scholarly journals Coupling life cycle assessment with process simulation for ecodesign of chemical processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 777-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Fernando Morales-Mendoza ◽  
Catherine Azzaro-Pantel ◽  
Jean-Pierre Belaud ◽  
Adama Ouattara
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Chemical Processes

scholarly journals Integrating LCA with Process Modeling for the Energetic and Environmental Assessment of a CHP Biomass Gasification Plant: A Case Study in Thessaly, Greece

Eng ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-30
Author(s):  
Ioannis Voultsos ◽  
Dimitrios Katsourinis ◽  
Dimitrios Giannopoulos ◽  
Maria Founti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Biomass Gasification ◽  
Lower Efficiency ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
Gasification Process ◽  
Gasification Plant

The energetic and environmental performance of a cogeneration biomass gasification plant, situated in Thessaly, Greece is evaluated via a methodology combining process simulation and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Initially, the gasification process of the most common agricultural residues found in the Thessaly region is simulated to establish the effect of technical parameters such as gasification temperature, equivalence ratio and raw biomass moisture content. It is shown that a maximum gasification efficiency of approximately 70% can be reached for all feedstock types. Lower efficiency values are associated with increased raw biomass moisture content. Next, the gasifier model is up-scaled, achieving the operation of a 1 MWel and 2.25 MWth cogeneration plant. The Life Cycle Assessment of the operation of the cogeneration unit is conducted using as input the performance data from the process simulation. Global Warming Potential and the Cumulative Demand of Non-Renewable Fossil Energy results suggest that the component which had the major share in both impact categories is the self-consumption of electricity of the plant. Finally, the key conclusion of the present study is the quantification of carbon dioxide mitigation and non-renewable energy savings by comparing the biomass cogeneration unit operation with conventional reference cases.

scholarly journals Process simulation and gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of hydrometallurgical refractory gold concentrate processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Elomaa ◽  
Pia Sinisalo ◽  
Lotta Rintala ◽  
Jari Aromaa ◽  
Mari Lundström
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Gold Recovery ◽  
Pressure Oxidation ◽  
Refractory Gold

Abstract Purpose Currently, almost all cyanide-free gold leaching processes are still in the development stage. Proactively investigating their environmental impacts prior to commercialization is of utmost importance. In this study, a detailed refractory gold concentrate process simulation with mass and energy balance was built for state-of-the-art technology with (i) pressure oxidation followed by cyanidation and, compared to alternative cyanide-free technology, with (ii) pressure oxidation followed by halogen leaching. Subsequently, the simulated mass balance was used as life cycle inventory data in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of the predominant cyanidation process and a cyanide-free alternative. Methods The environmental indicators for each scenario are based on the mass balance produced with HSC Sim steady-state simulation. The simulated mass balances were evaluated to identify the challenges in used technologies. The HSC Sim software is compatible with the GaBi LCA software, where LCI data from HSC-Sim is directly exported to. The simulation produces a consistent life cycle inventory (LCI). In GaBi LCA software, the environmental indicators of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), terrestrial eutrophication potential (EP), and water depletion (Water) are estimated. Results and discussion The life cycle assessment revealed that the GWP for cyanidation was 10.1 t CO2-e/kg Au, whereas the halogen process indicated a slightly higher GWP of 12.6 t CO2-e/kg Au. The difference is partially explained by the fact that the footprint is calculated against produced units of Au; total recovery by the halogen leaching route for gold was only 87.3%, whereas the cyanidation route could extract as much as 98.5% of gold. The addition of a second gold recovery unit to extract gold also from the washing water in the halogen process increased gold recovery up to 98.5%, decreasing the GWP of the halogen process to 11.5 t CO2-e/kg Au. However, both evaluated halogen processing scenarios indicated a slightly higher global warming potential when compared to the dominating cyanidation technology. Conclusions The estimated environmental impacts predict that the development-stage cyanide-free process still has some challenges compared to cyanidation; as in the investigated scenarios, the environmental impacts were generally higher for halogen leaching. Further process improvements, for example in the form of decreased moisture in the feed for halide leaching, and the adaptation of in situ gold recovery practices in chloride leaching may give the cyanide-free processing options a competitive edge.

From laboratory to industrial scale: a scale-up framework for chemical processes in life cycle assessment studies

2016 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 1085-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiano Piccinno ◽  
Roland Hischier ◽  
Stefan Seeger ◽  
Claudia Som
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Industrial Scale

scholarly journals Review of Life Cycle Assessment in Agro-Chemical Processes

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayed Tamizuddin Gillani ◽  
Jean-Pierre Belaud ◽  
Caroline Sablayrolles ◽  
Mireille Vignoles ◽  
Jean-Marc Le Lann
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Environmentally Conscious ◽  
Analysis And Design ◽  
Sustainable Products

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method used to evaluate the potential impacts on the environment of a product, process, or activity throughout its life cycle. Today’s LCA users are a mixture of individuals with skills in different disciplines who want to evaluate their products, processes, or activities in a life cycle context. This study attempts to present some of the LCA studies on agro-chemical processes, recent advances in LCA and their application on food products and non-food products. Due to the recent development of LCA methodologies and dissemination programs by international and local bodies, use of LCA is rapidly increasing in agricultural and industrial products. The literatures suggest that LCA coupled with other environmental approaches provides much more reliable and comprehensive information to environmentally conscious policy makers, producers, and consumers in selecting sustainable products and production processes. For this purpose, a field study of LCA of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas has been taken as an example in the study. In the past, LCA has been applied primarily to products but recent literature suggests that it has also the potential as an analysis and design tool for processes and services. In general, all primary industries use energy and water resources and emit pollutants gases. LCA is a method to report on and analyze these resource issues across the life cycle of agro-chemical processes. This review has the importance as a first part of a research project to develop a life cycle assessment methodology for agro-chemical industries. It presents the findings of a literature review that focuses on LCA of agriculture and chemical engineering literature.

scholarly journals Process simulation and life cycle assessment of converting autoclaved municipal solid waste into butanol and ethanol as transport fuels

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanran Meng ◽  
Roger Ibbett ◽  
Truus de Vrije ◽  
Pete Metcalf ◽  
Gregory Tucker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Process Simulation
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