scholarly journals Spatially and Temporally Explicit Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Soybean Production in the U.S. Midwest

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 4758-4768
Author(s):  
Xiaobo Xue Romeiko ◽  
Eun Kyung Lee ◽  
Yetunde Sorunmu ◽  
Xuesong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Soybean Production ◽  
The U.S

Deciphering the true life cycle environmental impacts and costs of the mega-scale shale gas-to-olefins projects in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 820-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang He ◽  
Fengqi You
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Environmental Models ◽  
The U.S

Using detailed techno-economic-environmental models, we investigate the environmental impacts and production costs of the mega-scale shale gas-to-olefins projects in the U.S.

scholarly journals A life cycle environmental sustainability analysis of microbial protein production via power-to-food approaches

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2190-2203 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sillman ◽  
V. Uusitalo ◽  
V. Ruuskanen ◽  
L. Ojala ◽  
H. Kahiluoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Protein Production ◽  
Blue Water ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Microbial Protein ◽  
Soybean Production ◽  
Global Food

Abstract Purpose Renewable energy produced from wind turbines and solar photovoltaics (PV) has rapidly increased its share in global energy markets. At the same time, interest in producing hydrocarbons via power-to-X (PtX) approaches using renewables has grown as the technology has matured. However, there exist knowledge gaps related to environmental impacts of some PtX approaches. Power-to-food (PtF) application is one of those approaches. To evaluate the environmental impacts of different PtF approaches, life cycle assessment was performed. Methods The theoretical environmental potential of a novel concept of PtX technologies was investigated. Because PtX approaches have usually multiple technological solutions, such as the studied PtF application can have, several technological setups were chosen for the study. PtF application is seen as potentially being able to alleviate concerns about the sustainability of the global food sector, for example, as regards the land and water use impacts of food production. This study investigated four different environmental impact categories for microbial protein (MP) production via different technological setups of PtF from a cradle-to-gate perspective. The investigated impact categories include global warming potential, blue-water use, land use, and eutrophication. The research was carried out using a life cycle impact assessment method. Results and discussion The results for PtF processes were compared with the impacts of other MP production technologies and soybean production. The results indicate that significantly lower environmental impact can be achieved with PtF compared with the other protein production processes studied. The best-case PtF technology setups cause considerably lower land occupation, eutrophication, and blue-water consumption impacts compared with soybean production. However, the energy source used and the electricity-to-biomass efficiency of the bioreactor greatly affect the sustainability of the PtF approach. Some energy sources and technological choices result in higher environmental impacts than other MP and soybean production. When designing PtF production facilities, special attention should thus be given to the technology used. Conclusions With some qualifications, PtF can be considered an option for improving global food security at minimal environmental impact. If the MP via the introduced application substitutes the most harmful practices of production other protein sources, the saved resources could be used to, for example, mitigation purposes or to improve food security elsewhere. However, there still exist challenges, such as food safety–related issues, to be solved before PtF application can be used for commercial use.

scholarly journals TRACI Assessment of Transportation Manufacturing Nexus in the U.S.: A Supply Chain-linked Cradle-to-Gate LCA

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gokhan Egilmez ◽  
Yong Park
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Manufacturing Sectors ◽  
Life Cycle Impact ◽  
The U.S

<p class="emsd0505"><span lang="EN-GB">Sustainable transportation is an inevitable component of sustainable development intitiatives for mitigating the climate change impacts and stabilizing the rising carbon emissions thus global temperature. In this context, comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of transportation can play a critical role towards quantifying the midpoint environmental and human health related impacts associated with the transportation activities triggered by manufacturing sectors. This study traces the life cycle impact of the U.S. transportation and manufacturing sectors’ nexus using Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) in the context of the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) framework considering the following midpoint impact categories: ‘global warming’, ‘particulate matter’, ‘eutrophication’, ‘acidification’, and ‘smog air’. Both direct (onsite) and indirect (supply chain) industries’ relationships with transportation industry are considered as the main scope. Results indicated that top ten contributor manufacturing sectors accounted for over 55% total environmental impacts on each impact category. Additionally, based on the decomposition analysis, food manufacturing sector was found to be the major contributor to smog air with an approximate share of 21% in the entire supply chain. Automobile related manufacturing sectors also have significant impact on all five life cycle impact categories that the environmental impact of transportation is higher than on-site (direct) impact. Overall decomposition analysis of 53 manufacturing sector indicated that the environmental impact of transportation has severe effects on ‘smog air’, ‘eutrophication’ and ‘acidification’ with a share of 16.4%, 10.5%, and 6.0%, respectively. When we consider the average percentage share of transportation related environmental impact on the entire supply chain, U.S manufacturing sectors have a negative impact with a share of 18.8% of ‘smog air’, 16.8% for ‘eutrophication’, and 8.1% for ‘acidification’. </span></p>

Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Two Options for MSW Management in New York City: Modern Landfilling vs. Waste to Energy

