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Neil A.; Liu, F; Weeks, P. D.

2008-01-01

and directly via in vitro ATP hydrolysis. We found LCA1 to be approximately 300-fold less sensitive to thapsigargin than animal SERCAs, whereas ECA1 was thapsigargin-resistant. LCA1 showed typical pharmacological sensitivities to cyclopiazonic acid, vanadate, and eosin, consistent with it being a P...

Valg af afværge med inddragelse af livscyklusvurdering (LCA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemming, Gitte; Chambon, Julie Claire Claudia; Binning, Philip John

2012-01-01

Livscyklusvurdering (LCA) er anvendt til at sammenligne miljøeffekterne ved forskellige alternativer til at rense op på to forskellige TCE-forurenede grunde. De sammenlignede afværgealternativer for Lokalitet 1 er (i) in situ stimuleret reduktiv deklorering, (ii) in situ termisk desorption og (iii...

Environmental sustainable decision making – The need and obstacles for integration of LCA into decision analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dong, Yan; Miraglia, Simona; Manzo, Stefano

2018-01-01

systems, revealing potential problem shifting between life cycle stages. Through the integration with traditional risk based decision analysis, LCA may thus facilitate a better informed decision process. In this study we explore how environmental impacts are taken into account in different fields......Decision analysis is often used to help decision makers choose among alternatives, based on the expected utility associated to each alternative as function of its consequences and potential impacts. Environmental impacts are not always among the prioritized concerns of traditional decision making...... of interest for decision makers to identify the need, potential and obstacles for integrating LCA into conventional approaches to decision problems. Three application areas are used as examples: transportation planning, flood management, and food production and consumption. The analysis of these cases shows...

LCA as a Tool for Assessing Product and Process Oriented Eco-Innovations Undertaken by Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rybaczewska-Błażejowska Magdalena

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the application of life cycle assessment (LCA as an approach to foster the product and process oriented eco- innovation of enterprises, using the fruit and vegetable processing plant as an example. LCA, which is traditionally used to assess the impacts of a single product system on the environment, was applied in the enterprise context. This was made possible by forming an indicator describing the environmental profile of an enterprise, which is calculated by the sum of the multiplication of the environmental impact assessment (LCIA results for individual unit processes within a particular impact category and their weights reflecting the structure of production in an enterprise. In order to distinguish and indicate the direction in which an enterprise should undertake its eco-innovative actions (implementing eco-innovations within the product or production process the LCIA results are presented individually for products and production processes. The research was conducted in full compliance with the LCA methodology. LCA proved that the analysed enterprise has the largest negative impacts on the environment in the following impact categories: marine eco-toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity and natural land transformation. They result primarily from the consumption of thermal and electric energy in the production processes. Therefore, to improve energy efficiency, the enterprise should take eco-innovative actions in the processes applied.

PestLCI - a model for estimating field emissions of pesticides in agricultural LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkved, Morten; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2006-01-01

of a product or service is a specific element of LCA termed life cycle inventory (LCI). Estimation of chemical emissions in agricultural LCA is typically based on standard emission factors which at best are determined by a few physical-chemical substance properties and the use scenario of the chemical compound...... to the different environmental compartments. It estimates the fractions of the applied quantity which is emitted to the air, surface water, and groundwater compartment based on information which will normally be available to the model user about: type and time of application, crop species and development stage...... for other regions of the world. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

LCA versus RA - an introduction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving

2000-01-01

Risk Assessment (RA) of chemicals is an environmental management tool used to assess the risk of specific chemicals, which are harmful to man or the environment under certain circumstances of use or in certain environmental recipients. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or environmental assessment...... of Industrial Products) developed in Denmark (Wenzel et al., 1997), respectively. The interactions between the two tools can be viewed from two different angles: 1. As a general reflection of how the tools supplement each other in the total environmental effort. 2. As an assessment of coincidences...... on Principles and Methods for Hazard and Risk Assessment)focuses on an assessment of the toxicological and ecotoxicological risks, the focus of this article's comparison of assessment principles, data requirements etc. will be on the assessment of toxicity and ecotoxicity in EDIP's impact assessment methodology...

Generic model for calculating carbon footprint of milk using four different LCA modelling approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Randi; Schmidt, Jannick Højrup; Flysjö, Anna

2014-01-01

The aim of the study is to develop a tool, which can be used for calculation of carbon footprint (using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach) of milk both at a farm level and at a national level. The functional unit is ‘1 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) at farm gate’ and the applied methodology...

An LCA-based evaluation of biomass to transportation fuels production and utilization pathways in a large port's context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tsalidis, George; El Discha, Fadhila; Korevaar, Gijsbert; Haije, Wim; de Jong, Wiebren; Kiel, Jaap

This study evaluates whether a transition of large ports facilities to biofuel production for mobility improves the environmental performance and satisfies the renewable energy directive (RED) and it is the first LCA study that considers biofuel production from torrefied wood. The systems studied

A study of the LCA based biofuel supply chain multi-objective optimization model with multi-conversion paths in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Zhexuan; Qiu, Tong; Chen, Bingzhen

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A LCA based biofuel supply chain model considering 3E criteria was proposed. • The model was used to design a supply chain considering three conversion pathways. • An experimental biofuel supply chain for China was designed. • A Pareto-optimal solution surface of this multi-objective problem was obtained. • The designed supply chain was rather robust to price variation. - Abstract: In this paper we present a life cycle assessment (LCA) based biofuel supply chain model with multi-conversion pathways. This model was formulated as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem which took economic, energy, and environmental criteria (3E) into consideration. The economic objective was measured by the total annual profit. The energy objective was measured by using the average fossil energy input per megajoule (MJ) of biofuel. The environmental objective was measured by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per MJ of biofuel. After carefully consideration of the current situation in China, we chose to examine three conversion pathways: bio-ethanol (BE), bio-methanol (BM) and bio-diesel (BD). LCA was integrated to a multi-objective supply chain model by dividing each pathway into several individual parts and analyzing each part. The multi-objective MILP problem was solved using a ε-constraint method by defining the total annual profit as the optimization objective and assigning the average fossil energy input per MJ biofuel and GHG emissions per MJ biofuel as constraints. This model was then used to design an experimental biofuel supply chain for China. A surface of the Pareto optimal solutions was obtained by linear interpolation of the non-inferior solutions. The optimal results included the choice of optimal conversion pathway, biomass type, biomass locations, facility locations, and network topology structure in the biofuel supply chain. Distributed and centralized systems were also factored into our experimental system design. In addition, the

Regional characterization of freshwater Use in LCA: modeling direct impacts on human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulay, Anne-Marie; Bulle, Cécile; Bayart, Jean-Baptiste; Deschênes, Louise; Margni, Manuele

2011-10-15

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology that quantifies potential environmental impacts for comparative purposes in a decision-making context. While potential environmental impacts from pollutant emissions into water are characterized in LCA, impacts from water unavailability are not yet fully quantified. Water use can make the resource unavailable to other users by displacement or quality degradation. A reduction in water availability to human users can potentially affect human health. If financial resources are available, there can be adaptations that may, in turn, shift the environmental burdens to other life cycle stages and impact categories. This paper proposes a model to evaluate these potential impacts in an LCA context. It considers the water that is withdrawn and released, its quality and scarcity in order to evaluate the loss of functionality associated with water uses. Regionalized results are presented for impacts on human health for two modeling approaches regarding affected users, including or not domestic uses, and expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALY). A consumption and quality based scarcity indicator is also proposed as a midpoint. An illustrative example is presented for the production of corrugated board with different effluents, demonstrating the importance of considering quality, process effluents and the difference between the modeling approaches.

How to manage uncertainty in future Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) scenarios addressing the effect of climate change in crop production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niero, Monia; Ingvordsen, Cathrine Heinz; Bagger Jørgensen, Rikke

2015-01-01

When Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to provide insights on how to pursue future food demand, it faces the challenge to describe scenarios of the future in which the environmental impacts occur. In the case of future crop production, the effects of climate change should be considered. In this......When Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to provide insights on how to pursue future food demand, it faces the challenge to describe scenarios of the future in which the environmental impacts occur. In the case of future crop production, the effects of climate change should be considered....... In this context, the objectives of this paper are two-fold: (i) to recommend an approach to deal with uncertainty in scenario analysis for LCA of crop production in a changed climate, when the goal of the study is to suggest strategies for adaptation of crop cultivation practices towards low environmental impacts...... climate, soil, water loss and production parameters. Secondly, the handling of these factors in the inventory modeling is discussed and finally implemented in the case study. Our approach follows a 3-step procedure consisting of: (1) definition of a baseline scenario at the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI...

Transportation life cycle assessment (LCA) synthesis : life cycle assessment learning module series.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-12

The Life Cycle Assessment Learning Module Series is a set of narrated, self-advancing slideshows on : various topics related to environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). This research project produced the first 27 of such modules, which : are freely...

Experiential Knowledge Complements an LCA-Based Decision Support Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heng Yi Teah

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A shrimp farmer in Taiwan practices innovation through trial-and-error for better income and a better environment, but such farmer-based innovation sometimes fails because the biological mechanism is unclear. Systematic field experimentation and laboratory research are often too costly, and simulating ground conditions is often too challenging. To solve this dilemma, we propose a decision support framework that explicitly utilizes farmer experiential knowledge through a participatory approach to alternatively estimate prospective change in shrimp farming productivity, and to co-design options for improvement. Data obtained from the farmer enable us to quantitatively analyze the production cost and greenhouse gas (GHG emission with a life cycle assessment (LCA methodology. We used semi-quantitative graphical representations of indifference curves and mixing triangles to compare and show better options for the farmer. Our results empower the farmer to make decisions more systematically and reliably based on the frequency of heterotrophic bacteria application and the revision of feed input. We argue that experiential knowledge may be less accurate due to its dependence on varying levels of farmer experience, but this knowledge is a reasonable alternative for immediate decision-making. More importantly, our developed framework advances the scope of LCA application to support practically important yet scientifically uncertain cases.

An Environmental Impact Analysis of Semi-Mechanical Extraction Process of Sago Starch: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Yusuf, M. A.; Romli, M.; Suprihatin; Wiloso, E. I.

2018-05-01

Industrial activities use material, energy and water resources and generate greenhouse gas (GHG). Currently, various regulations require industry to measure and quantify the emissions generated from its process activity. LCA is a method that can be used to analyze and report the environmental impact of an activity that uses resources and generates waste by an industrial activity. In this work, LCA is used to determine the environmental impact of a semi-mechanical extraction process of sago industry. The data was collected through the sago industry in Cimahpar, Bogor. The extraction of sago starch consists of stem cutting, rasping, mixing, filtration, starch sedimentation, washing, and drying. The scope of LCA study covers the harvesting of sago stem, transportation to extraction site, and the starch extraction process. With the assumption that the average transportation distance of sago stem to extraction site is 200 km, the GHG emission is estimated to be 325 kg CO2 eq / ton of sundried sago starch. This figure is lower than that reported for maize starch (1120 kg CO2 eq), potato starch (2232 kg CO2 eq) and cassava starch (4310 kg CO2 eq). This is most likely due to the uncounted impact from the use of electrical energy on the extraction process, which is currently being conducted. A follow-up study is also underway to formulate several process improvement scenarios to derive the design of sago starch processing that generates the minimum emissions.

Life-Cycle Assessment of Seismic Retrofit Strategies Applied to Existing Building Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umberto Vitiello

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In the last few years, the renovation and refurbishment of existing buildings have become the main activities of the construction industry. In particular, many studies have recently focused on the mechanical and energy performances of existing retrofitted/refurbished facilities, while some research has addressed the environmental effects of such operations. The present study aims to assess the environmental impact of some retrofit interventions on an existing reinforced concrete (RC building. Once the structural requirements have been satisfied and the environmental effects of these retrofit solutions defined, the final purpose of this study is to identify the most environmentally sustainable retrofit strategy. The environmental impact of the structural retrofit options is assessed using a life-cycle assessment (LCA. This paper sets out a systematic approach that can be adopted when choosing the best structural retrofit option in terms of sustainability performance. The final aim of the study is to also provide a tool for researchers and practitioners that reflects a deep understanding of the sustainability aspects of retrofit operations and can be used for future researches or practical activities.

Learnings from LCA-based methods: should chemicals in food packaging be a priority focus to protect human health?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstoff, Alexi; Stylianou, Katerina S.; Fantke, Peter

2017-01-01

Given the scale and variety of human health damage (HHD) caused by food systems, prioritization methods are urgently needed. In this study HHD is estimated for case studies on red meat and sugary sweetened beverages (SSB) packaged in high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) due to various relevant health...... impacts. Specifically, we aim to asses if chemicals in food packaging are important to HHD in a life cycle context. The functional unit is "daily consumption of a packaged food per person in the United States." Method developments focus on human toxicity characterization of chemicals migrating from...... packaging into food. Chemicals and their concentrations in HIPS were identified from regulatory lists. A new high-throughput model estimated migration into food, depending on properties of chemicals, packaging, food, and scenario, and HHD was extrapolated following LCA characterization methods. An LCA...

The Use of Facade Mockups in in LCA Based Architectural Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naboni, Emanuele

2017-01-01

Life Cycle Assessment is increasingly becoming important in façade architectural design. The presented research aims to describe an LCA architectural design approach based on the use of a Façade Mockup. The approach is applied and tested for the design Telecom Sustainable Campus’ façade, in Rome...

Using the Lashof Accounting Methodology to Assess Carbon Mitigation Projects Using LCA: Ethanol Biofuel as a Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Courchesne, Alexandre; Becaert, Valerie; Rosenbaum, Ralph K.

2010-01-01

and comparison of different carbon mitigation projects (e.g. biofuel use, sequestering plant, afforestation project, etc.). The Lashof accounting methodology is chosen amid other methods of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission characterization for its relative simplicity and capability of characterizing all types...... of carbon mitigation projects. It calculates the cumulative radiative forcing caused by GHG emission within a predetermined time frame. Basically, the developed framework uses the Mg-year as a functional unit and isolates impacts related to the climate mitigation function with system expansion. The proposed...... framework is demonstrated with a case study of tree ethanol pathways (maize, sugarcane and willow). Study shows that carbon mitigation assessment through LCA is possible and that it could be a useful tool for decision makers as it can compare different projects regardless of their original context. Case...

Environmental assessment of solid waste landfilling technologies by means of LCA-modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Manfredi, Simone; Christensen, Thomas H

2009-01-01

By using life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling, this paper compares the environmental performance of six landfilling technologies (open dump, conventional landfill with flares, conventional landfill with energy recovery, standard bioreactor landfill, flushing bioreactor landfill and semi-aerobic landfill) and assesses the influence of the active operations practiced on these performances. The environmental assessments have been performed by means of the LCA-based tool EASEWASTE, whereby the functional unit utilized for the LCA is "landfilling of 1ton of wet household waste in a 10m deep landfill for 100 years". The assessment criteria include standard categories (global warming, nutrient enrichment, ozone depletion, photo-chemical ozone formation and acidification), toxicity-related categories (human toxicity and ecotoxicity) and impact on spoiled groundwater resources. Results demonstrate that it is crucially important to ensure the highest collection efficiency of landfill gas and leachate since a poor capture compromises the overall environmental performance. Once gas and leachate are collected and treated, the potential impacts in the standard environmental categories and on spoiled groundwater resources significantly decrease, although at the same time specific emissions from gas treatment lead to increased impact potentials in the toxicity-related categories. Gas utilization for energy recovery leads to saved emissions and avoided impact potentials in several environmental categories. Measures should be taken to prevent leachate infiltration to groundwater and it is essential to collect and treat the generated leachate. The bioreactor technologies recirculate the collected leachate to enhance the waste degradation process. This allows the gas collection period to be reduced from 40 to 15 years, although it does not lead to noticeable environmental benefits when considering a 100 years LCA-perspective. In order to more comprehensively understand the influence

Assessing Resource Intensity and Renewability of Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies using Eco-LCA

Science.gov (United States)

Recognizing the contributions of natural resources and the lack of their comprehensive accounting in life cycle assessment (LCA) of cellulosic ethanol, an in-depth analysis of the contribution of natural resources in the life cycle of cellulosic ethanol derived from five differen...

Incorporating Health Impacts from Exposure to Chemicals in Food Packaging in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernstoff, Alexi; Trier, Xenia; Jolliet, Oliver

2014-01-01

Life cycle assessments (LCA) on the environmental and public health impacts of food and beverage packaging materials have found some advantages to plastic over glass. Entirely missing from these evaluations are the health impacts of possible chemical, e.g. endocrine dis-ruptor, exposure through...... migration of chemicals from the packaging into the food product. We build a framework based on a life cycle perspective to predict which chemicals may be in a package that are not intentionally added ingredients, and we apply this approach to the US EPA’s CPCAT database. In total we find 1,154 chemicals...... within the CPCAT database related to food-contact materials; out of these 107 are potential endocrine disruptors according to the TEDX list of endocrine disruptors. We also build a framework in an effort to begin harmonizing LCA to include health impacts of chemical exposure related to food packaging...

A trade-based method for modelling supply markets in consequential LCA exemplified with Portland cement and bananas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sacchi, Romain

2017-01-01

This study proposes a method based on the analysis of trade networks over time for modelling the marginal supply of products in consequential life cycle assessment (LCA). It aims at increasing the geographical granularity of markets, accuracy of transport distances and modes and material losses d...

Influence of the impact assessment method on the conclusions of a LCA study. Application to the case of a part made with virgin and recycled HDPE.

Science.gov (United States)

Simões, Carla L; Xará, Susana M; Bernardo, C A

2011-10-01

Recent legislation has stressed the need to decide the best end-of-life (EoL) option for post-consumer products considering their full life-cycle and the corresponding overall environmental impacts. The life cycle assessment (LCA) technique has become a common tool to evaluate those impacts. The present study aimed to contribute to the better understanding of the application of this technique, by evaluating the influence of the selection of the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method in its results and conclusions. A specific case study was chosen, using previous information related to an anti-glare lamellae (AGL) for highway use, made with virgin and recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Five distinct LCIA methods were used: Eco-indicator 99, CML 2 (2000), EPS 2000, Eco-indicator 95 and EDIP 97. Consistent results between these methods were obtained for the Climate change, Ozone layer depletion, Acidification and Eutrophication environmental indicators. Conversely, the Summer smog indicator showed large discrepancies between impact assessment methods. The work sheds light on the advantages inherent in using various LCIA methods when doing the LCA study of a specific product, thus evidencing complementary analysis perspectives.

Water-Energy Nexus: the case of biogas production from energy crops evaluated by Water Footprint and LCA methods

Science.gov (United States)

Pacetti, Tommaso; Caporali, Enrica; Federici, Giorgio

2015-04-01

This study analyzes the production of biogas from aerobic digestion of energy crops. The production of biogas is an important case study because its spread, similar to other sources of bioenergy, creates questions about the environmental effects, the competition in the food market as well as the progressive change of land use. In particular is hereby analyzed the nexus between bioenergy production and water, which plays a key role because water resources are often the limiting factor in energy production from energy crops. The environmental performances of biogas production were analyzed through Water Footprint (WF) and Life cycle assessment (LCA): the integration of LCA and WF represents an attempt of taking advantage of their complementary strengths in environmental assessment, trying to give a comprehensive analysis of bioenergy production sustainability. Eighteen scenarios were considered, trying to figure out the performances of different combinations of locations (north, center, south Italy), crops (maize, sorghum, wheat) and treatments (anaerobic digestion with water dilution or manure co-digestion). WF assessment shows that cultivation phase is the most impacting on water resource use along the entire system life cycle. In particular, water requirements for crop growth shows that sorghum is the more water saver crop (in terms of consumptive water use to produce the amount of crop needed to produce 1 GJ of biogas energy content). Moreover WF investigates the kind of water use and shows that wheat, despite being the most intensive water user, exploits more green water than the other crops.WF was evaluated with respect to water stress indicators for the Italian territory, underlining the higher criticalities associated with water use in southern Italy and identifying consumptive blue water use, in this area, as the main hotspot. Therefore biogas production from energy crops in southern Italy is unsustainable from a water management perspective. At a basin

Applying consequential LCA to support energy policy: Land use change effects of bioenergy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vázquez-Rowe, Ian, E-mail: ian.vazquez@tudor.lu; Marvuglia, Antonino; Rege, Sameer; Benetto, Enrico

2014-02-01

Luxembourg aims at complying with the EU objective of attaining a 14% use of bioenergy in the national grid by 2020. The increase of biomethane production from energy crops could be a valuable option in achieving this objective. However, the overall environmental benefit of such option is yet to be proven. Consequential Life Cycle Assessment (CLCA) has shown to be a useful tool to evaluate the environmental suitability of future energy scenarios and policies. The objective of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the environmental consequences of modifying the Luxembourgish agricultural system to increase maize production for biomethane generation. A total of 10 different scenarios were modelled using a partial equilibrium (PE) model to identify changes in land cultivation based on farmers' revenue maximisation, which were then compared to the baseline scenario, i.e. the state of the agricultural sector in 2009. The results were divided into three different consequential decision contexts, presenting differing patterns in terms of land use changes (LUCs) but with minor shifts in environmental impacts. Nevertheless, energy from maize production would imply substantially higher environmental impacts when compared with the current use of natural gas, mainly due to increases in climate change and agricultural land occupation impacts. The results are discussed based on the consequences they may generate on the bioenergy policy, the management of arable land, the changes in import–export flows in Luxembourg and LUCs in the domestic agricultural system. In addition, the specific PE + LCA method presented intends to be of use for other regional studies in which a high level of site-specific data is available. - Highlights: • Partial equilibrium (PE) model created for the agricultural sector in Luxembourg • PE model combined with a consequential LCA approach to support energy policy • The impact of LUCs due to the additional production of maize for energy was

Applying consequential LCA to support energy policy: Land use change effects of bioenergy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Marvuglia, Antonino; Rege, Sameer; Benetto, Enrico

2014-01-01

Luxembourg aims at complying with the EU objective of attaining a 14% use of bioenergy in the national grid by 2020. The increase of biomethane production from energy crops could be a valuable option in achieving this objective. However, the overall environmental benefit of such option is yet to be proven. Consequential Life Cycle Assessment (CLCA) has shown to be a useful tool to evaluate the environmental suitability of future energy scenarios and policies. The objective of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the environmental consequences of modifying the Luxembourgish agricultural system to increase maize production for biomethane generation. A total of 10 different scenarios were modelled using a partial equilibrium (PE) model to identify changes in land cultivation based on farmers' revenue maximisation, which were then compared to the baseline scenario, i.e. the state of the agricultural sector in 2009. The results were divided into three different consequential decision contexts, presenting differing patterns in terms of land use changes (LUCs) but with minor shifts in environmental impacts. Nevertheless, energy from maize production would imply substantially higher environmental impacts when compared with the current use of natural gas, mainly due to increases in climate change and agricultural land occupation impacts. The results are discussed based on the consequences they may generate on the bioenergy policy, the management of arable land, the changes in import–export flows in Luxembourg and LUCs in the domestic agricultural system. In addition, the specific PE + LCA method presented intends to be of use for other regional studies in which a high level of site-specific data is available. - Highlights: • Partial equilibrium (PE) model created for the agricultural sector in Luxembourg • PE model combined with a consequential LCA approach to support energy policy • The impact of LUCs due to the additional production of maize for energy was

Accounting for ecosystem services in Life Cycle Assessment, Part II: toward an ecologically based LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yi; Baral, Anil; Bakshi, Bhavik R

2010-04-01

Despite the essential role of ecosystem goods and services in sustaining all human activities, they are often ignored in engineering decision making, even in methods that are meant to encourage sustainability. For example, conventional Life Cycle Assessment focuses on the impact of emissions and consumption of some resources. While aggregation and interpretation methods are quite advanced for emissions, similar methods for resources have been lagging, and most ignore the role of nature. Such oversight may even result in perverse decisions that encourage reliance on deteriorating ecosystem services. This article presents a step toward including the direct and indirect role of ecosystems in LCA, and a hierarchical scheme to interpret their contribution. The resulting Ecologically Based LCA (Eco-LCA) includes a large number of provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services as inputs to a life cycle model at the process or economy scale. These resources are represented in diverse physical units and may be compared via their mass, fuel value, industrial cumulative exergy consumption, or ecological cumulative exergy consumption or by normalization with total consumption of each resource or their availability. Such results at a fine scale provide insight about relative resource use and the risk and vulnerability to the loss of specific resources. Aggregate indicators are also defined to obtain indices such as renewability, efficiency, and return on investment. An Eco-LCA model of the 1997 economy is developed and made available via the web (www.resilience.osu.edu/ecolca). An illustrative example comparing paper and plastic cups provides insight into the features of the proposed approach. The need for further work in bridging the gap between knowledge about ecosystem services and their direct and indirect role in supporting human activities is discussed as an important area for future work.

The complexity and challenges of determining GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from grid electricity consumption and conservation in LCA (life cycle assessment) – A methodological review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soimakallio, Sampo; Kiviluoma, Juha; Saikku, Laura

2011-01-01

The way in which GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions associated with grid electricity consumption is handled in different LCA (life cycle assessment) studies, varies significantly. Apart from differences in actual research questions, methodological choices and data set selection have a significant impact on the outcomes. These inconsistencies result in difficulties to compare the findings of various LCA studies. This review paper explores the issue from a methodological point of view. The perspectives of ALCA (attributional life cycle assessment) and CLCA (consequential life cycle assessment) are reflected. Finally, the paper summarizes the key issues and provides suggestions on the way forward. The major challenge related to both of the LCA categories is to determine the GHG emissions of the power production technologies under consideration. Furthermore, the specific challenge in ALCA is to determine the appropriate electricity production mix, and in CLCA, to identify the marginal technologies affected and related consequences. Significant uncertainties are involved, particularly in future-related LCAs, and these should not be ignored. Harmonization of the methods and data sets for various purposes is suggested, acknowledging that selections might be subjective. -- Highlights: ► Methods to assess GHG emissions from grid electricity consumption in LCA vary. ► We explored the major challenges related to various methods. ► Significant uncertainties are involved particularly in future-related GHG emissions. ► The most appropriate method depends on the equity viewpoints.

Alternative "global warming" metrics in life cycle assessment: a case study with existing transportation data.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Glen P; Aamaas, Borgar; T Lund, Marianne; Solli, Christian; Fuglestvedt, Jan S

2011-10-15

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) impact category "global warming" compares emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases (LLGHGs) using Global Warming Potential (GWP) with a 100-year time-horizon as specified in the Kyoto Protocol. Two weaknesses of this approach are (1) the exclusion of short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) and biophysical factors despite their established importance, and (2) the use of a particular emission metric (GWP) with a choice of specific time-horizons (20, 100, and 500 years). The GWP and the three time-horizons were based on an illustrative example with value judgments and vague interpretations. Here we illustrate, using LCA data of the transportation sector, the importance of SLCFs relative to LLGHGs, different emission metrics, and different treatments of time. We find that both the inclusion of SLCFs and the choice of emission metric can alter results and thereby change mitigation priorities. The explicit inclusion of time, both for emissions and impacts, can remove value-laden assumptions and provide additional information for impact assessments. We believe that our results show that a debate is needed in the LCA community on the impact category "global warming" covering which emissions to include, the emission metric(s) to use, and the treatment of time.

Social LCA Scenarios: Engaging producers and consumers in new domestic oyster value chains in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wangel, Arne

2014-01-01

Efforts to develop a Social LCA methodology target the need to account for social impacts in the life cycle of existing products. Most often, the objective is to provide scientific support for decisions on alternative suppliers and terms of governance in the value chain of a particular product....... This paper suggests an application which shifts the focus to the design phase of life cycles of products and services yet to be constructed, not by a major lead company, but rather by start-ups and community groups. Health concerns and negative environmental impacts of industrial food production motivate...... the development and testing of new systems of growing, distribution and consumption. Ecological farmers contest conventional production methods, home delivery of fresh vegetables bypasses physical markets, and new food paradigms change meal preparation and dining experiences. One example is the entrepreneurs...

The Progress of LCA Center Denmark After Almost Two Years of Service

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frydendal, Jeppe; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2004-01-01

. promote the use of Life Cycle Assessment and other product-oriented environmental tools in companies, 2. support companies and other in using environmental assessment of products and services, 3. ensure that the effort in the LCA area is based on a solid and scientific basis, and 4. maintain the well...

Life cycle assessment of waste incineration in Denmark and Italy using two LCA models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turconi, Roberto; Butera, Stefania; Boldrin, Alessio

2011-01-01

In Europe, about 20% of municipal solid waste is incinerated. Large differences can be found between northern and southern Europe regarding energy recovery efficiencies, flue gas cleaning technologies and residue management. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) of waste incineration often provides....... The overall environmental performance of the Danish system was better than the Italian, mainly because of higher heat recovery at the Danish plant. Flue gas cleaning at the Italian plant was, however, preferable to the Danish, indicating that efficient flue gas cleaning may provide significant benefits...... contradictory results if these local conditions are not properly accounted for. The importance of regional differences and site-specific data, and choice of LCA model itself, was evaluated by assessment of two waste incinerators representing northern and southern Europe (Denmark and Italy) based on two...

Life cycle assessment for emerging materials: case study of a garden bed constructed from lumber produced with three different copper treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Although important data and methodological challenges facing LCA and emerging materials exist, this LCA captures material and process changes that are important drivers of environmental impacts. LCA methods need to be amended to reflect properties of emerging materials that deter...

WILCI: a LCA tool dedicated to MSW incineration in France

OpenAIRE

Beylot , Antoine; Muller , Stéphanie; Descat , Marie; Ménard , Yannick; Michel , Pascale; Villeneuve , Jacques

2017-01-01

International audience; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been increasingly used in the last decades to evaluate the global environmental performance of waste treatment options. This is in particular the case considering incineration that is the major treatment route for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in France (28% of French MSW are incinerated, in 126 MSW incineration plants; ADEME, 2015). In this context, this article describes a new Excel-tool, WILCI (for Waste Incineration Life Cycle Inventor...

LCA for household waste management when planning a new urban settlement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slagstad, Helene; Brattebø, Helge

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Household waste management of a new carbon neutral settlement. ► EASEWASTE as a LCA tool to compare different centralised and decentralised solutions. ► Environmental benefit or close to zero impact in most of the categories. ► Paper and metal recycling important for the outcome. ► Discusses the challenges of waste prevention planning. - Abstract: When planning for a new urban settlement, industrial ecology tools like scenario building and life cycle assessment can be used to assess the environmental quality of different infrastructure solutions. In Trondheim, a new greenfield settlement with carbon–neutral ambitions is being planned and five different scenarios for the waste management system of the new settlement have been compared. The results show small differences among the scenarios, however, some benefits from increased source separation of paper and metal could be found. The settlement should connect to the existing waste management system of the city, and not resort to decentralised waste treatment or recovery methods. However, as this is an urban development project with ambitious goals for lifestyle changes, effort should be put into research and initiatives for proactive waste prevention and reuse issues.

LCA-ship. Design tool for energy efficient ships. A Life Cycle Analysis Program for Ships. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiven, Karl; Sjoebris, Anders [MariTerm AB, Goeteborg (Sweden); Nilsson, Maria [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Stiftelsen TEM; Ellis, Joanne; Traegaardh, Peter; Nordstroem, Malin [SSPA Sweden AB, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2004-05-01

In order to make it easier to include aspects during ship design that will improve environmental performance, general methods for life cycle calculations and a prototype tool for LCA calculations of ships and marine transportation have been developed. The base of the life cycle analyses is a comprehensive set of life cycle data that was collected for the materials and consumables used in ship construction and vessel operations. The computer tool developed makes it possible to quickly and simply specify (and calculate) the use of consumables over the vessel's life time cycle. Special effort has been made to allow the tool to be used for different types of vessels and sea transport. The main result from the project is the computer tool LCA ship, which incorporates collected and developed life cycle data for some of the most important materials and consumables used in ships and their operation. The computer application also contains a module for propulsion power calculations and a module for defining and optimising the energy system onboard the vessel. The tool itself is described in more detail in the Computer application manual. The input to the application should, as much as possible, be the kind of information that is normally found in a shipping company concerning vessel data and vessel movements. It all starts with defining the ship to be analysed and continues with defining how the ship is used over the lifetime. The tool contains compiled and processed background information about specific materials and processes (LCA data) connected to shipping operations. The LCA data is included in the tool in a processed form. LCA data for steel will for example include the environmental load from the steel production, the process to build the steel structure of the ship, the scrapping and the recycling phase. To be able to calculate the environmental load from the use of steel the total amount of steel used over the life cycle of the ship is also needed. The

Compostable cutlery and waste management: an LCA approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Razza, Francesco; Fieschi, Maurizio; Innocenti, Francesco Degli; Bastioli, Catia

2009-04-01

The use of disposable cutlery in fast food restaurants and canteens in the current management scenario generates mixed heterogeneous waste (containing food waste and non-compostable plastic cutlery). The waste is not recyclable and is disposed of in landfills or incinerated with or without energy recovery. Using biodegradable and compostable (B&C) plastic cutlery, an alternative management scenario is possible. The resulting mixed homogeneous waste (containing food waste and compostable plastic cutlery) can be recycled through organic recovery, i.e., composting. This LCA study, whose functional unit is "serving 1000 meals", shows that remarkable improvements can be obtained by shifting from the current scenario to the alternative scenario (based on B&C cutlery and final organic recovery of the total waste). The non-renewable energy consumption changes from 1490 to 128MJ (an overall 10-fold energy savings) and the CO(2) equivalents emission changes from 64 to 22 CO(2) eq. (an overall 3-fold GHG savings).

A limited LCA of bio-adipic acid: Manufacturing the nylon-6,6 precursor adipic acid using the benzoic acid degradation pathway from different feedstocks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duuren, van J.B.J.H.; Brehmer, B.; Mars, A.E.; Eggink, G.; Martins Dos Santos, V.A.P.; Sanders, J.P.M.

2011-01-01

A limited life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a combined biological and chemical process for the production of adipic acid, which was compared to the traditional petrochemical process. The LCA comprises the biological conversion of the aromatic feedstocks benzoic acid, impure aromatics,

Evaluation of the effect of accounting method, IPCC v. LCA, on grass-based and confinement dairy systems' greenhouse gas emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, D; Shalloo, L; Patton, J; Buckley, F; Grainger, C; Wallace, M

2012-09-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guideline methodology, which are the principal greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification methods, were evaluated in this study using a dairy farm GHG model. The model was applied to estimate GHG emissions from two contrasting dairy systems: a seasonal calving pasture-based dairy farm and a total confinement dairy system. Data used to quantify emissions from these systems originated from a research study carried out over a 1-year period in Ireland. The genetic merit of cows modelled was similar for both systems. Total mixed ration was fed in the Confinement system, whereas grazed grass was mainly fed in the grass-based system. GHG emissions from these systems were quantified per unit of product and area. The results of both methods showed that the dairy system that emitted the lowest GHG emissions per unit area did not necessarily emit the lowest GHG emissions possible for a given level of product. Consequently, a recommendation from this study is that GHG emissions be evaluated per unit of product given the growing affluent human population and increasing demand for dairy products. The IPCC and LCA methods ranked dairy systems' GHG emissions differently. For instance, the IPCC method quantified that the Confinement system reduced GHG emissions per unit of product by 8% compared with the grass-based system, but the LCA approach calculated that the Confinement system increased emissions by 16% when off-farm emissions associated with primary dairy production were included. Thus, GHG emissions should be quantified using approaches that quantify the total GHG emissions associated with the production system, so as to determine whether the dairy system was causing emissions displacement. The IPCC and LCA methods were also used in this study to simulate, through a dairy farm GHG model, what effect management changes within both production systems have on GHG emissions. The findings suggest that

Kajian Dampak Lingkungan Global dari Kegiatan Keramba Jaring Apung melalui Life Cycle Assessment (LCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tri Heru Prihadi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Perubahan iklim global yang berlangsung saat ini memberikan pengaruh pada berbagai bidang, termasuk perikanan yang menyebabkan terjadinya degradasi lingkungan perairan. Hal ini berdampak pada muncul dan menyebarnya berbagai penyakit ikan, menurunnya laju pertumbuhan organisme perairan, bahkan hingga menimbulkan kematian massal ikan. Namun hal ini belum sepenuhnya dapat diatasi oleh para ilmuwan tanah air, bahkan bisa dikatakan baru sebagian kecil saja. Penerapan Best Management Practice (BMP dengan aplikasi Life Cycle Assessment (LCA akan sangat berarti dalam upaya penerapan perikanan budidaya berkelanjutan, dengan model pengelolaan kuantitatif. Dalam hal ini metode LCA secara kuantitatif merupakan pertama kalinya dilakukan di Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan mengevaluasi kuantitas dan kategori dampak lingkungan akibat kegiatan budidaya keramba jaring apung (KJA melalui LCA. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kegiatan budidaya di KJA menimbulkan dampak yang signifikan terhadap lingkungan perairan. Dari berbagai faktor yang berperan dalam kegiatan budidaya KJA, pakan ikan merupakan faktor yang paling dominan dalam menghasilkan dampak lingkungan global (di atas 70%, berupa pemanasan global, penurunan jumlah sumberdaya abiotik, eutrofikasi, penipisan lapisan ozon, toksisitas pada manusia, dan penurunan jumlah keanekaragaman hayati. Dari faktor pakan tersebut, unsur yang paling berpengaruh dalam menghasilkan dampak lingkungan adalah soybean Brazil dan winter wheat, sehingga perlu dicari alternatif bahan untuk mensubstitusi kedua unsur tersebut. Demikian juga faktor-faktor lainnya (seperti: polystyrene foams, drum plastik, bambu, jaring, besi, skala budidaya, dan lain-lain mempunyai peranan terhadap dampak yang ditimbulkan terhadap lingkungan perairan. Global climate change has been affecting many sectors, including fisheries causing aquatic environment degradation such as fish disease outbreaks, decreasing growth rate of fish

Identification and Selection of Alternative Scenarios in LCA Studies of Integrated Waste Management Systems: A Review of Main Issues and Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Raggi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Life Cycle Assessment (LCA is a decision support tool that can be used to assess the environmental performance of an integrated waste management system or to identify the system with the best performance through a comparative analysis of different scenarios. The results of the analysis depend primarily on how the scenarios to be compared are defined, that is on which waste fractions are assumed to be sent to certain treatments/destinations and in what amounts. This paper reviews LCAs of integrated waste management systems with the aim of exploring how the scenarios to be compared are defined in the preliminary phase of an LCA. This critical review highlighted that various criteria, more or less subjective, are generally used for the definition of scenarios. Furthermore, the number of scenarios identified and compared is generally limited; this may entail that only the best option among a limited set of possibilities can be selected, instead of identifying the best of all possible combinations. As a result, the advisability of identifying an integrated life cycle-based methodological approach that allows finding the most environmentally sound scenario among all of those that are theoretically possible is stressed.

LCA and external costs in comparative assessment of electricity chains. Decision support for sustainable electricity provision?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voss, A.

2002-01-01

The provision of energy and electricity plays an important role in a country's economic and environmental performance and the sustainability of its development. Sustainable development of the energy and electricity sector depends on finding ways of meeting energy service demands of the present generation that are economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially acceptable and do not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their own energy needs. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and external cost valuation are considered to offer opportunities to assist energy policy in a comprehensive comparative evaluation of electricity supply options with regard to the different dimensions of sustainable energy provision as well as in the implementation of appropriate internalization strategies. The paper addresses life cycle assessment and external cost analysis carried out for selected electricity systems of interest under German conditions. Results from a comprehensive comparative assessment of various electricity supply options with regard to their environmental impacts, health risks, raw materials requirements as well as their resulting external cost will be summarised. The use of LCA based indicators for assessing the relative sustainability of electricity systems and the use of total (internal plus external) cost assessment as measure of economic and environmental efficiency of energy systems will be discussed. Open problems related to life cycle analysis of energy chains and the assessment of environmental damage costs are critically reviewed, to illustrate how in spite of existing uncertainties the state of the art results may provide helpful energy policy decision support. The paper starts with some remarks on what the concept of sustainability in terms of energy systems means. (author)

Toward a computational structure for life cycle sustainability analysis: unifying LCA and LCC

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heijungs, R.; Settanni, E.; Guinée, J.

