Prospective Life Cycle Assessment Based on System Dynamics Approach: A Case Study on the Large-Scale Centrifugal Compressor

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shitong Peng ◽  
Tao Li ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Zhichao Liu ◽  
George Z. Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Structure ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
The Future

The deficiency of temporal information in life cycle assessment (LCA) may misrepresent the environmental impacts of products throughout the life cycle or at a particular time in the future. For the environmental assessment of energy-consuming products, background data obtained from the LCA database fail to incorporate emissions or extractions reflecting the future situation. To overcome this knowledge gap, we developed a system dynamics (SD) model to predict the evolution of energy structure in China till 2030 and further determined the time-varying emissions of unit electric power combined with the ecoinvent 3.1 database. Additionally, dynamic characterization factors (CFs) of global warming potential (GWP) were integrated into the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). This study took the PCL803 large-scale centrifugal compressor as an illustrative example in which the temporal-dependent electricity was included in the dynamic life cycle inventory and the dynamic CFs of GWP were included in the LCIA. Environmental impacts were quantified and compared using the traditional and prospective LCA. Results indicated that the environmental burdens under the electricity variation were approximately 13% less than those of conventional LCA, and the GWP under dynamic CFs would be further reduced by 14.5%. The results confirmed that, when socio-economic progress, technical improvement, and dynamic CFs are not considered, the environmental assessment will lead to an overestimation of environmental loads. Therefore, the relevant time-varying parameters should be considered for accurate assessment.

Life cycle assessment of a large-scale centrifugal compressor: A case study in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 810-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shitong Peng ◽  
Tao Li ◽  
Mengmeng Dong ◽  
Junli Shi ◽  
Hongchao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Centrifugal Compressor ◽  
Large Scale

scholarly journals A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Meat Trays Made of Various Packaging Materials

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Maga ◽  
Markus Hiebel ◽  
Venkat Aryan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Polyethylene Terephthalate ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol

In light of the debate on the circular economy, the EU strategy for plastics, and several national regulations, such as the German Packaging Act, polymeric foam materials as well as hybrid packaging (multilayered plastic) are now in focus. To understand the environmental impacts of various tray solutions for meat packaging, a comparative environmental assessment was conducted. As an environmental assessment method, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied following the ISO standards 14040/44. The nine packaging solutions investigated were: PS-based trays (extruded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene with five-layered structure containing ethylene vinyl alcohol), PET-based trays (recycled polyethylene terephthalate, with and without polyethylene layer, and amorphous polyethylene terephthalate), polypropylene (PP) and polylactic acid (PLA). The scope of the LCA study included the production of the tray and the end-of-life stage. The production of meat, the filling of the tray with meat and the tray sealing were not taken into account. The results show that the PS-based trays, especially the mono material solutions made of extruded polystyrene (XPS), show the lowest environmental impact across all 12 impact categories except for resource depletion. Multilayer products exhibit higher environmental impacts. The LCA also shows that the end-of-life stage has an important influence on the environmental performance of trays. However, the production of the trays dominates the overall results. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis illustrates that, even if higher recycling rates were realised in the future, XPS based solutions would still outperform the rest from an environmental perspective.

scholarly journals How (Carbon) Negative Is Direct Air Capture? Life Cycle Assessment of an Industrial Temperature-Vacuum Swing Adsorption Process

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Deutz ◽  
André Bardow
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Direct Air Capture ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Negative Emissions ◽  
Air Capture

Current climate targets require negative emissions. Direct air capture (DAC) is a promising negative emission technology, but energy and materials demands lead to trade-offs with indirect emissions and other environmental impacts. Here, we show by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that the first commercial DAC plants in Hinwil and Hellisheiði can achieve negative emissions already today with carbon capture efficiencies of 85.4 % and 93.1 %. Climate benefits of DAC, however, depend strongly on the energy source. When using low-carbon energy, as in Hellisheiði, adsorbent choice and plant construction become important with up to 45 and 15 gCO<sub>2e</sub> per kg CO<sub>2</sub> captured, respectively. Large-scale deployment of DAC for<br>1 % of the global annual CO<sub>2</sub> emissions would not be limited by material and energy availability. Other environmental impacts would increase by less than 0.057 %. Energy source and efficiency are essential for DAC to enable both negative emissions and low-carbon fuels.<br>

scholarly journals How (Carbon) Negative Is Direct Air Capture? Life Cycle Assessment of an Industrial Temperature-Vacuum Swing Adsorption Process

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Deutz ◽  
André Bardow
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Direct Air Capture ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Negative Emissions ◽  
Air Capture

