WorldWideScience

Sample records for repository life cycle

  1. LIFE Materials: Fuel Cycle and Repository Volume 11

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, H; Blink, J A

    2008-12-12

    The fusion-fission LIFE engine concept provides a path to a sustainable energy future based on safe, carbon-free nuclear power with minimal nuclear waste. The LIFE design ultimately offers many advantages over current and proposed nuclear energy technologies, and could well lead to a true worldwide nuclear energy renaissance. When compared with existing and other proposed future nuclear reactor designs, the LIFE engine exceeds alternatives in the most important measures of proliferation resistance and waste minimization. The engine needs no refueling during its lifetime. It requires no removal of fuel or fissile material generated in the LIFE engine. It leaves no weapons-attractive material at the end of life. Although there is certainly a need for additional work, all indications are that the 'back end' of the fuel cycle does not to raise any 'showstopper' issues for LIFE. Indeed, the LIFE concept has numerous benefits: (1) Per unit of electricity generated, LIFE engines would generate 20-30 times less waste (in terms of mass of heavy metal) requiring disposal in a HLW repository than does the current once-through fuel cycle. (2) Although there may be advanced fuel cycles that can compete with LIFE's low mass flow of heavy metal, all such systems require reprocessing, with attendant proliferation concerns; LIFE engines can do this without enrichment or reprocessing. Moreover, none of the advanced fuel cycles can match the low transuranic content of LIFE waste. (3) The specific thermal power of LIFE waste is initially higher than that of spent LWR fuel. Nevertheless, this higher thermal load can be managed using appropriate engineering features during an interim storage period, and could be accommodated in a Yucca-Mountain-like repository by appropriate 'staging' of the emplacement of waste packages during the operational period of the repository. The planned ventilation rates for Yucca Mountain would be sufficient for LIFE waste

  2. LIFE Materials: Fuel Cycle and Repository Volume 11

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaw, H.; Blink, J.A.

    2008-01-01

    The fusion-fission LIFE engine concept provides a path to a sustainable energy future based on safe, carbon-free nuclear power with minimal nuclear waste. The LIFE design ultimately offers many advantages over current and proposed nuclear energy technologies, and could well lead to a true worldwide nuclear energy renaissance. When compared with existing and other proposed future nuclear reactor designs, the LIFE engine exceeds alternatives in the most important measures of proliferation resistance and waste minimization. The engine needs no refueling during its lifetime. It requires no removal of fuel or fissile material generated in the LIFE engine. It leaves no weapons-attractive material at the end of life. Although there is certainly a need for additional work, all indications are that the 'back end' of the fuel cycle does not to raise any 'showstopper' issues for LIFE. Indeed, the LIFE concept has numerous benefits: (1) Per unit of electricity generated, LIFE engines would generate 20-30 times less waste (in terms of mass of heavy metal) requiring disposal in a HLW repository than does the current once-through fuel cycle. (2) Although there may be advanced fuel cycles that can compete with LIFE's low mass flow of heavy metal, all such systems require reprocessing, with attendant proliferation concerns; LIFE engines can do this without enrichment or reprocessing. Moreover, none of the advanced fuel cycles can match the low transuranic content of LIFE waste. (3) The specific thermal power of LIFE waste is initially higher than that of spent LWR fuel. Nevertheless, this higher thermal load can be managed using appropriate engineering features during an interim storage period, and could be accommodated in a Yucca-Mountain-like repository by appropriate 'staging' of the emplacement of waste packages during the operational period of the repository. The planned ventilation rates for Yucca Mountain would be sufficient for LIFE waste to meet the thermal constraints of

  3. MONITORED GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY LIFE CYCLE COST ESTIMATE ASSUMPTIONS DOCUMENT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    R.E. Sweeney

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this assumptions document is to provide general scope, strategy, technical basis, schedule and cost assumptions for the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) life cycle cost (LCC) estimate and schedule update incorporating information from the Viability Assessment (VA) , License Application Design Selection (LADS), 1999 Update to the Total System Life Cycle Cost (TSLCC) estimate and from other related and updated information. This document is intended to generally follow the assumptions outlined in the previous MGR cost estimates and as further prescribed by DOE guidance

  4. Monitored Geologic Repository Life Cycle Cost Estimate Assumptions Document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweeney, R.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this assumptions document is to provide general scope, strategy, technical basis, schedule and cost assumptions for the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) life cycle cost estimate and schedule update incorporating information from the Viability Assessment (VA), License Application Design Selection (LADS), 1999 Update to the Total System Life Cycle Cost (TSLCC) estimate and from other related and updated information. This document is intended to generally follow the assumptions outlined in the previous MGR cost estimates and as further prescribed by DOE guidance

  5. MRS/IS facility co-located with a repository: preconceptual design and life-cycle cost estimates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, R.I.; Nesbitt, J.F.

    1982-11-01

    A program is described to examine the various alternatives for monitored retrievable storage (MRS) and interim storage (IS) of spent nuclear fuel, solidified high-level waste (HLW), and transuranic (TRU) waste until appropriate geologic repository/repositories are available. The objectives of this study are: (1) to develop a preconceptual design for an MRS/IS facility that would become the principal surface facility for a deep geologic repository when the repository is opened, (2) to examine various issues such as transportation of wastes, licensing of the facility, and environmental concerns associated with operation of such a facility, and (3) to estimate the life cycle costs of the facility when operated in response to a set of scenarios which define the quantities and types of waste requiring storage in specific time periods, which generally span the years from 1990 until 2016. The life cycle costs estimated in this study include: the capital expenditures for structures, casks and/or drywells, storage areas and pads, and transfer equipment; the cost of staff labor, supplies, and services; and the incremental cost of transporting the waste materials from the site of origin to the MRS/IS facility. Three scenarios are examined to develop estimates of life cycle costs of the MRS/IS facility. In the first scenario, HLW canisters are stored, starting in 1990, until the co-located repository is opened in the year 1998. Additional reprocessing plants and repositories are placed in service at various intervals. In the second scenario, spent fuel is stored, starting in 1990, because the reprocessing plants are delayed in starting operations by 10 years, but no HLW is stored because the repositories open on schedule. In the third scenario, HLW is stored, starting in 1990, because the repositories are delayed 10 years, but the reprocessing plants open on schedule

  6. Stochastic cost estimating in repository life-cycle cost analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzemos, S.; Dippold, D.

    1986-01-01

    The conceptual development, the design, and the final construction and operation of a nuclear repository span many decades. Given this lengthy time frame, it is quite challenging to obtain a good approximation of the repository life-cycle cost. One can deal with this challenge by using an analytic method, the method of moments, to explicitly assess the uncertainty of the estimate. A series expansion is used to approximate the uncertainty distribution of the cost estimate. In this paper, the moment methodology is derived and is illustrated through a numerical example. The range of validity of the approximation is discussed. The method of moments is compared to the traditional stochastic cost estimating methods and found to provide more and better information on cost uncertainty. The tow methods converge to identical results as the number of convolved variables increases and approaches the range where the central limit theorem is valid

  7. Life cycle assessment of geological repositories for the final disposal of spent fuel in Finland and Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puhrer, A.; Bauer, C.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the geological repositories for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finland and Sweden. A separate LCA has been performed for the geological spent fuel repository in each country and the results have been compared. A further benchmark comparison has been made with the LCA of the Swiss geological repository for high-level waste and spent fuel. The life cycle inventory (LCI) product system boundaries include the spent fuel repository and encapsulation facility in each country. All materials, processes, consumed utilities and transport associated with the construction, operation and closure of the repositories for spent fuel are included in the LCI. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is performed using two methods: IPCC 2007 Climate Change and ReCiPe. These assessment methods return results pertaining to global warming potential (GWP) as well as a number of environmental impact categories such as human toxicity and natural land transformation. Results indicate that the use of copper for disposal canister fabrication and bentonite for repository backfilling are the causes for most of the environmental impact of the spent fuel repositories in Finland and Sweden. Alternate, less bentonite-intensive backfilling scenarios may mitigate this impact. While the Swiss bentonite consumption is lower and no copper is used for canister fabrication, the Swiss electricity and fuel consumption associated with final disposal of high-level waste and spent fuel is significantly higher than in Finland or Sweden. Approximately 1 g CO 2 -eq is emitted due to the final disposal of spent fuel and HLW per kWh of nuclear generated electricity. This represents some 10% of the emissions due to the entire nuclear energy chain and is practically negligible in the context of GHG emissions of other energy technologies. (authors)

  8. Coupling fuel cycles with repositories: how repository institutional choices may impact fuel cycle design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forsberg, C.; Miller, W.F.

    2013-01-01

    The historical repository siting strategy in the United States has been a top-down approach driven by federal government decision making but it has been a failure. This policy has led to dispatching fuel cycle facilities in different states. The U.S. government is now considering an alternative repository siting strategy based on voluntary agreements with state governments. If that occurs, state governments become key decision makers. They have different priorities. Those priorities may change the characteristics of the repository and the fuel cycle. State government priorities, when considering hosting a repository, are safety, financial incentives and jobs. It follows that states will demand that a repository be the center of the back end of the fuel cycle as a condition of hosting it. For example, states will push for collocation of transportation services, safeguards training, and navy/private SNF (Spent Nuclear Fuel) inspection at the repository site. Such activities would more than double local employment relative to what was planned for the Yucca Mountain-type repository. States may demand (1) the right to take future title of the SNF so if recycle became economic the reprocessing plant would be built at the repository site and (2) the right of a certain fraction of the repository capacity for foreign SNF. That would open the future option of leasing of fuel to foreign utilities with disposal of the SNF in the repository but with the state-government condition that the front-end fuel-cycle enrichment and fuel fabrication facilities be located in that state

  9. Integrating repositories with fuel cycles: The airport authority model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forsberg, C. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    The organization of the fuel cycle is a legacy of World War II and the cold war. Fuel cycle facilities were developed and deployed without consideration of the waste management implications. This led to the fuel cycle model of a geological repository site with a single owner, a single function (disposal), and no other facilities on site. Recent studies indicate large economic, safety, repository performance, nonproliferation, and institutional incentives to collocate and integrate all back-end facilities. Site functions could include geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) with the option for future retrievability, disposal of other wastes, reprocessing with fuel fabrication, radioisotope production, other facilities that generate significant radioactive wastes, SNF inspection (navy and commercial), and related services such as SNF safeguards equipment testing and training. This implies a site with multiple facilities with different owners sharing some facilities and using common facilities - the repository and SNF receiving. This requires a different repository site institutional structure. We propose development of repository site authorities modeled after airport authorities. Airport authorities manage airports with government-owned runways, collocated or shared public and private airline terminals, commercial and federal military facilities, aircraft maintenance bases, and related operations - all enabled and benefiting the high-value runway asset and access to it via taxi ways. With a repository site authority the high value asset is the repository. The SNF and HLW receiving and storage facilities (equivalent to the airport terminal) serve the repository, any future reprocessing plants, and others with needs for access to SNF and other wastes. Non-public special-built roadways and on-site rail lines (equivalent to taxi ways) connect facilities. Airport authorities are typically chartered by state governments and managed by commissions with members

  10. Integrating repositories with fuel cycles: The airport authority model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forsberg, C.

    2012-01-01

    The organization of the fuel cycle is a legacy of World War II and the cold war. Fuel cycle facilities were developed and deployed without consideration of the waste management implications. This led to the fuel cycle model of a geological repository site with a single owner, a single function (disposal), and no other facilities on site. Recent studies indicate large economic, safety, repository performance, nonproliferation, and institutional incentives to collocate and integrate all back-end facilities. Site functions could include geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) with the option for future retrievability, disposal of other wastes, reprocessing with fuel fabrication, radioisotope production, other facilities that generate significant radioactive wastes, SNF inspection (navy and commercial), and related services such as SNF safeguards equipment testing and training. This implies a site with multiple facilities with different owners sharing some facilities and using common facilities - the repository and SNF receiving. This requires a different repository site institutional structure. We propose development of repository site authorities modeled after airport authorities. Airport authorities manage airports with government-owned runways, collocated or shared public and private airline terminals, commercial and federal military facilities, aircraft maintenance bases, and related operations - all enabled and benefiting the high-value runway asset and access to it via taxi ways. With a repository site authority the high value asset is the repository. The SNF and HLW receiving and storage facilities (equivalent to the airport terminal) serve the repository, any future reprocessing plants, and others with needs for access to SNF and other wastes. Non-public special-built roadways and on-site rail lines (equivalent to taxi ways) connect facilities. Airport authorities are typically chartered by state governments and managed by commissions with members

  11. Specification of life cycle assessment in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbaspour, M.; Kargari, N.; Mastouri, R.

    2008-01-01

    Life Cycle Assessment is an environmental management tool for assessing the environmental impacts of a product of a process. life cycle assessment involves the evaluation of environmental impacts through all stages of life cycle of a product or process. In other words life cycle assessment has a c radle to grave a pproach. Some results of life cycle assessment consist of pollution prevention, energy efficient system, material conservation, economic system and sustainable development. All power generation technologies affect the environment in one way or another. The main environmental impact does not always occur during operation of power plant. The life cycle assessment of nuclear power has entailed studying the entire fuel cycle from mine to deep repository, as well as the construction, operation and demolition of the power station. Nuclear power plays an important role in electricity production for several countries. even though the use of nuclear power remains controversial. But due to the shortage of fossil fuel energy resources many countries have started to try more alternation to their sources of energy production. A life cycle assessment could detect all environmental impacts of nuclear power from extracting resources, building facilities and transporting material through the final conversion to useful energy services

  12. Gas Generation in Radioactive Wastes - MAGGAS Predictive Life Cycle Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streatfield, R.E.; Hebditch, D.J.; Swift, B.T.; Hoch, A.R.; Constable, M.

    2006-01-01

    Gases may form from radioactive waste in quantities posing different potential hazards throughout the waste package life cycle. The latter includes surface storage, transport, placing in an operating repository, storage in the repository prior to backfill, closure and the post-closure stage. Potentially hazardous situations involving gas include fire, flood, dropped packages, blocked package vents and disruption to a sealed repository. The MAGGAS (Magnox Gas generation) model was developed to assess gas formation for safety assessments during all stages of the waste package life cycle. This is a requirement of the U.K. regulatory authorities and Nirex and progress in this context is discussed. The processes represented in the model include: Corrosion, microbial degradation, radiolysis, solid-state diffusion, chemico-physical degradation and pressurisation. The calculation was split into three time periods. First the 'aerobic phase' is used to model the periods of surface storage, transport and repository operations including storage in the repository prior to backfill. The second and third periods were designated 'anaerobic phase 1' and 'anaerobic phase 2' and used to model the waste packages in the post-closure phase of the repository. The various significant gas production processes are modeled in each phase. MAGGAS (currently Version 8) is mounted on an Excel spreadsheet for ease of use and speed, has 22 worksheets and is operated routinely for assessing waste packages (e.g. for ventilation of stores and pressurisation of containers). Ten operational and decommissioning generic nuclear power station waste streams were defined as initial inputs, which included ion exchange materials, sludges and concentrates, fuel element debris, graphite debris, activated components, contaminated items, desiccants and catalysts. (authors)

  13. Reduction of repository heat load using advanced fuel cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preston, Jeff; Miller, L.F.

    2008-01-01

    With the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain already nearing capacity full before opening, advanced fuel cycles that introduce reprocessing, fast reactors, and temporary storage sites have the potential to allow the repository to support the current reactor fleet and future expansion. An uncertainty analysis methodology that combines Monte Carlo distribution sampling, reactor physics data simulation, and neural network interpolation methods enable investigation into the factor reduction of heat capacity by using the hybrid fuel cycle. Using a Super PRISM fast reactor with a conversion ratio of 0.75, burn ups reach up to 200 MWd/t that decrease the plutonium inventory by about 5 metric tons every 12 years. Using the long burn up allows the footprint of 1 single core loading of FR fuel to have an integral decay heat of about 2.5x10 5 MW*yr over a 1500 year period that replaces the footprint of about 6 full core loadings of LWR fuel for the number of years required to fuel the FR, which have an integral decay heat of about.3 MW*yr for the same time integral. This results in an increase of a factor of 4 in repository support capacity from implementing a single fast reactor in an equilibrium cycle. (authors)

  14. The Adoption of Advanced Fuel Cycle Technology Under a Single Repository Policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, Paul

    2009-01-01

    Develops the tools to investigate the hypothesis that the savings in repository space associated with the implementation of advanced nuclear fuel cycles can result in sufficient cost savings to offset the higher costs of those fuel cycles.

  15. Radioactive materials transportation life-cycle cost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregory, P.C.; Donovan, K.S.; Spooner, O.R.

    1993-01-01

    This paper discusses factors that should be considered when estimating the life-cycle cost of shipping radioactive materials and the development of a working model that has been successfully used. Today's environmental concerns have produced an increased emphasis on cleanup and restoration of production plants and interim storage sites for radioactive materials. The need to transport these radioactive materials to processing facilities or permanent repositories is offset by the reality of limited resources and ever-tightening budgets. Obtaining the true cost of transportation is often difficult because of the many direct and indirect costs involved and the variety of methods used to account for fixed and variable expenses. In order to make valid comparisons between the cost of alternate transportation systems for new and/or existing programs, one should consider more than just the cost of capital equipment or freight cost per mile. Of special interest is the cost of design, fabrication, use, and maintenance of shipping containers in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A spread sheet model was developed to compare the life-cycle costs of alternate fleet configurations of TRUPACT-II, which will be used to ship transuranic waste from U.S. Department of Energy sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico

  16. Life Cycle Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bey, Niki

    2018-01-01

    This chapter gives an overview of Life Cycle Management (LCM)—a discipline that deals with the managerial tasks related to practicing sustainable development in an organisation . Just as Life Cycle Assessment, LCM advocates the life cycle perspective , and it applies this perspective in decision...

  17. Impact of advanced fuel cycles on uncertainty associated with geologic repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechard, Rob P.; Lee, Joon; Sutton, Mark; Greenberg, Harris R.; Robinson, Bruce A.; Nutt, W. Mark

    2013-01-01

    This paper provides a qualitative evaluation of the impact of advanced fuel cycles, particularly partition and transmutation of actinides, on the uncertainty associated with geologic disposal. Based on the discussion, advanced fuel cycles, will not materially alter (1) the repository performance (2) the spread in dose results around the mean (3) the modeling effort to include significant features, events, and processes in the performance assessment, or (4) the characterization of uncertainty associated with a geologic disposal system in the regulatory environment of the United States. (authors)

  18. Cost estimate of the Yucca Mountain repository based on the site characterization plan conceptual design: Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruer, E.R.; Fowler, M.E.; Rocha, G.A.

    1987-06-01

    This report of the life-cycle costs of a mined repository in tuff is based on the site characterization conceptual design and contains estimates of two methods of waste emplacement - vertical and horizontal. The life cycle of the repository progresses from design and construction to emplacement operations that last 25 years. When emplacement has ended, a caretaker period begins and continues until 50 years from emplacement of the first waste. The life of the repository concludes with closure and decommissioning, which includes backfilling and sealing the repository, decontaminating and razing the surface facilities, restoring the land to as near its original condition as possible, and marking the site. The estimates, developed for each phase of the life cycle of the repository, are based on January 1986 constant (unescalated) dollars and include an allowance for contingency. This report mainly comprises explanations of design and operating assumptions, estimating methods, exclusions, definition of cost accounts, calculating procedures, data sources, staffing and other qualifying remarks. Cost estimates are approximations of value and should not be construed as exact. The cost and staffing detail provided in this estimate is commensurate with the detail in the conceptual design

  19. An assessment of the effect on Olkiluoto repository capacity achievable with advanced fuel cycles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juutilainen, P.; Viitanen, T. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT (Finland)

    2013-07-01

    Previously a few scenarios have been simulated for transition from thermal to fast reactor fleet in Finland in order to determine how much the transuranic inventory could be reduced with the partitioning and transmutation (P-T) technologies. Those calculations, performed with COSI6 code developed by CEA, are extended in the present study, in which the effect of P-T on the capacity of the planned final disposal repository at Olkiluoto (Finland) is evaluated by taking into account the created fission products and transuranic residuals from the reprocessing operations. The decay heat is assumed to be the most restrictive factor in defining the waste disposal packing density. The repository capacity evaluation of this study is based on the comparison of the decay heats produced by the deposited waste in various scenarios. The reference scenario of this article involves only Light Water Reactors (LWR) in an open fuel cycle. The capacity requirement of the geological repository is estimated in a few closed fuel cycle scenarios, all including actinide transmutation with Fast Reactors (FR). The comparison between the P-T scenarios and reference is based on the decay heat production of the deposited waste. The COSI6 code is used for simulations to provide the repository decay heat curves. Applying the closed fuel cycle would change the disposal concept and schedule, because of which it is not quite straightforward to assess the impact of P-T on the capacity. However, it can be concluded that recycling the transuranic nuclides probably decreases the required volume for the disposal, but thermal dimensioning analysis is needed for more specific conclusions.

  20. LIFE CYCLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. S. Sennik

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This work is a generalization of the theoretical propositions related to the life cycle of information systems. There was given the definition of the life cycle, specify which items you should include every step of the cycle. Describes the methodology division of the life cycle on the main stage, including methodology Rational Unified Process. The description of the fundamental standards in this area. Special attention was paid to the work of the basic life cycle models. It was carried out their comparative characteristics. On the basis of the theoretical propositions, it was concluded that the preferred model of the life cycle for the corporate network is a spiral model and the use of international standards in the life cycle saves a lot of effort, time and material resources.

  1. KOH concentration effect on cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells. III - Cycle life test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, H. S.; Verzwyvelt, S. A.

    1988-01-01

    A cycle life test of Ni/H2 cells containing electrolytes of various KOH concentrations and a sintered type nickel electrode was carried out at 23 C using a 45 min accelerated low earth orbit (LEO) cycle regime at 80 percent depth of discharge. One of three cells containing 26 percent KOH has achieved over 28,000 cycles, and the other two 19,000 cycles, without a sign of failure. Two other cells containing 31 percent KOH electrolyte, which is the concentration presently used in aerospace cells, failed after 2,979 and 3,620 cycles. This result indicates that the cycle life of the present type of Ni/H2 cells may be extended by a factor of 5 to 10 simply by lowering the KOH concentration. Long cycle life of a Ni/H2 battery at high depth-of-discharge operation is desired, particularly for an LEO spacecraft application. Typically, battery life of about 30,000 cycles is required for a five year mission in an LEO. Such a cycle life with presently available cells can be assured only at a very low depth-of-discharge operation. Results of testing already show that the cycle life of an Ni/H2 cell is tremendously improved by simply using an electrolyte of low KOH concentration.

  2. An integrated life cycle inventory for demolition processes in the context of life cycle sustainability assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bozhilova-Kisheva, Kossara Petrova; Hu, Mingming; van Roekel, Eric

    2012-01-01

    According to the Life Cycle Assessment in Building and Construction: State-of-the-Art Report (2003), the dismantling and demolition stage of the building life cycle is only sometimes included in the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) when doing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). The reason that it is less...... inventoried in a traditional LCA maybe because this stage is expected to have a negligible environmental impact comparing to other stages in the life cycle of the buildings. When doing a life cycle sustainability assessment considering not only environmental but also economic and social impacts, the impacts...

  3. Knowledge repositories for multiple uses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Keith; Riddle, Patricia

    1991-01-01

    In the life cycle of a complex physical device or part, for example, the docking bay door of the Space Station, there are many uses for knowledge about the device or part. The same piece of knowledge might serve several uses. Given the quantity and complexity of the knowledge that must be stored, it is critical to maintain the knowledge in one repository, in one form. At the same time, because of quantity and complexity of knowledge that must be used in life cycle applications such as cost estimation, re-design, and diagnosis, it is critical to automate such knowledge uses. For each specific use, a knowledge base must be available and must be in a from that promotes the efficient performance of that knowledge base. However, without a single source knowledge repository, the cost of maintaining consistent knowledge between multiple knowledge bases increases dramatically; as facts and descriptions change, they must be updated in each individual knowledge base. A use-neutral representation of a hydraulic system for the F-111 aircraft was developed. The ability to derive portions of four different knowledge bases is demonstrated from this use-neutral representation: one knowledge base is for re-design of the device using a model-based reasoning problem solver; two knowledge bases, at different levels of abstraction, are for diagnosis using a model-based reasoning solver; and one knowledge base is for diagnosis using an associational reasoning problem solver. It was shown how updates issued against the single source use-neutral knowledge repository can be propagated to the underlying knowledge bases.

  4. 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...

  5. 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....

  6. Analysis of the total system life cycle cost for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-05-01

    The total-system life-cycle cost (TSLCC) analysis for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program is an ongoing activity that helps determine whether the revenue-producing mechanism established by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 -- a fee levied on electricity generated in commercial nuclear power plants -- is sufficient to cover the cost of the program. This report provides cost estimates for the sixth annual evaluation of the adequacy of the fee and is consistent with the program strategy and plans contained in the DOE's Draft 1988 Mission Plan Amendment. The total-system cost for the system with a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS), and a transportation system is estimated at $24 billion (expressed in constant 1988 dollars). In the event that a second repository is required and is authorized by the Congress, the total-system cost is estimated at $31 to $33 billion, depending on the quantity of spent fuel to be disposed of. The $7 billion cost savings for the single-repository system in comparison with the two-repository system is due to the elimination of $3 billion for second-repository development and $7 billion for the second-repository facility. These savings are offset by $2 billion in additional costs at the first repository and $1 billion in combined higher costs for the MRS facility and transportation. 55 refs., 2 figs., 24 tabs

  7. Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Traverso, Marzia; Finkbeiner, Matthias; Jørgensen, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    One method to assess the sustainability performance of products is life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), which assesses product performance considering the environmental,economic, and social dimensions of the life cycle. The results of LCSA can be used to compare different products...... of sustainability is the communicability of the results by means of a graphical representation (a cartogram), characterized by a suitable chromatic scale and ranking score. The integration of LCSA and the dashboard of sustainability into a so-called Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard (LCSD) is described here...

  8. Life Cycle Impact Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosenbaum, Ralph K.; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Boulay, Anne-Marie

    2018-01-01

    This chapter is dedicated to the third phase of an LCA study, the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) where the life cycle inventory’s information on elementary flows is translated into environmental impact scores. In contrast to the three other LCA phases, LCIA is in practice largely automated...

  9. Life-cycle assessment of semiconductors

    CERN Document Server

    Boyd, Sarah B

    2012-01-01

    Life-Cycle Assessment of Semiconductors presents the first and thus far only available transparent and complete life cycle assessment of semiconductor devices. A lack of reliable semiconductor LCA data has been a major challenge to evaluation of the potential environmental benefits of information technologies (IT). The analysis and results presented in this book will allow a higher degree of confidence and certainty in decisions concerning the use of IT in efforts to reduce climate change and other environmental effects. Coverage includes but is not limited to semiconductor manufacturing trends by product type and geography, unique coverage of life-cycle assessment, with a focus on uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of energy and global warming missions for CMOS logic devices, life cycle assessment of flash memory and life cycle assessment of DRAM. The information and conclusions discussed here will be highly relevant and useful to individuals and institutions. The book also: Provides a detailed, complete a...

  10. Development of geological disposal system; localization of element cost data and cost evaluation on the HLW repository

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Byung Sik; Kim, Kil Jung; Yang, Young Jin; Kim, Sung Chun [KOPEC, Taejeon (Korea)

    2002-03-01

    To estimate Total Life Cycle Cost (TSLCC) for Korea HLW Repository through localization of element cost data, we review and re-organize each basic element cost data for reference repository system, localize various element cost and finally estimate TSLCC considering economic parameters. As results of the study, TSLCC is estimated as 17,167,689 million won, which includes costs for site preparation, surface facilities, underground facilities and management/integration. Since HLW repository Project is an early stage of pre-conceptual design at present, the information of design and project information are not enough to perform cost estimate and cost localization for the Project. However, project cost structure is re-organized based on the local condition and Total System Life Cycle Cost is estimated using the previous cost data gathered from construction experience of the local nuclear power plant. Project results can be used as basic reference data to assume total construction cost for the local HLW repository and should be revised to more reliable cost data with incorporating detail project design information into the cost estimate in a future. 20 refs. (Author)

  11. Life cycle management (LCM)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Remmen, Arne; Thrane, Mikkel

    2004-01-01

    The chapter gives an introduction to Life Cycle Management (LCM) and shows how LCM can be practiced in different contexts and at different ambition levels.......The chapter gives an introduction to Life Cycle Management (LCM) and shows how LCM can be practiced in different contexts and at different ambition levels....

  12. Does It Have a Life Cycle?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeley, Page

    2010-01-01

    If life continues from generation to generation, then all plants and animals must go through a life cycle, even though it may be different from organism to organism. Is this what students have "learned," or do they have their own private conceptions about life cycles? The formative assessment probe "Does It Have a Life Cycle?" reveals some…

  13. 10 CFR 436.19 - Life cycle costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... operation and maintenance costs: (c) Replacement costs less salvage costs of replaced building systems; and... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Life cycle costs. 436.19 Section 436.19 Energy DEPARTMENT... Procedures for Life Cycle Cost Analyses § 436.19 Life cycle costs. Life cycle costs are the sum of the...

  14. Introducing Life Cycle Impact Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Huijbregts, Mark AJ

    2015-01-01

    This chapter serves as an introduction to the presentation of the many aspects of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) in this volume of the book series ‘LCA Compendium’. It starts with a brief historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment driven by numerous national LCIA...... methodology projects and presents the international scientific discussions and methodological consensus attempts in consecutive working groups under the auspices of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) as well as the UNEP/ SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, and the (almost) parallel...

  15. Emissions from photovoltaic life cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fthenakis, V.M.; Kim, H.C.; Alsema, E.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073416258

    2008-01-01

    Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have shown remarkable progress recently in terms of annual production capacity and life cycle environmental performances, which necessitate timely updates of environmental indicators. Based on PV production data of 2004–2006, this study presents the life-cycle

  16. Life Cycle Assessment for Biofuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    A presentation based on life cycle assessment (LCA) for biofuels is given. The presentation focuses on energy and biofuels, interesting environmental aspects of biofuels, and how to do a life cycle assessment with some examples related to biofuel systems. The stages of a (biofuel...

  17. Conceptual study of nuclear power generation facilities life-cycle support versatile engineering database. Procedure of development and consideration of fundamental functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, Hidetoshi

    2009-05-01

    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stands out the activity of the knowledge management of nuclear safety and the movement to introduce the idea of the life cycle management into the quality control of maintenance of the nuclear power generation facilities to assure the knowledge preservation and to succeed the technology of facilities. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) also has such activities as the knowledge preservation of research and development, and related information. The facilities' performance reliability can be easily checked with the technology of data processing in the general industry and the results of the knowledge repository, transmitting technology and knowledge management by referring to the information and knowledge if the information and knowledge at each step of the life-cycle of facilities can be built. This report shows the strategy of the construction of the engineering database to support the life cycle of facilities and the basic function of the management system. (author)

  18. Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marzia Traverso

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability is nowadays accepted by all stakeholders as a guiding principle for both public policy making and corporate strategies. However, the biggest challenge for most organizations remains in the real and substantial implementation of the sustainability concept. The core of the implementation challenge is the question, how sustainability performance can be measured, especially for products and processes. This paper explores the current status of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA for products and processes. For the environmental dimension well established tools like Life Cycle Assessment are available. For the economic and social dimension, there is still need for consistent and robust indicators and methods. In addition to measuring the individual sustainability dimensions, another challenge is a comprehensive, yet understandable presentation of the results. The “Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard” and the “Life Cycle Sustainability Triangle” are presented as examples for communication tools for both experts and non expert stakeholders.

  19. Life cycle assessment : Past, present, and future

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guinée, Jeroen B.; Heijungs, Reinout; Huppes, Gjalt; Zamagni, Alessandra; Masoni, Paolo; Buonamici, Roberto; Ekvall, Tomas; Rydberg, Tomas

    2011-01-01

    Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) has developed fast over the last three decades. Whereas LCA developed from merely energy analysis to a comprehensive environmental burden analysis in the 1970s, full-fledged life cycle impact assessment and life cycle costing models were introduced in the

  20. Developing Asset Life Cycle Management capabilities through the implementation of Asset Life Cycle Plans – an Action Research project

    OpenAIRE

    Ruitenburg, Richard; Braaksma, Anne Johannes Jan

    2017-01-01

    Asset Life Cycle Management is a strategic approach to managing physical assets over their complete life cycle. However, the literature and the recent ISO 55,000 standard do not offer guidance as to how to develop such an approach. This paper investigates the main capabilities for Asset Life Cycle Management by means of a four year Action Research project implementing Asset Life Cycle Plans. Five main capabilities emerged: 1. strategic information use; 2. alignment of operations and strategy;...

  1. Life cycle sustainability assessment of chemical processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Di; Lv, Liping; Ren, Jingzheng

    2017-01-01

    In this study, an integrated vector-based three-dimensional (3D) methodology for the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of chemical process alternatives is proposed. In the methodology, a 3D criteria assessment system is first established by using the life cycle assessment, the life cycl...

  2. A case study by life cycle assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuyun

    2017-05-01

    This article aims to assess the potential environmental impact of an electrical grinder during its life cycle. The Life Cycle Inventory Analysis was conducted based on the Simplified Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) Drivers that calculated from the Valuation of Social Cost and Simplified Life Cycle Assessment Model (VSSM). The detailed results for LCI can be found under Appendix II. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment was performed based on Eco-indicator 99 method. The analysis results indicated that the major contributor to the environmental impact as it accounts for over 60% overall SLCA output. In which, 60% of the emission resulted from the logistic required for the maintenance activities. This was measured by conducting the hotspot analysis. After performing sensitivity analysis, it is evidenced that changing fuel type results in significant decrease environmental footprint. The environmental benefit can also be seen from the negative output values of the recycling activities. By conducting Life Cycle Assessment analysis, the potential environmental impact of the electrical grinder was investigated.

  3. DataONE: Gateway to Earth and Environmental Data Repositories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koskela, R.; Michener, W. K.; Vieglais, D.; Budden, A. E.

    2017-12-01

    DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth) is a National Science Foundation DataNet project that enables universal access to data and also facilitates researchers in fulfilling their need for data management and in providing secure and permanent access to their data. DataONE offers the scientific community a suite of tools and training materials that cover all aspects of the data life cycle from data collection, to management, analysis and publication. Data repositories affiliated with DataONE are referred to as Member Nodes and represent large regional, national and international research networks, agencies, and other institutions. As part of the DataONE Federation, the repositories gain access to a range of value-added services to support their users. These services include usage tracking and reporting, content replication, and the ability to register the services created by the repository. In addition, DataONE and the California Digital Library manage ONEShare, a repository that accepts content submitted through Dash, a platform allowing researchers to easily describe, deposit and share their research data.

  4. Sustainable Building Life Cycle Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ginzburg Alexander

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The current building life cycle management system in the Russian Federation is a family of discrete subsystems that exist independently for different building life cycle stages. In this situation building reliability and sustainable functioning are out of the question. The implementation of a united information model (BIM-model intended to describe building entire life cycle will allow to raise the sustainability, but this will happen only if goals and concerns of all participants of the project process are properly coordinated. An important figure of process sustainability is the organizational and technological reliability (OTR that describes the possibility of a system to reach a goal. In case of building life cycle design, the economical efficiency of a building can be considered as the goal. The required technical, ecological, organizational, and other parameters form a complex of constraints that determine the area of allowable values for building functioning. In its broad meaning, OTR may be understood as the probability of receiving an economical effect based on the value of organizational and economical reliability (OER.

  5. Life cycle management of analytical methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parr, Maria Kristina; Schmidt, Alexander H

    2018-01-05

    In modern process management, the life cycle concept gains more and more importance. It focusses on the total costs of the process from invest to operation and finally retirement. Also for analytical procedures an increasing interest for this concept exists in the recent years. The life cycle of an analytical method consists of design, development, validation (including instrumental qualification, continuous method performance verification and method transfer) and finally retirement of the method. It appears, that also regulatory bodies have increased their awareness on life cycle management for analytical methods. Thus, the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH), as well as the United States Pharmacopeial Forum discuss the enrollment of new guidelines that include life cycle management of analytical methods. The US Pharmacopeia (USP) Validation and Verification expert panel already proposed a new General Chapter 〈1220〉 "The Analytical Procedure Lifecycle" for integration into USP. Furthermore, also in the non-regulated environment a growing interest on life cycle management is seen. Quality-by-design based method development results in increased method robustness. Thereby a decreased effort is needed for method performance verification, and post-approval changes as well as minimized risk of method related out-of-specification results. This strongly contributes to reduced costs of the method during its life cycle. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Object linking in repositories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichmann, David (Editor); Beck, Jon; Atkins, John; Bailey, Bill

    1992-01-01

    This topic is covered in three sections. The first section explores some of the architectural ramifications of extending the Eichmann/Atkins lattice-based classification scheme to encompass the assets of the full life cycle of software development. A model is considered that provides explicit links between objects in addition to the edges connecting classification vertices in the standard lattice. The second section gives a description of the efforts to implement the repository architecture using a commercially available object-oriented database management system. Some of the features of this implementation are described, and some of the next steps to be taken to produce a working prototype of the repository are pointed out. In the final section, it is argued that design and instantiation of reusable components have competing criteria (design-for-reuse strives for generality, design-with-reuse strives for specificity) and that providing mechanisms for each can be complementary rather than antagonistic. In particular, it is demonstrated how program slicing techniques can be applied to customization of reusable components.

  7. Developing Asset Life Cycle Management capabilities through the implementation of Asset Life Cycle Plans – an Action Research project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruitenburg, Richard; Braaksma, Anne Johannes Jan

    2017-01-01

    Asset Life Cycle Management is a strategic approach to managing physical assets over their complete life cycle. However, the literature and the recent ISO 55,000 standard do not offer guidance as to how to develop such an approach. This paper investigates the main capabilities for Asset Life Cycle

  8. Life-cycle energy of residential buildings in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Yuan; Ries, Robert J.; Wang, Yaowu

    2013-01-01

    In the context of rapid urbanization and new construction in rural China, residential building energy consumption has the potential to increase with the expected increase in demand. A process-based hybrid life-cycle assessment model is used to quantify the life-cycle energy use for both urban and rural residential buildings in China and determine the energy use characteristics of each life cycle phase. An input–output model for the pre-use phases is based on 2007 Chinese economic benchmark data. A process-based life-cycle assessment model for estimating the operation and demolition phases uses historical energy-intensity data. Results show that operation energy in both urban and rural residential buildings is dominant and varies from 75% to 86% of life cycle energy respectively. Gaps in living standards as well as differences in building structure and materials result in a life-cycle energy intensity of urban residential buildings that is 20% higher than that of rural residential buildings. The life-cycle energy of urban residential buildings is most sensitive to the reduction of operational energy intensity excluding heating energy which depends on both the occupants' energy-saving behavior as well as the performance of the building itself. -- Highlights: •We developed a hybrid LCA model to quantify the life-cycle energy for urban and rural residential buildings in China. •Operation energy in urban and rural residential buildings is dominant, varying from 75% to 86% of life cycle energy respectively. •Compared with rural residential buildings, the life-cycle energy intensity of urban residential buildings is 20% higher. •The life-cycle energy of urban residential buildings is most sensitive to the reduction of daily activity energy

  9. Life Cycle Collection Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen Shenton

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available Life cycle collection management is a way of taking a long-term approach to the responsible stewardship of the British Library's collections and is one of the Library's strategic strands. It defines the different stages in a collection item's existence over time. These stages range from selection and acquisitions processing, cataloguing and press marking, through to preventive conservation, storage and retrieval. Life cycle collection management seeks to identify the costs of each stage in order to show the economic interdependencies between the phases over time. It thereby aims to demonstrate the long-term consequences of what the library takes into its collections, by making explicit the financial and other implications of decisions made at the beginning of the life cycle for the next 100 plus years. This paper describes the work over the past year at the British Library on this complex and complicated subject. It presents the emerging findings and suggests how it can be used for practical reasons (by individual curators and selectors and for economic, governance and political purposes. The paper describes the next steps in the project, for example, on a predictive data model. The British Library is seeking to benchmark itself against comparable organisations in this area. It intends to work with others on specific comparison for example, of life cycle costing of electronic and paper journals, as a prelude to eliding digital and 'traditional' formats.

  10. The Sphinx's Riddle: Life and Career Cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burack, Elmer H.

    1984-01-01

    Career cycles should be considered apart from life cycles, even though the two are interrelated. This essay examines five theories about life and career cycles, and offers insights into their limitations and potential uses. (JB)

  11. A comparison of production system life cycle models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attri, Rajesh; Grover, Sandeep

    2012-09-01

    Companies today need to keep up with the rapidly changing market conditions to stay competitive. The main issues in this paper are related to a company's market and its competitors. The prediction of market behavior is helpful for a manufacturing enterprise to build efficient production systems. However, these predictions are usually not reliable. A production system is required to adapt to changing markets, but such requirement entails higher cost. Hence, analyzing different life cycle models of the production system is necessary. In this paper, different life cycle models of the production system are compared to evaluate the distinctive features and the limitations of each model. Furthermore, the difference between product life cycle and production life cycle is summarized, and the effect of product life cycle on production life cycle is explained. Finally, a production system life cycle model, along with key activities to be performed in each stage, is proposed specifically for the manufacturing sector.

  12. Life Cycle Environmental Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Claus Stig; Jørgensen, Jørgen; Pedersen, Morten Als

    1996-01-01

    A precondition for environmentally conscious management is the awareness of the environmental impact potentials created by an industrial company. There is an obvious need for management tools to support the implementation of relevant environmental criteria into the industrial decision making...... processes. The discipline of life cycle environmental management (LCEM) focuses on the incorporation of environmental criteria from the life cycles of products and other company activities into the company management processes. This paper introduces the concept of LCEM as an important element...... of the complete set of environmental objects in an industrial manufacturing company....

  13. Effect of advanced fuel cycles on waste management policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavedon, J.M.; Haapalehto, T.

    2005-01-01

    The study aims at analysing a range of future fuel cycle options from the perspective of their impact on waste repository demand and specification. The study would focus on: Assessment of the characteristics of radioactive wastes arising from advanced nuclear fuel cycle options, repository performance analysis studies using source terms for waste arising from such advanced nuclear fuel cycles, identification of new options for waste management and disposal. Three families of fuel cycles having increasing recycling capabilities are assessed. Each cycle is composed of waste generating and management processes. Examples of waste generating processes are fuel factories (7 types) and reprocessing plants (7 types). Packaging and conditioning plants (7) and disposal facilities are examples of waste management processes. The characteristic of all these processes have been described and then total waste flows are summarised. In order to simplify the situation, three waste categories have been defined based on the IAEA definitions in order to emphasize the major effects of different types of waste. These categories are: short-life waste for surface or sub-surface disposal, long-life low heat producing waste for geological disposal, high-level waste for geological disposal. The feasibilities of the fuel cycles are compared in terms of economics, primary resource consumption and amount of waste generated. The effect of high-level waste composition for the repository performance is one of the tools in these comparisons. The results of this will be published as an NEA publication before the end of 2005. (authors)

  14. Life cycle management in product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skelton, Kristen; Pattis, Anna

    2013-01-01

    The integration of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Management (LCM) into business operations poses great challenges, as it requires a wider range of environmental responsibility often extending beyond a company's immediate control. Simultaneously, it offers many opportunities...

  15. 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.

  16. Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Stig Irving

    Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for environmental assessment of product and systems – over the whole life cycle from acquisition of raw materials to the end-of-life of the product – and encompassing all environmental impacts of emissions and resource usage, e.g. global warming, acidification...... cycle. The models for assessing toxic impacts in LCA are to a large extent based on those developed for RA, e.g. EUSES, and require basic information about the inherent properties of the emissions like solubility, LogKow,ED50 etc. Additionally, it is a prerequisite to know how to characterize...

  17. How can a life cycle inventory parametric model streamline life cycle assessment in the wooden pallet sector?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niero, Monia; Di Felice, Francesco; Ren, Jingzheng

    2014-01-01

    , as the information required for fulfilling the LCI are standard information about the features of the wooden pallet and its manufacturing process. The contribution analysis on the reference product revealed that the most contributing life cycle stages are wood and nails extraction and manufacturing (positive value......This study discusses the use of parameterization within the life cycle inventory (LCI) in the wooden pallet sector, in order to test the effectiveness of LCI parametric models to calculate the environmental impacts of similar products. Starting from a single case study, the objectives of this paper......; these correlations can be used to improve the design of new wooden pallets.The conceptual scheme for defining the model is based on ISO14040-44 standards. First of all, the product system was defined identifying the life cycle of a generic wood pallet, as well as its life cycle stages. A list of independent...

  18. Recent developments in Life Cycle Assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Finnveden, Göran; Hauschild, Michael Z.; Ekvall, Tomas; Guinée, Jeroen B.; Heijungs, Reinout; Hellweg, Stefanie; Koehler, Annette; Pennington, David; Suh, Sangwon

    2009-01-01

    Life Cycle Assessment is a tool to assess the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product's life cycle, i.e., from raw material acquisition, via production and use phases, to waste management. The methodological development in LCA has been strong, and LCA is broadly applied in

  19. Educational Focuses in Organisational Life Cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Harry G.

    1985-01-01

    Presents four stages frequently associated with the stages of an organization's life cycle: experimentation, growth, maturity, and decline or stability. The author also demonstrates that the impact of employment and thus training related to organizational life cycles suggests a need for understanding the technical preparation required for…

  20. Preliminary assessment of nuclear waste transportation cost and risk for operation of the first repository at candidate sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, R.W.; McSweeney, T.I.; Varadarajan, R.V.; Wilmot, E.L.; Cashwell, J.W.; Joy, D.S.

    1983-01-01

    To support the selection of the first commercial nuclear waste repository site in 1987, environmental analyses of five candidate site locations are currently being performed. The five locations are in the Gulf Interior Region, the Permian Basin, the Paradox Basin, Yucca Mountain and the Hanford reservation. Costs and operational risks associated with the transportation of nuclear wastes to a single repository located in these regions have been calculated for a life-cycle of 26 years

  1. Environmental analysis of natural gas life cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riva, A.; D'Angelosante, S.; Trebeschi, C.

    2000-01-01

    Life Cycle Assessment is a method aimed at identifying the environmental effects connected with a given product, process or activity during its whole life cycle. The evaluation of published studies and the application of the method to electricity production with fossil fuels, by using data from published databases and data collected by the gas industry, demonstrate the importance and difficulties to have reliable and updated data required for a significant life cycle assessment. The results show that the environmental advantages of natural gas over the other fossil fuels in the final use stage increase still further if the whole life cycle of the fuels, from production to final consumption, is taken into account [it

  2. Emissions from photovoltaic life cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fthenakis, Vasilis M; Kim, Hyung Chul; Alsema, Erik

    2008-03-15

    Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have shown remarkable progress recently in terms of annual production capacity and life cycle environmental performances, which necessitate timely updates of environmental indicators. Based on PV production data of 2004-2006, this study presents the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, criteria pollutant emissions, and heavy metal emissions from four types of major commercial PV systems: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon silicon, and thin-film cadmium telluride. Life-cycle emissions were determined by employing average electricity mixtures in Europe and the United States during the materials and module production for each PV system. Among the current vintage of PV technologies, thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV emits the least amount of harmful air emissions as it requires the least amount of energy during the module production. However, the differences in the emissions between different PV technologies are very small in comparison to the emissions from conventional energy technologies that PV could displace. As a part of prospective analysis, the effect of PV breeder was investigated. Overall, all PV technologies generate far less life-cycle air emissions per GWh than conventional fossil-fuel-based electricity generation technologies. At least 89% of air emissions associated with electricity generation could be prevented if electricity from photovoltaics displaces electricity from the grid.

  3. A Spatio-Temporal Building Exposure Database and Information Life-Cycle Management Solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Wieland

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available With an ever-increasing volume and complexity of data collected from a variety of sources, the efficient management of geospatial information becomes a key topic in disaster risk management. For example, the representation of assets exposed to natural disasters is subjected to changes throughout the different phases of risk management reaching from pre-disaster mitigation to the response after an event and the long-term recovery of affected assets. Spatio-temporal changes need to be integrated into a sound conceptual and technological framework able to deal with data coming from different sources, at varying scales, and changing in space and time. Especially managing the information life-cycle, the integration of heterogeneous information and the distributed versioning and release of geospatial information are important topics that need to become essential parts of modern exposure modelling solutions. The main purpose of this study is to provide a conceptual and technological framework to tackle the requirements implied by disaster risk management for describing exposed assets in space and time. An information life-cycle management solution is proposed, based on a relational spatio-temporal database model coupled with Git and GeoGig repositories for distributed versioning. Two application scenarios focusing on the modelling of residential building stocks are presented to show the capabilities of the implemented solution. A prototype database model is shared on GitHub along with the necessary scenario data.

  4. The RAGE Game Software Components Repository for Supporting Applied Game Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krassen Stefanov

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the architecture of the RAGE repository, which is a unique and dedicated infrastructure that provides access to a wide variety of advanced technology components for applied game development. The RAGE project, which is the principal Horizon2020 research and innovation project on applied gaming, develops up to three dozens of software components (RAGE software assets that are reusable across a wide diversity of game engines, game platforms and programming languages. The RAGE repository provides storage space for assets and their artefacts and is designed as an asset life-cycle management system for defining, publishing, updating, searching and packaging for distribution of these assets. It will be embedded in a social platform for asset developers and other users. A dedicated Asset Repository Manager provides the main functionality of the repository and its integration with other systems. Tools supporting the Asset Manager are presented and discussed. When the RAGE repository is in full operation, applied game developers will be able to easily enhance the quality of their games by including selected advanced game software assets. Making available the RAGE repository system and its variety of software assets aims to enhance the coherence and decisiveness of the applied game industry.