2013-01-01

Purpose: A widely used theory of the computational structure of life cycle assessment (LCA) has been available for more than a decade. The case of environmental life cycle cost (LCC) is still less clear: even the recent Code of Practice does not specify any formula to use. Methods: This paper does

A method for improving reliability and relevance of LCA reviews: the case of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of tap and bottled water.

Science.gov (United States)

Fantin, Valentina; Scalbi, Simona; Ottaviano, Giuseppe; Masoni, Paolo

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study is to propose a method for harmonising Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature studies on the same product or on different products fulfilling the same function for a reliable and meaningful comparison of their life-cycle environmental impacts. The method is divided in six main steps which aim to rationalize and quicken the efforts needed to carry out the comparison. The steps include: 1) a clear definition of the goal and scope of the review; 2) critical review of the references; 3) identification of significant parameters that have to be harmonised; 4) harmonisation of the parameters; 5) statistical analysis to support the comparison; 6) results and discussion. This approach was then applied to the comparative analysis of the published LCA studies on tap and bottled water production, focussing on Global Warming Potential (GWP) results, with the aim to identify the environmental preferable alternative. A statistical analysis with Wilcoxon's test confirmed that the difference between harmonised GWP values of tap and bottled water was significant. The results obtained from the comparison of the harmonised mean GWP results showed that tap water always has the best environmental performance, even in case of high energy-consuming technologies for drinking water treatments. The strength of the method is that it enables both performing a deep analysis of the LCA literature and obtaining more consistent comparisons across the published LCAs. For these reasons, it can be a valuable tool which provides useful information for both practitioners and decision makers. Finally, its application to the case study allowed both to supply a description of systems variability and to evaluate the importance of several key parameters for tap and bottled water production. The comparative review of LCA studies, with the inclusion of a statistical decision test, can validate and strengthen the final statements of the comparison. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All

Intervenção da Fisioterpia após ligamentoplastia do LCA: estudo série de casos

OpenAIRE

Bonança, Daniela

2014-01-01

Relatório do Projecto de Investigação apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Fisioterapia, área de especialização em Fisioterapia em Condições Músculo-Esqueléticas. Objectivo: Este estudo teve por objectivo descrever a prática clínica e os resultados da intervenção da fisioterapia, às 6, 12 e 24 semanas, em indivíduos após ligamentoplastia do LCA. Introdução: O sucesso da ligamentoplastia do LCA está directamente relacionado com ...

Assessing the existence of dissociative PTSD in sub-acute patients of whiplash.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Maj; Hyland, Philip; Armour, Cherie; Andersen, Tonny E

2018-03-16

Numerous studies investigating dissociative posttraumatic stress disorder (D-PTSD) have emerged. However, there is a lack of studies investigating D-PTSD following a wider range of traumatic exposure. Thus, the present study investigates D-PTSD using latent class analysis (LCA) in sub-acute patients of whiplash and associated risk factors. The results of LCA showed a three-class solution primarily distributed according to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and thus no indication of D-PTSD. Dissociative symptoms, psychological distress (i.e. anxiety/depression), and pain severity significantly predicted PTSD severity. Combined, the results support the component model of dissociation and PTSD, while still stressing the importance of dissociative symptoms when planning treatment for PTSD.

BayesLCA: An R Package for Bayesian Latent Class Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur White

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The BayesLCA package for R provides tools for performing latent class analysis within a Bayesian setting. Three methods for fitting the model are provided, incorporating an expectation-maximization algorithm, Gibbs sampling and a variational Bayes approximation. The article briefly outlines the methodology behind each of these techniques and discusses some of the technical difficulties associated with them. Methods to remedy these problems are also described. Visualization methods for each of these techniques are included, as well as criteria to aid model selection.

Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: a consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik; Astrup, Thomas

2012-12-18

In the endeavor of optimizing the sustainability of bioenergy production in Denmark, this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated the environmental impacts associated with the production of heat and electricity from one hectare of Danish arable land cultivated with three perennial crops: ryegrass (Lolium perenne), willow (Salix viminalis) and Miscanthus giganteus. For each, four conversion pathways were assessed against a fossil fuel reference: (I) anaerobic co-digestion with manure, (II) gasification, (III) combustion in small-to-medium scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results.

Dynamic life cycle assessment (LCA) of renewable energy technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pehnt, M. [Institut for Energy and Environmental Research, Heidelberg (Germany)

2006-01-01

Before new technologies enter the market, their environmental superiority over competing options must be asserted based on a life cycle approach. However, when applying the prevailing status-quo Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to future renewable energy systems, one does not distinguish between impacts which are 'imported' into the system due to the 'background system' (e.g. due to supply of materials or final energy for the production of the energy system), and what is the improvement potential of these technologies compared to competitors (e.g. due to process and system innovations or diffusion effects). This paper investigates a dynamic approach towards the LCA of renewable energy technologies and proves that for all renewable energy chains, the inputs of finite energy resources and emissions of greenhouse gases are extremely low compared with the conventional system. With regard to the other environmental impacts the findings do not reveal any clear verdict for or against renewable energies. Future development will enable a further reduction of environmental impacts of renewable energy systems. Different factors are responsible for this development, such as progress with respect to technical parameters of energy converters, in particular, improved efficiency; emissions characteristics; increased lifetime, etc.; advances with regard to the production process of energy converters and fuels; and advances with regard to 'external' services originating from conventional energy and transport systems, for instance, improved electricity or process heat supply for system production and ecologically optimized transport systems for fuel transportation. The application of renewable energy sources might modify not only the background system, but also further downstream aspects, such as consumer behavior. This effect is, however, strongly context and technology dependent. (author)

Comparative LCA of methanol-fuelled SOFCs as auxiliary power systems on-board ships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strazza, C.; Del Borghi, A.; Costamagna, P.; Traverso, A.; Santin, M.

2010-01-01

Fuel cells own the potential for significant environmental improvements both in terms of air quality and climate protection. Through the use of renewable primary energies, local pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly minimized over the full life cycle of the electricity generation process, so that marine industry accounts renewable energy as its future energy source. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of methanol in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), as auxiliary power systems for commercial vessels, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA methodology allows the assessment of the potential environmental impact along the whole life cycle of the process. The unit considered is a 20 kWel fuel cell system. In a first part of the study different fuel options have been compared (methanol, bio-methanol, natural gas, hydrogen from cracking, electrolysis and reforming), then the operation of the cell fed with methanol has been compared with the traditional auxiliary power system, i.e. a diesel engine. The environmental benefits of the use of fuel cells have been assessed considering different impact categories. The results of the analysis show that fuel production phase has a strong influence on the life cycle impacts and highlight that feeding with bio-methanol represents a highly attractive solution from a life cycle point of view. The comparison with the conventional auxiliary power system shows extremely lower impacts for SOFCs.

Resultados da Intervenção da Fisioterapia após Ligamentoplastia do LCA: Estudo Série de Casos

OpenAIRE

Bonança, Daniela; Almeida, Isabel Bastos de; Cruz, Eduardo

2013-01-01

Introdução: A literatura sugere que o sucesso da ligamentoplastia do LCA está directamente relacionado com a reabilitação após cirurgia, permitindo ao utente o retorno a um estilo de vida activo. Objectivo: Descrever os resultados da intervenção da fisioterapia, às 6, 12 e 24 semanas, em indivíduos após ligamentoplastia do LCA. Metodologia: Realizou-se um estudo série de casos, com uma amostra não probabilística, constituída por 14 utentes (34 ± 11,92 anos) que cumpriam os critéri...

An LCA model for waste incineration enhanced with new technologies for metal recovery and application to the case of Switzerland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boesch, Michael E. [Aveny GmbH, Schwandenholzstr. 212, CH-8046 Zürich (Switzerland); Vadenbo, Carl, E-mail: vadenbo@ifu.baug.ethz.ch [ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Schafmattstrasse 6, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Saner, Dominik [Swiss Post, Communications, Politics and Social Responsibility, Viktoriastrasse 21, P.O. Box, CH-3030 Berne (Switzerland); Huter, Christoph [City of Zürich, ERZ Entsorgung - Recycling Zürich, Hagenholzstrasse 110, P.O. Box, CH-8050 Zürich (Switzerland); Hellweg, Stefanie [ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Schafmattstrasse 6, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

2014-02-15

Highlights: • An enhanced process-based LCA model for MSWI is featured and applied in case study. • LCA modeling of recent technological developments for metal recovery from fly ash. • Net release from Swiss MSWI 133 kg CO{sub 2}-eq/tonne waste from attributional LCA perspective. • Net savings from a consequential LCA perspective reach up to 303 kg CO{sub 2}-eq/tonne waste. • Impacts according to ReCiPe and CExD show similar pattern to climate change. - Abstract: A process model of municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) and new technologies for metal recovery from combustion residues was developed. The environmental impact is modeled as a function of waste composition as well as waste treatment and material recovery technologies. The model includes combustion with a grate incinerator, several flue gas treatment technologies, electricity and steam production from waste heat recovery, metal recovery from slag and fly ash, and landfilling of residues and can be tailored to specific plants and sites (software tools can be downloaded free of charge). Application of the model to Switzerland shows that the treatment of one tonne of municipal solid waste results on average in 425 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. generated in the incineration process, and 54 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. accrue in upstream processes such as waste transport and the production of operating materials. Downstream processes, i.e. residue disposal, generates 5 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. Savings from energy recovery are in the range of 67 to 752 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. depending on the assumptions regarding the substituted energy production, while the recovery of metals from slag and fly ash currently results in a net saving of approximately 35 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. A similar impact pattern is observed when assessing the MSWI model for aggregated environmental impacts (ReCiPe) and for non-renewable resource consumption (cumulative exergy demand), except that direct emissions have less and no relevance, respectively, on the total

An LCA model for waste incineration enhanced with new technologies for metal recovery and application to the case of Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boesch, Michael E.; Vadenbo, Carl; Saner, Dominik; Huter, Christoph; Hellweg, Stefanie

2014-01-01

Highlights: • An enhanced process-based LCA model for MSWI is featured and applied in case study. • LCA modeling of recent technological developments for metal recovery from fly ash. • Net release from Swiss MSWI 133 kg CO 2 -eq/tonne waste from attributional LCA perspective. • Net savings from a consequential LCA perspective reach up to 303 kg CO 2 -eq/tonne waste. • Impacts according to ReCiPe and CExD show similar pattern to climate change. - Abstract: A process model of municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) and new technologies for metal recovery from combustion residues was developed. The environmental impact is modeled as a function of waste composition as well as waste treatment and material recovery technologies. The model includes combustion with a grate incinerator, several flue gas treatment technologies, electricity and steam production from waste heat recovery, metal recovery from slag and fly ash, and landfilling of residues and can be tailored to specific plants and sites (software tools can be downloaded free of charge). Application of the model to Switzerland shows that the treatment of one tonne of municipal solid waste results on average in 425 kg CO 2 -eq. generated in the incineration process, and 54 kg CO 2 -eq. accrue in upstream processes such as waste transport and the production of operating materials. Downstream processes, i.e. residue disposal, generates 5 kg CO 2 -eq. Savings from energy recovery are in the range of 67 to 752 kg CO 2 -eq. depending on the assumptions regarding the substituted energy production, while the recovery of metals from slag and fly ash currently results in a net saving of approximately 35 kg CO 2 -eq. A similar impact pattern is observed when assessing the MSWI model for aggregated environmental impacts (ReCiPe) and for non-renewable resource consumption (cumulative exergy demand), except that direct emissions have less and no relevance, respectively, on the total score. The study illustrates

LCA of domestic and centralized biomass combustion: The case of Lombardy (Italy)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caserini, S.; Livio, S.; Giugliano, M.; Grosso, M.; Rigamonti, L.

2010-01-01

This paper analyzes and compares the environmental impacts of biomass combustion in small appliances such as domestic open fireplaces and stoves, and in two types of centralized combined heat and power plants, feeding district heating networks. The analysis is carried out following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The expected savings of GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions due to the substitution of fossil fuels with biomass are quantified, as well as emissions of toxic pollutants and substances responsible for acidification and ozone formation. The LCA results show net savings of GHG emissions when using biomass instead of conventional fuels, varying from 0.08 to 1.08 t of CO 2 eq. per t of dry biomass in the different scenarios. Avoided GHG emissions thanks to biomass combustion in Lombardy are 1.32 Mt year -1 (1.5% of total regional GHG emissions). For the other impact categories, the use of biomass in district heating systems can again cause a consistent reduction of impacts, whereas biomass combustion in residential devices shows higher impacts than fossil fuels with a particular concern for PAH, VOC and particulate matter emissions. For example, in Lombardy, PM10 emissions from domestic devices are about 8100 t year -1 , corresponding to almost one third of the total particulate emissions in 2005. (author)

Estimation of product specific emissions from municipal solid waste landfills for the inventory phase in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Henning; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

1998-01-01

is frequently given as a quantity of solid wasteand possibly some recovered energy from waste incineration.Since product specific emissions can not be calculated or measured directly at the landfills, they must be estimated by modeling oflandfill processes. This paper presents a landfill model based on a large......), and inorganic non-metals (e.g. chlorine,) which are considered individually. The computer toolLCA-LAND is useful for estimation of emissions from specific waste products disposed in municipal solid waste landfills in Europeancountries (for the present Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands). Input data...... of materials and components and the manufacture, transportation and use of the product to thefinal disposal and possible recycling of the product. Although LCA has developed significantly during recent years, product specific emissions from disposed waste have only got minorattention in the literature leaving...

Economic and environmental analysis of four different configurations of anaerobic digestion for food waste to energy conversion using LCA for: a food service provider case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Franchetti, Matthew

2013-07-15

The US disposes of more than 34 million tons of food waste in landfills per year. As this food waste decomposes it generates methane gas and negatively contributes to global warming. Diverting theses organic food wastes from landfills and to emerging technologies will prevent these wastes and greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time generating a source renewable energy by collecting the emitted gases. From a waste prevention standpoint, instead of the food waste decomposing at local landfills, it is being converted into an energy source and the by-product may be used as a fertilizer (Fine and Hadas, 2012). The purpose of this study was to compare four different configurations of anaerobic digestion of organic waste to energy technologies from an economic, energy, and emissions standpoint using LCA via a case study at a large food services provider in Northwest Ohio, USA. The technologies studied included two-stage anaerobic digestion system using ultrasound pre-treating, two stage continuous combined thermophilic acidogenic hydrogenesis and mesophilic with recirculation of the digested sludge, long-term anaerobic digestion of food waste stabilized by trace elements, and single stage anaerobic digestion. Using LCA, these scenarios were compared to landfill disposal of the food waste. The findings from the case study indicated that implementing on-site waste to energy systems will result in lower operation costs and lower environmental impacts. In addition, a standardized environmental and economic comparison of competing food waste to energy technologies is provided. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LCA for assessing the environmental performance of a company with the environmental management system ISO 14000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigamonti, L.; Perotto, E.

2008-01-01

The environmental management system is an ordered pattern to treat and manage environmental issues and to improve the environmental performance of companies. It is proposed an example of application of LCA to a manufacturing company with ISO 14000. [it

GLOBOX : A spatially differentiated global fate, intake and effect model for toxicity assessment in LCA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wegener Sleeswijk, Anneke; Heijungs, Reinout

GLOBOX is a model for the calculation of spatially differentiated LCA toxicity characterisation factors on a global scale. It can also be used for human and environmental risk assessment. The GLOBOX model contains equations for the calculation of fate, intake and effect factors, and equations for

EcoDesign and LCA approach toward sustainable micro products development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Grave, Arnaud; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard

2009-01-01

importance in the design of micro/nano products and of downscaled production pathways. In addition, the topic of EcoDesign, which has been used for a long time now in so-called “macro size”, is explained and the panel of tools used for designing products taking care of the environment will be investigated...... in the context of micro technology. Ecodesign and LCA take into account environmental impact of production of micro and nano products, but another important issue to include is the impact of such applications on human health. A particular focus has been put on the human health risks of nanoparticles....

Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: A consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik

2012-01-01

and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow...... and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO2-eq. ha-1, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO2-eq. ha-1, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty...... analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results. © 2012 American Chemical Society....

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts for Rice Agroecosystems using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

OpenAIRE

S. Khoramdel; J. Shabahang; A. Amin Ghafouri

2017-01-01

In order to evaluate life cycle assessment (LCA) for rice agroecosystems based on mean of nitrogen fertilizer levels (less than 190, 190-200, 200-210, 210-220 and more than 220 kg N ha) during 1999-2012, an experiment was conducted. Four steps includung goal definition and scoping, inventory analysis, life cycle impact assessment and integration and interpretation were computed. Functional unit was considered as one tone paddy. Impact categories were acidification, eutrophication in aquatic a...

Normalisation in product life cycle assessment: an LCA of the global and European economic systems in the year 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Sleeswijk, Anneke Wegener; van Oers, Lauran F C M; Guinée, Jeroen B; Struijs, Jaap; Huijbregts, Mark A J

2008-02-01

In the methodological context of the interpretation of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) results, a normalisation study was performed. 15 impact categories were accounted for, including climate change, acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, depletion of fossil energy resources, and land use. The year 2000 was chosen as a reference year, and information was gathered on two spatial levels: the global and the European level. From the 860 environmental interventions collected, 48 interventions turned out to account for at least 75% of the impact scores of all impact categories. All non-toxicity related, emission dependent impacts are fully dominated by the bulk emissions of only 10 substances or substance groups: CO(2), CH(4), SO(2), NO(x), NH(3), PM(10), NMVOC, and (H)CFCs emissions to air and emissions of N- and P-compounds to fresh water. For the toxicity-related emissions (pesticides, organics, metal compounds and some specific inorganics), the availability of information was still very limited, leading to large uncertainty in the corresponding normalisation factors. Apart from their usefulness as a reference for LCA studies, the results of this study stress the importance of efficient measures to combat bulk emissions and to promote the registration of potentially toxic emissions on a more comprehensive scale.

Paper waste - Recycling, incineration or landfilling? A review of existing life cycle assessments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villanueva, Alejandro; Wenzel, Henrik

2007-01-01

comparisons of different management options for waste paper.\\ Despite claims of inconsistency, the LCAs reviewed illustrate the environmental benefits in recycling over incineration or landfill options, for paper and cardboard waste. This broad consensus was found despite differences in geographic location....... Such message has implications for current policy formulation on material recycling and disposal in the EU. Secondly, to identify key methodological issues of paper waste management LCAs, and enlighten the influence of such issues on the conclusions of the LCA studies. Thirdly, in light of the analysis made...... and definitions of the paper recycling/disposal systems studied. A systematic exploration of the LCA studies showed, however, important methodological pitfalls and sources of error, mainly concerning differences in the definition of the system boundaries. Fifteen key assumptions were identified that cover...

The use of LCA for modelling sustainability and environmental impact of manufacturing processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Culaba, A.; Purvis, M. [Portsmouth Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

1995-12-31

Most industries rely significantly on natural resources for raw materials and energy requirements. As a consequence of manufacturing activities, various pollutants are generated in the process. While effects on the environment can be detrimental, wastes and emissions account for a high percentage loss in the overall material balance. Unless these unnecessary losses are minimized and recovered, the environment would continue to be disadvantaged and long-term supply of raw materials and energy would likewise be affected. The key to the analysis of such problems concerns generalised procedures for the modelling of the sustainable use of resources in manufacturing processes and the development of associated sustainability criteria. This requires identifying the various aspects of manufacturing from the time the raw materials are extracted until they have been processed into products and then used or consumed and finally disposed of. The use of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology encompasses these analyses and that of the identification of environmental effects associated with every stage of the manufacturing process. The presentation concludes that LCA is a very useful and effective tool in providing planners, legislator and decision-makers with the necessary information on the probable impacts of manufacture on the environment as well as underlying legislation, ecological, health standards and emission limits. (author)

The use of LCA for modelling sustainability and environmental impact of manufacturing processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Culaba, A; Purvis, M [Portsmouth Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

1996-12-31

Most industries rely significantly on natural resources for raw materials and energy requirements. As a consequence of manufacturing activities, various pollutants are generated in the process. While effects on the environment can be detrimental, wastes and emissions account for a high percentage loss in the overall material balance. Unless these unnecessary losses are minimized and recovered, the environment would continue to be disadvantaged and long-term supply of raw materials and energy would likewise be affected. The key to the analysis of such problems concerns generalised procedures for the modelling of the sustainable use of resources in manufacturing processes and the development of associated sustainability criteria. This requires identifying the various aspects of manufacturing from the time the raw materials are extracted until they have been processed into products and then used or consumed and finally disposed of. The use of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology encompasses these analyses and that of the identification of environmental effects associated with every stage of the manufacturing process. The presentation concludes that LCA is a very useful and effective tool in providing planners, legislator and decision-makers with the necessary information on the probable impacts of manufacture on the environment as well as underlying legislation, ecological, health standards and emission limits. (author)

Evaluation of new alternatives in wastewater treatment plants based on dynamic modelling and life cycle assessment (DM-LCA).

Science.gov (United States)

Bisinella de Faria, A B; Spérandio, M; Ahmadi, A; Tiruta-Barna, L

2015-11-01

With a view to quantifying the energy and environmental advantages of Urine Source-Separation (USS) combined with different treatment processes, five wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) scenarios were compared to a reference scenario using Dynamic Modelling (DM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and an integrated DM-LCA framework was thus developed. Dynamic simulations were carried out in BioWin(®) in order to obtain a realistic evaluation of the dynamic behaviour and performance of plants under perturbation. LCA calculations were performed within Umberto(®) using the Ecoinvent database. A Python™ interface was used to integrate and convert simulation data and to introduce them into Umberto(®) to achieve a complete LCA evaluation comprising foreground and background processes. Comparisons between steady-state and dynamic simulations revealed the importance of considering dynamic aspects such as nutrient and flow peaks. The results of the evaluation highlighted the potential of the USS scenario for nutrient recovery whereas the Enhanced Primary Clarification (EPC) scenario gave increased biogas production and also notably decreased aeration consumption, leading to a positive energy balance. Both USS and EPC scenarios also showed increased stability of plant operation, with smaller daily averages of total nitrogen and phosphorus. In this context, USS and EPC results demonstrated that the coupled USS + EPC scenario and its combinations with agricultural spreading of N-rich effluent and nitritation/anaerobic deammonification could present an energy-positive balance with respectively 27% and 33% lower energy requirements and an increase in biogas production of 23%, compared to the reference scenario. The coupled scenarios also presented lesser environmental impacts (reduction of 31% and 39% in total endpoint impacts) along with effluent quality well within the specified limits. The marked environmental performance (reduction of global warming) when nitrogen is used

An introduction to the life cycle assessment (LCA) of bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for sustainable energy and product generation: Relevance and key aspects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pant, Deepak; Singh, Anoop; Bogaert, Gilbert Van

2011-01-01

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are devices capable of converting organic waste fraction present in wastewaters into useful energy vectors such as electricity or hydrogen. In recent years a large amount of research has been done on these unique systems in order to improve their performance both...... in terms of waste treatment as well as electric current production. Already there are plans to upscale this technology to convince the end-users of its potential. However, there are not many studies available on the life cycle of these systems with the current state of the art. In this article...... a methodology has been proposed to perform the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the BESs and some recommendations have been given which may be useful in carrying out LCA of these systems. Not only the direct benefits in terms of energy saved in aerating the wastewater treatment plants, but also the resulting...

Optimal utilization of waste-to-energy in an LCA perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Fruergaard, T; Astrup, T

2011-03-01

Energy production from two types of municipal solid waste was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA): (1) mixed high calorific waste suitable for production of solid recovered fuels (SRF) and (2) source separated organic waste. For SRF, co-combustion was compared with mass burn incineration. For organic waste, anaerobic digestion (AD) was compared with mass burn incineration. In the case of mass burn incineration, incineration with and without energy recovery was modelled. Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion was evaluated for use both as transportation fuel and for heat and power production. All relevant consequences for energy and resource consumptions, emissions to air, water and soil, upstream processes and downstream processes were included in the LCA. Energy substitutions were considered with respect to two different energy systems: a present-day Danish system based on fossil fuels and a potential future system based on 100% renewable energy. It was found that mass burn incineration of SRF with energy recovery provided savings in all impact categories, but co-combustion was better with respect to Global Warming (GW). If all heat from incineration could be utilized, however, the two alternatives were comparable for SRF. For organic waste, mass burn incineration with energy recovery was preferable over anaerobic digestion in most impact categories. Waste composition and flue gas cleaning at co-combustion plants were critical for the environmental performance of SRF treatment, while the impacts related to utilization of the digestate were significant for the outcome of organic waste treatment. The conclusions were robust in a present-day as well as in a future energy system. This indicated that mass burn incineration with efficient energy recovery is a very environmentally competitive solution overall. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LCA of management strategies for RDF incineration and gasification bottom ash based on experimental leaching data.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Gianfilippo, Martina; Costa, Giulia; Pantini, Sara; Allegrini, Elisa; Lombardi, Francesco; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2016-01-01

The main characteristics and environmental properties of the bottom ash (BA) generated from thermal treatment of waste may vary significantly depending on the type of waste and thermal technology employed. Thus, to ensure that the strategies selected for the management of these residues do not cause adverse environmental impacts, the specific properties of BA, in particular its leaching behavior, should be taken into account. This study focuses on the evaluation of potential environmental impacts associated with two different management options for BA from thermal treatment of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF): landfilling and recycling as a filler for road sub bases. Two types of thermal treatment were considered: incineration and gasification. Potential environmental impacts were evaluated by life-cycle assessment (LCA) using the EASETECH model. Both non-toxicity related impact categories (i.e. global warming and mineral abiotic resource depletion) and toxic impact categories (i.e. human toxicity and ecotoxicity) were assessed. The system boundaries included BA transport from the incineration/gasification plants to the landfills and road construction sites, leaching of potentially toxic metals from the BA, the avoided extraction, crushing, transport and leaching of virgin raw materials for the road scenarios, and material and energy consumption for the construction of the landfills. To provide a quantitative assessment of the leaching properties of the two types of BA, experimental leaching data were used to estimate the potential release from each of the two types of residues. Specific attention was placed on the sensitivity of leaching properties and the determination of emissions by leaching, including: leaching data selection, material properties and assumptions related to emission modeling. The LCA results showed that for both types of BA, landfilling was associated with the highest environmental impacts in the non-toxicity related categories. For the toxicity

Life cycle assessment(Lca) of the power generation system for the establishment of environmental management system in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Y.E.

2005-01-01

The development of electricity technology from the environmental aspect has become the key factor for competitiveness, i.e., environmental friendliness is one of the most important considerations for technology development. Under the monopolised electric industry of the past, there was little motivation for individual companies to actually manage their company. However, because of the increasing demand for energy and the concerns for the environment, energy policies are shifting towards a sustainable development, which considers both the economics and environmental protection. According to the paradigm shift of the energy policy, it is necessary to compare two major electricity sources from the view of environmental management issues. It is effective with the common dimensionless unit concerning the various environmental categories including the radiological and non-radiological points of view, which can be realized by the new environmental impact assessment methodology such as the life cycle assessment (LCA). This study aims at a comparison of the environmental impacts of the nuclear and coal power generation systems using the LCA methodology. These results are very preliminary ones, however, this study will be helpful in making a decision on a long term electricity plan and the energy mix optimization when considering the environmental aspect in Korea and also the power generation companies could enhance their images by showing off their willingness to improve the environmental quality. (orig.)

Investor Outlook: Focus on Upcoming LCA2 Gene Therapy Phase III Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Schimmer, Joshua; Breazzano, Steven

2015-09-01

Investor interest in gene therapy has increased substantially over the past few years, and the next major catalyst for the field is likely to be Spark Therapeutics's phase III trial for the treatment of visual impairment caused by RPE65 gene mutations (often referred to as Leber congenital amaurosis type 2, or LCA2, but may include other retinal disorders). Analysis of the approach from the basic genetics, underlying visual mechanisms, clinical data, and commercialization considerations helps frame investor expectations and the potential implications for the broader field.

Education and training in LCA and life-cycle thinking experience and needs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Bey, Niki; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2003-01-01

. The target group for the educational offers are students of both short and long term higher education, primarily engineering students of various disciplines. However, teaching within LCA and life cycle thinking also takes place in curricula for designers, architects and production technicians. The target...... group for the training are in most cases companies, and participants are in mostly employees from the environmental department, but there are also offers for governmental authorities and unemployed. Both education and further training mainly convey qualifications on a "knowing about"-level in the form...

Kajian Dampak Proses Pengolahan Air di IPA Siwalanpanji Terhadap Lingkungan dengan Menggunakan Metode Life Cycle Assessment (LCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fara Pratiwi Eka Riyanty

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Proses pengolahan air minum secara konvensional dapat menyebabkan dampak lingkungan akibat konsumsi energi dan pemakaian bahan kimia. Penelitian ini mengidentifikasi dampak pencemaran yang dihasilkan dari proses pengolahan air di IPA Siwalanpanji menggunakan life cycle assessment. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA merupakan metode untuk menganalisis dampak suatu produk terhadap lingkungan sepanjang siklus hidupnya. Siklus hidup dari suatu produk terdiri dari ekstraksi bahan baku, proses produksi hingga proses pembuangan akhir. Dari hasil analisis LCA, menggunakan software Simapro 7.33 dampak pencemaran yang terjadi berupa pencemaran udara yang disebabkan oleh penggunaan klorin, polyaluminium chloride (PAC dan konsumsi listrik. Dampak pencemaran terbesar terjadi pada penggunaan listrik dalam pemakaian satu hari yaitu menyebabkan respiratory inorganics sebesar 0,748 kg PM2.5, ozone layer depletion sebesar 0,000295 kg CFC-11 dan global warming sebesar 1000 kg CO2. Solusi untuk mengurangi dampak lingkungan yang dapat dilakukan instalasi pengolahan air adalah dengan cara peningkatan efesiensi peralatan.

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Busto, Mirko; Fantoni, Moris; Fino, Debora

2012-05-01

As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive assessment of fruits and vegetables human health effects in a LCA context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stylianou, Katerina S.; Jolliet, O.; Fantke, Peter

2016-01-01

the environmental and nutritional effects of foods expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). For the environmental health assessment we consider impact categories such as global warming and particulate matter (PM) as well as chemical exposure due to pesticide residues. Global warming and PM are assessed...... following a traditional LCA approach. For the pesticide residue exposure, we use publically available health impact scores derived from toxicological studies of numerous pesticide active ingredients. For the nutritional assessment we focus on the various health outcomes considered in the global burden...... in which the substituted food items are associated with negative health effects, such as red meat and trans-fat. Overall environmental health impacts associated with this addition are substantially smaller compared to nutritional benefits in each scenario, even when considering an uncertainty factor of 400...

assessment of environmental impacts in comfortable furniture production process using life cycle assessment (LCA technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

hejhar abbasi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Furniture industry releases annually a large amount of volatile organic compound to the environment due to the use of adhesives, textiles, paints and coating materials. There are some different methods to measure the load of pollutions and the environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA is one of the best techniques. LCA is a technique in which all environmental impacts related to a product assessed all over its life cycle, from cradle to grave, and ultimately can be used to improve the production process and to prevent unsuitable environmental impacts. In summary, it can be concluded that the use of this technique is the basis for sustainable development and improving social, economic, and environmental indices. This study focused on the collecting of a comprehensive life cycle inventory data for comfortable furniture in two different production processes (B1 and B2 located in Tehran province, and analyzed the environmental impacts during the production process as gate to gate investigation. The results revealed that emissions in production process B1 were higher than that of production process B2. The reason for this is that basic operations such as sawing and frame assembling along with final operation have been done in the same unit for case B1. Textile production and usage, and polyurethane foam were identified as the main hotspots, respectively. Moreover, the results showed that comfortable furniture production process has the highest effects on ecosystem quality, human health, and resources (fossil fuels and mines, respectively.

Regionalized LCA-based optimization of building energy supply: method and case study for a Swiss municipality.

Science.gov (United States)

Saner, Dominik; Vadenbo, Carl; Steubing, Bernhard; Hellweg, Stefanie

2014-07-01

This paper presents a regionalized LCA-based multiobjective optimization model of building energy demand and supply for the case of a Swiss municipality for the minimization of greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter formation. The results show that the environmental improvement potential is very large: in the optimal case, greenhouse gas emissions from energy supply could be reduced by more than 75% and particulate emissions by over 50% in the municipality. This scenario supposes a drastic shift of heat supply systems from a fossil fuel dominated portfolio to a portfolio consisting of mainly heat pump and woodchip incineration systems. In addition to a change in heat supply technologies, roofs, windows and walls would need to be refurbished in more than 65% of the municipality's buildings. The full potential of the environmental impact reductions will hardly be achieved in reality, particularly in the short term, for example, because of financial constraints and social acceptance, which were not taken into account in this study. Nevertheless, the results of the optimization model can help policy makers to identify the most effective measures for improvement at the decision making level, for example, at the building level for refurbishment and selection of heating systems or at the municipal level for designing district heating networks. Therefore, this work represents a starting point for designing effective incentives to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. While the results of the optimization model are specific to the municipality studied, the model could readily be adapted to other regions.

Consensus building on the development of a stress-based indicator for LCA-based impact assessment of water consumption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boulay, Anne Marie; Bare, Jane; Camillis, De Camillo; Döll, Petra; Gassert, Francis; Gerten, Dieter; Humbert, Sebastien; Inaba, Atsushi; Itsubo, Norihiro; Lemoine, Yann; Margni, Manuele; Motoshita, Masaharu; Núñez, Montse; Pastor, A.V.; Ridoutt, Brad; Schencker, Urs; Shirakawa, Naoki; Vionnet, Samuel; Worbe, Sebastien; Yoshikawa, Sayaka; Pfister, Stephan

2015-01-01

Purpose: The WULCA group, active since 2007 on Water Use in LCA, commenced the development of consensus-based indicators in January 2014. This activity is planned to last 2 years and covers human health, ecosystem quality, and a stress-based indicator. This latter encompasses potential

Life Cycle Thinking and the Use of LCA in Policies Around the World

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnemann, G.; Gemechu, E. D.; Sala, S.

2018-01-01

relevant for policies focusing on design for sustainability, sustainable consumer information, sustainable procurement and waste management, minimization and prevention as well as sector-specific policies like sustainable energy and food supply. Examples of life cycle thinking and the use of LCA...... is the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP adopted in 2012 and the global agreements on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. Life cycle thinking has become mature, moving from its academic origins and limited uses, primarily in-house in large companies, to more powerful approaches...

Downcycling versus recycling of construction and demolition waste: Combining LCA and LCC to support sustainable policy making.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Maria, Andrea; Eyckmans, Johan; Van Acker, Karel

2018-05-01

Urgent solutions are needed in Europe to deal with construction and demolition waste (CDW). EU policy has contributed to significantly reducing the amount of CDW going to landfill, but most of the effort has been put in downcycling practices. Therefore, further policies are needed to stimulate high-quality recycling of CDW. The present paper presents a combined life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) methodologies to analyse the environmental and the economic drivers in four alternative CDW end-of-life scenarios in the region of Flanders, in Belgium. The four analysed alternatives are (i) landfilling, (ii) downcycling, (iii) advanced recycling and (iv) recycling after selective demolition. LCA results show that landiflling is the scenario having the highest environmental impacts in terms of person equivalent (PE), followed by downcycling and recycling (-36%) and recycling after selective demolition (-59%). The decrease in environmental impacts is mostly due to the avoided landfilling of CDW and the recovery of materials from selective demolition. LCC results indicate that landfilling is the scenario bearing the highest total economic costs. This is due to the high landfill tax in Flanders. The recycling after selective demolition bears the second highest cost. The increase of high-quality CDW recycling can significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of the system. Implementing a high landfill tax, increasing the gate fee to the recycling plant, and boosting the sales price of recycled aggregates are the most effective drivers to facilitate a transition towards a more sustainable CDW management system. The paper demonstrates that the combined LCA and LCC results can highlight the environmental and economic drivers in CDW management. The results of the combined analysis can help policymakers to promote the aspects contributing to sustainability and to limit the ones creating a barrier. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy system analysis of marginal electricity supply in consequential LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik; Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Christensen, Per

2010-01-01

Background, aim and scope This paper discusses the identification of the environmental consequences of marginal electricity supplies in consequential life cycle assessments (LCA). According to the methodology, environmental characteristics can be examined by identifying affected activities, i...... in capacity but can be characterised as a complex set of affected electricity and heat supply technologies. A long-term YAM technology is identified for the Danish BAU2030 system in the case of three different long-term marginal changes in capacity, namely coal, natural gas or wind power. Discussion Four...... of four different situations are provided. We suggest that the technology mix with the installation of natural gas or coal power plant is applied as the marginal capacity. Conclusions The environmental consequences of marginal changes in electricity supply cannot always be represented solely by long...

How physical modelling can improve Life Cycle Inventory accuracy and allow predictive LCA: an application to the steel industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirgaux, O.; Ablitzer, D.; Iosif, A.M.

2009-01-01

Assessing traditional iron and steelmaking processes from an environmental point of view and developing breakthrough eco-efficient processes for the future are major challenges for the steel industry today. In the framework of the challenging European project ULCOS, which stands for Ultra Low CO 2 Steelmaking, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was chosen to assess breakthrough processes that could be part of the future iron and steel making landscape and to compare them to the reference classical integrated steel-mill. To carry out such a study we propose a new methodological concept which combines LCA thinking with physicochemical process modelling. Physicochemical models were developed for each processes of the classical integrated steelmaking route in order to generate the data required to draw the Life Cycle Inventory of the route. Such a method bypasses the traditional data collection and brings accuracy to the inventory by introducing rigorous mass and energy balances into the methodology. In addition it was shown that such an approach allows testing and assessing different operational practices of the processes in order to optimise the use of energy and the CO 2 emissions, which showed that it can be used as a powerful tool for eco-conception of processes. (authors)

Estimating water consumption of potential natural vegetation on global dry lands: building an LCA framework for green water flows.

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Montserrat; Pfister, Stephan; Roux, Philippe; Antón, Assumpció

2013-01-01

This study aimed to provide a framework for assessing direct soil-water consumption, also termed green water in the literature, in life cycle assessment (LCA). This was an issue that LCA had not tackled before. The approach, which is applied during the life cycle inventory phase (LCI), consists of quantifying the net change in the evapo(transpi)ration of the production system compared to the natural reference situation. Potential natural vegetation (PNV) is used as the natural reference situation. In order to apply the method, we estimated PNV evapotranspiration adapted to local biogeographic conditions, on global dry lands, where soil-water consumption impacts can be critical. Values are reported at different spatial aggregation levels: 10-arcmin global grid, ecoregions (501 units), biomes (14 units), countries (124 units), continents, and a global average, to facilitate the assessment for different spatial information detail levels available in the LCI. The method is intended to be used in rain-fed agriculture and rainwater harvesting contexts, which includes direct soil moisture uptake by plants and rainwater harvested and then reused in production systems. The paper provides the necessary LCI method and data for further development of impact assessment models and characterization factors to evaluate the environmental effects of the net change in evapo(transpi)ration.

Comparing LCC with LCA to assess PSS sustainability: the case of the eco-box

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chong, K.N.; Dreijer, L.S.; Howard, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

Product/Service-Systems strategies are increasingly proving to be a source of competitive advantage and environmental improvement for engineering companies, the main hypothesis being that PSS should allow to decouple functionality, user satisfaction and financial income on the one hand, from the ...... the total environmental impact of the function-delivering technology on the other. This paper describes an integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC), in an attempt to see if the two life cycle elements are related....

