Life Cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of arable crop production

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Brentrup
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Arable Crop

scholarly journals Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment of Arable Crop Production Technologies Compared to Different Harvesting Work Systems in Short Rotation Energy Plantations

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
András Polgár ◽  
Zoltán Kovács ◽  
Veronika Elekné Fodor ◽  
András Bidló
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Arable Crop ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Energy Plantations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rotation Energy

Abstract Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was developed as a tool for sustainable, decision-supporting environmental management. Applying agricultural sector-LCA in order to achieve both internal (comparative) and external (efficiency enhancing) benefits is a priority. Since the life-cycle assessment of products and processes attracts great interest, applying the method in agriculture is relevant. Our study undertakes a comparative environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA) of local arable crop production technologies used for the main cultivated plants: maize, sunflower, lucerne, cereals, and canola (environmental data in the territorial approach calculated on a 1 ha unit and in the quantitative approach calculated on 1 t of produce). We prepared an environmental inventory of the arable crop production technologies, constructed the life-cycle models, and executed the impact assessment. We also compiled an environmental ranking of technologies. In the impact interpretation, we compared the results with the values of short rotation energy plantations in each impact category. We analysed carbon footprints closely. The obtained results help better assess environmental impacts, climate risks, and climate change as they pertain to arable crop production technologies, which advances the selection of appropriate technologies adjusted to environmental sensitivities.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment: A Tool for Determining the Environmental Impact of Horticultural Crop Production

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
R. Thomas Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
System Level ◽  
Horticultural Crop ◽  
Efficiency Cost

System-level research has resulted in significant advancements in horticultural crop production. Contributions of individual components to production efficiency, cost, and environmental impact have been a focus of such research. Public awareness of the environmental impact of products and services is increasing. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool to study horticultural crop production systems and horticultural services and their individual components on environmental impacts such as the carbon footprint, stated as global warming potential. This manuscript introduces LCA and describes how this tool can be used to generate information important to the industry and consuming public.

Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheila Almeida ◽  
Philippe Loubet ◽  
Tamíris Pacheco da Costa ◽  
Paula Quinteiro ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Supply Chains

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electrical Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

Life cycle assessment of peach transportation considering trade-off between food loss and environmental impact

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuma Sasaki ◽  
Takahiro Orikasa ◽  
Nobutaka Nakamura ◽  
Kiyotada Hayashi ◽  
Yoshihito Yasaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Food Loss

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Phase Change Material in an Evacuated Solar Tube Collector

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4146
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Jachura ◽  
Robert Sekret
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Material ◽  
Solar Collector ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Production Operation ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Change Material

This paper presents an environmental impact assessment of the entire cycle of existence of the tube-vacuum solar collector prototype. The innovativeness of the solution involved using a phase change material as a heat-storing material, which was placed inside the collector’s tubes-vacuum. The PCM used in this study was paraffin. The system boundaries contained three phases: production, operation (use phase), and disposal. An ecological life cycle assessment was carried out using the SimaPro software. To compare the environmental impact of heat storage, the amount of heat generated for 15 years, starting from the beginning of a solar installation for preparing domestic hot water for a single-family residential building, was considered the functional unit. Assuming comparable production methods for individual elements of the ETC and waste management scenarios, the reduction in harmful effects on the environment by introducing a PCM that stores heat inside the ETC ranges from 17 to 24%. The performed analyses have also shown that the method itself of manufacturing the materials used for the construction of the solar collector and the choice of the scenario of the disposal of waste during decommissioning the solar collector all play an important role in its environmental assessment. With an increase in the application of the advanced technologies of materials manufacturing and an increase in the amount of waste subjected to recycling, the degree of the solar collector’s environmental impact decreased by 82% compared to its standard manufacture and disposal.

scholarly journals Attributional & Consequential Life Cycle Assessment: Definitions, Conceptual Characteristics and Modelling Restrictions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7386
Author(s):  
Thomas Schaubroeck ◽  
Simon Schaubroeck ◽  
Reinout Heijungs ◽  
Alessandra Zamagni ◽  
Miguel Brandão ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Consequential Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Potential Environmental Impact ◽  
Reference Environment ◽  
The Impact

To assess the potential environmental impact of human/industrial systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a very common method. There are two prominent types of LCA, namely attributional (ALCA) and consequential (CLCA). A lot of literature covers these approaches, but a general consensus on what they represent and an overview of all their differences seems lacking, nor has every prominent feature been fully explored. The two main objectives of this article are: (1) to argue for and select definitions for each concept and (2) specify all conceptual characteristics (including translation into modelling restrictions), re-evaluating and going beyond findings in the state of the art. For the first objective, mainly because the validity of interpretation of a term is also a matter of consensus, we argue the selection of definitions present in the 2011 UNEP-SETAC report. ALCA attributes a share of the potential environmental impact of the world to a product life cycle, while CLCA assesses the environmental consequences of a decision (e.g., increase of product demand). Regarding the second objective, the product system in ALCA constitutes all processes that are linked by physical, energy flows or services. Because of the requirement of additivity for ALCA, a double-counting check needs to be executed, modelling is restricted (e.g., guaranteed through linearity) and partitioning of multifunctional processes is systematically needed (for evaluation per single product). The latter matters also hold in a similar manner for the impact assessment, which is commonly overlooked. CLCA, is completely consequential and there is no limitation regarding what a modelling framework should entail, with the coverage of co-products through substitution being just one approach and not the only one (e.g., additional consumption is possible). Both ALCA and CLCA can be considered over any time span (past, present & future) and either using a reference environment or different scenarios. Furthermore, both ALCA and CLCA could be specific for average or marginal (small) products or decisions, and further datasets. These findings also hold for life cycle sustainability assessment.

Evaluation of cradle to gate environmental impact of frozen green bean production by means of life cycle assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 117638
Author(s):  
Alessio Ilari ◽  
Daniele Duca ◽  
Giuseppe Toscano ◽  
Ester Foppa Pedretti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Green Bean ◽  
Cradle To Gate

scholarly journals Methodology for the quantification of concrete sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Břetislav Teplý ◽  
Tomáš Vymazal ◽  
Pavla Rovnaníková
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Service Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Load Bearing Capacity ◽  
Sustainability Management

Efficient sustainability management requires the use of tools which allow material, technological and construction variants to be quantified, measured or compared. These tools can be used as a powerful marketing aid and as support for the transition to “circular economy”. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) procedures are also used, aside from other approaches. LCA is a method that evaluates the life cycle of a structure from the point of view of its impact on the environment. Consideration is given also to energy and raw material costs, as well as to environmental impact throughout the life cycle - e.g. due to emissions. The paper focuses on the quantification of sustainability connected with the use of various types of concrete with regard to their resistance to degradation. Sustainability coefficients are determined using information regarding service life and "eco-costs". The aim is to propose a suitable methodology which can simplify decision-making in the design and choice of concrete mixes from a wider perspective, i.e. not only with regard to load-bearing capacity or durability.

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