  5. Social Life Cycle Assessment: An Introduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moltesen, Andreas; Bonou, Alexandra; Wangel, Arne

    2018-01-01

    An expansion of the LCA framework has been going on through the development of ‘social life cycle assessment’—S-LCA. The methodology, still in its infancy, has the goal of assessing social impacts related to a product’s life cycle. This chapter introduces S-LCA framework area and the related...

  6. Fuel cycle covariance of plutonium and americium separations to repository capacity using information theoretic measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scopatz, Anthony; Schneider, Erich; Li, Jun; Yim, Man-Sung

    2011-01-01

    A light water reactor, fast reactor symbiotic fuel cycle scenario was modeled and parameterized based on thirty independent inputs. Simultaneously and stochastically choosing different values for each of these inputs and performing the associated fuel cycle mass-balance calculation, the fuel cycle itself underwent Monte Carlo simulation. A novel information theoretic metric is postulated as a measure of system-wide covariance. This metric is the coefficient of variation of the set of uncertainty coefficients generated from 2D slices of a 3D contingency table. It is then applied to the fuel cycle, taking fast reactor used fuel plutonium and americium separations as independent variables and the capacity of a fully-loaded tuff repository as the response. This set of parameters is known from prior studies to have a strong covariance. When measured with all 435 other input parameters possible, the fast reactor plutonium and americium separations pair was found to be ranked the second most covariant. This verifies that the coefficient of variation metric captures the desired sensitivity of sensitivity effects in the nuclear fuel cycle. (author)

  7. Mosquito Life Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knowing the stages of the mosquito's life will help you prevent mosquitoes around your home and help you choose the right pesticides for your needs, if you decide to use them. All mosquito species go through four distinct stages during their live cycle.

  8. Defining the baseline in social life cycle assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas; Finkbeiner, Matthias; Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    2010-01-01

    A relatively broad consensus has formed that the purpose of developing and using the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) is to improve the social conditions for the stakeholders affected by the assessed product's life cycle. To create this effect, the SLCA, among other things, needs to provide...... valid assessments of the consequence of the decision that it is to support. The consequence of a decision to implement a life cycle of a product can be seen as the difference between the decision being implemented and 'non-implemented' product life cycle. This difference can to some extent be found...... using the consequential environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA) methodology to identify the processes that change as a consequence of the decision. However, if social impacts are understood as certain changes in the lives of the stakeholders, then social impacts are not only related to product life...

  9. Fuel cell hybrid taxi life cycle analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baptista, Patricia, E-mail: patricia.baptista@ist.utl.pt [IDMEC-Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Ribau, Joao; Bravo, Joao; Silva, Carla [IDMEC-Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Adcock, Paul; Kells, Ashley [Intelligent Energy, Charnwood Building, HolywellPark, Ashby Road, Loughborough, LE11 3GR (United Kingdom)

    2011-09-15

    A small fleet of classic London Taxis (Black cabs) equipped with hydrogen fuel cell power systems is being prepared for demonstration during the 2012 London Olympics. This paper presents a Life Cycle Analysis for these vehicles in terms of energy consumption and CO{sub 2} emissions, focusing on the impacts of alternative vehicle technologies for the Taxi, combining the fuel life cycle (Tank-to-Wheel and Well-to-Tank) and vehicle materials Cradle-to-Grave. An internal combustion engine diesel taxi was used as the reference vehicle for the currently available technology. This is compared to battery and fuel cell vehicle configurations. Accordingly, the following energy pathways are compared: diesel, electricity and hydrogen (derived from natural gas steam reforming). Full Life Cycle Analysis, using the PCO-CENEX drive cycle, (derived from actual London Taxi drive cycles) shows that the fuel cell powered vehicle configurations have lower energy consumption (4.34 MJ/km) and CO{sub 2} emissions (235 g/km) than both the ICE Diesel (9.54 MJ/km and 738 g/km) and the battery electric vehicle (5.81 MJ/km and 269 g/km). - Highlights: > A Life Cycle Analysis of alternative vehicle technologies for the London Taxi was performed. > The hydrogen powered vehicles have the lowest energy consumption and CO{sub 2} emissions results. > A hydrogen powered solution can be a sustainable alternative in a full life cycle framework.

  10. Fuel cell hybrid taxi life cycle analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baptista, Patricia; Ribau, Joao; Bravo, Joao; Silva, Carla; Adcock, Paul; Kells, Ashley

    2011-01-01

    A small fleet of classic London Taxis (Black cabs) equipped with hydrogen fuel cell power systems is being prepared for demonstration during the 2012 London Olympics. This paper presents a Life Cycle Analysis for these vehicles in terms of energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, focusing on the impacts of alternative vehicle technologies for the Taxi, combining the fuel life cycle (Tank-to-Wheel and Well-to-Tank) and vehicle materials Cradle-to-Grave. An internal combustion engine diesel taxi was used as the reference vehicle for the currently available technology. This is compared to battery and fuel cell vehicle configurations. Accordingly, the following energy pathways are compared: diesel, electricity and hydrogen (derived from natural gas steam reforming). Full Life Cycle Analysis, using the PCO-CENEX drive cycle, (derived from actual London Taxi drive cycles) shows that the fuel cell powered vehicle configurations have lower energy consumption (4.34 MJ/km) and CO 2 emissions (235 g/km) than both the ICE Diesel (9.54 MJ/km and 738 g/km) and the battery electric vehicle (5.81 MJ/km and 269 g/km). - Highlights: → A Life Cycle Analysis of alternative vehicle technologies for the London Taxi was performed. → The hydrogen powered vehicles have the lowest energy consumption and CO 2 emissions results. → A hydrogen powered solution can be a sustainable alternative in a full life cycle framework.

  11. Long life nickel electrodes for a nickel-hydrogen cell: Cycle life tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, H. S.; Verzwyvelt, S. A.

    1985-01-01

    In order to develop a long life nickel electrode for a Ni/H2 cell, the cycle life of nickel electrodes was tested in Ni/H2 boiler plate cells. A 19 test cell matrix was made of various nickel electrode designs including three levels each of plaque mechanical strength, median pore size of the plaque, and active material loading. Test cells were cycled to the end of their life (0.5v) in a 45 minute low Earth orbit cycle regime at 80% depth-of-discharge. It is shown that the active material loading level affects the cycle life the most with the optimum loading at 1.6 g/cc void. Mechanical strength does not affect the cycle life noticeably in the bend strength range of 400 to 700 psi. It is found that the best plaque is made of INCO nickel powder type 287 and has median pore size of 13 micron.

  12. Asset Allocation Over the Life Cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fischer, Marcel; Kraft, Holger; Munk, Claus

    2013-01-01

    We study the welfare effect of tax-optimizing portfolio decisions in a life cycle model with unspanned labor income and realization-based capital gain taxation. For realistic parameterizations of our model, certainty equivalent welfare gains from fully tax-optimized portfolio decisions are less...... and instead assumes mark-to-market taxation, these gains are less than 0.5%. That is, our work provides a justification for ignoring taxes in life cycle portfolio choice problems - a wide-spread assumption in that literature. However, if capital gains are forgiven at death (as in the U.S.), investors...... with strong bequest motives face substantial welfare costs when not tax-optimizing their portfolio decisions towards the end of the life cycle....

  13. Addressing the effect of social life cycle assessments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas; Dreyer, Louise Camilla; Wangel, Arne

    2012-01-01

    the validity of these hypotheses. Results: Three in some cases potentially overlapping SLCA approaches are presented, assumed to create a beneficial effect in the life cycle in different ways. However, empirical and theoretical findings show that the beneficial effects proposed to arise from the use of each......Purpose: In the recently published ‘Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products’, it is stated that the ultimate objective of developing the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) is to promote improvements of social conditions for the stakeholders in the life cycle. This article addresses...... how the SLCA should be developed so that its use promotes these improvements. Methods: Hypotheses of how the use of SLCA can promote improvement of social conditions in the life cycle are formulated, after which theories and empirical findings from relevant fields of research are used to address...

  14. A framework for social life cycle impact assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2006-01-01

    Goal, Scope and Background. To enhance the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool in business decision-making, a methodology for Social life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is being developed. Social LCA aims at facilitating companies 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 their product. The development of the methodology has been guided by a business perspective accepting that companies, on the one hand, have responsibility for the people affected...... in the life cycle rather than to the individual industrial processes, as is the case in Environmental LCA. Inventory analysis is therefore focused on the conduct of the companies engaged in the life cycle. A consequence of this view is that a key must be determined for relating the social profiles...

  15. Decompression of magma into repository tunnels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bokhove, Onno; Woods, A.W.

    2002-01-01

    It is nontrivial to find and design safe repository sites for nuclear waste. It appears common sense to drill tunnels as repository sites in a mountain in remote and relatively dry regions. However, erosion of the waste canisters by naturally abundant chemicals in the mountains water cycle remains a

  16. The Life Cycle of Centrioles

    OpenAIRE

    Hatch, E.; Stearns, T.

    2010-01-01

    Centrioles organize the centrosome and nucleate the ciliary axoneme, and the centriole life cycle has many parallels to the chromosome cycle. The centriole cycle in animals begins at fertilization with the contribution of two centrioles by the male gamete. In the ensuing cell cycles, the duplication of centrioles is controlled temporally, spatially, and numerically. As a consequence of the duplication mechanism, the two centrioles in a typical interphase cell are of different ages and have di...

  17. Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijnders, L.; Chen, W.Y.; Suzuki, T.; Lackner, M.

    2015-01-01

    Life cycle assessments of greenhouse gas emissions have been developed for analyzing products "from cradle to grave": from resource extraction to waste disposal. Life cycle assessment methodology has also been applied to economies, trade between countries, aspects of production, and waste

  18. LIFE vs. LWR: End of the Fuel Cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farmer, J.C.; Blink, J.A.; Shaw, H.F.

    2008-01-01

    LIFE are expected to result in a more straightforward licensing process and are also expected to improve the public perception of risk from nuclear power generation, transportation of nuclear materials, and nuclear waste disposal. Waste disposal is an ongoing issue for LWRs. The conventional (once-through) LWR fuel cycle treats unburned fuel as waste, and results in the current fleet of LWRs producing about twice as much waste in their 60 years of operation as is legally permitted to be disposed of in Yucca Mountain. Advanced LWR fuel cycles would recycle the unused fuel, such that each GWe-yr of electricity generation would produce only a small waste volume compared to the conventional fuel cycle. However, the advanced LWR fuel cycle requires chemical reprocessing plants for the fuel, multiple handling of radioactive materials, and an extensive transportation network for the fuel and waste. In contrast, the LIFE engine requires only one fueling for the plant lifetime, has no chemical reprocessing, and has a single shipment of a small amount of waste per GWe-yr of electricity generation. Public perception of the nuclear option will be improved by the reduction, for LIFE engines, of the number of shipments of radioactive material per GWe-yr and the need to build multiple repositories. In addition, LIFE fuel requires neither enrichment nor reprocessing, eliminating the two most significant pathways to proliferation from commercial nuclear fuel to weapons programs

  19. Long-Term Information Management (LTIM) of Safeguards Data at Repositories: Phase II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddal, Risa N.

    2016-01-01

    One of the challenges of implementing safeguards for geological repositories will be the long-term preservation of safeguards-related data for 100 years or more. While most countries considering the construction and operation of such facilities agree that safeguards information should be preserved, there are gaps with respect to standardized requirements, guidelines, timescales, and approaches. This study analyzes those gaps and explores research to clarify stakeholder needs, identify current policies, approaches, best practices and international standards, and explores existing safeguards information management infrastructure. The study also attempts to clarify what a safeguards data classification system might look like, how long data should be retained, and how information should be exchanged between stakeholders at different phases of a repository's life cycle. The analysis produced a variety of recommendations on what information to preserve, how to preserve it, where to store it, retention options and how to exchange information in the long term. Key findings include the use of the globally recognized international records management standard, ISO15489, for guidance on the development of information management systems, and the development of a Key Information File (KIF). The KIF could be used to identify only the most relevant, high-level safeguards information and the history of decision making about the repository. The study also suggests implementing on-site and off-site records storage in digital and physical form; developing a safeguards data classification system; long-term records retention with periodic reviews every 5 to 10 years during each phase of the repository life cycle; and establishing transition procedures well in advance so that data shepherds and records officers can transfer information with incoming facility managers effectively and efficiently. These and other recommendations are further analyzed in this study.

  20. Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thoft-Christensen, Palle

    2010-01-01

    The future use of Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis is discussed in this paper. A more complete analysis including not only the traditional factors and user costs, but also factors which are difficult to include in the analysis is needed in the future.......The future use of Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) analysis is discussed in this paper. A more complete analysis including not only the traditional factors and user costs, but also factors which are difficult to include in the analysis is needed in the future....

  1. Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijnders, L.; Chen, W.Y.; Seiner, J.; Suzuki, T.; Lackner, M.

    2012-01-01

    Life cycle assessments of greenhouse gas emissions have been developed for analyzing products "from cradle to grave": from resource extraction to waste disposal. Life cycle assessment methodology has also been applied to economies, trade between countries, aspects of production and to waste

  2. Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijnders, L.; Chen, W.-Y.; Suzuki, T.; Lackner, M.

    2017-01-01

    Life cycle assessments of greenhouse gas emissions have been developed for analyzing products “from cradle to grave”: from resource extraction to waste disposal. Life cycle assessment methodology has also been applied to economies, trade between countries, aspects of production, and waste

  3. Corporate entrepreneurship in organisational life-cycle

    OpenAIRE

    Duobienė, Jurga

    2013-01-01

    Paper deals with the development of corporate entrepreneurship in different stages of organisational life-cycle. The research presents a model for the evaluation of corporate entrepreneurship and systemises relevant theoretical and empirical research in the field of entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship. Moreover, it describes the development of corporate entrepreneurship in the entire organisational life-cycle since most of researchers who discuss the topics of corporate entreprene...

  4. LIFE CYCLE OF A WINE BRAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktoriia Paziuk

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the work is to determine the life cycle of the wine brand, the development of ways to improve its effectiveness at different stages of the life cycle. Being scientifically informed of the existence of the life cycle of the brand allows modern enterprises to enhance their competitive position in the market and take advantage of the acquired differences in order to attract more attention from consumers. Methods. The study is based on scientific methods of research of economic phenomena: the dialectic, abstract logical (in the exercise of theoretical generalizations to the definition of the concept of «life cycle of the perpetrator of the brand, a scientific abstraction, comparison and ordering (the study of factors influencing the life cycle of the perpetrator of the brand and the factors influencing a choice of products for consumers, statistical and problem-chronological (the study of the requirements of the brand in a changing consumer preferences, logical generalization (in determining the social and ethical functions guilty brand. Results. The stages of the life cycle of the wine brand, which take into account its characteristics and form its social and ethical functions. Describing the requirements for the wine brand in the changing tastes and preferences of consumers. Specification of wine promotion of the brand in an increasingly competitive environment. Preconditions have been set for a new wine brand. The practical significance. The brand always increases the value of the product and its entry into new markets, as well as reduces the time to attract consumers. Possibility to ensure the growth of the brand in a declining market; building market share in a highly competitive environment; marketing innovative products in order to create a new sales strategy. After all, to gain and maintain the popularity of a certain product, one must personalize it with giving associations and a way to provide it with distinctive features. Only

  5. Life Cycle Development of Obesity and Its Determinants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavaco, Sandra; Eriksson, Tor; Skalli, Ali

    This paper is concerned with how obesity and some of its determinants develop over individuals’ life cycles. In particular we examine empirically the role and relative importance of early life conditions (parents’ education and socioeconomic status) and individuals’ own education as adults and how...... their impacts on the probability of overweight and obesity evolves over the life cycle. As the data set includes information about the individuals’ health behaviours (smoking and physical exercise) at various ages we can also examine the impact of these at different stages of the persons’ life cycle. The data......’ socioeconomic status predicts obesity in early adulthood whereas individuals’ own socioeconomic status as adults is more important in explaining obesity at later stages of the life cycle, and (iii) changes in obesity status are associated with changes in health behaviours....

  6. Metadata Life Cycles, Use Cases and Hierarchies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ted Habermann

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The historic view of metadata as “data about data” is expanding to include data about other items that must be created, used, and understood throughout the data and project life cycles. In this context, metadata might better be defined as the structured and standard part of documentation, and the metadata life cycle can be described as the metadata content that is required for documentation in each phase of the project and data life cycles. This incremental approach to metadata creation is similar to the spiral model used in software development. Each phase also has distinct users and specific questions to which they need answers. In many cases, the metadata life cycle involves hierarchies where latter phases have increased numbers of items. The relationships between metadata in different phases can be captured through structure in the metadata standard, or through conventions for identifiers. Metadata creation and management can be streamlined and simplified by re-using metadata across many records. Many of these ideas have been developed to various degrees in several Geoscience disciplines and are being used in metadata for documenting the integrated life cycle of environmental research in the Arctic, including projects, collection sites, and datasets.

  7. OntoMaven: Maven-based Ontology Development and Management of Distributed Ontology Repositories

    OpenAIRE

    Paschke, Adrian

    2013-01-01

    In collaborative agile ontology development projects support for modular reuse of ontologies from large existing remote repositories, ontology project life cycle management, and transitive dependency management are important needs. The Apache Maven approach has proven its success in distributed collaborative Software Engineering by its widespread adoption. The contribution of this paper is a new design artifact called OntoMaven. OntoMaven adopts the Maven-based development methodology and ada...

  8. Cost Comparison for the Transfer of Select Calcined Waste Canisters to the Monitored Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, NV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michael B. Heiser; Clark B. Millet

    2005-01-01

    This report performs a life-cycle cost comparison of three proposed canister designs for the shipment and disposition of Idaho National Laboratory high-level calcined waste currently in storage at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center to the proposed national monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Concept A (2 x 10-ft) and Concept B (2 x 15-ft) canisters are comparable in design, but they differ in size and waste loading options and vary proportionally in weight. The Concept C (5.5 x 17.5-ft) canister (also called the ''super canister''), while similar in design to the other canisters, is considerably larger and heavier than Concept A and B canisters and has a greater wall thickness. This report includes estimating the unique life-cycle costs for the three canister designs. Unique life-cycle costs include elements such as canister purchase and filling at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, cask preparation and roundtrip consignment costs, final disposition in the monitored geologic repository (including canister off-loading and placement in the final waste disposal package for disposition), and cask purchase. Packaging of the calcine ''as-is'' would save $2.9 to $3.9 billion over direct vitrification disposal in the proposed national monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Using the larger Concept C canisters would use 0.75 mi less of tunnel space, cost $1.3 billion less than 10-ft canisters of Concept A, and would be complete in 6.2 years

  9. From life cycle talking to taking action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Potting, J.; Curran, M.A.; Blottnitz, von H.

    2010-01-01

    Introduction - The biannual Life Cycle Management conference series aims to create a platform for users and developers of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and related tools to share their experiences. A key concern of the LCM community has been to move beyond the production of LCA reports toward using

  10. Asset life cycle plans: twelve steps to assist strategic decision-making in asset life cycle management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruitenburg, Richard Jacob; Braaksma, Anne Johannes Jan; van Dongen, Leonardus Adriana Maria; Carnero, Maria Carmen; Gonzalez-Prida, Vicente

    2017-01-01

    Effective management of physical assets should deliver maximum business value. Therefore, Asset Management standards such as PAS 55 and ISO 55000 ask for a life cycle approach. However, most existing methods focus only on the short term of the asset's life or the estimation of its remaining life.

  11. A life cycle database for parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benesh, Daniel P.; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Kuris, Armand

    2017-01-01

    Parasitologists have worked out many complex life cycles over the last ~150 years, yet there have been few efforts to synthesize this information to facilitate comparisons among taxa. Most existing host-parasite databases focus on particular host taxa, do not distinguish final from intermediate hosts, and lack parasite life-history information. We summarized the known life cycles of trophically transmitted parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes. For 973 parasite species, we gathered information from the literature on the hosts infected at each stage of the parasite life cycle (8510 host-parasite species associations), what parasite stage is in each host, and whether parasites need to infect certain hosts to complete the life cycle. We also collected life-history data for these parasites at each life cycle stage, including 2313 development time measurements and 7660 body size measurements. The result is the most comprehensive data summary available for these parasite taxa. In addition to identifying gaps in our knowledge of parasite life cycles, these data can be used to test hypotheses about life cycle evolution, host specificity, parasite life-history strategies, and the roles of parasites in food webs.

  12. Gas fired combined cycle plant in Singapore: energy use, GWP and cost-a life cycle approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2005-01-01

    A life cycle assessment was performed to quantify the non-renewable (fossil) energy use and global warming potential (GWP) in electricity generation from a typical gas fired combined cycle power plant in Singapore. The cost of electricity generation was estimated using a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of a 367.5 MW gas fired combined cycle power plant operating in Singapore revealed that hidden processes consume about 8% additional energy in addition to the fuel embedded energy, and the hidden GWP is about 18%. The natural gas consumed during the operational phase accounted for 82% of the life cycle cost of electricity generation. An empirical relation between plant efficiency and life cycle energy use and GWP in addition to a scenario for electricity cost with varying gas prices and plant efficiency have been established

  13. DETERMINANTS OF ENTERPRISES LIFE CYCLE IN MODERN CONDITIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alla Polianska

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In the article the theoretical basis of organization life cycle research as well as the particularly of the organization life cycle concept implementation for solving of modern targets of enterprises and organizations development are highlighted. The determinants of one life cycle stage transformation to the other at the enterprises, that allows to better understand the conditions of its functioning and to identify factors that affect the viability of the company and its duration, are considered. Management technologies at different stages of organizations life cycle are proposed. Keywords: enterprise, development, organizations life cycle, determinants, Oil and Gas company JEL: M 20

  14. The Life Cycle Analysis Toolbox

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bishop, L.; Tonn, B.E.; Williams, K.A.; Yerace, P.; Yuracko, K.L.

    1999-01-01

    The life cycle analysis toolbox is a valuable integration of decision-making tools and supporting materials developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to help Department of Energy managers improve environmental quality, reduce costs, and minimize risk. The toolbox provides decision-makers access to a wide variety of proven tools for pollution prevention (P2) and waste minimization (WMin), as well as ORNL expertise to select from this toolbox exactly the right tool to solve any given P2/WMin problem. The central element of the toolbox is a multiple criteria approach to life cycle analysis developed specifically to aid P2/WMin decision-making. ORNL has developed numerous tools that support this life cycle analysis approach. Tools are available to help model P2/WMin processes, estimate human health risks, estimate costs, and represent and manipulate uncertainties. Tools are available to help document P2/WMin decision-making and implement programs. Tools are also available to help track potential future environmental regulations that could impact P2/WMin programs and current regulations that must be followed. An Internet-site will provide broad access to the tools

  15. Analysis of the total system life cycle cost for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program: executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-04-01

    The total-system life-cycle cost (TSLCC) analysis for the Department of Energy's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Progrram is an ongoing activity that helps determine whether the revenue-producing mechanism established by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is sufficient to cover the cost of the program. This report is an input into the third evaluation of the adequacy of the fee. The total-system cost for the reference waste-management program in this analysis is estimated to be 24 to 30 billion (1984) dollars. For the sensitivity cases studied in this report, the costs could be as high as 35 billion dollars and as low as 21 billion dollars. Because factors like repository location, the quantity of waste generated, transportation-cask technology, and repository startup dates exert substantial impacts on total-system costs, there are several tradeoffs between these factors, and these tradeoffs can greatly influence the total cost of the program. The total-system cost for the reference program described in this report is higher by 3 to 5 billion dollars, or 15 to 20%, than the cost for the reference program of the TSLCC analysis of April 1984. More than two-thirds of this increase is in the cost of repository construction and operation. These repository costs have increased because of changing design concepts, different assumptions about the effort required to perform the necessary activities, and a change in the source data on which the earlier analysis was based. Development and evaluation costs have similarly increased because of a net addition to the work content. Transportation costs have increased because of different assumptions about repository locations and several characteristics of the transportation system. It is expected that the estimates of total-system costs will continue to change in response to both an evolving program strategy and better definition of the work required to achieve the program objectives

  16. The life cycle of centrioles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatch, E; Stearns, T

    2010-01-01

    Centrioles organize the centrosome and nucleate the ciliary axoneme, and the centriole life cycle has many parallels to the chromosome cycle. The centriole cycle in animals begins at fertilization with the contribution of two centrioles by the male gamete. In the ensuing cell cycles, the duplication of centrioles is controlled temporally, spatially, and numerically. As a consequence of the duplication mechanism, the two centrioles in a typical interphase cell are of different ages and have different functions. Here, we discuss how new centrioles are assembled, what mechanisms limit centriole number, and the consequences of the inherent asymmetry of centriole duplication and segregation.

  17. Life Cycle Costing: An Introduction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rödger, Jan-Markus; Kjær, Louise Laumann; Pagoropoulos, Aris

    2018-01-01

    The chapter gives an introduction to life cycle costing (LCC) and how it can be used to support decision-making. It can form the economic pillar in a full life cycle sustainability assessment, but often system delimitations differ depending on the goal and scope of the study. To provide a profound...... as well as guidance on how to collect data to overcome this hurdle. In an illustrative case study on window frames, the eLCC theory is applied and demonstrated with each step along the eLCC procedure described in detail. A final section about advanced LCC introduces how to monetarise externalities and how...

  18. Towards a Life Cycle Based Chemical Alternative Assessment (LCAA)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jolliet, O.; Huang, L.; Overcash, Michael

    2017-01-01

    approach combines the following elements: a) The manufacturing phase chemical inventory is based on the environmental genome of industrial products database, ensuring mass and energy balance, b) near-field exposure to consumer products during the use phase is determined based on the mass of chemical......There is a need for an operational quantitative screening-level assessment of alternatives, that is life-cycle based and able to serve both Life cycle Assessment (LCA and chemical alternatives assessment (CAA). This presentation therefore aims to develop and illustrate a new approach called “Life...... Cycle Based Chemical Alternative Assessment (LCAA)” that will quantify exposure and life cycle impacts consistently and efficiently over the main life cycle stages. The new LCAA approach is illustrated though a proof-of-concept case study of alternative plasticizers in vinyl flooring. The proposed LCAA...

  19. Survey on the life cycle system of a product with shared information; Joho kyoyugata product life cycle system ni kansuru chosa hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    This report provides and proposes new concept and optimization technology on the life cycle system of product for emission minimum. For the proposed life cycle system of product with shared information, the global emission minimum is realized by considering the final emission, the information is given to the product and shared in all the life cycle system, the information sending function is considered from the product, and the information necessary for material processing are actively used. For this life cycle system of product, development of the information model for the system, development of the technology of data saving, renewing, searching and sending, development of sensing and re-using technologies of the product for life cycle, development of the technology attaching information in the product for emission minimum, design of the guidelines of material composition, and research and development of materials for emission minimum are extracted and provided as tasks. 26 refs., 69 figs., 8 tabs.

  20. Comparing the Life Cycle Energy Consumption, Global ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Managing the water-energy-nutrient nexus for the built environment requires, in part, a full system analysis of energy consumption, global warming and eutrophication potentials of municipal water services. As an example, we evaluated the life cycle energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and aqueous nutrient releases of the whole anthropogenic municipal water cycle starting from raw water extraction to wastewater treatment and reuse/discharge for five municipal water and wastewater systems. The assessed options included conventional centralized services and four alternative options following the principles of source-separation and water fit-for-purpose. The comparative life cycle assessment identified that centralized drinking water supply coupled with blackwater energy recovery and on-site greywater treatment and reuse was the most energyand carbon-efficient water service system evaluated, while the conventional (drinking water and sewerage) centralized system ranked as the most energy- and carbon-intensive system. The electricity generated from blackwater and food residuals co-digestion was estimated to offset at least 40% of life cycle energy consumption for water/waste services. The dry composting toilet option demonstrated the lowest life cycle eutrophication potential. The nutrients in wastewater effluent are the dominating contributors for the eutrophication potential for the assessed system configurations. Among the parameters for which variability

  1. Analysis of interconnecting energy systems over a synchronized life cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nian, Victor

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A methodology is developed for evaluating a life cycle of interconnected systems. • A new concept of partial temporal boundary is introduced via quantitative formulation. • The interconnecting systems are synchronized through the partial temporal boundary. • A case study on the life cycle of the coal–uranium system is developed. - Abstract: Life cycle analysis (LCA) using the process chain analysis (PCA) approach has been widely applied to energy systems. When applied to an individual energy system, such as coal or nuclear electricity generation, an LCA–PCA methodology can yield relatively accurate results with its detailed process representation based on engineering data. However, there are fundamental issues when applying conventional LCA–PCA methodology to a more complex life cycle, namely, a synchronized life cycle of interconnected energy systems. A synchronized life cycle of interconnected energy systems is established through direct interconnections among the processes of different energy systems, and all interconnecting systems are bounded within the same timeframe. Under such a life cycle formation, there are some major complications when applying conventional LCA–PCA methodology to evaluate the interconnecting energy systems. Essentially, the conventional system and boundary formulations developed for a life cycle of individual energy system cannot be directly applied to a life cycle of interconnected energy systems. To address these inherent issues, a new LCA–PCA methodology is presented in this paper, in which a new concept of partial temporal boundary is introduced to synchronize the interconnecting energy systems. The importance and advantages of these new developments are demonstrated through a case study on the life cycle of the coal–uranium system.

  2. Life Cycle Impact Assessment Research Developments and Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) developments are explained along with key publications which record discussions which comprised ISO 14042 and SETAC document development, UNEP SETAC Life Cycle Initiative research, and research from public and private research institutions. It ...

  3. Predicting product life cycle using fuzzy neural network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Mohammadi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available One of the most important tasks of science in different fields is to find the relationships among various phenomena in order to predict future. Production and service organizations are not exceptions and they should predict future to survive. Predicting the life cycle of the organization's products is one of the most important prediction cases in an organization. Predicting the product life cycle provides an opportunity to identify the product position and help to get a better insight about competitors. This paper deals with the predictability of the product life cycle with Adaptive Network-Based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS. The Population of this study was Pegah Fars products and the sample was this company's cheese products. In this regard, this paper attempts to model and predict the product life cycle of cheese products in Pegah Fars Company. In this due, a designed questionnaire was distributed among some experts, distributors and retailers and seven independent variables were selected. In this survey, ANFIS sales forecasting technique was employed and MATLAB software was used for data analysis. The results confirmed ANFIS as a good method to predict the product life cycle.

  4. Developing the Social Life Cycle Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas

    social audits. Through an interview with a social auditor it is suggested that the auditor varies the procedures for carrying out the audit in order to get the most valid result. For example, the auditor has to take into account the various tricks a company in a given context normally uses to cheat......This thesis seeks to add to the development of the Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA), which can be defined as an assessment method for assessing the social impacts connected to the life cycle of a product, service or system. In such development it is important to realise that the SLCA is only...... appealing to the extent that it does what it is supposed to do. In this thesis, this goal of SLCA is defined as to support improvements of the social conditions for the stakeholders throughout the life cycle of the assessed product, system or service. This effect should arise through decision makers...

  5. Implementing risk-informed life-cycle design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, Ralph S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes a design process based on risk-informed probabilistic design methodologies that cover a facility's life-cycle from start of conceptual design through decontamination and decommissioning. The concept embodies use of probabilistic risk assessments to establish target reliabilities for facility systems and components. The target reliabilities are used for system based code margin exchange and performance simulation analyses to optimize design over all phases (design, construction, operation and decommissioning) of a facility's life-cycle. System based code margin exchange reduces excessive level of construction margins for passive components to appropriate levels resulting in a more flexible structure of codes and standards that improves facility reliability and cost. System and subsystem simulation analyses determine the optimum combination of initial system and component construction reliability, maintenance frequency, and inspection frequency for both active and passive components. The paper includes a description of these risk-informed life-cycle design processes, a summary of work being done, and a discussion of additional work needed to implement the process.

  6. KOH concentration effect on cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Hong S.; Verzwyvelt, S. A.

    1987-01-01

    A cycle life test of Ni/H2 cells containing electrolytes of various KOH concentrations and a sintered type nickel electrode was carried out at 23 C using a 45 min accelerated low Earth orbit (LEO) cycle regime at 80 percent depth of discharge. One of three cells containing 26 percent KOH has achieved over 28,000 cycles, and the other two 19,000 cycles, without a sign of failure. Two other cells containing 31 percent KOH electrolyte, which is the concentration presently used in aerospace cells, failed after 2,979 and 3,620 cycles. This result indicates that the cycle life of the present type of Ni/H2 cells may be extended by a factor of 5 to 10 simply by lowering the KOH concentration. Long cycle life of a Ni/H2 battery at high depth-of-discharge operation is desired, particularly for an LEO spacecraft application. Typically, battery life of about 30,000 cycles is required for a five year mission in an LEO. Such a cycle life with presently available cells can be assured only at a very low depth-of-discharge operation. Results of testing already show that the cycle life of an Ni/H2 cell is tremendously improved by simply using an electrolyte of low KOH concentration.

  7. Life-cycle analysis of renewable energy systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Bent

    1994-01-01

    An imlementation of life-cycle analysis (LCA) for energy systems is presented and applied to two renewable energy systems (wind turbines and building-integrated photovoltaic modules) and compared with coal plants......An imlementation of life-cycle analysis (LCA) for energy systems is presented and applied to two renewable energy systems (wind turbines and building-integrated photovoltaic modules) and compared with coal plants...

  8. Life cycle versus balanced funds: An emerging market perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elbie Louw

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Inadequate retirement savings is an international challenge. Additionally, individuals are not cognisant of how asset allocation choices ultimately impact retirement savings. Life cycle and balanced funds are popular asset allocation strategies to save towards retirement. However, recent research is questioning the efficacy of life cycle funds that switch to lower risk asset classes as retirement approaches. Aim: The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of life cycle funds with balanced funds to determine whether either dominates the other. The study compares balanced and life cycle funds with similar starting asset allocations as well as those where the starting asset allocations differ. Setting: The study has a South African focus and constructs funds using historical data for the main local asset classes; that is, equity, fixed income and cash, as well as a proxy for foreign equity covering the period 1986–2013. Method: The study makes use of Monte Carlo simulations and bootstrap with replacement, and compares the simulated outcomes using stochastic dominance as decision-making criteria. Results: The results indicate that life cycle funds fail to dominate balanced funds by first-order or almost stochastic dominance when funds have a similar starting asset allocation. It is noteworthy that there are instances where the opposite is true, that is, balanced funds dominate life cycle funds. These results highlight that while the life cycle funds provide more downside protection, they significantly suppress the upside potential compared to balanced funds. When the starting asset allocations of the balanced and life cycle funds differ, the stochastic dominance results are inconsistent as to the efficacy of the life cycle fund strategies considered. Conclusion: The study shows that whether one fund is likely to dominate the other is strongly dependent on the underlying asset allocation strategies of the funds

  9. Analysis within the systems development life-cycle

    CERN Document Server

    Rock-Evans, Rosemary

    1987-01-01

    Analysis within the Systems Development Life-Cycle: Book 1, Data Analysis-The Deliverables provides a comprehensive treatment of data analysis within the systems development life-cycle and all the deliverables that need to be collected in analysis. The purpose of deliverables is explained and a number of alternative ways of collecting them are discussed. This book is comprised of five chapters and begins with an overview of what """"analysis"""" actually means, with particular reference to tasks such as hardware planning and software evaluation and where they fit into the overall cycle. The ne

  10. 19th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Linke, Barbara

    2012-01-01

    The 19th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering continues a strong tradition of scientific meetings in the areas of sustainability and engineering within the community of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). The focus of the conference is to review and discuss the current developments, technology improvements, and future research directions that will allow engineers to help create green businesses and industries that are both socially responsible and economically successful.  The symposium covers a variety of relevant topics within life cycle engineering including Businesses and Organizations, Case Studies, End of Life Management, Life Cycle Design, Machine Tool Technologies for Sustainability, Manufacturing Processes, Manufacturing Systems, Methods and Tools for Sustainability, Social Sustainability, and Supply Chain Management.

  11. Effective Integration of Life Cycle Engineering in Education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oude Luttikhuis, Ellen; Toxopeus, Marten E.; Lutters, Diederick

    2015-01-01

    In practice, applying life cycle engineering in product design and development requires an integrated approach, because of the many stakeholders and variables (e.g. cost, environmental impact, energy, safety, quality) involved in a complete product life cycle. In educating young engineers, the same

  12. When Product Life Cycle Meets Customer Activity Cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Adrian Ronald

    2007-01-01

    Manufacturing companies have traditionally focused their efforts on designing, developing and producing products to offer on the market. Today global competition and demands for greater company responsibility of products throughout their entire life cycle are driving manufacturing companies to sh...

  13. Implementing Life Cycle Assessment in Product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh

    2003-01-01

    The overall aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product development and the capacity of life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. The paper aims to outline the problems for the designer in evaluating the envir......The overall aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product development and the capacity of life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. The paper aims to outline the problems for the designer in evaluating......, and of the opportunities for introducing environmental criteria in the design process through meeting the information requirements of the designer on the different life cycle stages, producing an in-depth understanding of the attitudes of practitioners among product developers to the subject area, and an understanding...... of possible future directions for product development. An Environmentally Conscious Design method is introduced and trade-offs are presented between design degrees of freedom and environmental solutions. Life cycle design frameworks and strategies are addressed. The paper collects experiences and ideas around...

  14. Optimizing the data life cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schwarz, Kilian [GSI, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Jung, Christopher [KIT, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2013-07-01

    Today, data play a central role in most fields of Science. In recent years, the amount of data from experiment, observation, and simulation has increased rapidly and the data complexity has grown. Also, communities and shared storage have become geographically more distributed. Therefore, methods and techniques applied for scientific data need to be revised and partially be replaced, while keeping the community-specific needs in focus. The Helmholtz Portfolio Extension ''Large Scale Data Management and Analysis'' (LSDMA) focuses on the optimization of the data life cycle in different research areas. In its five Data Life Cycle Labs (DLCLs), data experts closely collaborate with the communities in joint research and development to optimize the respective data life cycle. In addition, the Data Services Integration Team provides data analysis tools and services which are common to several DLCLs. This presentation describes the various activities within LSDMA and focuses on the work done in the DLCL ''Structure of Matter''. The main topics of this DLCL are the support for the international projects FAIR (Facility for Anti Proton and Ion Research) which will evolve around GSI in Darmstadt and the European XFEL and PETRA III at DESY in Hamburg.

  15. Computer Software for Life Cycle Cost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-04-01

    34 111. 1111I .25 IL4 jj 16 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART hut FILE C AIR CoMMNAMN STFF COLLG STUJDET PORTO i COMpUTER SOFTWARE FOR LIFE CYCLE CO879...obsolete), physical life (utility before physically wearing out), or application life (utility in a given function)." (7:5) The costs are usually

  16. Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Solar Photovoltaics (Fact Sheet)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2012-11-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently led the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Harmonization Project, a study that helps to clarify inconsistent and conflicting life cycle GHG emission estimates in the published literature and provide more precise estimates of life cycle GHG emissions from PV systems.

  17. LIFE CYCLE DESIGN OF AMORPHOUS SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The life cycle design framework was applied to photovoltaic module design. The primary objective of this project was to develop and evaluate design metrics for assessing and guiding the Improvement of PV product systems. Two metrics were used to assess life cycle energy perform...

  18. Improving life-cycle cost management in the US. Army: analysis of the U.S. Army and Commercial Businesses life-cycle cost management.

    OpenAIRE

    White, Bradley A.

    2001-01-01

    The roles and responsibilities of the Army acquisition and logistics communities, as they pertain to the life-cycle management, are undergoing fundamental change. The early identification and total control of life-cycle cost, in particular operations and sustainment costs which comprises as much as 70-80% of a systems total life-cycle cost, is a high priority for the Army. The basis of this change is adoption of commercial best practices to support the Army's goal to organize. tram. equip, an...

  19. Development of an Enhanced Generic Data Mining Life Cycle (DMLC)

    OpenAIRE

    Hofmann, Markus; Tierney, Brendan

    2017-01-01

    Data mining projects are complex and have a high failure rate. In order to improve project management and success rates of such projects a life cycle is vital to the overall success of the project. This paper reports on a research project that was concerned with the life cycle development for large scale data mining projects. The paper provides a detailed view of the design and development of a generic data mining life cycle called DMLC. The life cycle aims to support all members of data mini...

  20. The circle of life: A cross-cultural comparison of children's attribution of life-cycle traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burdett, Emily R R; Barrett, Justin L

    2016-06-01

    Do children attribute mortality and other life-cycle traits to all minded beings? The present study examined whether culture influences young children's ability to conceptualize and differentiate human beings from supernatural beings (such as God) in terms of life-cycle traits. Three-to-5-year-old Israeli and British children were questioned whether their mother, a friend, and God would be subject to various life-cycle processes: Birth, death, ageing, existence/longevity, and parentage. Children did not anthropomorphize but differentiated among human and supernatural beings, attributing life-cycle traits to humans, but not to God. Although 3-year-olds differentiated significantly among agents, 5-year-olds attributed correct life-cycle traits more consistently than younger children. The results also indicated some cross-cultural variation in these attributions. Implications for biological conceptual development are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  1. Life cycle management and assessment: approaches and visions towards sustainable manufacturing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westkämper, Engelbert; Alting, Leo; Arndt, Günther

    2000-01-01

    . The goal of this approach is to protect resources and maximize effectiveness by means of life cycle assessment, product data management, technical support and, last but not least, life cycle costing. This paper shows the existing approaches of LCM and discusses their prospects and further development....... concepts are required, new regulations have been passed or consumer values are changing, the differences between business areas are disappearing. Life cycle management (LCM) considers the product life cycle as a whole and optimizes the interaction of product design, manufacturing and life cycle activities...

  2. 20th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Song, Bin; Ong, Soh-Khim

    2013-01-01

    This edited volume presents the proceedings of the 20th CIRP LCE Conference, which cover various areas in life cycle engineering such as life cycle design, end-of-life management, manufacturing processes, manufacturing systems, methods and tools for sustainability, social sustainability, supply chain management, remanufacturing, etc.

  3. Total Product Life Cycle (TPLC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Total Product Life Cycle (TPLC) database integrates premarket and postmarket data about medical devices. It includes information pulled from CDRH databases...

  4. Residential Preferences and Moving Behavior: A Family Life Cycle Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuley, William J.; Nutty, Cheri L.

    The relationship of family life cycle changes to housing preferences and residential mobility is examined. Two residential decision-making issues are explored in detail--how family life cycle stages influence what people view as important to their choice of residential setting and what individuals at different family life cycle stages view as the…

  5. Methodologies for Social Life Cycle Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas; Le Bocq, Agathe; Nazakina, Liudmila

    2008-01-01

    Goal, Scope and Background. In recent years several different approaches towards Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) have been developed. The purpose of this review is to compare these approaches in order to highlight methodological differences and general shortcomings. SLCA has several similarit......Goal, Scope and Background. In recent years several different approaches towards Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) have been developed. The purpose of this review is to compare these approaches in order to highlight methodological differences and general shortcomings. SLCA has several...... similarities with other social assessment tools, but in order to limit the review, only claims to address social impacts from an LCA-like framework is considered. Main Features. The review is to a large extent based on conference proceedings and reports of which some are not easily accessible, since very...... stage in the product life cycle. Another very important difference among the proposals is their position towards the use of generic data. Several of the proposals argue that social impacts are connected to the conduct of the company leading to the conclusion that each individual company in the product...

  6. Nuclear waste repository transparency technology test bed demonstrations at WIPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betsill J, David; Elkins, Ned Z.; Wu, Chuan-Fu; Mewhinney, James D.; Aamodt, Paul

    2000-01-01

    Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, has stated that one of the nuclear waste legacy issues is ''The challenge of managing the fuel cycle's back end and assuring the safe use of nuclear power.'' Waste management (i.e., the back end) is a domestic and international issue that must be addressed. A key tool in gaining acceptance of nuclear waste repository technologies is transparency. Transparency provides information to outside parties for independent assessment of safety, security, and legitimate use of materials. Transparency is a combination of technologies and processes that apply to all elements of the development, operation, and closure of a repository system. A test bed for nuclear repository transparency technologies has been proposed to develop a broad-based set of concepts and strategies for transparency monitoring of nuclear materials at the back end of the fuel/weapons cycle. WIPP is the world's first complete geologic repository system for nuclear materials at the back end of the cycle. While it is understood that WIPP does not currently require this type of transparency, this repository has been proposed as realistic demonstration site to generate and test ideas, methods, and technologies about what transparency may entail at the back end of the nuclear materials cycle, and which could be applicable to other international repository developments. An integrated set of transparency demonstrations was developed and deployed during the summer, and fall of 1999 as a proof-of-concept of the repository transparency technology concept. These demonstrations also provided valuable experience and insight into the implementation of future transparency technology development and application. These demonstrations included: Container Monitoring Rocky Flats to WIPP; Underground Container Monitoring; Real-Time Radiation and Environmental Monitoring; Integrated level of confidence in the system and information provided. As the world's only operating deep geologic

  7. Integrated corporate structure life cycle management modeling and organization

    OpenAIRE

    Naumenko, M.; Morozova, L.

    2011-01-01

    Integrated business structure presented as complementary pool of its participants skills. The methodical approach to integrated business structure life cycle modeling proposed. Recommendations of enterprises life cycles stages correlate are submitted.

  8. Comparative life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of lodging in the Himalaya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhochhibhoya, Silu; Pizzol, Massimo; Achten, Wouter M.J.; Maskey, Ramesh Kumar; Zanetti, Michela; Cavalli, Raffaele

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The main aim of the study is to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the lodging sector located in the Himalayan region of Nepal, from a life cycle perspective. The assessment should support decision making in technology and material selection for minimal environmental and

  9. Application of Life Cycle Assessment on Electronic Waste Management: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Mianqiang; Xu, Zhenming

    2017-04-01

    Electronic waste is a rich source of both valuable materials and toxic substances. Management of electronic waste is one of the biggest challenges of current worldwide concern. As an effective and prevailing environmental management tool, life cycle assessment can evaluate the environmental performance of electronic waste management activities. Quite a few scientific literatures reporting life cycle assessment of electronic waste management with significant outcomes have been recently published. This paper reviewed the trends, characteristics, research gaps, and challenges of these studies providing detailed information for practitioners involved in electronic waste management. The results showed that life cycle assessment studies were most carried out in Europe, followed by Asia and North America. The research subject of the studies mainly includes monitors, waste printed circuit boards, mobile phones, computers, printers, batteries, toys, dishwashers, and light-emitting diodes. CML was the most widely used life cycle impact assessment method in life cycle assessment studies on electronic waste management, followed by EI99. Furthermore, 40% of the reviewed studies combined with other environmental tools, including life cycle cost, material flow analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis, emergy analysis, and hazard assessment which came to more comprehensive conclusions from different aspects. The research gaps and challenges including uneven distribution of life cycle assessment studies, life cycle impact assessment methods selection, comparison of the results, and uncertainty of the life cycle assessment studies were examined. Although life cycle assessment of electronic waste management facing challenges, their results will play more and more important role in electronic waste management practices.

  10. MRS system study for the repository: Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinagra, T.A.; Harig, R.

    1990-12-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), has initiated a waste management system study to identify the impacts of the presence or absence of a monitored retrievable storage facility (hereinafter referred to as ''MRS'') on system costs and program schedules. To support this study, life-cycle cost estimates and construction schedules have been prepared for the surface and underground facilities and operations geologic nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. Nine different operating scenarios (cases) have been identified by OCRWM for inclusion in this study. For each case, the following items are determined: the repository design and construction costs, operating costs, closure and decommissioning costs, required staffing, construction schedules, uncertainties associated with the costs and schedules, and shipping cask and disposal container throughputs. This document contains A-D

  11. MRS system study for the repository: Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinagra, T.A.; Harig, R.

    1990-12-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), has initiated a waste management system study to identify the impacts of the presence or absence of a monitored retrievable storage facility (hereinafter referred to as ''MRS'') on system costs and program schedules. To support this study, life-cycle cost estimates and construction schedules have been prepared for the surface and underground facilities and operations of a geologic nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. Nine different operating scenarios (cases) have been identified by OCRWM for inclusion in this study. For each case, the following items are determined: the repository design and construction costs, operating costs, closure and decommissioning costs, required staffing, construction schedules, uncertainties associated with the costs and schedules, and shipping cask and disposal container throughputs. 6 refs., 83 figs., 57 tabs

  12. A resource guide to nuclear plant life-cycle management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negin, C.A.; Klein, D.J.

    1993-11-01

    Forecasting the useful economic life of a nuclear unit and addressing the complementary issue of license renewal, both key elements of life cycle management, are complex undertakings. This guide is a resource document emphasizing the technical elements of life cycle management (LCM) with focus on the determination of adequate maintenance programs and the identification of data and records necessary to support them. Information on other life cycle management issues, such as license renewal regulation, is also provided. Because of the volume of information required for LCM evaluations and the need for periodic updating, this Guide is presented as an updatable ''electronic book.''