Do wood-based panels made with agro-industrial residues provide environmentally benign alternatives? An LCA case study of sugarcane bagasse addition to particle board manufacturing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silva, Diogo Aparecido Lopes; Lahr, Francisco Antonio Rocco; Pavan, Ana Laura Raymundo

2014-01-01

environmental impacts? Could it substitute wood as raw material? Accordingly, this paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study of particle board manufactured with sugarcane bagasse residues.The cradle-to-gate assessment of 1 m3 of particle board made with sugarcane bagasse (PSB) considered three main...... subsystem was 9.08 % (economic base). The potential environmental impact phase was assessed by applying the CML and USEtox methods. PSB was compared with the conventional particle board manufactured in Brazil by the categories of the CML and USETox, and including land use indicators. Finally, two scenarios......, it is suggested that the sugarcane bagasse be mixed up to 75 % during particle board manufacturing so that good quality properties and environmental performance of panels can be provided....

LCA and economic evaluation of landfill leachate and gas technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Anders; Manfredi, Simone; Merrild, Hanna Kristina

2011-01-01

Landfills receiving a mix of waste, including organics, have developed dramatically over the last 3–4 decades; from open dumps to engineered facilities with extensive controls on leachate and gas. The conventional municipal landfill will in most climates produce a highly contaminated leachate...... and a significant amount of landfill gas. Leachate controls may include bottom liners and leachate collection systems as well as leachate treatment prior to discharge to surface water. Gas controls may include oxidizing top covers, gas collection systems with flares or gas utilization systems for production...... of electricity and heat.The importance of leachate and gas control measures in reducing the overall environmental impact from a conventional landfill was assessed by life-cycle-assessment (LCA). The direct cost for the measures were also estimated providing a basis for assessing which measures are the most cost...

The EXIST Mission Concept Study

Science.gov (United States)

Fishman, Gerald J.; Grindlay, J.; Hong, J.

2008-01-01

EXIST is a mission designed to find and study black holes (BHs) over a wide range of environments and masses, including: 1) BHs accreting from binary companions or dense molecular clouds throughout our Galaxy and the Local Group, 2) supermassive black holes (SMBHs) lying dormant in galaxies that reveal their existence by disrupting passing stars, and 3) SMBHs that are hidden from our view at lower energies due to obscuration by the gas that they accrete. 4) the birth of stellar mass BHs which is accompanied by long cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) which are seen several times a day and may be associated with the earliest stars to form in the Universe. EXIST will provide an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity and angular resolution as well as greater spectral resolution and bandwidth compared with earlier hard X-ray survey telescopes. With an onboard optical-infra red (IR) telescope, EXIST will measure the spectra and redshifts of GRBs and their utility as cosmological probes of the highest z universe and epoch of reionization. The mission would retain its primary goal of being the Black Hole Finder Probe in the Beyond Einstein Program. However, the new design for EXIST proposed to be studied here represents a significant advance from its previous incarnation as presented to BEPAC. The mission is now less than half the total mass, would be launched on the smallest EELV available (Atlas V-401) for a Medium Class mission, and most importantly includes a two-telescope complement that is ideally suited for the study of both obscured and very distant BHs. EXIST retains its very wide field hard X-ray imaging High Energy Telescope (HET) as the primary instrument, now with improved angular and spectral resolution, and in a more compact payload that allows occasional rapid slews for immediate optical/IR imaging and spectra of GRBs and AGN as well as enhanced hard X-ray spectra and timing with pointed observations. The mission would conduct a 2 year full sky survey in

LCA som verktyg för ökad kunskap om miljöpåverkan från golvmaterialen vinyl, linoleum och parkett : Utifrån certifieringskriterier om relevans, potential och styrbarhet

OpenAIRE

Yilmaz, Secil

2012-01-01

Life Cycle Assesment, LCA, används för att sammanställa och utvärdera in- och utflöden ur ett system samt potentiell miljöpåverkan under en produkts livscykel. Beräkningarna görs genom att se hela produkten ur ett livscykelperspektiv, dvs. från det att produkten är en råvara till det att den hanteras som avfall. Beroende på måldefinition och systemgränser kan detaljgraden och tidsramen för LCA-studien varieras. LCA används för att identifiera möjligheter att förbättra produkten i olika delar ...

Preparing the ground for an operational handling of long-term emissions in LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakas, Ioannis; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2015-01-01

Currently, there is no meaningful methodology for the estimation of environmental impacts from long-term heavy metal emissions in a life cycle assessment (LCA) context, when an assessment of landfill and mining technologies is performed. In this paper, the aims are to investigate the main issues...... and their differences are highlighted.A suitable dynamic LCI is identified for landfill emissions, which calculates Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb emissions as a function of time, based on assumed developments of the leachate pH. The results of the application of the different impact assessment methods on that LCI differ by up to 8...

System expansion for handling co-products in LCA of sugar cane bio-energy systems: GHG consequences of using molasses for ethanol production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Thu Lan T.; Hermansen, John E.

2012-01-01

Highlights: → A challenging issue in LCA is how to account for co-products' environmental burdens. → The two most commonly used procedures are system expansion and allocation. → System expansion appears to be more appropriate than allocation. → Indirect land use change is a consequence of diverting molasses from feed to fuel. → The inclusion of land use change worsens the GHG balance of molasses ethanol. -- Abstract: This study aims to establish a procedure for handling co-products in life cycle assessment (LCA) of a typical sugar cane system. The procedure is essential for environmental assessment of ethanol from molasses, a co-product of sugar which has long been used mainly for feed. We compare system expansion and two allocation procedures for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of molasses ethanol. As seen from our results, system expansion yields the highest estimate among the three. However, no matter which procedure is used, a significant reduction of emissions from the fuel stage in the abatement scenario, which assumes implementation of substituting bioenergy for fossil-based energy to reduce GHG emissions, combined with a negligible level of emissions from the use stage, keeps the estimate of ethanol life cycle GHG emissions below that of gasoline. Pointing out that indirect land use change (ILUC) is a consequence of diverting molasses from feed to fuel, system expansion is the most adequate method when the purpose of the LCA is to support decision makers in weighing the options and consequences. As shown in the sensitivity analysis, an addition of carbon emissions from ILUC worsens the GHG balance of ethanol, with deforestation being a worst-case scenario where the fuel is no longer a net carbon saver but carbon emitter.

Feasibility study on application of new concept of environmental assessment to nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Young Eal; Lee, Kun Jai

2000-01-01

The existing environmental assessments of nuclear energy are focused on the two kinds of issues such as prevention of green house gas emission and radiological impact assessment. So, the comparative assessment of the other resources such as fossil fuels has been the main part and this result has been the side of nuclear power as the clean energy resource. However, now is when to develop the methodology that approaches to environmental assessment of energy in terms of the various environmental categories. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) would be the effective environmental assessment tool, which is able to meet the necessity mentioned above. Also classification of the radiological impact and calculation of the environmental impact from the radioactive substances are indispensable as long as the nuclear energy is considered in the application of LCA for the utilization of energy in the industry. However, direct introduction of LCA to the nuclear energy is difficult more or less due to the absence of the methodology for the radiological impact assessment within the LCA framework. Therefore, this study suggests the new concept of environmental assessment. Also current status of development for the classification factor of radiological impact is introduced and investigates the feasibility of application of it to nuclear power generation system

Comparative techno-economic assessment and LCA of selected integrated sugarcane-based biorefineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gnansounou, Edgard; Vaskan, Pavel; Pachón, Elia Ruiz

2015-11-01

This work addresses the economic and environmental performance of integrated biorefineries based on sugarcane juice and residues. Four multiproduct scenarios were considered; two from sugar mills and the others from ethanol distilleries. They are integrated biorefineries producing first (1G) and second (2G) generation ethanol, sugar, molasses (for animal feed) and electricity in the context of Brazil. The scenarios were analysed and compared using techno-economic value-based approach and LCA methodology. The results show that the best economic configuration is provided by a scenario with largest ethanol production while the best environmental performance is presented by a scenario with full integration sugar - 1G2G ethanol production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

System expansion for handling co-products in LCA of sugar cane bio-energy systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, T Lan T; Hermansen, John Erik

2012-01-01

This study aims to establish a procedure for handling co-products in life cycle assessment (LCA) of a typical sugar cane system. The procedure is essential for environmental assessment of ethanol from molasses, a co-product of sugar which has long been used mainly for feed. We compare system...... expansion and two allocation procedures for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of molasses ethanol. As seen from our results, system expansion yields the highest estimate among the three. However, no matter which procedure is used, a significant reduction of emissions from the fuel stage...... in the abatement scenario, which assumes implementation of substituting bioenergy for fossil-based energy to reduce GHG emissions, combined with a negligible level of emissions from the use stage, keeps the estimate of ethanol life cycle GHG emissions below that of gasoline. Pointing out that indirect land use...

A limited LCA of bio-adipic acid: manufacturing the nylon-6,6 precursor adipic acid using the benzoic acid degradation pathway from different feedstocks.

Science.gov (United States)

van Duuren, J B J H; Brehmer, B; Mars, A E; Eggink, G; Dos Santos, V A P Martins; Sanders, J P M

2011-06-01

A limited life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a combined biological and chemical process for the production of adipic acid, which was compared to the traditional petrochemical process. The LCA comprises the biological conversion of the aromatic feedstocks benzoic acid, impure aromatics, toluene, or phenol from lignin to cis, cis-muconic acid, which is subsequently converted to adipic acid through hydrogenation. Apart from the impact of usage of petrochemical and biomass-based feedstocks, the environmental impact of the final concentration of cis, cis-muconic acid in the fermentation broth was studied using 1.85% and 4.26% cis, cis-muconic acid. The LCA focused on the cumulative energy demand (CED), cumulative exergy demand (CExD), and the CO(2) equivalent (CO(2) eq) emission, with CO(2) and N(2) O measured separately. The highest calculated reduction potential of CED and CExD were achieved using phenol, which reduced the CED by 29% and 57% with 1.85% and 4.26% cis, cis-muconic acid, respectively. A decrease in the CO(2) eq emission was especially achieved when the N(2) O emission in the combined biological and chemical process was restricted. At 4.26% cis, cis-muconic acid, the different carbon backbone feedstocks contributed to an optimized reduction of CO(2) eq emissions ranging from 14.0 to 17.4 ton CO(2) eq/ton adipic acid. The bulk of the bioprocessing energy intensity is attributed to the hydrogenation reactor, which has a high environmental impact and a direct relationship with the product concentration in the broth. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Eco-efficiency analysis of Spanish WWTPs using the LCA + DEA method.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzo-Toja, Yago; Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Chenel, Sergio; Marín-Navarro, Desirée; Moreira, María Teresa; Feijoo, Gumersindo

2015-01-01

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are regarded as units designed for the efficient removal of organic matter and nutrients from polluted wastewaters, avoiding their discharge into the environment. Despite these benefits, they have also been found to be highly energy intensive, with consequent increased emissions in terms of greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts. Therefore, it has become imperative to monitor thoroughly the overall functioning of WWTPs from an integrated perspective with the aim of understanding how these can improve their eco-efficiency. In this case study, a group of 113 WWTPs located in regions across Spain were analysed using the methodology that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The aim of this work was to determine the operational efficiency of each unit in order to obtain environmental benchmarks for inefficient plants. Thereafter, the environmental gains linked with the inputs reduction proposed for the DEA model for each unit were computed in order to verify eco-efficiency criteria. The operational complexity of WWTPs resulted in several identified factors affecting their efficiency which are discussed in depth, including the size of the facility, the climatic influence, the influent load and the over- or underuse of the plant.

Emission of toxic components as a factor of the best practice options for waste management: Application of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stevanović-Čarapina Hristina D.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Health and safety have been the major concerns in waste management. Waste must be managed in a way that minimizes risk to human health. Environmental concerns over the management and disposal of waste can be divided into two major areas: conservation of resources and pollution of the environment. Integrated Waste Management (IWM systems combine waste streams, waste collection, treatment and disposal methods, with the objective of achieving environmental benefits, economic optimization and societal acceptability. Integrated waste management using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA attempts to offer the most benign options for waste management. LCA is a compilation and evaluation of the inputs, the outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. It can be successfully applied to municipal solid waste management systems to identify the overall environmental burdens and to assess the potential environmental impacts. This paper deals with the LCA of the two waste management options for final disposal of municipal waste, landfilling (landfill without landfill gas collection or leachate collection and sanitary landfilling (landfill with landfill gas collection and recovery and leachate collection and treatments analyzed for town Sombor, Serbia. The research is conducted with the use of the Software Package IWM-2. The indicators which are used in the assessment are air and water emissions of toxic compounds. The results indicated that waste disposal practice has a significant effect on the emission of the toxic components and environmental burdens. Sanitary landfilling of municipal solid waste significantly reduces toxic emission and negative influence on the environment.

Cofiring versus biomass-fired power plants: GHG (Greenhouse Gases) emissions savings comparison by means of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sebastian, F.; Royo, J.; Gomez, M.

2011-01-01

One way of producing nearly CO 2 free electricity is by using biomass as a combustible. In many cases, removal of CO 2 in biomass grown is almost the same as the emissions for the bioelectricity production at the power plant. For this reason, bioelectricity is generally considered CO 2 neutral. For large-scale biomass electricity generation two alternatives can be considered: biomass-only fired power plants, or cofiring in an existing coal power plant. Among other factors, two important aspects should be analyzed in order to choose between the two options. Firstly, which is the most appealing alternative if their Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emissions savings are taken into account. Secondly, which biomass resource is the best, if the highest impact reduction is sought. In order to quantify all the GHG emissions related to each system, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been performed and all the processes involved in each alternative have been assessed in a cradle-to-grave manner. Sensitivity analyses of the most dominant parameters affecting GHG emissions, and comparisons between the obtained results, have also been carried out.

Implementation of PEF Treatment at Real-Scale Tomatoes Processing Considering LCA Methodology as an Innovation Strategy in the Agri-Food Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro J. Arnal

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In Europe, science and innovation are boosting the agri-food sector and, in parallel, are helping to decrease greenhouse gas emissions (GHG and European dependency on non-renewable resources. Currently, it is well-known that this sector contributes to the consumption of energy and material resources, causing significant environmental impacts that require a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation in order to manage them effectively. This becomes even more complicated when new technologies are reaching the level of technological maturity needed to be installed in the production lines. To address this scientific challenge, the life cycle assessment (LCA has been used in this paper to evaluate the potential of pulsed electric fields (PEF technology at an industrial scale to facilitate the steam peeling of tomato fruits. Considering the thermo-physical peeling stage, the LCA has shown that PEF technology is environmentally friendly, because when PEF technology is applied, all the considered environmental indicators improve between 17% and 20%.

LCA of waste prevention activities: a case study for drinking water in Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nessi, Simone; Rigamonti, Lucia; Grosso, Mario

2012-10-15

The strategic relevance of waste prevention has considerably increased worldwide during recent years, such that the current European legislation requires the preparation of national waste prevention programmes in which reduction objectives and measures are identified. In such a context, it is possible to recognise how, in order to correctly evaluate the environmental consequences of a prevention activity, a life cycle perspective should be employed. This allows us to go beyond the simple reduction of the generated waste which, alone, does not automatically imply achieving better overall environmental performance, especially when this reduction is not pursued through the simple reduction of consumption. In this study, the energetic and environmental performance of two waste prevention activities considered particularly meaningful for the Italian context were evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The two activities were the utilisation of public network water (two scenarios) and of refillable bottled water (two scenarios) for drinking purposes, instead of one-way bottled water (three scenarios). The energy demand and specific potential impacts of the four waste prevention scenarios and of the three baseline scenarios were compared with the aim of evaluating whether, and under what conditions, the analysed prevention activities are actually associated with overall energetic and environmental benefits. In typical conditions, the use of public network water directly from the tap results in the best scenario, while if water is withdrawn from public fountains, its further transportation by private car can involve significant impacts. The use of refillable PET bottled water seems the preferable scenario for packaged water consumption, if refillable bottles are transported to local distributors along the same (or a lower) distance as one-way bottles to retailers. The use of refillable glass bottled water is preferable to one-way bottled water only if a

The use of LCA in selecting the best MSW management system.

Science.gov (United States)

De Feo, Giovanni; Malvano, Carmela

2009-06-01

This paper focuses on the study of eleven environmental impact categories produced by several municipal solid waste management systems (scenarios) operating on a provincial scale in Southern Italy. In particular, the analysis takes into account 12 management scenarios with 16 management phases for each one. The only difference among ten of the scenarios (separated kerbside collection of all recyclables, glass excepted, composting of putrescibles, RDF pressed bales production and incineration, final landfilling) is the percentage of separated collection varying in the range of 35-80%, while the other two scenarios, for 80% of separate collection, consider different alternatives in the disposal of treatment residues (dry residue sorting and final landfilling or direct disposal in landfill). The potential impacts induced on the environmental components were analysed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) procedure called "WISARD" (Waste Integrated System Assessment for Recovery and Disposal). Paper recycling was the phase with the greatest influence on avoided impacts, while the collection logistics of dry residue was the phase with the greatest influence on produced impacts. For six impact categories (renewable and total energy use, water, suspended solids and oxydable matters index, eutrophication and hazardous waste production), for high percentages of separate collection a management system based on recovery and recycling but without incineration would be preferable.

The use of LCA in selecting the best MSW management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feo, Giovanni De; Malvano, Carmela

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on the study of eleven environmental impact categories produced by several municipal solid waste management systems (scenarios) operating on a provincial scale in Southern Italy. In particular, the analysis takes into account 12 management scenarios with 16 management phases for each one. The only difference among ten of the scenarios (separated kerbside collection of all recyclables, glass excepted, composting of putrescibles, RDF pressed bales production and incineration, final landfilling) is the percentage of separated collection varying in the range of 35-80%, while the other two scenarios, for 80% of separate collection, consider different alternatives in the disposal of treatment residues (dry residue sorting and final landfilling or direct disposal in landfill). The potential impacts induced on the environmental components were analysed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) procedure called 'WISARD' (Waste Integrated System Assessment for Recovery and Disposal). Paper recycling was the phase with the greatest influence on avoided impacts, while the collection logistics of dry residue was the phase with the greatest influence on produced impacts. For six impact categories (renewable and total energy use, water, suspended solids and oxydable matters index, eutrophication and hazardous waste production), for high percentages of separate collection a management system based on recovery and recycling but without incineration would be preferable.

Investor Outlook: Significance of the Positive LCA2 Gene Therapy Phase III Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Schimmer, Joshua; Breazzano, Steven

2015-12-01

Spark Therapeutics recently reported positive phase III results for SPK-RPE65 targeting the treatment of visual impairment caused by RPE65 gene mutations (often referred to as Leber congenital amaurosis type 2, or LCA2, but may include other retinal disorders), marking an important inflection point for the field of gene therapy. The results highlight the ability to successfully design and execute a randomized trial of a gene therapy and also reinforce the potentially predictive nature of early preclinical and clinical data. The results are expected to pave the way for the first approved gene therapy product in the United States and should sustain investor interest and confidence in gene therapy for many approaches, including retina targeting and beyond.

Climate change damage functions in LCA – (1) from global warming potential to natural environment damages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Callesen, Ingeborg; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Bagger Jørgensen, Rikke

Energy use often is the most significant contributor to the impact category ‘global warming’ in life cycle impact assessment. However, the potential global warming effects on the climate at regional level and consequential effects on the natural environment are not thoroughly described within LCA...... methodology. The current scientific understanding of the extent of climate change impacts is limited due to the immense complexity of the multi-factorial environmental changes and unknown adaptive capacities at process, species and ecosystem level. In the presentation we argue that the global warming impacts...

The creation, management, and use of data quality information for life cycle assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Edelen, Ashley; Ingwersen, Wesley W

2018-04-01

Despite growing access to data, questions of "best fit" data and the appropriate use of results in supporting decision making still plague the life cycle assessment (LCA) community. This discussion paper addresses revisions to assessing data quality captured in a new US Environmental Protection Agency guidance document as well as additional recommendations on data quality creation, management, and use in LCA databases and studies. Existing data quality systems and approaches in LCA were reviewed and tested. The evaluations resulted in a revision to a commonly used pedigree matrix, for which flow and process level data quality indicators are described, more clarity for scoring criteria, and further guidance on interpretation are given. Increased training for practitioners on data quality application and its limits are recommended. A multi-faceted approach to data quality assessment utilizing the pedigree method alongside uncertainty analysis in result interpretation is recommended. A method of data quality score aggregation is proposed and recommendations for usage of data quality scores in existing data are made to enable improved use of data quality scores in LCA results interpretation. Roles for data generators, data repositories, and data users are described in LCA data quality management. Guidance is provided on using data with data quality scores from other systems alongside data with scores from the new system. The new pedigree matrix and recommended data quality aggregation procedure can now be implemented in openLCA software. Additional ways in which data quality assessment might be improved and expanded are described. Interoperability efforts in LCA data should focus on descriptors to enable user scoring of data quality rather than translation of existing scores. Developing and using data quality indicators for additional dimensions of LCA data, and automation of data quality scoring through metadata extraction and comparison to goal and scope are needed.

Environmental assessment of Ammassuo Landfill (Finland) by means of LCA-modelling (EASEWASTE)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niskanen, A.; Manfredi, Simone; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2009-01-01

The Old Ammassuo Landfill (Espoo, Finland) covers an area of 52 hectares and contains about 10 million tonnes of waste that was landfilled between 1987 and 2007. The majority of this waste was mixed, of which about 57% originated from households. This paper aims at describing the management...... of the Old Ammassuo Landfill throughout its operational lifetime (1987-2007), and at developing an environmental evaluation based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) using the EASEWASTE-model. The assessment criteria evaluate specific categories of impact, including standard impact categories, toxicity......) and ecotoxicity in water chronic (ETwc). The largest impact potential was found for SGR and amounted to 57.6 person equivalent (PE) per tonne of landfilled waste. However, the SGR impact may not be viewed as a significant issue in Finland as the drinking water is mostly supplied from surface water bodies. Overall...

Biofuel or excavation? - Life cycle assessment (LCA) of soil remediation options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suer, Pascal; Andersson-Skoeld, Yvonne [Swedish Geotechnical Institute, 58193 Linkoeping (Sweden)

2011-02-15

The environmental consequences of soil remediation through biofuel or through dig-and-dump were compared using life cycle assessment (LCA). Willow (Salix viminalis) was actually grown in-situ on a discontinued oil depot, as a phytoremediation treatment. These data were used for the biofuel remediation, while excavation-and-refill data were estimated from experience. The biofuel remediation had great environmental advantages compared to the ex situ excavation remediation. With the ReCiPe impact assessment method, which included biodiversity, the net environmental effect was even positive, in spite of the fact that the wood harvest was not utilised for biofuel production, but left on the contaminated site. Impact from the Salix viminalis cultivation was mainly through land use for the short rotation coppice, and through journeys of control personnel. The latter may be reduced when familiarity with biofuel as a soil treatment method increases. The excavation-and-refill remediation was dominated by the landfill and the transport of contaminated soil and backfill. (author)

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Busto, Mirko; Fantoni, Moris; Fino, Debora

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new eco-efficient recycling route for post-consumer waste glass was implemented. ► Integrated waste management and industrial production are crucial to green products. ► Most of the waste glass rejects are sent back to the glass industry. ► Recovered co-products give more environmental gains than does avoided landfill. ► Energy intensive recycling must be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. - Abstract: As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled.

Consensus building on the development of a stress-based indicator for LCA-based impact assessment of water consumption: outcome of the expert workshops

Science.gov (United States)

The WULCA group, active since 2007 on Water Use in LCA, commenced the development of consensus-based indicators in January 2014. This activity is planned to last 2 years and covers human health, ecosystem quality, and a stress-based indicator. This latter encompasses potential de...

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Production Systems of Iran: 1- Comparison of Inputs Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Nassiri Mahallati

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction Agricultural intensification has serious environmental consequences such as depletion of non-renewable resources, emission of greenhouse gases, threatening of biodiversity and pollution of both surface and underground water resources. The life cycle assessment (LCA provides a standard method for assessing environmental impacts from various economic activities, including agriculture, and covers a wide range of impact categories across the entire production chain. Over the past few decades, food production in Iran has been increased drastically due to heavier use of chemical inputs. Since the use of LCA method is overlooked for assesseing the effects of agricultural intensification in Iran and few researches are conducted at local level (such as province, cities, the purpose of this research is evaluation of wheat production systems throughout the country based on the level of intensification using LCA method. Materials and Methods Fourteen provinces covering 80 percent of total cultivated area of wheat production in the country were subjected to a cradle to gate LCA study using the standard method. The selected provinces were classified as low, medium and high input based on the level of intensification and all inputs and emissions were estimated within the system boundaries during inventory stage. Required data for yield, and level of applied inputs for 14 provinces were collected from the official databases of the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture. The various environmental impacts including, abiotic resource depletion, land use, global warming potential, acidification and eutrophication potential, human, aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential of wheat production systems over the country was studied based on emission coefficients and characterization factors provided by standard literatures. The integrated effects of emission of each impact category were calculated per functional units (hectare cultivated area as well as ton

Using existing questionnaires in latent class analysis: should we use summary scores or single items as input? A methodological study using a cohort of patients with low back pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nielsen AM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Anne Molgaard Nielsen,1 Werner Vach,2 Peter Kent,1,3 Lise Hestbaek,1,4 Alice Kongsted1,4 1Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; 2Center for Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; 3School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Perth, Australia; 4Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark Background: Latent class analysis (LCA is increasingly being used in health research, but optimal approaches to handling complex clinical data are unclear. One issue is that commonly used questionnaires are multidimensional, but expressed as summary scores. Using the example of low back pain (LBP, the aim of this study was to explore and descriptively compare the application of LCA when using questionnaire summary scores and when using single items to subgrouping of patients based on multidimensional data. Materials and methods: Baseline data from 928 LBP patients in an observational study were classified into four health domains (psychology, pain, activity, and participation using the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health framework. LCA was performed within each health domain using the strategies of summary-score and single-item analyses. The resulting subgroups were descriptively compared using statistical measures and clinical interpretability. Results: For each health domain, the preferred model solution ranged from five to seven subgroups for the summary-score strategy and seven to eight subgroups for the single-item strategy. There was considerable overlap between the results of the two strategies, indicating that they were reflecting the same underlying data structure. However, in three of the four health domains, the single-item strategy resulted in a more nuanced description, in terms

LCA and economic evaluation of landfill leachate and gas technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Damgaard, Anders; Manfredi, Simone; Merrild, Hanna; Stensøe, Steen; Christensen, Thomas H

2011-07-01

Landfills receiving a mix of waste, including organics, have developed dramatically over the last 3-4 decades; from open dumps to engineered facilities with extensive controls on leachate and gas. The conventional municipal landfill will in most climates produce a highly contaminated leachate and a significant amount of landfill gas. Leachate controls may include bottom liners and leachate collection systems as well as leachate treatment prior to discharge to surface water. Gas controls may include oxidizing top covers, gas collection systems with flares or gas utilization systems for production of electricity and heat. The importance of leachate and gas control measures in reducing the overall environmental impact from a conventional landfill was assessed by life-cycle-assessment (LCA). The direct cost for the measures were also estimated providing a basis for assessing which measures are the most cost-effective in reducing the impact from a conventional landfill. This was done by modeling landfills ranging from a simple open dump to highly engineered conventional landfills with energy recovery in form of heat or electricity. The modeling was done in the waste LCA model EASEWASTE. The results showed drastic improvements for most impact categories. Global warming went from an impact of 0.1 person equivalent (PE) for the dump to -0.05 PE for the best design. Similar improvements were found for photochemical ozone formation (0.02 PE to 0.002 PE) and stratospheric ozone formation (0.04 PE to 0.001 PE). For the toxic and spoiled groundwater impact categories the trend is not as clear. The reason for this was that the load to the environment shifted as more technologies were used. For the dump landfill the main impacts were impacts for spoiled groundwater due to lack of leachate collection, 2.3 PE down to 0.4 PE when leachate is collected. However, at the same time, leachate collection causes a slight increase in eco-toxicity and human toxicity via water (0.007 E to 0

Energy consumption and GHG emissions of six biofuel pathways by LCA in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ou, Xunmin [School of Public Policy and Management (SPPM), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy (3E), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Zhang, Xiliang; Chang, Shiyan; Guo, Qingfang [China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy (3E), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2009-11-15

This paper presents life-cycle-analysis (LCA) energy consumption (EC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of China's current six biofuel pathways, which are: corn-derived ethanol (CE); cassava-derived ethanol (KE); sweet sorghum-derived ethanol (SE); soybean-derived bio-diesel (SB); jatropha fruit-derived bio-diesel (JB); and used cooking oil (UCO)-derived bio-diesel (UB). The tool utilized here is the WTW (Well-to-Wheels) module of Tsinghua-CA3EM model covering the entire lifecycle including: raw materials cultivation (or feedstock collection); fuel production; transportation and distribution; and application in automobile engines, compared with Conventional Petroleum-based gasoline and diesel Pathways (CPP). The results indicate: (1) the fossil energy inputs are about 1.0-1.5 times the energy contained in the fuel for the CE, SE and SB pathways, but 0.5-0.9 times for the KE, UB and JB pathways; (2) compared with CPP, the JB, KE and UB pathways can reduce both fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions; the CE and SB pathways can only reduce fossil fuel consumption, but increase GHG emission; the SE pathway increases not only fossil fuel consumption but also GHG emission; and (3) the main factors inducing high EC and GHG emission levels include: high EC levels during the fuel production stage and high fertilizer application rates during the planting of raw feedstocks. Conclusions are that of the aforementioned biofuel pathways in China: (1) only the JB, KE and UB pathways have energy-saving merits as indicated by the LCA energy inputs and outputs; (2) compared with CPP, all but the SE pathway reduces fossil fuel consumption. However, the SB and CE pathway increase GHG emission; (3) all six displace petroleum by utilizing more coal; and (4) feedstock productivity levels must be increased, and there must be a reduction in fertilizer utilization and EC consumption during the cultivation and transportation stages in order to achieve the goals of energy balance and

Energy consumption and GHG emissions of six biofuel pathways by LCA in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ou Xunmin; Zhang Xiliang; Chang Shiyan; Guo Qingfang

2009-01-01

This paper presents life-cycle-analysis (LCA) energy consumption (EC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of China's current six biofuel pathways, which are: corn-derived ethanol (CE); cassava-derived ethanol (KE); sweet sorghum-derived ethanol (SE); soybean-derived bio-diesel (SB); jatropha fruit-derived bio-diesel (JB); and used cooking oil (UCO)-derived bio-diesel (UB). The tool utilized here is the WTW (Well-to-Wheels) module of Tsinghua-CA3EM model covering the entire lifecycle including: raw materials cultivation (or feedstock collection); fuel production; transportation and distribution; and application in automobile engines, compared with Conventional Petroleum-based gasoline and diesel Pathways (CPP). The results indicate: (1) the fossil energy inputs are about 1.0-1.5 times the energy contained in the fuel for the CE, SE and SB pathways, but 0.5-0.9 times for the KE, UB and JB pathways; (2) compared with CPP, the JB, KE and UB pathways can reduce both fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions; the CE and SB pathways can only reduce fossil fuel consumption, but increase GHG emission; the SE pathway increases not only fossil fuel consumption but also GHG emission; and (3) the main factors inducing high EC and GHG emission levels include: high EC levels during the fuel production stage and high fertilizer application rates during the planting of raw feedstocks. Conclusions are that of the aforementioned biofuel pathways in China: (1) only the JB, KE and UB pathways have energy-saving merits as indicated by the LCA energy inputs and outputs; (2) compared with CPP, all but the SE pathway reduces fossil fuel consumption. However, the SB and CE pathway increase GHG emission; (3) all six displace petroleum by utilizing more coal; and (4) feedstock productivity levels must be increased, and there must be a reduction in fertilizer utilization and EC consumption during the cultivation and transportation stages in order to achieve the goals of energy balance and GHG

Life Cycle Assessment - Theory and Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book is a uniquely pedagogical while still comprehensive state-of-the-art description of LCA-methodology and its broad range of applications. The five parts of the book conveniently provide: I) the history and context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with its central role as quantitative and s...... needed to perform an LCA. V) An appendix with an LCA report template, a full example LCA report serving as inspiration for students who write their first LCA report, and a more detailed overview of existing LCIA methods and their similarities and differences....

Understanding the LCA and ISO water footprint: A response to Hoekstra (2016) “A critique on the water-scarcity weighted water footprint in LCA”

Science.gov (United States)

Water footprinting has emerged as an important approach to assess water use related effects from consumption of goods and services. Assessment methods are proposed by two different communities, the Water Footprint Network (WFN) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) community. The p...

Evaluation of a Delphi technique based expert judgement method for LCA valuation - DELPHI II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakala, S.; Wilson, B.

1999-01-01

Transparency and certainty are essential qualities for an acceptable and trusted valuation method. Based on the evaluation of the expert judgement method developed in the Delphi I study both of these criteria may be only partially accomplished by such a method. As for the technical procedure the method is well documented and transparency is good. Argumentation of the judgements, however, should be increased. The quality of the valuation indexes is explicitly available, but their certainty is very low for most interventions. The opinions of the experts differ much from each other. How much this depends on different values and how much on differences in knowledge etc. is impossible to assess. Also, how much the technique used and the statistical handling of the expert answers may have impacted the eventual scores of different interventions is difficult to assess. However, application of the expert judgement by means of the Delphi-technique to LCA valuation is a new idea, and, consequently, the method is still very much under development, far from maturity. This should be taken into account when considering the results out of the evaluation of the case study, which was the third of the kind in Europe

Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a decision-suppport tool for the evaluation of environmental impacts of site remediation on the global, regional and local scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemming, Gitte; Bulle, C.; Margni, Manuele

2010-01-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare the environment al impacts of three alternatives for remediating a TCE-contaminated site: (i) enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD); (ii) in situ thermal desorption (ISTD) and (iii) excavation with off-site soil treatment. In addition......, the remediation alternatives were compared to a no action scenario, where only monitoring and natural attenuation takes place. A numerical reactive fracture model was used to predict the timeframes for the ERD and the no action scenarios. Moreover, the model was used to estimate the mass discharge of TCE...... of the LCA showed that of the three remediation methods compared, the ERD had the lowest total environmental impacts, even though it had significant primary impacts due to its long timeframe. The environmental impacts of ERD were comparable or only slightly higher than those of the no action scenario. ISTD...

Crop residues as raw materials for biorefinery systems - A LCA case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherubini, Francesco; Ulgiati, Sergio

2010-01-01

Our strong dependence on fossil fuels results from the intensive use and consumption of petroleum derivatives which, combined with diminishing oil resources, causes environmental and political concerns. The utilization of agricultural residues as raw materials in a biorefinery is a promising alternative to fossil resources for production of energy carriers and chemicals, thus mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security. This paper focuses on a biorefinery concept which produces bioethanol, bioenergy and biochemicals from two types of agricultural residues, corn stover and wheat straw. These biorefinery systems are investigated using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, which takes into account all the input and output flows occurring along the production chain. This approach can be applied to almost all the other patterns that convert lignocellulosic residues into bioenergy and biochemicals. The analysis elaborates on land use change aspects, i.e. the effects of crop residue removal (like decrease in grain yields, change in soil N 2 O emissions and decrease of soil organic carbon). The biorefinery systems are compared with the respective fossil reference systems producing the same amount of products/services from fossils instead of biomass. Since climate change mitigation and energy security are the two most important driving forces for biorefinery development, the assessment focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cumulative primary energy demand, but other environmental categories are evaluated as well. Results show that the use of crop residues in a biorefinery saves GHG emissions and reduces fossil energy demand. For instance, GHG emissions are reduced by about 50% and more than 80% of non-renewable energy is saved. Land use change effects have a strong influence in the final GHG balance (about 50%), and their uncertainty is discussed in a sensitivity analysis. Concerning the investigation of the other impact categories, biorefinery systems

A comparative study on life cycle assessment of micro and macro components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Omidvarnia, Farzaneh; Islam, Aminul; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard

2013-01-01

their smaller dimensional scale. So performing of LCA for micro products is equally important as it is for macro products. Keeping this motivation in mind, current paper systematically performs the LCA of a micro Socket used in hearing aids. The analysis makes a guide line about how to use the conventional...... knowledge about LCA and tools for the efficient LCA analysis of the micro parts. A comparative study is made in the paper by comparing two different sockets of hearing aid and it shows well how to make a comparative study for LCAwhen the manufacturer makes a new product to replace an old one. Another...

Sobolev Spaces on Locally Compact Abelian Groups: Compact Embeddings and Local Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Przemysław Górka

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We continue our research on Sobolev spaces on locally compact abelian (LCA groups motivated by our work on equations with infinitely many derivatives of interest for string theory and cosmology. In this paper, we focus on compact embedding results and we prove an analog for LCA groups of the classical Rellich lemma and of the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem. Furthermore, we introduce Sobolev spaces on subsets of LCA groups and study its main properties, including the existence of compact embeddings into Lp-spaces.

Environmental impact estimation of the sugar cane cultivation, using the methodology of the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saavedra D, Juan Felipe; Vargas V, Olga Rocio

2000-01-01

This article describes the results of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for traditional and organic cultivation of sugar cane in Valle del Cauca. Eco-scores obtained for each case, shown that organic cultivation is less harmful, in environmental terms, than traditional one. In the last one, the biomass burning process, made to facilitate the crop, is the principal environmental problem, while in the first one, it is the use of pollinaza, an organic fertilizer based on these results recommendations were made to obtain significant reduction in the impact of the sugar cane cultivation

Soil organic carbon changes in the cultivation of energy crops: Implications for GHG balances and soil quality for use in LCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandao, Miguel; Mila i Canals, Llorenc; Clift, Roland

2011-01-01

The environmental impact of different land-use systems for energy, up to the farm or forest 'gate', has been quantified with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Four representative crops are considered: OilSeed Rape (OSR), Miscanthus, Short-Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and forest residues. The focus of the LCA is on changes in Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) but energy use, emissions of GreenHouse Gases (GHGs), acidification and eutrophication are also considered. In addition to providing an indicator of soil quality, changes in SOC are shown to have a dominant effect on total GHG emissions. Miscanthus is the best land-use option for GHG emissions and soil quality as it sequesters C at a higher rate than the other crops, but this has to be weighed against other environmental impacts where Miscanthus performs worse, such as acidification and eutrophication. OSR shows the worst performance across all categories. Because forest residues are treated as a by-product, their environmental impacts are small in all categories. The analysis highlights the need for detailed site-specific modelling of SOC changes, and for consequential LCAs of the whole fuel cycle including transport and use.

Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessment of Local Wine Production and Consumption in Texas: Using LCA to Inspire Environmental Improvements

OpenAIRE

Poupart, Ashley

2017-01-01

The future viability of wine production is directly linked to its environmental impacts and conditions in which it is required to operate. The environmental impacts related to the production of a food product are directly influenced by the amount of materials, energy, waste and the emissions the product releases throughout the products life cycle. A life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a framework that can identify a food products relative environmental impacts and provides insights into the ...

A flexible matrix-based human exposure assessment framework suitable for LCA and CAA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jolliet, Olivier; Ernstoff, Alexi; Huang, Lei

2016-01-01

are not applicable to all types of near-field chemical releases from consumer products, e.g. direct dermal application. A consistent near-and far-field framework is needed for life cycle assessment (LCA) and chemical alternative assessment (CAA) to inform mitigation of human exposure to harmful chemicals. To close......Humans can be exposed to chemicals via near-field exposure pathways (e.g. through consumer product use) and far-field exposure pathways (e.g. through environmental emissions along product life cycles). Pathways are often complex where chemicals can transfer directly from products to humans during...... use or exchange between near-and far-field compartments until sub -fractions reach humans via inhalation, ingestion or dermal uptake. Currently, however, multimedia exposure models mainly focus on far-field exposure pathways. Metrics and modeling approaches used in far-field, emission-based models...