Current climate targets require negative emissions. Direct air capture (DAC) is a promising negative emission technology, but energy and materials demands lead to trade-offs with indirect emissions and other environmental impacts. Here, we show by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that the first commercial DAC plants in Hinwil and Hellisheiði can achieve negative emissions already today with carbon capture efficiencies of 85.4 % and 93.1 %. Climate benefits of DAC, however, depend strongly on the energy source. When using low-carbon energy, as in Hellisheiði, adsorbent choice and plant construction become important with up to 45 and 15 gCO<sub>2e</sub> per kg CO<sub>2</sub> captured, respectively. Large-scale deployment of DAC for<br>1 % of the global annual CO<sub>2</sub> emissions would not be limited by material and energy availability. Other environmental impacts would increase by less than 0.057 %. Energy source and efficiency are essential for DAC to enable both negative emissions and low-carbon fuels.<br>

scholarly journals Τhe strategic role of Life Cycle Assessment in the problem of material criticality and in development of Chromium-free substitute for stainless steel

2018 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 02008
Author(s):  
Vasiliki I. Stergiou ◽  
Athanasios K. Morozinis ◽  
Constantinos A. Charitidis
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Iron Aluminum ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Technological Developments

Sustainable and on-going technological developments in the field of materials require the establishment of methods and tools for assessing, comparing environmental impacts and providing solutions to the problem of “resource criticality” by identifying a policy of an economic and ecological plan. Therefore, there is a clear need for prevention and provision of additional knowledge beyond the defined protocols to achieve the reduction of impacts. For this reason, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been developed as a scientific technique that systematically assesses and evaluates the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life. In this work, LCA was applied in a part of a highly innovative process of production of advanced Iron-Aluminum (Fe-Al) based intermetallics. LCA role is particularly crucial, since the produced intermetallics are bound to substitute stainless steel, in specific applications, providing solution in the problem of Cr and Ni; as a result, the environmental burdens and impacts, as well as application of alternative solutions to minimize them, will decide if such an innovative, from the technical point of view, approach is also applicable/sustainable in large scale.

Renewable Energy for Environmental Protection: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of different Palm Oil Mills in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelechi E Anyaoha ◽  
Lulu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Palm Kernel ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Oil Palm Industry

Oil palm is expected to continue its dominance of global oil production, trade, and consumption. Nigeria will continue to play a dominate role in oil palm industry particularly on production and consumption. One of the biggest challenges to agricultural productivities is the need to reduce the environmental impacts and improves circularity in the operations. This study investigated the environmental impacts of different palm oil processors in Nigeria using life cycle assessment approach. The study covers the reception and processing of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) to palm oil. The inputs include generated empty fruit bunch, mesocarp fibre, palm kernel shell, palm oil mill effluent, diesel, and water and all outputs to the environment for a functional unit of 1 tonne of FFB. The large-scale processor performs worse than the semi-mechanised and smallholder processors in terms of climate change with 468 kg CO2-eq per tonne of FFB and better in the other impact categories. In large-scale mill, the contribution to climate change was reduced by 75% when the raw POME was used in composting EFB. Similarly, the contribution to climate change was decreased by 44% when biogas from POME substituted diesel in the semi-mechanised and smallholder mills. Concerted efforts by regulators are needed to ensure that stakeholders take steps towards improving management practices in the industry. Particularly on the generation and reuse of biomass and POME. This study will be very useful particularly on the contributions to climate change by Nigeria’s oil palm industry and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Households in Santiago, Chile: Environmental Hotspots and Policy Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2525
Author(s):  
Camila López-Eccher ◽  
Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez ◽  
Iván Franchi-Arzola ◽  
Edmundo Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of household life cycles in Santiago, Chile, by household income level. The assessment considered scenarios associated with environmental policies. The life cycle assessment was cradle-to-grave, and the functional unit considered all the materials and energy required to meet an inhabitant’s needs for one year (1 inh/year). Using SimaPro 9.1 software, the Recipe Midpoint (H) methodology was used. The impact categories selected were global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, mineral resource scarcity, and fossil resource scarcity. The inventory was carried out through the application of 300 household surveys and secondary information. The main environmental sources of households were determined to be food consumption, transport, and electricity. Food consumption is the main source, responsible for 33% of the environmental impacts on global warming, 69% on terrestrial acidification, and 29% on freshwater eutrophication. The second most crucial environmental hotspot is private transport, whose contribution to environmental impact increases as household income rises, while public transport impact increases in the opposite direction. In this sense, both positive and negative environmental effects can be generated by policies. Therefore, life-cycle environmental impacts, the synergy between policies, and households’ socio-economic characteristics must be considered in public policy planning and consumer decisions.

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