  13. Life cycle management and assessment: approaches and visions towards sustainable manufacturing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westkämper, Engelbert; Alting, Leo; Arndt, Günther

    2001-01-01

    and optimizes the interaction of product design, manufacturing and life cycle activities. The goal of this approach is to protect resources and maximize effectiveness by means of life cycle assessment, product data management, technical support and, last but not least, life cycle costing. This paper shows....... Economically successful business areas can also be explored. Whether new service concepts are required, new regulations have been passed or consumer values are changing, the differences between business areas are disappearing. Life cycle management (LCM) considers the product life cycle as a whole...... the existing approaches of LCM and discusses their prospects and further development....

  14. Risk informed life cycle plant design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, Ralph S. III; Nutt, Mark M.

    2003-01-01

    Many facility life cycle activities including design, construction, fabrication, inspection and maintenance are evolving from a deterministic to a risk-informed basis. The risk informed approach uses probabilistic methods to evaluate the contribution of individual system components to total system performance. Total system performance considers both safety and cost considerations including system failure, reliability, and availability. By necessity, a risk-informed approach considers both the component's life cycle and the life cycle of the system. In the nuclear industry, risk-informed approaches, namely probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) or probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), have become a standard tool used to evaluate the safety of nuclear power plants. Recent studies pertaining to advanced reactor development have indicated that these new power plants must provide enhanced safety over existing nuclear facilities and be cost-competitive with other energy sources. Risk-informed approaches, beyond traditional PRA, offer the opportunity to optimize design while considering the total life cycle of the plant in order to realize these goals. The use of risk-informed design approaches in the nuclear industry is only beginning, with recent promulgation of risk-informed regulations and proposals for risk-informed codes. This paper briefly summarizes the current state of affairs regarding the use of risk-informed approaches in design. Key points to fully realize the benefit of applying a risk-informed approach to nuclear power plant design are then presented. These points are equally applicable to non-nuclear facilities where optimization for cost competitiveness and/or safety is desired. (author)

  15. Life Cycle Thinking in Impact Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    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...

  16. Evaluation of life-cycle air emission factors of freight transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Facanha, Cristiano; Horvath, Arpad

    2007-10-15

    Life-cycle air emission factors associated with road, rail, and air transportation of freight in the United States are analyzed. All life-cycle phases of vehicles, infrastructure, and fuels are accounted for in a hybrid life-cycle assessment (LCA). It includes not only fuel combustion, but also emissions from vehicle manufacturing, maintenance, and end of life, infrastructure construction, operation, maintenance, and end of life, and petroleum exploration, refining, and fuel distribution. Results indicate that total life-cycle emissions of freight transportation modes are underestimated if only tailpipe emissions are accounted for. In the case of CO2 and NOx, tailpipe emissions underestimate total emissions by up to 38%, depending on the mode. Total life-cycle emissions of CO and SO2 are up to seven times higher than tailpipe emissions. Sensitivity analysis considers the effects of vehicle type, geography, and mode efficiency on the final results. Policy implications of this analysis are also discussed. For example, while it is widely assumed that currently proposed regulations will result in substantial reductions in emissions, we find that this is true for NOx, emissions, because fuel combustion is the main cause, and to a lesser extent for SO2, but not for PM10 emissions, which are significantly affected by the other life-cycle phases.

  17. Rules of Thumb in Life-Cycle Saving Decisions

    OpenAIRE

    Winter, Joachim; Schlafmann, Kathrin; Rodepeter, Ralf

    2011-01-01

    We analyse life-cycle saving decisions when households use simple heuristics, or rules of thumb, rather than solve the underlying intertemporal optimization problem. We simulate life-cycle saving decisions using three simple rules and compute utility losses relative to the solution of the optimization problem. Our simulations suggest that utility losses induced by following simple decision rules are relatively low. Moreover, the two main saving motives re ected by the canonical life-cyc...

  18. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørn, Anders; Moltesen, Andreas; Laurent, Alexis

    2018-01-01

    of different sources. The output is a compiled inventory of elementary flows that is used as basis of the subsequent life cycle impact assessment phase. This chapter teaches how to carry out this task through six steps: (1) identifying processes for the LCI model of the product system; (2) planning...

  19. Management system and organizational life cycle: A qualitative study

    OpenAIRE

    Selma Zone Fekih Ahmed

    2013-01-01

    This research deals with the importance of the components of the management system according to the phases of organizational life cycle. The goal of our research is to provide the theoretical reflection on the life cycle of the organization and to shed light on the components of the management system for each phase. The conceptual analysis shows that the management system is made up of its three components: ethics, mode of functioning and procedure of regulation. The organizational life cycle...

  20. Designer and Constructor Practices to Ensure Life Cycle Performance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shelton, Joelle

    1998-01-01

    .... Many of these attempts focus on reducing costs and improving functionality, such as life cycle cost analysis and value engineering, while others, such as design-build, focus on specific phases of the life cycle...

  1. Threats Management Throughout the Software Service Life-Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erlend Andreas Gjære

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Software services are inevitably exposed to a fluctuating threat picture. Unfortunately, not all threats can be handled only with preventive measures during design and development, but also require adaptive mitigations at runtime. In this paper we describe an approach where we model composite services and threats together, which allows us to create preventive measures at design-time. At runtime, our specification also allows the service runtime environment (SRE to receive alerts about active threats that we have not handled, and react to these automatically through adaptation of the composite service. A goal-oriented security requirements modelling tool is used to model business-level threats and analyse how they may impact goals. A process flow modelling tool, utilising Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN and standard error boundary events, allows us to define how threats should be responded to during service execution on a technical level. Throughout the software life-cycle, we maintain threats in a centralised threat repository. Re-use of these threats extends further into monitoring alerts being distributed through a cloud-based messaging service. To demonstrate our approach in practice, we have developed a proof-of-concept service for the Air Traffic Management (ATM domain. In addition to the design-time activities, we show how this composite service duly adapts itself when a service component is exposed to a threat at runtime.

  2. Life cycle reliability assessment of new products—A Bayesian model updating approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, Weiwen; Huang, Hong-Zhong; Li, Yanfeng; Zuo, Ming J.; Xie, Min

    2013-01-01

    The rapidly increasing pace and continuously evolving reliability requirements of new products have made life cycle reliability assessment of new products an imperative yet difficult work. While much work has been done to separately estimate reliability of new products in specific stages, a gap exists in carrying out life cycle reliability assessment throughout all life cycle stages. We present a Bayesian model updating approach (BMUA) for life cycle reliability assessment of new products. Novel features of this approach are the development of Bayesian information toolkits by separately including “reliability improvement factor” and “information fusion factor”, which allow the integration of subjective information in a specific life cycle stage and the transition of integrated information between adjacent life cycle stages. They lead to the unique characteristics of the BMUA in which information generated throughout life cycle stages are integrated coherently. To illustrate the approach, an application to the life cycle reliability assessment of a newly developed Gantry Machining Center is shown

  3. Future of lignite resources: a life cycle analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qingsong; Liu, Wei; Yuan, Xueliang; Zheng, Xiaoning; Zuo, Jian

    2016-12-01

    Lignite is a low-quality energy source which accounts for 13 % of China's coal reserves. It is imperative to improve the quality of lignite for large-scale utilization. To further explore and analyze the influence of various key processes on the environment and economic costs, a lignite drying and compression technology is evaluated using an integrated approach of life cycle assessment and life cycle costs. Results showed that lignite mining, direct air emissions, and electricity consumption have most significant impacts on the environment. An integrated evaluation of life cycle assessment and life cycle costs showed that the most significant contributor to the environmental impacts and economic costs was the lignite mining process. The impact of transportation and wastewater treatment process on the environment and economic costs was small enough to be ignored. Critical factors were identified for reducing the environmental and economic impacts of lignite drying and compression technology. These findings provide useful inputs for both industrial practice and policy making for exploitation, processing, and utilization of lignite resources.

  4. Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rapinder Sawhney

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Citing the myriad applications of nanotechnology, this paper emphasizes the need to conduct “life cycle” based assessments as early in the new product development process as possible, for a better understanding of the potential environmental and human health consequences of nanomaterials over the entire life cycle of a nano-enabled product. The importance of this reasoning is further reinforced through an illustrative case study on automotive exterior body panels, which shows that the perceived environmental benefits of nano-based products in the Use stage may not adequately represent the complete picture, without examining the impacts in the other life cycle stages, particularly Materials Processing and Manufacturing. Nanomanufacturing methods often have associated environmental and human health impacts, which must be kept in perspective when evaluating nanoproducts for their “greenness.” Incorporating life-cycle thinking for making informed decisions at the product design stage, combining life cycle and risk analysis, using sustainable manufacturing practices, and employing green chemistry alternatives are seen as possible solutions.

  5. An ideal sealed source life-cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tompkins, Joseph Andrew

    2009-01-01

    we have today. This regulation created a new regulatory framework seen as promising at the time. However, now they recognize that, despite the good intentions, the NIJWP/85 has not solved any source disposition problems. The answer to these sealed source disposition problems is to adopt a philosophy to correct these regulatory issues, determine an interim solution, execute that solution until there is a minimal backlog of sources to deal with, and then let the mechanisms they have created solve this problem into the foreseeable future. The primary philosophical tenet of the ideal sealed source life cycle follows. You do not allow the creation (or importation) of any source whose use cannot be justified, which cannot be affordably shipped, or that does not have a well-delinated and affordable disposition pathway. The path forward dictates that we fix the problem by embracing the Ideal Source Life cycle. In figure 1, we can see some of the elements of the ideal source life cycle. The life cycle is broken down into four portions, manufacture, use, consolidation, and disposition. These four arbitrary elements allow them to focus on the ideal life cycle phases that every source should go through between manufacture and final disposition. As we examine the various phases of the sealed source life cycle, they pick specific examples and explore the adoption of the ideal life cycle model.

  6. Implementing Life Cycle Assessment in systems development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; McAloone, Timothy Charles

    2003-01-01

    and the rapid changes in markets for many products. The overall aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product development and the capacity of life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. The paper aims to outline the problems...... for the designer in evaluating the environmental benignity of the product from the outset and to provide the designer with a framework for decision support based on the performance evaluation at different stages of the design process. The overall aim of this paper is to produce an in-depth understanding...... of possibilities which can be introduced in the design stage compared to the other life cycle stages of the product system. The paper collects experiences and ideas around the state-of-the-art in eco-design, from literature and personal experience and further provides eco-design life cycle assessment strategies...

  7. Long-Term Information Management (LTIM) of Safeguards Data at Repositories: Phase II

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haddal, Risa N. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-10-01

    One of the challenges of implementing safeguards for geological repositories will be the long-term preservation of safeguards-related data for 100 years or more. While most countries considering the construction and operation of such facilities agree that safeguards information should be preserved, there are gaps with respect to standardized requirements, guidelines, timescales, and approaches. This study analyzes those gaps and explores research to clarify stakeholder needs, identify current policies, approaches, best practices and international standards, and explores existing safeguards information management infrastructure. The study also attempts to clarify what a safeguards data classification system might look like, how long data should be retained, and how information should be exchanged between stakeholders at different phases of a repository’s life cycle. The analysis produced a variety of recommendations on what information to preserve, how to preserve it, where to store it, retention options and how to exchange information in the long term. Key findings include the use of the globally recognized international records management standard, ISO15489, for guidance on the development of information management systems, and the development of a Key Information File (KIF). The KIF could be used to identify only the most relevant, high-level safeguards information and the history of decision making about the repository. The study also suggests implementing on-site and off-site records storage in digital and physical form; developing a safeguards data classification system; long-term records retention with periodic reviews every 5 to 10 years during each phase of the repository life cycle; and establishing transition procedures well in advance so that data shepherds and records officers can transfer information with incoming facility managers effectively and efficiently. These and other recommendations are further analyzed in this study.

  8. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of anesthetic drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherman, Jodi; Le, Cathy; Lamers, Vanessa; Eckelman, Matthew

    2012-05-01

    Anesthesiologists must consider the entire life cycle of drugs in order to include environmental impacts into clinical decisions. In the present study we used life cycle assessment to examine the climate change impacts of 5 anesthetic drugs: sevoflurane, desflurane, isoflurane, nitrous oxide, and propofol. A full cradle-to-grave approach was used, encompassing resource extraction, drug manufacturing, transport to health care facilities, drug delivery to the patient, and disposal or emission to the environment. At each stage of the life cycle, energy, material inputs, and emissions were considered, as well as use-specific impacts of each drug. The 4 inhalation anesthetics are greenhouse gases (GHGs), and so life cycle GHG emissions include waste anesthetic gases vented to the atmosphere and emissions (largely carbon dioxide) that arise from other life cycle stages. Desflurane accounts for the largest life cycle GHG impact among the anesthetic drugs considered here: 15 times that of isoflurane and 20 times that of sevoflurane on a per MAC-hour basis when administered in an O(2)/air admixture. GHG emissions increase significantly for all drugs when administered in an N(2)O/O(2) admixture. For all of the inhalation anesthetics, GHG impacts are dominated by uncontrolled emissions of waste anesthetic gases. GHG impacts of propofol are comparatively quite small, nearly 4 orders of magnitude lower than those of desflurane or nitrous oxide. Unlike the inhaled drugs, the GHG impacts of propofol primarily stem from the electricity required for the syringe pump and not from drug production or direct release to the environment. Our results reiterate previous published data on the GHG effects of these inhaled drugs, while providing a life cycle context. There are several practical environmental impact mitigation strategies. Desflurane and nitrous oxide should be restricted to cases where they may reduce morbidity and mortality over alternative drugs. Clinicians should avoid

  9. Software Safety Life cycle and Method of POSAFE-Q System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jang-Soo; Kwon, Kee-Choon

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes the relationship between the overall safety life cycle and the software safety life cycle during the development of the software based safety systems of Nuclear Power Plants. This includes the design and evaluation activities of components as well as the system. The paper also compares the safety life cycle and planning activities defined in IEC 61508 with those in IEC 60880, IEEE 7-4.3.2, and IEEE 1228. Using the KNICS project as an example, software safety life cycle and safety analysis methods applied to the POSAFE-Q are demonstrated. KNICS software safety life cycle is described by comparing to the software development, testing, and safety analysis process with international standards. The safety assessment of the software for POSAFE-Q is a joint Korean German project. The assessment methods applied in the project and the experiences gained from this project are presented

  10. Ecology and Life Cycle Patterns of Echinococcus Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romig, T; Deplazes, P; Jenkins, D; Giraudoux, P; Massolo, A; Craig, P S; Wassermann, M; Takahashi, K; de la Rue, M

    2017-01-01

    The genus Echinococcus is composed of eight generally recognized species and one genotypic cluster (Echinococcus canadensis cluster) that may in future be resolved into one to three species. For each species, we review existing information on transmission routes and life cycles in different geographical contexts and - where available - include basic biological information of parasites and hosts (e.g., susceptibility of host species). While some Echinococcus spp. are transmitted in life cycles that involve predominantly domestic animals (e.g., dog - livestock cycles), others are wildlife parasites that do or do not interact with domestic transmission. In many cases, life cycle patterns of the same parasite species differ according to geography. Simple life cycles contrast with transmission patterns that are highly complex, involving multihost systems that may include both domestic and wild mammals. Wildlife transmission may be primary or secondary, i.e., resulting from spillovers from domestic animals. For most of the species and regions, existing information does not yet permit a conclusive description of transmission systems. Such data, however, would be highly relevant, e.g., for anticipation of geographical changes of the presence and frequency of these parasites in a warming world, or for initiating evidence-based control strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Life Cycle Engineering – from methodology to enterprise culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Alting, Leo; Poll, Christian

    2003-01-01

    As part of a sustainable development, the environmental efficiency of industry must increase by a factor four to ten. This engenders attention to the environmental impact of products and technical systems over their entire life cycle. The last decade has seen the development of a number of method......As part of a sustainable development, the environmental efficiency of industry must increase by a factor four to ten. This engenders attention to the environmental impact of products and technical systems over their entire life cycle. The last decade has seen the development of a number...... of methodologies and tools for life cycle assessment and development of more eco-efficient products, from complex to simplified, catering to the needs of especially small and medium-sized enterprizes. The tools and data are in place, but dissemination lacks behind. Propagation of life cycle thinking and life cycle...... engineering to larger parts of industry is attempted by strengthening the market pull through integrated product policy measures, and at the same time pushing through information activities, training and dissemination of tools. Experience hitherto shows that these forces are insufficient and that stronger...

  12. Life Cycle Design - a Route to the Sustainable Industrial Culture?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Wenzel, Henrik; Alting, Leo

    1999-01-01

    In the attempt to reorient Society's development in a more sustainable direction attention is focused on the environmental impact of products and systems over their entire life cycle, but how can the environmental life cycle perspective be introduced into the design of new solutions and how much...... can be optained through life cycle design? The authors' experience with integration of environmental considerations in product development is presented, ranging from the detailed interactive approach to the EDIP-method through various simplified approaches. The potential for environmental improvements...... is reviewed and the overall question of to what extent life cycle design is a route to the sustainable industrial culture is discussed....

  13. Safeguards for geological repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fattah, A.

    2000-01-01

    Direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel in geological repositories is a recognised option for closing nuclear fuel cycles. Geological repositories are at present in stages of development in a number of countries and are expected to be built and operated early next century. A State usually has an obligation to safely store any nuclear material, which is considered unsuitable to re-enter the nuclear fuel cycle, isolated from the biosphere. In conjunction with this, physical protection has to be accounted for to prevent inadvertent access to such material. In addition to these two criteria - which are fully under the State's jurisdiction - a third criterion reflecting international non-proliferation commitments needs to be addressed. Under comprehensive safeguards agreements a State concedes verification of nuclear material for safeguards purposes to the IAEA. The Agency can thus provide assurance to the international community that such nuclear material has been used for peaceful purposes only as declared by the State. It must be emphasised that all three criteria mentioned constitute a 'unit'. None can be sacrificed for the sake of the other, but compromises may have to be sought in order to make their combination as effective as possible. Based on comprehensive safeguards agreements signed and ratified by the State, safeguards can be terminated only when the material has been consumed or diluted in such a way that it can no longer be utilised for any nuclear activities or has become practicably irrecoverable. As such safeguards for nuclear material in geological repositories have to be continued even after the repository has been back-filled and sealed. The effective application of safeguards must assure continuity-of-knowledge that the nuclear material in the repository has not been diverted for an unknown purpose. The nuclear material disposed in a geological repository may eventually have a higher and long term proliferation risk because the inventory is

  14. Life Cycle Energy Analysis of Reclaimed Water Reuse Projects in Beijing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yupeng; Guo, Erhui; Zhai, Yuanzheng; Chang, Andrew C; Qiao, Qi; Kang, Peng

    2018-01-01

      To illustrate the benefits of water reuse project, the process-based life cycle analysis (LCA) could be combined with input-output LCA to evaluate the water reuse project. Energy is the only evaluation parameter used in this study. Life cycle assessment of all energy inputs (LCEA) is completed mainly by the life cycle inventory (LCI), taking into account the full life cycle including the construction, the operation, and the demolition phase of the project. Assessment of benefit from water reuse during the life cycle should focus on wastewater discharge reduction and water-saving benefits. The results of LCEA of Beijing water reuse project built in 2014 in a comprehensive way shows that the benefits obtained from the reclaimed water reuse far exceed the life cycle energy consumption. In this paper, the authors apply the LCEA model to estimate the benefits of reclaimed water reuse projects quantitatively.

  15. Life cycle and nano-products: end-of-life assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asmatulu, Eylem; Twomey, Janet; Overcash, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Understanding environmental impacts of nanomaterials necessitates analyzing the life cycle profile. The initial emphasis of nanomaterial life cycle studies has been on the environmental and health effects of nanoproducts during the production and usage stages. Analyzing the end-of-life (eol) stage of nanomaterials is also critical because significant impacts or benefits for the environment may arise at that particular stage. In this article, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) Consumer Products Inventory (CPI) model was used, which contains a relatively large and complete nanoproduct list (1,014) as of 2010. The consumer products have wide range of applications, such as clothing, sports goods, personal care products, medicine, as well as contributing to faster cars and planes, more powerful computers and satellites, better micro and nanochips, and long-lasting batteries. In order to understand the eol cycle concept, we allocated 1,014 nanoproducts into the nine end-of-life categories (e.g., recyclability, ingestion, absorption by skin/public sewer, public sewer, burning/landfill, landfill, air release, air release/public sewer, and other) based on probable final destinations of the nanoproducts. This article highlights the results of this preliminary assessment of end-of-life stage of nanoproducts. The largest potential eol fate was found to be recyclability, however little literature appears to have evolved around nanoproduct recycling. At lower frequency is dermal and ingestion human uptake and then landfill. Release to water and air are much lower potential eol fates for current nanoproducts. In addition, an analysis of nano-product categories with the largest number of products listed indicated that clothes, followed by dermal-related products and then sports equipment were the most represented in the PEN CPI (http

  16. Life cycle and nano-products: end-of-life assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asmatulu, Eylem; Twomey, Janet; Overcash, Michael, E-mail: mrovercash@earthlink.net [Wichita State University, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (United States)

    2012-03-15

    Understanding environmental impacts of nanomaterials necessitates analyzing the life cycle profile. The initial emphasis of nanomaterial life cycle studies has been on the environmental and health effects of nanoproducts during the production and usage stages. Analyzing the end-of-life (eol) stage of nanomaterials is also critical because significant impacts or benefits for the environment may arise at that particular stage. In this article, the Woodrow Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) Consumer Products Inventory (CPI) model was used, which contains a relatively large and complete nanoproduct list (1,014) as of 2010. The consumer products have wide range of applications, such as clothing, sports goods, personal care products, medicine, as well as contributing to faster cars and planes, more powerful computers and satellites, better micro and nanochips, and long-lasting batteries. In order to understand the eol cycle concept, we allocated 1,014 nanoproducts into the nine end-of-life categories (e.g., recyclability, ingestion, absorption by skin/public sewer, public sewer, burning/landfill, landfill, air release, air release/public sewer, and other) based on probable final destinations of the nanoproducts. This article highlights the results of this preliminary assessment of end-of-life stage of nanoproducts. The largest potential eol fate was found to be recyclability, however little literature appears to have evolved around nanoproduct recycling. At lower frequency is dermal and ingestion human uptake and then landfill. Release to water and air are much lower potential eol fates for current nanoproducts. In addition, an analysis of nano-product categories with the largest number of products listed indicated that clothes, followed by dermal-related products and then sports equipment were the most represented in the PEN CPI (http

  17. Life cycle cost report of VHLW cask

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-06-01

    This document, the Life Cycle Cost Report (LCCR) for the VHLW Cask, presents the life cycle costs for acquiring, using, and disposing of the VHLW casks. The VHLW cask consists of a ductile iron cask body, called the shielding insert, which is used for storage and transportation, and ultimately for disposal of Defense High Level Waste which has been vitrified and placed into VHLW canisters. Each ductile iron VHLW shielding insert holds one VHLW canister. For transportation, the shielding insert is placed into a containment overpack. The VHLW cask as configured for transportation is a legal weight truck cask which will be licensed by NRC. The purpose of this LCCR is to present the development of the life cycle costs for using the VHLW cask to transport VHLW canisters from the generating sites to a disposal site. Life cycle costs include the cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and ultimately dispositioning the VHLW cask and its associated hardware. This report summarizes costs associated with transportation of the VHLW casks. Costs are developed on the basis of expected usage, anticipated source and destination locations, and expected quantities of VHLW which must be transported. DOE overhead costs, such as the costs associated with source and destination facility handling of the VHLW, are not included. Also not included are costs exclusive to storage or disposal of the VHLW waste

  18. Groundwater chemistry around a repository for spent nuclear fuel over a glacial cycle. Evaluation for SR-Can

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auque, L.F.; Gimeno, M.J.; Gomez, J.B. [University of Zaragoza (Spain); Puigdomenech, I. [Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co., Stockholm (Sweden); Smellie, J. [Conterra AB, Uppsala (Sweden); Tullborg, E.L. [Terralogica AB, Graabo (Sweden)

    2007-12-15

    The chemical composition of groundwater in the rock volume surrounding a spent nuclear fuel repository is of importance to many factors that affect repository performance. The geochemical characteristics of present-day Swedish groundwater systems are governed by successive mixing events of several waters during the post-glacial evolution of the sites. The expected development of groundwaters at two Swedish sites - Forsmark and Laxemar - during a glacial cycle has been evaluated within the SR-Can project, and the results are presented in this report. For the temperate period following repository closure, an approach is proposed here to investigate the spatial and temporal evolution of groundwater geochemistry by coupling hydrogeological and geochemical models in a sequential way. The procedure combines hydrogeological results obtained with CONNECTFLOW within the SR-Can project with a mixing and reaction path simulation using PHREEQC. The hydrological results contain mixing proportions of four component waters (a deep brine, glacial meltwater, marine water, and meteoric infiltration) at each time step and at every node of the D regional model domain. In this work the mixing fractions are fed into PHREEQC using software developed to build formatted input files and to extract the information from output files for subsequent plotting and analysis. The geochemical calculations included both chemical mixing and equilibrium reactions with selected minerals: calcite, chalcedony and an Fe(III) oxy-hydroxide. Results for the Forsmark and Laxemar sites are graphically presented as histograms and box-and-whisker plots. Cross sections, where each node is colour-coded with respect to an important variable (pH, Eh or concentrations of main elements), are used to visualize the future evolution of the site. Sensitivity analyses are made to evaluate the effects of the different reactions and/or assumptions. The results reflect the progressive inflow of meteoric waters into the sites

  19. Groundwater chemistry around a repository for spent nuclear fuel over a glacial cycle. Evaluation for SR-Can

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auque, L.F.; Gimeno, M.J.; Gomez, J.B.; Puigdomenech, I.; Smellie, J.; Tullborg, E.L.

    2007-12-01

    The chemical composition of groundwater in the rock volume surrounding a spent nuclear fuel repository is of importance to many factors that affect repository performance. The geochemical characteristics of present-day Swedish groundwater systems are governed by successive mixing events of several waters during the post-glacial evolution of the sites. The expected development of groundwaters at two Swedish sites - Forsmark and Laxemar - during a glacial cycle has been evaluated within the SR-Can project, and the results are presented in this report. For the temperate period following repository closure, an approach is proposed here to investigate the spatial and temporal evolution of groundwater geochemistry by coupling hydrogeological and geochemical models in a sequential way. The procedure combines hydrogeological results obtained with CONNECTFLOW within the SR-Can project with a mixing and reaction path simulation using PHREEQC. The hydrological results contain mixing proportions of four component waters (a deep brine, glacial meltwater, marine water, and meteoric infiltration) at each time step and at every node of the D regional model domain. In this work the mixing fractions are fed into PHREEQC using software developed to build formatted input files and to extract the information from output files for subsequent plotting and analysis. The geochemical calculations included both chemical mixing and equilibrium reactions with selected minerals: calcite, chalcedony and an Fe(III) oxy-hydroxide. Results for the Forsmark and Laxemar sites are graphically presented as histograms and box-and-whisker plots. Cross sections, where each node is colour-coded with respect to an important variable (pH, Eh or concentrations of main elements), are used to visualize the future evolution of the site. Sensitivity analyses are made to evaluate the effects of the different reactions and/or assumptions. The results reflect the progressive inflow of meteoric waters into the sites

  20. Life cycle assessment of palm-derived biodiesel in Taiwan

    KAUST Repository

    Maharjan, Sumit; Wang, Wei-Cheng; Teah, Heng Yi

    2016-01-01

    . This study aims to evaluate the cradle-to-grave life cycle environmental performance of palm biodiesel within two different Asian countries, Malaysia and Taiwan. The phases of the life cycle such as direct land-use-change impact, plantation and milling

  1. Life-cycle cost analysis of adsorption cycles for desalination

    KAUST Repository

    Thu, Kyaw

    2010-08-01

    This paper presents the thermo-economic analysis of the adsorption desalination (AD) cycle that is driven by low-temperature waste heat from exhaust of industrial processes or renewable sources. The AD cycle uses an adsorbent such as the silica gel to desalt the sea or brackish water. Based on an experimental prototype AD plant, the life-cycle cost analysis of AD plants of assorted water production capacities has been simulated and these predictions are translated into unit cost of water production. Our results show that the specific energy consumption of the AD cycle is 1.38 kWh/m3 which is the lowest ever reported. For a plant capacity of 1000 m3/d, the AD cycle offers a unit cost of $0.457/m3 as compared to more than $0.9 for the average RO plants. Besides being cost-effective, the AD cycle is also environment-friendly as it emits less CO2 emission per m3 generated, typically 85% less, by comparison to an RO process. © 2010 Desalination Publications.

  2. Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of bioethanol from sugarcane in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Lin; Van der Voet, Ester; Huppes, Gjalt

    2009-01-01

    Brazil has always been the pioneer in the application of bioethanol as a main fuel for automobiles, hence environmental and economic analyses of the Brazilian ethanol industries are of crucial importance. This study presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) on gasoline and ethanol as fuels, and with two types of blends of gasoline with bioethanol, all used in a midsize car. The focus is on a main application in Brazil, sugarcane based ethanol. The results of two cases are presented: base case - bioethanol production from sugarcane and electricity generation from bagasse; future case - bioethanol production from both sugarcane and bagasse and electricity generation from wastes. In both cases sugar is co-produced. The life cycles of fuels include gasoline production, agricultural production of sugarcane, ethanol production, sugar and electricity co-production, blending ethanol with gasoline to produce E10 (10% of ethanol) and E85 (85%), and finally the use of gasoline, E10, E85 and pure ethanol. Furthermore, a life cycle costing (LCC) was conducted to give an indication on fuel economy in both cases. The results show that in the base case less GHG is emitted; while the overall evaluation of these fuel options depends on the importance attached to different impacts. The future case is certainly more economically attractive, which has been the driving force for development in the ethanol industry in Brazil. Nevertheless, the outcomes depend very much on the assumed price for crude oil. In LCC a steady-state cost model was used and only the production cost was taken into account. In the real market the prices of fuels are very much dependent on the taxes and subsidies. Technological development can help in lowering both the environmental impact and the prices of the ethanol fuels. (author)

  3. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR PC BLEND 2 AIRCRAFT RADOME DEPAINTER

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report describes the life cycle assessment on a potential replacement solvent blend for aircraft radome depainting at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base. The life cycle assessment is composed of three separate but interrelated components: life cy...

  4. INFORMATION MODELING OF LIFE CYCLE OF HIGH-RISE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gusakova Elena Aleksandrovna

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available To date, many years’ experience in the construction and operation of high-rise buildings has been accumulated. Its analysis reveals not only the engineering and organizational-technological specifics of such projects, but also systemic gaps in the field of management. In the implementation of large-scale and unique projects for high-rise buildings, the problems and tasks of improving approaches to managing the full life cycle of projects and methods, which will improve their competitiveness, become topical. The systems being used have largely exhausted their resource efficiency, which is associated with automation of traditional “inherited” processes and management structures, as well as development of IT-systems focused on digitalization of the activities of construction company, rather than the project. To solve these problems, it is proposed to carry out: reengineering of the schemes of information interaction between the project’s participants; formation of integrated digital environment for the life cycle of the project; development of systems for integrating data management and project management. Subject: problems, approaches and methods of digitalization of project’s life cycle management in relation to the specifics and features of high-rise buildings. Research objectives: substantiation of the most perspective approaches and methods of information modeling of high-rise construction as the basis for managing the full life cycle of the given project. Materials and methods: the experience of digitalization of design, construction, operation and development of high-rise buildings, presented in specialized literature, is analyzed. The methods for integrating information models of various stages of project’s life cycle and for information interaction of project’s participants are considered. Results: the concept of forming a single digital environment for the project is proposed, taking into account the features of the life

  5. Life cycle assessment of renewable energy sources

    CERN Document Server

    Singh, Anoop; Olsen, Stig Irving

    2013-01-01

    Governments are setting challenging targets to increase the production of energy and transport fuel from sustainable sources. The emphasis is increasingly on renewable sources including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass based biofuel, photovoltaics or energy recovery from waste. What are the environmental consequences of adopting these other sources? How do these various sources compare to each other? Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources tries to answer these questions based on the universally adopted method of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This book introduces the concept and impor

  6. Comparative myoanatomy of cycliophoran life cycle stages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neves, Ricardo C.; Cunha, Maria R.; Funch, Peter

    2010-01-01

    The metazoan phylum Cycliophora includes small cryptic epibionts that live attached to the mouthparts of clawed lobsters. The life cycle is complex, with alternating sexual and asexual generations, and involves several sessile and free-living stages. So far, the morphological and genetic characte......The metazoan phylum Cycliophora includes small cryptic epibionts that live attached to the mouthparts of clawed lobsters. The life cycle is complex, with alternating sexual and asexual generations, and involves several sessile and free-living stages. So far, the morphological and genetic...

  7. Applying life cycle management of colombian cocoa production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar Orlando Ortiz-R

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The present research aims to evaluate the usefulness of the application of Life Cycle Management in the agricultural sector focusing on the environmental and socio-economic aspects of decision making in the Colombian cocoa production. Such appraisal is based on the application of two methodological tools: Life Cycle Assessment, which considers environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the cocoa production system, and Taguchi Loss Function, which measures the economic impact of a process' deviation from production targets. Results show that appropriate improvements in farming practices and supply consumption can enhance decision-making in the agricultural cocoa sector towards sustainability. In terms of agri-business purposes, such qualitative shift allows not only meeting consumer demands for environmentally friendly products, but also increasing the productivity and competitiveness of cocoa production, all of which has helped Life Cycle Management gain global acceptance. Since farmers have an important role in improving social and economic indicators at the national level, more attention should be paid to the upgrading of their cropping practices. Finally, one fundamental aspect of national cocoa production is the institutional and governmental support available for farmers in face of socio-economic or technological needs.

  8. Life-cycle air emissions from PV power systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watt, M.E.; Johnson, A.J.; Outhred, H.R.; Ellis, M.

    1998-01-01

    This paper addresses the air emission of grid supply versus grid-connected and off-grid photovoltaic power generation, using the framework of life-cycle assessment, in the contents of rural household energy supply in Australia. Emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxde and nitrous oxides are calculated for the three life-cycle stages of manufacture, use and disposal. Sensitivities to materials and data inputs, as well as to component efficiencies, lifetimes and sizing are discussed. For each supply option, demand management options, including insulation and appliance choice, and the substitution of solar heating or bottled gas for electricity are considered. The best option in all cases, in terms of life-cycle air emissions, is a grid-connected photovoltaic system used to supply an energy-efficient household with a mix of solar, gas and electric appliances. However, in financial terms, with current Australian energy prices, this option represents a high capital and life-cycle costs. Additionally, for the grid options, electricity costs do not significantly disadvantage the high demand scenarios. Both results provide a clear illustration of current Australian energy-pricing policies being in conflict with long-term environmental sustainability. (Author)

  9. 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.

  10. Optimization of life cycle management costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, A.K.

    1994-01-01

    As can be seen from the case studies, a LCM program needs to address and integrate, in the decision process, technical, political, licensing, remaining plant life, component replacement cycles, and financial issues. As part of the LCM evaluations, existing plant programs, ongoing replacement projects, short and long-term operation and maintenance issues, and life extension strategies must be considered. The development of the LCM evaluations and the cost benefit analysis identifies critical technical and life cycle cost parameters. These open-quotes discoveriesclose quotes result from the detailed and effective use of a consistent, quantifiable, and well documented methodology. The systematic development and implementation of a plant-wide LCM program provides for an integrated and structured process that leads to the most practical and effective recommendations. Through the implementation of these recommendations and cost effective decisions, the overall power production costs can be controlled and ultimately lowered

  11. Life cycle strategies of copepods in coastal upwelling zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, W.

    1998-06-01

    Life cycles of copepods of coastal upwelling zones are of the multigenerational type—as many as 10 or more generations may be produced each year, depending upon water temperature, food concentration and length of the upwelling season. Abundant food resources and moderate temperature convey advantages to those copepods living in coastal upwelling zones, however, there is a clear disadvantage in that coastal upwelling zones are highly advective environments. Typically, water circulation patterns are such that surface waters are carried offshore, deeper waters carried onshore and most of the water column over the continental shelf is moving equatorward. The challenge to copepod species that inhabit upwelling systems is life cycle closure—how do eggs, nauplii, juveniles and adults avoid being swept out of these ecosystems in the face of persistent transport out of the system? In this review, I first list the species which dominate coastal upwelling ecosystems then discuss three variations on the multigenerational life cycle scheme that are observed in upwelling systems. The latter part of the review is devoted to discussion of how individuals are retained in the productive continental shelf waters within coastal upwelling ecosystems. The suggestion is made that the only copepod species that successfully achieve life cycle closure in such systems are those that are preadapted to upwelling circulation patterns. Our quantitative understanding of the relative importance of physical factors (such as advection) and biological factors (birth, growth, and mortality) on life cycle strategies and population dynamics is quite rudimentary. It would help our understanding if there were more field studies and more computer modeling studies that focused on seasonal cycles of abundance, development times and vertical distribution of life cycle stages, and measurements of water circulation patterns.

  12. Influence of service life on Life Cycle Assessments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Nunen, H.; Hendriks, N.A.; Erkelens, P.A.

    2003-01-01

    Environmental assessment is part of present decision making. But, because of difficulties the assessments are not as profound as could be. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a cradle-to-grave approach and consequently a time factor is embedded. Until now this time factor is fixed and calculations are

  13. From BIM to life cycle information management in infrastructure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nederveen, G.A. van; Wolfert, R.; Ruitenbeek, M. van de

    2014-01-01

    In principle, Building Information Modelling (BIM) should provide a basis for infrastructure information management during the whole life-cycle. In practice however, the use of BIM is normally limited to the design and construction phases. It seems that the use of BIM information in other life-cycle

  14. Waste-to-energy: A review of life cycle assessment and its extension methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhaozhi; Tang, Yuanjun; Chi, Yong; Ni, Mingjiang; Buekens, Alfons

    2018-01-01

    This article proposes a comprehensive review of evaluation tools based on life cycle thinking, as applied to waste-to-energy. Habitually, life cycle assessment is adopted to assess environmental burdens associated with waste-to-energy initiatives. Based on this framework, several extension methods have been developed to focus on specific aspects: Exergetic life cycle assessment for reducing resource depletion, life cycle costing for evaluating its economic burden, and social life cycle assessment for recording its social impacts. Additionally, the environment-energy-economy model integrates both life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methods and judges simultaneously these three features for sustainable waste-to-energy conversion. Life cycle assessment is sufficiently developed on waste-to-energy with concrete data inventory and sensitivity analysis, although the data and model uncertainty are unavoidable. Compared with life cycle assessment, only a few evaluations are conducted to waste-to-energy techniques by using extension methods and its methodology and application need to be further developed. Finally, this article succinctly summarises some recommendations for further research.

  15. Optimal Life Cycle Portfolio Choice with Housing Market Cycles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fischer, Marcel; Stamos, Michael Z.

    2013-01-01

    income, and pre-existing housing wealth but also the state of the housing market significantly affect household decisions. Consistently with the data, the model predicts that in good states of housing market cycles (1) homeownership rates increase, (2) households buying homes invest a larger share......In recent decades U.S. households have experienced residential house prices moving persistently, that is, returns being positively serially correlated. We set up a realistically calibrated life cycle model with slow-moving time variation in expected housing returns, showing that not only age, labor...

  16. Preliminary concepts: materials management in an internationally safeguarded nuclear-waste geologic repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostenak, C.A.; Whitty, W.J.; Dietz, R.J.

    1979-11-01

    Preliminary concepts of materials accountability are presented for an internationally safeguarded nuclear-waste geologic repository. A hypothetical reference repository that receives nuclear waste for emplacement in a geologic medium serves to illustrate specific safeguards concepts. Nuclear wastes received at the reference repository derive from prior fuel-cycle operations. Alternative safeguards techniques ranging from item accounting to nondestructive assay and waste characteristics that affect the necessary level of safeguards are examined. Downgrading of safeguards prior to shipment to the repository is recommended whenever possible. The point in the waste cycle where international safeguards may be terminate depends on the fissile content, feasibility of separation, and practicable recoverability of the waste: termination may not be possible if spent fuels are declared as waste

  17. Estimating pesticide emissions for life cycle assessment of agricultural products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Røpke, Inge

    2004-01-01

    As the first country in Europe Denmark almost 2 years ago established an official center for Life Cycle Assessments and life cycle approaches as an element of the national IPP (Integrated Product Policy). The Danish EPA lends financial support to this important initiative, the aim of which is to: 1....... 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...... evaluation finished in September 2004. Important learnings for all who are engaged in dissemination of life cycle thinking in industry will be presented....

  18. Life cycle synchronization is a viral drug resistance mechanism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulia A Neagu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Viral infections are one of the major causes of death worldwide, with HIV infection alone resulting in over 1.2 million casualties per year. Antiviral drugs are now being administered for a variety of viral infections, including HIV, hepatitis B and C, and influenza. These therapies target a specific phase of the virus's life cycle, yet their ultimate success depends on a variety of factors, such as adherence to a prescribed regimen and the emergence of viral drug resistance. The epidemiology and evolution of drug resistance have been extensively characterized, and it is generally assumed that drug resistance arises from mutations that alter the virus's susceptibility to the direct action of the drug. In this paper, we consider the possibility that a virus population can evolve towards synchronizing its life cycle with the pattern of drug therapy. The periodicity of the drug treatment could then allow for a virus strain whose life cycle length is a multiple of the dosing interval to replicate only when the concentration of the drug is lowest. This process, referred to as "drug tolerance by synchronization", could allow the virus population to maximize its overall fitness without having to alter drug binding or complete its life cycle in the drug's presence. We use mathematical models and stochastic simulations to show that life cycle synchronization can indeed be a mechanism of viral drug tolerance. We show that this effect is more likely to occur when the variability in both viral life cycle and drug dose timing are low. More generally, we find that in the presence of periodic drug levels, time-averaged calculations of viral fitness do not accurately predict drug levels needed to eradicate infection, even if there is no synchronization. We derive an analytical expression for viral fitness that is sufficient to explain the drug-pattern-dependent survival of strains with any life cycle length. We discuss the implications of these findings for

  19. A Framework for BIM-Enabled Life-Cycle Information Management of Construction Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xun Xu

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available BIM has been widely used in project management, but on the whole the applications have been scattered and the BIM models have not been deployed throughout the whole project life-cycle. Each participant builds their own BIM, so there is a major problem in how to integrate these dynamic and fragmented data together. In order to solve this problem, this paper focuses on BIM-based life-cycle information management and builds a framework for BIM-enabled life-cycle information management. To organize the life-cycle information well, the information components and information flow during the project life-cycle are defined. Then, the application of BIM in life-cycle information management is analysed. This framework will provide a unified platform for information management and ensure data integrity.

  20. Life Cycle Assessment of Slurry Management Technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wesnæs, Marianne; Wenzel, Henrik; Petersen, Bjørn Molt

    This report contains the results of Life Cycle Assessments of two slurry management technologies - acidification and decentred incineration. The LCA foundation can be used by the contributing companies for evaluating the environmental sustainability of a specific technology from a holistic Life...... Cycle perspective. Through this the companies can evaluate the environmental benefits and disadvantages of introducing a specific technology for slurry management. From a societal perspective the results can contribute to a clarification of which slurry management technologies (or combination...... of technologies) having the largest potential for reducing the overall environmental impacts....

  1. Analysis within the systems development life-cycle

    CERN Document Server

    Rock-Evans, Rosemary

    1987-01-01

    Analysis within the Systems Development Life-Cycle: Book 4, Activity Analysis-The Methods describes the techniques and concepts for carrying out activity analysis within the systems development life-cycle. Reference is made to the deliverables of data analysis and more than one method of analysis, each a viable alternative to the other, are discussed. The """"bottom-up"""" and """"top-down"""" methods are highlighted. Comprised of seven chapters, this book illustrates how dependent data and activities are on each other. This point is especially brought home when the task of inventing new busin

  2. Analysis within the systems development life-cycle

    CERN Document Server

    Rock-Evans, Rosemary

    1987-01-01

    Analysis within the Systems Development Life-Cycle: Book 2, Data Analysis-The Methods describes the methods for carrying out data analysis within the systems development life-cycle and demonstrates how the results of fact gathering can be used to produce and verify the analysis deliverables. A number of alternative methods of analysis other than normalization are suggested. Comprised of seven chapters, this book shows the tasks to be carried out in the logical order of progression-preparation, collection, analysis of the existing system (which comprises the tasks of synthesis, verification, an

  3. Effects of repository conditions on environmental impact reduction by recycling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Joonhong

    2010-01-01

    The environmental impacts (EI) of high-level wastes (HLW) disposed of in a water-saturated repository (WSR) and in the Yucca Mountain Repository (YMR) for various fuel cycle cases have been evaluated and compared to observe the difference in the recycling effects for differing repository conditions. With the impacts of direct spent fuel disposal in each repository as the reference level, separation of actinides by Urex+ and borosilicate vitrification clearly reduces the environmental impacts of YMR, while separation by Purex and borosilicate vitrification would not necessarily reduce the environmental impact of WSR. (authors)

  4. 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

  5. Consumption Over Life Cycle: How Different is Housing?

    OpenAIRE

    Fang (Annie) Yang

    2006-01-01

    Micro data over the life cycle shows different patterns of consumption for housing and non-housing goods: the consumption profile of non-housing goods is hump-shaped while the consumption profile for housing first increases monotonically and then flattens out. These patterns hold true at each consumption quartile. This paper develops aquantitative, dynamic general equilibrium model of life-cycle behavior, which generates consumption profiles consistent with the observed data. Borrowing constr...

  6. Sourcing Life Cycle Inventory Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    The collection and validation of quality lifecycle inventory (LCI) data can be the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of developing a life cycle assessment (LCA). Large amounts of process and production data are needed to complete the LCI. For many studies, the LCA analyst ...

  7. Life cycle planning: An evolving concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, P.J.R.; Gorman, I.G.

    1994-01-01

    Life-cycle planning is an evolving concept in the management of oil and gas projects. BHP Petroleum now interprets this idea to include all development planning from discovery and field appraisal to final abandonment and includes safety, environmental, technical, plant, regulatory, and staffing issues. This article describes in the context of the Timor Sea, how despite initial successes and continuing facilities upgrades, BHPP came to perceive that current operations could be the victim of early development successes, particularly in the areas of corrosion and maintenance. The search for analogies elsewhere lead to the UK North Sea, including the experiences of Britoil and BP, both of which performed detailed Life of Field studies in the later eighties. These materials have been used to construct a format and content for total Life-cycle plans in general and the social changes required to ensure their successful application in Timor Sea operations and deployment throughout Australia

  8. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) using the ecological scarcity ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    After it is done, the inventory will be interpreted to the environmental impacts in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). Two LCIA methods identified were “midpoint and endpoint” approaches. The ecological scarcity (ecopoints) is an LCIA method using “midpoint” approach. From the analysis to both life cycle stages, analysis ...

  9. State-of-the-Art Solid Waste Management Life-Cycle Modeling Workshop

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, Anders; Levis, James W.

    There are many alternatives for the management of solid waste including recycling, biological treatment, thermal treatment and landfill disposal. In many cases, solid waste management systems include the use of several of these processes. Solid waste life-cycle assessment models are often used...... to evaluate the environmental consequences of various waste management strategies. The foundation of every life-cycle model is the development and use of process models to estimate the emissions from solid waste unit processes. The objective of this workshop is to describe life-cycle modeling of the solid...... waste processes and systems. The workshop will begin with an introduction to solid waste life-cycle modeling and available models, which will be followed by sessions on life-cycle process modeling for individual processes (e.g., landfills, biological treatment, and thermal treatment). The first part...

  10. Generic Repository Concepts and Thermal Analysis for Advanced Fuel Cycles - 12477

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hardin, Ernest [Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800 MS 0736, Albuquerque, NM 87185 (United States); Blink, James [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94551-0808 (United States); Carter, Joe [Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States); Fratoni, Massimiliano; Greenberg, Harris; Sutton, Mark [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (United States); Howard, Robert [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    A geologic disposal concept for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or high-level waste (HLW) consists of three components: waste inventory, geologic setting, and concept of operations. A set of reference geologic disposal concepts has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Used Fuel Disposition campaign. Reference concepts are identified for crystalline rock, clay/shale, bedded salt, and deep borehole (crystalline basement) geologic settings. These were analyzed for waste inventory cases representing a range of waste types that could be produced by advanced nuclear fuel cycles. Concepts of operation consisting of emplacement mode, repository layout, and engineered barrier descriptions, were selected based on international progress. All of these disposal concepts are enclosed emplacement modes, whereby waste packages are in direct contact with encapsulating engineered or natural materials. Enclosed modes have less capacity to dissipate heat than open modes such as that proposed for a repository at Yucca Mountain. Thermal analysis has identified important relationships between waste package size and capacity, and the duration of surface decay storage needed to meet temperature limits for different disposal concepts. For the crystalline rock and clay/shale repository concepts, a waste package surface temperature limit of 100 deg. C was assumed to prevent changes in clay-based buffer material or clay-rich host rock. Surface decay storage of 50 to 100 years is needed for disposal of high-burnup LWR SNF in 4-PWR packages, or disposal of HLW glass from reprocessing LWR uranium oxide (UOX) fuel. High-level waste (HLW) from reprocessing of metal fuel used in a fast reactor could be disposed after decay storage of 50 years or less. For disposal in salt the rock thermal conductivity is significantly greater, and higher temperatures (200 deg. C) can be tolerated at the waste package surface. Decay storage of 10 years or less is needed for high-burnup LWR SNF in 4-PWR

  11. sensitivity analysis on flexible road pavement life cycle cost model

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    of sensitivity analysis on a developed flexible pavement life cycle cost model using varying discount rate. The study .... organizations and specific projects needs based. Life-cycle ... developed and completed urban road infrastructure corridor ...