Environmental impacts of irrigated and rain-fed barley production in Iran using life cycle assessment (LCA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houshyar, E.

2017-07-01

Current intensive grain crops production is often associated with environmental burdens. However, very few studies deal with the environmental performance of both current and alternative systems of barley production. This study was undertaken to evaluate energy consumption and environmental impacts of irrigated and rain-fed barley production. Additionally, three alternative scenarios were examined for irrigated barley fields including conservation tillage and biomass utilization policies. The findings showed that around 25 GJ/ha energy is needed in order to produce 2300 kg/ha irrigated barley and 13 GJ/ha for 1100 kg/ha rain-fed barley. Life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicated that irrigated farms had more environmental impacts than rain-fed farms. Electricity generation and consumption had the highest effect on the abiotic depletion potential, human toxicity potential, freshwater and marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential. However, alternative scenarios revealed that using soil conservation tillage systems and biomass consumption vs. gas for electricity generation at power plants can significantly mitigate environmental impacts of irrigated barley production similar to the rain-fed conditions while higher yield is obtained.

Environmental impacts of irrigated and rain-fed barley production in Iran using life cycle assessment (LCA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houshyar, E.

2017-01-01

Current intensive grain crops production is often associated with environmental burdens. However, very few studies deal with the environmental performance of both current and alternative systems of barley production. This study was undertaken to evaluate energy consumption and environmental impacts of irrigated and rain-fed barley production. Additionally, three alternative scenarios were examined for irrigated barley fields including conservation tillage and biomass utilization policies. The findings showed that around 25 GJ/ha energy is needed in order to produce 2300 kg/ha irrigated barley and 13 GJ/ha for 1100 kg/ha rain-fed barley. Life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicated that irrigated farms had more environmental impacts than rain-fed farms. Electricity generation and consumption had the highest effect on the abiotic depletion potential, human toxicity potential, freshwater and marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential. However, alternative scenarios revealed that using soil conservation tillage systems and biomass consumption vs. gas for electricity generation at power plants can significantly mitigate environmental impacts of irrigated barley production similar to the rain-fed conditions while higher yield is obtained.

Comprehensive Assessment of Human Health Impacts and Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables in a LCA Context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stylianou, Katerina S.; Fantke, Peter; Fulgoni, Victor L.

2017-01-01

Nutritional effects from the 'use stage' of the life cycle of food products can have a substantial effect on human health; yet, they are often not considered in life cycle assessment (LCA). In this study we explore the trade-offs between environmental and nutritional health effects associated wit...... be extended to other human health impacts (e.g. water use) and used in making sustainable diets decisions.[GRAPHICS]...... diet could result in an avoided health impact of 19.0 mu DALY (respective avoided impact for vegetables: 5.25 mu DALY). Overall, adding one fruits serving to the average US diet may lead to substantial health benefits: nutrition-related avoided impact (benefit) is 50 times higher than environmental...... health impacts (Figure 2). The benefit is slightly enhanced when increased fruit intake is substituted by food associated with adverse health outcomes, such as trans-fat and red meat, with the benefit mainly linked to avoided nutritional health impact. Benefits exceed impacts even when considering...

A feasibility study of microgrids for reducing energy use and GHG emissions in an industrial application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Mengyu; Zhang, Xiongwen; Li, Guojun; Jiang, Chaoyang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A life cycle assessment is conducted on the microgrids for an industry application. • The effect of renewable energy on the LCA performances of microgrids is illustrated. • The minimal life cycle energy use and GHG emissions of microgrids are evaluated. • The LCA of different pathways for electricity, heat and hydrogen are presented. - Abstract: Microgrids provide a new energy paradigm with the benefits of higher energy supply reliability, lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a higher penetration of renewable sources, higher energy efficiencies through the use of local waste heat and the avoidance of losses in transmission and distribution. This study reports a life cycle assessment (LCA) of microgrids for an industry application of an ammonia plant in central Inner Mongolia, China. The life cycle energy use and GHG emissions of the microgrids are evaluated and compared to the existing fossil fuel-based energy system. The electricity, heat and hydrogen fuel loads of the ammonia plant are all modelled in the study. An optimization model is developed to estimate the minimum life cycle energy use and GHG emissions with the microgrids under three scenarios (natural gas (NG)-based, optimized, and maximum renewable energy microgrids). The results indicate that the use of wind and solar in the NG-based microgrid can only slightly reduce the energy use and GHG emissions. If there are no land area limitations on the deployment of solar and wind power, the maximum renewable energy microgrid offers significant reductions of fossil fuel energy of up to 56.9% and GHG emissions reductions of up to 66.3% compared to the existing energy system.

Life cycle assessment for spray coatings applied to the heating tubes of PFBC boiler; Kaatsu ryudoso boiler sonai kan e tekiyosareru yosha coating no life cycle assessment (LCA hyoka)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonoya, K; Kihara, S [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1996-12-25

LCA (Life cycle assessment) is a systematic process used to calculate and evaluate the environmental impacts of products. Because boiler components are now exposed a more severe erosion/corrosion environment by, improving efficiency of thermal power plant, it is expected that the use of thermal spray coatings will increase. The LCA method was attempted to apply to various thermal spray coatings for PFBC (Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion) and evaluate the eco-friendly, coatings. The result was gained that all the alumina coatings have good characteristics. In fact the Al2O3-40%ZrO2 coating by APS has the lowest environmental impact and the best erosion resistance, it may be considered the most effective coating. 4 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.

Assessing the existence of dissociative PTSD in sub-acute patients of whiplash

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Maj; Hyland, Philip; Armour, Cherie

2018-01-01

-acute patients of whiplash and associated risk factors. The results of LCA showed a three-class solution primarily distributed according to PTSD symptom severity and thus no indication of D-PTSD. Dissociative symptoms, psychological distress (i.e. anxiety/depression), and pain severity significantly predicted...

Comparison of the organic waste management systems in the Danish-German border region using life cycle assessment (LCA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Bang; Møller, Jacob; Scheutz, Charlotte

2016-01-01

This study assessed the management of the organic household waste in the Danish-German border region and points out major differences between the systems and their potential effects on the environment using life cycle assessment (LCA). The treatment of organic waste from households in the Danish...... cycle assessment showing large differences in the environmental performance of the two different regions with the Danish region performing better in 10 out of 14 impact categories. Furthermore, the importance of the substituted district heating systems was investigated showing an impact up to 34......-German border region is very different on each side of the border; the Danish region only uses incineration for the treatment of organic household waste while the German region includes combined biogas production and composting, mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) and incineration. Data on all parts...

Potential for optimized production and use of rapeseed biodiesel. Based on a comprehensive real-time LCA case study in Denmark with multiple pathways

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Jørgensen, Andreas; Bruun, Sander

2013-01-01

methods. The modeling of the LCA is based on a specific Danish biodiesel production facility. Methods: The functional unit is “1,000 km transportation for a standard passenger car.” All relevant process stages are included, such as rapeseed production including carbon sequestration and N2O balances......, and transportation of products used in the life cycle of biodiesel. System expansion has been used to handle allocation issues. Results and discussion: The climate change potential from the production and use of biodiesel today is 57 kg CO2-eq/ 1,000 km, while PC diesel is 214 kg CO2-eq/1,000 km. Options......Purpose: Several factors contribute to the current increased focus on alternative fuels such as biodiesel, including an increasing awareness of the environmental impact of petrochemical (PC) oil products such as PC diesel, the continuously increasing price of PC oil, and the depletion of PC oil...

Freshwater ecotoxicity characterisation factor for metal oxide nanoparticles: A case study on titanium dioxide nanoparticle

OpenAIRE

Salieri, Beatrice; Righi, Serena; Pasteris, Andrea; Olsen, Stig Irving

2015-01-01

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is widely applied in several industrial sectors to evaluate the environmental performance of processes, products and services. Recently, several reports and studies have emphasized the importance of LCA in the field of engineered nanomaterials. However, to date only a few LCA studies on nanotechnology have been carried out, and fewer still have assessed aspects relating to ecotoxicity. This is mainly due to the lack of knowledge in relation on human...

The use of Meta-Regression Analysis to harmonize LCA literature: an application to GHG emissions of 2. and 3. generation biofuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menten, Fabio; Cheze, Benoit; Patouillard, Laure; Bouvart, Frederique

2013-01-01

This article presents the results of a literature review performs with a meta-regression analysis (MRA) that focuses on the estimates of advanced biofuel Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions assessed with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The mean GHG emissions of both second (G2) and third generation (G3) biofuels and the effects of factors influencing these estimates are identified and quantified by means of specific statistical methods. 47 LCA studies are included in the database, providing 593 estimates. Each study estimate of the database is characterized by i) technical data/characteristics, ii) author's methodological choices and iii) typology of the study under consideration. The database is composed of both the vector of these estimates - expressed in grams of CO 2 equivalent per MJ of biofuel (g CO 2 eq/MJ) - and a matrix containing vectors of predictor variables which can be continuous or dummy variables. The former is the dependent variable while the latter corresponds to the explanatory variables of the meta-regression model. Parameters are estimated by mean of econometrics methods. Our results clearly highlight a hierarchy between G3 and G2 biofuels: life cycle GHG emissions of G3 biofuels are statistically higher than those of Ethanol which, in turn, are superior to those of BtL. Moreover, this article finds empirical support for many of the hypotheses formulated in narrative literature surveys concerning potential factors which may explain estimates variations. Finally, the MRA results are used to address the harmonization issue in the field of advanced biofuels GHG emissions thanks to the technique of benefits transfer using meta-regression models. The range of values hence obtained appears to be lower than the fossil fuel reference (about 83.8 in g CO 2 eq/ MJ). However, only Ethanol and BtL do comply with the GHG emission reduction thresholds for biofuels defined in both the American and European directives. (authors)

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts for Rice Agroecosystems using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Khoramdel

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In order to evaluate life cycle assessment (LCA for rice agroecosystems based on mean of nitrogen fertilizer levels (less than 190, 190-200, 200-210, 210-220 and more than 220 kg N ha during 1999-2012, an experiment was conducted. Four steps includung goal definition and scoping, inventory analysis, life cycle impact assessment and integration and interpretation were computed. Functional unit was considered as one tone paddy. Impact categories were acidification, eutrophication in aquatic and tresstrial ecosystems and global warming. The results showed that the highest paddy yield was obtained 5.35 t.ha-1 in 190-200 kg N ha. The maximum aquatic eutrophication potential was computed for more than 220 kg N ha-1 with 0.79 PO4 equiv./t paddy. EcoX per one tone paddy and maximum environmental impacts was belonged to aquatic eutrophication (0.13 Eco-index per one tone paddy. It seems that system management including green manure, nitrogen fixing species and reduced tillage could be regarded to reduce problematic environmental impacts in rice production systems.

Functional unit and product functionality—addressing increase in consumption and demand for functionality in sustainability assessment with LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Seung Jin; Kara, Sami; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2016-01-01

behaviour and demonstrates the vicious circle of improving product efficiency that leads to further consumption and environmental impact. To address this problem, a new framework of dynamic functional unit definition is put forward for performing comparative LCA to manage the development of product life...... consumption of products in provided services as well as in growing volumes. This article aims to present a new framework in defining a dynamic functional unit of product technologies that caters for changes in consumer behaviour and growing market. Methods: A new approach to defining the functional unit...... is demonstrated on a case study in which the analysis of historical data for two TV product technologies—CRT and LCD—is used to show how the total environmental impact is increasing due to the increased functionality which triggers an increase in the volume of the market. Despite the efforts of improving product...

Potential for Integrating Diffusion of Innovation Principles into Life Cycle Assessment of Emerging Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, Benjamin E; Miller, Shelie A

2016-03-15

Life cycle assessment (LCA) measures cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of a product. To assess impacts of an emerging technology, LCA should be coupled with additional methods that estimate how that technology might be deployed. The extent and manner that an emerging technology diffuses throughout a region shapes the magnitude and type of environmental impacts. Diffusion of innovation is an established field of research that analyzes the adoption of new innovations, and its principles can be used to construct scenario models that enhance LCA of emerging technologies. Integrating diffusion modeling techniques with an LCA of emerging technology can provide estimates for the extent of market penetration, the displacement of existing systems, and the rate of adoption. Two general perspectives of application are macro-level diffusion models that use a function of time to represent adoption, and microlevel diffusion models that simulate adoption through interactions of individuals. Incorporating diffusion of innovation concepts complement existing methods within LCA to inform proactive environmental management of emerging technologies.

Study of structural reliability of existing concrete structures

Science.gov (United States)

Druķis, P.; Gaile, L.; Valtere, K.; Pakrastiņš, L.; Goremikins, V.

2017-10-01

Structural reliability of buildings has become an important issue after the collapse of a shopping center in Riga 21.11.2013, caused the death of 54 people. The reliability of a building is the practice of designing, constructing, operating, maintaining and removing buildings in ways that ensure maintained health, ward suffered injuries or death due to use of the building. Evaluation and improvement of existing buildings is becoming more and more important. For a large part of existing buildings, the design life has been reached or will be reached in the near future. The structures of these buildings need to be reassessed in order to find out whether the safety requirements are met. The safety requirements provided by the Eurocodes are a starting point for the assessment of safety. However, it would be uneconomical to require all existing buildings and structures to comply fully with these new codes and corresponding safety levels, therefore the assessment of existing buildings differs with each design situation. This case study describes the simple and practical procedure of determination of minimal reliability index β of existing concrete structures designed by different codes than Eurocodes and allows to reassess the actual reliability level of different structural elements of existing buildings under design load.

Assessment of global environmental impacts by utilizing methodology of LCA on solar water heater for dwellings; LCA shuho ni yoru taiyonetsu onsuiki no kankyo fuka hyoka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamoshida, J [Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan); Asai, S [Yazaki Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-11-25

CO2 emission was quantified through the life cycle of a solar water heater to assess its environment impact. Although LCA (life cycle assessment) originally sums up I/O of all materials and energy through the whole life cycle of a product to examine environment impact, this assessment was carried out for only CO2. Calculation of CO2 emission assumed a natural circulating solar water heater of 200 l in effective hot water capacity, 2.78m{sup 2} in effective collecting area, and 0.5 in average annual collecting efficiency of total solar radiation, and an auxiliary city gas heat source for compensating insufficient heat quantity. The total CO2 emission in the life cycle of a solar water heater was obtained from an industrial association table assuming the life cycles of 10 and 20 years. CO2 emission was estimated to be 5407.1kg-CO2 and 10665.2kg-CO2 for 10 and 20 years, respectively. CO2 emission due to city gas was largest in the total CO2 emission in the life cycle. As a result, for reduction of CO2 emission due to a solar water heater, improvement of equipment efficiency was most important. 6 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

GRtoGR: a system for mapping GO relations to gene relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, Kamal

2013-12-01

We introduce in this paper a biological search engine called GRtoGR. Given a set of S genes, GRtoGR would determine from GO graph the most significant Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA) of the GO terms annotating the set S. This significant LCA annotates the genes that are the most semantically related to the set S. The framework of GRtoGR refines the concept of LCA by introducing the concepts of Relevant Lowest Common Ancestor (RLCA) and Semantically Relevant Lowest Common Ancestor (SRLCA). A SRLCA is the most significant LCA of the GO terms annotating the set S. We observe that the existence of the GO terms annotating the set S is dependent on the existence of this SRLCA in GO graph. That is, the terms annotating a given set of genes usually have existence dependency relationships with the SRLCA of these terms. We evaluated GRtoGR experimentally and compared it with nine other methods. Results showed marked improvement.

LCA comparison of container systems in municipal solid waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rives, Jesus; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier

2010-01-01

The planning and design of integrated municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems requires accurate environmental impact evaluation of the systems and their components. This research assessed, quantified and compared the environmental impact of the first stage of the most used MSW container systems. The comparison was based on factors such as the volume of the containers, from small bins of 60-80 l to containers of 2400 l, and on the manufactured materials, steel and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Also, some parameters such as frequency of collections, waste generation, filling percentage and waste container contents, were established to obtain comparable systems. The methodological framework of the analysis was the life cycle assessment (LCA), and the impact assessment method was based on CML 2 baseline 2000. Results indicated that, for the same volume, the collection systems that use HDPE waste containers had more of an impact than those using steel waste containers, in terms of abiotic depletion, global warming, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidation, human toxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Besides, the collection systems using small HDPE bins (60 l or 80 l) had most impact while systems using big steel containers (2400 l) had less impact. Subsequent sensitivity analysis about the parameters established demonstrated that they could change the ultimate environmental impact of each waste container collection system, but that the comparative relationship between systems was similar.

Feasibility Study of Parallel Finite Element Analysis on Cluster-of-Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Muraoka, Masae; Okuda, Hiroshi

With the rapid growth of WAN infrastructure and development of Grid middleware, it's become a realistic and attractive methodology to connect cluster machines on wide-area network for the execution of computation-demanding applications. Many existing parallel finite element (FE) applications have been, however, designed and developed with a single computing resource in mind, since such applications require frequent synchronization and communication among processes. There have been few FE applications that can exploit the distributed environment so far. In this study, we explore the feasibility of FE applications on the cluster-of-clusters. First, we classify FE applications into two types, tightly coupled applications (TCA) and loosely coupled applications (LCA) based on their communication pattern. A prototype of each application is implemented on the cluster-of-clusters. We perform numerical experiments executing TCA and LCA on both the cluster-of-clusters and a single cluster. Thorough these experiments, by comparing the performances and communication cost in each case, we evaluate the feasibility of FEA on the cluster-of-clusters.

Decision support for large-scale remediation strategies by fused urban metabolism and life cycle assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ohms, Pernille; Andersen, Camilla; Landgren, Mathilde

2018-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to identify the most environmental friendly way of conducting a refurbishment of Broendby Strand, with focus on PCB remediation. The actual identification is conducted by comparing four remediation techniques using urban metabolism fused with life cycle assessment (UM......-LCA) in combination with information relating to cost and efficiency of the compared techniques. The methodological goal of our paper is to test UM-LCA as a decision support tool and discuss application of the method in relation to large refurbishment projects. Methods: To assess the environmental performance of PCB......-remediation techniques, the UM-LCA method was applied. By combining UM and LCA methodologies, the total environmental impact potentials of the remediation techniques were calculated. To build an inventory for each technique, we contacted and interviewed experts and studied existing literature, cases, and projects...

The environmental impact of the carpet chain in Belgium; De milieu-impact van de Belgische tapijtketen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bijleveld, M.N.; Sevenster, M.N.

2010-03-15

Under the Belgian project 'Cooperation in the carpet chain around sustainable use of materials' is a comprehensive LCA study in which insight is obtained on three areas: (1) Impact of various polar materials, (2) Impact of various scenarios of disposal of the entire carpet, and (3) Relative impact of the links in the chain of the entire carpet. The chain is modeled in the LCA software programme SimaPro for which use is made of the Ecoinvent database and existing LCA studies, supplemented with data from literature. For the extraction / production of various polar materials the environmental impacts are identified. For other areas, the climate impact as the cumulative energy demand is a measure of the burden on the environment. [Dutch] In het kader van het Belgische project 'Samenwerking in de tapijtketen rond duurzaam materiaalgebruik' is een globale LCA studie uitgevoerd waarbij inzicht is verkregen op drie gebieden: (1) Impact van verscheidene poolmaterialen; (2) Impact van verscheidene scenario's van afvalverwerking van het volledige tapijt; en (3) Relatieve impact van de schakels in de keten van het volledige tapijt. De keten is gemodelleerd in het LCA softwareprogramma Simapro, waarbij gebruik is gemaakt van de EcoInvent database en bestaande LCA-studies, aangevuld met data uit literatuur. Voor de winning/productie van poolmaterialen zijn verscheidene milieu-effecten in kaart gebracht; voor de overige gebieden vormen klimaatimpact als de cumulatieve energievraag ('cumulative energy demand' CED) de maat voor de milieubelasting.

XSemantic: An Extension of LCA Based XML Semantic Search

Science.gov (United States)

Supasitthimethee, Umaporn; Shimizu, Toshiyuki; Yoshikawa, Masatoshi; Porkaew, Kriengkrai

One of the most convenient ways to query XML data is a keyword search because it does not require any knowledge of XML structure or learning a new user interface. However, the keyword search is ambiguous. The users may use different terms to search for the same information. Furthermore, it is difficult for a system to decide which node is likely to be chosen as a return node and how much information should be included in the result. To address these challenges, we propose an XML semantic search based on keywords called XSemantic. On the one hand, we give three definitions to complete in terms of semantics. Firstly, the semantic term expansion, our system is robust from the ambiguous keywords by using the domain ontology. Secondly, to return semantic meaningful answers, we automatically infer the return information from the user queries and take advantage of the shortest path to return meaningful connections between keywords. Thirdly, we present the semantic ranking that reflects the degree of similarity as well as the semantic relationship so that the search results with the higher relevance are presented to the users first. On the other hand, in the LCA and the proximity search approaches, we investigated the problem of information included in the search results. Therefore, we introduce the notion of the Lowest Common Element Ancestor (LCEA) and define our simple rule without any requirement on the schema information such as the DTD or XML Schema. The first experiment indicated that XSemantic not only properly infers the return information but also generates compact meaningful results. Additionally, the benefits of our proposed semantics are demonstrated by the second experiment.

EFO-LCI: A New Life Cycle Inventory Database of Forestry Operations in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Cardellini, Giuseppe; Valada, Tatiana; Cornillier, Claire; Vial, Estelle; Dragoi, Marian; Goudiaby, Venceslas; Mues, Volker; Lasserre, Bruno; Gruchala, Arkadiusz; Rørstad, Per Kristian; Neumann, Mathias; Svoboda, Miroslav; Sirgmets, Risto; Näsärö, Olli-Pekka; Mohren, Frits; Achten, Wouter M. J.; Vranken, Liesbet; Muys, Bart

2018-06-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become a common methodology to analyze environmental impacts of forestry systems. Although LCA has been widely applied to forestry since the 90s, the LCAs are still often based on generic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). With the purpose of improving LCA practices in the forestry sector, we developed a European Life Cycle Inventory of Forestry Operations (EFO-LCI) and analyzed the available information to check if within the European forestry sector national differences really exist. We classified the European forests on the basis of "Forest Units" (combinations of tree species and silvicultural practices). For each Forest Unit, we constructed the LCI of their forest management practices on the basis of a questionnaire filled out by national silvicultural experts. We analyzed the data reported to evaluate how they vary over Europe and how they affect LCA results and made freely available the inventory data collected for future use. The study shows important variability in rotation length, type of regeneration, amount and assortments of wood products harvested, and machinery used due to the differences in management practices. The existing variability on these activities sensibly affect LCA results of forestry practices and raw wood production. Although it is practically unfeasible to collect site-specific data for all the LCAs involving forest-based products, the use of less generic LCI data of forestry practice is desirable to improve the reliability of the studies. With the release of EFO-LCI we made a step toward the construction of regionalized LCI for the European forestry sector.

Greenhouse gas impacts of ethanol from Iowa corn: Life cycle assessment versus system wide approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Hongli; Rubin, Ofir D.; Babcock, Bruce A.

2010-01-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the standard approach used to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of biofuels. However, the need for the appropriate use of LCA in policy contexts is highlighted by recent findings that corn-based ethanol may actually increase GHG emissions. This is in contrary to most existing LCA results. LCA estimates can vary across studies due to heterogeneities in inputs and production technology. Whether marginal or average impacts are considered can matter as well. Most important of all, LCA is product-centered. The determination of the impact of biofuels expansion requires a system wide approach (SWA) that accounts for impacts on all affected products and processes. This paper presents both LCA and SWA for ethanol based on Iowa corn. LCA was conducted in several different ways. Growing corn in rotation with soybean generates 35% less GHG emissions than growing corn after corn. Based on average corn production, ethanol's GHG benefits were lower in 2007 than in 2006 because of an increase in continuous corn in 2007. When only additional corn was considered, ethanol emitted about 22% less GHGs than gasoline. SWA was applied to two simple cases. Using 2006 as a baseline and 2007 as a scenario, corn ethanol's benefits were about 20% of the emissions of gasoline. If geographical limits are expanded beyond Iowa, then corn ethanol could generate more GHG emissions than gasoline. These results highlight the importance of boundary definition for both LCA and SWA.

Greenhouse gas impacts of ethanol from Iowa corn: Life cycle assessment versus system wide approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Hongli [Department of Economics, 377 Heady Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070 (United States); Rubin, Ofir D. [Department of Economics, 573 Heady Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070 (United States); Babcock, Bruce A. [Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070 (United States); Department of Economics, 578F Heady Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070 (United States)

2010-06-15

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the standard approach used to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of biofuels. However, the need for the appropriate use of LCA in policy contexts is highlighted by recent findings that corn-based ethanol may actually increase GHG emissions. This is in contrary to most existing LCA results. LCA estimates can vary across studies due to heterogeneities in inputs and production technology. Whether marginal or average impacts are considered can matter as well. Most important of all, LCA is product-centered. The determination of the impact of biofuels expansion requires a system wide approach (SWA) that accounts for impacts on all affected products and processes. This paper presents both LCA and SWA for ethanol based on Iowa corn. LCA was conducted in several different ways. Growing corn in rotation with soybean generates 35% less GHG emissions than growing corn after corn. Based on average corn production, ethanol's GHG benefits were lower in 2007 than in 2006 because of an increase in continuous corn in 2007. When only additional corn was considered, ethanol emitted about 22% less GHGs than gasoline. SWA was applied to two simple cases. Using 2006 as a baseline and 2007 as a scenario, corn ethanol's benefits were about 20% of the emissions of gasoline. If geographical limits are expanded beyond Iowa, then corn ethanol could generate more GHG emissions than gasoline. These results highlight the importance of boundary definition for both LCA and SWA. (author)

Check and evaluation system on heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of china based on multi-index comprehensive evaluation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jing; Wu Yong; Zhu Neng

2009-01-01

Heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China is organized and implemented in a large scale by local government in 15 provinces of North China with the unified guidance and control of central government. Firstly, this paper introduced the target of energy-saving reformation of existing residential buildings in North China and the importance of check and evaluation on this target, then pointed out the necessity of building up an evaluation system for energy-saving retrofit. According to the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), three-grade evaluation system was built up for heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China. Also, based on multi-index comprehensive evaluation method combined with life cycle assessment (LCA) theory, post-evaluation thought and successful degree evaluation method, a mathematical model was established. Finally, a set of scientific method for evaluating heat metering and energy efficiency retrofit of existing residential buildings in northern heating areas of China systematically, scientifically, comprehensively and objectively was created.

Towards life cycle sustainability assessent of cities. A review of background knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Albertí, Jaume; Balaguera, Alejandra; Brodhag, Christian; Fullana-I-Palmer, Pere

2017-12-31

This article analyses whether existing LCA and sustainability methods can be used in the assessment of a city or an urban region. The approach is performed through the review of current existing LCA-based and sustainability standards and guidelines. A focus is put into those LCA-based standards specially designed for the built environment. Moreover, a review of non-LCA based standards, indices and guides for the assessment of the sustainability of countries, cities or urban regions is done. The purpose is to check if these assessment tools can provide good results in the absence of LCA-based assessments for cities and urban regions. This review demonstrates the lack of consensus in the definition of both, the city and its boundaries, which hinders the development of useful sustainability standards. Furthermore, it is concluded that current sustainability assessment tools miss, at least, one of these aspects: (i) holistic point of view, (ii) focus on various environmental impacts, (iii) a Life Cycle (LC) perspective, and (iv) the possibility to compare the results among different cities or urban regions. From the LCA perspective, the deficiencies found also include the need for a definition of the function, functional unit (FU), and reference flow (RF) of neighbourhoods, cities, and urban regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Life Cycle Costing in Sustainability Assessment—A Case Study of Remanufactured Alternators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annekatrin Lehmann

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is on the international agenda, and is a driver for industry in international competition. Sustainability encompasses the three pillars: environment, society and economy. To prevent shifting of burden, the whole life cycle needs to be taken into account. For the environmental dimension of sustainability, life cycle assessment (LCA has been practiced for a while and is a standardized method. A life cycle approach for the social and economic pillars of sustainability needs to be further developed. This paper investigates the application of life cycle costing (LCC as part of a wider sustainability assessment where also social life cycle assessment (SLCA and LCA are combined. LCA-type LCC is applied on a case study of remanufactured alternators. Remanufacturing of automobile parts is a fast growing important business with large potential for cost and resource savings. Three design alternatives for the alternator and three locations for the remanufacturing plant are evaluated. The remanufacturer perspective and the user perspective are investigated. The results for the LCA-type LCC show that the largest cost for the remanufacturer is the new parts replacing old warn parts. However, the user cost, and therein especially, cost for fuel used for the alternator’s power production dominates and should be the focus for further improvement. In conducting the case study, it was revealed that the connection between the LCA-type LCC results and the economic dimension of sustainability needs to be further investigated and defined. For this purpose, areas of protection for life cycle sustainability assessment and LCA-type LCC in particular need further development.

Location of existing Case Studies on Open Education

OpenAIRE

Burke, Siobhan

2014-01-01

Members of the Open Education Special Interest Group have collected a selection of short case studies on Open Education. View all of the case studies at http://repository.alt.ac.uk/view/divisions/CaseStudies/ Location of existing Case Studies on Open Education: The following lists aims to capture and amalgamate the various different case study sources which have been created and developed within the UK around experiences of Open Educational Resources.

Projecting the environmental profile of Singapore's landfill activities: Comparisons of present and future scenarios based on LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Hsien H; Tan, Lester L Z; Tan, Reginald B H

2012-05-01

This article aims to generate the environmental profile of Singapore's Semakau landfill by comparing three different operational options associated with the life cycle stages of landfilling activities, against a 'business as usual' scenario. Before life cycle assessment or LCA is used to quantify the potential impacts from landfilling activities, an attempt to incorporate localized and empirical information into the amounts of ash and MSW sent to the landfill was made. A linear regression representation of the relationship between the mass of waste disposed and the mass of incineration ash generated was modeled from waste statistics between years 2004 and 2009. Next, the mass of individual MSW components was projected from 2010 to 2030. The LCA results highlighted that in a 'business as usual' scenario the normalized total impacts of global warming, acidification and human toxicity increased by about 2% annually from 2011 to 2030. By replacing the 8000-tonne barge with a 10000-tonne coastal bulk carrier or freighter (in scenario 2) a grand total reduction of 48% of both global warming potential and acidification can be realized by year 2030. Scenario 3 explored the importance of having a Waste Water Treatment Plant in place to reduce human toxicity levels - however, the overall long-term benefits were not as significant as scenario 2. It is shown in scenario 4 that the option of increased recycling championed over all other three scenarios in the long run, resulting in a total 58% reduction in year 2030 for the total normalized results. A separate comparison of scenarios 1-4 is also carried out for energy utilization and land use in terms of volume of waste occupied. Along with the predicted reductions in environmental burdens, an additional bonus is found in the expanded lifespan of Semakau landfill from year 2032 (base case) to year 2039. Model limitations and suggestions for improvements were also discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expansion in Number of Parameters - Simulation of Energy and Indoor Climate in Combination with LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Otovic, Aleksander; Jensen, Lotte Bjerregaard; Negendahl, Kristoffer

The Technical University of Denmark has been carrying out research in the energy balance of buildings in relation to indoor climate for decades. The last two decades have seen a major role played by research in the field of Integrated Energy Design (IED) focusing on the earliest design phases. Th......-esteemed architectural offices in Scandinavia. The development of the real-time LCA-indoor climate- energy balance tool was funded by Nordic Built.......The Technical University of Denmark has been carrying out research in the energy balance of buildings in relation to indoor climate for decades. The last two decades have seen a major role played by research in the field of Integrated Energy Design (IED) focusing on the earliest design phases...... and engineering consultancies in Scandinavia have invested in software and interdisciplinary design teams to carry out Integrated Energy Design (IED). Legislation has been altered and simulations of indoor climate and energy balance are now required to obtain building permits. IED has been rolled out extensively...

Environmental impact assessment as a complement of life cycle assessment. Case study: Upgrading of biogas.

Science.gov (United States)

Morero, Betzabet; Rodriguez, María B; Campanella, Enrique A

2015-08-01

This work presents a comparison between an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a life cycle assessment (LCA) using a case study: upgrading of biogas. The upgrading of biogas is studied using three solvents: water, physical solvent and amine. The EIA follows the requirements of the legislation of Santa Fe Province (Argentina), and the LCA follows ISO 14040. The LCA results showed that water produces a minor impact in most of the considered categories whereas the high impact in the process with amines is the result of its high energy consumptions. The positive results obtained in the EIA (mainly associated with the cultural and socioeconomic components) make the project feasible and all the negative impacts can be mitigated by preventive and remedial measures. From the strengths and weaknesses of each tool, it is inferred that the EIA is a procedure that can complement the LCA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Methodologies (SWOT, TOWS, LCA for Improving Production Chains and Environmental Sustainability of Kiwifruit and Baby Kiwi in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Baudino

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Italy’s kiwifruit growers are considered to be world-leading players of the past 20 years. However, with this success come its challenges. In the last five years, a bacterial canker of kiwifruit known as Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa has caused a dramatic reduction in the size of the areas cultivated, leading to several experienced Piedmontese Actinidia deliciosa growers beginning to cultivate the A. arguta. To better understand the potential for replacing the common kiwifruit in Italy’s Piedmont region with plantations of A. arguta and to attain a systematic approach and support for decision situations; we assessed the environmental impact of the two production chains (field and storage from a technical-operational perspective. The assessment was conducted through interviews with producers, field and warehouse technicians and sales managers in order to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the two systems. The work presented below considers the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA method for the field system (two different phases of the plantation and the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats analysis for the entire supply chain (field and warehouse management. Finally, a TOWS analysis (Threats, Opportunities, Weakness, Strengths integrated the results of both LCA and SWOT analyses and permitted to highlight the development strategies for A. arguta in Piedmont. The total orchard cycle for A. arguta presents an impact of 0.14 kg CO2 eq (GWP and for A. deliciosa an impact of 0.11 kg CO2 eq (GWP. Based on the synthesis of results from our TOWS analysis, we identified the following development strategies to help to shape the future A. arguta supply chain in Piedmont: Large-scale oriented; Berry fruits oriented; Export and organic oriented and Niche oriented.

Understanding the environmental implications of energy transitions. A case study for wind power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arvesen, Anders

2013-03-01

A fundamental change in the ways in which we provide energy to run our economies, an energy transition, is needed to mitigate climate change. Wind power is an important part of future global energy supply in most energy scenarios. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the environmental implications of energy transitions, primarily by examining the case of wind power. This involves new investigations of both potential negative impacts of wind power and the positive role of the technology in emission reduction, as well as a critical review of past research. Three papers on wind power are presented: a comprehensive literature review of life cycle assessments (LCA) of wind power, a scenario-based LCA of large-scale adoption of wind power, and an LCA of an offshore wind farm. A hybrid LCA methodology is employed in the scenario-based LCA and LCA of an offshore wind farm. Another paper is presented which is not concerned with wind power in particular, but takes the form of an evaluation of limitations of climate change mitigation literature. It helps to achieve the aim stated above by bringing together knowledge of indirect effects of mitigation measures, and by elucidating how these effects may influence the viability of proposed mitigation strategies. The literature review aims to take stock of insights from past research, with a particular view to identifying remaining challenges. A survey of results indicates 0.063 ({+-}0.061) and 0.055 ({+-}0.037) kWh energy used and 20 ({+-}14) and 16 ({+-}10) Co2 emitted per kWh electricity for onshore and offshore cases. Evidence suggests strong positive effects of scale in the lower end of the turbine size spectrum, but is inconclusive for the megawatt range. LCAs tend to assume higher capacity factors than current real-world averages. Limitations of existing research are discussed; this includes poorly understood toxicity and resource depletion impacts, cut-off errors and seemingly inconsistent modelling

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Sediment Remediation at the London Olympic Park

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, D.; Al-Tabbaa, A.

2013-12-01

In recent years, there is an emerging 'green and sustainable remediation' (GSR) movement. It is drawing increasing attention from both the government and the industry, because this GSR movement is promising in accelerating process in addressing the contaminated land issue, by overcoming regulatory barriers, encouraging technological innovation, and balancing life cycle environmental stewardship with economic vitality and social well-being. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly used by both researchers and industrial practitioners in an initiative to make environmental remediation greener and more sustainable. Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), aiming at expanding the traditional LCA model in both breadth and depth (e.g. to incorporate both environmental and social-economic sustainability), is an important research direction in the existing LCA research field. The present study intends to develop a LCSA method based on a hybrid LCA model and economic input-output (EIO) data. The LCSA method is applied to a contaminated sediment remediation project conducted at the London Olympic Park site.

Impacts from urban water systems on receiving waters - How to account for severe wet-weather events in LCA?

Science.gov (United States)

Risch, Eva; Gasperi, Johnny; Gromaire, Marie-Christine; Chebbo, Ghassan; Azimi, Sam; Rocher, Vincent; Roux, Philippe; Rosenbaum, Ralph K; Sinfort, Carole

2018-01-01

Sewage systems are a vital part of the urban infrastructure in most cities. They provide drainage, which protects public health, prevents the flooding of property and protects the water environment around urban areas. On some occasions sewers will overflow into the water environment during heavy rain potentially causing unacceptable impacts from releases of untreated sewage into the environment. In typical Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of urban wastewater systems (UWS), average dry-weather conditions are modelled while wet-weather flows from UWS, presenting a high temporal variability, are not currently accounted for. In this context, the loads from several storm events could be important contributors to the impact categories freshwater eutrophication and ecotoxicity. In this study we investigated the contributions of these wet-weather-induced discharges relative to average dry-weather conditions in the life cycle inventory for UWS. In collaboration with the Paris public sanitation service (SIAAP) and Observatory of Urban Pollutants (OPUR) program researchers, this work aimed at identifying and comparing contributing flows from the UWS in the Paris area by a selection of routine wastewater parameters and priority pollutants. This collected data is organized according to archetypal weather days during a reference year. Then, for each archetypal weather day and its associated flows to the receiving river waters (Seine), the parameters of pollutant loads (statistical distribution of concentrations and volumes) were determined. The resulting inventory flows (i.e. the potential loads from the UWS) were used as LCA input data to assess the associated impacts. This allowed investigating the relative importance of episodic wet-weather versus "continuous" dry-weather loads with a probabilistic approach to account for pollutant variability within the urban flows. The analysis at the scale of one year showed that storm events are significant contributors to the impacts

Energy Efficiency Potential in Existing Commercial Buildings: Review of Selected Recent Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, David B.

2009-04-03

This report reviews six recent studies (from 2002 through 2006) by states and utilities to assess the energy saving potential in existing commercial buildings. The studies cover all or portions of California, Connecticut, Vermont, Colorado, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest. The studies clearly reveal that lighting remains the single largest and most cost effective end use that can be reduced to save energy. Overall the study indicated that with existing technologies and costs, a reasonable range of economic savings potential in existing commercial buildings is between 10 and 20 percent of current energy use. While not a focus of the study, an additional conclusion is that implementation of commercial building monitoring and controls would also play an important role in the nation’s efforts to improve energy efficiency of existing buildings.