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Krishnan ◽  
N. J. Themelis
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
York City ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Management Options ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. generates about 370 million short tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) each year. In 2002, an average of 26.9% of this material was either recycled or composted. Of the remainder, an estimated 242 million short tons were disposed of in landfills and about 29 million short tons were combusted in Waste to Energy (WTE) facilities to produce electricity and scrap metal. Effective management of MSW is becoming increasingly challenging, especially in densely populated regions, such as New York City, where there is little or no landfill capacity and the tipping fees have doubled and tripled in recent years. There is also a growing appreciation of the environmental implications of landfills. Even with modern landfill construction, impacts remain from the need for transfer stations to handle putrescible wastes, their transport to distant landfills, and finally landfill gas emissions and potential aqueous run-off. Environmental impacts of concern associated with disposal in WTEs include air emissions of metals, dioxins and greenhouse gases. In the U.S., there is also a strong negative public perception of WTE facilities. Decisions about waste management should be influenced by a consideration of the overall, quantified life-cycle environmental impacts of different options. In this paper we therefore develop a methodology to assess these impacts for landfilling and WTE waste management options. Specifically we attempt to compare these two options for New York City, a large urban area.

scholarly journals Assessing life cycle environmental impacts of inoculating soybeans in Argentina with Bradyrhizobium japonicum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Mendoza Beltran ◽  
Claus Nordstrøm Scheel ◽  
Nuala Fitton ◽  
Jannick Schmidt ◽  
Jesper Hedal Kløverpris
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Bradyrhizobium Japonicum ◽  
Field Effect ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
System Expansion ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Soybean Production ◽  
Field Emissions

Abstract Purpose To estimate life cycle impacts from introducing the yield-enhancing inoculant containing the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum and the signal molecule lipochitooligosaccharide (LCO) in Argentinian soybean production. The study focuses on soybeans grown in rotation with corn in the Buenos Aires province. We also provide the life cycle impact assessment for the inoculant production. The study represents a novel scope in terms of the studied crop, inoculant type, and location. Methods Consequential LCA is used to assess the cradle-to-gate soybean production systems with and without inoculant use. Stepwise is used for quantification of 16 impacts at mid-point level. Also, the LCA-based guidance of Kløverpris et al. (2020) is followed, and we divide the change in impacts caused by the inoculant’s use into four effects. The field effect accounts for changes in field emissions. The yield effect accounts for additional soybean production in the inoculant system that displaces soybean production elsewhere (system expansion). The upstream effect covers the inoculant production and the downstream effect covers post-harvest changes such as soybean transport and drying. Small plot field-trials data is applied in the biogeochemical model DayCent to estimate field emissions, among others. Results and discussion The use of this inoculant reduces environmental impacts from soybean production in all studied impact categories. The main contributing factor is the yield effect, i.e., reduced impacts via avoided soybean production elsewhere including reduced pressure on land and thereby avoided impacts in the form of indirect land-use-change (iLUC). The field effect is the second-largest contributor to the overall impact reduction. Upstream and downstream effects only had minor influence on results. The yield and field effects are closely tied to the yield change from the inoculant use, which was not fully captured in the DayCent modeling. Thereby, a potential underestimation of the environmental benefits of roughly 10% can be expected, corresponding to the difference of empiric yield data and the modeled yield data in DayCent. Conclusion and recommendations The use of this inoculant shows environmental benefits and no trade-offs for the 16 impacts assessed. Results depend primarily on avoided soybean production (the yield effect) which entails iLUC impacts in Brazil and USA, and to a lesser degree on field emissions modelled with DayCent. Better data and parametrization of DayCent, to better capture the change in yields and estimate field emissions, economic modelling for the system expansion assumptions, and accounting for uncertainty in iLUC modelling could improve the assessment.

scholarly journals Integrated economic and environmental building classification and optimal seismic vulnerability/energy efficiency retrofitting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Caruso ◽  
Rui Pinho ◽  
Federica Bianchi ◽  
Francesco Cavalieri ◽  
Maria Teresa Lemmo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Seismic Vulnerability ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Operational Energy

AbstractA life cycle framework for a new integrated classification system for buildings and the identification of renovation strategies that lead to an optimal balance between reduction of seismic vulnerability and increase of energy efficiency, considering both economic losses and environmental impacts, is discussed through a parametric application to an exemplificative case-study building. Such framework accounts for the economic and environmental contributions of initial construction, operational energy consumption, earthquake-induced damage repair activities, retrofitting interventions, and demolition. One-off and annual monetary expenses and environmental impacts through the building life cycle are suggested as meaningful performance metrics to develop an integrated classification system for buildings and to identify the optimal renovation strategy leading to a combined reduction of economic and environmental impacts, depending on the climatic conditions and the seismic hazard at the site of interest. The illustrative application of the framework to an existing school building is then carried out, investigating alternative retrofitting solutions, including either sole structural retrofitting options or sole energy refurbishments, as well as integrated strategies that target both objectives, with a view to demonstrate its practicality and to explore its ensuing results. The influence of seismic hazard and climatic conditions is quantitatively investigated, by assuming the building to be located into different geographic locations.

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