  12. Life-cycle assessment of biodiesel versus petroleum diesel fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coulon, R.; Camobreco, V.; Sheehan, J.; Duffield, J.

    1995-01-01

    The US Department of Energy's Office of Transportation Technologies, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US Department of Agriculture's Office of Energy, and Ecobalance are carrying out a comprehensive Life-Cycle Assessment of soy-based diesel fuel (biodiesel) to quantify the environmental aspects of the cradle-to-grave production and use of biodiesel. The purpose of the project is to produce an analytical tool and database for use by industry and government decision makers involved in alternative fuel use and production. The study also includes a parallel effort to develop a life-cycle model for petroleum diesel fuel. The two models are used to compare the life-cycle energy and environmental implications of petroleum diesel and biodiesel derived from soybean. Several scenarios are studied, analyzing the influence of transportation distances, agricultural practice and allocation rules used. The project also includes effort to integrate spatial data into the inventory analysis and probabilistic uncertainty considerations into the impact assessment stage. Traditional life-cycle inventory analysis includes an aggregation process that eliminates spatial, temporal, and threshold information. This project will demonstrate an approach to life-cycle inventory analysis that retains spatial data for use in impact assessment. Explicit probabilistic treatment of uncertainty in impact assessment will take account of scientific uncertainties, and will attempt to identify the level of spatial detail that most efficiently reduces impact assessment uncertainties

  13. NASA Life Sciences Data Repositories: Tools for Retrospective Analysis and Future Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, D.; Wear, M.; VanBaalen, M.; Lee, L.; Fitts, M.

    2011-01-01

    As NASA transitions from the Space Shuttle era into the next phase of space exploration, the need to ensure the capture, analysis, and application of its research and medical data is of greater urgency than at any other previous time. In this era of limited resources and challenging schedules, the Human Research Program (HRP) based at NASA s Johnson Space Center (JSC) recognizes the need to extract the greatest possible amount of information from the data already captured, as well as focus current and future research funding on addressing the HRP goal to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration. To this end, the Science Management Office and the Medical Informatics and Health Care Systems Branch within the HRP and the Space Medicine Division have been working to make both research data and clinical data more accessible to the user community. The Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA), the research repository housing data and information regarding the physiologic effects of microgravity, and the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health (LSAH-R), the clinical repository housing astronaut data, have joined forces to achieve this goal. The task of both repositories is to acquire, preserve, and distribute data and information both within the NASA community and to the science community at large. This is accomplished via the LSDA s public website (http://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov), which allows access to experiment descriptions including hardware, datasets, key personnel, mission descriptions and a mechanism for researchers to request additional data, research and clinical, that is not accessible from the public website. This will result in making the work of NASA and its partners available to the wider sciences community, both domestic and international. The desired outcome is the use of these data for knowledge discovery, retrospective analysis, and planning of future

  14. Improving Life-Cycle Cost Management of Spacecraft Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clardy, Dennon

    2010-01-01

    This presentation will explore the results of a recent NASA Life-Cycle Cost study and how project managers can use the findings and recommendations to improve planning and coordination early in the formulation cycle and avoid common pitfalls resulting in cost overruns. The typical NASA space science mission will exceed both the initial estimated and the confirmed life-cycle costs by the end of the mission. In a fixed-budget environment, these overruns translate to delays in starting or launching future missions, or in the worst case can lead to cancelled missions. Some of these overruns are due to issues outside the control of the project; others are due to the unpredictable problems (unknown unknowns) that can affect any development project. However, a recent study of life-cycle cost growth by the Discovery and New Frontiers Program Office identified a number of areas that are within the scope of project management to address. The study also found that the majority of the underlying causes for cost overruns are embedded in the project approach during the formulation and early design phases, but the actual impacts typically are not experienced until late in the project life cycle. Thus, project management focus in key areas such as integrated schedule development, management structure and contractor communications processes, heritage and technology assumptions, and operations planning, can be used to validate initial cost assumptions and set in place management processes to avoid the common pitfalls resulting in cost overruns.

  15. Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

    2011-07-01

    In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique

  16. Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

    2011-07-01

    In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique when it comes to

  17. Life cycle assessment and the agri-food chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hermansen, John Erik; Nguyen, T Lan T

    2012-01-01

    Our food consumption is responsible for a major part of the environmental impact related to our total consumption. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a product-oriented tool that can be used efficiently to identify improvement options within the food chain covering a product’s life cycle from cradle...... to grave, which is very complex for many foods, and to support choices of consumption. The LCA methodology is supported by public standards and public policy measures and has proved its value in business development for more environmentally friendly products. It is an essential feature that the effects...... of resource use and emissions associated with a product’s life cycle can be aggregated into impact categories (e.g., nonrenewable energy use, land occupation, global warming, acidification, etc.) and further aggregated into overall damage impacts (e.g., impacts on biodiversity, human health, and resource...

  18. Life cycle human health impacts of 875 pesticides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fantke, Peter; Jolliet, Oliver

    2016-01-01

    present a consistent framework for characterizing human toxicological impacts associated with pesticides applied to agricultural crops in the frame of life cycle impact assessment based on state-of-the-art data and methods. Methods We combine a dynamic multicrop plant uptake model designed for evaluating......-crop combinations of 10 orders of magnitude. Conclusions Our framework is operational for use in current life cycle impact assessment models, is made available for USEtox, and closes an important gap in the assessment of human exposure to pesticides. For ready use in life cycle assessment studies, we present...... pesticide-crop combination-specific characterization factors normalized to pesticide mass applied and provide default data for application times and loss due to post-harvest food processing. When using our data, we emphasize the need to consult current pesticide regulation, since each pesticide...

  19. Biological Web Service Repositories Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urdidiales-Nieto, David; Navas-Delgado, Ismael; Aldana-Montes, José F

    2017-05-01

    Web services play a key role in bioinformatics enabling the integration of database access and analysis of algorithms. However, Web service repositories do not usually publish information on the changes made to their registered Web services. Dynamism is directly related to the changes in the repositories (services registered or unregistered) and at service level (annotation changes). Thus, users, software clients or workflow based approaches lack enough relevant information to decide when they should review or re-execute a Web service or workflow to get updated or improved results. The dynamism of the repository could be a measure for workflow developers to re-check service availability and annotation changes in the services of interest to them. This paper presents a review on the most well-known Web service repositories in the life sciences including an analysis of their dynamism. Freshness is introduced in this paper, and has been used as the measure for the dynamism of these repositories. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

  20. Technology development life cycle processes.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beck, David Franklin

    2013-05-01

    This report and set of appendices are a collection of memoranda originally drafted in 2009 for the purpose of providing motivation and the necessary background material to support the definition and integration of engineering and management processes related to technology development. At the time there was interest and support to move from Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level One (ad hoc processes) to Level Three. As presented herein, the material begins with a survey of open literature perspectives on technology development life cycles, including published data on %E2%80%9Cwhat went wrong.%E2%80%9D The main thrust of the material presents a rational expose%CC%81 of a structured technology development life cycle that uses the scientific method as a framework, with further rigor added from adapting relevant portions of the systems engineering process. The material concludes with a discussion on the use of multiple measures to assess technology maturity, including consideration of the viewpoint of potential users.

  1. Life-Cycle Models for Survivable Systems

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Linger, Richard

    2002-01-01

    .... Current software development life-cycle models are not focused on creating survivable systems, and exhibit shortcomings when the goal is to develop systems with a high degree of assurance of survivability...

  2. Stakeholder Involvement Throughout the Life Cycle of Nuclear Facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    This report demonstrates the importance of stakeholder involvement throughout the life cycle of all nuclear facilities; including operating reactors, temporary spent fuel storage facilities and final radioactive waste repositories and follows what is defined in the IAEA Safety Standards GS-R-3 where the stakeholders' expectations (identified as 'interested parties' in GS-R-3) shall be taken into consideration 'in the activities and interactions in the processes of the management system, with the aim of enhancing the satisfaction of interested parties while at the same time ensuring that safety is not compromised'. This report explains how involving stakeholders in decision making processes, even for those stakeholder groups that do not have a direct role in making those decisions, can enhance public confidence in the application of nuclear science and technology. In addition, this report presents general guidance on stakeholder involvement. It does not provide detailed procedures for developing and implementing stakeholder involvement programmes, and specifics regarding stakeholder involvement for particular types of nuclear facilities. However, this publication references reports that provide such details. This publication provides assistance to those responsible for planning, designing, constructing, operating or decommissioning a nuclear facility. In addition, regulatory organizations and other authorities overseeing nuclear activities or managing nuclear facility licensing processes are often seen as the main source of independent information for the general public; therefore, stakeholder involvement can demonstrate capability and trustworthiness of regulatory organizations as well. The role of stakeholder involvement at different stages of a facility's life cycle is discussed, with suggestions on developing the components of a comprehensive stakeholder involvement plan. Included is guidance on focusing communication with certain stakeholders, applying various

  3. Nuclear plant life cycle management implementation guide. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sliter, G.E.; Negin, C.A.

    1998-11-01

    Nuclear power plants, as baseload suppliers of electricity, are major corporate assets. As the nuclear industry enters its fourth decade as a major producer of clean electricity, the structure of the utility industry is undergoing a historical landmark transition from economic deregulation to a competitive, market-driven industry. An integral part of competition is to manage the operation of the key asset, the plant, in the long term, thereby enhancing its long-term profitability. Life cycle management (LCM) is a well-known technical-economic decision-making process for any large industrial facility. LCM optimizes the service life of a facility and maximizes its life-cycle asset value. LCM integrates aging management (maintaining the availability of costly-to-replace components and structures) with asset management (plant valuation and investment strategies that account for economic, performance, regulatory, and environmental uncertainties). LCM involves predicting maintenance, repair, and other capital costs for a nuclear unit far into the future, as well as planning and managing strategic issues such as waste disposal, fuel storage, decommissioning, and public acceptance. This Life Cycle Management Implementation Guide introduces the reader to the LCM concept and its benefits, describes the elements and activities associated with an LCM program (most of which already exist in all plants), gives an overview of asset and aging management, and provides key references related to life cycle management for nuclear power plants. It also summarizes the major elements of life cycle management required for license renewal or, for newer plants, keeping open the option of license renewal

  4. A Life-Cycle Analysis of Social Security with Housing

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Kaiji

    2009-01-01

    This paper incorporates two features of housing in a life-cycle analysis of social security: housing as a durable good and housing market frictions. We find that with housing as a durable good unfunded social security substantially crowds out housing consumption throughout the life cycle. By contrast, aggregate non-durable consumption is higher when social security is present, although it is postponed until late in life. Moreover, in the presence of housing market frictions, social security l...

  5. KOH concentration effect on the cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, H. S.; Verzwyvelt, S. A.

    1985-01-01

    Effects of KOH concentration on the cycle life of a sintered-type nickel electrode were studied in a boiler plate nickel-hydrogen cell at 23 C using an accelerated 45-min cycle regime at 80 percent depth of discharge. The cycle life improved greatly as the KOH concentration decreased, although the initial capacity of the cell decreased slightly. The cycle life improved by a factor of two or more when the KOH concentration was reduced from 36 to 31 percent and by a similar factor from reductions of 31 to 26 percent. For many applications, this life improvement may outweigh the initial capacity decrease.

  6. Life cycle assessment of electronic waste treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Jinglan; Shi, Wenxiao; Wang, Yutao; Chen, Wei; Li, Xiangzhi

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Life cycle assessment of electronic waste recycling is quantified. • Key factors for reducing the overall environmental impact are indentified. • End-life disposal processes provide significant environmental benefits. • Efficiently reduce the improper disposal amount of e-waste is highly needed. • E-waste incineration can generate significant environmental burden. - Abstract: Life cycle assessment was conducted to estimate the environmental impact of electronic waste (e-waste) treatment. E-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario is environmentally beneficial because of the low environmental burden generated from human toxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and marine ecotoxicity categories. Landfill and incineration technologies have a lower and higher environmental burden than the e-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario, respectively. The key factors in reducing the overall environmental impact of e-waste recycling are optimizing energy consumption efficiency, reducing wastewater and solid waste effluent, increasing proper e-waste treatment amount, avoiding e-waste disposal to landfill and incineration sites, and clearly defining the duties of all stakeholders (e.g., manufacturers, retailers, recycling companies, and consumers)

  7. Life cycle assessment of electronic waste treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong, Jinglan, E-mail: hongjing@sdu.edu.cn [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Shandong University Climate Change and Health Center, Public Health School, Shandong University, Jinan 250012 (China); Shi, Wenxiao [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Wang, Yutao [School of Life Science, Shandong University, Shanda South Road 27, Jinan 250100 (China); Chen, Wei [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Li, Xiangzhi, E-mail: xiangzhi@sdu.edu.cn [School of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012 (China)

    2015-04-15

    Highlights: • Life cycle assessment of electronic waste recycling is quantified. • Key factors for reducing the overall environmental impact are indentified. • End-life disposal processes provide significant environmental benefits. • Efficiently reduce the improper disposal amount of e-waste is highly needed. • E-waste incineration can generate significant environmental burden. - Abstract: Life cycle assessment was conducted to estimate the environmental impact of electronic waste (e-waste) treatment. E-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario is environmentally beneficial because of the low environmental burden generated from human toxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and marine ecotoxicity categories. Landfill and incineration technologies have a lower and higher environmental burden than the e-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario, respectively. The key factors in reducing the overall environmental impact of e-waste recycling are optimizing energy consumption efficiency, reducing wastewater and solid waste effluent, increasing proper e-waste treatment amount, avoiding e-waste disposal to landfill and incineration sites, and clearly defining the duties of all stakeholders (e.g., manufacturers, retailers, recycling companies, and consumers)

  8. Life cycle evaluation of spaceflight qualified nickel-hydrogen batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coates, D.K.; Brill, J.N. [Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc., Joplin, MO (United States). Advanced Systems Operation

    1995-12-31

    Life cycle test results are summarized from more than 300 spaceflight qualified nickel-hydrogen (NiH{sub 2}) battery cells currently on life test. Cells ranging in size from 4 ampere-hours (Ah) to 120 Ah are being tested under a variety of conditions to support current NiH{sub 2} battery applications. Results to date include 55,600 accelerated LEO cycles at 30% DOD; 102,840 accelerated LEO cycles at 15% DOD; 44,900 cycles under a real-time LEO profile; 44,100 cycles in real-time LEO; 30 accelerated GEO eclipse seasons and 7 real-time GEO eclipse seasons, both at 75% DOD maximum. Alternative separator materials have completed more than 40,000 charge/discharge cycles in accelerated LEO testing and advanced design electrocatalytic hydrogen electrodes have completed more than 16,000 cycles in real-time LEO testing. Common pressure vessel cell designs have completed 18,000 cycles in real-time LEO testing at 45% DOD.

  9. Life cycle assessment of a wind farm and related externalities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schleisner, Liselotte

    2000-01-01

    This paper concentrates on the assessment of energy and emissions related to the production and manufacture of materials for an offshore wind farm as well as a wind farm on land based on a life cycle analysis (LCA) model. In Denmark a model has been developed for life cycle assessments of different...... materials. The model is able to assess the energy use related to the production, transportation and manufacture of 1 kg of material. The energy use is divided into fuels used in order to estimate the emissions through the life cycle. In the paper the model and the attached assumptions are described......, and the model is demonstrated for two wind farms. The externalities for the wind farms are reported, showing the importance of life cycle assessment for renewable energy technologies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved....

  10. Petri Net Modeling of Computer Virus Life Cycle | Ikekonwu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Virus life cycle, which refers to the stages of development of a computer virus, is presented as a suitable area for the application of Petri nets. Petri nets a powerful modeling tool in the field of dynamic system analysis is applied to model the virus life cycle. Simulation of the derived model is also presented. The intention of ...

  11. Organizational Life Cycle and the Growth of Information Technology Stage Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamshid Nazemi

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available : Organizations have the different patterns of behaviors on management practice and the use of systems during their life cycle and due to rapid growth of information technology, the application of appropriate technologies is becoming an essential part of business, as well. The adaptation of appropriate management systems on different stages of organizational life period will affect on sustainability of the firms and success to move to next stage and alignment and collaboration schema of IS/IT and business requirement affects on management effectiveness at every stage. This research investigated the significance of relationship between management behavior and IS/IT usage and the generic approach selected by companies. The results showed that organizations have chosen different approach during their life cycle and as they faced with unique challenges on each stage, a common practice on using information technology and applications became part of organizational life cycle. A generic model for information technology usage on organization life cycle was also developed that will assist organizations to select and develop IS/IT plans which addresses the requirements for each stage of life cycle.

  12. Assessing environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    2005-01-01

    is focused on the product system which comprises all the processes which the product and its components meet throughout their lives- from the extraction of raw materials via manufacture, use and waste management to final disposal, or in short from the cradle to the grave (see Figure 1). The focus......What are the environmental impacts from an armchairor a cellular phone or a steak, if you take into account all the activities needed to produce, maintain, use or consume and eventually dispose of it? Life cycle impact assessment is the part of life cycle assessment (LCA) where the inventory...... of material flows in the life cycle of a product are translated into environmental impacts and consumption of resources, and questions like these are given an answer. The environmental impacts may range from very local (e.g. land use) to global (like climate change). As an environmental analysis tool, LCA...

  13. Geothermal life cycle assessment - part 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sullivan, J. L. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Frank, E. D. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Han, J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Elgowainy, A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Wang, M. Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2013-11-01

    A set of key issues pertaining to the environmental performance of geothermal electric power have been addressed. They include: 1) greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from geothermal facilities, 2) the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a geofluid for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), 3) quantifying the impact of well field exploration on the life cycle of geothermal power, and finally 4) criteria pollutant emissions for geothermal and other electric power generation. A GHG emission rate (g/kWh) distribution as function of cumulative running capacity for California has been developed based on California and U. S. government data. The distribution is similar to a global distribution for compared geothermal technologies. A model has been developed to estimate life cycle energy of and CO2 emissions from a coupled pair of coal and EGS plants, the latter of which is powered by scCO2 captured from coal plant side. Depending on the CO2 capture rate on the coal side and the CO2 consumption rate on the EGS side, significant reductions in GHG emissions were computed when the combined system is compared to its conventional coal counterpart. In effect, EGS CO2 consumption acts as a sequestration mechanism for the coal plant. The effects CO2 emissions from the coupled system, prompt on the coal side and reservoir leakage on the EGS side, were considered as well as the subsequent decline of these emissions after entering the atmosphere over a time frame of 100 years. A model was also developed to provide better estimates of the impact of well field exploration on the life cycle performance of geothermal power production. The new estimates increase the overall life cycle metrics for the geothermal systems over those previously estimated. Finally, the GREET model has been updated to include the most recent criteria pollutant emissions for a range of renewable (including geothermal) and other power

  14. Development of computer software for pavement life cycle cost analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-01-01

    The life cycle cost analysis program (LCCA) is designed to automate and standardize life cycle costing in Virginia. It allows the user to input information necessary for the analysis, and it then completes the calculations and produces a printed copy...

  15. The product life cycle revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulhøi, John Parm

    1995-01-01

    Efter et introduktionsafsnit følger afsnit II, hvor der gives en historisk analyse af Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) og Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). I afsnit III munder analysen ud i en vurdering af ligheder og forskelle mellem LCA analyser og EIA analyser, og en diskussion følger af...

  16. Menopause: A Life Cycle Transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evarts, Barbara Kess; Baldwin, Cynthia

    1998-01-01

    Family therapists need to address the issue of menopause proactively to be of benefit to couples and families during this transitional period in the family life cycle. Physical, psychological, and psychosocial factors affecting the menopausal woman and her family, and ways to address these issues in counseling are discussed. (Author/EMK)

  17. Life cycle uses of concrete for more sustainable construction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horvath, A. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2001-07-01

    This paper examined ways in which the environmental burdens of construction in general and concrete production in particular can be reduced. Aggregates for concrete production include sand, gravel and stone. They account for most (80 per cent) of the materials used in the United States. This paper argued that given the fact that environmental concerns are an important social issue, the issue of natural resource conservation should be addressed. Some of the life-cycle assessments and comparative design issues associated with concrete construction were summarized. The author presented the example that often the initial cost of a new pavement application may indicate a lower environmental impact than an equivalent design when asphalt is used over reinforced concrete. However, annualized impacts may result in comparable environmental assessments. The same is true for bridge girders, reinforced concrete also seems to be a better environmental choice than steel. This paper also described end-of-life options that involve the use of waste products and recycled products in concrete and other materials to reduce the overall environmental impacts of a product or facility. This paper was divided into several sections entitled: life cycle assessments; life cycle inventory assessment of concretes and asphalt pavements; and, life cycle inventory assessment of concrete and steel bridge girders. 16 refs., 4 tabs.

  18. Life-cycle design for sustainable architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Thiébat

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability in architecture should involve environmental and social aspects and also economic aspects. However, in a design process budget issues usually outweigh ecological aspects. How can we then drive clients and builders to put more socially responsible buildings on the market that do not exceed the fixed budget but are environmentally friendly? This paper propose an economic and environmental assessment tool to aid private or public building designers and owners to find the global sustainability value of a green building within a life cycle perspective. Sustainable life cycle tools for buildings design and construction help to achieve successfully integrated architecture. The research here presented proposes a new point of view of the “time-cost-quality triangle” of Project Management, by introducing three further aspects: environment, society and aesthetics.

  19. Incorporating time-corrected life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle regulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendall, Alissa; Price, Lindsay

    2012-03-06

    Beginning with model year 2012, light-duty vehicles sold in the U.S. are subject to new rules that regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on grams of CO(2)-equivalent per mile (gCO(2)e/mi). However, improvements in vehicle technology, lower-carbon fuels, and improvements in GHG accounting practices which account for distortions related to emissions timing all contribute to shifting a greater portion of life cycle emissions away from the vehicle use phase and toward the vehicle production phase. This article proposes methods for calculating time-corrected life cycle emissions intensity on a gCO(2)e/mi basis and explores whether regulating only tailpipe CO(2) could lead to an undesirable regulatory outcome, where technologies and vehicle architectures with higher life cycle GHGs are favored over technologies with lower life cycle emissions but with higher tailpipe GHG emissions. Two life cycle GHG assessments for future vehicles are presented in addition to time correction factors for production and end-of-life GHG emissions. Results demonstrate that, based on the vehicle designs considered here, there is a potential for favoring vehicles with higher life cycle emissions if only tailpipe emissions are regulated; moreover, the application of time correction factors amplifies the importance of production emissions and the potential for a perverse outcome.

  20. Life-cycle assessment of Nebraska bridges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-01

    Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a necessary component in bridge management systems (BMSs) for : assessing investment decisions and identifying the most cost-effective improvement alternatives. The : LCCA helps to identify the lowest cost alternati...

  1. Life Cycle Thinking, Measurement and Management for Food System Sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Nathan

    2015-07-07

    Food systems critically contribute to our collective sustainability outcomes. Improving food system sustainability requires life cycle thinking, measurement and management strategies. This article reviews the status quo and future prospects for bringing life cycle approaches to food system sustainability to the fore.

  2. Life cycle management of service water systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egan, Geoffrey R.; Besuner, Philip M.; Mahajan, Sat P.

    2004-01-01

    As nuclear plants age, more attention must focus on age and time dependent degradation mechanisms such as corrosion, erosion, fatigue, etc. These degradation mechanisms can best be managed by developing a life cycle management plan which integrates past historical data, current conditions and future performance needs. In this paper we present two examples of life cycle management. In the first example, the 20-year maintenance history of a sea water cooling system (cement-lined, cast iron) is reviewed to develop attributes like maintenance cost, spare part inventory, corrosion, and repair data. Based on this information, the future expected damage rate was forecast. The cost of managing the future damage was compared with the cost to replace (in kind and with upgraded materials. A decision optimization scheme was developed to choose the least cost option from: a) Run as-is and repair; b) replace in kind; or c) replace with upgraded material and better design. In the second example, life cycle management techniques were developed for a ceilcote lined steel pipe cooling water system. Screens (fixed and traveling), filters, pumps, motors, valves, and piping were evaluated. (author)

  3. The Adult Life Spiral: A Critique of the Life Cycle Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Peter; Etzkowitz, Henry

    We can identify and describe alternate paths of adulthood utilizing data from interviews with single adults. Our review of major models used in adulthood studies suggests that a developmental model, such as Daniel Levinson's life cycle model, is too tied to the notion of the imminent unfolding of the life course. The age-stratification theory…

  4. Techno-Economics & Life Cycle Assessment (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dutta, A.; Davis, R.

    2011-12-01

    This presentation provides an overview of the techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) capabilities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and describes the value of working with NREL on TEA and LCA.

  5. Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness: Some Preliminary Evidence

    OpenAIRE

    Robert E. Quinn; Kim Cameron

    1983-01-01

    This paper discusses the relationships between stage of development in organizational life cycles and organizational effectiveness. We begin the paper by reviewing nine models of organizational life cycles that have been proposed in the literature. Each of these models identifies certain characteristics that typify organizations in different stages of development. A summary model of life cycle stages is derived that integrates each of these nine models. Next, a framework of organizational eff...

  6. Environmental impacts of construction materials use: a life cycle perspective

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ampofo-Anti, N

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available of the environmental impacts of a product (or service). The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) concept previously known as Life Cycle Analysis has emerged as one of the most appropriate tools for assessing product-related environmental impacts and for supporting an effective...

  7. Dealing with Emergy Algebra in the Life Cycle Assessment Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) represents one of the four steps of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, which is a standardized procedure (ISO 14040:2006) to estimate the environmental impacts generated by the production, use and disposal of goods and services. In this co...

  8. A CASKCOM: A cask life cycle cost model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1989-01-01

    CASKCOM (cask cost model) is a computerized model which calculates the life cycle costs (LCC) associated with specific transportation cask designs and discounts those costs, if the user so chooses, to a net present value. The model has been used to help analyze and compare the life cycle economics of burnup credit and nonburnup credit cask designs being considered as conditions for a new generation of spent fuel transportation casks. CASKCOM is parametric in the sense that its input data can be easily changed in order to analyze and compare the life cycle cost implications arising from alternative assumptions. The input data themselves are organized into two main groupings. The first grouping comprises a set of data which is independent of cask design. This first grouping does not change from the analysis of one cask design to another. The second grouping of data is specific to each individual cask design. This second grouping thus changes each time a new cask design is analyzed

  9. Small business life cycle: statics and dynamics (S

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matejun Marek

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is the presentation of theoretical foundations and the structure of original, 8-stage statics and dynamics model in the small business life cycle. Based on theoretical considerations, two hypotheses concerning the impact of dynamic and static nature of the life-cycle stages on selected determinants and effects of SMEs’ development were formulated. The hypotheses were verified based on the results of the survey conducted on a sample of 1,741 SMEs from 22 countries of the European Union. The results indicate that companies in the dynamic life-cycle stages are run by more enterprising owners, operate in more promising markets with a higher potential and make greater use of market niches thus limiting the level of competition. At the same time, such companies are characterised by higher levels of flexibility and involvement in innovative activities, which translates into obtaining a significantly higher level of business performance, in the area of quantitative as well as qualitative results.

  10. Quantifying Cost Risk Early in the Life Cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mar, B.

    2004-01-01

    A new method for analyzing life cycle cost risk on large programs is presented that responds to an increased emphasis on improving sustainability for long-term programs. This method provides better long-term risk assessment and risk management techniques. It combines standard Monte Carlo analysis of risk drivers and a new data-driven method developed by the BMDO. The approach permits quantification of risks throughout the entire life cycle without resorting to difficult to support subjective methods. The BMDO methodology is shown to be relatively straightforward to apply to a specific component or process within a project using standard technical risk assessment methods. The total impact on system is obtained using the program WBS, which allows for the capture of correlated risks shared by multiple WBS items. Once the correlations and individual component risks are captured, a Monte Carlo simulation can be run using a modeling tool such as ANALYTICA to produce the overall life cycle cost risk

  11. Sustainable Development Factors in Pavement Life-Cycle: Highway/Airport Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peyman Babashamsi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability has gained as much importance as management in business. Sustainable pavement development as a business practice should involve making evaluations according to the triple bottom line in the pavement life-cycle. Despite the current approaches to evaluating the social as well as economic and environmental feasibility of pavement projects (involving highway and airport infrastructure, there has recently been a lack of consensus on a methodology to guarantee sustainability upon assessment and analysis during the pavement life-cycle. As sustainability is a complex issue, this study intends to further explore sustainability and elaborate on its meaning. The second step involves a general depiction of the major sustainability appraisal tools, namely cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle cost analysis, life-cycle assessment, multi-criteria decision-making, environmental impact assessment and social life-cycle assessment, and an explanation of their cons and pros. Subsequently, the article addresses the application of an organized methodology to highlight the main factors or concepts that should be applied in sustainable pavement development and, more specifically, in sustainable pavement management. In the final step, research recommendations toward sustainability are given. This study is aimed to assist decision-makers in pavement management to plan sustainability frameworks in accordance with probable boundaries and restrictions.

  12. Records for radioactive waste management up to repository closure: Managing the primary level information (PLI) set

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-07-01

    The objective of this publication is to highlight the importance of the early establishment of a comprehensive records system to manage primary level information (PLI) as an integrated set of information, not merely as a collection of information, throughout all the phases of radioactive waste management. Early establishment of a comprehensive records system to manage Primary Level Information as an integrated set of information throughout all phases of radioactive waste management is important. In addition to the information described in the waste inventory record keeping system (WIRKS), the PLI of a radioactive waste repository consists of the entire universe of information, data and records related to any aspect of the repository's life cycle. It is essential to establish PLI requirements based on integrated set of needs from Regulators and Waste Managers involved in the waste management chain and to update these requirements as needs change over time. Information flow for radioactive waste management should be back-end driven. Identification of an Authority that will oversee the management of PLI throughout all phases of the radioactive waste management life cycle would guarantee the information flow to future generations. The long term protection of information essential to future generations can only be assured by the timely establishment of a comprehensive and effective RMS capable of capturing, indexing and evaluating all PLI. The loss of intellectual control over the PLI will make it very difficult to subsequently identify the ILI and HLI information sets. At all times prior to the closure of a radioactive waste repository, there should be an identifiable entity with a legally enforceable financial and management responsibility for the continued operation of a PLI Records Management System. The information presented in this publication will assist Member States in ensuring that waste and repository records, relevant for retention after repository closure

  13. Analysis of the seismic hazard to an underground waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wight, L.H.

    1979-01-01

    Conclusions are: The consequence associated with intense vibratory shaking of a well-designed repository is essentially negligible. The specification of an appropriate seismic vibratory design criteria could best be accomplished with a Bayesian seismic hazard assessment, using geologic slip rates as input. The consequence associated with fault displacement is very site specific and dependent on the host geologic media and its permeability changes in response to fault displacement. The probability of faulting through a repository in its million year design life is rather high, principally because of a high probability of primary or secondary faulting on undetected faults. The faulting probability can be minimized by deploying sophisticated site certification programs. High resolution microseismic surveillance seems to be most appropriate. The author's judgement is that the repository simulation program can neglect consequences associated with shaking of the repository, but that the probability of significant fault displacement through the repository during its design life should be conservatively taken as one

  14. Biological catalysis of the hydrological cycle: life's thermodynamic function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaelian, K.

    2011-01-01

    Darwinian theory depicts life as being overwhelmingly consumed by a fight for survival in a hostile environment. However, from a thermodynamic perspective, life is a dynamic out of equilibrium process, stabilizing and coevolving in concert with its abiotic environment. The living component of the biosphere on the surface of the Earth of greatest biomass, the plants and cyanobacteria, are involved in the transpiration of a vast amount of water. Transpiration is part of the global water cycle, and it is this cycle that distinguishes Earth from its apparently life barren neighboring planets, Venus and Mars. The dissipation of sunlight into heat by organic molecules in the biosphere and its coupling to the water cycle (as well as other abiotic processes), is by far the greatest entropy producing process occurring on Earth. Life, from this perspective, can be viewed as performing an important thermodynamic function; acting as a dynamic catalyst by aiding irreversible abiotic process such as the water cycle, hurricanes, and ocean and wind currents to produce entropy. The role of animals in this view is that of unwitting but dedicated servants of the plants and cyanobacteria, helping them to grow and to spread into initially inhospitable areas.

  15. Life cycle replacement by gene introduction under an allee effect in periodical cicadas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nariai, Yukiko; Hayashi, Saki; Morita, Satoru; Umemura, Yoshitaka; Tainaka, Kei-ichi; Sota, Teiji; Cooley, John R; Yoshimura, Jin

    2011-04-06

    Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) in the USA are divided into three species groups (-decim, -cassini, -decula) of similar but distinct morphology and behavior. Each group contains at least one species with a 17-year life cycle and one with a 13-year cycle; each species is most closely related to one with the other cycle. One explanation for the apparent polyphyly of 13- and 17-year life cycles is that populations switch between the two cycles. Using a numerical model, we test the general feasibility of life cycle switching by the introduction of alleles for one cycle into populations of the other cycle. Our results suggest that fitness reductions at low population densities of mating individuals (the Allee effect) could play a role in life cycle switching. In our model, if the 13-year cycle is genetically dominant, a 17-year cycle population will switch to a 13-year cycle given the introduction of a few 13-year cycle alleles under a moderate Allee effect. We also show that under a weak Allee effect, different year-classes ("broods") with 17-year life cycles can be generated. Remarkably, the outcomes of our models depend only on the dominance relationships of the cycle alleles, irrespective of any fitness advantages.

  16. Life cycle replacement by gene introduction under an allee effect in periodical cicadas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukiko Nariai

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp. in the USA are divided into three species groups (-decim, -cassini, -decula of similar but distinct morphology and behavior. Each group contains at least one species with a 17-year life cycle and one with a 13-year cycle; each species is most closely related to one with the other cycle. One explanation for the apparent polyphyly of 13- and 17-year life cycles is that populations switch between the two cycles. Using a numerical model, we test the general feasibility of life cycle switching by the introduction of alleles for one cycle into populations of the other cycle. Our results suggest that fitness reductions at low population densities of mating individuals (the Allee effect could play a role in life cycle switching. In our model, if the 13-year cycle is genetically dominant, a 17-year cycle population will switch to a 13-year cycle given the introduction of a few 13-year cycle alleles under a moderate Allee effect. We also show that under a weak Allee effect, different year-classes ("broods" with 17-year life cycles can be generated. Remarkably, the outcomes of our models depend only on the dominance relationships of the cycle alleles, irrespective of any fitness advantages.

  17. Life-cycle assessment of textiles manufacture of polyester shirt (VB)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Othman, Samer; Peter, Oduro Justice; Hassan, Osama

    1998-01-01

    According to the EDIP (Environmental Design of Industrial Products), It is made possible to perform resource and environmental profile analysis of the 100% polyester shirt. In order to understand the true life-cycle consequences, life-cycle analysis of a typical 100% polyester shirt was carried out...

  18. Data life cycle: a perspective from the Information Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo César Gonçalves Sant’Ana

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Access and use of data as a key factor has been extended to several areas of knowledge of today's society. It’s necessary to develop a new perspective that presents phases and factors involved in these processes, providing an initial analysis structure, allowing the efforts, skills and actions organization related to the data life cycle. Purpose: This article is a proposal for a new look at the data life cycle, that assumes, as a central element, the data itself, supporting itself on the concepts and contributions that Information Science can provide, without giving up the reflections on the role of other key areas such as Computer Science. Methodology: The methodological procedures consisted of bibliographic research and content analysis to describe the phases and factors related to the Data Life Cycle, developing reflections and considerations from context already consolidated in the development of systems that can corroborate the idea of centrality of data. Results: The results describe the phases of: collect, storage, recovery and discard, permeated by transverse factors: privacy, integration, quality, copyright, dissemination and preservation, composing a Data Life Cycle. Conclusions: The current context of the availability of large volumes of data, with great variety and at speeds that provide access in real time, setting the so-called Big Data that requires new concerns about access and use processes of data. The Information Science may offer a new approach, now centered in the data, and contribute to the optimization of Data Life Cycle as a whole, extending bridges between users and the data they need.

  19. Release consequence analysis for a hypothetical geologic radioactive waste repository in salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-08-01

    One subtask conducted under the INFCE program is to evaluate and compare the health and safety impacts of different fuel cycles in which all radioactive wastes (except those from mining and milling) are placed in a geologic repository in salt. To achieve this objective, INFCE Working Group 7 examined the radiologic dose to humans from geologic repositories containing waste arisings as defined for seven reference fuel cycles. This report examines the release consequences for a generic waste repository in bedded salt. The top of the salt formation and the top of the repository are assumed to be 250 and 600 m, respectively, below the surface. The hydrogeologic structure above the salt consists of two aquifers and two aquitards. The aquifers connect to a river 6.2 km from the repository. The regional gradient to the river is 1 m/km in all aquifers. Hydrologic, transport, and dose models were used to model two release scenarios for each fuel cycle, one without a major disturbance and one in which a major geologic perturbation breached the repository immediately after it was sealed. The purpose of the modeling was to predict the rate of transport of radioactive contaminants from the repository through the geosphere to the biosphere, and to determine the potential dose to humans. Of the many radionuclides in the waste, only 129 I and 226 Ra arrived at the river in sufficient concentrations for a measurable dose calculation. Radionuclide concentrations in the ground water pose no threat to man because the ground water is a concentrated brine and it is diluted by a factor of 10 6 to 10 7 upon entering the river

  20. An attributional life cycle assessment for an Italian residential multifamily building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitale, Pierluca; Arena, Umberto

    2017-09-06

    The study describes an attributional life cycle assessment carried out according to the ISO standards and focused on an Italian multifamily residential building. The aim was developing an exhaustive and reliable inventory of high-quality primary data, comparing the environmental impacts along the three stages of the building life cycle. The pre-use phase takes into account the production of all the construction materials, transportation, and on-site assembling. The use phase quantifies the resource consumptions for 50 years of the building utilization and ordinary maintenance. The end-of-life phase includes the building demolition and the management of generated wastes. The results quantify how the design criteria affect the environmental performances of the residential building along its life cycle. The role of the pre-use phase appears remarkable for global warming potential (GWP), due to the huge impacts of steel and concrete production processes. The use phase gives the largest contributions, which reach 77% and 84% of the total, for the categories of global warming and non-renewable energy. The end-of-life phase provides limited avoided impacts. A comparative analysis quantifies the improvements achievable with an alternative type of partitions and external walls. Acronyms: AC: air conditioning; C&DW: construction and demolition waste; CFL: compact fluorescent lamp; DHW: domestic hot water; EC: European Commission; EU: European Union; GDP: gross domestic product; GHG: greenhouse gases; GWP: global warming potential; LCA: life cycle assessment; LCI: life cycle inventory; LCIA: life cycle impact assessment; MFA: material flow analysis; NREP: non-renewable energy potential; RINP: respiratory inorganics potential; WFD: Waste Framework Directive.

  1. Application of product life cycle concept to private label management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Horvat

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Private labels have recorded significant growth rates worldwide, becoming a serious threat to manufacturer brands. Development of private labels in many different product categories increased the complexity of their management. Therefore, this paper examines the possibility of using the product life cycle concept in private label management. Given that private labels are a specific brand type, it is necessary to adjust certain elements of the product life cycle concept, as it was developed on the basis of manufacturer brands. For instance, in the growth stage of the product life cycle, retailers expand private labels to a number of product categories and use the push strategy while manufacturers tend to expand their distribution network in the expansion of their brands and predominantly use the pull strategy in doing so. Furthermore, there is a focus shift from low-price strategy, predominantly used in the introduction phase, to increasing the quality and private label value in the later stages of the product life cycle.

  2. Life-cycle cost assessment of seismically base-isolated structures in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Hao; Weng, Dagen; Lu, Xilin; Lu, Liang

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The life-cycle cost of seismic base-isolated nuclear power plants is modeled. • The change law of life-cycle cost with seismic fortification intensity is studied. • The initial cost of laminated lead rubber bearings can be expressed as the function of volume. • The initial cost of a damper can be expressed as the function of its maximum displacement and tonnage. • The use of base-isolation can greatly reduce the expected damage cost, which leads to the reduction of the life-cycle cost. -- Abstract: Evaluation of seismically base-isolated structural life-cycle cost is the key problem in performance based seismic design. A method is being introduced to address the life-cycle cost of base-isolated reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plants. Each composition of life-cycle cost is analyzed including the initial construction cost, the isolators cost and the excepted damage cost over life-cycle of the structure. The concept of seismic intensity is being used to estimate the expected damage cost, greatly simplifying the calculation. Moreover, French Cruas nuclear power plant is employed as an example to assess its life-cycle cost, compared to the cost of non-isolated plant at the same time. The results show that the proposed method is efficient and the expected damage cost is enormously reduced because of the application of isolators, which leads to the reduction of the life-cycle cost of nuclear power plants

  3. Implementing risk-informed life-cycle design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, Ralph S. III

    2007-01-01

    This paper describes a design process based on risk-informed probabilistic methodologies that cover a facility's life-cycle from start of conceptual design through decontamination and decommissioning. The concept uses probabilistic risk assessments to identify target reliabilities for facility systems and components. Target reliabilities are used in system and subsystem simulation analyses to determine the optimum combination of initial system and component construction reliability, maintenance frequency, and inspection frequency for both active and passive components. The target reliabilities are also used for system based code margin exchange to reduce excessive level of margins to appropriate levels resulting in a more flexible structure of codes and standards that improves facility reliability and cost. The paper includes a description of a risk informed life-cycle design process, a summary of work being done, and a discussion of work needed to implement the process. (author)

  4. Impact of advanced fuel cycle options on waste management policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gordelier, Stan; Cavedon, Jean-Marc

    2006-01-01

    OECD/NEA has performed a study on the impact of advanced fuel cycle options on waste management policies with 33 experts from 12 member countries, 1 non-member country and 2 international organizations. The study extends a series of previous ones on partitioning and transmutation (P and T) issues, focusing on the performance assessments for repositories of high-level waste (HLW) arising from advanced fuel cycles. This study covers a broader spectrum than previous studies, from present industrial practice to fully closed cycles via partially closed cycles (in terms of transuranic elements); 9 fuel cycle schemes and 4 variants. Elements of fuel cycles are considered primarily as sources of waste, the internal mass flows of each scheme being kept for the sake of mass conservation. The compositions, activities and heat loads of all waste flows are also tracked. Their impact is finally assessed on the waste repository concepts. The study result confirms the findings from the previous NEA studies on P and T on maximal reduction of the waste source term and maximal use of uranium resources. In advanced fuel cycle schemes the activity of the waste is reduced by burning first plutonium and then minor actinides and also the uranium consumption is reduced, as the fraction of fast reactors in the park is increased to 100%. The result of the repository performance assessments, analysing the effect of different HLW isotopic composition on repository performance and on repository capacity, shows that the maximum dose released to biosphere at any time in normal conditions remains, for all schemes and for all the repository concepts examined, well below accepted radiation protection thresholds. The major impact is on the detailed concept of the repositories, through heat load and waste volume. Advanced fuel cycles could allow a repository to cover waste produced from 5 to 20 times more electricity generation than PWR once-through cycle. Given the flexibility of the advanced fuel

  5. Life Cycle Assessment Of Hydrogen Production From Natural Gas Reforming Process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozturk, M.

    2010-01-01

    Society has become concerned about the issues of natural resource depletion and environmental degradation. The environmental performance of products or processes has become a key issue, which is why ways to minimize the effects on the environment are investigated. The most effective tool for this purpose is called life cycle assessment (LCA). This concept considers the entire life cycle of product or process. The life cycle of a product begins with the extraction of raw materials from the earth to create the product and ends at the point when all materials are returned to the earth. LCA makes it possible to estimate the cumulative environmental impacts resulting from all stages in the product life cycle, often including impacts not considered in more traditional analyses. Therefore, LCA provides a comprehensive view of the environmental aspects of the product or process and a more accurate picture of the true environmental trade-offs in product selection. In the case of this study, life cycle assessments of hydrogen production via natural gas reforming process are investigated for environmental affect.

  6. Release consequence analysis for a hypothetical geologic radioactive waste repository in hard rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-12-01

    This report makes an evaluation of the long-term behaviour of the wastes placed in a hard rock repository. Impacts were analyzed for the seven reference fuel cycles of WG 7. The reference repository for this study is for granitic rock or gneiss as the host rock. The descriptions of waste packages and repository facilities used in this study represent only one of many possible designs based on the multiple barriers concept. The repository's size is based on a nuclear economy producing 100 gigawatts of electricity per year for 1 year. The objective of the modeling efforts presented in this study is to predict the rate of transport of radioactive contaminants from the repository through the geosphere to the biosphere and thus determine an estimate of the potential dose to humans so that the release consequence impacts of the various fuel cycles can be compared. Currently available hydrologic, leach, transport, and dose models were used in this study

  7. Design for life-cycle profit with simultaneous consideration of initial manufacturing and end-of-life remanufacturing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Minjung; Kim, Harrison

    2015-01-01

    Remanufacturing is emerging as a promising solution for achieving green, profitable businesses. This article considers a manufacturer that produces new products and also remanufactured versions of the new products that become available at the end of their life cycle. For such a manufacturer, design decisions at the initial design stage determine both the current profit from manufacturing and future profit from remanufacturing. To maximize the total profit, design decisions must carefully consider both ends of product life cycle, i.e. manufacturing and end-of-life stages. This article proposes a decision-support model for the life-cycle design using mixed-integer nonlinear programming. With an aim to maximize the total life-cycle profit, the proposed model searches for an (at least locally) optimal product design (i.e. design specifications and the selling price) for the new and remanufactured products. It optimizes both the initial design and design upgrades at the end-of-life stage and also provides corresponding production strategies, including production quantities and take-back rate. The model is extended to a multi-objective model that maximizes both economic profit and environmental-impact saving. To illustrate, the developed model is demonstrated with an example of a desktop computer.

  8. Life cycle costs for Alaska bridges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-08-01

    A study was implemented to assist the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) with life cycle costs for : the Alaska Highway Bridge Inventory. The study consisted of two parts. Part 1 involved working with regional offices...

  9. EASEWASTE-life cycle modeling capabilities for waste management technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh; Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    2010-01-01

    Background, Aims and Scope The management of municipal solid waste and the associated environmental impacts are subject of growing attention in industrialized countries. EU has recently strongly emphasized the role of LCA in its waste and resource strategies. The development of sustainable solid...... waste management systems applying a life-cycle perspective requires readily understandable tools for modelling the life cycle impacts of waste management systems. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the structure, functionalities and LCA modelling capabilities of the PC-based life cycle oriented...... waste management model EASEWASTE, developed at the Technical University of Denmark specifically to meet the needs of the waste system developer with the objective to evaluate the environmental performance of the various elements of existing or proposed solid waste management systems. Materials...

  10. Models of the Organizational Life Cycle: Applications to Higher Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Kim S.; Whetten, David A.

    1983-01-01

    A review of models of group and organization life cycle development is provided and the applicability of those models for institutions of higher education are discussed. An understanding of the problems and characteristics present in different life cycle stages can help institutions manage transitions more effectively. (Author/MLW)

  11. Life cycle emissions from renewable energy technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bates, J.; Watkiss, P.; Thorpe, T.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents the methodology used in the ETSU review, together with the detailed results for three of the technologies studied: wind turbines, photovoltaic systems and small, stand-alone solar thermal systems. These emissions are then compared with those calculated for both other renewables and fossil fuel technology on a similar life cycle basis. The life cycle emissions associated with renewable energy technology vary considerably. They are lowest for those technologies where the renewable resource has been concentrated in some way (e.g. over distance in the case of wind and hydro, or over time in the case of energy crops). Wind turbines have amongst the lowest emissions of all renewables and are lower than those for fossil fuel generation, often by over an order of magnitude. Photovoltaics and solar thermal systems have the highest life cycle emissions of all the renewable energy technologies under review. However, their emissions of most pollutants are also much lower than those associated with fossil fuel technologies. In addition, the emissions associated with PV are likely to fall further in the future as the conversion efficiency of PV cells increases and manufacturing technology switches to thin film technologies, which are less energy intensive. Combining the assessments of life cycle emissions of renewables with predictions made by the World Energy Council (WEC) of their future deployment has allowed estimates to be made of amount by which renewables could reduce the future global emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It estimated that under the WEC's 'Ecologically Driven' scenario, renewables might lead to significant reductions of between 3650 and 8375 Mt in annual CO 2 emissions depending on the fossil fuel technology they are assumed to displace. (author)

  12. 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.

  13. Safety case for Slovenian LILW near-surface repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viršek, Sandi; Špiler, Janja; Žagar, Tomaž

    2016-01-01

    Conclusions: • Repository provides the fulfillment of international and national legal requirements regarding treatment and disposal of LILW; • Repository improves the conditions for life extension for NPP Krško and offers synergetic effects for the second unit of NPP Krško; • Repository provides a basis for safe, economic and reliable use of radioactive sources in science, medicine and industry in Slovenia; • All economic calculations and comparisons show a clear advantage in case of a joint Slovenian and Croatian solution

  14. Life-Cycle Evaluation of Domestic Energy Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bando, Shigeru; Hihara, Eiji

    Among the growing number of environmental issues, the global warming due to the increasing emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide CO2, is the most serious one. In order to reduce CO2 emissions in energy use, it is necessary to reduce primary energy consumption, and to replace energy sources with alternatives that emit less CO2.One option of such ideas is to replace fossil gas for water heating with electricity generated by nuclear power, hydraulic power, and other methods with low CO2 emission. It is also important to use energy efficiently and to reduce waste heat. Co-generation system is one of the applications to be able to use waste heat from a generator as much as possible. The CO2 heat pump water heaters, the polymer electrolyte fuel cells, and the micro gas turbines have high potential for domestic energy systems. In the present study, the life-cycle cost, the life-cycle consumption of primary energy and the life-cycle emission of CO2 of these domestic energy systems are compare. The result shows that the CO2 heat pump water heaters have an ability to reduce CO2 emission by 10%, and the co-generation systems also have another ability to reduce primary energy consumption by 20%.