Bicistronic lentiviruses containing a viral 2A cleavage sequence reliably co-express two proteins and restore vision to an animal model of LCA1.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan D Verrier

Full Text Available The disease processes underlying inherited retinal disease are complex and are not completely understood. Many of the corrective gene therapies designed to treat diseases linked to mutations in genes specifically expressed in photoreceptor cells restore function to these cells but fail to stop progression of the disease. There is growing consensus that effective treatments for these diseases will require delivery of multiple therapeutic proteins that will be selected to treat specific aspects of the disease process. The purpose of this study was to design a lentiviral transgene that reliably expresses all of the proteins it encodes and does so in a consistent manner among infected cells. We show, using both in vitro and in vivo analyses, that bicistronic lentiviral transgenes encoding two fluorescent proteins fused to a viral 2A-like cleavage peptide meet these expression criteria. To determine if this transgene design is suitable for therapeutic applications, we replaced one of the fluorescent protein genes with the gene encoding guanylate cyclase-1 (GC1 and delivered lentivirus carrying this transgene to the retinas of the GUCY1*B avian model of Leber congenital amaurosis-1 (LCA1. GUCY1*B chickens carry a null mutation in the GC1 gene that disrupts photoreceptor function and causes blindness at hatching, a phenotype that closely matches that observed in humans with LCA1. We found that treatment of these animals with the 2A lentivector encoding GC1 restored vision to these animals as evidenced by the presence of optokinetic reflexes. We conclude that 2A-like peptides, with proper optimization, can be successfully incorporated into therapeutic vectors designed to deliver multiple proteins to neural retinal. These results highlight the potential of this vector design to serve as a platform for the development of combination therapies designed to enhance or prolong the benefits of corrective gene therapies.

LCA of 1,4-Butanediol Produced via Direct Fermentation of Sugars from Wheat Straw Feedstock within a Territorial Biorefinery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annachiara Forte

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The bio-based industrial sector has been recognized by the European Union as a priority area toward sustainability, however, the environmental profile of bio-based products needs to be further addressed. This study investigated, through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA approach, the environmental performance of bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO produced via direct fermentation of sugars from wheat straw, within a hypothetical regional biorefinery (Campania Region, Southern Italy. The aim was: (i to identify the hotspots along the production chain; and (ii to assess the potential environmental benefits of this bio-based polymer versus the reference conventional product (fossil-based BDO. Results identified the prevailing contribution to the total environmental load of bio-based BDO in the feedstock production and in the heat requirement at the biorefinery plant. The modeled industrial bio-based BDO supply chain, showed a general reduction of the environmental impacts compared to the fossil-based BDO. The lowest benefits were gained in terms of acidification and eutrophication, due to the environmental load of the crop phase for feedstock cultivation.

Evaluation of Life-Cycle Assessment Studies of Chinese Cement Production: Challenges and Opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Hongyou; Masanet, Eric; Price, Lynn

2009-05-29

The use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) to understand the embodied energy, environmental impacts, and potential energy-savings of manufactured products has become more widespread among researchers in recent years. This paper reviews recent LCA studies in the cement industry in China and in other countries and provides an assessment of the methodology used by the researchers compared to ISO LCA standards (ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006, and ISO/TR 14048:2002). We evaluate whether the authors provide information on the intended application, targeted audience, functional unit, system boundary, data sources, data quality assessment, data disaggregation and other elements, and draw conclusions regarding the level of adherence to ISO standards for the papers reviewed. We found that China researchers have gained much experience during last decade, but still have room for improvement in establishing boundaries, assessing data quality, identifying data sources, and explaining limitations. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future LCA research in China.

Sensitivity analysis of the use of Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods: a case study on building materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bueno, Cristiane; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Rossignolo, Joao Adriano

2016-01-01

The main aim of this research is to perform a sensitivity analysis of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) case study to understand if the use of different Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods may lead to different conclusions by decision makers and stakeholders. A complete LCA was applied to non...

Including biodiversity in life cycle assessment – State of the art, gaps and research needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winter, Lisa; Lehmann, Annekatrin; Finogenova, Natalia; Finkbeiner, Matthias

2017-01-01

Purpose: For over 20 years the feasibility of including man-made impacts on biodiversity in the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been explored. However, a comprehensive biodiversity impact assessment has so far not been performed. The aim of this study is to analyse how biodiversity is currently viewed in LCA, to highlight limitations and gaps and to provide recommendations for further research. Method: Firstly, biodiversity indicators are examined according to the level of biodiversity they assess (genetic, species, ecosystem) and to their usefulness for LCA. Secondly, relevant pressures on biodiversity that should be included in LCA are identified and available models (in and outside of an LCA context) for their assessment are discussed. Thirdly, existing impact assessment models are analysed in order to determine whether and how well pressures are already integrated into LCA. Finally, suggestions on how to include relevant pressures and impacts on biodiversity in LCA are provided and the necessary changes in each LCA phase that must follow are discussed. Results: The analysis of 119 indicators shows that 4% of indicators represent genetic diversity, 40% species diversity and 35% ecosystem diversity. 21% of the indicators consider further biodiversity-related topics. Out of the indicator sample, 42 indicators are deemed useful as impact indicators in LCA. Even though some identified pressures are already included in LCA with regard to their impacts on biodiversity (e.g. land use, carbon dioxide emissions etc.), other proven pressures on biodiversity have not yet been considered (e.g. noise, artificial light). Conclusion: Further research is required to devise new options (e.g. impact assessment models) for integrating biodiversity into LCA. The final goal is to cover all levels of biodiversity and include all missing pressures in LCA. Tentative approaches to achieve this goal are outlined. - Highlights: •Calculating man-made impacts highlights

Linkage studies and mutation analysis of the PDEB gene in 23 families with Leber congenital amaurosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riess, O; Weber, B; Nørremølle, Anne

1992-01-01

as to whether mutations in the human PDEB gene might cause LCA. We have previously cloned and characterized the human homologue of the mouse Pdeb gene and have mapped it to chromosome 4p16.3. In this study, a total of 23 LCA families of various ethnic backgrounds have been investigated. Linkage analysis using...

Are stormwater pollution impacts significant in life cycle assessment? A new methodology for quantifying embedded urban stormwater impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Robert; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa; Apul, Defne

2018-09-15

Current life cycle assessment (LCA) models do not explicitly incorporate the impacts from urban stormwater pollution. To address this issue, a framework to estimate the impacts from urban stormwater pollution over the lifetime of a system has been developed, laying the groundwork for subsequent improvements in life cycle databases and LCA modelling. The proposed framework incorporates urban stormwater event mean concentration (EMC) data into existing LCA impact categories to account for the environmental impacts associated with urban land occupation across the whole life cycle of a system. It consists of five steps: (1) compilation of inventory of urban stormwater pollutants; (2) collection of precipitation data; (3) classification and characterisation within existing midpoint impact categories; (4) collation of inventory data for impermeable urban land occupation; and (5) impact assessment. The framework is generic and can be applied to any system using any LCA impact method. Its application is demonstrated by two illustrative case studies: electricity generation and production of construction materials. The results show that pollutants in urban stormwater have an influence on human toxicity, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Among these, urban stormwater pollution has the highest relative contribution to the eutrophication potentials. The results also suggest that stormwater pollution from urban areas can have a substantial effect on the life cycle impacts of some systems (construction materials), while for some systems the effect is small (e.g. electricity generation). However, it is not possible to determine a priori which systems are affected so that the impacts from stormwater pollution should be considered routinely in future LCA studies. The paper also proposes ways to incorporate stormwater pollution burdens into the life cycle databases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All

The embodied energy and environmental emissions of construction projects in China: An economic input-output LCA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Yuan; Ries, Robert J.; Wang Yaowu

2010-01-01

A complete understanding of the resource consumption, embodied energy, and environmental emissions of civil projects in China is difficult due to the lack of comprehensive national statistics. To quantitatively assess the energy and environmental impacts of civil construction at a macro-level, this study developed a 24 sector environmental input-output life-cycle assessment model (I-O LCA) based on 2002 Chinese national economic and environmental data. The model generates an economy-wide inventory of energy use and environmental emissions. Estimates based on the level of economic activity related to planned future civil works in 2015 are made. Results indicate that the embodied energy of construction projects accounts for nearly one-sixth of the total economy's energy consumption in 2007, and may account for approximately one-fifth of the total energy use by 2015. This energy consumption is dominated by coal and oil consumptions. Energy-related emissions are the main polluters of the country's atmosphere and environment. If the industry's energy use and manufacturing techniques remain the same as in 2002, challenges to the goals for total energy consumption in China will appear in the next decade. Thus, effective implementation of efficient energy technologies and regulations are indispensable for achieving China's energy and environmental quality goals.

Application of monetary valuation in Life Cycle Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weidema, Bo Pedersen; Pizzol, Massimo; Miguel, Brandão

Monetary valuation, or monetarisation, is the determination of the economic value of non-market goods, i.e. goods for which no market exists. Although monetary valuation has a great potential to be applied in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), in particular in the weighting phase, several challenges...... for LCA. For the two surveys, the total number of respondents was 209. The critial review showed that observed- and revealed-preference methods and the abatement cost method have limited applicability in LCA, whereas the conjoint analysis method and the budget constraint method are the best options...

Construction of special eye models for investigation of chromatic and higher-order aberrations of eyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Yi; Wang, Yan; Wang, Zhaoqi; Liu, Yongji; Zhang, Lin; He, Yuanqing; Chang, Shengjiang

2014-01-01

An achromatic element eliminating only longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) while maintaining transverse chromatic aberration (TCA) is established for the eye model, which involves the angle formed by the visual and optical axis. To investigate the impacts of higher-order aberrations on vision, the actual data of higher-order aberrations of human eyes with three typical levels are introduced into the eye model along visual axis. Moreover, three kinds of individual eye models are established to investigate the impacts of higher-order aberrations, chromatic aberration (LCA+TCA), LCA and TCA on vision under the photopic condition, respectively. Results show that for most human eyes, the impact of chromatic aberration on vision is much stronger than that of higher-order aberrations, and the impact of LCA in chromatic aberration dominates. The impact of TCA is approximately equal to that of normal level higher-order aberrations and it can be ignored when LCA exists.

Clustering of unhealthy behaviors in the aerobics center longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Héroux, Mariane; Janssen, Ian; Lee, Duck-chul; Sui, Xuemei; Hebert, James R; Blair, Steven N

2012-04-01

Clustering of unhealthy behaviors has been reported in previous studies; however the link with all-cause mortality and differences between those with and without chronic disease requires further investigation. To observe the clustering effects of unhealthy diet, fitness, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption in adults with and without chronic disease and to assess all-cause mortality risk according to the clustering of unhealthy behaviors. Participants were 13,621 adults (aged 20-84) from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Four health behaviors were observed (diet, fitness, smoking, and drinking). Baseline characteristics of the study population and bivariate relations between pairs of the health behaviors were evaluated separately for those with and without chronic disease using cross-tabulation and a chi-square test. The odds of partaking in unhealthy behaviors were also calculated. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to assess clustering. Cox regression was used to assess the relationship between the behaviors and mortality. The four health behaviors were related to each other. LCA results suggested that two classes existed. Participants in class 1 had a higher probability of partaking in each of the four unhealthy behaviors than participants in class 2. No differences in health behavior clustering were found between participants with and without chronic disease. Mortality risk increased relative to the number of unhealthy behaviors participants engaged in. Unhealthy behaviors cluster together irrespective of chronic disease status. Such findings suggest that multi-behavioral intervention strategies can be similar in those with and without chronic disease.

Application of life cycle assessment for hospital solid waste management: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Mustafa; Wang, Wenping; Chaudhry, Nawaz

2016-10-01

This study was meant to determine environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios using a life cycle analysis approach. The survey for this study was conducted at the largest hospital in a major city of Pakistan. The hospital was thoroughly analyzed from November 2014 to January 2015 to quantify its wastes by category. The functional unit of the study was selected as 1 tonne of disposable solid hospital waste. System boundaries included transportation of hospital solid waste and its treatment and disposal by landfilling, incineration, composting, and material recycling methods. These methods were evaluated based on their greenhouse gas emissions. Landfilling and incineration turned out to be the worst final disposal alternatives, whereas composting and material recovery displayed savings in emissions. An integrated system (composting, incineration, and material recycling) was found as the best solution among the evaluated scenarios. This study can be used by policymakers for the formulation of an integrated hospital waste management plan. This study deals with environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios. It is an increasing area of concern in many developing and resource-constrained countries of the world. The life cycle analysis (LCA) approach is a useful tool for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from different waste management activities. There is a shortage of information in existing literature regarding LCA of hospital wastes. To the best knowledge of the authors this work is the first attempt at quantifying the environmental footprint of hospital waste in Pakistan.

Life cycle assessment study of a Chinese desktop personal computer.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Huabo; Eugster, Martin; Hischier, Roland; Streicher-Porte, Martin; Li, Jinhui

2009-02-15

Associated with the tremendous prosperity in world electronic information and telecommunication industry, there continues to be an increasing awareness of the environmental impacts related to the accelerating mass production, electricity use, and waste management of electronic and electric products (e-products). China's importance as both a consumer and supplier of e-products has grown at an unprecedented pace in recent decade. Hence, this paper aims to describe the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental performance of Chinese e-products from a global level. A desktop personal computer system has been selected to carry out a detailed and modular LCA which follows the ISO 14040 series. The LCA is constructed by SimaPro software version 7.0 and expressed with the Eco-indicator'99 life cycle impact assessment method. For a sensitivity analysis of the overall LCA results, the so-called CML method is used in order to estimate the influence of the choice of the assessment method on the result. Life cycle inventory information is complied by ecoinvent 1.3 databases, combined with literature and field investigations on the present Chinese situation. The established LCA study shows that that the manufacturing and the use of such devices are of the highest environmental importance. In the manufacturing of such devices, the integrated circuits (ICs) and the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) are those parts contributing most to the impact. As no other aspects are taken into account during the use phase, the impact is due to the way how the electricity is produced. The final process steps--i.e. the end of life phase--lead to a clear environmental benefit if a formal and modern, up-to-date technical system is assumed, like here in this study.

Life cycle assessment study of a Chinese desktop personal computer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Huabo; Eugster, Martin; Hischier, Roland; Streicher-Porte, Martin; Li Jinhui

2009-01-01

Associated with the tremendous prosperity in world electronic information and telecommunication industry, there continues to be an increasing awareness of the environmental impacts related to the accelerating mass production, electricity use, and waste management of electronic and electric products (e-products). China's importance as both a consumer and supplier of e-products has grown at an unprecedented pace in recent decade. Hence, this paper aims to describe the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental performance of Chinese e-products from a global level. A desktop personal computer system has been selected to carry out a detailed and modular LCA which follows the ISO 14040 series. The LCA is constructed by SimaPro software version 7.0 and expressed with the Eco-indicator'99 life cycle impact assessment method. For a sensitivity analysis of the overall LCA results, the so-called CML method is used in order to estimate the influence of the choice of the assessment method on the result. Life cycle inventory information is complied by ecoinvent 1.3 databases, combined with literature and field investigations on the present Chinese situation. The established LCA study shows that that the manufacturing and the use of such devices are of the highest environmental importance. In the manufacturing of such devices, the integrated circuits (ICs) and the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) are those parts contributing most to the impact. As no other aspects are taken into account during the use phase, the impact is due to the way how the electricity is produced. The final process steps - i.e. the end of life phase - lead to a clear environmental benefit if a formal and modern, up-to-date technical system is assumed, like here in this study

Review of Least Cost Analysis of Social Landscapes. Archaeological Case Studies [Book

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irmela Herzog

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The application of least cost analysis by archaeologists in Northern America and Europe has increased considerably during the last decade, and the readily available tools for this purpose have led to a much wider interest in the application of this set of techniques for research. The volume under review mainly presents the papers held at the symposium "Tracing trails and modeling movement: Understanding past cultural landscapes and social networks through least cost analysis". This symposium was organised by the editors of the volume at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeologists in Atlanta in April 2009. As the book, which contains 14 chapters by 18 - all US-based - contributors, took three years to appear, inevitably some references to more recent publications on the subject of least cost analysis (LCA were not included. The volume starts with an introduction and fairly basic applications of LCA, i.e. a methodology to reconstruct patterns of human movement in space; this is followed by two parts, each consisting of three papers with new ideas for LCA applications or more advanced methods for calculating LCA. The final part presents three papers discussing different aspects of LCA raised in the first parts of the volume and general issues of methodology. In the introductory chapter the editors describe the intention of the book. It is designed "to be a guidebook for archaeologists interested in using LCA to answer behavioral questions". They explain that LCA is based on the assumption that humans tend to economise many aspects of their behaviour. They emphasise that LCA is not an end in itself but a tool which should be used properly. This ambitious goal is however not necessarily matched by the contributions to the volume, in this reviewer's eyes. Some examples are presented here to show that LCA requires a clear understanding of its methodology and that outcomes need to be validated.

Significance of metabolites in bioequivalence: losartan potassium as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Charoo, Naseem Ahmad; Cristofoletti, Rodrigo; Khatri, Aamer Roshanali; Ali, Areeg Anwer

2014-06-01

Estimation of metabolite data as a supportive evidence of comparable therapeutic outcome is recommended by various guidance documents. However, a consensus on using it solely to establish bioequivalence (BE) is lacking as parent drug is believed to detect pharmacokinetic differences between test and reference formulations better. Four BE studies of losartan potassium reported in the literature are reviewed. In all the four studies, 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of geometric mean ratios of the test and reference formulations for maximum blood drug concentration (Cmax ) of losartan potassium were outside the acceptable range of 80%-125%, whereas, 90% CIs for its active metabolite, losartan carboxylic acid (LCA), were within the acceptance criteria. Although BE with respect to area under the plasma concentration versus time profile curve was demonstrated in all the cases, BE with respect to Cmax could not be established. However, marketing authorization in all the four cases was granted based on scientific evidence that LCA is 10-40 times more potent than losartan, LCA exhibited higher plasma concentration levels than losartan, pharmacodynamic effects correlate with LCA, and losartan shows wide therapeutic index. Further, widened CI limits for losartan were accepted. Losartan presents an opportunity in the diligence of the principles of quality risk management for selecting moiety on which BE decision must be based. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Remote Autonomous Sensor Networks: A Study in Redundancy and Life Cycle Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlrichs, M.; Dotson, A.; Cenek, M.

2017-12-01

The remote nature of the United States and Canada border and their extreme seasonal shifts has made monitoring much of the area impossible using conventional monitoring techniques. Currently, the United States has large gaps in its ability to detect movement on an as-needed-basis in remote areas. The proposed autonomous sensor network aims to meet that need by developing a product that is low cost, robust, and can be deployed on an as-needed-basis for short term monitoring events. This is accomplished by identifying radio frequency disturbance and acoustic disturbance. This project aims to validate the proposed design and offer optimization strategies by conducting a redundancy model as well as performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The model will incorporate topological, meteorological, and land cover datasets to estimate sensor loss over a three-month period, ensuring that the remaining network does not have significant gaps in coverage which preclude being able to receive and transmit data. The LCA will investigate the materials used to create the sensor to generate an estimate of the total environmental energy that is utilized to create the network and offer alternative materials and distribution methods that can lower this cost. This platform can function as a stand-alone monitoring network or provide additional spatial and temporal resolution to existing monitoring networks. This study aims to create the framework to determine if a sensor's design and distribution is appropriate for the target environment. The incorporation of a LCA will seek to answer if the data a proposed sensor network will collect outweighs the environmental damage that will result from its deployment. Furthermore, as the arctic continues to thaw and economic development grows, the methodology described in paper will function as a guidance document to ensure that future sensor networks have a minimal impact on these pristine areas.

Littoral cell angioma of the spleen in a patient with previous pulmonary sarcoidosis: a TNF-α related pathogenesis?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Titze Ulf

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Littoral cell angioma (LCA is a rare vascular tumor of the spleen. Generally thought to be benign, additional cases of LCA with malignant features have been described. Thus, its malignant potential seems to vary and must be considered uncertain. The etiology remains unclear, but an immune dysregulation for the apparent association with malignancies of visceral organs or immune-mediated diseases has been proposed. Case Presentation We report a case of LCA in a 43-year old male patient who presented with a loss of appetite and intermittent upper abdominal pain. Computed tomography showed multiple hypoattenuating splenic lesions which were hyperechogenic on abdominal ultrasound. Lymphoma was presumed and splenectomy was performed. Pathological evaluation revealed LCA. Conclusions LCA is a rare, primary vascular neoplasm of the spleen that might etiologically be associated with immune dysregulation. In addition, it shows a striking association with synchronous or prior malignancies. With about one-third of the reported cases to date being co-existent with malignancies of visceral organs or immune-mediated diseases, this advocates for close follow-ups in all patients diagnosed with LCA. To our knowledge, this report is the first one of LCA associated with previous pulmonary sarcoidosis and hypothesizes a TNF-α related pathogenesis of this splenic tumor.

Does highly symptomatic class membership in the acute phase predict highly symptomatic classification in victims 6 months after traumatic exposure?

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Maj; Hyland, Philip; Armour, Cherie

2016-05-01

Recently studies have indicated the existence of both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) subtypes but no studies have investigated their mutual association. Although ASD may not be a precursor of PTSD per se, there are potential benefits associated with early identification of victims at risk of developing PTSD subtypes. The present study investigates ASD and PTSD subtypes using latent class analysis (LCA) following bank robbery (N=371). Moreover, we assessed if highly symptomatic ASD and selected risk factors increased the probability of highly symptomatic PTSD. The results of LCA revealed a three class solution for ASD and a two class solution for PTSD. Negative cognitions about self (OR=1.08), neuroticism (OR=1.09) and membership of the 'High symptomatic ASD' class (OR=20.41) significantly increased the probability of 'symptomatic PTSD' class membership. Future studies are needed to investigate the existence of ASD and PTSD subtypes and their mutual relationship. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative Myology and Evolution of Marsupials and Other Vertebrates, With Notes on Complexity, Bauplan, and "Scala Naturae".

Science.gov (United States)

Diogo, Rui; Bello-Hellegouarch, Gaelle; Kohlsdorf, Tiana; Esteve-Altava, Borja; Molnar, Julia L

2016-09-01

Opossums are frequent subjects of developmental studies because marsupials share developmental features not seen in placentals and because Didelphimorpha is the sister-group of other extant Marsupialia. But is the adult marsupial muscular system markedly different from that of placentals or is it, like the skeletal system, very similar? We provide, for the first time, a brief description of all head and limb muscles of Didelphis virginiana based on our dissections and using a unifying nomenclature by integrating the data gathered in our long-term project on the development, homologies, and evolution of the muscles of all major vertebrate taxa. Our data indicate that there were many more muscle synapomorphic changes from the last common ancestor (LCA) of amniotes to the mammalian LCA (63) and from this LCA to the LCA of extant therians (48) than from this latter LCA to the LCA of extant placentals (10 or 11). Importantly, Didelphis is anatomically more plesiomorphic (only 14 changes from LCA of extant therians) than are rats (37 changes) and humans (63 changes), but its musculature is more complex (193 muscles) than that of humans (only 180 muscles). Of the 194 muscles of Didelphis, 172 (89%) are present in rats, meaning that their adult muscle anatomy is indeed very similar. This similarity supports the existence of a common, easy recognizable therian Bauplan, but one that is caused by developmental constraints and by evolutionary change driven by the needs of the embryos/neonates, rather than by a "goal" toward a specific adult plan/"archetype," as the name Bauplan suggests. Anat Rec, 299:1224-1255, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparative life cycle assessments: The case of paper and digital media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bull, Justin G., E-mail: jgbull@gmail.com; Kozak, Robert A., E-mail: rob.kozak@ubc.ca

2014-02-15

The consumption of the written word is changing, as media transitions from paper products to digital alternatives. We reviewed the life cycle assessment (LCA) research literature that compared the environmental footprint of digital and paper media. To validate the role of context in influencing LCA results, we assessed LCAs that did not compare paper and print, but focused on a product or component that is part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Using a framework that identifies problems in LCA conduct, we assessed whether the comparative LCAs were accurate expressions of the environmental footprints of paper and print. We hypothesized that the differences between the product systems that produce paper and digital media weaken LCA's ability to compare environmental footprints. We also hypothesized that the characteristics of ICT as an industrial sector weaken LCA as an environmental assessment methodology. We found that existing comparative LCAs offered problematic comparisons of paper and digital media for two reasons — the stark material differences between ICT products and paper products, and the unique characteristics of the ICT sector. We suggested that the context of the ICT sector, best captured by the concept of “Moore's Law”, will continuously impede the ability of the LCA methodology to measure ICT products. -- Highlights: • We review the LCA research that compares paper and digital media. • We contrast the comparative LCAs with LCAs that examine only digital products. • Stark differences between paper and digital media weakens LCA findings. • Digital products in general challenge the LCA method's reliability. • Continuous innovation and global nature of digital products impedes LCA methodology.

Comparative life cycle assessments: The case of paper and digital media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bull, Justin G.; Kozak, Robert A.

2014-01-01

The consumption of the written word is changing, as media transitions from paper products to digital alternatives. We reviewed the life cycle assessment (LCA) research literature that compared the environmental footprint of digital and paper media. To validate the role of context in influencing LCA results, we assessed LCAs that did not compare paper and print, but focused on a product or component that is part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Using a framework that identifies problems in LCA conduct, we assessed whether the comparative LCAs were accurate expressions of the environmental footprints of paper and print. We hypothesized that the differences between the product systems that produce paper and digital media weaken LCA's ability to compare environmental footprints. We also hypothesized that the characteristics of ICT as an industrial sector weaken LCA as an environmental assessment methodology. We found that existing comparative LCAs offered problematic comparisons of paper and digital media for two reasons — the stark material differences between ICT products and paper products, and the unique characteristics of the ICT sector. We suggested that the context of the ICT sector, best captured by the concept of “Moore's Law”, will continuously impede the ability of the LCA methodology to measure ICT products. -- Highlights: • We review the LCA research that compares paper and digital media. • We contrast the comparative LCAs with LCAs that examine only digital products. • Stark differences between paper and digital media weakens LCA findings. • Digital products in general challenge the LCA method's reliability. • Continuous innovation and global nature of digital products impedes LCA methodology

Natural biotic resources in LCA: Towards an impact assessment model for sustainable supply chain management.

Science.gov (United States)

Crenna, Eleonora; Sozzo, Sara; Sala, Serenella

2018-01-20

Natural resources, biotic and abiotic, are fundamental from both the ecological and socio-economic point of view, being at the basis of life-support. However, since the demand for finite resources continues to increase, the sustainability of current production and consumption patterns is questioned both in developed and developing countries. A transition towards an economy based on biotic renewable resources (bio-economy) is considered necessary in order to support a steady provision of resources, representing an alternative to an economy based on fossil and abiotic resources. However, to ensure a sustainable use of biotic resources, there is the need of properly accounting for their use along supply chains as well as defining a robust and comprehensive impact assessment model. Since so far naturally occurring biotic resources have gained little attention in impact assessment methods, such as life cycle assessment, the aim of this study is to enable the inclusion of biotic resources in the assessment of products and supply chains. This paper puts forward a framework for biotic resources assessment, including: i) the definition of system boundaries between ecosphere and technosphere, namely between naturally occurring and man-made biotic resources; ii) a list of naturally occurring biotic resources which have a commercial value, as basis for building life cycle inventories (NOBR, e.g. wild animals, plants etc); iii) an impact pathway to identify potential impacts on both resource provision and ecosystem quality; iv) a renewability-based indicator (NOBRri) for the impact assessment of naturally occurring biotic resources, including a list of associated characterization factors. The study, building on a solid review of literature and of available statistical data, highlights and discusses the critical aspects and paradoxes related to biotic resource inclusion in LCA: from the system boundaries definition up to the resource characterization.

Grade 1 to 6 Thai students' existing ideas about light: Across-age study

Science.gov (United States)

Horasirt, Yupaporn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This paper aimed to investigate Grade 1 to 6 Thai (6 - 12 years old) students' existing ideas about light, sight, vision, source of light. The participants included 36 Grade 1 to 6 students (6 students in each Grade) who studying at a primary school in Khon Kaen. The method of this study is a descriptive qualitative research design. The tools included the two-tiered test about light and open-ended question. Students' responses were categorized the students' existing ideas about light. Findings indicated that young students held various existing ideas about light that could be categorized into 6 different groups relating to sight, vision, and source of light. The paper discussed these students' existing ideas for developing constructivist learning about light in Thailand context.

Archive of Digital Boomer Seismic Reflection Data Collected During USGS Field Activity 96LCA04 in Lakes Mabel and Starr, Central Florida, August 1996

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Swancar, Amy; Tihansky, Ann B.; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

2008-01-01

In August of 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted geophysical surveys of Lakes Mabel and Starr, central Florida, as part of the Central Highlands Lakes project, which is part of a larger USGS Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, observer's logbook; and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Filtered and gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. For detailed information about the hydrologic setting of Lake Starr and the interpretation of some of these seismic reflection data, see Swancar and others (2000) at http://fl.water.usgs.gov/publications/Abstracts/wri00_4030_swancar.html. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975) and may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU). Example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992) are also provided. The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 96LCA04 tells us the data were collected in 1996 for the Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study and the data were collected during the fourth field activity for that project in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. The boomer plate is an acoustic energy source that consists of capacitors charged to a high voltage and discharged through a transducer in the water. The transducer is towed on a sled floating on the water surface and when

Life cycle assessment as an analytical tool in strategic environmental assessment. Lessons learned from a case study on municipal energy planning in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Björklund, Anna

2012-01-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is explored as an analytical tool in strategic environmental assessment (SEA), illustrated by case where a previously developed SEA process was applied to municipal energy planning in Sweden. The process integrated decision-making tools for scenario planning, public participation and environmental assessment. This article describes the use of LCA for environmental assessment in this context, with focus on methodology and practical experiences. While LCA provides a systematic framework for the environmental assessment and a wider systems perspective than what is required in SEA, LCA cannot address all aspects of environmental impact required, and therefore needs to be complemented by other tools. The integration of LCA with tools for public participation and scenario planning posed certain methodological challenges, but provided an innovative approach to designing the scope of the environmental assessment and defining and assessing alternatives. - Research highlights: ► LCA was explored as analytical tool in an SEA process of municipal energy planning. ► The process also integrated LCA with scenario planning and public participation. ► Benefits of using LCA were a systematic framework and wider systems perspective. ► Integration of tools required some methodological challenges to be solved. ► This proved an innovative approach to define alternatives and scope of assessment.

Archive of Digital Boomer and CHIRP Seismic Reflection Data Collected During USGS Field Activity 08LCA03 in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, May 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; McBride, W. Scott; Flocks, James G.; Wiese, Dana S.

2009-01-01

In May of 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys in Lake Panasoffkee, located in central Florida, as part of the USGS Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer and Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse (CHIRP)* seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Filtered and gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles and geospatially corrected interactive profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. *Due to poor data acquisition conditions associated with the lake bottom sediments, only two CHIRP tracklines were collected during this field activity. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975) and may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU). Example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992) are provided. The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 08LCA03 tells us the data were collected in 2008 for the Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study and the data were collected during the third field activity for that study in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. The naming convention used for each seismic line is as follows: yye##a, where 'yy' are the last two digits of the year in which the data were collected, 'e' is a 1-letter abbreviation for the equipment type (for example, b for boomer and c

Comparative evaluation of energy-related aspects in urban and in rural districts - Case study in the Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland; Analyse comparative des aspects energetiques de quartiers urbains et ruraux. Etude de cas dans le canton de Neuchatel. Rapport final

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perret, L.; Vuilleumier, R.; Bonhote, P. [Planair SA, La Sagne (Switzerland); Rey, E. [Bauart Architectes et Urbanistes SA, Neuchatel (Switzerland)

2007-07-01

The project aims at identifying the energy impact of various current ways of regional planning through a case study of eight districts in the canton of Neuchatel. The districts reveal the trends of planning in an urban centre, and in incorporated (suburb) or unincorporated territory. Thus, the influence of the distance to the centre of the agglomeration named 'centrality' has been studied. The energy expenditure for the buildings' construction phase (buildings, roads, networks) and utilization phase (heating, electricity, water, waste, networks) has been taken into account as well as the mobility. The energy investments have been evaluated by the method SNARC. The energy expenditure for operation and mobility has been evaluated based on questionnaires addressed to the inhabitants. As a result, the variable 'centrality' has only a weak role on the life cycle analysis (LCA) per inhabitant. In our case, the LCA for incorporated districts (suburb) and unincorporated districts are similar. With a LCA per square meter, the impact is completely similar and no correlation with the variable 'centrality' has been noticed. As the households are larger per inhabitants when the district is located in a suburban zone, the LCA per square meter remains stable. On the contrary, if the LCA is determined per household, the LCA is perfectly correlated with the variable 'centrality'. Thus, a household in the centre of Neuchatel consumes twice less energy resources than a household in Val-of-Ruz (rural area). The study highlights also the critical impacts of a LCA on a district scale. Finally, this study gives recommendations based on the energy and demographic prospects in order to respond to the objective of a 2000 watts society. (author)

Distributions of emissions intensity for individual beef cattle reared on pasture-based production systems.

Science.gov (United States)

McAuliffe, G A; Takahashi, T; Orr, R J; Harris, P; Lee, M R F

2018-01-10

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of livestock production systems is often based on inventory data for farms typical of a study region. As information on individual animals is often unavailable, livestock data may already be aggregated at the time of inventory analysis, both across individual animals and across seasons. Even though various computational tools exist to consider the effect of genetic and seasonal variabilities in livestock-originated emissions intensity, the degree to which these methods can address the bias suffered by representative animal approaches is not well-understood. Using detailed on-farm data collected on the North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) in Devon, UK, this paper proposes a novel approach of life cycle impact assessment that complements the existing LCA methodology. Field data, such as forage quality and animal performance, were measured at high spatial and temporal resolutions and directly transferred into LCA processes. This approach has enabled derivation of emissions intensity for each individual animal and, by extension, its intra-farm distribution, providing a step towards reducing uncertainty related to agricultural production inherent in LCA studies for food. Depending on pasture management strategies, the total emissions intensity estimated by the proposed method was higher than the equivalent value recalculated using a representative animal approach by 0.9-1.7 kg CO 2 -eq/kg liveweight gain, or up to 10% of system-wide emissions. This finding suggests that emissions intensity values derived by the latter technique may be underestimated due to insufficient consideration given to poorly performing animals, whose emissions becomes exponentially greater as average daily gain decreases. Strategies to mitigate life-cycle environmental impacts of pasture-based beef productions systems are also discussed.

Life-cycle assessment framework for indoor emissions of synthetic nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walser, Tobias, E-mail: tobias.walser@bag.admin.ch [ETH Zurich, Institute for Environmental Engineering (Switzerland); Meyer, David [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory (United States); Fransman, Wouter; Buist, Harrie; Kuijpers, Eelco; Brouwer, Derk [TNO (Netherlands)

2015-06-15

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-established method to evaluate impacts of chemicals on the environment and human health along the lifespan of products. However, the increasingly produced and applied nanomaterials (defined as one dimension <100 nm) show particular characteristics which are different from conventional chemicals or larger particles. As a consequence, LCA does not provide sufficient guidance on how to deal with synthetic nanomaterials, neither in the exposure, nor in the effect assessment. This is particularly true for the workplace, where significant exposure can be expected via the lung, the route of major concern. Therefore, we developed a concise method which allows the inclusion of indoor nanoparticle exposure into LCA. New nanospecific properties are included along the LCA stages with a particular focus on the workplace environment. We built upon existing LCA methods and nanoparticle fate and exposure studies. The impact assessment requires new approaches for nanoparticles, such as guidance on relevant endpoints, nanospecific properties that are relevant for the toxicity, and guidance on the chemical identity of nanomaterials, i.e., categorization and distinction of different forms of nanomaterials. We present a framework which goes beyond traditional approaches of LCA and includes nanospecific fate parameters in the indoor exposure assessment as well as guidance on the development of effect and characterization factors for inhaled nanoparticles. Specifically, the indoor one-box model is amended with new particle-specific parameters developed in the exposure literature. A concentration conversion and parameter estimation tool are presented. Finally, the modification of the traditional intake fraction to capture size-specific deposition and retention rate are discussed along with a strategy for a more robust effect assessment. The paper is a further step toward a fair comparison between conventional and nano-enabled products by integrating

Life-cycle assessment framework for indoor emissions of synthetic nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Walser, Tobias; Meyer, David; Fransman, Wouter; Buist, Harrie; Kuijpers, Eelco; Brouwer, Derk

2015-06-01

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-established method to evaluate impacts of chemicals on the environment and human health along the lifespan of products. However, the increasingly produced and applied nanomaterials (defined as one dimension chemicals or larger particles. As a consequence, LCA does not provide sufficient guidance on how to deal with synthetic nanomaterials, neither in the exposure, nor in the effect assessment. This is particularly true for the workplace, where significant exposure can be expected via the lung, the route of major concern. Therefore, we developed a concise method which allows the inclusion of indoor nanoparticle exposure into LCA. New nanospecific properties are included along the LCA stages with a particular focus on the workplace environment. We built upon existing LCA methods and nanoparticle fate and exposure studies. The impact assessment requires new approaches for nanoparticles, such as guidance on relevant endpoints, nanospecific properties that are relevant for the toxicity, and guidance on the chemical identity of nanomaterials, i.e., categorization and distinction of different forms of nanomaterials. We present a framework which goes beyond traditional approaches of LCA and includes nanospecific fate parameters in the indoor exposure assessment as well as guidance on the development of effect and characterization factors for inhaled nanoparticles. Specifically, the indoor one-box model is amended with new particle-specific parameters developed in the exposure literature. A concentration conversion and parameter estimation tool are presented. Finally, the modification of the traditional intake fraction to capture size-specific deposition and retention rate are discussed along with a strategy for a more robust effect assessment. The paper is a further step toward a fair comparison between conventional and nano-enabled products by integrating occupational exposure to synthetic nanomaterials into LCA.

Life-cycle assessment framework for indoor emissions of synthetic nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walser, Tobias; Meyer, David; Fransman, Wouter; Buist, Harrie; Kuijpers, Eelco; Brouwer, Derk

2015-01-01

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-established method to evaluate impacts of chemicals on the environment and human health along the lifespan of products. However, the increasingly produced and applied nanomaterials (defined as one dimension <100 nm) show particular characteristics which are different from conventional chemicals or larger particles. As a consequence, LCA does not provide sufficient guidance on how to deal with synthetic nanomaterials, neither in the exposure, nor in the effect assessment. This is particularly true for the workplace, where significant exposure can be expected via the lung, the route of major concern. Therefore, we developed a concise method which allows the inclusion of indoor nanoparticle exposure into LCA. New nanospecific properties are included along the LCA stages with a particular focus on the workplace environment. We built upon existing LCA methods and nanoparticle fate and exposure studies. The impact assessment requires new approaches for nanoparticles, such as guidance on relevant endpoints, nanospecific properties that are relevant for the toxicity, and guidance on the chemical identity of nanomaterials, i.e., categorization and distinction of different forms of nanomaterials. We present a framework which goes beyond traditional approaches of LCA and includes nanospecific fate parameters in the indoor exposure assessment as well as guidance on the development of effect and characterization factors for inhaled nanoparticles. Specifically, the indoor one-box model is amended with new particle-specific parameters developed in the exposure literature. A concentration conversion and parameter estimation tool are presented. Finally, the modification of the traditional intake fraction to capture size-specific deposition and retention rate are discussed along with a strategy for a more robust effect assessment. The paper is a further step toward a fair comparison between conventional and nano-enabled products by integrating

Impact evaluation of integrated food-bioenergy systems: A comparative LCA of peach nectar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Menna, Fabio; Vittuari, Matteo; Molari, Giovanni

2015-01-01

Processed food products present high energy intensity, along with a large amount of food losses and waste. The recovery of residual biomass as integrated renewable energy source could represent an interesting option for the substitution of fossil energy, contributing to the transition of agro-food sector towards a low-carbon economy. Two scenarios were compared, in order to evaluate the impacts of a fossil fuel-based food chain and the potential benefits of the integration of bioenergy production, using peach nectar as case study. In the first scenario, peach nectar is produced, distributed and consumed using fossil energy, while residuals are wasted. In the second scenario, byproducts from the nectar chain are used to produce bioenergy from combustion or anaerobic digestion, which is then consumed to substitute electricity and heat. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) based on the same functional unit was performed. Main results show that, in the conventional scenario, most of the damage derives from land use, especially for sugar and glucose production, from the fossil energy consumption of about 15 MJ l −1 , and the related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 0.91 kg CO 2  eq l −1 . Food waste leads to a loss of about 20 kcal l −1 . Bioenergy integration would allow a 13–15% damage reduction, mainly due to the substitution of indirect energy consumption. The effects on human health and ecosystem quality are limited. - Highlights: • Up to 15 MJ l −1 of fossil energy are needed to produce 2.7 MJ of peach nectar. • About 20 out of 648 kcal l −1 of peach and nectar are wasted along the supply chain. • Added ingredients (sugar and glucose) cause a large share of land use impact. • Bioenergy from waste reduces up to 37% of non-renewable energy consumption

A global prospective of income distribution and its effect on life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Pooja; Samadder, S R

2017-04-01

This study reviewed the municipal solid waste (MSW) composition, the management practices, and the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) tool for MSW management (MSWM) options in the various income group countries. LCA studies require inventory data, which is difficult to procure for any country including higher income group countries, and this issue gets compounded in low-income and lower middle-income group countries, which limits the implementation of LCA. This paper compared the use of LCA for MSWM between high-income and low-income group countries and also highlights the gap in using LCA for MSWM. A very limited number of LCA studies on MSWM were found for low-income group countries in comparison to high-income group countries. The study also provided a critical discussion on the challenges in applications of LCA in MSWM for better solid waste management in low-income and lower middle-income group countries. The study will help in taking up LCA studies in low-income countries to improve the overall MSWM efficiency.