  15. Steam generator life cycle management challenges - on-going and new build

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spekkens, P.

    2009-01-01

    Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is committed to the safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of its fleet of CANDU plants. Steam Generators (SGs) are a major component of the heat transport system in these plants and maintaining their health is an essential element to achieving plant safety, reliability and economic performance. OPG has been actively engaged in formal life cycle management of its SGs for about 15 years. Over this time, we have developed stable, mature, detailed life cycle plans for each of our plants on a unit by unit, and in some cases, SG by SG, basis. These plans have been externally reviewed over the years by our regulator and by other third-party experts, and they've been acknowledged as being among the best life cycle plans anywhere. Although we are pleased that our life cycle plans are as detailed and mature as they are, we certainly aren't fully satisfied because they're not perfect. Even if they were perfect at any point in time, they wouldn't be for very long because the environment is constantly changing, both the technical environment and the business environment. This paper presents some of these challenges and offers some possible solutions or suggestions based on OPG's experience. The paper describes the background on SG life cycle management in OPG, i.e. what it is and how we do it. Then it presents challenges in the following areas: despite having some very detailed and technically strong life cycle plans, we still face some technical issues; in addition, we face challenges in integrating these plans into the overall business processes within the company; up until now, our life cycle planning has been aimed at early-and mid-life in our units. But our units are aging and we are now within sight, at least in a life cycle management sense, of a point at which decisions need to be made on refurbishment, life extension or retirement of the units. We need to adjust our life cycle management approach as we approach those major

  16. Life Cycle Assessment of Wall Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandran, Sriranjani

    Natural resource depletion and environmental degradation are the stark realities of the times we live in. As awareness about these issues increases globally, industries and businesses are becoming interested in understanding and minimizing the ecological footprints of their activities. Evaluating the environmental impacts of products and processes has become a key issue, and the first step towards addressing and eventually curbing climate change. Additionally, companies are finding it beneficial and are interested in going beyond compliance using pollution prevention strategies and environmental management systems to improve their environmental performance. Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) is an evaluative method to assess the environmental impacts associated with a products' life-cycle from cradle-to-grave (i.e. from raw material extraction through to material processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and finally, disposal or recycling). This study focuses on evaluating building envelopes on the basis of their life-cycle analysis. In order to facilitate this analysis, a small-scale office building, the University Services Building (USB), with a built-up area of 148,101 ft2 situated on ASU campus in Tempe, Arizona was studied. The building's exterior envelope is the highlight of this study. The current exterior envelope is made of tilt-up concrete construction, a type of construction in which the concrete elements are constructed horizontally and tilted up, after they are cured, using cranes and are braced until other structural elements are secured. This building envelope is compared to five other building envelope systems (i.e. concrete block, insulated concrete form, cast-in-place concrete, steel studs and curtain wall constructions) evaluating them on the basis of least environmental impact. The research methodology involved developing energy models, simulating them and generating changes in energy consumption due to the above mentioned

  17. Cost estimation and management over the life cycle of metallurgical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigates whether all expected costs over the life cycle of metallurgical research projects are included in initial, normal and fi nal cost estimates, and whether these costs are managed throughout a project's life cycle since there is not enough emphasis on the accurate estimation of costs and their management ...

  18. FileNet's BPM life-cycle support

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Netjes, M.; Reijers, H.A.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.

    2006-01-01

    Business Process Management (BPM) systems provide a broad range of facilities to enact and manage operational business processes. Ideally, these systems should provide support for the complete BPM life-cycle: (re)design, configuration, execution, control, and diagnosis of processes. In the research

  19. Reactive transport predictions for an Olkiluoto. Final repository tunnel unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luukkonen, A.; Nordman, H.

    2007-09-01

    The presented hydrogeochemical reactive transport calculations concentrate to a defined unit piece (unit cell) of the planned Olkiluoto repository that is under design for spent nuclear fuel. The material properties assigned to the tunnel unit are based on literature as far as possible. Calculations make up geochemical future scenarios on the repository evolution. Most recent predictions on the potential future climate at Olkiluoto are utilised together with estimates how future hydraulic conditions affect the repository. Two climate scenarios are considered in detail. The Weichselian-R scenario is based on the repetition of the last glacial cycle, while the Emissions-M scenario attempts to predict the future groundwater conditions at Olkiluoto in the situation where the atmospheric greenhouse gasses delay the next glacial cycle at least for 100,000 years. The groundwater compositions, considered active at the repository depth in future, are judged in this study. Several geochemical processes are considered active at the repository depth. Calculations concentrate on the changes occurring with time within the tunnel unit. All simulations are done in geochemically reducing conditions. It turns out that sulphur cycling in these conditions is in central role considering the safety assessment studies of Olkiluoto repository. Furthermore, groundwater salinity and cation occupancy within the exchange sites of montmorillonite contributes to sealing properties of the engineered barrier system. Calculations attempt to estimate effects of possible future scenarios for the Olkiluoto repository. The results indicate that the buffer capacities assigned to the tunnel unit are large enough, at least to next 100,000 years, to maintain dissolved sulphide contents low in the groundwater infiltrating through the tunnel engineered barrier system. Geochemical reactions raise the bicarbonate levels within the groundwater. This is a useful buffer if low pH conditions emerge in the

  20. The LifeCycle model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krink, Thiemo; Løvbjerg, Morten

    2002-01-01

    genetic algorithms (GAs), particle swarm optimisation (PSOs), and stochastic hill climbing to create a generally well-performing search heuristics. In the LifeCycle model, we consider candidate solutions and their fitness as individuals, which, based on their recent search progress, can decide to become...... either a GA individual, a particle of a PSO, or a single stochastic hill climber. First results from a comparison of our new approach with the single search algorithms indicate a generally good performance in numerical optimization....

  1. LIFE CYCLE DESIGN OF A FUEL TANK SYSTEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    This life cycle design (LCD) project was a collaborative effort between the National Pollution Prevention Center at the University of Michigan, General Motors (GM), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The primary objective of this project was to apply life cyc...

  2. Designer and constructor practices to ensure life cycle performance.

    OpenAIRE

    Shelton, Joelle L.

    1998-01-01

    CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) Thesis document Technology advances of the last few decades, in such areas as computing and construction materials, have inspired many attempts to improve the construction process. Many of these attempts focus on reducing costs and improving functionality, such as life cycle cost analysis and value engineering, while others, such as design-build, focus on specific phases of the life cycle. Other factors such as declining productivity, the quantity of construc...

  3. Life Cycle Assessment of fresh dairy packaging at ELOPAK

    OpenAIRE

    Ruttenborg, Vegard

    2017-01-01

    Nearly all food and drink products require some packaging, and the impact from production and consumption is causing a strain on the environment. To counteract the bad effects, business is emphasizing the environmental performance of products and therefore utilising Life Cycle Assessment as a tool to quantify the environmental impacts from a products life cycle. Elopak, which is an International supplier of paper-based packaging for liquid food, is a such company. This thesis i...

  4. Life cycle impacts of manufacturing redwood decking in Northern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard D. Bergman; Elaine Oneil; Ivan L. Eastin; Han-Sup Han

    2014-01-01

    Awareness of the environmental footprint of building construction and use has led to increasing interest in green building. Defining a green building is an evolving process with life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) emerging as key tools in that evolution and definition process. This study used LCIA to determine the environmental footprint...

  5. Determination of HSE program proportional to organizational Corporate life cycles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2013-02-01

    Result: Corporate life cycles questionnaire with 10 indicators, available HSE programs score cards with 47 indicators according to OGP model and corporate life cycles proper programs table were results of this article. .Conclusion: The results showedweakness in the HSE programs implementation.Therefore, we offered the management methods like upgrade HSE culture and leadership for modification.

  6. Product Life Cycle - Quality Management Issues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alting, Leo; Majstorovic, Vidosav D.

    2004-01-01

    The strategic goal of our country is European and world integration. Within this context the management of sustainable development considered from the aspect of product’s life cycle and its quality management represents a real challenge for researchers, economy and educational system. The aim...

  7. Life cycle characteristics of SME’s

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masurel, E.; Montfort, van K.

    2006-01-01

    Our study of professional services firms clearly revealed that firms change over the course of their life cycles. During the first three stages, diversification in sales, the differentiation in labor force, and the level of labor productivity increase. In the last stage, diversification in sales,

  8. Replacement and inspection policies for products with random life cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Won Young; Nakagawa, Toshio

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we consider maintenance policies for products in which the economical life cycle of products is a random variable. First, we study a periodic replacement policy with minimal repair. The system is minimally repaired at failure and is replaced by new one at age T (periodic replacement policy with minimal repair of Barlow and Hunter). The expected present value of total maintenance cost of products with random life cycle is obtained and the optimal replacement interval minimizing the cost is found. Second, we consider an inspection policy for products with random life cycle to detect the system failure. The expected total cost is obtained and the optimal inspection interval is found. Numerical examples are also included.

  9. Security Risks: Management and Mitigation in the Software Life Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliam, David P.

    2004-01-01

    A formal approach to managing and mitigating security risks in the software life cycle is requisite to developing software that has a higher degree of assurance that it is free of security defects which pose risk to the computing environment and the organization. Due to its criticality, security should be integrated as a formal approach in the software life cycle. Both a software security checklist and assessment tools should be incorporated into this life cycle process and integrated with a security risk assessment and mitigation tool. The current research at JPL addresses these areas through the development of a Sotfware Security Assessment Instrument (SSAI) and integrating it with a Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP) risk management tool.

  10. Assessing social impacts in a life cycle perspective-Lessons learned

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Jørgensen, Andreas; Dreyer, Louise Camilla

    2008-01-01

    In our globalised economy, important stakeholder groups nowadays hold companies responsible for the social impacts they cause in their product chain through activities like child labour, corruption or discrimination of employees. Many companies thus see themselves in need of a tool which can help...... LCA methodology supplements the traditional environment-oriented LCA and the life cycle costing tools in support of sustainability management addressing all three pillars of sustainability: people, planet and profit....... them make informed decisions about their social impacts throughout the life cycle of their products. The paper presents lessons learned from four years of work with industry on development of a methodology for social Life Cycle Assessment and implementation in the industrial product chain. The Social...

  11. A life cycle assessment of destruction of ammunition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alverbro, K.; Bjoerklund, A.; Finnveden, G.; Hochschorner, E.; Haegvall, J.

    2009-01-01

    The Swedish Armed Forces have large stocks of ammunition that were produced at a time when decommissioning was not considered. This ammunition will eventually become obsolete and must be destroyed, preferably with minimal impact on the environment and in a safe way for personnel. The aim of this paper is to make a comparison of the environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective of three different methods of decommissioning/destruction of ammunition, and to identify the environmental advantages and disadvantages of each of these destruction methods: open detonation; static kiln incineration with air pollution control combined with metal recycling, and a combination of incineration with air pollution control, open burning, recovery of some energetic material and metal recycling. Data used are for the specific processes and from established LCA databases. Recycling the materials in the ammunition and minimising the spread of airborne pollutants during incineration were found to be the most important factors affecting the life cycle environmental performance of the compared destruction methods. Open detonation with or without metal recycling proved to be the overall worst alternative from a life cycle perspective. The results for the static kiln and combination treatment indicate that the kind of ammunition and location of the destruction plant might determine the choice of method, since the environmental impacts from these methods are of little difference in the case of this specific grenade. Different methods for destruction of ammunition have previously been discussed from a risk and safety perspective. This is however to our knowledge the first study looking specifically on environmentally aspect in a life cycle perspective.

  12. Safety assessment for a potential SNF repository and its implication to the proliferation resistance nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, Y.; Jeong, M.S.; Seo, C.S.

    2007-01-01

    KAERI is developing the pyro-process technology to minimize the burden on permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In addition, KAERI has developed the Korean Reference System for potential spent nuclear fuel disposal since 1997. The deep geologic disposal system is composed of a multi-barrier system in a crystalline rock to dispose of 36,000 MT of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from a CANDU and a PWR. Quite recently, introduction of advanced nuclear fuel cycles such as pyro-processing is a big issue to solve the everlasting disposal problem and to assure the sustainable supply of fuel for reactors. To compare the effect of direct disposal of SNF with that of the high level waste disposal for waste generated from the advanced nuclear fuel cycles, the total system performance assessment for two different schemes is developed; one for direct disposal of SNF and the other for the introduction of the pyro-processing and direct disposal CANDU spent nuclear fuel. The safety indicators to assess the environmental friendliness of the disposal option are annual individual doses, toxicities and risks. Even though many scientists use the toxicity to understand the environmental friendliness of the disposal, scientifically the annual individual doses or risks are meaningful indicators for it. The major mechanisms to determine the doses and risks for direct disposal are as follows: (1) Dissolution mechanisms of uranium dioxides which control the dissolution of most nuclides such as TRU's and most parts of fission products. (2) Instant release fraction of highly soluble nuclides such as I-129, C-135, Tc-99, and others. (3) Retardation and dilution effect of natural and engineered barriers. (4) Dilution effect in the biosphere. The dominant nuclide is I-129 which follows both congruent and instantaneous release modes. Since its long half life associated with the instantaneous release I-129 is dominant well beyond one million. The impact of the TRU's is negligible until the significant

  13. Life cycles of energetic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adnot, Jerome; Marchio, Dominique; Riviere, Philippe; Duplessis, B.; Rabl, A.; Glachant, M.; Aggeri, F.; Benoist, A.; Teulon, H.; Daude, J.

    2012-01-01

    This collective publication aims at being a course for students in engineering of energetic systems, i.e. at learning how to decide to accept or discard a project, to select the most efficient system, to select the optimal system, to select the optimal combination of systems, and to classify independent systems. Thus, it presents methods to analyse system life cycle from an energetic, economic and environmental point of view, describes how to develop an approach to the eco-design of an energy consuming product, how to understand the importance of hypotheses behind abundant and often contradicting publicised results, and to be able to criticise or to put in perspective one's own analysis. The first chapters thus recall some aspects of economic calculation, introduce the assessment of investment and exploitation costs of energetic systems, describe how to assess and internalise environmental costs, present the territorial carbon assessment, discuss the use of the life cycle assessment, and address the issue of environmental management at a product scale. The second part proposes various case studies: an optimal fleet of thermal production of electric power, the eco-design of a refrigerator, the economic and environmental assessment of wind farms

  14. Advancing life cycle economics in the Nordic countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haugbølle, Kim; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

    2005-01-01

    Advancing construction and facilities management requires the ability to estimate and evaluate the economic consequences of decisions in a lifetime perspective. A survey of state-of-the-art on life cycle economics in the Nordic countries showed that, despite a number of similarities, no strong...... that the configuration of the roles as client, owner and user is indicative of a client's interest in life cycle economics. Second, a proposal for a common Nordic cost classification was put forward. Third, it was argued that there is a strong need to develop tools and methodologies to depict the cost/value ratio...

  15. The life cycle rebound effect of air-conditioner consumption in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Jingru; Sun, Xin; Lu, Bin; Zhang, Yunkun; Sun, Rui

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Develop a life cycle rebound effect model. • Assess the life cycle rebound effect of Chinese room air conditioners. • Conduct a questionnaire to assess the consumption behavior of Chinese room air conditioners. • Rebound effect should be considered by energy policy makers. - Abstract: Governments worldwide are attempting to reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution by confronting environmental problems and adopting more energy-efficient products. However, because of the rebound effect, energy-saving targets cannot always be fully achieved, and sometimes greater energy consumption is generated. Research on the rebound effect from the perspective of industrial ecology considers not only direct energy consumption but also its life cycle negative impacts on the environment with China’s rapid economic development and simultaneously improving quality of life, the ownership of room air conditioners (RACs) has increased more than three hundred times, and air conditioners’ energy consumption has increased one thousand times over the last twenty years. The Air Conditioner Energy Efficiency Standard is one of the most important measures in China for reducing the amount of energy consumed by RACs. This paper introduces a life cycle based method to estimate the rebound effect of Chinese RACs consumption. This model provides a product’s life-cycle view to assess the rebound effect, considering the contribution of both producer and consumer. Based on the established life cycle rebound effect model, we compared urban household RAC consumption behaviour before and after the launch of the Air Conditioner Energy Efficiency Standard. A rebound effect in RAC consumption was found that there was a longer daily usage period in the household as air conditioner efficiency levels improved. The life cycle rebound effect of household air-conditioner consumption was calculated to be 67%. The main conclusion obtained from this study is that policies and

  16. Implementing and Sustaining Data Lifecycle best Practices: a Framework for Researchers and Repositories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stall, S.

    2016-02-01

    Emerging data management mandates in conjunction with cross-domain international interoperability are posing new challenges for researchers and repositories. Domain repositories are serving in this critical, growing role monitoring and leading data management standards and capability within their own repository and working on mappings between repositories internationally. Leading research institutions and companies will also be important as they develop and expand data curation efforts. This landscape poses a number of challenges for developing and ensuring the use of best practices in curating research data, enabling discovery, elevating quality across diverse repositories, and helping researchers collect and organize it through the full data life cycle. This multidimensional challenge will continue to grow in complexity. The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is developing two programs to help researchers and data repositories develop and elevate best practices and address these challenges. The goal is to provide tools for the researchers and repositories, whether domain, institutional, or other, that improve performance throughout the data lifecycle across the Earth and space science community. For scientists and researchers, AGU is developing courses around handling data that can lead toward a certification in geoscience data management. Course materials will cover metadata management and collection, data analysis, integration of data, and data presentation. The course topics are being finalized by the advisory board with the first one planned to be available later this year. AGU is also developing a program aimed at helping data repositories, large and small, domain-specific to general, assess and improve data management practices. AGU has partnered with the CMMI® Institute to adapt their Data Management Maturity (DMM)SM framework within the Earth and space sciences. A data management assessment using the DMMSM involves identifying accomplishments and

  17. The software life cycle

    CERN Document Server

    Ince, Darrel

    1990-01-01

    The Software Life Cycle deals with the software lifecycle, that is, what exactly happens when software is developed. Topics covered include aspects of software engineering, structured techniques of software development, and software project management. The use of mathematics to design and develop computer systems is also discussed. This book is comprised of 20 chapters divided into four sections and begins with an overview of software engineering and software development, paying particular attention to the birth of software engineering and the introduction of formal methods of software develop

  18. Life Cycle Management at Brødrene Hartmann A/S - strategy,- organisation and implementation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Claus Stig; Alting, Leo; Mortensen, Anna Lise

    1997-01-01

    decisionmaking is under development.The implementation of life cycle management in Hartmann is organised with respect to the divisional areas: strategic management, product development, purchase, production, sale and distribution. The implementation of life cycle managment is assisted by tools to support...... decision making. The tools are developed in coorporation with the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark.This paper presents- The Hartmann environmental strategy, based on the life cycle concept- Experiences and results from developing a life cycle orientated...... organisation- Experiences and results from developing and implementing tools for life cycle management...

  19. Development of high-rise buildings: digitalization of life cycle management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gusakova Elena

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of the accumulated long-term experience in the construction and operation of high-rise buildings reveals not only the engineering specificity of such projects, but also systemic problems in the field of project management. Most of the project decisions are made by the developer and the investor in the early stages of the life cycle - from the acquisition of the site to the start of operation, so most of the participants in the construction and operation of the high-rise building are far from the strategic life-cycle management of the project. The solution of these tasks due to the informatization of management has largely exhausted its efficiency resource. This is due to the fact that the applied IT-systems automated traditional "inherited" processes and management structures, and, in addition, they were focused on informatization of the activities of the construction company, rather than the construction project. Therefore, in the development of high-rise buildings, the tasks of researching approaches and methods for managing the full life cycle of projects that will improve their competitiveness become topical. For this purpose, the article substantiates the most promising approaches and methods of informational modeling of high-rise construction as a basis for managing the full life cycle of this project. Reengineering of information interaction schemes for project participants is considered; formation of a unified digital environment for the life cycle of the project; the development of systems for integrating data management and project management.

  20. Development of high-rise buildings: digitalization of life cycle management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusakova, Elena

    2018-03-01

    The analysis of the accumulated long-term experience in the construction and operation of high-rise buildings reveals not only the engineering specificity of such projects, but also systemic problems in the field of project management. Most of the project decisions are made by the developer and the investor in the early stages of the life cycle - from the acquisition of the site to the start of operation, so most of the participants in the construction and operation of the high-rise building are far from the strategic life-cycle management of the project. The solution of these tasks due to the informatization of management has largely exhausted its efficiency resource. This is due to the fact that the applied IT-systems automated traditional "inherited" processes and management structures, and, in addition, they were focused on informatization of the activities of the construction company, rather than the construction project. Therefore, in the development of high-rise buildings, the tasks of researching approaches and methods for managing the full life cycle of projects that will improve their competitiveness become topical. For this purpose, the article substantiates the most promising approaches and methods of informational modeling of high-rise construction as a basis for managing the full life cycle of this project. Reengineering of information interaction schemes for project participants is considered; formation of a unified digital environment for the life cycle of the project; the development of systems for integrating data management and project management.

  1. Research on development model of nuclear component based on life cycle management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bao Shiyi; Zhou Yu; He Shuyan

    2005-01-01

    At present the development process of nuclear component, even nuclear component itself, is more and more supported by computer technology. This increasing utilization of the computer and software has led to the faster development of nuclear technology on one hand and also brought new problems on the other hand. Especially, the combination of hardware, software and humans has increased nuclear component system complexities to an unprecedented level. To solve this problem, Life Cycle Management technology is adopted in nuclear component system. Hence, an intensive discussion on the development process of a nuclear component is proposed. According to the characteristics of the nuclear component development, such as the complexities and strict safety requirements of the nuclear components, long-term design period, changeable design specifications and requirements, high capital investment, and satisfaction for engineering codes/standards, the development life-cycle model of nuclear component is presented. The development life-cycle model is classified at three levels, namely, component level development life-cycle, sub-component development life-cycle and component level verification/certification life-cycle. The purposes and outcomes of development processes are stated in detailed. A process framework for nuclear component based on system engineering and development environment of nuclear component is discussed for future research work. (authors)

  2. CORE COMPETENCIES AND PHASES OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE CYCLE

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed, Selma Zone Fekih; Koubaa, Manel Belguith

    2013-01-01

    Organizations evolve according to well-defined phases during which it must raise some competencies more than others. This study discusses the importance of core competencies according to the phases of the life cycle of the organization. In this research, we mobilize the core competencies approach to explore the competence required at each stage of the organizational life cycle. The quantitative study of 50 Tunisian companies operating in the food sector shows that the importance of core ...

  3. Sensitivity analysis in life cycle assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groen, E.A.; Heijungs, R.; Bokkers, E.A.M.; Boer, de I.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Life cycle assessments require many input parameters and many of these parameters are uncertain; therefore, a sensitivity analysis is an essential part of the final interpretation. The aim of this study is to compare seven sensitivity methods applied to three types of case stud-ies. Two

  4. [Fuel Rod Consolidation Project]: The estimated total life cycle cost for the 30-year operation of prototypical consolidation demonstration equipment: Volume 4, Phase 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The Total Life Cycle Costs have been developed for the construction, operation and decommissioning of a single line of hot-cell-enclosed production consolidation equipment operating on spent fuel at the rate of 750 MTU/year for 30 years. The cost estimate is for a single production line that is part of an overall facility at either a Monitored Retrievable Storage or a Repository facility. This overall facility would include other capabilities and possibly other consolidation lines. However, no costs were included in the cost estimate for other portions of the plant, except that staff costs include an overhead charge that reflects the overhead support services in an overall facility

  5. 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

  6. Application of Remote Condition Monitoring in Different Rolling Stock Life Cycle Phases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mooren Ceng, F.P.J.H.; van Dongen, Leonardus Adriana Maria

    2013-01-01

    NedTrain is the Netherlands Railway's subsidiary responsible for rolling stock maintenance. The life cycle is 30-40 years where the asset condition is maintained to meet it's performance requirements and is enhanced to meet the customer expectations through it's life. The life cycle costs are

  7. A comparison of major petroleum life cycle models | Science ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Many organizations have attempted to develop an accurate well-to-pump life cycle model of petroleum products in order to inform decision makers of the consequences of its use. Our paper studies five of these models, demonstrating the differences in their predictions and attempting to evaluate their data quality. Carbon dioxide well-to-pump emissions for gasoline showed a variation of 35 %, and other pollutants such as ammonia and particulate matter varied up to 100 %. Differences in allocation do not appear to explain differences in predictions. Effects of these deviations on well-to-wheels passenger vehicle and truck transportation life cycle models may be minimal for effects such as global warming potential (6 % spread), but for respiratory effects of criteria pollutants (41 % spread) and other impact categories, they can be significant. A data quality assessment of the models’ documentation revealed real differences between models in temporal and geographic representativeness, completeness, as well as transparency. Stakeholders may need to consider carefully the tradeoffs inherent when selecting a model to conduct life cycle assessments for systems that make heavy use of petroleum products. This is a qualitative and quantitative comparison of petroleum LCA models intended for an expert audience interested in better understanding the data quality of existing petroleum life cycle models and the quantitative differences between these models.

  8. Analysis of environmental impact phase in the life cycle of a nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez del M, C.

    2015-01-01

    The life-cycle analysis covers the environmental aspects of a product throughout its life cycle. The focus of this study was to apply a methodology of life-cycle analysis for the environmental impact assessment of a nuclear power plant by analyzing international standards ISO 14040 and 14044. The methodology of life-cycle analysis established by the ISO 14044 standard was analyzed, as well as the different impact assessment methodologies of life cycle in order to choose the most appropriate for a nuclear power plant; various tools for the life-cycle analysis were also evaluated, as is the use of software and the use of databases to feed the life cycle inventory. The functional unit chosen was 1 KWh of electricity, the scope of analysis ranging from the construction and maintenance, disposal of spent fuel to the decommissioning of the plant, the manufacturing steps of the fuel were excluded because in Mexico is not done this stage. For environmental impact assessment was chosen the Recipe methodology which evaluates up to 18 impact categories depending on the project. In the case of a nuclear power plant were considered only categories of depletion of the ozone layer, climate change, ionizing radiation and formation of particulate matter. The different tools for life-cycle analysis as the methodologies of impact assessment of life cycle, different databases or use of software have been taken according to the modeling of environmental sensitivities of different regions, because in Mexico the methodology for life-cycle analysis has not been studied and still do not have all the tools necessary for the evaluation, so the uncertainty of the data supplied and results could be higher. (Author)

  9. Safe and effective nuclear power plant life cycle management towards decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-08-01

    The objective of this publication is to promote and communicate the need for a longer-term perspective among senior managers and policy or strategy makers for decisions that have the potential to affect the life cycle management of a nuclear power plant including decommissioning. The following sections provide practical guidance in the subject areas that might have the potential to have such an impact. The publication should be used as an aid to help strategic planning take place in an informed way through the proper consideration of any longer-term decisions to enforce recognition of the point that decommissioning is a part of the whole life cycle of a nuclear power plant. The guidance contained in this publication is relevant to all life cycle stages of a nuclear power plant, with particular emphasis on how these decisions have the potential to impact effective decommissioning. The intended users of this publication are: Strategic decision makers within a Utility through all the various life cycle stages; The senior representatives of the owners of a nuclear power plant. This publication is divided into two basic sections. Section 2 provides guidance on the topics considered generic inputs to plant life cycle management and Section 3 provides guidance on the topics that contribute to effective decommissioning

  10. LCIA framework and cross-cutting issues guidance within the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Increasing needs for decision support and advances in scientific knowledge within life cycle assessment (LCA) led to substantial efforts to provide global guidance on environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators under the auspices of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Init...

  11. FUNDAMENTALS OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND OFF-THE-SHELF SOFTWARE DEMONSTRATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    As the name implies, Life Cycle Assesssment (LCA) evaluates the entire life cycle of a product, process, activity, or service, not just simple economics at the time of delivery. This course on LCA covers the following issues:Basic principles of LCA for use in producing, des...

  12. An Integrated Framework for Life Cycle Engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Herrmann, Christoph; Kara, Sami

    2017-01-01

    Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) was introduced as a concept more than 24 years ago in order to address emerging concerns about environmental sustainability in engineering. A number of methods and tools have been introduced to operationalise the LCE concept, but since then, the scope of sustainability...... has broadened, and as a result, LCE has evolved in parallel with other disciplines with similar aims. Currently, in addition to LCE, there exist a number of concepts such as Industrial Ecology, Cleaner Production, Life Cycle Management (LCM), Industrial Symbiosis, and Circular Economy. As a result......-down and bottom-up approach, the framework establishes a relationship between LCE and the other concepts and positions them relative to the planetary boundaries and the concept of absolute environmental sustainability. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V....

  13. Life cycle assessment of waste paper management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Merrild, Hanna Kristina; Damgaard, Anders; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

    2008-01-01

    The significance of technical data, as well as the significance of system boundary choices, when modelling the environmental impact from recycling and incineration of waste paper has been studied by a life cycle assessment focusing oil global warming potentials. The consequence of choosing...... results. The modelling showed that recycling of paper, from a life cycle point of view, is environmentally equal or better than incineration with energy recovery only when the recycling technology is at a high environmental performance level. However, the modelling also showed that expanding the system...... a specific set of data for the reprocessing technology, the virgin paper manufacturing technology and the incineration technology, as well as the importance of the recycling rate Was Studied. Furthermore, the system was expanded to include forestry and to include fossil fuel energy substitution from saved...

  14. How Metamorphosis Is Different in Plethodontids: Larval Life History Perspectives on Life-Cycle Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beachy, Christopher K.; Ryan, Travis J.; Bonett, Ronald M.

    2017-01-01

    Plethodontid salamanders exhibit biphasic, larval form paedomorphic, and direct developing life cycles. This diversity of developmental strategies exceeds that of any other family of terrestrial vertebrate. Here we compare patterns of larval development among the three divergent lineages of biphasic plethodontids and other salamanders. We discuss how patterns of life-cycle evolution and larval ecology might have produced a wide array of larval life histories. Compared with many other salamanders, most larval plethodontids have relatively slow growth rates and sometimes exceptionally long larval periods (up to 60 mo). Recent phylogenetic analyses of life-cycle evolution indicate that ancestral plethodontids were likely direct developers. If true, then biphasic and paedomorphic lineages might have been independently derived through different developmental mechanisms. Furthermore, biphasic plethodontids largely colonized stream habitats, which tend to have lower productivity than seasonally ephemeral ponds. Consistent with this, plethodontid larvae grow very slowly, and metamorphic timing does not appear to be strongly affected by growth history. On the basis of this, we speculate that feeding schedules and stress hormones might play a comparatively reduced role in governing the timing of metamorphosis of stream-dwelling salamanders, particularly plethodontids. PMID:29269959

  15. Industrial open source solutions for product life cycle management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime Campos

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The authors go through the open source for product life cycle management (PLM and the efforts done from communities such as the open source initiative. The characteristics of the open source solutions are highlighted as well. Next, the authors go through the requirements for PLM. This is an area where more attention has been given as the manufacturers are competing with the quality and life cycle costs of their products. Especially, the need of companies to try to get a strong position in providing services for their products and thus to make themselves less vulnerable to changes in the market has led to high interest in product life cycle simulation. The potential of applying semantic data management to solve these problems discussed in the light of recent developments. In addition, a basic roadmap is presented as to how the above-described problems could be tackled with open software solutions.

  16. Single or multi-repository concept? A personal contribution to the discussion of pros and cons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Closs, K.-D.; Duphorn, K.; Kuehn, K.

    2002-01-01

    The coalition agreement concluded between the parties in government, i.e. SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens, after the 1998 federal elections provided for an approach to back-end fuel cycle conditions for German nuclear power plants which differed from the practice intended up to that point. Among other things, only one single repository in deep geologic formations is to be available approximately from 2030 on. Exploration of the Gorleben salt dome is to be interrupted because of prevailing doubts while, at the same time, a basic discussion is to be held about potentially suitable host rock varieties and sites. The 'Working Party of Selection Procedures for Repository Sites (AkEnd)' instituted by the federal government is to elaborate scientific siting criteria under these conditions. The authors, who are members of AkEnd, come to the conclusion, based on technical findings and the historical back-end fuel cycle and siting situation in Germany, that a multi-repository concept incorporates substantial advantages. These are the aspects referred to: - Back-end fuel cycle concept: The multi-repository concept offers clearcut advantages in the far advanced Konrad repository project. This is true also against the background of the volume of waste with negligible heat generation to be managed by public authorities. - Long-term safety: Advantages exist, among other things, with respect to technical safety regarding possible compromises in a single-repository concept and the possible restriction of the number of potential sites. - Methods of detection: Spreading the waste over two or more repositories offers benefits in the technical aspects of detection. - Cost: A differentiated assessment of the cost arising in connection with the total amount of waste to be stored in repositories indicates benefits of a multi-repository concept, especially for the public authorities. (orig.) [de

  17. Life cycle assessment of asphalt pavement maintenance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    This study aims at developing a life cycle assessment (LCA) model to quantify the impact of pavement preservation on energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The construction stage contains material, manufacture, transportation and plac...

  18. The life cycle of social media

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans)

    2014-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Using weekly data on the interest for 17 social media via Google trends and using quarterly data on actual users for 3 social media, it is reported in this letter that the life cycles of social media mimic those of durable consumer goods. On average, the popularity of

  19. Designing for the ISD Life Cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Guy W.; Hybert, Peter R.; Smith, Kelly R.; Blecke, Brian D.

    2002-01-01

    Outlines the recent criticisms of traditional ISD (Instructional Systems Design) and discusses the implications that impact the life cycle costs of T&D (Training and Development) projects and their ROI (Return On Investment) potential. Describes a modified approach to ISD which mimics the modular approach of systems engineering design.…

  20. Life cycle assessments of energy from solid waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finnveden, Goeran; Johansson, Jessica; Lind, Per; Moberg, Aasa [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Systems Ecology/Natural Resoruces Management Inst.]|[Defence Research Establishment, Stockholm (Sweden). Div. of Defence Analysis

    2000-09-01

    The overall aim of the present study is to evaluate different strategies for treatment of solid waste based on a life-cycle perspective. Important goals are to identify advantages and disadvantages of different methods for treatment of solid waste, and to identify critical factors in the systems, including the background systems, which may significantly influence the results. Included in the study are landfilling, incineration, recycling, digestion and composting. The waste fractions considered are the combustible and recyclable or compostable fractions of municipal solid waste. The methodology used is Life Cycle Assessment. The results can be used for policy decisions as well as strategic decisions on waste management systems.

  1. Development of a methodology for life cycle building energy ratings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul

    2011-01-01

    Traditionally the majority of building energy use has been linked to its operation (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.), and much attention has been directed to reduce this energy use through technical innovation, regulatory control and assessed through a wide range of rating methods. However buildings generally employ an increasing amount of materials and systems to reduce the energy use in operation, and energy embodied in these can constitute an important part of the building's life cycle energy use. For buildings with 'zero-energy' use in operation the embodied energy is indeed the only life cycle energy use. This is not addressed by current building energy assessment and rating methods. This paper proposes a methodology to extend building energy assessment and rating methods accounting for embodied energy of building components and systems. The methodology is applied to the EU Building Energy Rating method and, as an illustration, as implemented in Irish domestic buildings. A case study dwelling is used to illustrate the importance of embodied energy on life cycle energy performance, particularly relevant when energy use in operation tends to zero. The use of the Net Energy Ratio as an indicator to select appropriate building improvement measures is also presented and discussed. - Highlights: → The definitions for 'zero energy buildings' and current building energy ratings are examined. → There is a need to integrate a life cycle perspective within building energy ratings. → A life cycle building energy rating method (LC-BER), including embodied energy is presented. → Net Energy Ratio is proposed as an indicator to select building energy improvement options.

  2. A life cycle greenhouse gas inventory of a tree production system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alissa Kendall; E. Gregory McPherson

    2012-01-01

    PurposeThis study provides a detailed, process-based life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of an ornamental tree production system for urban forestry. The success of large-scale tree planting initiatives for climate protection depends on projects being net sinks for CO2 over their entire life cycle....

  3. The environmental impact of organic Rankine cycle for waste heat recovery through life-cycle assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Chao; He, Chao; Gao, Hong; Xie, Hui; Li, Yourong; Wu, Shuangying; Xu, Jinliang

    2013-01-01

    The LCA (life-cycle assessment) was applied to evaluate EI (the environmental impact) of ORCPW (organic Rankine cycle power-plant for waste-heat-recovery) in this paper. The model of LCA on the ORCPW was established. The life-cycle of ORCPW was divided into construction, operation and decommissioning phases. The inventory of environmental emissions was listed for the ORCPW with 7 different working fluids. The GWP (global warming potential), AP (acidification potential), EP (eutrophication potential), HTP (human toxicity potential), SWP (solid waste potential) and SAP (soot and dust potential) were investigated. Some EIs of ORCPW were compared with the EIs of other power generation modes. The results show that the construction phase of ORCPW contributes mostly to the GWP and EP. GWP is the most serious EI followed by HTP among all the environmental impacts. The average pay back times of greenhouse gas discharged from ORCPW is calculated on the basis of five other power generation modes. For 7 different working fluids, it is 3–5 years for CO 2 , about one year for CH 4 and 3–6 years for NO x . But CO cannot be paid back during the life-cycle of ORCPW according to the average pay back time. - Highlights: • LCA was proposed to evaluate the environmental performance of ORC. • The ORC life cycle environmental emissions inventory was established. • GWP is the most serious environmental impact, followed by HTP. • The ORC with R113 exhibits the lowest environment impact load, followed by Pentane. • The total GWP of ORC could be paid back in 5 years

  4. A Framework for BIM-enabled Life-cycle Information Management of Construction Project

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, n; Ma, Ling; Ding, Lieyun

    2014-01-01

    BIM has been widely used in project management, but on the whole the applications have been scattered and the BIM models have not been deployed throughout the whole project life-cycle. Each participant builds their own BIM, so there is a major problem in how to integrate these dynamic and fragmented data together. In order to solve this problem, this paper focuses on BIM- based life-cycle information management and builds a framework for BIM-enabled life-cycle information management. To organ...

  5. Life cycle assessment of the Danish electricity distribution network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Turconi, Roberto; Simonsen, Christian G.; Byriel, Inger P.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose This article provides life cycle inventory data for electricity distribution networks and a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Danish transmission and distribution networks. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential importance of environmental impacts associated with distribution...... complexity and material consumption. Infrastructure provided important contributions to metal depletion and freshwater eutrophication (copper and aluminum for manufacturing of the cables and associated recycling being the most important). Underground 50-kV lines had larger impacts than overhead lines, and 0...

  6. Addressing software security and mitigations in the life cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilliam, David; Powell, John; Haugh, Eric; Bishop, Matt

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally, security is viewed as an organizational and Information Technology (IT) systems function comprising of firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), system security settings and patches to the operating system (OS) and applications running on it. Until recently, little thought has been given to the importance of security as a formal approach in the software life cycle. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has approached the problem through the development of an integrated formal Software Security Assessment Instrument (SSAI) with six foci for the software life cycle.

  7. Evaluation of pavement life cycle cost analysis: Review and analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peyman Babashamsi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The cost of road construction consists of design expenses, material extraction, construction equipment, maintenance and rehabilitation strategies, and operations over the entire service life. An economic analysis process known as Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA is used to evaluate the cost-efficiency of alternatives based on the Net Present Value (NPV concept. It is essential to evaluate the above-mentioned cost aspects in order to obtain optimum pavement life-cycle costs. However, pavement managers are often unable to consider each important element that may be required for performing future maintenance tasks. Over the last few decades, several approaches have been developed by agencies and institutions for pavement Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA. While the transportation community has increasingly been utilising LCCA as an essential practice, several organisations have even designed computer programs for their LCCA approaches in order to assist with the analysis. Current LCCA methods are analysed and LCCA software is introduced in this article. Subsequently, a list of economic indicators is provided along with their substantial components. Collecting previous literature will help highlight and study the weakest aspects so as to mitigate the shortcomings of existing LCCA methods and processes. LCCA research will become more robust if improvements are made, facilitating private industries and government agencies to accomplish their economic aims. Keywords: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA, Pavement management, LCCA software, Net Present Value (NPV

  8. Development methodology for the software life cycle process of the safety software

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, D. H.; Lee, S. S. [BNF Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, K. H.; Lee, C. S.; Kwon, K. C.; Han, H. B. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-05-01

    A methodology for developing software life cycle processes (SLCP) is proposed to develop the digital safety-critical Engineered Safety Features - Component Control System (ESF-CCS) successfully. A software life cycle model is selected as the hybrid model mixed with waterfall, prototyping, and spiral models and is composed of two stages , development stages of prototype of ESF-CCS and ESF-CCS. To produce the software life cycle (SLC) for the Development of the Digital Reactor Safety System, the Activities referenced in IEEE Std. 1074-1997 are mapped onto the hybrid model. The SLCP is established after the available OPAs (Organizational Process Asset) are applied to the SLC Activities, and the known constraints are reconciled. The established SLCP describes well the software life cycle activities with which the Regulatory Authority provides.

  9. Development methodology for the software life cycle process of the safety software

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, D. H.; Lee, S. S.; Cha, K. H.; Lee, C. S.; Kwon, K. C.; Han, H. B.

    2002-01-01

    A methodology for developing software life cycle processes (SLCP) is proposed to develop the digital safety-critical Engineered Safety Features - Component Control System (ESF-CCS) successfully. A software life cycle model is selected as the hybrid model mixed with waterfall, prototyping, and spiral models and is composed of two stages , development stages of prototype of ESF-CCS and ESF-CCS. To produce the software life cycle (SLC) for the Development of the Digital Reactor Safety System, the Activities referenced in IEEE Std. 1074-1997 are mapped onto the hybrid model. The SLCP is established after the available OPAs (Organizational Process Asset) are applied to the SLC Activities, and the known constraints are reconciled. The established SLCP describes well the software life cycle activities with which the Regulatory Authority provides

  10. Environmental Product Development Combining the Life Cycle Perspective with Chemical Hazard Information

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Askham, Cecilia

    in the design or redesign process. This thesis concerns marrying the life cycle perspective with chemical hazard information, in order to advance the practice of environmental product development, and hence takes further steps towards sustainable development. The need to consider the full value chain...... for the life cycle of products meant that systems theory and systems engineering principles were important in this work. Life cycle assessment methodology was important for assessing environmental impacts for case products. The new European regulation for chemicals (REACH) provided the main driver......Concerns regarding the short- and long-term detrimental effects of chemicals on human health and ecosystems have made the minimisation of chemical hazards a vitally important issue. If sustainable development is to be achieved, environmental efficient products (and product life cycles...

  11. Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Nuclear Electricity Generation: Systematic Review and Harmonization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Warner, E.S.; Heath, G.A.

    2012-01-01

    A systematic review and harmonization of life cycle assessment (LCA) literature of nuclear electricity generation technologies was performed to determine causes of and, where possible, reduce variability in estimates of life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to clarify the state of knowledge and inform decision making. LCA literature indicates that life cycle GHG emissions from nuclear power are a fraction of traditional fossil sources, but the conditions and assumptions under which nuclear power are deployed can have a significant impact on the magnitude of life cycle GHG emissions relative to renewable technologies. Screening 274 references yielded 27 that reported 99 independent estimates of life cycle GHG emissions from light water reactors (LWRs). The published median, interquartile range (IQR), and range for the pool of LWR life cycle GHG emission estimates were 13, 23, and 220 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (g CO 2 -eq/kWh), respectively. After harmonizing methods to use consistent gross system boundaries and values for several important system parameters, the same statistics were 12, 17, and 110 g CO 2 -eq/kWh, respectively. Harmonization (especially of performance characteristics) clarifies the estimation of central tendency and variability. To explain the remaining variability, several additional, highly influential consequential factors were examined using other methods. These factors included the primary source energy mix, uranium ore grade, and the selected LCA method. For example, a scenario analysis of future global nuclear development examined the effects of a decreasing global uranium market-average ore grade on life cycle GHG emissions. Depending on conditions, median life cycle GHG emissions could be 9 to 110 g CO 2 -eq/kWh by 2050.

  12. Planning the rad waste repository - Croatian case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kucar Dragicevic, S.; Subasic, D.; Lokner, V.

    1996-01-01

    Radioactive waste is generated in Croatia from various nuclear applications as well as from the Krsko NPP (Slovenian and Croatian joint venture facility). The national programme on radioactive waste management is aimed at straightening existing infrastructure, establishing new (more transparent) system of responsibilities and development of new legislation. The siting of LL/ILW repository is important segments of the whole radioactive waste management cycle. The status and efficiency of the rad waste management infrastructure in the country have the significant influence on all the activities related to the project of repository construction - from the very first phases of preliminary planning and background preparations to advanced phases of the project development. The present status of the Croatian national radioactive waste infrastructure and its influence on the repository project are presented. The role of national legislation and institutional framework are specially discussed. (author)

  13. Optimal Life-Cycle Investing with Flexible Labor Supply: A Welfare Analysis of Life-Cycle Funds

    OpenAIRE

    Francisco J. Gomes; Laurence J. Kotlikoff; Luis M. Viceira

    2008-01-01

    We investigate optimal consumption, asset accumulation and portfolio decisions in a realistically calibrated life-cycle model with flexible labor supply. Our framework allows for wage rate uncertainly, variable labor supply, social security benefits and portfolio choice over safe bonds and risky equities. Our analysis reinforces prior findings that equities are the preferred asset for young households, with the optimal share of equities generally declining prior to retirement. However, variab...

  14. A study on the environmental impacts analysis with life cycle analysis of NPPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, H. S.; Moon, K. H.; Youn, S. W.

    2003-01-01

    This Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) work was accomplished based on the ISO-14040 framework goal and scope definition, including life cycle inventory analysis, and life cycle impact assessment. For the selection of impact categories, resource use, global affairs, local affairs, and nuclear specific affair were considered. It was unexpected that environmental burdens are generally heavier in an electricity generation process than in upper stream and fabrication processes, except ODP and ETPs. It has been normally thought that environmental burden in upper steam would be heavier than those in other processes. This misconception could have originated from the ambiguous thought for end-of-pipe emissions and life cycle inventories

  15. Using the Boston Matrix at Identification of the Corporate Life Cycle Stage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zdeněk Konečný

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of this article is to develop a new model supporting the identification of the particular corporate life stage within the corporate life cycle. This model will be derived from the Boston matrix. The main reason for using this approach as the base for making new model of the corporate life cycle is the fact, that every quadrant of the Boston matrix can be assigned to one phase of the product life cycle and there is supposed, that the phase, in which are most products, determines the phase of the corporate life cycle. For application the Boston matrix by identification phases of the corporate life cycle is necessary to define low and high values of both its variables using some quantities from the model of corporate- and market life cycle by Reiners (2004. So the interval of low and high sales growth is determined by comparing sales of the company and sales of the market and furthermore, there is considered the rate of inflation to eliminate the impact of price changes. And for determination low and high market shares, there are compared the shares of sales and shares of total assets. After that, there will be possible to identify all the quadrants and thus all the individual phases unequivocally, which is the basic advantage compared to most existing models of the corporate life cycle. The following aim of this article is to compare the occurrence of individual phases, identified by this modified model, depending on the sector sensitivity to the economic cycle, measured by the coefficient of correlation between sales on the market and GDP. There are selected two sectors of the Czech economy, namely one cyclical and one neutral sector. Subsequently there is selected a sample of companies from both these sectors. The data are collected from financial statements of companies and from analytical materials by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and by the Czech Statistical Office. On the basis of this research, there were recorded

  16. FY 1997 survey report on information sharing product life-cycle systems. 2; 1997 nendo joho kyoyugata product life cycle system ni kansuru chosa hokokusho. 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    Highly value-added products considering a total life-cycle of products by integrating both production and consumption activities are much in demand, and each information corresponding to each product should be realized by concept integrating both information and product as common element. Survey was made on what a social system integrating production and consumption should be, a product information model, and technology integrating both information and product for raw material, industrial machine and household appliance as examples. An information model shared by the whole production and consumption activities was first prepared. Based on this model, data storage, update, retrieval and dispatch technologies were surveyed and developed for life-cycle systems. Degradation and life sensing technology was surveyed for maintenance, repair and disposal activities using proper unstable information of each product. A support system for use of shared information was developed to promote a new highly value-added function. Total evaluation was made on information sharing product life-cycle systems. 10 refs., 23 figs., 7 tabs.

  17. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT IN A PASSENGER CAR USING THE LIFE CYCLE APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr FOLĘGA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Environmental issues are an increasingly important aspect of management in the transport sector; new methods have been developed for assessment of the environment in the transport sector using the life cycle approach. The paper presents the application of Well to Wheel (WTW and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA in the transport sector. The WTW method focuses on energy analysis and greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of fuels. WTW is used to support decision-making on the environmental aspects of transport, particularly with regard to fuel life cycle management, but this method omits important stages in the life cycle, particularly the ones regarding important circular economy guidelines such as reduction of natural resource consumption, impact on human health, etc. The LCA method provides a much broader approach to environmental assessment than WTW. LCA takes into consideration environmental impact in the whole life cycle of the vehicle, from the stage of production, through the period of exploitation, and finally its disposal.

  18. Research Needs and Challenges from Science to Decision Support. Lesson Learnt from the Development of the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Recommendations for Life Cycle Impact Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sala, Serenella; Pant, Rana; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    2012-01-01

    Environmental implications of the whole supply-chain of products, both goods and services, their use, and waste management, i.e., their entire life cycle from "cradle to grave" have to be considered to achieve more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Progress toward environmental...... sustainability requires enhancing the methodologies for quantitative, integrated environmental assessment and promoting the use of these methodologies in different domains. In the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of products, in recent years, several methodologies have been developed for Life Cycle Impact...... Assessment (LCIA). The Joint Research Center of the European Commission (EC-JRC) led a "science to decision support" process which resulted in the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook, providing guidelines to the decision and application of methods for LCIA. The Handbook...

  19. Life cycle theory and dividend payout policy: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Hassani; Fatemeh Kazem Pour Dizaji

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the role and the effect of the life cycle theory on explanation of dividend payout policy in Tehran Stock exchange listed companies over the period 2006-2011. For measuring the firm’s life cycle, two criteria namely retained earnings to equity ratio and retained earnings to assets ratio have been used as proxies of firm’s life cycle. The findings of this research show that only retained earnings to assets ratio has a meaningful and positive effect on dividend payout po...

  20. HIV LIFE CYCLE AND POTENTIAl TARGETS FOR DRUG ACTIVITY

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    TABLE Ill. STAGES IN THE HIV UFE CYCLE THAT ARE TARGETS FOR CURRENTLY AVAIlABLE ANTIRETROVIRAlS. Fig. 7. Life cycle ofHIVand targets for ontiretrovirol theropy. (Reproduced with permission from: 5Miller, The Clinician's Guide to. Antiretroviral Resistance, 2007.) JULY 2002. Budding: immature virus.

  1. Preliminary estimates of the total-system cost for the restructured program: An addendum to the May 1989 analysis of the total-system life cycle cost for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-12-01

    The total-system life-cycle cost (TSLCC) analysis for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program is an ongoing activity that helps determine whether the revenue-producing mechanism established by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 - a fee levied on electricity generated and sold by commercial nuclear power plants - is sufficient to cover the cost of the program. This report provides cost estimates for the sixth annual evaluation of the adequacy of the fee. The costs contained in this report represent a preliminary analysis of the cost impacts associated with the Secretary of Energy's Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program issued in November 1989. The major elements of the restructured program announced in this report which pertain to the program's life-cycle costs are: a prioritization of the scientific investigations program at the Yucca Mountain candidate site to focus on identification of potentially adverse conditions, a delay in the start of repository operations until 2010, the start of limited waste acceptance at the monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility in 1998, and the start of waste acceptance at the full-capability MRS facility in 2,000. Based on the restructured program, the total-system cost for the system with a repository at the candidate site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS), and a transportation system is estimated at $26 billion (expressed in constant 1988 dollars). In the event that a second repository is required and is authorized by the Congress, the total-system cost is estimated at $34 to $35 billion, depending on the quantity of spent fuel and high-level waste (HLW) requiring disposal. 17 figs., 17 tabs

  2. Aviation Technology Life Cycle Management: Importance for Aviation Companies, Aerospace Industry Organizations and Relevant Stakeholders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanislav Szabo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper in the introductory part underlines some aspects concerning the importance of Aviation Technology Life Cycle Management and informs on basic international standards for the processes and stages of life cycle. The second part is focused on definition and main objectives of system life cycle management. The authors subsequently inform on system life cycle stages (in general and system life cycle processes according to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2015 standard. Following the fact, that life cycle cost (LCC is inseparable part and has direct connection to the life cycle management, the paper contains brief information regarding to LCC (cost categories, cost breakdown structure, cost estimation a.o.. Recently was issued the first part of Aviation Technology Life Cycle Management monograph (in Slovak: ”Manažment životného cyklu leteckej techniky I”, written by I.Koblen and S.Szabo. Following this fact and direct relation to the topic of article it is a part of article briefly introduced the content of two parts of this monograph (the 2nd part of monograph it has been prepared for the print. The last part of article is focused on issue concerning main assumptions and conditions for successful application of aviation technology life cycle management in aviation companies, aerospace industry organizations as well as from the relevant stakeholders side.

  3. The importance of life cycle concepts for the development of safe nanoproducts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Som, Claudia; Berges, Markus; Chaudhry, Qasim; Dusinska, Maria; Fernandes, Teresa F.; Olsen, Stig I.; Nowack, Bernd

    2010-01-01

    Whilst the global players in industry are rapidly moving forward to take advantage of the new opportunities and prospects offered by nanotechnologies, it is imperative that such developments take place in a safe and sustainable manner. The increasing use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in consumer products has raised certain concerns over their safety to human health and the environment. There are currently a number of major uncertainties and knowledge gaps in regard to behavior, chemical and biological interactions and toxicological properties of ENMs. As dealing with these uncertainties will require the generation of new basic knowledge, it is unlikely that they will be resolved in the immediate future. One has to consider the whole life cycle of nanoproducts to ensure that possible impacts can be systematically discovered. For example, life cycle assessment (LCA) - a formalized life cycle concept - may be used to assess the relative environmental sustainability performance of nanoproducts in comparison with their conventional equivalents. Other less formalized life cycle concepts in the framework of prospective technology assessment may uncover further detailed and prospective knowledge for human and environmental exposure to ENMs during the life cycle of nanoproducts. They systematically reveal impacts such as cross product contamination or dissipation of scarce materials among others. The combination of different life cycle concepts with the evolving knowledge from toxicology and risk assessment can mitigate uncertainties and can provide an early basis for informed decision making by the industry and regulators.

  4. The genetic covariance between life cycle stages separated by metamorphosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguirre, J David; Blows, Mark W; Marshall, Dustin J

    2014-08-07

    Metamorphosis is common in animals, yet the genetic associations between life cycle stages are poorly understood. Given the radical changes that occur at metamorphosis, selection may differ before and after metamorphosis, and the extent that genetic associations between pre- and post-metamorphic traits constrain evolutionary change is a subject of considerable interest. In some instances, metamorphosis may allow the genetic decoupling of life cycle stages, whereas in others, metamorphosis could allow complementary responses to selection across the life cycle. Using a diallel breeding design, we measured viability at four ontogenetic stages (embryo, larval, juvenile and adult viability), in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis and examined the orientation of additive genetic variation with respect to the metamorphic boundary. We found support for one eigenvector of G: (gobsmax ), which contrasted larval viability against embryo viability and juvenile viability. Target matrix rotation confirmed that while gobsmax shows genetic associations can extend beyond metamorphosis, there is still considerable scope for decoupled phenotypic evolution. Therefore, although genetic associations across metamorphosis could limit that range of phenotypes that are attainable, traits on either side of the metamorphic boundary are capable of some independent evolutionary change in response to the divergent conditions encountered during each life cycle stage. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  5. 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.

  6. An approach to incorporate risks into a product's life-cycle assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pirhonen, P.

    1995-01-01

    Life-cycle assessment is usually based on regular discharges that occur at a more or less constant rate. Nevertheless, the more factors that are taken into account in the LCA the better picture it gives on the environmental aspects of a product. In this study an approach to incorporate accidental releases into a products' life-cycle assessment was developed. In this approach accidental releases are divided into two categories. The first category consists of those unplanned releases which occur with a predicted level and frequency. Due to the high frequency and small release size at a time, these accidental releases can be compared to continuous emissions. Their global impacts are studied in this approach. Accidental releases of the second category are sudden, unplanned releases caused by exceptional situations, e.g. technical failure, action error or disturbances in process conditions. These releases have a singular character and local impacts are typical of them. As far as the accidental releases of the second category are concerned, the approach introduced in this study results in a risk value for every stage of a life-cycle, the sum of which is a risk value for the whole life-cycle. Risk value is based on occurrence frequencies of incidents and potential environmental damage caused by releases. Risk value illustrates the level of potential damage caused by accidental releases related to the system under study and is meant to be used for comparison of these levels of two different products. It can also be used to compare the risk levels of different stages of the life-cycle. An approach was illustrated using petrol as an example product. The whole life-cycle of petrol from crude oil production to the consumption of petrol was studied

  7. 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

  8. Life Cycle Assessment in the Cereal and Derived Products Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Renzulli, Pietro A.; Bacenetti, Jacopo; Benedetto, Graziella

    2015-01-01

    environmental improvement in such systems. Following a brief introduction to the cereal sector and supply chain, this chapter reviews some of the current cereal-based life cycle thinking literature, with a particular emphasis on LCA. Next, an analysis of the LCA methodological issues emerging from......This chapter discusses the application of life cycle assessment methodologies to rice, wheat, corn and some of their derived products. Cereal product systems are vital for the production of commodities of worldwide importance that entail particular environmental hot spots originating from...... their widespread use and from their particular nature. It is thus important for tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to be tailored to such cereal systems in order to be used as a means of identifying the negative environmental effects of cereal products and highlighting possible pathways to overall...

  9. Methodology for the Life Cycle Assessment of a Car-sharing Service

    OpenAIRE

    Guyon, Olivier

    2017-01-01

    Nowadays, circular economy is becoming more relevant in society. In the context of the automotive industry, we no longer simply work on emissions emitted during the vehicle use phase but rather on the environmental impacts induced during all phases of the vehicle's life cycle (manufacturing, logistics, use, maintenance and end of life). For this purpose, many automakers, including the Group PSA, use life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine these environmental impacts. Also, the economy of sha...

  10. Life cycle assessment perspectives on delivering an infant in the US

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campion, Nicole; Thiel, Cassandra L.; DeBlois, Justin; Woods, Noe C.; Landis, Amy E.; Bilec, Melissa M.

    2012-01-01

    This study introduces life cycle assessment as a tool to analyze one aspect of sustainability in healthcare: the birth of a baby. The process life cycle assessment case study presented evaluates two common procedures in a hospital, a cesarean section and a vaginal birth. This case study was conducted at Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which delivers over 10,000 infants per year. The results show that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), waste disposal, and the production of the disposable custom packs comprise a large percentage of the environmental impacts. Applying the life cycle assessment tool to medical procedures allows hospital decision makers to target and guide efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of healthcare procedures. - Highlights: ► Life cycle assessment helps identify the environmental impacts of medical procedures. ► Disposable custom packs represent a large portion of environmental impacts of births. ► Electricity loading contributes to global warming potential and respiratory effects. ► Impact improvements should focus on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and disposable custom packs.

  11. Ventilation System Strategy for a Prospective Korean Radioactive Waste Repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin; Kwon, Sang Ki

    2005-01-01

    In the stage of conceptual design for the construction and operation of the geologic repository for radioactive wastes, it is important to consider a repository ventilation system which serves the repository working environment, hygiene and safety of the public at large, and will allow safe maintenance like moisture content elimination in repository for the duration of the repositories life, construction/operation/closure, also allowing safe waste transportation and emplacement. This paper describes the possible ventilation system design criteria and requirements for the prospective Korean radioactive waste repositories with emphasis on the underground rock cavity disposal method in the both cases of low and medium-level and high-level wastes. It was found that the most important concept is separate ventilation systems for the construction (development) and waste emplacement (storage) activities. In addition, ventilation network system modeling, natural ventilation, ventilation monitoring systems and real time ventilation simulation, and fire simulation and emergency system in the repository are briefly discussed.

  12. Sampling and monitoring for the mine life cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLemore, Virginia T.; Smith, Kathleen S.; Russell, Carol C.

    2014-01-01

    Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle provides an overview of sampling for environmental purposes and monitoring of environmentally relevant variables at mining sites. It focuses on environmental sampling and monitoring of surface water, and also considers groundwater, process water streams, rock, soil, and other media including air and biological organisms. The handbook includes an appendix of technical summaries written by subject-matter experts that describe field measurements, collection methods, and analytical techniques and procedures relevant to environmental sampling and monitoring.The sixth of a series of handbooks on technologies for management of metal mine and metallurgical process drainage, this handbook supplements and enhances current literature and provides an awareness of the critical components and complexities involved in environmental sampling and monitoring at the mine site. It differs from most information sources by providing an approach to address all types of mining influenced water and other sampling media throughout the mine life cycle.Sampling and Monitoring for the Mine Life Cycle is organized into a main text and six appendices that are an integral part of the handbook. Sidebars and illustrations are included to provide additional detail about important concepts, to present examples and brief case studies, and to suggest resources for further information. Extensive references are included.

  13. Farinon microwave end of life cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poe, R.C.

    1996-06-24

    This engineering report evaluates alternatives for the replacement of the Farinon microwave radio system. The system is beyond its expected life cycle and has decreasing maintainability. Principal applications supported by the Farinon system are two electrical utility monitor and control systems, the Integrated Transfer Trip System (ITTS), and the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.

  14. Overview of life cycle management - LCM (plant life management - PLiM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nickerson, J.

    2006-01-01

    This paper discusses life cycle management which involves a structured and comprehensive aging management program to ensure that significant aging effects are detected as early as possible and engineering, operations and maintenance actions are undertaken to control aging degradation and wear out of components

  15. Design information verification for spent fuel conditioning plants and for geological repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myatt, J.; Ward, M.D.

    1995-01-01

    The disposal of spent fuel is a major option for the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. It will require the construction, operation and eventual closure of conditioning plants and geological repositories. Consequently, a safeguards approach including Design Information Verification (DIV) must be developed for these facilities. DIV Is the examination of a completed facility to verify that it has been built to the design declared by the operator. Although DIV takes place chiefly before a plant begins routine operation, there is a continuing interest in ensuring that the plant remains as declared. That is, that the continuity of knowledge of design information is maintained during the operational phase of the plant and also post closure if necessary. A major problem with DIV of a repository is that there will be continuous structural changes during its operational life requiring advanced or special techniques for reverification. Some of these are briefly reviewed. Furthermore, since a disposal facility is expected to be operational for several decades, new mining technology may also have an impact on the DIV methods employed. Another factor in the safeguards supervision of a repository is that when the fuel has been backfilled and/or scaled in place a reassay will be a very costly exercise. The role of DIV in such novel circumstances must, therefore, be fully considered

  16. Life cycle management at Ontario Power Generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spekkens, P.

    2006-01-01

    This paper outlines the Life Cycle Management (LCM) program at Ontario Power Generation. LCM is carried out at different levels that includes components, systems, unit and fleet. A system involves cumulative effect of individual component aging. These components include steam generators, pressure tubes and feeders. A unit involves an overall unit aging strategy integrating all systems. At the fleet level, there is an optimal strategy for plant-level investments including end-of-life of a unit

  17. Cycle life performance of rechargeable lithium ion batteries and mathematical modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Gang

    Capacity fade of commercial Sony US 18650 Li-ion batteries cycled at high discharge rates was studied at ambient temperature. Battery cycled at the highest discharge rate (3 C) shows the largest internal resistance increase of 27.7% relative to the resistance of fresh battery. It's been observed anode carbon loses 10.6% of its capability to intercalate or deintercalate Li+ after it was subjected to 300 cycles at discharge rate of 3 C. This loss dominates capacity fade of full battery. A mechanism considering continuous parasitic reaction at anode/electrolyte interface and film thickening has been proposed. First principles based charge-discharge models to simulate cycle life behavior of rechargeable Li-ion batteries have been developed. In the generalized model, transport in both electrolyte phase and solid phase were simultaneously taken into account. Under mild charge-discharge condition, transport of lithium in the electrolyte phase has been neglected in the simplified model. Both models are based on loss of the active lithium ions due to the electrochemical parasitic reaction at anode/electrolyte interface and on rise of the anode film resistance. The effect of parameters such as depth of discharge (DOD), end of charge voltage (EOCV) and overvoltage of the parasitic reaction on the cycle life behavior of a battery has been analyzed. The experimental results obtained at a charge rate of 1 C, discharge rate of 0.5 C, EOCV of 4.0 V and DOD of 0.4 have been used to validate cycle life models. Good agreement between the simulations and the experiments has been achieved up to 1968 cycles with both models. Simulation of cycle life of battery under multiple cycling regimes has also been demonstrated.

  18. Life-cycle analysis of shale gas and natural gas.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clark, C.E.; Han, J.; Burnham, A.; Dunn, J.B.; Wang, M. (Energy Systems); ( EVS)

    2012-01-27

    The technologies and practices that have enabled the recent boom in shale gas production have also brought attention to the environmental impacts of its use. Using the current state of knowledge of the recovery, processing, and distribution of shale gas and conventional natural gas, we have estimated up-to-date, life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we have developed distribution functions for key parameters in each pathway to examine uncertainty and identify data gaps - such as methane emissions from shale gas well completions and conventional natural gas liquid unloadings - that need to be addressed further. Our base case results show that shale gas life-cycle emissions are 6% lower than those of conventional natural gas. However, the range in values for shale and conventional gas overlap, so there is a statistical uncertainty regarding whether shale gas emissions are indeed lower than conventional gas emissions. This life-cycle analysis provides insight into the critical stages in the natural gas industry where emissions occur and where opportunities exist to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas.

  19. Life-cycle assessments in the South African water sector: A review ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Therefore, in South Africa it is important to promote the use of LCAs for the water sector in order to improve efficiency of processes and systems, but also to promote life-cycle based water footprinting and to include differentiated water consumption data into life-cycle inventories to make more efficient use of water as a ...

  20. Open and closed fuel cycle of HWR and PWR. How large is the high-level radioactive wastes repository; Ciclos de combustible abierto y cerrado con HWR y PWR. ?Cuanto mas grande es el repositorio de residuos radiactivos de alta actividad?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bevilacqua, Arturo M. [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina). Centro Atomico Bariloche

    1996-07-01

    A conceptual analysis was carried out on the size of a high-level wastes (HLW) repository for the waste arising from once-through and closed fuel cycles with (HLW) and PWR. The mass, the activity and thermal loading was calculated with the ORIGEN2.1 computer code for the spent fuel and for the high-level liquid wastes. It was considered a minimum burnup of 7.000 MW.d/t U and 33.000 MW.d/t U for HWR and PWR respectively, cooling times of 20 and 55 years, reprocessing recovery ratios of 99% and 99.7% and a total electricity production of 81.6 GW(e).a. It was concluded that the cooling time is the most important repository size reproduction parameter for the closed cycles. On the other hand, the spent fuel mass for the once-through cycles does not depend on the cooling time what prevents repository size reduction once a cooling time of 55 years is reached. The repository size reduction in the case of HWR is larger than in the case of PWR, owing to the larger fuel mass required to produce the specific electricity amount. (author)

  1. Systematic Review of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Geothermal Electricity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eberle, Annika [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Heath, Garvin A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Carpenter Petri, Alberta C. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Nicholson, Scott R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-09-29

    The primary goal of this work was to assess the magnitude and variability of published life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission estimates for three types of geothermal electricity generation technologies: enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) binary, hydrothermal (HT) flash, and HT binary. These technologies were chosen to align the results of this report with technologies modeled in National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Regional Energy Deployment Systems (ReEDs) model. Although we did gather and screen life cycle assessment (LCA) literature on hybrid systems, dry steam, and two geothermal heating technologies, we did not analyze published GHG emission estimates for these technologies. In our systematic literature review of the LCA literature, we screened studies in two stages based on a variety of criteria adapted from NREL's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Harmonization study (Heath and Mann 2012). Of the more than 180 geothermal studies identified, only 29 successfully passed both screening stages and only 26 of these included estimates of life cycle GHG emissions. We found that the median estimate of life cycle GHG emissions (in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour generated [g CO2eq/kWh]) reported by these studies are 32.0, 47.0, and 11.3 for EGS binary, HT flash, and HT binary, respectively (Figure ES-1). We also found that the total life cycle GHG emissions are dominated by different stages of the life cycle for different technologies. For example, the GHG emissions from HT flash plants are dominated by the operations phase owing to the flash cycle being open loop whereby carbon dioxide entrained in the geothermal fluids is released to the atmosphere. This is in contrast to binary plants (using either EGS or HT resources), whose GHG emissions predominantly originate in the construction phase, owing to its closed-loop process design. Finally, by comparing this review's literature-derived range of HT flash GHG emissions to

  2. EVALUATING THE LIFE CYCLE COSTS OF PLANT ASSETS – A MULTIDIMENSIONAL VIEW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus Gram

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows the results of the task group "Asset life cycle management" of the AustrianScientific Maintenance and Asset Management Association (ÖVIA. One purpose of the researchactivities is to create a generic life cycle model for physical assets which includes all costs in everyphase of the asset life cycle. The first step is a literature review determining the most established lifecycle cost models. This is the input for discussing the completeness of such frameworks with theparticipating industrial companies. A general model is deducted from existing approaches and thedetermined costs are evaluated with respect to priority and practical relevance. The result of theevaluation shows which costs are taken into account for investment decisions. Another outcome ofthe study is the verification of importance of the proposed costs for industrial companies, especiallyfor the process industry. The derived life cycle cost framework is the basis for developing a calculationtool and subsequently, for further research in the flied of uncertainty-based methodologies forlife cycle cost analyzing of physical plant assets.

  3. Semantic catalogs for life cycle assessment data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuczenski, Brandon; Davis, Christopher B.; Rivela, Beatriz; Janowicz, Krzysztof

    2016-01-01

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a highly interdisciplinary field that requires knowledge from different domains to be gathered and interpreted together. Although there are relatively few major data sources for LCA, the data themselves are presented with highly heterogeneous formats, interfaces, and

  4. Predictors and Portfolios Over the Life Cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kraft, Holger; Munk, Claus; Weiss, Farina

    In a calibrated consumption-portfolio model with stock, housing, and labor income predictability, we evaluate the welfare effects of predictability on life-cycle consumption-portfolio choice. We compare skilled investors who are able to take advantage of all sources of predictability with unskilled...

  5. Performance improvement: an active life cycle product management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cucchiella, Federica; Gastaldi, Massimo; Lenny Koh, S. C.

    2010-03-01

    The management of the supply chain has gained importance in many manufacturing firms. Operational flexibility can be considered a crucial weapon to increase competitiveness in a turbulent marketplace. It reflects the ability of a firm to properly and rapidly respond to a variable and dynamic environment. For the firm operating in a fashion sector, the management of the supply chain is even more complex because the product life cycle is shorter than that of the firm operating in a non-fashion sector. The increase of firm flexibility level can be reached through the application of the real option theory inside the firm network. In fact, real option may increase the project value by allowing managers to more efficiently direct the production. The real option application usually analysed in literature does not take into account that the demands of products are well-defined by the product life cycle. Working on a fashion sector, the life cycle pattern is even more relevant because of an expected demand that grows according to a constant rate that does not capture the demand dynamics of the underlying fashion goods. Thus, the primary research objective of this article is to develop a model useful for the management of investments in a supply chain operating in a fashion sector where the system complexity is increased by the low level of unpredictability and stability that is proper of the mood phenomenon. Moreover, unlike the traditional model, a real option framework is presented here that considers fashion product characterised by uncertain stages of the production cycle.

  6. Life cycle theory and dividend payout policy: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Hassani

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the role and the effect of the life cycle theory on explanation of dividend payout policy in Tehran Stock exchange listed companies over the period 2006-2011. For measuring the firm’s life cycle, two criteria namely retained earnings to equity ratio and retained earnings to assets ratio have been used as proxies of firm’s life cycle. The findings of this research show that only retained earnings to assets ratio has a meaningful and positive effect on dividend payout policy; In the companies that are growing, retained earnings to assets ratio is low; Whereas this ratio is high in the more mature companies and these firms have abundant retained earnings, hence they are good candidates to pay dividends. However, there was no meaningful relationship between another life cycle criteria namely retained earnings to equity ratio and dividend payout policy.

  7. Life cycle assessment of mobile phone housing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jian-xin; Wang, Ru-song; Fu, Hao; Liu, Jing-ru

    2004-01-01

    The life cycle assessment of the mobile phone housing in Motorola(China) Electronics Ltd. was carried out, in which materials flows and environmental emissions based on a basic production scheme were analyzed and assessed. In the manufacturing stage, such primary processes as polycarbonate molding and surface painting are included, whereas different surface finishing technologies like normal painting, electroplate, IMD and VDM etc. were assessed. The results showed that housing decoration plays a significant role within the housing life cycle. The most significant environmental impact from housing production is the photochemical ozone formation potential. Environmental impacts of different decoration techniques varied widely, for example, the electroplating technique is more environmentally friendly than VDM. VDM consumes much more energy and raw material. In addition, the results of two alternative scenarios of dematerialization showed that material flow analysis and assessment is very important and valuable in selecting an environmentally friendly process.

  8. Combined use of semantics and metadata to manage Research Data Life Cycle in Environmental Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar Gómez, Fernando; de Lucas, Jesús Marco; Pertinez, Esther; Palacio, Aida

    2017-04-01

    Protégé, which is a graphical ontology-development tool that supports a rich knowledge model and it is open-source and freely available. To process and manage the ontology, we are using Semantic MediaWiki, which is able to process queries. Semantic MediaWiki is an extension of MediaWiki where we can do semantic search and export data in RDF. Our final goal is integrating our data repository portal and semantic processing engine in order to have a complete system to manage the data life cycle stages and their relationships, including machine-actionable DMP solution, datasets and software management, computing resources for processing and analysis and publication features (DOI mint). This way we will be able to reproduce the full data life cycle chain warranting the FAIR+R principles.

  9. 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.

  10. A Literature review of life cycle assessment for bridge infrastructure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Du, Guangli

    2010-01-01

    Currently, the whole world is confronted with great challenges related to environmental issues. As a fundamentalinfrastructure in transport networks, railway bridges are responsible for numerous material and energy consumption throughtheir life cycle, which in turn leads to significant environmen......Currently, the whole world is confronted with great challenges related to environmental issues. As a fundamentalinfrastructure in transport networks, railway bridges are responsible for numerous material and energy consumption throughtheir life cycle, which in turn leads to significant...

  11. Micronutrients in the life cycle: Requirements and sufficient supply

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Biesalski Hans

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates deliver energy and important material to ensure the entire body composition. Micronutrients are needed to keep this process of continuous construction and re-construction running. Consequently, the requirement for micronutrients will differ depending on the individual need which is related to the different metabolic conditions within the life cycle. Within the first 1000 days of life, from conception to the end of the second year of life the requirement for micronutrients is high and if the supply is inadequate that might have consequences for physical and at least cognitive development. In particular, iron, iodine, vitamin D and folate are micronutrients which might become critical during that period. Due to the fact that clinical symptoms of deficiencies develop late, but inadequate supply of one or more micronutrients may have consequences for health the term hidden hunger has been introduced to describe that situation. In particular the time period of pregnancy and early childhood is critical and hidden hunger is a worldwide problem, affecting >2 billion people, primarily females and children. The importance of different requirements during the life cycle is usually not considered. In addition, we do not really know what the individual requirement is. The estimation of the requirement is based on studies calculating the supply of a micronutrient to avoid a deficiency disease within a healthy population and is not based on sound scientific methodology or data. We need to consider that at different moments in the life cycle the supply might become critical in particular in case of a disease or sudden increase of metabolic turnover. In this narrative review we summarize data from studies dealing with different micronutrient requirements in pregnancy, exercise, vegan diet, adolescents and elderly. Knowledge of critical periods and related critical micronutrients might help to avoid hidden hunger and

  12. Life Cycle Assessment of the wind farm alpha ventus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagner H.-J.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Life Cycle Assessments (LCA is an important tool for industry and policy makers, used to determine the actual emissions of a product or technology throughout its whole life cycle. In case of energy production systems or power plants, analysis of energy required to produce the materials and processes; emissions resulting from various processes for materials production and processes resulting into their Cumulated Energy Demand (CED and Global Warming Potential (GWP become important parameters when making decisions on further research, development and deployment of any technology. The method of carrying out such analysis is explained through a case study.

  13. Life cycle, individual thrift, and the wealth of nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modigliani, F

    1986-11-07

    One theory of the determinants of individual and national thrift has come to be known as the life cycle hypothesis of saving. The state of the art on the eve of the formulation of the hypothesis some 30 years ago is reviewed. Then the theoretical foundations of the model in its original formulation and later amendment are set forth, calling attention to various implications, some distinctive to it and some counterintuitive. A number of crucial empirical tests, both at the individual and the aggregate level, are presented as well as some applications of the life cycle hypothesis of saving to current policy issues.

  14. Development of life cycle water-demand coefficients for coal-based power generation technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, Babkir; Kumar, Amit

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We develop water consumption and withdrawals coefficients for coal power generation. • We develop life cycle water footprints for 36 coal-based electricity generation pathways. • Different coal power generation technologies were assessed. • Sensitivity analysis of plant performance and coal transportation on water demand. - Abstract: This paper aims to develop benchmark coefficients for water consumption and water withdrawals over the full life cycle of coal-based power generation. This study considered not only all of the unit operations involved in the full electricity generation life cycle but also compared different coal-based power generating technologies. Overall this study develops the life cycle water footprint for 36 different coal-based electricity generation pathways. Power generation pathways involving new technologies of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or ultra supercritical technology with coal transportation by conventional means and using dry cooling systems have the least complete life cycle water-demand coefficients of about 1 L/kW h. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to study the impact of power plant performance and coal transportation on the water demand coefficients. The consumption coefficient over life cycle of ultra supercritical or IGCC power plants are 0.12 L/kW h higher when conventional transportation of coal is replaced by coal-log pipeline. Similarly, if the conventional transportation of coal is replaced by its transportation in the form of a slurry through a pipeline, the consumption coefficient of a subcritical power plant increases by 0.52 L/kW h

  15. Life-Cycle Costing of Food Waste Management in Denmark: Importance of Indirect Effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinez Sanchez, Veronica; Tonini, Davide; Møller, Flemming

    2016-01-01

    assessment combined with life-cycle assessment, to evaluate food waste management. Both life-cycle costing assessments included direct and indirect effects. The latter are related to income effects, accounting for the marginal consumption induced when alternative scenarios lead to different household......Prevention has been suggested as the preferred food waste management solution compared to alternatives such as conversion to animal fodder or to energy. In this study we used societal life-cycle costing, as a welfare economic assessment, and environmental life-cycle costing, as a financial...... be included whenever alternative scenarios incur different financial costs. Furthermore, it highlights that food prevention measures should not only demote the purchase of unconsumed food but also promote a low-impact use of the savings generated....

  16. Product-related research: how research can contribute to successful life-cycle management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandner, Peter; Ziegelbauer, Karl

    2008-05-01

    Declining productivity with decreasing new molecular entity output combined with increased R&D spending is one of the key challenges for the entire pharmaceutical industry. In order to offset decreasing new molecular entity output, life-cycle management activities for established drugs become more and more important to maintain or even expand clinical indication and market opportunities. Life-cycle management covers a whole range of activities from strategic pricing to a next generation product launch. In this communication, we review how research organizations can contribute to successful life-cycle management strategies using phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors as an example.

  17. Life-cycle cost analysis for Foreign Research Reactor, Spent Nuclear Fuel disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parks, P.B.; Geddes, R.L.; Jackson, W.N.; McDonell, W.R.; Dupont, M.E.; McWhorter, D.L.; Liutkus, A.S.

    1994-01-01

    DOE-EM-37 requested a life-cycle cost analysis for disposal of the Foreign Research Reactor-Spent Nuclear Fuel (FRR-SNF). The analysis was to address life-cycle and unit costs for a range of FRR-SNF elements from those currently available (6,000 elements) to the (then) bounding case (15,000 elements). Five alternative disposition strategies were devised for the FRR-SNF elements. Life-cycle costs were computed for each strategy. In addition, the five strategies were evaluated in terms of six societal and technical goals. This report summarizes the study that was originally documented to DOE-EM

  18. Life cycle and sustainability of abrasive tools

    CERN Document Server

    Linke, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    This monograph focuses on abrasive tools for grinding, polishing, honing, and lapping operations. The book describes the life cycle of abrasive tools from raw material processing of abrasive grits and bonding, manufacturing of monolithic or multi-layered tools, tool use to tool end-of-life. Moreover, this work highlights sustainability challenges including economic, environmental, social and technological aspects. The target audience primarily comprises research and industry experts in the field of manufacturing, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

  19. Temporal discounting in life cycle assessment: A critical review and theoretical framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Chris; Wang, Endong; Zhai, Qiang; Yang, Fan

    2015-01-01

    Temporal homogeneity of inventory data is one of the major problems in life cycle assessment (LCA). Addressing temporal homogeneity of life cycle inventory data is important in reducing the uncertainties and improving the reliability of LCA results. This paper attempts to present a critical review and discussion on the fundamental issues of temporal homogeneity in conventional LCA and propose a theoretical framework for temporal discounting in LCA. Theoretical perspectives for temporal discounting in life cycle inventory analysis are discussed first based on the key elements of a scientific mechanism for temporal discounting. Then generic procedures for performing temporal discounting in LCA is derived and proposed based on the nature of the LCA method and the identified key elements of a scientific temporal discounting method. A five-step framework is proposed and reported in details based on the technical methods and procedures needed to perform a temporal discounting in life cycle inventory analysis. Challenges and possible solutions are also identified and discussed for the technical procedure and scientific accomplishment of each step within the framework. - Highlights: • A critical review for temporal homogeneity problem of life cycle inventory data • A theoretical framework for performing temporal discounting on inventory data • Methods provided to accomplish each step of the temporal discounting framework

  20. Impact of Life-Cycle Stage and Gender on the Ability to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Christopher; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Examined impact of gender and life-cycle stage on three components of work-family conflict using sample of 3,616 respondents. For men, levels of work-family conflict were moderately lower in each successive life-cycle stage. For women, levels were similar in two early life-cycle stages but were significantly lower in later life-cycle stage.…

  1. Maintenance: Changing Role in Life Cycle Management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Takata, S.; Kimura, F.; van Houten, Frederikus J.A.M.; Westkamper, E.; Shpitalni, M.; Ceglarek, D.; Lee, J.

    2004-01-01

    As attention to environmental problems grows, product life cycle management is becoming a crucial issue in realizing a sustainable society. Our objective is to provide the functions necessary for such a society while minimizing material and energy consumption. From this viewpoint, we should redefine

  2. Infrastructures and Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thoft-Christensen, Palle

    2012-01-01

    Design and maintenance of infrastructures using Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit analysis is discussed in this paper with special emphasis on users costs. This is for several infrastructures such as bridges, highways etc. of great importance. Repair or/and failure of infrastructures will usually result...

  3. Aircraft bi-level life cycle cost estimation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhao, X.; Verhagen, W.J.C.; Curan, R.

    2015-01-01

    n an integrated aircraft design and analysis practice, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) is essential for decision making. The LCC of an aircraft is ordinarily partially estimated by emphasizing a specific cost type. However, an overview of the LCC including design and development cost, production cost,

  4. Analysis within the systems development life-cycle

    CERN Document Server

    Rock-Evans, Rosemary

    1987-01-01

    Analysis within the Systems Development Life-Cycle, Book 3: Activity Analysis - The Deliverables provides a comprehensive coverage of the deliverables of activity analysis. The book also details purpose of each deliverable in the context of the next tasks in the systems development cycle (SDC). The text first covers the concept of deliverables and the benefits of making deliverables visible. In the second chapter, the book introduces the main concepts and diagrammatic techniques of activity analysis. The third chapter deals with the important classes or categories of concept, while the fourth

  5. Evaluation of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectricity Generation Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akhil Kadiyala

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG emissions from different hydroelectricity generation systems by first performing a comprehensive review of the hydroelectricity generation system life cycle assessment (LCA studies and then subsequent computation of statistical metrics to quantify the life cycle GHG emissions (expressed in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour, gCO2e/kWh. A categorization index (with unique category codes, formatted as “facility type-electric power generation capacity” was developed and used in this study to evaluate the life cycle GHG emissions from the reviewed hydroelectricity generation systems. The unique category codes were labeled by integrating the names of the two hydro power sub-classifications, i.e., the facility type (impoundment (I, diversion (D, pumped storage (PS, miscellaneous hydropower works (MHPW and the electric power generation capacity (micro (µ, small (S, large (L. The characterized hydroelectricity generation systems were statistically evaluated to determine the reduction in corresponding life cycle GHG emissions. A total of eight unique categorization codes (I-S, I-L, D-µ, D-S, D-L, PS-L, MHPW-µ, MHPW-S were designated to the 19 hydroelectricity generation LCA studies (representing 178 hydropower cases using the proposed categorization index. The mean life cycle GHG emissions resulting from the use of I-S (N = 24, I-L (N = 8, D-µ (N = 3, D-S (N = 133, D-L (N = 3, PS-L (N = 3, MHPW-µ (N = 3, and MHPW-S (N = 1 hydroelectricity generation systems are 21.05 gCO2e/kWh, 40.63 gCO2e/kWh, 47.82 gCO2e/kWh, 27.18 gCO2e/kWh, 3.45 gCO2e/kWh, 256.63 gCO2e/kWh, 19.73 gCO2e/kWh, and 2.78 gCO2e/kWh, respectively. D-L hydroelectricity generation systems produced the minimum life cycle GHGs (considering the hydroelectricity generation system categories with a representation of at least two cases.

  6. HESS Opinions "Biological catalysis of the hydrological cycle: life's thermodynamic function"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaelian, K.

    2012-08-01

    Darwinian theory depicts life as being overwhelmingly consumed by a fight for survival in a hostile environment. However, from a thermodynamic perspective, life is a dynamic, out of equilibrium process, stabilizing and coevolving in concert with its abiotic environment. The living components of the biosphere on the Earth's surface of greatest biomass, the plants and cyanobacteria, are involved in the transpiration of a vast amount of water. Transpiration is part of the global water cycle, and it is this cycle that distinguishes Earth from its apparently life-barren neighboring planets, Venus and Mars. The dissipation of sunlight into heat by organic molecules in the biosphere, and its coupling to the water cycle (as well as other abiotic processes), is by far the greatest entropy-producing process occurring on Earth. Life, from this perspective, can be viewed as performing an important thermodynamic function, acting as a dynamic catalyst by aiding irreversible abiotic processes such as the water cycle, hurricanes, and ocean and wind currents to produce entropy. The role of animals in this view is that of unwitting but dedicated servants of the plants and cyanobacteria, helping them to grow, and to spread into initially inhospitable areas.

  7. Life cycle assessment perspectives on delivering an infant in the US

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campion, Nicole [University of Pittsburgh, 949 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Thiel, Cassandra L., E-mail: clt31@pitt.edu [University of Pittsburgh, 949 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); DeBlois, Justin [University of Pittsburgh, 949 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Woods, Noe C. [Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 (United States); Landis, Amy E. [Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875306, Tempe, AZ 85287-5306 (United States); Bilec, Melissa M. [University of Pittsburgh, 949 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States)

    2012-05-15

    This study introduces life cycle assessment as a tool to analyze one aspect of sustainability in healthcare: the birth of a baby. The process life cycle assessment case study presented evaluates two common procedures in a hospital, a cesarean section and a vaginal birth. This case study was conducted at Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which delivers over 10,000 infants per year. The results show that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), waste disposal, and the production of the disposable custom packs comprise a large percentage of the environmental impacts. Applying the life cycle assessment tool to medical procedures allows hospital decision makers to target and guide efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of healthcare procedures. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Life cycle assessment helps identify the environmental impacts of medical procedures. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Disposable custom packs represent a large portion of environmental impacts of births. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electricity loading contributes to global warming potential and respiratory effects. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Impact improvements should focus on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and disposable custom packs.

  8. Life-cycle assessment of computational logic produced from 1995 through 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyd, S B; Horvath, A; Dornfeld, D A

    2010-01-01

    Determination of the life-cycle environmental and human health impacts of semiconductor logic is essential to a better understanding of the role information technology can play in achieving energy efficiency or global warming potential reduction goals. This study provides a life-cycle assessment for digital logic chips over seven technology generations, spanning from 1995 through 2010. Environmental indicators include global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, ground-level ozone (smog) formation, potential human cancer and non-cancer health effects, ecotoxicity and water use. While impacts per device area related to fabrication infrastructure and use-phase electricity have increased steadily, those due to transportation and fabrication direct emissions have fallen as a result of changes in process technology, device and wafer sizes and yields over the generations. Electricity, particularly in the use phase, and direct emissions from fabrication are the most important contributors to life-cycle impacts. Despite the large quantities of water used in fabrication, across the life cycle, the largest fraction of water is consumed in generation of electricity for use-phase power. Reducing power consumption in the use phase is the most effective way to limit impacts, particularly for the more recent generations of logic.

  9. HESS Opinions "Biological catalysis of the hydrological cycle: life's thermodynamic function"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Michaelian

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Darwinian theory depicts life as being overwhelmingly consumed by a fight for survival in a hostile environment. However, from a thermodynamic perspective, life is a dynamic, out of equilibrium process, stabilizing and coevolving in concert with its abiotic environment. The living components of the biosphere on the Earth's surface of greatest biomass, the plants and cyanobacteria, are involved in the transpiration of a vast amount of water. Transpiration is part of the global water cycle, and it is this cycle that distinguishes Earth from its apparently life-barren neighboring planets, Venus and Mars. The dissipation of sunlight into heat by organic molecules in the biosphere, and its coupling to the water cycle (as well as other abiotic processes, is by far the greatest entropy-producing process occurring on Earth. Life, from this perspective, can be viewed as performing an important thermodynamic function, acting as a dynamic catalyst by aiding irreversible abiotic processes such as the water cycle, hurricanes, and ocean and wind currents to produce entropy. The role of animals in this view is that of unwitting but dedicated servants of the plants and cyanobacteria, helping them to grow, and to spread into initially inhospitable areas.

  10. Environmental Impacts of Solar Thermal Systems with Life Cycle Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    De Laborderie , Alexis; Puech , Clément; Adra , Nadine; Blanc , Isabelle; Beloin-Saint-Pierre , Didier; Padey , Pierryves; Payet , Jérôme; Sie , Marion; Jacquin , Philippe

    2011-01-01

    Available on: http://www.ep.liu.se/ecp/057/vol14/002/ecp57vol14_002.pdf; International audience; Solar thermal systems are an ecological way of providing domestic hot water. They are experiencing a rapid growth since the beginning of the last decade. This study characterizes the environmental performances of such installations with a life-cycle approach. The methodology is based on the application of the international standards of Life Cycle Assessment. Two types of systems are presented. Fir...

  11. Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Schepper, Mieke; Van den Heede, Philip; Van Driessche, Isabel; De Belie, Nele

    2014-08-21

    Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth's raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC) is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete.

  12. Life Cycle Assessment of Completely Recyclable Concrete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mieke De Schepper

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Since the construction sector uses 50% of the Earth’s raw materials and produces 50% of its waste, the development of more durable and sustainable building materials is crucial. Today, Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW is mainly used in low level applications, namely as unbound material for foundations, e.g., in road construction. Mineral demolition waste can be recycled as crushed aggregates for concrete, but these reduce the compressive strength and affect the workability due to higher values of water absorption. To advance the use of concrete rubble, Completely Recyclable Concrete (CRC is designed for reincarnation within the cement production, following the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C principle. By the design, CRC becomes a resource for cement production because the chemical composition of CRC will be similar to that of cement raw materials. If CRC is used on a regular basis, a closed concrete-cement-concrete material cycle will arise, which is completely different from the current life cycle of traditional concrete. Within the research towards this CRC it is important to quantify the benefit for the environment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA needs to be performed, of which the results are presented in a this paper. It was observed that CRC could significantly reduce the global warming potential of concrete.

  13. Current Status of Deep Geological Repository Development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budnitz, R J

    2005-01-01

    This talk provided an overview of the current status of deep-geological-repository development worldwide. Its principal observation is that a broad consensus exists internationally that deep-geological disposal is the only long-term solution for disposition of highly radioactive nuclear waste. Also, it is now clear that the institutional and political aspects are as important as the technical aspects in achieving overall progress. Different nations have taken different approaches to overall management of their highly radioactive wastes. Some have begun active programs to develop a deep repository for permanent disposal: the most active such programs are in the United States, Sweden, and Finland. Other countries (including France and Russia) are still deciding on whether to proceed quickly to develop such a repository, while still others (including the UK, China, Japan) have affirmatively decided to delay repository development for a long time, typically for a generation of two. In recent years, a major conclusion has been reached around the world that there is very high confidence that deep repositories can be built, operated, and closed safely and can meet whatever safety requirements are imposed by the regulatory agencies. This confidence, which has emerged in the last few years, is based on extensive work around the world in understanding how repositories behave, including both the engineering aspects and the natural-setting aspects, and how they interact together. The construction of repositories is now understood to be technically feasible, and no major barriers have been identified that would stand in the way of a successful project. Another major conclusion around the world is that the overall cost of a deep repository is not as high as some had predicted or feared. While the actual cost will not be known in detail until the costs are incurred, the general consensus is that the total life-cycle cost will not exceed a few percent of the value of the

  14. Transport biofuels - a life-cycle assessment approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijnders, L.

    2008-01-01

    Life-cycle studies of the currently dominant transport biofuels (bioethanol made from starch or sugar and biodiesel made from vegetable oil) show that solar energy conversion efficiency is relatively poor if compared with solar cells and that such biofuels tend to do worse than conventional fossil

  15. Current Knowledge of the Life Cycles of

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peperzak, L.; Gäbler-Schwarz, S.

    2012-01-01

    Despite continuous efforts since the 1950s and more recent advances in culturing flagellates and nonflagellate cells of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis, a number of different life-cycle models exist today that appear to apply for P. globosa Scherff. and P. antarctica G. Karst., both spherical colony

  16. 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

  17. Developing Students' Understanding of Industrially Relevant Economic and Life Cycle Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bode, Claudia J.; Chapman, Clint; Pennybaker, Atherly; Subramaniam, Bala

    2017-01-01

    Training future leaders to understand life cycle assessment data is critical for effective research, business, and sociopolitical decision-making. However, the technical nature of these life cycle reports often makes them challenging for students and other nonexperts to comprehend. Therefore, we outline here the key takeaways from recent economic…

  18. Impact of partitioning and transmutation on repository design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, D. 'Buzz' Savage

    2004-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) program is investigating spent nuclear fuel treatment technologies that have the potential to improve the performance of the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. Separating actinides and selected fission products from spent fuel, storing some of them as low level waste and transmuting them in thermal and/or fast reactors has the potential to reduce the volume, short and long-term heat load and radiotoxicity of the high level waste destined for the repository, effectively increasing its capacity by a factor of 50 or more above the current legislative limit. (author)

  19. Life cycle assessment for next generating vehicles. Feasibility study of alternative fuel vehicles and electric vehicles; Jisedai jidosha no life cycle assessment. Daitai nenryo jidosha oyobi denki jidosha no feasibility study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanyu, T; Iida, N [Keio University, Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    To show environmental assessment of introduction of substitute fuel vehicles is important information to formulate the future vehicles policy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is put forward to simulate such potential, allows us to state the reduction environmental impacts of substitute vehicles on their total life cycle. The purpose of this study is assessment and analysis of the life cycle CO2 emission for substitute fuel vehicles, such as, alternative fuel vehicles, electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles. 8 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs.

  20. Life cycle assessment of palm-derived biodiesel in Taiwan

    KAUST Repository

    Maharjan, Sumit

    2016-10-01

    In Taiwan, due to the limited capacity of waste cooking oil, palm oil has been viewed as the potential low-cost imported feedstock for producing biodiesel, in the way of obtaining oil feedstock in Malaysia and producing biodiesel in Taiwan. This study aims to evaluate the cradle-to-grave life cycle environmental performance of palm biodiesel within two different Asian countries, Malaysia and Taiwan. The phases of the life cycle such as direct land-use-change impact, plantation and milling are investigated based on the Malaysia case and those of refining, and fuel production as well as engine combustion is based on Taiwan case. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy consumption for the whole life cycle were calculated as −28.29 kg CO2-equiv. and +23.71 MJ/kg of palm-derived biodiesel. We also analyze the impacts of global warming potential (GWP) and the payback time for recovering the GHG emissions when producing and using biodiesel. Various scenarios include (1) clearing rainforest or peat-forest; (2) treating or discharging palm-oil-milling effluent (POME) are further developed to examine the effectiveness of improving the environmental impacts © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

  1. Life cycle assessment-driven selection of industrial ecology strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardente, Fulvio; Cellura, Maurizio; Lo Brano, Valerio; Mistretta, Marina

    2010-01-01

    The paper presents an application of the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the planning and environmental management of an “eco-industrial cluster.” A feasibility study of industrial symbiosis in southern Italy is carried out, where interlinked companies share subproducts and scraps, services, structures, and plants to reduce the related environmental impact. In particular, the research focuses on new recycling solutions to create open recycling loops in which plastic subproducts and scraps are transferred to external production systems. The main environmental benefits are the reduction of resource depletion, air emissions, and landfilled wastes. The proposed strategies are also economically viable and they suggest cost abatement for the involved companies. This research shows the need for a multidisciplinary approach to data processing and to complexity managing of the investigated systems. In this context, life-cycle thinking is required to be promoted throughout the economy, as well to be as a part of all decisions on products and other criteria such as functionality, health, and safety. The Life-Cycle Assessment approach can be assumed as a methodology for influencing decision makers to make sustainable choices.

  2. 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.)