A study into life cycle environmental impacts of photovoltaic technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaic Cells (LCA). It was undertaken by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) on behalf of ETSU for the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). This study uses the technique of LCA to examine all aspects of the production, use and disposal of PVs and the consequent environmental effects. This allows an appraisal of the environmental effects of increasing UK production of PVs to supply more demand for electricity in the EU and the developing world. Impacts result from obtaining raw materials, manufacturing solar power generating equipment, and any final disposal or recycling requirements. The environmental impacts resulting from these phases are known as the PV LIfe Cycle impacts. (author)

Electricity generation from solid biomass via co-combustion with coal. Energy and emission balances from a German case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmann, D.; Kaltschmitt, M.

1999-01-01

The environmental effects of electricity production from different biofuels by means of co-combustion with hard coal in existing coal fired power plants are analysed and compared to electricity production from hard coal alone based on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The use of straw and residual wood at a 10% blend with coal in an existing power plant in the southern part of Germany shows that all investigated environmental effects are significantly lower if biomass is used instead of coal. Thus based on the available and proven technology of co-combustion of hard coal and biomass in existing power plants a significant contribution could be made to a more environmentally sound energy system compared to using coal alone. (author)

Data Quality Assessment of the Uncertainty Analysis Applied to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Dairy Cow System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Youl Baek

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The results of an uncertainty analysis are achieved by the statistical information (standard error, type of probability distributions, and range of minimum and maximum of the selected input parameters. However, there are limitations in identifying sufficient data samples for the selected input parameters for statistical information in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA. Therefore, there is a strong need for a consistent screening procedure to identify the input parameters for use in uncertainty analysis in the area of LCA. The conventional procedure for identifying input parameters for the uncertainty analysis method includes assessing the data quality using the pedigree method and the contribution analysis of the LCA results. This paper proposes a simplified procedure for ameliorating the existing data quality assessment method, which can lead to an efficient uncertainly analysis of LCA results. The proposed method has two salient features: (i a simplified procedure based on contribution analysis followed by a data quality assessment for selecting the input parameters for the uncertainty analysis; and (ii a quantitative data quality assessment method is proposed, based on the pedigree method, that adopts the analytic hierarchy process (AHP method and quality function deployment (QFD. The effects of the uncertainty of the selected input parameters on the LCA results were assessed using the Monte Carlo simulation method. A case study of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions from a dairy cow system was used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed procedure.

THE FLAT TAX - A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EXISTING MODELS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schiau (Macavei Laura - Liana

2011-07-01

Full Text Available In the two last decades the flat tax systems have spread all around the globe from East and Central Europe to Asia and Central America. Many specialists consider this phenomenon a real fiscal revolution, but others see it as a mistake as long as the new systems are just a feint of the true flat tax designed by the famous Stanford University professors Robert Hall and Alvin Rabushka. In this context this paper tries to determine which of the existing flat tax systems resemble the true flat tax model by comparing and contrasting their main characteristics with the features of the model proposed by Hall and Rabushka. The research also underlines the common features and the differences between the existing models. The idea of this kind of study is not really new, others have done it but the comparison was limited to one country. For example Emil Kalchev from New Bulgarian University has asses the Bulgarian income system, by comparing it with the flat tax and concluding that taxation in Bulgaria is not simple, neutral and non-distortive. Our research is based on several case studies and on compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative methods. The study starts form the fiscal design drawn by the two American professors in the book The Flat Tax. Four main characteristics of the flat tax system were chosen in order to build the comparison: fiscal design, simplicity, avoidance of double taxation and uniformity of the tax rates. The jurisdictions chosen for the case study are countries all around the globe with fiscal systems which are considered flat tax systems. The results obtained show that the fiscal design of Hong Kong is the only flat tax model which is built following an economic logic and not a legal sense, being in the same time a simple and transparent system. Others countries as Slovakia, Albania, Macedonia in Central and Eastern Europe fulfill the requirement regarding the uniformity of taxation. Other jurisdictions avoid the double

Life-cycle assessment in the renewable energy sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goralczyk, M.

2003-01-01

The Polish energy industry is facing challenges regarding energetic safety, competitiveness, improvement of domestic companies and environmental protection. Ecological guidelines concern the elimination of detrimental solutions, and effective energy management, which will form the basis for sustainable development. The Polish power industry is required to systematically increase the share of energy taken from renewable sources in the total energy sold to customers. Besides the economic issues, particular importance is assigned to environmental factors associated with the choice of energy source. That is where life-cycle assessment (LCA) is important. The main purpose of LCA is to identify the environmental impacts of goods and services during the whole life cycle of the product or service. Therefore LCA can be applied to assess the impact on the environment of electricity generation and will allow producers to make better decisions pertaining to environmental protection. The renewable energy sources analysed in this paper include the energy from photovoltaics, wind turbines and hydroelectric power. The goal and scope of the analysis comprise the assessment of environmental impacts of production of 1 GJ of energy from the sources mentioned above. The study will cover the construction, operation and waste disposal at each power plant. Analysis will cover the impact categories, where the environmental influence is the most significant, i.e. resource depletion, global warmth potential, acidification and eutrophication. The LCA results will be shown on the basis of European and Australian research. This analysis will be extended with a comparison between environmental impacts of energy from renewable and conventional sources. This report will conclude with an analysis of possibilities of application of the existing research results and LCA rules in the Polish energy industry with a focus on Poland's future accession to the European Union. Definitions of LCA fundamental

Death Valley Lower Carbonate Aquifer Monitoring Program Wells Down gradient of the Proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inyo County

2006-01-01

Inyo County has participated in oversight activities associated with the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository since 1987. The overall goal of these studies are the evaluation of far-field issues related to potential transport, by ground water, or radionuclides into Inyo County, including Death Valley, and the evaluation of a connection between the Lower Carbonate Aquifer (LCA) and the biosphere. Our oversight and completed Cooperative Agreement research, and a number of other investigators research indicate that there is groundwater flow between the alluvial and carbonate aquifers both at Yucca Mountain and in Inyo County. In addition to the potential of radionuclide transport through the LCA, Czarnecki (1997), with the US Geological Survey, research indicate potential radionuclide transport through the shallower Tertiary-age aquifer materials with ultimate discharge into the Franklin Lake Playa in Inyo County. The specific purpose of this Cooperative Agreement drilling program was to acquire geological, subsurface geology, and hydrologic data to: (1) establish the existence of inter-basin flow between the Amargosa Basin and Death Valley Basin; (2) characterize groundwater flow paths in the LCA through Southern Funeral Mountain Range, and (3) Evaluation the hydraulic connection between the Yucca Mountain repository and the major springs in Death Valley through the LCA

How does co-product handling affect the carbon footprint of milk? Case study of milk production in New Zealand and Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flysjö, Anna Maria; Cederberg, Christel; Henriksson, Maria

2011-01-01

Purpose This paper investigates different methodologies of handling co-products in life cycle assessment (LCA) or carbon footprint (CF) studies. Co-product handling can have a significant effect on final LCA/CF results, and although there are guidelines on the preferred order for different methods...... (when slaughtered), calves, manure, hides, etc., the environmental burden (here GHG emissions) must be distributed between these outputs (in the present study no emissions are attributed to hides specifically, or to manure which is recycled on-farm). Different methodologically approaches, (1) system...

The need for an established allocation method when assessing absolute sustainability on a product level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryberg, Morten; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2015-01-01

Assessment of absolute sustainability within life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is operational on the country scale. However, it is difficult to apply the existing approaches to products, which are typically the scope of LCAs. How should we assess whether a chair is (absolutely) sustainable? I...... allocation keys specific to each product group, e.g. mass for furniture, or economic revenue for IT. The proposed method facilitates assessment of absolute sustainability of products within the LCA framework....

Optimization and implementation study of plutonium disposition using existing CANDU Reactors. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-09-01

Since early 1994, the Department of Energy has been sponsoring studies aimed at evaluating the merits of disposing of surplus US weapons plutonium as Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel in existing commercial Canadian Pressurized Heavy Water reactors, known as CANDU's. The first report, submitted to DOE in July, 1994 (the 1994 Executive Summary is attached), identified practical and safe options for the consumption of 50 to 100 tons of plutonium in 25 years in some of the existing CANDU reactors operating the Bruce A generating station, on Lake Huron, about 300 km north east of Detroit. By designing the fuel and nuclear performance to operate within existing experience and operating/performance envelope, and by utilizing existing fuel fabrication and transportation facilities and methods, a low cost, low risk method for long term plutonium disposition was developed. In December, 1995, in response to evolving Mission Requirements, the DOE requested a further study of the CANDU option with emphasis on more rapid disposition of the plutonium, and retaining the early start and low risk features of the earlier work. This report is the result of that additional work

Area of Concern: a new paradigm in life cycle assessment for ...

Science.gov (United States)

Purpose: As a class of environmental metrics, footprints have been poorly defined, have shared an unclear relationship to life cycle assessment (LCA), and the variety of approaches to quantification have sometimes resulted in confusing and contradictory messages in the marketplace. In response, a task force operating under the auspices of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative project on environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has been working to develop generic guidance for developers of footprint metrics. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a universal footprint definition and related terminology as well as to discuss modelling implications.MethodsThe task force has worked from the perspective that footprints should be based on LCA methodology, underpinned by the same data systems and models as used in LCA. However, there are important differences in purpose and orientation relative to LCA impact category indicators. Footprints have a primary orientation toward society and nontechnical stakeholders. They are also typically of narrow scope, having the purpose of reporting only in relation to specific topics. In comparison, LCA has a primary orientation toward stakeholders interested in comprehensive evaluation of overall environmental performance and trade-offs among impact categories. These differences create tension between footprints, the existing LCIA framework based on the area of protection paradigm and the core LCA standards ISO14040/44.Res

Learning-by-doing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cosme, Nuno; Hauschild, Michael Z.; Molin, Christine

2018-01-01

-long duration of the course, students from different engineering backgrounds perform full-fledged LCA studies in groups, passing through two iterations—a screening LCA supporting a more targeted LCA. Results and discussion: The course design, which relies on a learning-by-doing principle, is transparently...... in recommending industries and LCA teachers to engage into such collaborations even in the fundamental teaching of LCA techniques....

Proposal for a new normalization reference in LCA based on “safe operating space”: presentation of framework and global factors at midpoint level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

Planetary boundaries have been suggested for a range of environmental impacts,such as climate change, eutrophying nutrients and land use. The boundaries demarcate the safe operating space of humanity: Staying within the space ensures environmental sustainability, while exceeding it risks pushing...... ecosystems into alternative regimes, leading to adverse effects for humanity. Planetary boundaries can be applied as policy targets. To promote a societal development in the direction of these targets, an indicator system is needed that measures the fraction of the safe operating space that a given activity...... normalization factors in units compatible with characterized results at midpoint level in LCA. Our suggested framework allows expressing normalized results in units of “sustainable person years”. Normalization factors are derived by dividing the safe operating space by the global population. The proposed...

Application of life cycle assessment for an evaluation of wastewater treatment and reuse project--case study of Xi'an, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Q H; Wang, X C; Xiong, J Q; Chen, R; Cao, B

2010-03-01

In order to illuminate the benefit of a wastewater treatment and reuse project, a life cycle assessment (LCA) model was proposed by combining the process-based LCA and the input-output based LCA in one framework and using energy consumption as the sole parameter for quantitative evaluation of the project. The life cycle consumption was evaluated mainly by life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis taking into account the construction phase, operation phase and demolishment phase of the project. For evaluating the life cycle benefit of treated water reuse, attention was paid to the decrease of secondary effluent discharge and water saving. As a result of comprehensive LCA analysis of a case project in Xi'an, China, it was understood that the life cycle benefit gained from treated wastewater reuse much surpassed the life cycle energy consumption. The advantage of wastewater treatment and reuse was well shown by LCA analysis using the proposed model. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Participatory approach, acceptability and transparency of waste management LCAs: case studies of Torino and Cuneo.

Science.gov (United States)

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Fantoni, Moris; Busto, Mirko; Genon, Giuseppe; Zanetti, Maria Chiara

2012-09-01

The paper summarises the main results obtained from two extensive applications of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the integrated municipal solid waste management systems of Torino and Cuneo Districts in northern Italy. Scenarios with substantial differences in terms of amount of waste, percentage of separate collection and options for the disposal of residual waste are used to discuss the credibility and acceptability of the LCA results, which are adversely affected by the large influence of methodological assumptions and the local socio-economic constraints. The use of site-specific data on full scale waste treatment facilities and the adoption of a participatory approach for the definition of the most sensible LCA assumptions are used to assist local public administrators and stakeholders showing them that LCA can be operational to waste management at local scale. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electricity mix and ecological assessments. Consequences of the choice of specific electricity mixes in analyses of the environmental performance of products and services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menard, M.; Dones, R.; Gantner, U.

1998-12-01

The study aims at analysing the methodological issues associated with the definition of electricity mixes and discussing the consequences of the choice of specific electricity mixes in analyses of the environmental performance of products and services, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This report has been designed as a guideline to support LCA practitioners in the systematic identification of the most appropriate electricity mixes for LCA applications. A detailed checklist has been developed for this purpose. It includes the following items: type of electricity supply (from the net, self production, direct contracts); voltage level; country/place of utilisation; year of utilisation; season/daytime of utilisation; import/export model; and, marginal vs. average approach. A few examples, utilising published LCA studies, illustrate the impacts of the insights gained in the present work. Although primarily aimed at applications in Switzerland, the main concepts, the modelling and parts of the information provided can also be applied to other European countries. In addition to the three models proposed earlier for the assessment of the Swiss yearly average electricity mix, a new model (M4) has been developed in the frame of the present task in order to take into account the conditions characteristic for Switzerland as a transit land for electricity trades between its neighbour countries. All existing electricity mix models as well as selected environmental inventories are described and compared in the report. As an example of results, the CO 2 emissions calculated for the Swiss yearly electricity supply mix are relatively small (48 g/kWh with model M4, as compared with 497 g/kWh for the average UCPTE mix). Key information on the structure of electricity generation and trade in Europe is provided. The modelling of the electricity supply for most of the European countries is less sensitive to the choice of an electricity model than for Switzerland. Considering that

Hydraulic and Condition Assessment of Existing Sewerage Network: A Case Study of an Educational Institute

Science.gov (United States)

Sourabh, Nishant; Timbadiya, P. V.

2018-04-01

The hydraulic simulation of the existing sewerage network provides various information about critical points to assess the deteriorating condition and help in rehabilitation of existing network and future expansion. In the present study, hydraulic and condition assessment of existing network of educational Institute (i.e. Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology-Surat, Gujarat, India), having an area of 100 ha and ground levels in range of 5.0-9.0 m above mean sea level, has been carried out using sewage flow simulation for existing and future scenarios analysis using SewerGEMS v8i. The paper describes the features of 4.79 km long sewerage network of institute followed by network model simulation for aforesaid scenarios and recommendations on improvement of the existing network for future use. The total sewer loads for present and future scenarios are 1.67 million litres per day (MLD) and 3.62 MLD, considering the peak factor of 3 on the basis of population. The hydraulic simulation of the existing scenario indicated depth by diameter (d/D) ratio in the range of 0.02-0.48 and velocity range of 0.08-0.53 m/s for existing network for present scenario. For the future scenario, the existing network is needed to be modified and it was found that total of 11 conduits (length: 464.8 m) should be replaced to the next higher diameter available, i.e., 350 mm for utilization of existing network for future scenario. The present study provides the methodology for condition assessment of existing network and its utilization as per guidelines provided by Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, 2013. The methodology presented in this paper can be used by municipal/public health engineer for the assessment of existing sewerage network for its serviceability and improvement in future.

Improving Students' Argumentation Skills through a Product Life-Cycle Analysis Project in Chemistry Education

Science.gov (United States)

Juntunen, M. K.; Aksela, M. K.

2014-01-01

The aim of the study discussed in this paper was to link existing research about the argumentation skills of students to the teaching of life-cycle analysis (LCA) in order to promote an evidence-based approach to the teaching of and learning about materials used in consumer products. This case-study is part of a larger design research project that…

Optimal greenhouse gas emissions in NGCC plants integrating life cycle assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernier, Etienne; Maréchal, François; Samson, Réjean

2012-01-01

The optimal design of an energy-intensive process involves a compromise between costs and greenhouse gas emissions, complicated by the interaction between optimal process emissions and supply chain emissions. We propose a method that combines generic abatement cost estimates and the results of existing (LCA) life cycle assessment studies, so that supply chain emissions are properly handled during optimization. This method is illustrated for a (NGCC) natural gas combined cycle power plant model with the following design and procurement options: procurement of natural gas from low-emissions producers, fuel substitution with (SNG) synthetic natural gas from wood, and variable-rate CO 2 capture and sequestration from both the NGCC and SNG plants. Using multi-objective optimization, we show two Pareto-optimal sets with and without the proposed LCA method. The latter can then be shown to misestimate CO 2 abatement costs by a few percent, penalizing alternate fuels and energy-efficient process configurations and leading to sub-optimal design decisions with potential net losses of the order of $1/MWh. Thus, the proposed LCA method can enhance the economic analysis of emissions abatement technologies and emissions legislation in general. -- Highlights: ► Multi-objective optimization and LCA used for process design considering supply chain. ► Off-site emissions in LCA reveal potential future indirect taxes for energy consumers. ► Generic abatement cost curves provide a mitigation model for off-site emissions. ► Off-site mitigation precedes CO 2 capture or biogas substitution in NGCC plant. ► Profitability estimation of capture or substitution depends on off-site mitigation.

A proposal to measure absolute environmental sustainability in lifecycle assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Margni, Manuele; Roy, Pierre-Olivier

2016-01-01

sustainable are therefore increasingly important. Such absolute indicators exist, but suffer from shortcomings such as incomplete coverage of environmental issues, varying data quality and varying or insufficient spatial resolution. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that life cycle assessment (LCA...... in supporting decisions aimed at simultaneously reducing environmental impacts efficiently and maintaining or achieving environmental sustainability. We have demonstrated that LCA indicators can be modified from being relative to being absolute indicators of environmental sustainability. Further research should...

Friday Harbor Marina Expansion Study--San Juan Island, Washington: Final Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-04-01

1) nor at any other land or water site in the area. The existing wood enclosed plastic flo- tation chambered breakwater would continue to deteriorate...large bates of absorbent chips on hand to deal with minor oil spills. We have ordered from Crowley Environmental Services, Seattle, Washington 100 3M TY...Oll ’ ih ICbI of 811) , ,* (&) Power or natural #;41%4 the ibuve ifllomiiuci is true snd1. Luniple:it Is i U.6~ I. ( i.iilu hat~ ihr lca . a&icn.y mai~y

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of solid waste management strategies in Tehran: landfill and composting plus landfill.

Science.gov (United States)

Abduli, M A; Naghib, Abolghasem; Yonesi, Mansoor; Akbari, Ali

2011-07-01

As circumstances of operating and maintenance activities for landfilling and composting in Tehran metropolis differ from those of cities in developed countries, it was concluded to have an environmental impact comparison between the current solid waste management (MSW) strategies: (1) landfill, and (2) composting plus landfill. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare these scenarios for MSW in Tehran, Iran. The Eco-Indicator 99 is applied as an impact assessment method considering surplus energy, climate change, acidification, respiratory effect, carcinogenesis, ecotoxicity and ozone layer depletion points of aspects. One ton of municipal solid waste of Tehran was selected as the functional unit. According to the comparisons, the composting plus landfill scenario causes less damage to human health in comparison to landfill scenario. However, its damages to both mineral and fossil resources as well as ecosystem quality are higher than the landfill scenario. Thus, the composting plus landfill scenario had a higher environmental impact than landfill scenario. However, an integrated waste management will ultimately be the most efficient approach in terms of both environmental and economic benefits. In this paper, a cost evaluation shows that the unit cost per ton of waste for the scenarios is 15.28 and 26.40 US$, respectively. Results show landfill scenario as the preferable option both in environmental and economic aspects for Tehran in the current situation.

Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle assessment framework: concept development and case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul; Birkved, Morten; Quitzau, Maj-Britt

2013-01-01

) is a promising assessment form in that it provides the annual sum material and energy inputs, and the resultant emissions of the emergent infrastructural needs of a city’s sociotechnical subsystems. By fusing UM and life cycle assessment (UM–LCA) this study advances the ability to quantify environmental impacts...... through cities over earlier UM methods. The hybrid model approach also enabled the dominant sources of a city’s different environmental footprints to be identified, making UM–LCA a novel and potentially powerful tool for policy makers in developing and monitoring urban development policies. Combining...

A bi-level environmental impact assessment framework for comparing construction and demolition waste management strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdanbakhsh, Ardavan

2018-04-27

Several pioneering life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have been conducted in the past to assess the environmental impact of specific methods for managing mineral construction and demolition waste (MCDW), such as recycling the waste for use in concrete. Those studies focus on comparing the use of recycled MCDW and that of virgin components to produce materials or systems that serve specified functions. Often, the approaches adopted by the studies do not account for the potential environmental consequence of avoiding the existing or alternative waste management practices. The present work focuses on how product systems need to be defined in recycling LCA studies and what processes need to be within the system boundaries. A bi-level LCA framework is presented for modelling alternative waste management approaches in which the impacts are measured and compared at two scales of strategy and decision-making. Different functional units are defined for each level, all of which correspond to the same flow of MCDW in a cascade of product systems. For the sole purpose of demonstrating how the framework is implemented an illustrative example is presented, based on real data and a number of simplifying assumptions, which compares the impacts of a number of potential MCDW management strategies in New York City. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Life cycle assessment of TV sets in China: a case study of the impacts of CRT monitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qingbin; Wang, Zhishi; Li, Jinhui; Zeng, Xianlai

2012-10-01

Along with the rapid increase in both production and use of TV sets in China, there is an increasing awareness of the environmental impacts related to the accelerating mass production, electricity use, and waste management of these sets. This paper aims to describe the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental performance of Chinese TV sets. An assessment of the TV set device (focusing on the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor) was carried out using a detailed modular LCA based on the international standards of the ISO 14040 series. The LCA was constructed using SimaPro software version 7.2 and expressed with the Eco-indicator' 99 life cycle impact assessment method. For a sensitivity analysis of the overall LCA results, the CML method was used in order to estimate the influence of the choice of the assessment method on the results. Life cycle inventory information was compiled by Ecoinvent 2.2 databases, combined with literature and field investigations on the current Chinese situation. The established LCA study shows that the use stage of such devices has the highest environmental impact, followed by the manufacturing stage. In the manufacturing stage, the CRT and the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) are those components contributing the most environmental impacts. During the use phase, the environmental impacts are due entirely to the methods of electricity generation used to run them, since no other aspects were taken into account for this phase. The final processing step-the end-of-life stage-can lead to a clear environmental benefit when the TV sets are processed through the formal dismantling enterprises in China. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Life cycle assessment of TV sets in China: A case study of the impacts of CRT monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Qingbin; Wang Zhishi; Li Jinhui; Zeng Xianlai

2012-01-01

Along with the rapid increase in both production and use of TV sets in China, there is an increasing awareness of the environmental impacts related to the accelerating mass production, electricity use, and waste management of these sets. This paper aims to describe the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental performance of Chinese TV sets. An assessment of the TV set device (focusing on the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor) was carried out using a detailed modular LCA based on the international standards of the ISO 14040 series. The LCA was constructed using SimaPro software version 7.2 and expressed with the Eco-indicator’ 99 life cycle impact assessment method. For a sensitivity analysis of the overall LCA results, the CML method was used in order to estimate the influence of the choice of the assessment method on the results. Life cycle inventory information was compiled by Ecoinvent 2.2 databases, combined with literature and field investigations on the current Chinese situation. The established LCA study shows that the use stage of such devices has the highest environmental impact, followed by the manufacturing stage. In the manufacturing stage, the CRT and the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) are those components contributing the most environmental impacts. During the use phase, the environmental impacts are due entirely to the methods of electricity generation used to run them, since no other aspects were taken into account for this phase. The final processing step—the end-of-life stage—can lead to a clear environmental benefit when the TV sets are processed through the formal dismantling enterprises in China.

Proceedings of RITE international workshop on valuation; Total eko balance ni kansuru kokusai workshop hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-02-01

The RITE International Workshop on Valuation was held in Tokyo and Osaka in February 1996, and eight papers on total ecobalance were reported. In The Field of Impact Assessment, described were constitution and methodology about impact assessment in a wide sense. In LCA Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, discussed were the historical development and future outlook of LCA. In Standardization of Product Life Cycle Assessment, a survey of the present situation of LCA international standardization was made. In the Relationship between Product Life Cycle Assessment Methodology, considered was the relationship between the goal definition of the product life cycle assessment and the methodological choices. In Valuation in LCA, the present study of LCA was reviewed. Besides, reviews of the LCA study in Japan were made public.

Social Life Cycle Assessment in the Textile Sector: An Italian Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Lenzo

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This study presents the first application of the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA to a textile product made in Sicily (Italy, according to the Social Life Cycle Assessment guidelines (UNEP. The main goal is to assess and present the social values of a product manufactured in a particular territorial area where the presence of an industry represents the main source of employment. The first part of the study is a literature review of the current state of the art of the S-LCA and its implementation to textile products. In the implementation, particular attention is paid in identifying the positive impacts and in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the method when applied in this specific sector. The functional unit of the study is an order for a garment (consisting of 495 capes in a soft blend of wool and cashmere, produced by a textile company located in Sicily (Italy. The system boundaries of the study include all phases from cradle-to-gate, i.e. from raw material production through fabric/accessory production to the manufacturing process of the product itself at the company. Background and foreground processes are taken into account using specific and generic data. Two stakeholder groups have been considered (workers and local communities as those that can better represent the company’s value in the territory. The analysis carried out on the functional unit of the study allowed assessing social performance related to the specific textile product, but also to outline the general behaviour of the company. Results offer to scholars a perspective on which to focus their future researches in the sector and highlight that S-LCA is a valuable tool to support business decisions, assessing the social impact of the product to improve the social conditions of stakeholders. However, the access to primary and/or good quality local, national and global data is essential to draw credible conclusions; consequently, every effort to promote the

Guidelines for evaluating the environmental performance of Product/Service-Systems through life cycle assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Louise Laumann; Pigosso, Daniela C. A.; McAloone, Tim C.

2018-01-01

Product/Service-Systems (PSS) such as integrated solutions, performance-based contracts or sharing systems are often proposed as means to enable improved environmental sustainability. However, PSS are not necessarily environmentally benign compared to conventional systems. Quantitative environmen......Product/Service-Systems (PSS) such as integrated solutions, performance-based contracts or sharing systems are often proposed as means to enable improved environmental sustainability. However, PSS are not necessarily environmentally benign compared to conventional systems. Quantitative....... In this article, we propose a set of guidelines consisting of six steps, which elaborates the LCA process with respect to the specific consideration for PSS assessment. The guidelines were developed based on identified challenges for the application of LCA on PSS, a review of existing LCAs on PSS case studies...

Biodiversity impact assessment (BIA+) - methodological framework for screening biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Lisa; Pflugmacher, Stephan; Berger, Markus; Finkbeiner, Matthias

2018-03-01

For the past 20 years, the life cycle assessment (LCA) community has sought to integrate impacts on biodiversity into the LCA framework. However, existing impact assessment methods still fail to do so comprehensively because they quantify only a few impacts related to specific species and regions. This paper proposes a methodological framework that will allow LCA practitioners to assess currently missing impacts on biodiversity on a global scale. Building on existing models that seek to quantify the impacts of human activities on biodiversity, the herein proposed methodological framework consists of 2 components: a habitat factor for 14 major habitat types and the impact on the biodiversity status in those major habitat types. The habitat factor is calculated by means of indicators that characterize each habitat. The biodiversity status depends on parameters from impact categories. The impact functions, relating these different parameters to a given response in the biodiversity status, rely on expert judgments. To ensure the applicability for LCA practitioners, the components of the framework can be regionalized on a country scale for which LCA inventory data is more readily available. The weighting factors for the 14 major habitat types range from 0.63 to 1.82. By means of area weighting of the major habitat types in a country, country-specific weighting factors are calculated. In order to demonstrate the main part of the framework, examples of impact functions are given for the categories "freshwater eutrophication" and "freshwater ecotoxicity" in 1 major habitat type. The results confirm suitability of the methodological framework. The major advantages are the framework's user-friendliness, given that data can be used from LCA databases directly, and the complete inclusion of all levels of biodiversity (genetic, species, and ecosystem). It is applicable for the whole world and a wide range of impact categories. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:282-297. �

Ability of carbon footprint to reflect the environmental burden of a product or service – an empirical study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurent, Alexis; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

arise if one decides to expand the outlook to include other environmental impacts, which are commonly evaluated in Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). In that perspective, over 500 products/services and two concrete cases are investigated, using the EDIP-methodology and the USEtoxTM-based toxicity......-related impacts, each one updated with the latest set of characterization factors and with normalization references for the emission year 2004. Outcome of the study shows that carbon footprinting coincides well with the LCA-based global warming assessment, though divergences rise whenever NMVOC show a significant...

Life Cycle Assessment of waste management systems in Italian industrial areas: Case study of 1st Macrolotto of Prato

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarantini, Mario; Loprieno, Arianna Dominici; Cucchi, Eleonora; Frenquellucci, Ferdinando

2009-01-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is not widely used as a decision-supporting tool in Italy, despite recent European Commission policies fostering its adoption to achieve an energy- and resource-efficient economy. In this paper, an LCA of waste management system of the 1st Macrolotto industrial area is presented. The aims of the study were to identify the environmental critical points of the system and to evaluate opportunities and problems in applying this methodology at industrial area level. After a description of the waste management system of the 1st Macrolotto industrial area, the main assumptions of the study and some elements of the system modelling are presented. Results confirmed that door-to-door separated collection and packaging recycling are successful strategies for reducing the use of natural resources. The cooperation of the waste management company, which was part of the area management structure, was strategic for the completion of the analysis. Country-specific databases and models should be developed for a widespread application of the LCA methodology to waste management in Italian industrial areas.

Developing Anticipatory Life Cycle Assessment Tools to Support Responsible Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Wender, Benjamin

Several prominent research strategy organizations recommend applying life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the development of emerging technologies. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Research Council, the Department of Energy, and the National Nanotechnology Initiative identify the potential for LCA to inform research and development (R&D) of photovoltaics and products containing engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). In this capacity, application of LCA to emerging technologies may contribute to the growing movement for responsible research and innovation (RRI). However, existing LCA practices are largely retrospective and ill-suited to support the objectives of RRI. For example, barriers related to data availability, rapid technology change, and isolation of environmental from technical research inhibit application of LCA to developing technologies. This dissertation focuses on development of anticipatory LCA tools that incorporate elements of technology forecasting, provide robust explorations of uncertainty, and engage diverse innovation actors in overcoming retrospective approaches to environmental assessment and improvement of emerging technologies. Chapter one contextualizes current LCA practices within the growing literature articulating RRI and identifies the optimal place in the stage gate innovation model to apply LCA. Chapter one concludes with a call to develop anticipatory LCA---building on the theory of anticipatory governance---as a series of methodological improvements that seek to align LCA practices with the objectives of RRI. Chapter two provides a framework for anticipatory LCA, identifies where research from multiple disciplines informs LCA practice, and builds off the recommendations presented in the preceding chapter. Chapter two focuses on crystalline and thin film photovoltaics (PV) to illustrate the novel framework, in part because PV is an environmentally motivated technology undergoing extensive R&D efforts and

Introducing life cycle thinking in product development – A case from Siemens Wind Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonou, Alexandra; Olsen, Stig Irving; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2015-01-01

How can use of LCA improve the environmental sustainability of wind industry products? An analysis of a case study from Siemens Wind Power identifies the knowledge offered by LCA that is relevant to each step of the product development process (PDP). The study illustrates the difference that this......How can use of LCA improve the environmental sustainability of wind industry products? An analysis of a case study from Siemens Wind Power identifies the knowledge offered by LCA that is relevant to each step of the product development process (PDP). The study illustrates the difference...

A protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Som S.; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre O.

2014-01-01

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules exist, which provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different building insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines. - Highlights: • We proposed a protocol to evaluate the environmental impacts of insulation materials. • The protocol considers all life cycle stages of an insulation material. • Both the direct environmental impacts and the indirect impacts are defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided operational energy’ is defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided environmental impact’ is defined

Comparison between major repair and replacement options for a bridge deck life cycle assessment: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abu Dabous Saleh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Material production, manufacturing, transportation, usage, and end of lifeprocessing are usually the main contributors defining the life cycle assessment (LCA. Bridge infrastructure is important to the economy and the society. Over their life cycle, highway bridges experience several stressors that can significantly affect their structural performance and therefore require rehabilitation. This paper discusses the life cycle analysis of bridge rehabilitation decisions and demonstrates the analysis with a case study of a bridge located in Ontario, Canada. The LCA of the bridge deck is analyzed for two rehabilitation strategies: major repair and replacement. The study focuses on evaluating the different life cycle phases of the bridge deck by assessing their carbon dioxide emission, energy consumption and cost. Also, the paper presents the impact of the different elements within each phase to identify the most contributing elements. The LCA of the bridge deck is analyzed and estimated with the aid of CES EduPack 2016 software that includes a database of more than 4000 different materials and more than 200 manufacturing processes. Analysis of the case study shows that material phase causes significant life cycle impact. The study concluded that the deck replacement yields higher environmental impact and life cycle cost compared to repairing and strengthening the deck.

Ontological Proofs of Existence and Non-Existence

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hájek, Petr

2008-01-01

Roč. 90, č. 2 (2008), s. 257-262 ISSN 0039-3215 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100300503 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : ontological proofs * existence * non-existence * Gödel * Caramuel Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

Dementia ascertainment using existing data in UK longitudinal and cohort studies: a systematic review of methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibbett, Ruth A; Russ, Tom C; Deary, Ian J; Starr, John M

2017-07-03

Studies investigating the risk factors for or causation of dementia must consider subjects prior to disease onset. To overcome the limitations of prospective studies and self-reported recall of information, the use of existing data is key. This review provides a narrative account of dementia ascertainment methods using sources of existing data. The literature search was performed using: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo and Web of Science. Included articles reported a UK-based study of dementia in which cases were ascertained using existing data. Existing data included that which was routinely collected and that which was collected for previous research. After removing duplicates, abstracts were screened and the remaining articles were included for full-text review. A quality tool was used to evaluate the description of the ascertainment methodology. Of the 3545 abstracts screened, 360 articles were selected for full-text review. 47 articles were included for final consideration. Data sources for ascertainment included: death records, national datasets, research databases and hospital records among others. 36 articles used existing data alone for ascertainment, of which 27 used only a single data source. The most frequently used source was a research database. Quality scores ranged from 7/16 to 16/16. Quality scores were better for articles with dementia ascertainment as an outcome. Some papers performed validation studies of dementia ascertainment and most indicated that observed rates of dementia were lower than expected. We identified a lack of consistency in dementia ascertainment methodology using existing data. With no data source identified as a "gold-standard", we suggest the use of multiple sources. Where possible, studies should access records with evidence to confirm the diagnosis. Studies should also calculate the dementia ascertainment rate for the population being studied to enable a comparison with an expected rate.

Life cycle analysis. The ISO-standards elaborated in a practical manual; Levenscyclusanalyse. De ISO-normen uitgewerkt in een praktijkgerichte Handleiding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guinee, J.B. (ed.) (and others)

2002-04-01

The general aim of the new LCA (life cycle analysis) Guide is to provide a 'cookbook' with operational guidelines for conducting a step-by-step LCA study as justified by a scientific background document based on the ISO Standards for LCA. The different ISO elements and requirements are made operational to what we judged as the 'best available practice' for each step. The new Guide gives guidelines for two levels of sophistication of LCA: a simplified and a detailed level; in addition, optional extensions to the detailed level are provided. The simplified level has been introduced for making faster and cheaper LCAs compared to detailed level LCAs. The simplified level may be good enough for certain applications. The guidelines for detailed LCA fully comply with the ISO standards, while the guidelines given for simplified LCA do not. The new LCA Guide consists of three parts: (1) 'LCA in perspective' provides a general introduction to LCA and includes a discussion on the possibilities and limitations of LCA; (2) consists of two parts, 2a ('Guide') and 2b ('Operational annex'). Part 2a provides an introduction to the procedural design of an LCA project, and guidelines on the best available practice for each of the steps involved in an LCA study, at the two levels of LCA sophistication. Part 2b operationalises most of the guidelines provided in Part 2a and provides the most up-to-date operational models and data associated with the best available practice for the two levels of sophistication, as a separate document. This has been done to facilitate up-dating of these operational elements, most of which are likely to change regularly. Part 3 provides the scientific background to the study, as well as a reasoned justification of all the choices made in designing a best available practice for each phase of an LCA. Next to these books, on-line support is supplied through specific web-sites. For example, a spreadsheet

Initiation of microporosity from pre-existing bubbles: a computational study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasikumar, Roschen; Savithri, S; Walker, Michael J; Sundarraj, Suresh

2008-01-01

Representation of the pore nucleation phenomenon has been a weak link in models of microporosity formation in castings. Porosity models in the literature use different criteria for the stage at which a pore first appears. Pre-existence of microbubbles in the melt has been proposed by many as the reason for non-classical nucleation of pores at low supersaturations. However, nucleation of pores from pre-existing bubbles has not been explicitly modeled or included in models of microporosity. In this paper we present a model for initiation of hydrogen porosity by diffusion of hydrogen into pre-existing bubbles containing insoluble gas. We find that small pre-existing microbubbles have a quiescent stage of very slow growth until a critical supersaturation is built up, followed by a stage of rapid growth that exhausts most of the built-up supersaturation. After that the growth takes place at a small supersaturation until the end of solidification. The phenomenon is analogous to the undercooling and recalescence that occurs during nucleation and growth of solid grains

Comparison based on environmental effects of nitrogen management techniques in a manure digestate case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Paccanelli, Nicola; Teli, Aronne; Scaglione, Davide; Insabato, Gabriele; Casula, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Due to climate issues and favourable energy market, biogas is spreading as a manure management technique. Digestate is rich in nutrient and has to be handled in order to respect the 'nitrate directive' that limits nitrogen field application in areas defined as vulnerable. In this study, we compared different nitrogen management scenarios: a non-treatment option, a biological short-cut nitrification, a complete autotrophic process (anammox) and ammonia stripping from membrane filtration concentrate. The environmental effect comparison was obtained with 'Cross media effects analysis' and life cycle assessment (LCA). The results were different in some aspects, especially the impacts on eutrophication. According to cross media, the best process is DENO 2, while LCA shows similar impacts for all techniques and the best solution would be the no-treatment option. The main reason to adopt a digestate treatment technique is the lack of area for a correct disposal. If LCA eutrophication results are multiplied with the hectares necessary for each technology, a result similar to that of cross media is obtained.