  3. Life cycle assessment of a floating offshore wind turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weinzettel, Jan [Department of Electrotechnology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technicka 2, Praha 166 27 (Czech Republic); Charles University in Prague Environment Center, U Krize 8, Prague 158 00 (Czech Republic); Reenaas, Marte; Solli, Christian [Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Hertwich, Edgar G. [Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim (Norway)

    2009-03-15

    A development in wind energy technology towards higher nominal power of the wind turbines is related to the shift of the turbines to better wind conditions. After the shift from onshore to offshore areas, there has been an effort to move further from the sea coast to the deep water areas, which requires floating windmills. Such a concept brings additional environmental impact through higher material demand. To evaluate additional environmental burdens and to find out whether they can be rebalanced or even offset by better wind conditions, a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) study of one floating concept has been performed and the results are presented in this paper. A comparison with existing LCA studies of conventional offshore wind power and electricity from a natural gas combined cycle is presented. The results indicate similar environmental impacts of electricity production using floating wind power plants as using non-floating offshore wind power plants. The most important stage in the life cycle of the wind power plants is the production of materials. Credits that are connected to recycling these materials at the end-of-life of the power plant are substantial. (author)

  4. Life cycle assessment of metals: a scientific synthesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Nuss

    Full Text Available We have assembled extensive information on the cradle-to-gate environmental burdens of 63 metals in their major use forms, and illustrated the interconnectedness of metal production systems. Related cumulative energy use, global warming potential, human health implications and ecosystem damage are estimated by metal life cycle stage (i.e., mining, purification, and refining. For some elements, these are the first life cycle estimates of environmental impacts reported in the literature. We show that, if compared on a per kilogram basis, the platinum group metals and gold display the highest environmental burdens, while many of the major industrial metals (e.g., iron, manganese, titanium are found at the lower end of the environmental impacts scale. If compared on the basis of their global annual production in 2008, iron and aluminum display the largest impacts, and thallium and tellurium the lowest. With the exception of a few metals, environmental impacts of the majority of elements are dominated by the purification and refining stages in which metals are transformed from a concentrate into their metallic form. Out of the 63 metals investigated, 42 metals are obtained as co-products in multi output processes. We test the sensitivity of varying allocation rationales, in which the environmental burden are allocated to the various metal and mineral products, on the overall results. Monte-Carlo simulation is applied to further investigate the stability of our results. This analysis is the most comprehensive life cycle comparison of metals to date and allows for the first time a complete bottom-up estimate of life cycle impacts of the metals and mining sector globally. We estimate global direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 at 3.4 Gt CO2-eq per year and primary energy use at 49 EJ per year (9.5% of global use, and report the shares for all metals to both impact categories.

  5. Life cycle cost analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels in Thailand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goedecke, Martin; Therdthianwong, Supaporn; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

    2007-01-01

    High crude oil prices and pollution problems have drawn attention to alternative vehicle technologies and fuels for the transportation sector. The question is: What are the benefits/costs of these technologies for society? To answer this question in a quantitative way, a web-based model (http://vehiclesandfuels.memebot.com) has been developed to calculate the societal life cycle costs, the consumer life cycle costs and the tax for different vehicle technologies. By comparing these costs it is possible to draw conclusions about the social benefit and the related tax structure. The model should help to guide decisions toward optimality, which refers to maximum social benefit. The model was applied to the case of Thailand. The life cycle cost of 13 different alternative vehicle technologies in Thailand have been calculated and the tax structure analyzed

  6. The Yucca Mountain Repository - Too Little, Too Late

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eriksson, L.G.; Pentz, D.L.

    2009-01-01

    In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) announced that the nation's first (and only pursued) deep geological disposal system (repository) for 70,000 metric tonnes of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and other high-level radioactive waste (HLW) at the Yucca Mountain (YM) site in Nevada would: 1. Not be able to accommodate the projected stockpile of utility-generated SNF beyond 2010. 2. Open no earlier than in 2020, i.e., more than 22 years behind the statutory-mandated opening date. In the meantime, the US DOE is legally obligated to compensate the utilities from January 31, 1998, until it takes title to the utilities' SNF. In 2005 when the YM SNF repository was projected to open in 2010, the utilities estimated that, depending upon how close to 2010 the YM repository opened, the 'breach-of-contract' compensation could be in the range of between 100 billion and 300 billion U.S. dollars ($300 B), which would exceed the 2008 projected life-cycle cost of $96 B for the YM repository. It thus seems appropriate to look beyond the YM repository and call upon the U.S. Congress to promptly act and open new avenues allowing the US DOE to more timely and cost-effectively take title to both existing and pending SNF the current fleet of 104 reactors will generate through the next 60 years. Options for SNF arising from an additional 50 reactors should also be provided. Based on our more than 60 years of combined involvement in nuclear waste management in the USA and abroad, we submit the following industrial-scale-proven, repository-related, nuclear-waste-management and disposition solutions for prompt Congressional consideration and action: 1. An increase in the disposal capacity (and perhaps mission) of the YM repository. 2. Prompt establishment of at least one large federal monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility for utility-generated SNF. 3. Continued research in reprocessing options of existing and pending SNF with defined milestones. 4. Resurrection of a second

  7. Life cycle assessment of biomass-to-liquid fuels - Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jungbluth, N.; Buesser, S.; Frischknecht, R.; Tuchschmid, M.

    2008-02-15

    This study elaborates a life cycle assessment of using of BTL-fuels (biomass-to-liquid). This type of fuel is produced in synthesis process from e.g. wood, straw or other biomass. The life cycle inventory data of the fuel provision with different types of conversion concepts are based on the detailed life cycle assessment compiled and published within a European research project. The inventory of the fuel use emissions is based on information published by automobile manufacturers on reductions due to the use of BTL-fuels. Passenger cars fulfilling the EURO3 emission standards are the basis for the comparison. The life cycle inventories of the use of BTL-fuels for driving in passenger cars are investigated from cradle to grave. The full life cycle is investigated with the transportation of one person over one kilometre (pkm) as a functional unit. This includes all stages of the life cycle of a fuel (biomass and fuel production, distribution, combustion) and the necessary infrastructure (e.g. tractors, conversion plant, cars and streets). The use of biofuels is mainly promoted for the reason of reducing the climate change impact and the use of scarce non-renewable resources e.g. crude oil. The possible implementation of BTL-fuel production processes would potentially help to achieve this goal. The emissions of greenhouse gases due to transport services could be reduced by 28% to 69% with the BTL-processes using straw, forest wood or short-rotation wood as a biomass input. The reduction potential concerning non-renewable energy resources varies between 37% und 61%. A previous study showed that many biofuels cause higher environmental impacts than fossil fuels if several types of ecological problems are considered. The study uses two single score impact assessment methods for the evaluation of the overall environmental impacts, namely the Eco-indicator 99 (H,A) and the Swiss ecological scarcity 2006 method. The transportation with the best BTL-fuel from short

  8. Efficiency of single-family houses and harmonisation of their life cycle participants’ interests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nerija Kvederyte

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available An efficient single-family house is the main purpose of the life cycle. It determines the necessity to evaluate various decisions of the life cycle of single-family houses and possibilities to satisfy objectives and requirements of the participants of that process. To design and achieve an effective process of the life cycle of a single-family house, it is necessary to take care of its efficiency starting from the determination of needs and objectives and ending with the usage of a building.

  9. 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.

  10. Externalities in a life cycle model with endogenous survival☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhn, Michael; Wrzaczek, Stefan; Prskawetz, Alexia; Feichtinger, Gustav

    2011-01-01

    We study socially vs individually optimal life cycle allocations of consumption and health, when individual health care curbs own mortality but also has a spillover effect on other persons’ survival. Such spillovers arise, for instance, when health care activity at aggregate level triggers improvements in treatment through learning-by-doing (positive externality) or a deterioration in the quality of care through congestion (negative externality). We combine an age-structured optimal control model at population level with a conventional life cycle model to derive the social and private value of life. We then examine how individual incentives deviate from social incentives and how they can be aligned by way of a transfer scheme. The age-patterns of socially and individually optimal health expenditures and the transfer rate are derived. Numerical analysis illustrates the working of our model. PMID:28298810

  11. Reactor coolant pump service life evaluation for current life cycle optimization and license renewal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doroshuk, B.W.; Berto, D.S.; Robles, M.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports that as part of the plant life cycle management and license renewal program, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BG and E) has completed a service life evaluation of their reactor coolant pumps, funded jointly by EPRI and performed by ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Power. Two of the goals of the BG and E plant life cycle management and license renewal program, and of this current evaluation, are to identify actions which would optimize current plant operation, and ensure that license renewal remains a viable option. The reactor coolant pumps (RCPs) at BG and E's Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2 are Byron Jackson pumps with a diffuser and a single suction. This pump design is also used in many other nuclear plants. The RCP service life evaluation assessed the effect of all plausible age-related degradation mechanisms (ARDMs) on the RCP components. Cyclic fatigue and thermal embrittlement were two ARDMs identified as having a high potential to limit the service life of the pump case. The pump case is a primary pressure boundary component. Hence, ensuring its continued structural integrity is important

  12. Monte Carlo simulations for generic granite repository studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, Shaoping [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lee, Joon H [SNL; Wang, Yifeng [SNL

    2010-12-08

    In a collaborative study between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the DOE-NE Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) Campaign project, we have conducted preliminary system-level analyses to support the development of a long-term strategy for geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. A general modeling framework consisting of a near- and a far-field submodel for a granite GDSE was developed. A representative far-field transport model for a generic granite repository was merged with an integrated systems (GoldSim) near-field model. Integrated Monte Carlo model runs with the combined near- and farfield transport models were performed, and the parameter sensitivities were evaluated for the combined system. In addition, a sub-set of radionuclides that are potentially important to repository performance were identified and evaluated for a series of model runs. The analyses were conducted with different waste inventory scenarios. Analyses were also conducted for different repository radionuelide release scenarios. While the results to date are for a generic granite repository, the work establishes the method to be used in the future to provide guidance on the development of strategy for long-term disposal of high-level radioactive waste in a granite repository.

  13. Hybrid life cycle assessment comparison of colloidal silica and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Patricia M; Spatari, Sabrina; Cucura, Jeffrey

    2013-04-15

    Site remediation involves balancing numerous costs and benefits but often neglects the environmental impacts over the entire project life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) offers a framework for inclusion of global environmental "systems-level" decision metrics in combination with technological and cost analysis. We compare colloidal silica (CS) and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies for soils affected by low level radionuclides at a U.S. Superfund site using hybrid LCA methods. CS is a new, high performance grouting material installed using permeation grouting techniques. Cement, a more traditional grouting material, is typically installed using jet grouting techniques. Life cycle impacts were evaluated using the US EPA TRACI 2 model. Results show the highest life cycle environmental impacts for the CS barrier occur during materials production and transportation to the site. In general, the life cycle impacts for the cement barrier were dominated by materials production; however, in the extreme scenario the life cycle impacts were dominated by truck transportation of spoils to a distant, off-site radioactive waste facility. It is only in the extreme scenario tested in which soils are transported by truck (Option 2) that spoils waste transport dominates LCIA results. Life cycle environmental impacts for both grout barriers were most sensitive to resource input requirements for manufacturing volumes and transportation. Uncertainty associated with the efficacy of new technology such as CS over its required design life indicates that barrier replacement could increase its life cycle environmental impact above that of the cement barrier. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Life-cycle stages of Dinophysis acuminata (Dinophyceae) in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Despite many observations of different life-cycle stages of Dinophysis species, the complete life history of the genus is still unknown owing to the difficulties encountered in culturing these species. The seasonal distribution of D. acuminata was followed at two offshore stations in the brackish Baltic Sea by means of in situ ...

  15. Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sjunnesson, Jeannette

    2005-09-15

    This is an environmental study on concrete that follows the standard protocol of life cycle assessment (LCA). The study is done for two types of concrete, ordinary and frost-resistant concrete, and has an extra focus on the superplasticizers used as admixtures. The utilization phase is not included in this study since the type of construction for which the concrete is used is not defined and the concrete is assumed to be inert during this phase. The results show that it is the production of the raw material and the transports involved in the life cycle of concrete that are the main contributors to the total environmental load. The one single step in the raw material production that has the highest impact is the production of cement. Within the transportation operations the transportation of concrete is the largest contributor, followed by the transportation of the cement. The environmental impact of frost-resistant concrete is between 24-41 % higher than that of ordinary concrete due to its higher content of cement. Superplasticizers contribute with approximately 0.4-10.4 % of the total environmental impact of concrete, the least to the global warming potential (GWP) and the most to the photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP). Also the toxicity of the superplasticizers is investigated and the conclusion is that the low amount of leakage of superplasticizers from concrete leads to a low risk for the environment and for humans.

  16. Life-cycle of fuel peat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leijting, J.; Silvo, K.

    1998-01-01

    The share of peat in the primary energy supply in Finland in 1996 was about 6.5 % and the area used for peat production was about 535 km 2 , corresponding to about 0.5 % of the original peatland area of Finland. Fuel peat production is hence a significant form of using natural resources. About 1.4 % of the total peatland area has been reserved for peat production. Approximately 95 % of the peat excavated in Finland is used as fuel peat, and 5 % as horticultural peat. As raw material and fuel peat can be considered to be slowly renewable material. The environmental impacts of fuel peat production, transportation and peat combustion were evaluated in this research by methods used in life-cycle assessment. Preparation and production phases of peat production areas, fuel peat transportation to power plants, combustion of peat in power plants, and disposal of the ashes formed the basis for the investigation. Data collected in 1994-1996 was used as the basic material in the research. Special attention was paid to the estimation of greenhouse gas balance when using a virgin bog and the forest drained peatland areas as starting points. Post-production use of peatlands were not inspected in the life-cycle assessment. The work was carried out in 1997 in cooperation with Vapo Oy. The regional environmental centers, VTT and Helsinki and Joensuu Universities assisted significantly in acquisition of the material and planning of the work 3 refs

  17. Social Life Cycle Assessment Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruqun Wu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available To promote the development of Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA, we conducted a comprehensive review of recently developed frameworks, methods, and characterization models for impact assessment for future method developers and SLCA practitioners. Two previous reviews served as our foundations for this review. We updated the review by including a comprehensive list of recently-developed SLCA frameworks, methods and characterization models. While a brief discussion from goal, data, and indicator perspectives is provided in Sections 2 to 4 for different frameworks/methods, the focus of this review is Section 5 where discussion on characterization models for impact assessment of different methods is provided. The characterization models are categorized into two types following the UNEP/SETAC guidelines: type I models without impact pathways and type II models with impact pathways. Different from methods incorporating type I/II characterization models, another LCA modeling approach, Life Cycle Attribute Assessment (LCAA, is also discussed in this review. We concluded that methods incorporating either type I or type II models have limitations. For type I models, the challenge lies in the systematic identification of relevant stakeholders and materiality issues; while for type II models, identification of impact pathways that most closely and accurately represent the real-world causal relationships is the key. LCAA may avoid these problems, but the ultimate questions differ from those asked by the methods using type I and II models.

  18. Fatigue life estimation on coke drum due to cycle optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siahaan, Andrey Stephan; Ambarita, Himsar; Kawai, Hideki; Daimaruya, Masashi

    2018-04-01

    In the last decade, due to the increasing demand of petroleum product, the necessity for converting the heavy oil are increasing. Thus, demand for installing coke drum in whole world will be increase. The coke drum undergoes the cyclic high temperature and suddenly cooling but in fact is not designed to withstand that kind of cycle, thus the operational life of coke drum is much shorter in comparison to other equipment in oil refinery. Various factors determine in order to improve reliability and minimize the down time, and it is found that the cycle optimization due to cycle, temperature, and pressure have an important role. From this research it is found that the fatigue life of the short cycle is decrease by a half compare to the normal cycle. It also found that in the preheating stage, the stress peak is far exceed the yield strength of coke drum material and fall into plastic deformation. This is happened because of the temperature leap in the preheating stage that cause thermal shock in the upper part of the skirt of the coke drum.

  19. PETRI NET MODELING OF COMPUTER VIRUS LIFE CYCLE

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Obe

    dynamic system analysis is applied to model the virus life cycle. Simulation of the derived model ... Keywords: Virus lifecycle, Petri nets, modeling. simulation. .... complex process. Figure 2 .... by creating Matlab files for five different computer ...

  20. USEtox: The UNEP-SETAC consensus model for life-cycle impacts on human health and ecosystems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; McKone, Tom; Huijbregts, Mark A.J.

    2007-01-01

    Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) characterizes emissions for the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of a product by translating these emissions into their potential impacts on human health, ecosystems, global climate and other resources. This process requires substance-specific characterization factors...... (CFs) that represent the relative potential of specific chemical emissions to impact human disease burden and ecosystem health. Within the Life Cycle Initiative, a joint initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC...... and transparent tool for making human health and ecosystem CF estimates. The consensus model has now been used to calculate CFs for several thousand substances and is intended to form the basis of the recommendations from UNEP-SETAC‘s Life Cycle Initiative regarding characterization of toxic impacts in Life Cycle...

  1. Evolution of dispersal in spatially and temporally variable environments: The importance of life cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massol, François; Débarre, Florence

    2015-07-01

    Spatiotemporal variability of the environment is bound to affect the evolution of dispersal, and yet model predictions strongly differ on this particular effect. Recent studies on the evolution of local adaptation have shown that the life cycle chosen to model the selective effects of spatiotemporal variability of the environment is a critical factor determining evolutionary outcomes. Here, we investigate the effect of the order of events in the life cycle on the evolution of unconditional dispersal in a spatially heterogeneous, temporally varying landscape. Our results show that the occurrence of intermediate singular strategies and disruptive selection are conditioned by the temporal autocorrelation of the environment and by the life cycle. Life cycles with dispersal of adults versus dispersal of juveniles, local versus global density regulation, give radically different evolutionary outcomes that include selection for total philopatry, evolutionary bistability, selection for intermediate stable states, and evolutionary branching points. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for life-cycle specifics when predicting the effects of the environment on evolutionarily selected trait values, such as dispersal, as well as the need to check the robustness of model conclusions against modifications of the life cycle. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution © 2015 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  2. Growing up in the Ocean: Complex Life Cycles of Common Marine Invertebrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Katie; Hiebert, Laurel

    2010-01-01

    Most people are familiar with the concept that animals come in all shapes and sizes and that the body plan of some animals can completely transform during their lifetime. Well-known examples of such complex life cycles of terrestrial animals include butterflies and frogs. Many people are unaware, however, that complex life cycles are exceedingly…

  3. Global guidance on environmental life cycle impact assessment indicators: Progress and case study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frischknecht, Rolf; Fantke, Peter; Tschümperlin, Laura

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) guidance flagship project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative aims at providing global guidance and building scientific consensus on environmental LCIA in...

  4. Effects of pH on the life cycle of the midge Tanytansus dissimilis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bell, H L

    1970-01-01

    All stages of the life cycle of the midge Tanytarsus (paratanytarsus) dissimilis joh. were subjected to low pH and the exremes of tolerance were determined. The life cycle could not be completed below a pH of 5.5.

  5. METHOD OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING CONSIDERING THE LIFE CYCLE THEORY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetiana Kniazieva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The subject of the study is a set of theoretical and methodological aspects of development strategy formed for objects (country, region, branch, enterprise on the basis of the life cycles theory under the external environment uncertainty. The methodology of strategic planning under the external environment uncertainty with the consideration of the life cycle theory includes: the definition of key criteria for assessing the product lifecycle, the definition of the limits scope for the solvable problem, the definition of parameters of models stability, the formation of models for analysis, setting the problem under uncertainty, the mechanism of step-by-step adjustment, and effectiveness assessment of strategic decisions based on strategies, the algorithm for the integrated assessment of the strategies effectiveness taking into account the uncertainty factors. Strategic planning is not characterized by temporal intervals but by a set of strategies, each of which is determined by the ways of achieving the main object objectives. For a rapid analysis of the product life cycle, the external indicators are used, such as: the growth rate of the product market, the relative growth rate of the product (compared to the growth rate of the entire market of the region or country, the firm market share, the firm relative market share (compared to the market share of leading competitor, and internal indicators, such as: the dynamics of enterprise revenue by product, the dynamics of company profits by product, the dynamics of enterprise profitability by product, the dynamics of enterprise investment. For each indicator that describes the enterprise performance, the directions of change are taken: α – growth, const – constant or β – decrease. The methodology involves a certain sequence of studying the product life cycle in retrospect and at the current moment, then the modelling and development of options for short- and long-term strategies implementation

  6. A Generic Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Chemical-biochemical Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalakul, Sawitree; Malakul, Pomthong; Siemanond, Kitipat

    2013-01-01

    As environmental impacts and resource depletion are serious concerns for the modern society, they also provide the motivation and need to design processes that are not only economically and operationally feasible, but also environmentally friendly. In this respect, life cycle assessment (LCA......) is a tool for quantifying potential environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the product or process. It can be used in conjunction with an economic tool to evaluate the design of any existing and/or new chemical-biochemical process and create improvement options in order to arrive at the best...

  7. The cycle life chemistry of ambient-temperature secondary lithium cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somoano, R.; Carter, B. J.; Subba Rao, S.; Shen, D.; Yen, S. P. S.

    1985-01-01

    The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is involved in a NASA-sponsored research program to demonstrate the feasibility of ambient-temperature secondary lithium batteries for geosynchronous space applications. Encouraging cycle life has been demonstrated in sealed, cathode-limited laboratory cells. However, the cell capacity declines with cycle life. The results of recent studies of the lithium electrode passivation chemistry, and of conductive diluents for TiS2 cathodes and their possible contribution to capacity decline, are here presented. Technical issues associated with the unique operational requirements of a geosynchronous mission are also described.

  8. An integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation in Turkey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atilgan, Burcin; Azapagic, Adisa

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents for the first time an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey, considering environmental, economic and social aspects. Twenty life cycle sustainability indicators (11 environmental, three economic and six social) are used to evaluate the current electricity options. Geothermal power is the best option for six environmental impacts but it has the highest capital costs. Small reservoir and run-of-river power has the lowest global warming potential while large reservoir is best for the depletion of elements and fossil resources, and acidification. It also has the lowest levelised costs, worker injuries and fatalities but provides the lowest life cycle employment opportunities. Gas power has the lowest capital costs but it provides the lowest direct employment and has the highest levelised costs and ozone layer depletion. Given these trade-offs, a multi-criteria decision analysis has been carried out to identify the most sustainable options assuming different stakeholder preferences. For all the preferences considered, hydropower is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind electricity. This work demonstrates the importance for energy policy of an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment and how tensions between different aspects can be reconciled to identify win-win solutions. - Highlights: •First integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey. •11 environmental, three economic and six social sustainability indicators estimated. •Multi-criteria decision analysis carried out to identify most sustainable options. •Hydro is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind. •This work demonstrates how tensions among sustainability aspects can be reconciled.

  9. [Specific manifestations of polyvariant life cycles in ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) along latitudinal gradient].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matalin, A V

    2014-01-01

    The life cycles of Carabidae are highly diverse, and 25 variants of these cycles are realized In the European part of Russia, from semideserts to continental tundras. The diversity of the life cycle spectrum sharply decreases (by more than half) upon transition from nemoral to boreal forest communities, and its phenological unification takes place at high latitudes. The greatest proportion of species with polyvariant development (25%) is characteristic of temporal latitudes, which may be explained by relatively long growing season and considerable cenotic diversity. In both southern (semidesert and steppe) and northern regions (middle and northern boreal forests), this proportion does not exceed 5%. At low latitudes, the polyvariant pattern of development is often manifested in the form of facultative bivoltine life cycles or as facultative biennial life cycles in species with the initial "spring" breeding type.

  10. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions estimation for small hydropower schemes in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varun; Prakash, Ravi; Bhat, I.K.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents for the first time correlations for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small hydropower schemes in India. In this paper an attempt has been made to develop life cycle GHG emissions correlations for three different types of small hydropower schemes (run-of river, canal based and dam-toe) in India. It has been found out that GHG emissions depend on the head and capacity of the small hydropower project. The results obtained from correlations show good agreement with the estimated results using EIO-LCA (Economic Input–Output-Life Cycle Assessment) technique. These correlations may be useful for the development of new small hydropower (SHP) schemes, as they can be used to predict life cycle GHG emissions based on capacity, head and type of SHP schemes. -- Highlights: ► A study has been carried out for the Life Cycle Greenhouse gas emissions estimation for SHP schemes in India. ► Around 145 SHP schemes have been studied and their GHG emissions have been estimated. ► Based upon these results correlations have been developed for three different types of SHP schemes.

  11. The modular ALMR (PRISM) fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, M.L.

    1990-01-01

    The modular reactor concept, PRISM (power reactor, innovative, small module), originated by General Electric in conjunction with the integral fast reactor (IFR) metal fuel being developed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), is the reference US Department of Energy advanced liquid-metal reactor (ALMR). The reference ALMR is unique in several ways; for example, it can produce (or breed) substantially more fissile material than it consumes. It is also unique in that it has the capability to utilize as fuel the long-life radioactive actinides (primarily plutonium, and the minor actinides, neptunium, americium, and curium) present as waste in light water reactor (LWR) spent fuels. This capability provides a means for converting long-life actinide radioactive wastes to elements whose lifetimes and thus storage needs are much shorter, namely, hundreds of years. This could clearly focus and potentially alleviate a controversial aspect (waste disposal) of the nuclear option. While it does not change the need for, or timing of, an initial high-level waste (HLW) repository, the conversion of actinides could change in a dramatic way the time period required for safe storage of nuclear waste and potentially the number and criteria for future repositories. This work considers the potential for utilizing LWR actinides in the ALMR fuel cycle

  12. Life cycle inventories for bioenergy and fossil-fuel fired cogeneration plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braennstroem-Norberg, B.M.; Dethlefsen, U.

    1998-06-01

    Life-cycle inventories for heat production from forest fuel, Salix, coal and oil are presented. Data from the Oerebro cogeneration plant are used for the bioenergy and coal cycles, whereas the oil-fired cycle is based on a fictive plant producing 53 MW electricity and 106 MW heat, also located in the town of Oerebro. This life cycle analysis only covers the inventory stage. A complete life cycle analysis also includes an environmental impact assessment. The methods for assessing environmental impact are still being developed and thus this phase has been omitted here. The intention is, instead, to provide an overall perspective of where in the chain the greatest environmental load for each fuel can be found. Production and energy conversion of fuel requires energy, which is often obtained from fossil fuel. This input energy corresponds to about 11% of the extracted amount of energy for oil, 9% for coal, 6% for Salix, whereas it is about 4% for forest fuel. Utilization of fossil fuel in the coal cycle amounts to production of electricity using coal condensation intended for train transports within Poland. In a life cycle perspective, biofuels show 20-30 times lower emissions of greenhouse gases in comparison with fossil fuels. The chains for biofuels also give considerably lower SO 2 emissions than the chains for coal and oil. The coal chain shows about 50% higher NO x emission than the other fuels. Finally, the study illustrates that emission of particles are similar for all sources of energy. The biofuel cycle is assessed to be generally applicable to plants of similar type and size and with similar transport distances. The oil cycle is probably applicable to small-scale cogeneration plants. However, at present there are no cogeneration plants in Sweden that are solely fired with oil. In the case of the coal cycle, deep mining and a relatively long transport distance within Poland have been assumed. If the coal mining had been from open-cast mines, and if the

  13. Life cycle of transformer oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đurđević Ksenija R.

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The consumption of electric power is constantly increasing due to industrialization and population growth. This results in much more severe operating conditions of transformers, the most important electrical devices that make integral parts of power transmission and distribution systems. The designed operating life of the majority of worldwide transformers has already expired, which puts the increase of transformer reliability and operating life extension in the spotlight. Transformer oil plays a very important role in transformer operation, since it provides insulation and cooling, helps extinguishing sparks and dissolves gases formed during oil degradation. In addition to this, it also dissolves moisture and gases from cellulose insulation and atmosphere it is exposed to. Further and by no means less important functions of transformer are of diagnostic purpose. It has been determined that examination and inspection of insulation oil provide 70% of information on transformer condition, which can be divided in three main groups: dielectric condition, aged transformer condition and oil degradation condition. By inspecting and examining the application oil it is possible to determine the condition of insulation, oil and solid insulation (paper, as well as irregularities in transformer operation. All of the above-mentioned reasons and facts create ground for the subject of this research covering two stages of transformer oil life cycle: (1 proactive maintenance and monitoring of transformer oils in the course of utilization with reference to influence of transformer oil condition on paper insulation condition, as well as the condition of the transformer itself; (2 regeneration of transformer oils for the purpose of extension of utilization period and paper insulation revitalization potential by means of oil purification. The study highlights advantages of oil-paper insulation revitalization over oil replacement. Besides economic, there are

  14. Effect of KOH concentration on LEO cycle life of IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells. An update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smithrick, John J.; Hall, Stephen W.

    1991-01-01

    An update of validation test results confirming the breakthrough in LEO cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells containing 26 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte is presented. A breakthrough in the LEO cycle life of individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells is reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent KOH electrolyte was about 40,000 LEO cycles compared to 3500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH.

  15. Effect of KOH concentration on LEO cycle life of IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells - An update

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smithrick, John J.; Hall, Stephen W.

    1991-01-01

    An update of validation test results confirming the breakthrough in LEO cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells containing 26 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte is presented. A breakthrough in the LEO cycle life of individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells is reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent KOH electrolyte was about 40,000 LEO cycles compared to 3500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH.

  16. 76 FR 41525 - Hewlett Packard Global Parts Supply Chain, Global Product Life Cycles Management Unit Including...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-14

    ... Parts Supply Chain, Global Product Life Cycles Management Unit Including Teleworkers Reporting to... workers of Hewlett Packard, Global Parts Supply Chain, Global Product Life Cycles Management Unit...). Since eligible workers of Hewlett Packard, Global Parts Supply Chain, Global Product Life Cycles...

  17. Improving Defense Acquisition Management and Policy Through a Life-Cycle Affordability Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-04

    14  Are the PBL Prophets Using Science or Alchemy to Create Life Cycle...or role (engineering, SCM, finance ). Two Select managers for baseline study. Select managers whose self-description and supervisor feedback...networks into value . Are the PBL Prophets Using Science or Alchemy to Create Life Cycle Affordability? Using Theory to Predict the Efficacy of

  18. Spatially explicit characterization of acidifying and eutrophying air pollution in life-cycle assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijbregts, Mark A J; Schöpp, Wolfgang; Verkuijlen, Evert; Heijungs, Reinout; Reijnders, Lucas

    2001-01-01

    Simple models are often used to assess the potential impact of acidifying and eutrophying substances released during the life cycle of products. As fate, background depositions, and ecosystem sensitivity are not included in these models, environmental life-cycle assessment of products (LCA) may

  19. Process integrated modelling for steelmaking Life Cycle Inventory analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iosif, Ana-Maria; Hanrot, Francois; Ablitzer, Denis

    2008-01-01

    During recent years, strict environmental regulations have been implemented by governments for the steelmaking industry in order to reduce their environmental impact. In the frame of the ULCOS project, we have developed a new methodological framework which combines the process integrated modelling approach with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method in order to carry out the Life Cycle Inventory of steelmaking. In the current paper, this new concept has been applied to the sinter plant which is the most polluting steelmaking process. It has been shown that this approach is a powerful tool to make the collection of data easier, to save time and to provide reliable information concerning the environmental diagnostic of the steelmaking processes

  20. 500 year concrete for a radioactive waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Philipose, K.E.

    1988-03-01

    The IRUS (Intrusion resistant underground structure) repository planned at Chalk River for the belowground disposal of low level radioactive waste relies on the durability of concrete for the required 500 year service life. A research program for the IRUS repository to design a durable concrete and also to predict its longevity under the repository environment is in progress. The methodology involves the identification of major degradation agents, and the assessment of the rate of diffusion of corrosive ions and/or the rate of advancement of the reaction front into the concrete. Accelerated test methods are being used on laboratory specimens in conjunction with extrapolation procedures to predict long-term durability from short-term data. The inherent limitations are also examined

  1. Integration of Social Aspects in Decision Support, Based on Life Cycle Thinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pere Fullana-i-Palmer

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently increasing attention has been paid to complementing environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA with social aspects. The paper discusses the selection of social impacts and indicators from existing frameworks like Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA and Social Impact Assessment (SIA. Two ongoing case studies, addressing sustainability assessment within decision support, were considered: (1 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM in Indonesia; and (2 Integrated Packaging Waste Management in Spain and Portugal (FENIX. The focus was put on social impacts occurring due to decisions within these systems, such as choice of technologies, practices or suppliers. Thus, decision makers—here understood as intended users of the studies’ results—are not consumers that buy (or do not buy a product, such as in recent SLCA case-studies, but mainly institutions that decide about the design of the water or packaging waste management system. Therefore, in the FENIX project, a list of social impacts identified from literature was sent to the intended users to be ranked according to their priorities. Finally, the paper discusses to what extent the entire life cycle is reflected in SLCA impact categories and indicators, and explains how both life-cycle and on-site-related social impacts were chosen to be assessed. However, not all indicators in the two projects will assess all stages of the life cycle, because of their varying relevance in the different stages, data availability and practical interest of decision makers.

  2. General Concerns Life-Cycle Design of Economical Ice-Resistant Structures in the Bohai Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Da-yong

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In China, the oil and natural gas resources of Bohai Bay are mainly marginal oil fields. It is necessary to build both iceresistant and economical offshore platforms. However, there are many risks during the life cycle of offshore platforms due to the imperfect preliminary design for the Bohai Sea economical ice-resistant structures. As a result, the whole life-cycle design should be considered, including plan, design, construction, management and maintenance design. Based on the demand of existing codes and research of the basic design, structural ice-resistant performance and the reasonable management and maintenance, the life-cycle design theory is discussed. It was concluded that the life-cycle cost-effective optimum design proposed will lead to a minimum risk.

  3. The role of sustainability and life cycle thinking in U.S. biofuels policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soratana, Kullapa; Harden, Cheyenne L.; Zaimes, George G.; Rasutis, Daina; Antaya, Claire L.; Khanna, Vikas; Landis, Amy E.

    2014-01-01

    A comprehensive review of the U.S. federal biofuel-related policies, from 1955 to 2012, was conducted to examine the progression of life cycle thinking within the policies. Over 1300 past and present federal and state biofuel laws and incentives were analyzed to identify the establishment of Life-cycle thinking (LCT) in the biofuel policies. The policies were searched for search terms representing the three themes: life cycle assessment, environmental impact and sustainability. LCT in policies was first seen in the Renewable Fuel Standard under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, where life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction of biofuels was required. Existing U.S. biofuel policies were also characterized to define types of policy as tax incentive, grants, mandate, etc. The results suggested that climate change or energy incentives, air quality or emissions, etc. should be more emphasized in fuel legislation for a continuous improvement of biofuels industry. Only 13% of both the federal and state policies reviewed in this study employed some aspect of LCT. Policies that incorporate LCT often only focused on greenhouse gas emissions; policies should include other environmental impacts to avoid any environmental tradeoffs and unintended consequences from biofuel production. - Highlights: • Identified the establishment of sustainability and life-cycle thinking in biofuel policy. • Presented the spatial distribution of state U.S. biofuels policies and production via GIS. • Analyzed past and present federal and state environmental policies progression toward biofuels. • Life-cycle thinking was only present in 13% of federal and state policies current as of 2013

  4. LIFE CYCLE DESIGN OF MILK AND JUICE PACKAGING

    Science.gov (United States)

    A life cycle design demonstration project was initiated between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Dow Chemical Company, and the University of Michigan to investigate milk and juice packagie design. The primary objective of ...

  5. Equilibrium transuranic management scheme for diverse fuel cycle analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haas, Jason; Lee, John C.

    2008-01-01

    A key issue cited in the U.S. Department of Energy's report to Congress (2003) on the research path for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is an accurate estimation of life cycle costs for the construction, operation, decontamination and decommissioning of all fuel cycle facilities. In this report we discuss the methodology and validation of a fuel cycle model based on equilibrium operation. We apply our model to a diverse set of advanced reactors and fuel types in order to determine the most effective transmuting system while simultaneously minimizing fuel cycle costs. Our analysis shows that a nearly instant equilibrium modeling of fuel cycle scenarios can accurately approximate the detailed complex dynamic models developed by national laboratories. Our analysis also shows that the cost of transmuting Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) from a UO 2 fueled Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) is minimized by utilizing the thorium cycle in sodium cooled fast reactors and is near the cost for long term repository storage of SNF at Yucca Mountain. (authors)

  6. Environmental impacts of lighting technologies - Life cycle assessment and sensitivity analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Welz, Tobias; Hischier, Roland; Hilty, Lorenz M.

    2011-01-01

    With two regulations, 244/2009 and 245/2009, the European Commission recently put into practice the EuP Directive in the area of lighting devices, aiming to improve energy efficiency in the domestic lighting sector. This article presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment comparison of four different lighting technologies: the tungsten lamp, the halogen lamp, the conventional fluorescent lamp and the compact fluorescent lamp. Taking advantage of the most up-to-date life cycle inventory database available (ecoinvent data version 2.01), all life cycle phases were assessed and the sensitivity of the results for varying assumptions analysed: different qualities of compact fluorescent lamps (production phase), different electricity mixes (use phase), and end-of-life scenarios for WEEE recycling versus municipal solid waste incineration (disposal phase). A functional unit of 'one hour of lighting' was defined and the environmental burdens for the whole life cycle for all four lamp types were calculated, showing a clearly lower impact for the two gas-discharge lamps, i.e. the fluorescent and the compact fluorescent lamp. Differences in the product quality of the compact fluorescent lamps reveal to have only a very small effect on the overall environmental performance of this lamp type; a decline of the actual life time of this lamp type doesn't result in a change of the rank order of the results of the here examined four lamp types. It was also shown that the environmental break-even point of the gas-discharge lamps is reached long before the end of their expected life-span. All in all, it can be concluded that a change from today's tungsten lamp technology to a low-energy-consuming technology such as the compact fluorescent lamp results in a substantial environmental benefit.

  7. Recommendations for Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the European context - based on existing environmental impact assessment models and factors (International Reference Life Cycle Data System - ILCD handbook)

    OpenAIRE

    HAUSCHILD Michael; GOEDKOOP Mark; GUINEE Jerome; HEIJUNGS Reinout; HUIJBREGTS Mark; JOLLIET Olivier; MARGNI Manuele; DE SCHRYVER An

    2010-01-01

    To achieve more sustainable production and consumption patterns, we must consider the environmental implications of the whole supply-chain of products, both goods and services, their use, and waste management, i.e. their entire life cycle from ¿cradle to grave¿. In the Communication on Integrated Product Policy (IPP), (EC, 2003), the European Commission committed to produce a handbook on best practice in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Action ...

  8. The factor of time in the life cycle assessment of housing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klunder, G.; van Nunen, H.

    2003-01-01

    Conducting life cycle assessments, or LCAs, involves many uncertainties, including those related to the factor of time. Time is very important in the environmental assessment of housing, because of the relatively long service life of houses. During a house's service life many changes occur, which

  9. LIFE CYCLE BASED STUDIES ON BIOETHANOL FUEL FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION: A LITERATURE REVIEW

    Science.gov (United States)

    A literature search was conducted and revealed 45 publications (1996-2005) that compare bio-ethanol systems to conventional fuel on a life-cycle basis, or using life cycle assessment. Feedstocks, such as sugar beets, wheat, potato, sugar cane, and corn, have been investigated in...

  10. Human and ecological life cycle tools for the integrated assessment of systems (HELIAS)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guinée, Jeroen B.; Heijungs, Reinout; Kleijn, René; Van Der Voet, Ester; De Koning, Arjan; Van Oers, Lauran; Elshkaki, Ayman; Huele, Ruben; Huppes, Gjalt; Suh, Sangwon; Sleeswijk, Anneke Wegener

    Goal, Scope and Background. CML has contributed to the development of life cycle decision support tools, particularly Substance/Material Flow Analysis (SFA respectively MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Ever since these tools emerged there have been discussions on how these tools relate to each

  11. Stoichiometric implications of a biphasic life cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiegs, Scott D; Berven, Keith A; Carmack, Douglas J; Capps, Krista A

    2016-03-01

    Animals mediate flows of elements and energy in ecosystems through processes such as nutrient sequestration in body tissues, and mineralization through excretion. For taxa with biphasic life cycles, the dramatic shifts in anatomy and physiology that occur during ontogeny are expected to be accompanied by changes in body and excreta stoichiometry, but remain little-explored, especially in vertebrates. Here we tested stoichiometric hypotheses related to the bodies and excreta of the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) across life stages and during larval development. Per-capita rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion varied widely during larval ontogeny, followed unimodal patterns, and peaked midway through development (Taylor-Kollros stages XV and XII, respectively). Larval mass did not increase steadily during development but peaked at stage XVII and declined until the termination of the experiment at stage XXII. Mass-specific N and P excretion rates of the larvae decreased exponentially during development. When coupled with population-biomass estimates, population-level excretion rates were greatest at stages VIII-X. Percent carbon (C), N, and C:N of body tissue showed weak trends across major life stages; body P and C:P, however, increased sixfold during development from egg to adult. Our results demonstrate that intraspecific ontogenic changes in nutrient contents of excretion and body tissues can be significant, and that N and P are not always excreted proportionally throughout life cycles. These results highlight the dynamic roles that species play in ecosystems, and how the morphological and physiological changes that accompany ontogeny can influence ecosystem-level processes.

  12. Life-cycle energy impacts for adapting an urban water supply system to droughts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Ka Leung; Stokes-Draut, Jennifer R; Horvath, Arpad; Lane, Joe L; Kenway, Steven J; Lant, Paul A

    2017-12-15

    In recent years, cities in some water stressed regions have explored alternative water sources such as seawater desalination and potable water recycling in spite of concerns over increasing energy consumption. In this study, we evaluate the current and future life-cycle energy impacts of four alternative water supply strategies introduced during a decade-long drought in South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia. These strategies were: seawater desalination, indirect potable water recycling, network integration, and rainwater tanks. Our work highlights the energy burden of alternative water supply strategies which added approximately 24% life-cycle energy use to the existing supply system (with surface water sources) in SEQ even for a current post-drought low utilisation status. Over half of this additional life-cycle energy use was from the centralised alternative supply strategies. Rainwater tanks contributed an estimated 3% to regional water supply, but added over 10% life-cycle energy use to the existing system. In the future scenario analysis, we compare the life-cycle energy use between "Normal", "Dry", "High water demand" and "Design capacity" scenarios. In the "Normal" scenario, a long-term low utilisation of the desalination system and the water recycling system has greatly reduced the energy burden of these centralised strategies to only 13%. In contrast, higher utilisation in the unlikely "Dry" and "Design capacity" scenarios add 86% and 140% to life-cycle energy use of the existing system respectively. In the "High water demand" scenario, a 20% increase in per capita water use over 20 years "consumes" more energy than is used by the four alternative strategies in the "Normal" scenario. This research provides insight for developing more realistic long-term scenarios to evaluate and compare life-cycle energy impacts of drought-adaptation infrastructure and regional decentralised water sources. Scenario building for life-cycle assessments of water supply

  13. Life cycle assessment of polysaccharide materials: a review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shen, L.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/310872022; Patel, M.K.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/18988097X

    2008-01-01

    Apart from conventional uses of polysaccharide materials, such as food, clothing, paper packaging and construction, new polysaccharide products and materials have been developed. This paper reviews life cycle assessment (LCA) studies in order to gain insight of the environmental profiles of

  14. 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 ...

  15. Life Cycle Costs in Education: Operations & Maintenance Considered.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moussatche, Helena; Languell-Urquhart, Jennifer; Woodson, Carol

    2000-01-01

    Discusses life cycle cost analysis when deciding on flooring finishes and examines operations and maintenance cost effectiveness relative to hard, resilient, and soft flooring. A chart of evaluated flooring materials' characteristics, appropriate maintenance procedures, and recommended frequency is included. (GR)

  16. Life cycle assessment of hydrogen energy pattern

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aissani, Lynda; Bourgois, Jacques; Rousseaux, Patrick; Jabouille, Florent; Loget, Sebastien; Perier Camby, Laurent; Sessiecq, Philippe

    2007-01-01

    In the last decades transportation sector is a priority for environmental research. Indeed, it is the most impacting sector because it involves greenhouse emissions and fossil resources exhaustion. The Group of 'Ecole des Mines' (GEM), in France, carries out studies concerning clean and renewable energies for this sector with the 'H2-PAC' project. The GEM with four teams performs studies concerning energy systems for transportation sector and more particularly the hydrogen system. The four teams of the GEM work each one on a process of this system. More precisely, the team of Albi studies biomass gasification in order to produce synthesis gas. The team of Nantes studies purification of this gas to obtain pure hydrogen and hydrogen storage on activated carbon. The team of Paris studies fuel cell use and especially Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Finally, the team of St Etienne evaluates this system along its life cycle from an environmental point of view. This paper presents this environmental evaluation witch is realized according to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. (authors)

  17. Monoclonal Antibodies to Intracellular Stages of Cryptosporidium parvum Define Life Cycle Progression In Vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilke, Georgia; Ravindran, Soumya; Funkhouser-Jones, Lisa; Barks, Jennifer; Wang, Qiuling; VanDussen, Kelli L; Stappenbeck, Thaddeus S; Kuhlenschmidt, Theresa B; Kuhlenschmidt, Mark S; Sibley, L David

    2018-06-27

    Among the obstacles hindering Cryptosporidium research is the lack of an in vitro culture system that supports complete life development and propagation. This major barrier has led to a shortage of widely available anti- Cryptosporidium antibodies and a lack of markers for staging developmental progression. Previously developed antibodies against Cryptosporidium were raised against extracellular stages or recombinant proteins, leading to antibodies with limited reactivity across the parasite life cycle. Here we sought to create antibodies that recognize novel epitopes that could be used to define intracellular development. We identified a mouse epithelial cell line that supported C. parvum growth, enabling immunization of mice with infected cells to create a bank of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against intracellular parasite stages while avoiding the development of host-specific antibodies. From this bank, we identified 12 antibodies with a range of reactivities across the parasite life cycle. Importantly, we identified specific MAbs that can distinguish different life cycle stages, such as trophozoites, merozoites, type I versus II meronts, and macrogamonts. These MAbs provide valuable tools for the Cryptosporidium research community and will facilitate future investigation into parasite biology. IMPORTANCE Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Currently, there is a limited array of antibodies available against the parasite, which hinders imaging studies and makes it difficult to visualize the parasite life cycle in different culture systems. In order to alleviate this reagent gap, we created a library of novel antibodies against the intracellular life cycle stages of Cryptosporidium We identified antibodies that recognize specific life cycle stages in distinctive ways, enabling unambiguous description of the parasite life cycle. These MAbs will aid future investigation into Cryptosporidium biology and

  18. Interconnection of the Degree of Risk and Life Cycle of the “Green Construction” Investment Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Lepehova Natalia; Shoshinov Vitaly

    2017-01-01

    This article analyses interconnection of the degree of risk and the life cycle of the “green building” investment projects, which is structured according to the life cycle. Main stages of the implementation of investment and construction project were considered, interconnection of the project life cycle and the level of project risk were presented in the form of graphical model, proposed a mathematical model of the risk calculation at different stages of the project life cycle, which is a fun...

  19. Life cycle cost and risk estimation of environmental management options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shropshire, D.; Sherick, M.

    1996-01-01

    The evaluation process is demonstrated in this paper through comparative analysis of two alternative scenarios identified for the management of the alpha-contaminated fixed low-level waste currently stored at INEL. These two scenarios, the Base Case and the Delay Case, are realistic and based on actual data, but are not intended to exactly match actual plans currently being developed at INEL. Life cycle cost estimates were developed for both scenarios using the System Cost Model; resulting costs are presented and compared. Life cycle costs are shown as a function of time and also aggregated by pretreatment, treatment, storage, and disposal activities. Although there are some short-term cost savings for the Delay Case, cumulative life cycle costs eventually become much higher than costs for the Base Case over the same period of time, due mainly to the storage and repackaging necessary to accommodate the longer Delay Case schedule. Life cycle risk estimates were prepared using a new risk analysis method adapted to the System Cost Model architecture for automated, systematic cost/risk applications. Relative risk summaries are presented for both scenarios as a function of time and also aggregated by pretreatment, treatment, storage, and disposal activities. Relative risk of the Delay Case is shown to be higher than that of the Base Case. Finally, risk and cost results are combined to show how the collective information can be used to help identify opportunities for risk or cost reduction and highlight areas where risk reduction can be achieved most economically

  20. Analysis of ship life cycles: the impact of economic cycles and ship inspection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bijwaard, G.E.; Knapp, S.