Survey of existing studies of smart grids and consumers - Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Meiken; Borup, Mads

2014-01-01

is on household consumers; not on industrial companies or other private or public organisations. The present report focuses on studies in the Nordic region, i.e., studies in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Initially this report was part of a dual delivery, where 1) focused on the Nordic countries......The objective of this survey is to map smart grid studies that address private consumers. The survey shall identify what knowledge there exists about consumer and user behaviour in connection to smart grids and, moreover, how consumers and users are approached in the studies made. The focus......; and 2) focused on selected projects in other countries. This present report is the work completed in relation to the first part....

Abnormalities of the five serum ions in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi-Zhong Wu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available AIM:To study the concentration changes of the serum magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium and chloride ions of the patients of Leber congenital amaurosis(LCA.METHODS:Based on the retrospective study and the simple size in the statistics, 50 cases of LCA patients and 99 cases of normal people were tested the serum ions by professionals in hospital according to the single blind study. Data were analyzed statistically between LCA and normal groups. RESULTS: In the clinical serum ions test of LCA group, the concentration of calcium and potassium were 2.338±0.090mmol/L and 4.164±0.356mmol/L respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the normal group(all PPP>0.05. CONCLUSION: In the patients with LCA, abnormal concentration changes of magnesium, calcium and potassium will be needed to concern of the ophthalmologist, which is probably related with the occurrence of LCA.

Electricity mix and ecological assessments. Consequences of the choice of specific electricity mixes in analyses of the environmental performance of products and services; Strommix in Oekobilanzen. Auswirkungen der Strommodellwahl fuer Produkt- und Betriebs-Oekobilanzen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menard, M.; Dones, R.; Gantner, U

1998-12-01

The study aims at analysing the methodological issues associated with the definition of electricity mixes and discussing the consequences of the choice of specific electricity mixes in analyses of the environmental performance of products and services, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This report has been designed as a guideline to support LCA practitioners in the systematic identification of the most appropriate electricity mixes for LCA applications. A detailed checklist has been developed for this purpose. It includes the following items: type of electricity supply (from the net, self production, direct contracts); voltage level; country/place of utilisation; year of utilisation; season/daytime of utilisation; import/export model; and, marginal vs. average approach. A few examples, utilising published LCA studies, illustrate the impacts of the insights gained in the present work. Although primarily aimed at applications in Switzerland, the main concepts, the modelling and parts of the information provided can also be applied to other European countries. In addition to the three models proposed earlier for the assessment of the Swiss yearly average electricity mix, a new model (M4) has been developed in the frame of the present task in order to take into account the conditions characteristic for Switzerland as a transit land for electricity trades between its neighbour countries. All existing electricity mix models as well as selected environmental inventories are described and compared in the report. As an example of results, the CO{sub 2} emissions calculated for the Swiss yearly electricity supply mix are relatively small (48 g/kWh with model M4, as compared with 497 g/kWh for the average UCPTE mix). Key information on the structure of electricity generation and trade in Europe is provided. The modelling of the electricity supply for most of the European countries is less sensitive to the choice of an electricity model than for Switzerland. Considering

Modeling for waste management associated with environmental-impact abatement under uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, P; Li, Y P; Huang, G H; Zhang, J L

2015-04-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment can generate significant amounts of pollutants, and thus pose a risk on human health. Besides, in MSW management, various uncertainties exist in the related costs, impact factors, and objectives, which can affect the optimization processes and the decision schemes generated. In this study, a life cycle assessment-based interval-parameter programming (LCA-IPP) method is developed for MSW management associated with environmental-impact abatement under uncertainty. The LCA-IPP can effectively examine the environmental consequences based on a number of environmental impact categories (i.e., greenhouse gas equivalent, acid gas emissions, and respiratory inorganics), through analyzing each life cycle stage and/or major contributing process related to various MSW management activities. It can also tackle uncertainties existed in the related costs, impact factors, and objectives and expressed as interval numbers. Then, the LCA-IPP method is applied to MSW management for the City of Beijing, the capital of China, where energy consumptions and six environmental parameters [i.e., CO2, CO, CH4, NOX, SO2, inhalable particle (PM10)] are used as systematic tool to quantify environmental releases in entire life cycle stage of waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of. Results associated with system cost, environmental impact, and the related policy implication are generated and analyzed. Results can help identify desired alternatives for managing MSW flows, which has advantages in providing compromised schemes under an integrated consideration of economic efficiency and environmental impact under uncertainty.

Nanotechnology and Life Cycle Assessment. A systems approach to Nanotechnology and the environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klöpffer, Walter; Curran, Mary Ann; Frankl, Paolo

This report summarizes the results of “Nanotechnology and Life Cycle Assessment,” a twoday workshop jointly convened by the Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies; the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development; and the European Commission......, RTD.G4 “Nano S&T: Converging Science and Technologies.” Held in October 2006, the workshop involved international experts from the fields of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and nanotechnology. The main program of the workshop consisted of introductory lectures, group discussions and a final plenary...... identified and discussed by the groups. The purpose of the workshop was to determine whether existing LCA tools and methods are adequate to use on a new technology. This document provides an overview of LCA and nanotechnology, discusses the current state of the art, identifies current knowledge gaps that may...

A life cycle assessment framework combining nutritional and environmental health impacts of diet: a case study on milk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stylianou, Katerina S.; Heller, Martin C.; Fulgoni III, Victor L.

2016-01-01

of less healthy foods (sugar-sweetened beverages). Further studies are needed to test whether this conclusion holds within a more comprehensive assessment of environmental and nutritional health impacts. Conclusions This case study provides the first quantitative epidemiology-based estimate......Purpose While there has been considerable effort to understand the environmental impact of a food or diet, nutritional effects are not usually included in food-related life cycle assessment (LCA). Methods We developed a novel Combined Nutritional and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (CONE......-LCA) framework that evaluates and compares in parallel the environmental and nutritional effects of foods or diets. We applied this framework to assess human health impacts, expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), in a proof-of conceptcase study that investigated the environmental and nutritional...

An efficient, large-scale, non-lattice-detection algorithm for exhaustive structural auditing of biomedical ontologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guo-Qiang; Xing, Guangming; Cui, Licong

2018-04-01

One of the basic challenges in developing structural methods for systematic audition on the quality of biomedical ontologies is the computational cost usually involved in exhaustive sub-graph analysis. We introduce ANT-LCA, a new algorithm for computing all non-trivial lowest common ancestors (LCA) of each pair of concepts in the hierarchical order induced by an ontology. The computation of LCA is a fundamental step for non-lattice approach for ontology quality assurance. Distinct from existing approaches, ANT-LCA only computes LCAs for non-trivial pairs, those having at least one common ancestor. To skip all trivial pairs that may be of no practical interest, ANT-LCA employs a simple but innovative algorithmic strategy combining topological order and dynamic programming to keep track of non-trivial pairs. We provide correctness proofs and demonstrate a substantial reduction in computational time for two largest biomedical ontologies: SNOMED CT and Gene Ontology (GO). ANT-LCA achieved an average computation time of 30 and 3 sec per version for SNOMED CT and GO, respectively, about 2 orders of magnitude faster than the best known approaches. Our algorithm overcomes a fundamental computational barrier in sub-graph based structural analysis of large ontological systems. It enables the implementation of a new breed of structural auditing methods that not only identifies potential problematic areas, but also automatically suggests changes to fix the issues. Such structural auditing methods can lead to more effective tools supporting ontology quality assurance work. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of PCR for WWTP based on a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Borghi, A.; Gallo, M.; Strazza, C.; Gaggero, P.L.

2009-01-01

In order to apply the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to products or services, specific rules (PCR, Product Category Rules) have to be issued to ensure comparability among different declarations within the same service group. The aim of the present study is to describe the reasons leading to each choice in the development of PCR applied to collecting and treatment service of municipal wastewater and to evaluate, through life cycle analysis (LCA), their influence on the potential environmental impact of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), analysed as a case study. Specific data were collected during the year 2003 from an Italian active sludge treatment plant with separate wastewater and sludge treatment lines. The life-cycle approach applied to the case study shows that LCA represents an environmental management tool able both to communicate environmental information by the Type 3. environmental label EPD, and to look for different scenarios that can improve the environmental performance of the Collecting and Treatment Service of Municipal Wastewater. [it

Improved Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Crop Production at the Catchment Scale via a Process-Based Nitrogen Simulation Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Wenjie; van der Werf, Hayo M G; Salmon-Monviola, Jordy

2015-09-15

One of the major challenges in environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of crop production is the nonlinearity between nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs and on-site N emissions resulting from complex biogeochemical processes. A few studies have addressed this nonlinearity by combining process-based N simulation models with LCA, but none accounted for nitrate (NO3(-)) flows across fields. In this study, we present a new method, TNT2-LCA, that couples the topography-based simulation of nitrogen transfer and transformation (TNT2) model with LCA, and compare the new method with a current LCA method based on a French life cycle inventory database. Application of the two methods to a case study of crop production in a catchment in France showed that, compared to the current method, TNT2-LCA allows delineation of more appropriate temporal limits when developing data for on-site N emissions associated with specific crops in this catchment. It also improves estimates of NO3(-) emissions by better consideration of agricultural practices, soil-climatic conditions, and spatial interactions of NO3(-) flows across fields, and by providing predicted crop yield. The new method presented in this study provides improved LCA of crop production at the catchment scale.

Identifying Social Impacts in Product Supply Chains:Overview and Application of the Social Hotspot Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory Norris

2012-08-01

Full Text Available One emerging tool to measure the social-related impacts in supply chains is Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA, a derivative of the well-established environmental LCA technique. LCA has recently started to gain popularity among large corporations and initiatives, such as The Sustainability Consortium or the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Both have made the technique a cornerstone of their applied-research program. The Social Hotspots Database (SHDB is an overarching, global database that eases the data collection burden in S-LCA studies. Proposed “hotspots” are production activities or unit processes (also defined as country-specific sectors in the supply chain that may be at risk for social issues to be present. The SHDB enables efficient application of S-LCA by allowing users to prioritize production activities for which site-specific data collection is most desirable. Data for three criteria are used to inform prioritization: (1 labor intensity in worker hours per unit process and (2 risk for, or opportunity to affect, relevant social themes or sub-categories related to Human Rights, Labor Rights and Decent Work, Governance and Access to Community Services (3 gravity of a social issue. The Worker Hours Model was developed using a global input/output economic model and wage rate data. Nearly 200 reputable sources of statistical data have been used to develop 20 Social Theme Tables by country and sector. This paper presents an overview of the SHDB development and features, as well as results from a pilot study conducted on strawberry yogurt. This study, one of seven Social Scoping Assessments mandated by The Sustainability Consortium, identifies the potential social hotspots existing in the supply chain of strawberry yogurt. With this knowledge, companies that manufacture or sell yogurt can refine their data collection efforts in order to put their social responsibility performance in perspective and effectively set up programs and

Field to fuel: developing sustainable biorefineries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Robin; Alles, Carina

2011-06-01

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) can be used as a scientific decision support technique to quantify the environmental implications of various biorefinery process, feedstock, and integration options. The goal of DuPont's integrated corn biorefinery (ICBR) project, a cost-share project with the United States Department of Energy, was to demonstrate the feasibility of a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery concept. DuPont used LCA to guide research and development to the most sustainable cellulosic ethanol biorefinery design in its ICBR project and will continue to apply LCA in support of its ongoing effort with joint venture partners. Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel which has the potential to provide a sustainable solution to the nation's growing concerns around energy supply and climate change. A successful biorefinery begins with sustainable removal of biomass from the field. Michigan State University (MSU) used LCA to estimate the environmental performance of corn grain, corn stover, and the corn cob portion of the stover, grown under various farming practices for several corn growing locations in the United States Corn Belt. In order to benchmark the future technology options for producing cellulosic ethanol with existing technologies, LCA results for fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are compared to alternative ethanol processes and conventional gasoline. Preliminary results show that the DuPont ICBR outperforms gasoline and other ethanol technologies in the life-cycle impact categories considered here.

Oncologic outcomes and complication rates after laparoscopic-assisted cryoablation: a EuRECA multi-institutional study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Tommy Kjaergaard; Lagerveld, Brunolf W; Keeley, Francis

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess complication rates and intermediate oncological outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted cryoablation (LCA) in patients with small renal masses (SRMs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of 808 patients treated with LCA for T1a SRMs from 2005 to 2015 at eight European inst...... invasive procedure, risk of complications should be considered when counselling patients....

Assessing Environmental Sustainability of Remediation Technologies in a Life Cycle Perspective is Not So Easy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Lemming, Gitte; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2013-01-01

Integrating sustainability into remediation projects has attracted attention from remediation practitioners, and life cycle assessment (LCA) is becoming a popular tool to address the environmental dimension. The total number of studies has reached 31 since the first framework for LCA of site reme...... about the environmental sustainability of remediation technologies.......Integrating sustainability into remediation projects has attracted attention from remediation practitioners, and life cycle assessment (LCA) is becoming a popular tool to address the environmental dimension. The total number of studies has reached 31 since the first framework for LCA of site...

Ethical aspects of life cycle assessments of diets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul; Hansen, Steffen Foss; Gjerris, Mickey

2016-01-01

in communicating their work within that framework, it has largely gone unmentioned that LCA involves a number of choices by the assessor and LCA methodology developers that are ultimately subjective. This study uses a consequential LCA of the average Danish diet in comparison to model vegetarian and vegan diets......, leveraging the cultural perspectives afforded by the ReCiPe methodology, as starting point to explore the ways that subjectivity influences the LCA process and to test the robustness of the results against these different viewpoints. Mirroring earlier studies, we find vegetarian and vegan diets generally...

Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment. Operational Guide to the ISO Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guinee, J.B. [Centre of Environmental Studies, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands)

2002-04-01

In 1992 the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) at Leiden University, The Netherlands, published a Guide on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, setting the standard for a long time. Since then LCA methodology has progressed enormously and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a series of Standards on LCA. These developments have now been incorporated into a new Handbook on LCA authored by CML in cooperation with a number of other important institutes in the area of LCA. The general aim of this Handbook on LCA is to provide a stepwise 'cookbook' with operational guidelines for conducting an LCA study step-by-step, justified by a scientific background document, based on the ISO Standards for LCA. The different ISO elements and requirements are made operational to the 'best available practice' for each step. CML is strongly involved in the development of a standard methodology to determine environmental impacts of products, i.e., LCA. This is done within international fora such as the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

Islamic Banking Existence and Domestic Credit: Study at Seven Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamdan Yuafi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper empirically investigates the determinants of domestic credit across a wide range of 7 countries; these are United Kingdom, Malaysia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Indonesia. We use dynamic panel estimation to examine effects of exchange rate, inflation, lending interest rate, banking crisis and existence of wholesale Islamic banking on domestic credit. We obtain several notable empirical results. First, the lending interest rate, banking crisis negatively and insignificantly contribute to domestic credit. The existence of Islamic bank has positive and insignificant contribution to domestic credit, while exchange rate positively and significantly contributes to domestic credit.  Inflation negatively and significantly contributes to domestic credit. Second, banking crisis and existence of wholesale Islamic banking show insignificant effect on domestic credit. Third, we find that today’s domestic credit is depended on domestic credit in the previous year.DOI: 10.15408/aiq9i2.4906

Life cycle assessment and residue leaching: The importance of parameter, scenario and leaching data selection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allegrini, E., E-mail: elia@env.dtu.dk [Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Building 115, 2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Butera, S. [Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Building 115, 2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Kosson, D.S. [Vanderbilt University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Box 1831 Station B, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Van Zomeren, A. [Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Department of Environmental Risk Assessment, P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands); Van der Sloot, H.A. [Hans van der Sloot Consultancy, Dorpsstraat 216, 1721 BV Langedijk (Netherlands); Astrup, T.F. [Technical University of Denmark, Department of Environmental Engineering, Building 115, 2800 Lyngby (Denmark)

2015-04-15

Highlights: • Relevance of metal leaching in waste management system LCAs was assessed. • Toxic impacts from leaching could not be disregarded. • Uncertainty of toxicity, due to background activities, determines LCA outcomes. • Parameters such as pH and L/S affect LCA results. • Data modelling consistency and coverage within an LCA are crucial. - Abstract: Residues from industrial processes and waste management systems (WMSs) have been increasingly reutilised, leading to landfilling rate reductions and the optimisation of mineral resource utilisation in society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic methodology allowing for the analysis of systems and products and can be applied to waste management systems to identify environmental benefits and critical aspects thereof. From an LCA perspective, residue utilisation provides benefits such as avoiding the production and depletion of primary materials, but it can lead to environmental burdens, due to the potential leaching of toxic substances. In waste LCA studies where residue utilisation is included, leaching has generally been neglected. In this study, municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) was used as a case study into three LCA scenarios having different system boundaries. The importance of data quality and parameter selection in the overall LCA results was evaluated, and an innovative method to assess metal transport into the environment was applied, in order to determine emissions to the soil and water compartments for use in an LCA. It was found that toxic impacts as a result of leaching were dominant in systems including only MSWI BA utilisation, while leaching appeared negligible in larger scenarios including the entire waste system. However, leaching could not be disregarded a priori, due to large uncertainties characterising other activities in the scenario (e.g. electricity production). Based on the analysis of relevant parameters relative to leaching, and on general results

Sustainable treatment of municipal waste water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Augusto; Larsen, Henrik Fred

The main goal of the EU FP6 NEPTUNE program is to develop new and improve existing waste water treatment technologies (WWTT) and sludge handling technologies for municipal waste water, in accordance with the concepts behind the EU Water Framework Directive. As part of this work, the project.......e. heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors) in the waste water. As a novel approach, the potential ecotoxicity and human toxicity impacts from a high number of micropollutants and the potential impacts from pathogens will be included. In total, more that 20 different waste water and sludge...... treatment technologies are to be assessed. This paper will present the first LCA results from running existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodology on some of the waste water treatment technologies. Keywords: Sustainability, LCA, micropollutants, waste water treatment technologies....

Confronting Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment Used for Decision Support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Sohn, Michael D.

2014-01-01

the decision maker (DM) in making the best possible choice for the environment. At present, some DMs do not trust the LCA to be a reliable decisionsupport tool—often because DMs consider the uncertainty of an LCA to be too large. The standard evaluation of uncertainty in LCAs is an ex-post approach that can...... regarding which type of LCA study to employ for the decision context at hand. This taxonomy enables the derivation of an LCA classification matrix to clearly identify and communicate the type of a given LCA. By relating the LCA classification matrix to statistical principles, we can also rank the different......The aim of this article is to help confront uncertainty in life cycle assessments (LCAs) used for decision support. LCAs offer a quantitative approach to assess environmental effects of products, technologies, and services and are conducted by an LCA practitioner or analyst (AN) to support...

Life cycle assessment of renewables: present issues, future outlook and implications for the calculation of external costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frankl, P.

2002-01-01

In principle, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is certainly appropriate for estimating external costs of renewables, since major environmental impacts of the latter are generated in phases of the life cycle other than use. In practice however, several issues still remain. They are related to the availability and quality of Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data, to the frit technological development of renewable energy technologies (RET), to the existence of many different applications of the latter and to a strong dependency on local conditions. Moreover, a 'static' picture of present technologies is not enough for policy indications. Therefore some kind of dynamic LCA is needed. These LCA issues are reflected in the calculation of external costs. First, the paper discusses these issues on the examples of two main technologies, namely photovoltaic (PV) and wind. Second, it discusses the results of ExternE for these two specific technologies and gives an outlook for the future. Future needs for a better use of LCA as a support tool for the calcination of external costs are identified. Finally, a new research project funded by the European Commission focused on LCI of renewables is briefly introduced and presented. (author)

LCA Comparison of waste incineration in Denmark and Italy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turconi, Roberto; Butera, Stefania; Boldrin, Alessio

2011-01-01

Every year around 50 millions Mg solid waste are incinerated in Europe. Large differences exist in different regions, mainly regarding energy recovery, flue gas treatment and management of solid residues. This paper aims to identify and quantify those differences, providing a Life Cycle Assessment...... of two incinerator systems that are representative of conditions in Northern and Southern Europe. The two case studies are Aarhus (Denmark) and Milan (Italy). The results show that waste incineration appears more environmentally friendly in the Danish case than in the Italian one, due to the higher...... energy recovery and to local conditions, e.g. substitution of electricity and heat in the area. Focusing on the incineration process, Milan incinerator performs better than Aarhus, since its upstream impacts (related to the production of chemicals used in flue gas cleaning) are more than compensated...

Low-dose CT screening in an Asian population with diverse risk for lung cancer: A retrospective cohort study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Chin A.; Lee, Kyung Soo; Shin, Myung-Hee; Cho, Yun Yung; Choi, Yoon-Ho; Kwon, O. Jung; Shin, Kyung Eun

2015-01-01

To evaluate the performance of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer (LCA) detection in an Asian population with diverse risks for LCA. LCA screening was performed in 12,427 symptomless Asian subjects using either LDCT (5,771) or chest radiography (CXR) (6,656) in a non-trial setting. Subjects were divided into high-risk and non-high-risk groups. Data were collected on the number of patients with screening-detected LCAs and their survival in order to compare outcomes between LDCT and CXR screening with the stratification of risks considering age, sex and smoking status. In the non-high-risk group, a significant difference was observed for the detection of lung cancer (adjusted OR, 5.07; 95 % CI, 2.72-9.45) and survival (adjusted HR of LCA survival between LDCT vs. CXR group, 0.08; 95 % CI, 0.01-0.62). No difference in detection or survival of LCA was noticed in the high-risk group. LCAs in the non-high-risk group were predominantly adenocarcinomas (96 %), and more likely to be part-solid or non-solid compared with those in the high-risk group (p = 0.023). In the non-high-risk group, LDCT helps detect more LCAs and offers better survival than CXR screening, due to better detection of part solid or non-solid lung adenocarcinomas. (orig.)

Low-dose CT screening in an Asian population with diverse risk for lung cancer: A retrospective cohort study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yi, Chin A. [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Kyung Soo [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Myung-Hee; Cho, Yun Yung [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Yoon-Ho [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Center for Health Promotion, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, O. Jung [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Kyung Eun [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kyung Hee University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-08-15

To evaluate the performance of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer (LCA) detection in an Asian population with diverse risks for LCA. LCA screening was performed in 12,427 symptomless Asian subjects using either LDCT (5,771) or chest radiography (CXR) (6,656) in a non-trial setting. Subjects were divided into high-risk and non-high-risk groups. Data were collected on the number of patients with screening-detected LCAs and their survival in order to compare outcomes between LDCT and CXR screening with the stratification of risks considering age, sex and smoking status. In the non-high-risk group, a significant difference was observed for the detection of lung cancer (adjusted OR, 5.07; 95 % CI, 2.72-9.45) and survival (adjusted HR of LCA survival between LDCT vs. CXR group, 0.08; 95 % CI, 0.01-0.62). No difference in detection or survival of LCA was noticed in the high-risk group. LCAs in the non-high-risk group were predominantly adenocarcinomas (96 %), and more likely to be part-solid or non-solid compared with those in the high-risk group (p = 0.023). In the non-high-risk group, LDCT helps detect more LCAs and offers better survival than CXR screening, due to better detection of part solid or non-solid lung adenocarcinomas. (orig.)

Conceptual Framework To Extend Life Cycle Assessment Using Near-Field Human Exposure Modeling and High-Throughput Tools for Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Csiszar, Susan A; Meyer, David E; Dionisio, Kathie L; Egeghy, Peter; Isaacs, Kristin K; Price, Paul S; Scanlon, Kelly A; Tan, Yu-Mei; Thomas, Kent; Vallero, Daniel; Bare, Jane C

2016-11-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a decision-making tool that accounts for multiple impacts across the life cycle of a product or service. This paper presents a conceptual framework to integrate human health impact assessment with risk screening approaches to extend LCA to include near-field chemical sources (e.g., those originating from consumer products and building materials) that have traditionally been excluded from LCA. A new generation of rapid human exposure modeling and high-throughput toxicity testing is transforming chemical risk prioritization and provides an opportunity for integration of screening-level risk assessment (RA) with LCA. The combined LCA and RA approach considers environmental impacts of products alongside risks to human health, which is consistent with regulatory frameworks addressing RA within a sustainability mindset. A case study is presented to juxtapose LCA and risk screening approaches for a chemical used in a consumer product. The case study demonstrates how these new risk screening tools can be used to inform toxicity impact estimates in LCA and highlights needs for future research. The framework provides a basis for developing tools and methods to support decision making on the use of chemicals in products.

Review on methodology for LCIA of marine eutrophication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik Fred

As part of the ongoing EU FP7 project LC-Impact (www.lc-impact.eu) new life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods are going to be developed and tested on industry cases. Among the life cycle assessment (LCA) impact categories in focus are aquatic eutrophication. As related to especially the marine...... concentration and the potentially affected fraction of species in the marine ecosystem. This poster will present a review of the very limited existing attempts on how to include marine eutrophication in LCA and discuss alternative methodologies on how to model the environmental mechanism of this impact category....

Metabolism of lithocholic and chenodeoxycholic acids in the squirrel monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, H.; Hamada, M.; Kato, F.

1985-01-01

Metabolism of lithocholic acid (LCA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was studied in the squirrel monkey to clarify the mechanism of the lack of toxicity of CDCA in this animal. Radioactive LCA was administered to squirrel monkeys with biliary fistula. Most radioactivity was excreted in the bile in the form of unsulfated lithocholyltaurine. The squirrel monkey thus differs from humans and chimpanzees, which efficiently sulfate LCA, and is similar to the rhesus monkey and baboon in that LCA is poorly sulfated. When labeled CDCA was orally administered to squirrel monkeys, less than 20% of the dosed radioactivity was recovered as LCA and its further metabolites in feces over 3 days, indicating that bacterial metabolism of CDCA into LCA is strikingly less than in other animals and in humans. It therefore appears that LCA, known as a hepatotoxic secondary bile acid, is not accumulated in the squirrel monkey, not because of its rapid turnover through sulfation, but because of the low order of its production

Sustainability Performance of an Italian Textile Product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Lenzo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Companies are more and more interested in the improvement of sustainability performance of products, services and processes. For this reason, appropriate and suitable assessment tools supporting the transition to a green economy are highly necessary. Currently, there are a number of methods and approaches for assessing products’ environmental impact and improving their performances; among these, the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT approach has emerged as the most comprehensive and effective to achieve sustainability goals. Indeed, the LCT approach aims to reduce the use of resources and emissions to the environment associated with a product’s life cycle. It can be used as well to improve socio-economic performance through the entire life cycle of a product. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, Life Cycle Costing (LCC and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA are undoubtedly the most relevant methodologies to support product-related decision-making activities for the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal. While LCA is an internationally standardized tool (ISO 14040 2006, LCC (except for the ISO related to the building sector and S-LCA have yet to attain international standardization (even if guidelines and general frameworks are available. The S-LCA is still in its experimental phase for many aspects of the methodological structure and practical implementation. This study presents the application of LCA and S-LCA to a textile product. The LCA and S-LCA are implemented following the ISO 14040-44:2006 and the guidelines from UNEP/SETAC (2009, respectively. The functional unit of the study is a cape knitted in a soft blend of wool and cashmere produced by a textile company located in Sicily (Italy. The system boundary of the study includes all phases from cradle-to-gate, from raw material production through fabric/accessory production to the manufacturing process of the

Developments in life cycle assessment applied to evaluate the environmental performance of construction and demolition wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovea, M D; Powell, J C

2016-04-01

This paper provides a review of the literature that applies the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to the assessment of the environmental performance of the life cycle of construction and demolition waste (CDW) management systems. This article is focused on generating a general mapping of the literature and on identifying the best practices in compliance with LCA framework and proposing directions for future LCA studies in this field. The temporal evolution of the research in this field and the aim of the studies have grown in parallel with the legal framework related to waste and energy efficiency of buildings. Most studies have been published in Europe, followed by USA. Asia and Australia, being at an incipient application stage to the rest of the world. Topics related to "LCA of buildings, including their EoL" and "LCA of general CDW management strategies" are the most frequently analysed, followed by "LCA of EoL of construction elements" and "LCA of natural material vs recycled material". Regarding the strategies, recycling off-site and incineration, both combined with landfill for the rejected fractions, are the most commonly applied. Re-use or recycling on-site is the strategy least applied. The key aspect when LCA is applied to evaluate CDW management systems is the need to normalise which processes to include in the system boundary and the functional unit, the use of inventory data adapted to the context of the case study and the definition of a common set of appropriate impact assessment categories. Also, it is important to obtain results disaggregated by unit processes. This will allow the comparison between case studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring Globalization: Existing Methods and Their Implications for Teaching Global Studies and Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Zinkina, Julia; Korotayev, Andrey; Andreev, Aleksey I.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussions regarding the existing approaches to globalization measurement (taking mainly the form of indices and rankings) and their shortcomings in terms of applicability to developing Global Studies curricula. Another aim is to propose an outline for the globalization measurement methodology…

How to bring absolute sustainability into decision-making: An industry case study using a Planetary Boundary-based methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryberg, Morten W; Owsianiak, Mikołaj; Clavreul, Julie; Mueller, Carina; Sim, Sarah; King, Henry; Hauschild, Michael Z

2018-09-01

The Planetary Boundaries concept has emerged as a framework for articulating environmental limits, gaining traction as a basis for considering sustainability in business settings, government policy and international guidelines. There is emerging interest in using the Planetary Boundaries concept as part of life cycle assessment (LCA) for gauging absolute environmental sustainability. We tested the applicability of a novel Planetary Boundaries-based life cycle impact assessment methodology on a hypothetical laundry washing case study at the EU level. We express the impacts corresponding to the control variables of the individual Planetary Boundaries together with a measure of their respective uncertainties. We tested four sharing principles for assigning a share of the safe operating space (SoSOS) to laundry washing and assessed if the impacts were within the assigned SoSOS. The choice of sharing principle had the greatest influence on the outcome. We therefore highlight the need for more research on the development and choice of sharing principles. Although further work is required to operationalize Planetary Boundaries in LCA, this study shows the potential to relate impacts of human activities to environmental boundaries using LCA, offering company and policy decision-makers information needed to promote environmental sustainability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of data collection schemes on the Life Cycle Assessment of a municipal wastewater treatment plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yoshida, Hiroko; Clavreul, Julie; Scheutz, Charlotte

2014-01-01

on existing emission and operational data, which are gathered under either compulsory monitoring or reporting requirements under law. In this study, an LCA was conducted using three input data sources: Information compiled under compulsory disclosure requirements (the European Pollutant Release and Transfer......, an LCA based on the data collection scheme underestimates impact potential due to limitations of substance coverage. Besides differences between data collection schemes, the results showed that 3-13,500% of the impacts came from background systems, such as from the provisioning of fuel, electricity......, and chemicals, which do not need to be disclosed currently under E-PRTR. The incidental release of pollutants was also assessed by employing a scenario-based approach, the results of which demonstrated that these non-routine emissions could increase overall WWTP greenhouse gas emissions by between 113 and 210...

Environmental sustainability assessment of bio-ethanol production in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silalertruksa, Thapat; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

2009-01-01

Bio-ethanol is playing an important role in renewable energy for transport according to Thai government policy. This study aims to evaluate the energy efficiency and renewability of bio-ethanol system and identify the current significant environmental risks and availability of feedstocks in Thailand. Four of the seven existing ethanol plants contributing 53% of the total ethanol fuel production in Thailand have been assessed by the net energy balance method and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A renewability and net energy ratio portfolio has been used to indicate whether existing bio-ethanol production systems have net energy gain and could help reduce dependency on fossil energy. In addition, LCA has been conducted to identify and evaluate the environmental hotspots of 'cradle to gate' bio-ethanol production. The results show that there are significant differences of energy and environmental performance among the four existing production systems even for the same feedstock. The differences are dependent on many factors such as farming practices, feedstock transportion, fuel used in ethanol plants, operation practices and technology of ethanol conversion and waste management practices. Recommendations for improving the overall energy and environmental performance of the bio-ethanol system are suggested in order to direct the bio-ethanol industry in Thailand towards environmental sustainability.

The effects of instant messaging on the quality of adolescents’ existing friendships: a longitudinal study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Valkenburg, P.M.; Peter, J.

2009-01-01

Recent studies suggest that instant messaging (IM) is positively related to the quality of adolescents’ existing friendships. However, most of these studies were based on cross-sectional correlational data. In addition, most studies have focused on direct effects of IM on the quality of friendships

Existence and non-existence of solutions for a p(x-biharmonic problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghasem A. Afrouzi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, we study the following problem with Navier boundary conditions $$\\displaylines{ \\Delta (|\\Delta u|^{p(x-2}\\Delta u+|u|^{p(x-2}u =\\lambda |u|^{q(x-2}u +\\mu|u|^{\\gamma(x-2}u\\quad \\text{in } \\Omega,\\cr u=\\Delta u=0 \\quad \\text{on } \\partial\\Omega. }$$ where $\\Omega$ is a bounded domain in $\\mathbb{R}^{N}$ with smooth boundary $\\partial \\Omega$, $N\\geq1$. $p(x,q(x$ and $\\gamma(x$ are continuous functions on $\\overline{\\Omega}$, $\\lambda$ and $\\mu$ are parameters. Using variational methods, we establish some existence and non-existence results of solutions for this problem.

Assessing food security in water scarce regions by Life Cycle Analysis: a case study in the Gaza strip

Science.gov (United States)

Recanati, Francesca; Castelletti, Andrea; Melià, Paco; Dotelli, Giovanni

2013-04-01

Food security is a major issue in Palestine for both political and physical reasons, with direct effects on the local population living conditions: the nutritional level of people in Gaza is classified by FAO as "insecure". As most of the protein supply comes from irrigated agricultural production and aquaculture, freshwater availability is a limiting factor to food security, and the primary reason for frequent conflicts among food production processes (e.g. aquaculture, land livestock or different types of crops). In this study we use Life Cycle Analysis to assess the environmental impacts associated to all the stages of water-based protein production (from agriculture and aquaculture) in the Gaza strip under different agricultural scenarios and hydroclimatic variability. As reported in several recent studies, LCA seems to be an appropriate methodology to analyze agricultural systems and assess associated food security in different socio-economic contexts. However, we argue that the inherently linear and static nature of LCA might prove inadequate to tackle with the complex interaction between water cycle variability and the food production system in water-scarce regions of underdeveloped countries. Lack of sufficient and reliable data to characterize the water cycle is a further source of uncertainty affecting the robustness of the analysis. We investigate pros and cons of LCA and LCA-based option planning in an average size farm in Gaza strip, where farming and aquaculture are family-based and integrated by reuse of fish breeding water for irrigation. Different technological solutions (drip irrigation system, greenhouses etc.) are evaluated to improve protein supply and reduce the pressure on freshwater, particularly during droughts. But this use of technology represent also a contribution in increasing sustainability in agricultural processes, and therefore in economy, of Gaza Strip (reduction in chemical fertilizers and pesticides etc.).

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) of the production of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talens Peiro, L.; Lombardi, L.; Villalba Mendez, G.; Gabarrell i Durany, X.

2010-01-01

The paper assesses the life cycle of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO). Such life cycle involves 4 stages: 1) collection, 2) pre-treatment, 3) delivery and 4) transesterification of UCO. Generally, UCO is collected from restaurants, food industries and recycling centres by authorised companies. Then, UCO is pre-treated to remove solid particles and water to increase its quality. After that, it is charged in cistern trucks and delivered to the biodiesel facility to be then transesterified with methanol to biodiesel. The production of 1 ton of biodiesel is evaluated by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess the environmental impact and by an Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) to account for the exergy input to the system. A detailed list of material and energy inputs is done using data from local companies and completed using Ecoinvent 1.2 database. The results show that the transesterification stage causes 68% of the total environmental impact. The major exergy inputs are uranium and natural gas. If targets set by the Spanish Renewable Energy Plan are achieved, the exergy input for producing biodiesel would be reduced by 8% in the present system and consequently environmental impacts and exergy input reduced up to 36% in 2010.

LCA of Nanomaterials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miseljic, Mirko; Olsen, Stig Irving

2018-01-01

Application of nanomaterials in products has led to an increase in number of nanoproducts introduced to the consumer market. However, along with new and improved products, there is a concern about the potential life cycle environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment is able to include a wide range...... of environmental impacts but, due to data limitations, it is commonly applied with focus on the cradle-to-gate part of the nanoproducts life cycle, neglecting use and disposal of the products. These studies conclude that nanomaterials are more energy demanding and have an inferior environmental profile than...

Life cycle analysis of transportation fuel pathways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-02-24

The purpose of this work is to improve the understanding of the concept of life cycle analysis (LCA) of transportation fuels and some of its pertinent issues among non-technical people, senior managers, and policy makers. This work should provide some guidance to nations considering LCA-based policies and to people who are affected by existing policies or those being developed. While the concept of employing LCA to evaluate fuel options is simple and straightforward, the act of putting the concept into practice is complex and fraught with issues. Policy makers need to understand the limitations inherent in carrying out LCA work for transportation fuel systems. For many systems, even those that have been employed for a 100 years, there is a lack of sound data on the performance of those systems. Comparisons between systems should ideally be made using the same tool, so that differences caused by system boundaries, allocation processes, and temporal issues can be minimized (although probably not eliminated). Comparing the results for fuel pathway 1 from tool A to those of fuel system 2 from tool B introduces significant uncertainty into the results. There is also the question of the scale of system changes. LCA will give more reliable estimates when it is used to examine small changes in transportation fuel pathways than when used to estimate large scale changes that replace current pathways with completely new pathways. Some LCA tools have been developed recently primarily for regulatory purposes. These tools may deviate from ISO principles in order to facilitate simplicity and ease of use. In a regulatory environment, simplicity and ease of use are worthy objectives and in most cases there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, particularly for assessing relative performance. However, the results of these tools should not be confused with, or compared to, the results that are obtained from a more complex and rigorous ISO compliant LCA. It should be

Life Cycle Assessment for desalination: a review on methodology feasibility and reliability.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jin; Chang, Victor W-C; Fane, Anthony G

2014-09-15

As concerns of natural resource depletion and environmental degradation caused by desalination increase, research studies of the environmental sustainability of desalination are growing in importance. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an ISO standardized method and is widely applied to evaluate the environmental performance of desalination. This study reviews more than 30 desalination LCA studies since 2000s and identifies two major issues in need of improvement. The first is feasibility, covering three elements that support the implementation of the LCA to desalination, including accounting methods, supporting databases, and life cycle impact assessment approaches. The second is reliability, addressing three essential aspects that drive uncertainty in results, including the incompleteness of the system boundary, the unrepresentativeness of the database, and the omission of uncertainty analysis. This work can serve as a preliminary LCA reference for desalination specialists, but will also strengthen LCA as an effective method to evaluate the environment footprint of desalination alternatives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Chicago Center for Green Technology: life-cycle assessment of a brownfield redevelopment project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brecheisen, Thomas; Theis, Thomas

2013-01-01

The sustainable development of brownfields reflects a fundamental, yet logical, shift in thinking and policymaking regarding pollution prevention. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool that can be used to assist in determining the conformity of brownfield development projects to the sustainability paradigm. LCA was applied to the process of a real brownfield redevelopment project, now known as the Chicago Center for Green Technology, to determine the cumulative energy required to complete the following redevelopment stages: (1) brownfield assessment and remediation, (2) building rehabilitation and site development and (3) ten years of operation. The results of the LCA have shown that operational energy is the dominant life-cycle stage after ten years of operation. The preservation and rehabilitation of the existing building, the installation of renewable energy systems (geothermal and photovoltaic) on-site and the use of more sustainable building products resulted in 72 terajoules (TJ) of avoided energy impacts, which would provide 14 years of operational energy for the site. (letter)

Improvement of the management of residual waste in areas without thermal treatment facilities: A life cycle analysis of an Italian management district

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Maria, Francesco, E-mail: francesco.dimaria@unipg.it [LAR Laboratory, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Via G. Duranti 93, Perugia (Italy); Micale, Caterina; Morettini, Emanuela [LAR Laboratory, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Via G. Duranti 93, Perugia (Italy); Sisani, Luciano [TSA spa, Via Case Sparse 107, Magione (Italy); Damiano, Roberto [GESENU spa, Via della Molinella 7, Perugia (Italy)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • LCA analysis of two option for residual waste management. • Exploitation of mechanical physical sorting facility for extracting recyclable from RMSW. • Processing the mechanically sorted organic fraction in bioreactor landfill. • Sensitivity analysis demonstrate high influence for impact assessment of substitution ratio for recycle materials. - Abstract: Starting from an existing waste management district without thermal treatment facilities, two different management scenarios for residual waste were compared by life cycle assessment (LCA). The adoption of a bioreactor landfill for managing the mechanically sorted organic fraction instead of bio-stabilization led to reduction of global warming and fresh water eutrophication by 50% and 10%, respectively. Extraction of recyclables from residual waste led to avoided emissions for particulate matter, acidification and resource depletion impact categories. Marginal energy and the amount of energy recovered from landfill gas marginally affected the LCA results. On the contrary the quality of the recyclables extracted can significantly modify the eco profile of the management schemes.