    2009-01-01

    Due to the shipping industry's international legal framework, there are loopholes in the system, which can increase the risk of incidents with high economic costs due to the substandard operation of vessels. This article uses duration analysis and through the creation of ship life cycles provides

  1. Human health impacts in the life cycle of future European electricity generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Treyer, Karin; Bauer, Christian; Simons, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based quantification of the potential human health impacts (HHI) of base-load power generation technologies for the year 2030. Cumulative Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions per kWh electricity produced are shown in order to provide the basis for comparison with existing literature. Minimising negative impacts on human health is one of the key elements of policy making towards sustainable development: besides their direct impacts on quality of life, HHI also trigger other impacts, e.g. external costs in the health care system. These HHI are measured using the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods “ReCiPe” with its three different perspectives and “IMPACT2002+”. Total HHI as well as the shares of the contributing damage categories vary largely between these perspectives and methods. Impacts due to climate change, human toxicity, and particulate matter formation are the main contributors to total HHI. Independently of the perspective chosen, the overall impacts on human health from nuclear power and renewables are substantially lower than those caused by coal power, while natural gas can have lower HHI than nuclear and some renewables. Fossil fuel combustion as well as coal, uranium and metal mining are the life cycle stages generating the highest HHI. - Highlights: • Life cycle human health impacts (HHI) due to electricity production are analysed. • Results are shown for the three ReCiPe perspectives and IMPACT2002+LCIA method. • Total HHI of nuclear and renewables are much below those of fossil technologies. • Climate change and human toxicity contribute most to total HHI. • Fossil fuel combustion and coal mining are the most polluting life cycle stages

  2. Specifics of system of external influences on the life cycle of a construction object

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksanin Aleksander

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a very important issue today which includes the harmonious and effective development of the system ‘man –environment’. Construction is a branch of material production, which has a significant negative impact on the world around us. It is necessary to plan and operate processes of construction at all stages of the life cycle of a building without exception, to prevent of ecological threats. The article describes the concept of ‘life cycle’ as applied to various fields of knowledge, analyzes existing in the scientific literature division of the life cycle of buildings in the periods, proposes own approach to the division of periods of the life cycle on the basis of resource-saving. The article proposes the creation of a unified organizational system for the effective management of all periods with the constituent phases and formulates the main external influences on the building life cycle.

  3. Specifics of system of external influences on the life cycle of a construction object

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksanin Aleksander

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a very important issue today which includes the harmonious and effective development of the system ‘man–environment’. Construction is a branch of material production, which has a significant negative impact on the world around us. It is necessary to plan and operate processes of construction at all stages of the life cycle of a building without exception, to prevent of ecological threats. The article describes the concept of ‘life cycle’ as applied to various fields of knowledge, analyzes existing in the scientific literature division of the life cycle of buildings in the periods, proposes own approach to the division of periods of the life cycle on the basis of resource-saving. The article proposes the creation of a unified organizational system for the effective management of all periods with the constituent phases and formulates the main external influences on the building life cycle.

  4. From Centralized Disassembly to Life Cycle Management: Status and Progress of E-waste Treatment System in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xiaolong; Yang, Jianxin; Lu, Bin; Yang, Dong

    2017-01-01

    China is now facing e-waste problems from both growing domestic generation and illegal imports. Many stakeholders are involved in the e-waste treatment system due to the complexity of e-waste life cycle. Beginning with the state of the e-waste treatment industry in China, this paper summarizes the latest progress in e-waste management from such aspects as the new edition of the China RoHS Directive, new Treatment List, new funding subsidy standard, and eco-design pilots. Thus, a conceptual model for life cycle management of e-waste is generalized. The operating procedure is to first identify the life cycle stages of the e-waste and extract the important life cycle information. Then, life cycle tools can be used to conduct a systematic analysis to help decide how to maximize the benefits from a series of life cycle engineering processes. Meanwhile, life cycle thinking is applied to improve the legislation relating to e-waste so as to continuously improve the sustainability of the e-waste treatment system. By providing an integrative framework, the life cycle management of e-waste should help to realize sustainable management of e-waste in developing countries.

  5. Geological repositories: The last nuclear frontier. International Conference on Geological Repositories: Political and Technical Progress, 8-10 December 2003, Stockholm, Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ElBaradei, M.

    2003-01-01

    Few issues play so central a role in the public acceptance of nuclear technologies as the management and disposal of spent fuel and radioactive waste. In the current climate, geological repositories have come to be viewed not as one option among many for completing the nuclear fuel cycle, but as the only sustainable solution achievable in the near term. But despite a longstanding agreement among experts that geological disposal can be safe, technologically feasible and environmentally sound, a large part of the general public remains skeptical. This statement deals with the challenges that IAEA is facing to build public confidence related to spent fuel repositories

  6. Accident risk-based life cycle assessment methodology for green and safe fuel selection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khakzad, Sina; Khan, Faisal; Abbassi, Rouzbeh; Khakzad Rostami, N.

    2017-01-01

    Using the emissions produced during the entire life-cycle of a fuel or a product, Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is an effective technique widely used to estimate environmental impacts. However, most of the conventional LCA methods consider the impacts of voluntary releases such as discharged toxic

  7. A Life-Cycle Model of Outmigration and Economic Assimilation of Immigrants in Germany

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bellemare, C.

    2004-01-01

    This paper estimates a structural dynamic life-cycle model of outmigration where, in each period, immigrants choose whether to work in the host country, not to work but remain in the host country, or outmigrate.The model incorporates several features of existing life-cycle theories of outmigration

  8. Life cycle assessment in wastewater treatment: : Influence of site-oriented normalization factors, life cycle impact assessment methods, and weighting methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bai, Shunwen; Wang, Xiuheng; Zhang, X.; Zhao, Xinyue; Ren, N

    2017-01-01

    This present study aims to analyze the differences in results of different site-directional life cycle assessment
    (LCA) methods applied in the field of wastewater treatment. Site-generic methods were employed and
    compared with China-specific methods on a full-scale wastewater treatment case.

  9. Life cycle assessment and additives: state of knowledge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    is to identify research needs within this area focusing on both risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Besides the sectors on paper and plastics also lubricants, textiles, electronics and leather are included in RiskCycle. On plastics a literature review regarding the state of knowledge......Concerns about possible toxic effects from additives/impurities accumulated in globally recycled waste/resources like paper and plastics was one of the main reasons for starting up the EU FP7 Coordination Action project RiskCycle (www.wadef.com/projects/riskcycle). A key aim of the project...... on additives/impurities in LCA has been performed within RiskCycle. Several inventory databases (LCI data) have been investigated and the result shows that most LCI databases use PlasticsEurope data for plastics production. Most of these data are aggregated and do not include additives. Regarding...

  10. Effect of cyclic plastic pre-strain on low cycle fatigue life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanno, Satoshi; Nakane, Motoki; Yorikawa, Morio; Takagi, Yoshio

    2010-01-01

    In order to evaluate structural integrity of nuclear components subjected large seismic load which produce locally plastic strain, low cycle fatigue life was examined using cyclic plastic pre-strained materials of austenitic steel (SUS316, SUS316L, SUS304TP: JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards)) and ferritic steel (SFVQ1A, STS480, STPT410, SFVC2B, SS400: JIS). It was not found that cyclic plastic pre-strain up to range of 16%, 2.5 times affected on low cycle fatigue life. The validity of existing procedure of fatigue life estimation based on usage factor was confirmed when large seismic load brought nuclear materials cyclic plastic strain. (author)

  11. From life cycle assessment to sustainable production: Status and perspectives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Jeswiet, Jack; Alting, Leo

    2005-01-01

    to the tools for design for disassembly. Life Cycle Engineering is defined, and a systematic hierarchy is presented for the different levels at which environmental impacts from industry can be addressed by the engineer in order to improve the eco-efficiency of the industry. The role of industry in meeting...... the sustainability challenge to our societies is discussed, and it is concluded that industry must include not only the eco-efficiency but also the product's environmental justification and the company ethics in a life cycle perspective in order to become sustainable. In the outlook it is concluded that current...

  12. Lithium iron phosphate based battery – Assessment of the aging parameters and development of cycle life model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omar, Noshin; Monem, Mohamed Abdel; Firouz, Yousef; Salminen, Justin; Smekens, Jelle; Hegazy, Omar; Gaulous, Hamid; Mulder, Grietus; Van den Bossche, Peter; Coosemans, Thierry; Van Mierlo, Joeri

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Extended life cycle tests. • Investigation of the battery life cycle at different working conditions. • Investigation of the impact fast charging on the battery performances. • Extraction all required relationship for development of a cycle life model. • Development of a new life cycle model. - Abstract: This paper represents the evaluation of ageing parameters in lithium iron phosphate based batteries, through investigating different current rates, working temperatures and depths of discharge. From these analyses, one can derive the impact of the working temperature on the battery performances over its lifetime. At elevated temperature (40 °C), the performances are less compared to at 25 °C. The obtained mathematical expression of the cycle life as function of the operating temperature reveals that the well-known Arrhenius law cannot be applied to derive the battery lifetime from one temperature to another. Moreover, a number of cycle life tests have been performed to illustrate the long-term capabilities of the proposed battery cells at different discharge constant current rates. The results reveal the harmful impact of high current rates on battery characteristics. On the other hand, the cycle life test at different depth of discharge levels indicates that the battery is able to perform 3221 cycles (till 80% DoD) compared to 34,957 shallow cycles (till 20% DoD). To investigate the cycle life capabilities of lithium iron phosphate based battery cells during fast charging, cycle life tests have been carried out at different constant charge current rates. The experimental analysis indicates that the cycle life of the battery degrades the more the charge current rate increases. From this analysis, one can conclude that the studied lithium iron based battery cells are not recommended to be charged at high current rates. This phenomenon affects the viability of ultra-fast charging systems. Finally, a cycle life model has been developed, which

  13. Applying Movement Ecology to Marine Animals with Complex Life Cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Richard M.; Metaxas, Anna; Snelgrove, Paul V. R.

    2018-01-01

    Marine animals with complex life cycles may move passively or actively for fertilization, dispersal, predator avoidance, resource acquisition, and migration, and over scales from micrometers to thousands of kilometers. This diversity has catalyzed idiosyncratic and unfocused research, creating unsound paradigms regarding the role of movement in ecology and evolution. The emerging movement ecology paradigm offers a framework to consolidate movement research independent of taxon, life-history stage, scale, or discipline. This review applies the framework to movement among life-history stages in marine animals with complex life cycles to consolidate marine movement research and offer insights for scientists working in aquatic and terrestrial realms. Irrespective of data collection or simulation strategy, breaking each life-history stage down into the fundamental units of movement allows each unit to be studied independently or interactively with other units. Understanding these underlying mechanisms of movement within each life-history stage can then be used to construct lifetime movement paths. These paths can allow further investigation of the relative contributions and interdependencies of steps and phases across a lifetime and how these paths influence larger research topics, such as population-level movements.

  14. Comparative evaluation of life cycle assessment models for solid waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winkler, Joerg; Bilitewski, Bernd

    2007-01-01

    This publication compares a selection of six different models developed in Europe and America by research organisations, industry associations and governmental institutions. The comparison of the models reveals the variations in the results and the differences in the conclusions of an LCA study done with these models. The models are compared by modelling a specific case - the waste management system of Dresden, Germany - with each model and an in-detail comparison of the life cycle inventory results. Moreover, a life cycle impact assessment shows if the LCA results of each model allows for comparable and consecutive conclusions, which do not contradict the conclusions derived from the other models' results. Furthermore, the influence of different level of detail in the life cycle inventory of the life cycle assessment is demonstrated. The model comparison revealed that the variations in the LCA results calculated by the models for the case show high variations and are not negligible. In some cases the high variations in results lead to contradictory conclusions concerning the environmental performance of the waste management processes. The static, linear modelling approach chosen by all models analysed is inappropriate for reflecting actual conditions. Moreover, it was found that although the models' approach to LCA is comparable on a general level, the level of detail implemented in the software tools is very different

  15. Investigation into life-cycle costing as a comparative analysis approach of energy systems

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mokheseng, B

    2010-08-31

    Full Text Available selection based on a simple payback period. Due to life-cycle stages, often the real costs of the project or equipment, either to the decision maker or the cost bearer, are not reflected by the upfront capital costs. In this paper, the life-cycle costing...

  16. Learning, Unlearning and Relearning--Knowledge Life Cycles in Library and Information Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedford, Denise A. D.

    2015-01-01

    The knowledge life cycle is applied to two core capabilities of library and information science (LIS) education--teaching, and research and development. The knowledge claim validation, invalidation and integration steps of the knowledge life cycle are translated to learning, unlearning and relearning processes. Mixed methods are used to determine…

  17. A deterministic model of nettle caterpillar life cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syukriyah, Y.; Nuraini, N.; Handayani, D.

    2018-03-01

    Palm oil is an excellent product in the plantation sector in Indonesia. The level of palm oil productivity is very potential to increase every year. However, the level of palm oil productivity is lower than its potential. Pests and diseases are the main factors that can reduce production levels by up to 40%. The existence of pests in plants can be caused by various factors, so the anticipation in controlling pest attacks should be prepared as early as possible. Caterpillars are the main pests in oil palm. The nettle caterpillars are leaf eaters that can significantly decrease palm productivity. We construct a deterministic model that describes the life cycle of the caterpillar and its mitigation by using a caterpillar predator. The equilibrium points of the model are analyzed. The numerical simulations are constructed to give a representation how the predator as the natural enemies affects the nettle caterpillar life cycle.

  18. Advanced nuclear fuel cycles and radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    This study analyses a range of advanced nuclear fuel cycle options from the perspective of their effect on radioactive waste management policies. It presents various fuel cycle options which illustrate differences between alternative technologies, but does not purport to cover all foreseeable future fuel cycles. The analysis extends the work carried out in previous studies, assesses the fuel cycles as a whole, including all radioactive waste generated at each step of the cycles, and covers high-level waste repository performance for the different fuel cycles considered. The estimates of quantities and types of waste arising from advanced fuel cycles are based on best available data and experts' judgement. The effects of various advanced fuel cycles on the management of radioactive waste are assessed relative to current technologies and options, using tools such as repository performance analysis and cost studies. (author)

  19. Life cycle - a wide vision of the control valves maintenance; Life cycle - uma visao ampla de manutencao de valvulas de controle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Souza, Jorge Marcos de [Metso Automation do Brasil, ES (Brazil)

    2005-07-01

    Nowadays the industry search more and more contracts which involve the total responsibility by the maintenance of its equipment. What could not be different for the control valves because of its importance and critic to the process. Because of this, the maintenance concept Life Cycle targets to involve all the phases of the life of each control valve, since the project until the day to day maintenance activities, maximizing the performance and generating benefits to the process. (author)

  20. Quantitative assessment of the environmental footprint of the French nuclear fuel cycle by life cycle assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poinssot, Christophe; Bourg, Stephane; Ouvrier, Noel; Serp, Jerome

    2015-07-01

    Full text of publication follows: Nuclear energy contributes to most than 75% of the French electricity thanks to the operation of 58 generation 2 reactors located on 19 sites built from the 70's to the end of the 90's. France also developed for a long time a fully integrated nuclear industry covering the whole nuclear fuel cycle, from the ore mining to the fabrication of the fuel for the front-end, from the reprocessing up to the MOX fuel fabrication and storage facility and in the near-future geological repository for the back-end. This investment allows France to produce a low-carbon electricity with the second lowest GHG emissions intensity, in the range of 90 g CO 2 /KWh. Such a very beneficial figure is directly related to the high contribution of nuclear in the electricity mix combined with renewables energies, in particular hydro. Greenhouse gases emissions are very relevant to assess the respective influence on the global climate change, but they do not address the whole potential environmental impact of any activity. However, such a question is crucial for assessing the respective sustainability of such an activity, in particular nuclear energy which is thought to be very detrimental by a large part of the public opinion. In order to address this question, we developed a dedicated life cycle assessment (LCA) tools referred to as NELCAS, the specificity of which is to focus on the first order parameters and avoiding any 'black-box' effect which can exist in commercial LCA tool. Thanks to the recent transparency and nuclear safety law (2006), in- and out- fluxes of matter and energy for any of the fuel cycle facilities are now publicly available. We hence used this significant set of measured data to feed our model and assess the most usual environmental indicators such as land use, different types of atmospheric emissions (GHG, SOx, NOx, particles...) and aqueous release (chemical effluents, eutrophication potential,...)... We also

  1. A Plasmodium falciparum Strain Expressing GFP throughout the Parasite's Life-Cycle

    OpenAIRE

    Talman, Arthur M.; Blagborough, Andrew M.; Sinden, Robert E.

    2010-01-01

    The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the majority of malaria-related deaths. Tools allowing the study of the basic biology of P. falciparum throughout the life cycle are critical to the development of new strategies to target the parasite within both human and mosquito hosts. We here present 3D7HT-GFP, a strain of P. falciparum constitutively expressing the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) throughout the life cycle, which has retained its capacity to complete spo...

  2. Integrated design strategy for product life-cycle management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, G. Patrick

    2001-02-01

    Two major trends suggest new considerations for environmentally conscious manufacturing (ECM) -- the continuation of dematerialization and the growing trend toward goods becoming services. A diversity of existing research could be integrated around those trends in ways that can enhance ECM. Major research-based achievements in information, computation, and communications systems, sophisticated and inexpensive sensing capabilities, highly automated and precise manufacturing technologies, and new materials continue to drive the phenomenon of dematerialization - the reduction of the material and energy content of per capita GDP. Knowledge is also growing about the sociology, economics, mathematics, management and organization of complex socio-economic systems. And that has driven a trend towards goods evolving into services. But even with these significant trends, the value of material, energy, information and human resources incorporated into the manufacture, use and disposal of modern products and services often far exceeds the benefits realized. Multi-disciplinary research integrating these drivers with advances in ECM concepts could be the basis for a new strategy of production. It is argued that a strategy of integrating information resources with physical and human resources over product life cycles, together with considering products as streams of service over time, could lead to significant economic payoff. That strategy leads to an overall design concept to minimize costs of all resources over the product life cycle to more fully capture benefits of all resources incorporated into modern products. It is possible by including life cycle monitoring, periodic component replacement, re-manufacture, salvage and human factor skill enhancement into initial design.

  3. Life cycle assessment of electronic waste treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Jinglan; Shi, Wenxiao; Wang, Yutao; Chen, Wei; Li, Xiangzhi

    2015-04-01

    Life cycle assessment was conducted to estimate the environmental impact of electronic waste (e-waste) treatment. E-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario is environmentally beneficial because of the low environmental burden generated from human toxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and marine ecotoxicity categories. Landfill and incineration technologies have a lower and higher environmental burden than the e-waste recycling with an end-life disposal scenario, respectively. The key factors in reducing the overall environmental impact of e-waste recycling are optimizing energy consumption efficiency, reducing wastewater and solid waste effluent, increasing proper e-waste treatment amount, avoiding e-waste disposal to landfill and incineration sites, and clearly defining the duties of all stakeholders (e.g., manufacturers, retailers, recycling companies, and consumers). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Software life cycle management standards real-world solutions and scenarios for savings

    CERN Document Server

    Wright, David

    2011-01-01

    Software Life Cycle Management Standards will help you apply ISO/IEC 19770 to your business and enjoy the rewards it offers. David Wright calls on his vast experience to explain how the Standard applies to the whole of the software life cycle, not just the software asset management aspects. His informative guide gives up-to-date information using practical examples, clear diagrams and entertaining anecdotes.

  5. 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

  6. Alternative Approaches to the Family Life Cycle in the Analysis of Housing Consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, P. B.; Ellis, J. R.

    1983-01-01

    Used loan-approval data to analyze the effects of life-cycle stage on housing consumption. The detailed typologies were not generally superior to the more simplified approaches, except for per capita consumption. For per capita consumption, price, and quality, clear evidence is found for structural nonhomogeneity across life-cycle stages. (JAC)

  7. LIFE CYCLE DESIGN OF IN-MOLD SURFACING FILM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Since 1990, the NRMRL has been at the forefront in the development of Life Cycle Assessment as a methodology for environmental assessment. In 1994, NRMRL established an LCA Team to organize individual efforts into a comprehensive research program. The LCA Team coordinates work in...

  8. Life Cycle Characteristics of Small Professional Service Firms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Masurel, E.; van Montfort, C.A.G.M.

    2006-01-01

    Our study of professional services firms clearly revealed that firms change over the course of their life cycles. During the first three stages, diversification in sales, the differentiation in labor force, and the level of labor productivity increase. In the last stage, diversification in sales,

  9. Challenges in implementing a Planetary Boundaries based Life-Cycle Impact Assessment methodology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Morten; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Richardson, Katherine

    2016-01-01

    of resolving the challenges and developing such methodology is discussed. The challenges are related to technical issues, i.e., modelling and including the Earth System processes and their control variables as impact categories in Life-Cycle Impact Assessment and to theoretical considerations with respect...... to the interpretation and use of Life-Cycle Assessment results in accordance with the Planetary Boundary framework. The identified challenges require additional research before a Planetary Boundaries based Life-Cycle Impact Assessment method can be developed. Research on modelling the impacts on Earth System processes......Impacts on the environment from human activities are now threatening to exceed thresholds for central Earth System processes, potentially moving the Earth System out of the Holocene state. To avoid such consequences, the concept of Planetary Boundaries was defined in 2009, and updated in 2015...

  10. Economic Analysis of Symbiotic Light Water Reactor/Fast Burner Reactor Fuel Cycles Proposed as Part of the U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, Kent Alan; Shropshire, David E.

    2009-01-01

    A spreadsheet-based 'static equilibrium' economic analysis was performed for three nuclear fuel cycle scenarios, each designed for 100 GWe-years of electrical generation annually: (1) a 'once-through' fuel cycle based on 100% LWRs fueled by standard UO2 fuel assemblies with all used fuel destined for geologic repository emplacement, (2) a 'single-tier recycle' scenario involving multiple fast burner reactors (37% of generation) accepting actinides (Pu,Np,Am,Cm) from the reprocessing of used fuel from the uranium-fueled LWR fleet (63% of generation), and (3) a 'two-tier' 'thermal+fast' recycle scenario where co-extracted U,Pu from the reprocessing of used fuel from the uranium-fueled part of the LWR fleet (66% of generation) is recycled once as full-core LWR MOX fuel (8% of generation), with the LWR MOX used fuel being reprocessed and all actinide products from both UO2 and MOX used fuel reprocessing being introduced into the closed fast burner reactor (26% of generation) fuel cycle. The latter two 'closed' fuel cycles, which involve symbiotic use of both thermal and fast reactors, have the advantages of lower natural uranium requirements per kilowatt-hour generated and less geologic repository space per kilowatt-hour as compared to the 'once-through' cycle. The overall fuel cycle cost in terms of $ per megawatt-hr of generation, however, for the closed cycles is 15% (single tier) to 29% (two-tier) higher than for the once-through cycle, based on 'expected values' from an uncertainty analysis using triangular distributions for the unit costs for each required step of the fuel cycle. (The fuel cycle cost does not include the levelized reactor life cycle costs.) Since fuel cycle costs are a relatively small percentage (10 to 20%) of the overall busbar cost (LUEC or 'levelized unit electricity cost') of nuclear power generation, this fuel cycle cost increase should not have a highly deleterious effect on the competitiveness of nuclear power. If the reactor life cycle

  11. Optimal fleet conversion policy from a life cycle perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hyung Chul Kim; Ross, M.H.; Keoleian, G.A.

    2004-01-01

    Vehicles typically deteriorate with accumulating mileage and emit more tailpipe air pollutants per mile. Although incentive programs for scrapping old, high-emitting vehicles have been implemented to reduce urban air pollutants and greenhouse gases, these policies may create additional sales of new vehicles as well. From a life cycle perspective, the emissions from both the additional vehicle production and scrapping need to be addressed when evaluating the benefits of scrapping older vehicles. This study explores an optimal fleet conversion policy based on mid-sized internal combustion engine vehicles in the US, defined as one that minimizes total life cycle emissions from the entire fleet of new and used vehicles. To describe vehicles' lifetime emission profiles as functions of accumulated mileage, a series of life cycle inventories characterizing environmental performance for vehicle production, use, and retirement was developed for each model year between 1981 and 2020. A simulation program is developed to investigate ideal and practical fleet conversion policies separately for three regulated pollutants (CO, NMHC, and NO x ) and for CO 2 . According to the simulation results, accelerated scrapping policies are generally recommended to reduce regulated emissions, but they may increase greenhouse gases. Multi- objective analysis based on economic valuation methods was used to investigate trade-offs among emissions of different pollutants for optimal fleet conversion policies. (author)

  12. Life Cycle Assessment of two Electrolux electric cookers: ELK8200AL and EKV5600

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Morten Søes; Wenzel, Henrik; Frees, Niels

    A life cycle assessment of two electrical cookers was made for the company Electrolux A/S. A number of valid conclusions can be drawn from the study. The conclusions are supported by a sensitivity analysis covering essential parameter variations and showing that quite robust conclusions can...... issue for the resource consumption of the cookers over their life cycle • Transportation of the cookers over their life cycle is insignificant Environmentally, the main perspectives for improvements lie in the optimisation of the use stage, including better efficiency in transformation of the energy...

  13. Comparative life cycle assessment of biodiesel and fossil diesel fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceuterick, D.; Nocker, L. De; Spirinckx, C.

    1999-01-01

    Biofuels offer clear advantages in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but do they perform better when we look at all the environmental impacts from a life cycle perspective. In the context of a demonstration project at the Flemish Institute for Technology Research (VITO) on the use of rapeseed methyl ester (RME) or biodiesel as automotive fuel, a life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel and diesel was made. The primary concern was the question as to whether or not the biodiesel chain was comparable to the conventional diesel chain, from an environmental point of view, taking into account all stages of the life cycle of the two products. Additionally, environmental damage costs were calculated, using an impact pathway analysis. This paper presents the results of the two methods for evaluation of environmental impacts of RME and conventional diesel. Both methods are complementary and share the conclusion that although biodiesel has much lower greenhouse gas emissions, it still has significant impacts on other impact categories. The external costs of biodiesel are a bit lower compared to fossil diesel. For both fuels, external costs are significantly higher than the private production cost. (Author)

  14. Combined methodology of optimization and life cycle inventory for a biomass gasification based BCHP system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jiang-Jiang; Yang, Kun; Xu, Zi-Long; Fu, Chao; Li, Li; Zhou, Zun-Kai

    2014-01-01

    Biomass gasification based building cooling, heating, and power (BCHP) system is an effective distributed energy system to improve the utilization of biomass resources. This paper proposes a combined methodology of optimization method and life cycle inventory (LCI) for the biomass gasification based BCHP system. The life cycle models including biomass planting, biomass collection-storage-transportation, BCHP plant construction and operation, and BCHP plant demolition and recycle, are constructed to obtain economic cost, energy consumption and CO 2 emission in the whole service-life. Then, the optimization model for the biomass BCHP system including variables, objective function and solution method are presented. Finally, a biomass BCHP case in Harbin, China, is optimized under different optimization objectives, the life-cycle performances including cost, energy and CO 2 emission are obtained and the grey incidence approach is employed to evaluate their comprehensive performances of the biomass BCHP schemes. The results indicate that the life-cycle cost, energy efficiency and CO 2 emission of the biomass BCHP system are about 41.9 $ MWh −1 , 41% and 59.60 kg MWh −1 respectively. The optimized biomass BCHP configuration to minimize the life-cycle cost is the best scheme to achieve comprehensive benefit including cost, energy consumption, renewable energy ratio, steel consumption, and CO 2 emission. - Highlights: • Propose the combined method of optimization and LCI for biomass BCHP system. • Optimize the biomass BCHP system to minimize the life-cycle cost, energy and emission. • Obtain the optimized life-cycle cost, energy efficiency and CO 2 emission. • Select the best biomass BCHP scheme using grey incidence approach

  15. Life cycle GHG assessment of fossil fuel power plants with carbon capture and storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odeh, Naser A.; Cockerill, Timothy T.

    2008-01-01

    The evaluation of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a critical factor in energy and policy analysis. The current paper examines life cycle emissions from three types of fossil-fuel-based power plants, namely supercritical pulverized coal (super-PC), natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), with and without CCS. Results show that, for a 90% CO 2 capture efficiency, life cycle GHG emissions are reduced by 75-84% depending on what technology is used. With GHG emissions less than 170 g/kWh, IGCC technology is found to be favorable to NGCC with CCS. Sensitivity analysis reveals that, for coal power plants, varying the CO 2 capture efficiency and the coal transport distance has a more pronounced effect on life cycle GHG emissions than changing the length of CO 2 transport pipeline. Finally, it is concluded from the current study that while the global warming potential is reduced when MEA-based CO 2 capture is employed, the increase in other air pollutants such as NO x and NH 3 leads to higher eutrophication and acidification potentials

  16. Bridging Arctic environmental science and life cycle assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johnsen, Fredrik Moltu

    2014-01-01

    Current research aims to make the impact assessment module of life cycle assessment (LCA) less site-generic and thus more relevant to particular regions. The Arctic region attracts its share of interest when it comes to environmental issues, but little research has been performed with the explicit...

  17. Achieving Our Environmental Sustainability Goals: The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Applying Life Cycle Thinking

    Science.gov (United States)

    An increasing number of people around the world are beginning to realize that a systems approach, such as life cycle thinking, is necessary to truly achieve environmental sustainability. Without the holistic perspective that life cycle thinking provides, our actions risk leading ...

  18. Life cycle inventory analysis of fossil energies in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon Sungyee; Yamada, Tatsuya

    1999-01-01

    Given growing concerns over global warming problems in recent years, a matter of great importance has been to grasp GHG emissions from fossil energy use as accurately as possible by figuring out how much GHGs result from a life cycle (production, transportation and consumption) of various fossil energies. The objective of this study is to make a life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis of major fossil energies (coal, oil, LNG, LPG) consumed in Japan pursuant to ISO 14040. On these fossil energies imported to Japan in 1997, LCI analysis results of GHG emissions (specifically carbon dioxide and methane) put CO 2 intensity during their combustion stage (gross heat value basis) at 100:121:138:179 among LNG:LPG:oil:coal. But, in life cycle terms, the ratios turned to be 100:110:120:154. The world average (gross heat value basis) gained from IPCC data, among others, puts the ratios among LNG:LPG:oil:coal at 100:105:110:151. In comparison, our study that focused on Japan found their corresponding figures at 100:110:120:154. COP 3 set forth country-by-country targets. Yet, global warming, that is a worldwide problem, also requires a more comprehensive assessment based on a life cycle analysis (LCA). The estimation results of our study can be of some help in shaping some criteria when considering energy and environmental policies from a global viewpoint. In addition, our study results suggest the importance of the best energy mix that is endorsed by LCI analysis results, if global warming abatement efforts should successfully be in advance. As specific institutional designs of Kyoto Mechanism are currently under examination, the introduction of LCI method deserves to be considered in discussing the baseline issue of joint implementation and clean development mechanism. In the days ahead, by gathering and analysing detailed-ever data, and through fossil-energy LCA by use, we had better consider supply and demand of the right energies in the right uses. (author)

  19. Software life cycle process and classification guides for KNICS digital instrumentation and control system design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jang Soo; Son, Han Seung; Kim, Jang Yeol; Kwon, Kee Choon; Lee, Soon Seung; Kim, Doo Hwan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

    2002-04-01

    Documentation should exist that shows that the qualification activities have been successfully accomplished for each life cycle activity group. In particular, the documentation should show that the system safety requirements have been adequately addressed for each life cycle activity group, that no new hazards have been introduced, and that the software requirements, design elements, and code elements that can affect safety have been identified. Because the safety of software can be assured through both the process Verification and Validation (V and V) itself and the V and V of all the intermediate and final products during the software development lifecycle, the development of KNICS Software Safety Framework (KSSF) must be established. As the first activity for establishing KSSF, we have developed this report, Software Life Cycle Process and Classification Guides for KNICS Digital I and C System. This report is organized as follows. Chapter I describes the background, definitions, and references of SLCP. Chapter II describes KNICS safety software categorization. In Chapter III, we define the requirements on software life cycle process for designing digital KNICS. Chapter III.3, that is the main section of the chapter, includes the requirements for software life cycle process planning, the requirements for software life cycle process implementation, and the requirements for software life cycle process design outputs. Finally, we have described the result of a case study on the SLCP for developing the software of ESF-CCS system that is being developed by a private company, BNF. 29 refs., 5 figs., 7 tabs. (Author)

  20. Hybrid life cycle assessment comparison of colloidal silica and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallagher, Patricia M., E-mail: pmg24@drexel.edu [Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19038 (United States); Spatari, Sabrina; Cucura, Jeffrey [Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19038 (United States)

    2013-04-15

    Highlights: ► We use LCA to study environmental impacts of grouting techniques for site remediation. ► We consider colloidal silica permeation grouting and cement jet grouting. ► Manufacturing and transportation contribute significantly in all impact categories. ► Activity outside of direct site activity is important in assessing impacts. ► LCA can be used to consider sustainability criteria for remediation decisions. -- Abstract: Site remediation involves balancing numerous costs and benefits but often neglects the environmental impacts over the entire project life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) offers a framework for inclusion of global environmental “systems-level” decision metrics in combination with technological and cost analysis. We compare colloidal silica (CS) and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies for soils affected by low level radionuclides at a U.S. Superfund site using hybrid LCA methods. CS is a new, high performance grouting material installed using permeation grouting techniques. Cement, a more traditional grouting material, is typically installed using jet grouting techniques. Life cycle impacts were evaluated using the US EPA TRACI 2 model. Results show the highest life cycle environmental impacts for the CS barrier occur during materials production and transportation to the site. In general, the life cycle impacts for the cement barrier were dominated by materials production; however, in the extreme scenario the life cycle impacts were dominated by truck transportation of spoils to a distant, off-site radioactive waste facility. It is only in the extreme scenario tested in which soils are transported by truck (Option 2) that spoils waste transport dominates LCIA results. Life cycle environmental impacts for both grout barriers were most sensitive to resource input requirements for manufacturing volumes and transportation. Uncertainty associated with the efficacy of new technology such as CS over its required

  1. Hybrid life cycle assessment comparison of colloidal silica and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, Patricia M.; Spatari, Sabrina; Cucura, Jeffrey

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► We use LCA to study environmental impacts of grouting techniques for site remediation. ► We consider colloidal silica permeation grouting and cement jet grouting. ► Manufacturing and transportation contribute significantly in all impact categories. ► Activity outside of direct site activity is important in assessing impacts. ► LCA can be used to consider sustainability criteria for remediation decisions. -- Abstract: Site remediation involves balancing numerous costs and benefits but often neglects the environmental impacts over the entire project life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) offers a framework for inclusion of global environmental “systems-level” decision metrics in combination with technological and cost analysis. We compare colloidal silica (CS) and cement grouted soil barrier remediation technologies for soils affected by low level radionuclides at a U.S. Superfund site using hybrid LCA methods. CS is a new, high performance grouting material installed using permeation grouting techniques. Cement, a more traditional grouting material, is typically installed using jet grouting techniques. Life cycle impacts were evaluated using the US EPA TRACI 2 model. Results show the highest life cycle environmental impacts for the CS barrier occur during materials production and transportation to the site. In general, the life cycle impacts for the cement barrier were dominated by materials production; however, in the extreme scenario the life cycle impacts were dominated by truck transportation of spoils to a distant, off-site radioactive waste facility. It is only in the extreme scenario tested in which soils are transported by truck (Option 2) that spoils waste transport dominates LCIA results. Life cycle environmental impacts for both grout barriers were most sensitive to resource input requirements for manufacturing volumes and transportation. Uncertainty associated with the efficacy of new technology such as CS over its required

  2. An environmental impact measure for nuclear fuel cycle evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Joonhong

    2004-01-01

    Review of the models and measures for repository performance assessment has revealed that dedicated measures for environmental impacts need to be developed for the purpose of nuclear-fuel-cycle evaluation from the viewpoint of environmental impact minimization. The present study proposes the total toxicity index of released radionuclides that have accumulated in the region exterior to the repository as an environmental impact measure. The measure is quantitatively evaluated by a radionuclide transport model that incorporates the effects of canister-array configuration and the initial mass loading in the waste canister. With the measure, it is demonstrated that the environmental impact of the repository can be effectively reduced by reduction of the initial mass loading and change in the canister-array configuration in the repository. Environmental impacts of the mill tailings and the depleted uranium are as important as those from the high-level radioactive wastes repository. For a fair comparison of various fuel cycles, the sum of these impacts should be compared. (author)

  3. Opportunities for national repositories to resolve security challenges of past, present and future nuclear eras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanders, T.L.

    2005-01-01

    With the global nuclear picture becoming even more complex, the role of repositories in accomplishing arms control, homeland security, and proliferation prevention goals has moved to front and center. Evolving repository infrastructures offer outstanding opportunities for illustrating advanced approaches for managing these risks. The traditional defense-in-depth concepts used to manage fuel cycle safety and protect nuclear materials in the U.S. and other countries could also be established as a framework for developing hardened, secure, and proliferation resistant material infrastructures including disposal systems. This analysis concept has been effective in establishing the safety basis for nuclear fuel cycles, reactors, and nuclear waste repositories. The concept results in the balanced use of multiple, diverse barriers to prevent the occurrence of undesired events such as radioactive releases from a safety perspective, or materials theft from a physical protection perspective. (author)

  4. A life cycle cost economics model for projects with uniformly varying operating costs. [management planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remer, D. S.

    1977-01-01

    A mathematical model is developed for calculating the life cycle costs for a project where the operating costs increase or decrease in a linear manner with time. The life cycle cost is shown to be a function of the investment costs, initial operating costs, operating cost gradient, project life time, interest rate for capital and salvage value. The results show that the life cycle cost for a project can be grossly underestimated (or overestimated) if the operating costs increase (or decrease) uniformly over time rather than being constant as is often assumed in project economic evaluations. The following range of variables is examined: (1) project life from 2 to 30 years; (2) interest rate from 0 to 15 percent per year; and (3) operating cost gradient from 5 to 90 percent of the initial operating costs. A numerical example plus tables and graphs is given to help calculate project life cycle costs over a wide range of variables.

  5. Life cycle assessment of construction and demolition waste management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Butera, Stefania; Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

    2015-01-01

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) modelling of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) management was carried out. The functional unit was management of 1 Mg mineral, source separated C&DW, which is either utilised in road construction as a substitute for natural aggregates, or landfilled. The assessed...... of the use of C&DW. Typical uncertainties related to contaminant leaching were addressed. For most impact categories, utilisation of C&DW in road construction was preferable to landfilling; however, for most categories, utilisation resulted in net environmental burdens. Transportation represented the most...... of the impact assessment was critical for modelling the leaching impacts. Compared with the overall life cycle of building and construction materials, leaching emissions were shown to be potentially significant for toxicity impacts, compared with contributions from production of the same materials, showing...

  6. Integrating Life-cycle Assessment into Transport Cost-benefit Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manzo, Stefano; Salling, Kim Bang

    2016-01-01

    Traditional transport Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) commonly ignores the indirect environmental impacts of an infrastructure project deriving from the overall life-cycle of the different project components. Such indirect impacts are instead of key importance in order to assess the long......-term sustainability of a transport infrastructure project. In the present study we suggest to overcome this limit by combining a conventional life-cycle assessment approach with standard transport cost-benefit analysis. The suggested methodology is tested upon a case study project related to the construction of a new...... fixed link across the Roskilde fjord in Frederikssund (Denmark). The results are then compared with those from a standard CBA framework. The analysis shows that indirect environmental impacts represent a relevant share of the estimated costs of the project, clearly affecting the final project evaluation...

  7. Assessment of the environmental impacts deriving from the life cycle of a typical solar water heater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Gaidajis

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available According to life cycle thinking, the environmental burden deriving from different life cycle stages of a product or a system, such as manufacturing, transportation, maintenance and landfilling should be taken into consideration while assessing its environmental performance. In that aspect, the environmental impacts deriving from the life cycle of a typical solar water heater (SWH in Greece are analyzed and assessed with the application of relative life cycle assessment (LCA software in this study. In order to examine various impact categories such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, ecotoxicity and so forth, the IMPACT2002+ method is applied. The aim of this study is to examine the life cycle stages, processes and materials that significantly affect the system under examination and to provide a discussion regarding the environmental friendliness of solar water heaters.

  8. Development and application of basis database for materials life cycle assessment in china

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaoqing; Gong, Xianzheng; Liu, Yu

    2017-03-01

    As the data intensive method, high quality environmental burden data is an important premise of carrying out materials life cycle assessment (MLCA), and the reliability of data directly influences the reliability of the assessment results and its application performance. Therefore, building Chinese MLCA database is the basic data needs and technical supports for carrying out and improving LCA practice. Firstly, some new progress on database which related to materials life cycle assessment research and development are introduced. Secondly, according to requirement of ISO 14040 series standards, the database framework and main datasets of the materials life cycle assessment are studied. Thirdly, MLCA data platform based on big data is developed. Finally, the future research works were proposed and discussed.

  9. Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, José D.; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D.; Durão, Vera

    2016-01-01

    Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards. PMID:28773516

  10. Insulation Cork Boards-Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvestre, José D; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D; Durão, Vera

    2016-05-20

    Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A "cradle-to-cradle" environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows ( i.e. , uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage-the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation-the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date "cradle-to-cradle" environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

  11. Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José D. Silvestre

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions, including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

  12. 77 FR 38766 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; International Client Life-Cycle Multi-Purpose...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... Request; International Client Life-Cycle Multi-Purpose Forms AGENCY: International Trade Administration...-0151, 0625-0215, 0625-0220, 0625-0228, and 0625- 0238. These collections include all client intake... trade events to U.S. organizations. The International Client Life-cycle Multi-Purpose Forms, previously...

  13. Life cycle assessment of biofuels from an integrated Brazilian algae-sugarcane biorefinery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souza, Simone P.; Gopal, Anand R.; Seabra, Joaquim E.A.

    2015-01-01

    Sugarcane ethanol biorefineries in Brazil produce carbon dioxide, electricity and heat as byproducts. These are essential inputs for algae biodiesel production. In this paper, we assessed ethanol's life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy use produced in an integrated sugarcane and algae biorefinery where biodiesel replaces petroleum diesel for all agricultural operations. Carbon dioxide from cane juice fermentation is used as the carbon source for algae cultivation, and sugarcane bagasse is the sole source of energy for the entire facility. Glycerin produced from the biodiesel plant is consumed by algae during the mixotrophic growth phase. We assessed the uncertainties through a detailed Monte-Carlo analysis. We found that this integrated system can improve both the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and the fossil energy use of sugarcane ethanol by around 10% and 50%, respectively, compared to a traditional Brazilian sugarcane ethanol distillery. - Highlights: • A high diesel consumption is associated to the ethanol sugarcane life-cycle. • Sugarcane industry can provide sources of carbon and energy for the algae growing. • The sugarcane-algae integration can improve the ethanol life-cycle performance. • This integration is a promising pathway for the deployment of algae biodiesel. • There are still significant techno-economic barriers associated with algae biodiesel

  14. REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE MODELS FOR LARGE-SCALE DEFENSE SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kadir Alpaslan DEMIR

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available TLarge-scale defense system projects are strategic for maintaining and increasing the national defense capability. Therefore, governments spend billions of dollars in the acquisition and development of large-scale defense systems. The scale of defense systems is always increasing and the costs to build them are skyrocketing. Today, defense systems are software intensive and they are either a system of systems or a part of it. Historically, the project performances observed in the development of these systems have been signifi cantly poor when compared to other types of projects. It is obvious that the currently used systems development life cycle models are insuffi cient to address today’s challenges of building these systems. Using a systems development life cycle model that is specifi cally designed for largescale defense system developments and is effective in dealing with today’s and near-future challenges will help to improve project performances. The fi rst step in the development a large-scale defense systems development life cycle model is the identifi cation of requirements for such a model. This paper contributes to the body of literature in the fi eld by providing a set of requirements for system development life cycle models for large-scale defense systems. Furthermore, a research agenda is proposed.

  15. Comparative life cycle assessment of disposable and reusable laryngeal mask airways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckelman, Matthew; Mosher, Margo; Gonzalez, Andres; Sherman, Jodi

    2012-05-01

    Growing awareness of the negative impacts from the practice of health care on the environment and public health calls for the routine inclusion of life cycle criteria into the decision-making process of device selection. Here we present a life cycle assessment of 2 laryngeal mask airways (LMAs), a one-time-use disposable Unique™ LMA and a 40-time-use reusable Classic™ LMA. In life cycle assessment, the basis of comparison is called the "functional unit." For this report, the functional unit of the disposable and reusable LMAs was taken to be maintenance of airway patency by 40 disposable LMAs or 40 uses of 1 reusable LMA. This was a cradle-to-grave study that included inputs and outputs for the manufacture, transport, use, and waste phases of the LMAs. The environmental impacts of the 2 LMAs were estimated using SimaPro life cycle assessment software and the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability impact assessment method. Sensitivity and simple life cycle cost analyses were conducted to aid in interpretation of the results. The reusable LMA was found to have a more favorable environmental profile than the disposable LMA as used at Yale New Haven Hospital. The most important sources of impacts for the disposable LMA were the production of polymers, packaging, and waste management, whereas for the reusable LMA, washing and sterilization dominated for most impact categories. The differences in environmental impacts between these devices strongly favor reusable devices. These benefits must be weighed against concerns regarding transmission of infection. Health care facilities can decrease their environmental impacts by using reusable LMAs, to a lesser extent by selecting disposable LMA models that are not made of certain plastics, and by ordering in bulk from local distributors. Certain practices would further reduce the environmental impacts of reusable LMAs, such as increasing the number of devices autoclaved in a single cycle to 10 (-25% GHG

  16. DEVELOPMENT OF THE METHOD AND U.S. NORMALIZATION DATABASE FOR LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY METRICS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normalization is an optional step within Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) that may be used to assist in the interpretation of life cycle inventory data as well as, life cycle impact assessment results. Normalization transforms the magnitude of LCI and LCIA results into relati...

  17. Climate impacts of bioenergy: Inclusion of carbon cycle and albedo dynamics in life cycle impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bright, Ryan M.; Cherubini, Francesco; Strømman, Anders H.

    2012-01-01

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be an invaluable tool for the structured environmental impact assessment of bioenergy product systems. However, the methodology's static temporal and spatial scope combined with its restriction to emission-based metrics in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) inhibits its effectiveness at assessing climate change impacts that stem from dynamic land surface–atmosphere interactions inherent to all biomass-based product systems. In this paper, we focus on two dynamic issues related to anthropogenic land use that can significantly influence the climate impacts of bioenergy systems: i) temporary changes to the terrestrial carbon cycle; and ii) temporary changes in land surface albedo—and illustrate how they can be integrated within the LCA framework. In the context of active land use management for bioenergy, we discuss these dynamics and their relevancy and outline the methodological steps that would be required to derive case-specific biogenic CO 2 and albedo change characterization factors for inclusion in LCIA. We demonstrate our concepts and metrics with application to a case study of transportation biofuel sourced from managed boreal forest biomass in northern Europe. We derive GWP indices for three land management cases of varying site productivities to illustrate the importance and need to consider case- or region-specific characterization factors for bioenergy product systems. Uncertainties and limitations of the proposed metrics are discussed. - Highlights: ► A method for including temporary surface albedo and carbon cycle changes in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is elaborated. ► Concepts are applied to a single bioenergy case whereby a range of feedstock productivities are shown to influence results. ► Results imply that case- and site-specific characterization factors can be essential for a more informed impact assessment. ► Uncertainties and limitations of the proposed methodologies are elaborated.

  18. Asset Management The State of the Art in Europe from a Life Cycle Perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Herder, Paulien; Wijnia, Ype

    2012-01-01

    In the past decades asset intensive companies have witnessed a number of regulatory changes and especially industry is facing ever increasing competitiveness. To overcome these challenges different asset management methods have been developed aimed to improve the asset life cycle. Especially the design phase and operation and maintenance phase have seen a rise in tools and methods. Smarter design can lead to improved operation. Likewise, improved operation and maintenance leads to lower replacement costs and may provide the basis for better design.   This book brings together and coherently presents the current state of the art in asset management research and practice in Europe from a life cycle perspective. Each chapter  focuses on specific parts of this life cycle and explains how the methods and techniques described are connected and how they improve the asset life cycle, thus treating this important subject from a unique perspective.

  19. Analysis of the link between a definition of sustainability and the life cycle methodologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas; Herrmann, Ivan Tengbjerg; Bjørn, Anders

    2013-01-01

    explicit analysis of the claim has been made. The purpose of this article is to analyse this claim.An interpretation of the goals of sustainability, as outlined in the report Our Common Future (WCED 1987), which is the basis for most literature on sustainability assessment in the LCA community......It has been claimed that in order to assess the sustainability of products, a combination of the results from a life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (SLCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) is needed. Despite the frequent reference to this claim in the literature, very little......, is presented and detailed to a level enabling an analysis of the relation to the impact categories at midpoint level considered in life cycle (LC) methodologies.The interpretation of the definition of sustainability as outlined in Our Common Future (WCED 1987) suggests that the assessment of a product...

  20. A life-cycle perspective on automotive fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simons, Andrew; Bauer, Christian

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Individual inventories for each fuel cell system component, current and future. • Environmental and human health burdens from fuel cell production and end-of-life. • Comparison passenger transport in fuel cell and conventional vehicles. • Fuel cell can be more critical to overall burdens than hydrogen production. • Fuel cell developments require radical but possible changes to reduce burdens. - Abstract: The production and end-of-life (EoL) processes for current and future proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems for road passenger vehicle applications were analysed and quantified in the form of life cycle inventories. The current PEMFC technology is characterised by highly sensitive operating conditions and a high system mass. For each core component of PEMFC there are a range of materials under development and the research aimed to identify those considered realistic for a 2020 future scenario and according to commercial goals of achieving higher performance, increased power density, greater stability and a marked reduction of costs. End-of-life scenarios were developed in consideration of the materials at the focus of recovery efforts. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) addressed the production and EoL of the fuel cell systems with inclusion of a sensitivity analysis to assess influences on the results from the key fuel cell parameters. The second part to the LCIA assessed the environmental and human health burdens from passenger transport in a fuel cell vehicle (FCV) with comparison between the 2012 and 2020 fuel cell scenarios and referenced to an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) of Euro5 emission standard. It was seen that whilst the drivetrain (and therefore the fuel cell system) is a major contributor to the emissions in all the indicators shown, the hydrogen use (and therefore the efficiency of the fuel cell system and the method of hydrogen production) can have a far greater influence on the environmental