Evaluating the Environmental Dimension of Material Efficiency Strategies Relating to the Circular Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stuart Walker

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Material efficiency is a key element of new thinking to address the challenges of reducing impacts on the environment and of resource scarcity, whilst at the same time meeting service and functionality demands on materials. Directly related to material efficiency is the concept of the Circular Economy, which is based on the principle of optimising the utility embodied in materials and products through the life-cycle. Although materials such as steel, on account of high recycling rates at end-of-life, are amongst the most ‘circular’ of manufactured materials, significant opportunities for greater material efficiency exist, which are yet to be widely implemented. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA is commonly used to assess the environmental benefits of recovering and recycling materials through the manufacturing supply chain and at end-of-life. Using an example taken from renewable energy generation, this paper explores the correlation between product circularity and the environmental case for strategies designed to improve material efficiency. An LCA-based methodology for accounting for the recovery and reuse of materials from the supply chain and at end-of-life is used as the basis for calculating the carbon footprint benefits of five material efficiency scenarios. The results are compared with a number of proposed material circularity indicators. Two conclusions from this exercise are that (i LCA methodologies based around end-of-life approaches are well placed for quantifying the environmental benefits of material efficiency and circular economy strategies and (ii when applying indicators relating to the circularity of materials these should also be supported by LCA-based studies.

Illustrative Case Study: Life Cycle Assessment of Four Window Alternatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owsianiak, Mikołaj; Bjørn, Anders; Bugge, Heidi

2018-01-01

This report serves as an example report on how to perform an LCA according to the guidance given in Chap. 37 and how to structure the report according to the reporting template in Chap. 38. The goals of the LCA were (i) to perform a benchmarking of a prototype wood/composite (W/C) window made out...... of glass fibre against three alternative window types currently offered in the market (made of wood (W), wood/aluminium (W/ALU), and PVC) and (ii) to identify environmental hotspots for each window system....

Survey on the international cooperation for resonable use techniques of energy; Energy shiyo gorika shuho kokusai kyoryoku chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

LCA (life cycle assessment) is known as one of the techniques for assessing reasonable use of energy considering environment. Usefulness of LCA was examined by checking the consistency between the assessment result on refrigerators by LCA and ISO standards. LCA can digitize the data on energy substances, wastes and emission of the whole system. LCA is useful for effective use and control of resources, and to clarify the reduction chance of environmental impacts. However, the framework is necessary to estimate the accuracy of assessment technique for every category, and the reliability of influence assessment. Like a risk assessment for environmental damages, identification of discharge sources beyond the assessment function of potentials is difficult. As the viewpoint of the whole life cycle is important, assessment of local damages is difficult. The complementary use of LCA and other tools about sustainable development is important. The comparison result between ISO provisions and this LCA case study showed that this concrete research report can play a role as text book for the ISO technique. 74 refs., 38 figs., 45 tabs.

Solar potential in existing urban layouts—Critical overview of the existing building stock in Slovenian context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Košir, Mitja; Capeluto, Isaac Guedi; Krainer, Aleš; Kristl, Živa

2014-01-01

In recent years implementation of sustainable building design in the EU has become one of the key issues in reducing energy dependence. In this context efficient use of solar potential incident on building envelope is essential. The goal of the study is to evaluate the influence of interventions required by the new Slovenian legislation and to propose general site planning guidelines. Special emphasis is devoted to the existing building stock, which is due for refurbishment. The study is carried out on the basis of seven typical urban layouts, which are assessed according to the shape of layout, density, building orientation and design. The calculations are carried out with the program SHADING. The study showed that the existing layouts are not as problematic as had been expected and that form and orientation of buildings present a major challenge. Nevertheless, the quality and the duration of insolation are highly dependent on the specifics of each case. The study showed that by respecting the basic rules of good practice in conjunction with the existing requirements no major changes in the existing design principles are needed. - Highlights: • New Slovenian legislation regarding minimum insolation of building envelope. • Seven typical urban layouts were analysed. • Requirements and rules of good practice result in adequate insolation. • Duration of insolation is highly dependent on the specifics of each case

Danske virksomheders erfaringer med livscyklusvurderinger

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Per; Broberg, Ole

1998-01-01

to supply more environmentally friendly products is the most important incentive for the enterprises to engage in LCA activities. This pressure has, however, not emerged yet and the enterprises have not achieved the expected competitive advantages yet. LCA work has revealed new environmental aspects......A study on Danish industry's experiences with LCA has been performed. Twenty-six enterprises from different sectors filled in a questionnaire. The enterprises are still in an adoption and learning phase and experiences with full-blown LCA's are sparse. Expectations of future market pressure...

Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle assessment framework: concept development and case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, Benjamin; Birkved, Morten; Hauschild, Michael; Quitzau, Maj-Britt

2013-01-01

Cities now consume resources and produce waste in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. Quantifying and benchmarking the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world’s growing population is to occur sustainably. Urban metabolism (UM) is a promising assessment form in that it provides the annual sum material and energy inputs, and the resultant emissions of the emergent infrastructural needs of a city’s sociotechnical subsystems. By fusing UM and life cycle assessment (UM–LCA) this study advances the ability to quantify environmental impacts of cities by modeling pressures embedded in the flows upstream (entering) and downstream (leaving) of the actual urban systems studied, and by introducing an advanced suite of indicators. Applied to five global cities, the developed UM–LCA model provided enhanced quantification of mass and energy flows through cities over earlier UM methods. The hybrid model approach also enabled the dominant sources of a city’s different environmental footprints to be identified, making UM–LCA a novel and potentially powerful tool for policy makers in developing and monitoring urban development policies. Combining outputs with socioeconomic data hinted at how these forces influenced the footprints of the case cities, with wealthier ones more associated with personal consumption related impacts and poorer ones more affected by local burdens from archaic infrastructure. (letter)

The Existence of Public Protection Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moh. Ilham A. Hamudy

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article is about the Public Protection Unit (Satlinmas formerly known as civil defence (Hansip. This article is a summary of the results of the desk study and fieldwork conducted in October-November 2013 in the town of Magelang and Surabaya. This study used descriptive qualitative approach to explore the combined role and existence Satlinmas. The results of the study showed, the existence of the problem Satlinmas still leave many, including, first, the legal basis for the establishment of Satlinmas. Until now, there has been no new regulations governing Satlinmas. Existing regulations are too weak and cannot capture the times. Second, the formulation of concepts and basic tasks and functions Satlinmas overlap with other institutions. Third, Satlinmas image in society tend to fade and abused. Fourth, Satlinmas incorporation into the Municipal Police deemed not appropriate, because different philosophy.

Review of existing studies and unresolved problems associated with socio-economic impact of nuclear powerplants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendrickson, P.L.; King, J.C.; O'Connell, M.S.

1975-07-01

Preparation of socio-economic impact statements for nuclear powerplants began only a few years ago. The number of these statements is increasing, and some states, such as Washington, now require them as a condition to state approval for thermal powerplants. The major purpose of this paper was to review existing socio-economic impact statements to identify where additional research to improve the impact analysis process would be useful and appropriate. A second purpose was to summarize the type of information included in existing statements. Toward this end a number of socio-economic impact statements were reviewed. Most of the statements are for nuclear power plants; however, some are for other large construction projects. The statements reviewed are largely predictive in nature; i.e., they attempt to predict socio-economic impacts based on the existing knowledge. A few of the reports contain retroactive case studies of plants already completed. One describes an ongoing monitoring analysis of plants under construction. As a result of this preliminary study, a need was identified for a better-defined impact statement methodology and for guidelines identifying appropriate areas for analysis and analytical techniques

A framework for estimating causal effects in latent class analysis: is there a causal link between early sex and subsequent profiles of delinquency?

Science.gov (United States)

Butera, Nicole M; Lanza, Stephanie T; Coffman, Donna L

2014-06-01

Prevention scientists use latent class analysis (LCA) with increasing frequency to characterize complex behavior patterns and profiles of risk. Often, the most important research questions in these studies involve establishing characteristics that predict membership in the latent classes, thus describing the composition of the subgroups and suggesting possible points of intervention. More recently, prevention scientists have begun to adopt modern methods for drawing causal inference from observational data because of the bias that can be introduced by confounders. This same issue of confounding exists in any analysis of observational data, including prediction of latent class membership. This study demonstrates a straightforward approach to causal inference in LCA that builds on propensity score methods. We demonstrate this approach by examining the causal effect of early sex on subsequent delinquency latent classes using data from 1,890 adolescents in 11th and 12th grade from wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Prior to the statistical adjustment for potential confounders, early sex was significantly associated with delinquency latent class membership for both genders (p = 0.02). However, the propensity score adjusted analysis indicated no evidence for a causal effect of early sex on delinquency class membership (p = 0.76) for either gender. Sample R and SAS code is included in an Appendix in the ESM so that prevention scientists may adopt this approach to causal inference in LCA in their own work.

A pseudo-statistical approach to treat choice uncertainty: the example of partitioning allocation methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mendoza Beltran, A.; Heijungs, R.; Guinée, J.; Tukker, A.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Despite efforts to treat uncertainty due to methodological choices in life cycle assessment (LCA) such as standardization, one-at-a-time (OAT) sensitivity analysis, and analytical and statistical methods, no method exists that propagate this source of uncertainty for all relevant processes

A Review of Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Liquid Transportation Biofuels in the Pan American Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Shonnard, David R; Klemetsrud, Bethany; Sacramento-Rivero, Julio; Navarro-Pineda, Freddy; Hilbert, Jorge; Handler, Robert; Suppen, Nydia; Donovan, Richard P

2015-12-01

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been applied to many biofuel and bioenergy systems to determine potential environmental impacts, but the conclusions have varied. Different methodologies and processes for conducting LCA of biofuels make the results difficult to compare, in-turn making it difficult to make the best possible and informed decision. Of particular importance are the wide variability in country-specific conditions, modeling assumptions, data quality, chosen impact categories and indicators, scale of production, system boundaries, and co-product allocation. This study has a double purpose: conducting a critical evaluation comparing environmental LCA of biofuels from several conversion pathways and in several countries in the Pan American region using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, and making recommendations for harmonization with respect to biofuel LCA study features, such as study assumptions, inventory data, impact indicators, and reporting practices. The environmental management implications are discussed within the context of different national and international regulatory environments using a case study. The results from this study highlight LCA methodology choices that cause high variability in results and limit comparability among different studies, even among the same biofuel pathway, and recommendations are provided for improvement.

A Review of Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Liquid Transportation Biofuels in the Pan American Region

Science.gov (United States)

Shonnard, David R.; Klemetsrud, Bethany; Sacramento-Rivero, Julio; Navarro-Pineda, Freddy; Hilbert, Jorge; Handler, Robert; Suppen, Nydia; Donovan, Richard P.

2015-12-01

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been applied to many biofuel and bioenergy systems to determine potential environmental impacts, but the conclusions have varied. Different methodologies and processes for conducting LCA of biofuels make the results difficult to compare, in-turn making it difficult to make the best possible and informed decision. Of particular importance are the wide variability in country-specific conditions, modeling assumptions, data quality, chosen impact categories and indicators, scale of production, system boundaries, and co-product allocation. This study has a double purpose: conducting a critical evaluation comparing environmental LCA of biofuels from several conversion pathways and in several countries in the Pan American region using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, and making recommendations for harmonization with respect to biofuel LCA study features, such as study assumptions, inventory data, impact indicators, and reporting practices. The environmental management implications are discussed within the context of different national and international regulatory environments using a case study. The results from this study highlight LCA methodology choices that cause high variability in results and limit comparability among different studies, even among the same biofuel pathway, and recommendations are provided for improvement.

Photo-switching of a non-ionic azobenzene amphiphile in Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett films.

Science.gov (United States)

Piosik, Emilia; Kotkowiak, Michał; Korbecka, Izabela; Galewski, Zbigniew; Martyński, Tomasz

2017-08-30

The concept of programmable and reconfigurable soft matter has emerged in science in the last few decades and can be realized by photoisomerization of azobenzene derivatives. This possibility results in great application potential of these compounds in optical storage devices, molecular junctions of electronic devices, command layers of liquid crystal displays or holographic gratings. In this paper, we present the results of a study on the organization and isomerization of the non-ionic and amphiphilic methyl 4-[(E)-2-[4-(nonyloxy)phenyl]diazen-1-yl]benzoate (LCA) in a 2D layer architecture of Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films supported by spectroscopic studies on LCA chloroform solutions. Our investigation has shown a significantly different molecular organization of LCA depending on the ratio of trans and cis isomers in the monolayers. Taking advantage of a relatively low packing density and aggregation strength in the cis-LCA monolayer, we demonstrated the reversible isomerization in the LB film initially formed of LCA molecules in the cis form, while in the trans-LCA monolayer this effect was not observed. Our approach allows the formation of a switchable monolayer made of the amphiphilic LCA showing liquid crystalline properties without introducing an ionic group into the molecule structure, mixing with another compound or changing the subphase pH to provide free space for the molecules' isomerization.

Conceptual Framework To Extend Life Cycle Assessment ...

Science.gov (United States)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a decision-making tool that accounts for multiple impacts across the life cycle of a product or service. This paper presents a conceptual framework to integrate human health impact assessment with risk screening approaches to extend LCA to include near-field chemical sources (e.g., those originating from consumer products and building materials) that have traditionally been excluded from LCA. A new generation of rapid human exposure modeling and high-throughput toxicity testing is transforming chemical risk prioritization and provides an opportunity for integration of screening-level risk assessment (RA) with LCA. The combined LCA and RA approach considers environmental impacts of products alongside risks to human health, which is consistent with regulatory frameworks addressing RA within a sustainability mindset. A case study is presented to juxtapose LCA and risk screening approaches for a chemical used in a consumer product. The case study demonstrates how these new risk screening tools can be used to inform toxicity impact estimates in LCA and highlights needs for future research. The framework provides a basis for developing tools and methods to support decision making on the use of chemicals in products. This paper presents a conceptual framework for including near-field exposures into Life Cycle Assessment using advanced human exposure modeling and high-throughput tools

To Which Degree Does Sector Specific Standardization Make Life Cycle Assessments Comparable?—The Case of Global Warming Potential of Smartphones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders S. G. Andrae

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Here attributional life cycle assessments (LCAs for the same smartphone model are presented by two different organizations (Orange, OGE and Huawei, HuW and the effect of different modeling approach is analyzed. A difference of around 32% (29.6 kg and 39.2 kg for CO2e baseline scores is found using same study object and sector specific LCA standard, however, different metrics, emission intensities, and LCA software programs. The CO2e difference is reduced to 12% (29.9 kg and 33.5 kg when OGE use HuW metrics for use phase power consumption and total mass, and when HuW use OGE metrics for gold mass and silicon die area. Further, a probability test confirms that present baseline climate change results, for one specific study object modeled with two largely different and independent LCA modeling approaches, are comparable if both use the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI LCA standard. The general conclusion is that the ETSI LCA standard strongly facilitates comparable CC results for technically comparable smartphone models. Moreover, thanks to the reporting requirements of ETSI LCA standard, a clear understanding of the differences between LCA modeling approaches is obtained. The research also discusses the magnitude of the CO2e reduction potential in the life cycle of smartphones.

Evaluating diagnostic indicators of urogenital Schistosoma haematobium infection in young women: A cross sectional study in rural South Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hashini Nilushika Galappaththi-Arachchige

Full Text Available Urine microscopy is the standard diagnostic method for urogenital S. haematobium infection. However, this may lead to under-diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis, as the disease may present itself with genital symptoms in the absence of ova in the urine. Currently there is no single reliable and affordable diagnostic method to diagnose the full spectrum of urogenital S. haematobium infection. In this study we explore the classic indicators in the diagnosis of urogenital S. haematobium infection, with focus on young women.In a cross-sectional study of 1237 sexually active young women in rural South Africa, we assessed four diagnostic indicators of urogenital S. haematobium infection: microscopy of urine, polymerase chain reaction (PCR of cervicovaginal lavage (CVL, urogenital symptoms, and sandy patches detected clinically in combination with computerised image analysis of photocolposcopic images. We estimated the accuracy of these diagnostic indicators through the following analyses: 1 cross tabulation (assumed empirical gold standard of the tests against the combined findings of sandy patches and/or computerized image analysis and 2 a latent class model of the four indicators without assuming any gold standard.The empirical approach showed that urine microscopy had a sensitivity of 34.7% and specificity of 75.2% while the latent class analysis approach (LCA suggested a sensitivity of 81.0% and specificity of 85.6%. The empirical approach and LCA showed that Schistosoma PCR in CVL had low sensitivity (14.1% and 52.4%, respectively and high specificity (93.0% and 98.0, respectively. Using LCA, the presence of sandy patches showed a sensitivity of 81.6 and specificity of 42.4%. The empirical approach and LCA showed that urogenital symptoms had a high sensitivity (89.4% and 100.0%, respectively, whereas specificity was low (10.6% and 12.3%, respectively.All the diagnostic indicators used in the study had limited accuracy. Using urine microscopy

A study on building performance analysis for energy retrofit of existing industrial facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gourlis, Georgios; Kovacic, Iva

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Thermal simulation of a historical industrial hall with limited data availability. • Considering waste heat from machinery after measuring production fluctuations. • Test of retrofit alternatives for roof and skylights. • Results indicate a significant reduction in heating energy demand up to 52%. • After retrofit naturally ventilated hall can achieve thermal comfort in summer. - Abstract: Due to the strengthening of regulations and codes on building energy performance, as well as with the application of national legislations regarding energy management and efficiency, existing industrial facilities are using thermal refurbishment and renovation as impetus for increasing their overall energy efficiency. This paper analyzes a building envelope refurbishment for a case study of an existing historical industrial facility. Critical parameters affecting energy performance of industrial buildings were identified by reviewing relevant literate. Two retrofit scenarios were developed and dynamic thermal simulation using EnergyPlus was implemented to evaluate the potential for improvement. Thereby the impact of interior loads was considered, determined by measurements conducted on factory machines, occupancy and lighting operation patterns. However, information regarding constructions of the existing facility and installed technical building services is limited. There is also uncertainty in the quantification of natural ventilation air change rate for such buildings. To overcome these limitations a study of various material databases was carried out, in order to assess data for building envelope composition. Input values for missing data were provided based on literature, allowing a fair comparison between refurbishment alternatives. Simulation results showed that the heating demand of the facility could be reduced up to 52%, indicating a significant potential for energy savings. Beyond that, thermal performance against summer overheating also

Variations in embodied energy and carbon emission intensities of construction materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan Omar, Wan-Mohd-Sabki [Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222 (Australia); School of Environmental Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis (Malaysia); Doh, Jeung-Hwan, E-mail: j.doh@griffith.edu.au [Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222 (Australia); Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak [Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222 (Australia)

2014-11-15

Identification of parameter variation allows us to conduct more detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) of energy and carbon emission material over their lifecycle. Previous research studies have demonstrated that hybrid LCA (HLCA) can generally overcome the problems of incompleteness and accuracy of embodied energy (EE) and carbon (EC) emission assessment. Unfortunately, the current interpretation and quantification procedure has not been extensively and empirically studied in a qualitative manner, especially in hybridising between the process LCA and I-O LCA. To determine this weakness, this study empirically demonstrates the changes in EE and EC intensities caused by variations to key parameters in material production. Using Australia and Malaysia as a case study, the results are compared with previous hybrid models to identify key parameters and issues. The parameters considered in this study are technological changes, energy tariffs, primary energy factors, disaggregation constant, emission factors, and material price fluctuation. It was found that changes in technological efficiency, energy tariffs and material prices caused significant variations in the model. Finally, the comparison of hybrid models revealed that non-energy intensive materials greatly influence the variations due to high indirect energy and carbon emission in upstream boundary of material production, and as such, any decision related to these materials should be considered carefully. - Highlights: • We investigate the EE and EC intensity variation in Australia and Malaysia. • The influences of parameter variations on hybrid LCA model were evaluated. • Key significant contribution to the EE and EC intensity variation were identified. • High indirect EE and EC content caused significant variation in hybrid LCA models. • Non-energy intensive material caused variation between hybrid LCA models.

Variations in embodied energy and carbon emission intensities of construction materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Omar, Wan-Mohd-Sabki; Doh, Jeung-Hwan; Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak

2014-01-01

Identification of parameter variation allows us to conduct more detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) of energy and carbon emission material over their lifecycle. Previous research studies have demonstrated that hybrid LCA (HLCA) can generally overcome the problems of incompleteness and accuracy of embodied energy (EE) and carbon (EC) emission assessment. Unfortunately, the current interpretation and quantification procedure has not been extensively and empirically studied in a qualitative manner, especially in hybridising between the process LCA and I-O LCA. To determine this weakness, this study empirically demonstrates the changes in EE and EC intensities caused by variations to key parameters in material production. Using Australia and Malaysia as a case study, the results are compared with previous hybrid models to identify key parameters and issues. The parameters considered in this study are technological changes, energy tariffs, primary energy factors, disaggregation constant, emission factors, and material price fluctuation. It was found that changes in technological efficiency, energy tariffs and material prices caused significant variations in the model. Finally, the comparison of hybrid models revealed that non-energy intensive materials greatly influence the variations due to high indirect energy and carbon emission in upstream boundary of material production, and as such, any decision related to these materials should be considered carefully. - Highlights: • We investigate the EE and EC intensity variation in Australia and Malaysia. • The influences of parameter variations on hybrid LCA model were evaluated. • Key significant contribution to the EE and EC intensity variation were identified. • High indirect EE and EC content caused significant variation in hybrid LCA models. • Non-energy intensive material caused variation between hybrid LCA models

Life cycle assessment and residue leaching: the importance of parameter, scenario and leaching data selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Allegrini, E; Butera, S; Kosson, D S; Van Zomeren, A; Van der Sloot, H A; Astrup, T F

2015-04-01

Residues from industrial processes and waste management systems (WMSs) have been increasingly reutilised, leading to landfilling rate reductions and the optimisation of mineral resource utilisation in society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic methodology allowing for the analysis of systems and products and can be applied to waste management systems to identify environmental benefits and critical aspects thereof. From an LCA perspective, residue utilisation provides benefits such as avoiding the production and depletion of primary materials, but it can lead to environmental burdens, due to the potential leaching of toxic substances. In waste LCA studies where residue utilisation is included, leaching has generally been neglected. In this study, municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) was used as a case study into three LCA scenarios having different system boundaries. The importance of data quality and parameter selection in the overall LCA results was evaluated, and an innovative method to assess metal transport into the environment was applied, in order to determine emissions to the soil and water compartments for use in an LCA. It was found that toxic impacts as a result of leaching were dominant in systems including only MSWI BA utilisation, while leaching appeared negligible in larger scenarios including the entire waste system. However, leaching could not be disregarded a priori, due to large uncertainties characterising other activities in the scenario (e.g. electricity production). Based on the analysis of relevant parameters relative to leaching, and on general results of the study, recommendations are provided regarding the use of leaching data in LCA studies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simple construct evaluation with latent class analysis: An investigation of Facebook addiction and the development of a short form of the Facebook Addiction Test (F-AT).

Science.gov (United States)

Dantlgraber, Michael; Wetzel, Eunike; Schützenberger, Petra; Stieger, Stefan; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

2016-09-01

In psychological research, there is a growing interest in using latent class analysis (LCA) for the investigation of quantitative constructs. The aim of this study is to illustrate how LCA can be applied to gain insights on a construct and to select items during test development. We show the added benefits of LCA beyond factor-analytic methods, namely being able (1) to describe groups of participants that differ in their response patterns, (2) to determine appropriate cutoff values, (3) to evaluate items, and (4) to evaluate the relative importance of correlated factors. As an example, we investigated the construct of Facebook addiction using the Facebook Addiction Test (F-AT), an adapted version of the Internet Addiction Test (I-AT). Applying LCA facilitates the development of new tests and short forms of established tests. We present a short form of the F-AT based on the LCA results and validate the LCA approach and the short F-AT with several external criteria, such as chatting, reading newsfeeds, and posting status updates. Finally, we discuss the benefits of LCA for evaluating quantitative constructs in psychological research.

Life cycle assessment and residue leaching: The importance of parameter, scenario and leaching data selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Allegrini, Elisa; Butera, Stefania; Kosson, D.S.

2015-01-01

of systems and products and can be applied to waste management systems to identify environmental benefits and critical aspects thereof. From an LCA perspective, residue utilisation provides benefits such as avoiding the production and depletion of primary materials, but it can lead to environmental burdens......Residues from industrial processes and waste management systems (WMSs) have been increasingly reutilised, leading to landfilling rate reductions and the optimisation of mineral resource utilisation in society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic methodology allowing for the analysis......, due to the potential leaching of toxic substances. In waste LCA studies where residue utilisation is included, leaching has generally been neglected. In this study, municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) was used as a case study into three LCA scenarios having different system...

Scenario Development and Delphi Application in Life Cycle Assessment for Assessing Environmental Impact of New Technology Case Study: Removal of Wind Turbines Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devina Fitrika Dewi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Certain technology is intended to create eco-efficient products or process or is developed as answer to the recent challenge. This kind of technology consequently can also create another impact therefore it shall be assessed and analyzed.The focus of the study is on assessment method namely Life Cycle Analysis (LCA, Scenario development and Delphi application. The objective is to understand benefits and drawbacks of the combined methodology and observe practicality of its implementation for assessing new technology. The distinctive feature comes from the combination of social and technological foresight (as Delphi application and future studies (as Scenario development which are applied in the environmental assessment of a product (by Life Cycle Analysis.The utilization of LCA-Scenario-Delphi case study as an explanatory example is presented in the Removal Wind Turbines Project by the Danish Energy Agency. The wind turbine is considered new technology with some of it phases are yet to occur, for example: removal of turbines after phase out stage. Technology Assessment by LCA-Scenario-Delphi is complicated procedure, but necessary to validate the results. The drawbacks of this procedure are extensive time it consumes and the dependency on public participation and/or expert willingness to participate. Nonetheless, its advantages are due to its interactive feature; integration of knowledge from different areas of expertise and its assessment’s characteristic which focuses on process.

Personal abilities in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. A pilot study using the existence scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwaiger, Johannes P; Kopriva-Altfahrt, Gertrude; Söllner, Wolfgang; König, Paul

2007-01-01

Personality psychology is increasingly used in various clinical medicine settings to help in decision-making in difficult situations, especially in chronic disease. Patients with chronic renal disease are very dependent on modern medicine, and psychological aspects could help give answers in certain circumstances. Logotherapy and Existence analysis, after Viktor Frankl (Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy), is the theory of the possibilities and conditions for a fulfilled existence and evaluates a different aspect of personality psychology, namely meaning (in life). We used the existence scale questionnaire in this pilot study to investigate the personal abilities self-distancing, self-transcendence, freedom and responsibility in dialysis patients and compared a group of hemodialysis (HD) patients with patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). We studied a mixed dialysis cohort (24 HD, 24 CAPD) at two Austrian centers (Innsbruck Medical University Hospital and Wilhelminenspital of the City of Vienna). Overall, results for dialysis patients (n = 48) were very close to those reported for healthy persons; however, CAPD patients scored significantly better than HD patients (p = 0.017) on the subscale self-distancing. This significant difference was also seen in the overall scores (p = 0.045). Our results might indicate that contented CAPD patients have personal abilities that predestine them for this type of treatment. The existence scale might help decide between CAPD and HD treatment alternatives.

Existing knowledge related to mainstreaming IKS into Educational ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study aimed at determining existing knowledge related to mainstreaming of IKS into education system. The qualitative research methodology was appropriate for this study to explore and describe the mainstreaming of IKS into the existing education system. The study included 10 school teachers (5male and 5 females) ...

Environmental impacts of future low-carbon electricity systems: Detailed life cycle assessment of a Danish case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turconi, Roberto; Tonini, Davide; Nielsen, Christian F.B.; Simonsen, Christian G.; Astrup, Thomas

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Environmental impact of a power system with a high share of wind power assessed. • LCI data for electricity supply in Denmark in 2010 and 2030 (low carbon) provided. • Focus on GHG reduction may lead to increase in other impact categories. • Imported biomass might cause high GHG emissions form Land Use Change. • Need for guidelines for LCA of electricity supply (cogeneration and power import). - Abstract: The need to reduce dependency on fossil resources and to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is driving many countries towards the implementation of low-carbon electricity systems. In this study the environmental impact of a future (2030) possible low-carbon electricity system in Denmark was assessed and compared with the current situation (2010) and an alternative 2030 scenario using life cycle assessment (LCA). The influence on the final results of the modeling approach used for (i) electricity import, (ii) biomass resources, and (iii) the cogeneration of heat and power was discussed. The results showed that consumption of fossil resources and global warming impacts from the Danish electricity sector could be reduced significantly compared with 2010. Nevertheless, a reduction in GHG may be at the expense of other environmental impacts, such as the increased depletion of abiotic resources. Moreover, the results were very dependent upon biomass origin: when agricultural land was affected by biomass import, and land use changes and transportation were included, GHG emissions from imported biomass were comparable to those from fossil fuels. The results were significantly influenced by the modeling approach regarding the import of electricity, biomass provision, and the allocation between heat and power in cogeneration plants. As the importance of all three aspects is likely to increase in the future, transparency in LCA modeling is critical. Characterized impacts for Danish power plants in 2010 and 2030 (including corresponding

Report Template

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Anders; Laurent, Alexis; Owsianiak, Mikołaj

2018-01-01

To ensure consistent reporting of life cycle assessment (LCA), we provide a report template. The report includes elements of an LCA study as recommended but the ILCD Handbook. Illustrative case study reported according to this template is presented in Chap. 39 ....

Comparative Environmental Benefits of Lightweight Design in the Automotive Sector: The Case Study of Recycled Magnesium Against CFRP and Steel

Science.gov (United States)

D'Errico, Fabrizio; Ranza, Luigi

A LCA feasibility study was undertaken to determine the environmental impact of an Eco-magnesium process route by recycled chips to manufacture panel for the automotive sector to be compared with comparative scenarios, a non-recycled carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and a baseline steel-made component scenario. The objective of this LCA study was to assess the actual benefits of a lightweight solution considering the whole life cycle, including the dirty-phase (i.e. the "cradle-to-exit gate" stage) that impacts differently for the different materials. For this reason the analysis has regarded the net "cradle-to-grave" scenario. Different automotive floor pans were then compared considering the rate of fuel consumption during vehicle operation — i.e. the fuel-mass correlation factor — and the different material substitution factors allowed by the different materials selected.

CLASSIFICATION OF IRANIAN NURSES ACCORDING TO THEIR MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES USING GHQ-12 QUESTIONNAIRE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS AND K-MEANS CLUSTERING WITH TRADITIONAL SCORING METHOD.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamali, Jamshid; Ayatollahi, Seyyed Mohammad Taghi

2015-10-01

Nurses constitute the most providers of health care systems. Their mental health can affect the quality of services and patients' satisfaction. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is a general screening tool used to detect mental disorders. Scoring method and determining thresholds for this questionnaire are debatable and the cut-off points can vary from sample to sample. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders among Iranian nurses using GHQ-12 and also compare Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and K-means clustering with traditional scoring method. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Fars and Bushehr provinces of southern Iran in 2014. Participants were 771 Iranian nurses, who filled out the GHQ-12 questionnaire. Traditional scoring method, LCA and K-means were used to estimate the prevalence of mental disorder among Iranian nurses. Cohen's kappa statistic was applied to assess the agreement between the LCA and K-means with traditional scoring method of GHQ-12. The nurses with mental disorder by scoring method, LCA and K-mean were 36.3% (n=280), 32.2% (n=248), and 26.5% (n=204), respectively. LCA and logistic regression revealed that the prevalence of mental disorder in females was significantly higher than males. Mental disorder in nurses was in a medium level compared to other people living in Iran. There was a little difference between prevalence of mental disorder estimated by scoring method, K-means and LCA. According to the advantages of LCA than K-means and different results in scoring method, we suggest LCA for classification of Iranian nurses according to their mental health outcomes using GHQ-12 questionnaire.

Developing IAM for Life Cycle Safety Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toxopeus, Marten E.; Lutters, Diederick; Nee, Andrew Y.C.; Song, Bin; Ong, Soh-Khim

2013-01-01

This publication discusses aspects of the development of an impact assessment method (IAM) for safety. Compared to the many existing IAM’s for environmentally oriented LCA, this method should translate the impact of a product life cycle on the subject of safety. Moreover, the method should be

Evaluation of a Delphi technique based expert judgement method for LCA valuation - DELPHI II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Virtanen, Y.; Torkkeli, S. [VTT Chemical Technology, Espoo (Finland). Environmental Technology; Wilson, B. [Landbank Environmental Research and Consulting, London (United Kingdom)

1999-07-01

interventions, and classification in typologies of cultural theory. The quality of results and methodological aspects, such as effects of task instructions, selection of the index basis, and effects of the final standardisation were analysed statistically. Accordingly, the effects of various postulates made on the conformity of the environmental harm conceptions of the experts, and the influence of the moderators' decisions were assessed on the basis of standard statistical indicators. The state of consensus and its development in the Delphi process were studied with the aid of K-entropy analysis. The study showed that transparency and certainty, which are essential qualities for an acceptable and trusted valuation method, are only partially accomplished by the expert judgement method in the format in which it was developed in the analysed case. As for the technical procedure, the method is well documented and transparency is good. Argumentation of the judgements, however, should be increased. The quality of the valuation indexes is explicitly available, but their certainty is very low for most interventions. The opinions of the experts vary greatly. How much this depends on different values and how much on differences in knowledge etc. is impossible to assess. Also, how much the technique used and the statistical processing of the experts' answers may have influenced the eventual scores of different interventions is difficult to assess. The application of expert judgement to LCA valuation is a new idea, and the method is still very much under development and far from maturity. Nevertheless, utilisation of expert knowledge can be a significant addition to model approaches to ecological impact assessment, which, because of the chaotic behaviour of ecosystems, are limited and uncertain in predicting the ecological consequences of interventions to the environment. This should be taken into account when considering the results of the evaluation of the case study, which

Evaluation of a Delphi technique based expert judgement method for LCA valuation - DELPHI II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virtanen, Y.; Torkkeli, S.

1999-01-01

, and classification in typologies of cultural theory. The quality of results and methodological aspects, such as effects of task instructions, selection of the index basis, and effects of the final standardisation were analysed statistically. Accordingly, the effects of various postulates made on the conformity of the environmental harm conceptions of the experts, and the influence of the moderators' decisions were assessed on the basis of standard statistical indicators. The state of consensus and its development in the Delphi process were studied with the aid of K-entropy analysis. The study showed that transparency and certainty, which are essential qualities for an acceptable and trusted valuation method, are only partially accomplished by the expert judgement method in the format in which it was developed in the analysed case. As for the technical procedure, the method is well documented and transparency is good. Argumentation of the judgements, however, should be increased. The quality of the valuation indexes is explicitly available, but their certainty is very low for most interventions. The opinions of the experts vary greatly. How much this depends on different values and how much on differences in knowledge etc. is impossible to assess. Also, how much the technique used and the statistical processing of the experts' answers may have influenced the eventual scores of different interventions is difficult to assess. The application of expert judgement to LCA valuation is a new idea, and the method is still very much under development and far from maturity. Nevertheless, utilisation of expert knowledge can be a significant addition to model approaches to ecological impact assessment, which, because of the chaotic behaviour of ecosystems, are limited and uncertain in predicting the ecological consequences of interventions to the environment. This should be taken into account when considering the results of the evaluation of the case study, which was the third of

Using life cycle assessment for municipal solid waste management in Tehran Municipality Region 20

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salar Omid

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Due to the lack of a proper waste management system, Tehran Municipality Region 20 is facing economic and environmental problems such as the high costs of a disposal system and source pollution. Life cycle assessment (LCA is a method for collecting and evaluating the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The current study purposed to provide a stable and optimized system of solid waste management in Tehran Municipality Region 20. Methods: The LCA method was used to evaluate various scenarios and compare the effects on environmental aspects of management systems. Four scenarios were defined based on existing and possible future waste management systems for this region. These scenarios were considered with different percentages for source separation, composting, recycling, and energy recovery. Results: Based on the results of this study, Scenario 4 (source separation [14%] + composting [30%] + municipal recycling facility [MRF] [20%] + energy recovery [10%] + landfilling [26%] was found to be the option with the minimum environmental impact. In the absence of government support and sufficient funds for establishing energy recovery facilities, the third scenario (source separation [14%] + composting [30%] +MRF [20%] + landfilling [36%] is recommended. Conclusion: The results acquired from this investigation will confirm the belief that LCA as an environmental device may be successfully used in an integrated solid waste management system (ISWMS as a support tool for decision-making.

Comparative Life Cycle Studies on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-Based Composites as Potential Replacement for Conventional Petrochemical Plastics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pietrini, M.; Roes, A.L.; Patel, M.K.; Chiellini, E.

2007-01-01

A cradle-to-grave environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of a few poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) based composites has been performed and was compared to commodity petrochemical polymers. The end products studied are a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor housing (conventionally produced from high-impact

Uncertainty Management and Sensitivity Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Georgiadis, Stylianos; Fantke, Peter

2018-01-01

Uncertainty is always there and LCA is no exception to that. The presence of uncertainties of different types and from numerous sources in LCA results is a fact, but managing them allows to quantify and improve the precision of a study and the robustness of its conclusions. LCA practice sometimes...... suffers from an imbalanced perception of uncertainties, justifying modelling choices and omissions. Identifying prevalent misconceptions around uncertainties in LCA is a central goal of this chapter, aiming to establish a positive approach focusing on the advantages of uncertainty management. The main...... objectives of this chapter are to learn how to deal with uncertainty in the context of LCA, how to quantify it, interpret and use it, and how to communicate it. The subject is approached more holistically than just focusing on relevant statistical methods or purely mathematical aspects. This chapter...

Study of plutonium disposition using existing GE advanced Boiling Water Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)