scholarly journals Life cycle assessment of seabass and meagre in marine cage farming: From feeding plant to harvesting

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
EVANGELOS KONSTANTINIDIS ◽  
COSTAS PERDIKARIS ◽  
KONSTANTINOS GANIAS
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Fish Feed ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Impact Indicators ◽  
Fish Feeds ◽  
Environmental Impact Indicators

Aquaculture is related to environmental impacts locally and globally. The purpose of this study was to identify environmental hotspots in fish feeds of various granulations in seabass and meagre farming, by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), given that recent studies suggested fish feed as the predominant factor affecting environmental impacts in marine fish farming. This, in turn enabled a detailed comparison of the environmental performance throughout the rearing cycle, in both species. LCA was applied on the production process of fish feeds taking into account the amount of raw materials, heat and energy needed for the production of feed. Similarly, LCA was applied in cage farms in Greece, involving the amount of feeds per size class, energy and fuel needed for the production of one tonne of seabass and meagre, respectively. The smaller size feed (SSF) class distributed to the fry, performed better compared to medium (MSF) and large size feed (LSF) classes provided to juveniles/adults, in relation to various environmental impact indicators. In medium and large size feeds, the main negative contributor was the use of sunflower meal, while small size feed affected these indicators through higher electricity demands and the inclusion of higher fishmeal level. The comparison between seabass and meagre revealed that meagre had significantly lower impact in all eighteen environmental impact indicators. This should be attributed to the reduced feed conversion ratio and the lower fry requirements compared to seabass. Improvements in cultivation methods of raw materials, optimized reductions in the inclusion of marine origin raw materials and improved feeding management could contribute to the overall ecological sustainability of the sector.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Characteristics of Environmental Impacts According to the Cut-Off Criteria Applicable to the Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) of Apartment Buildings in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2898
Author(s):  
Rakhyun Kim ◽  
Myung-Kwan Lim ◽  
Seungjun Roh ◽  
Won-Jun Park
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Environmental Impact Analysis ◽  
Apartment Buildings ◽  
Environmental Impact Categories ◽  
Weight Percentile

This study analyzed the characteristics of the environmental impacts of apartment buildings, a typical housing type in South Korea, as part of a research project supporting the streamlined life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of buildings within the G-SEED (Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design) framework. Three recently built apartment building complexes were chosen as study objects for the quantitative evaluation of the buildings in terms of their embodied environmental impacts (global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone layer depletion potential, photochemical oxidant creation potential, and abiotic depletion potential), using the LCA approach. Additionally, we analyzed the emission trends according to the cut-off criteria of the six environmental impact categories by performing an S-LCA with cut-off criteria 90–99% of the cumulative weight percentile. Consequently, we were able to present the cut-off criterion best suited for S-LCA and analyze the effect of the cut-off criteria on the environmental impact analysis results. A comprehensive environmental impact analysis of the characteristics of the six environmental impact categories revealed that the error rate was below 5% when the cut-off criterion of 97.5% of the cumulative weight percentile was applied, thus verifying its validity as the optimal cut-off criterion for S-LCA.

Der Umsatz-Nachhaltigkeitsindex*/The Turnover-Sustainability-Index

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (03) ◽  
pp. 136-140
Author(s):  
R. Miehe ◽  
M. Wiedenmann ◽  
T. Prof. Bauernhansl
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Behavior Based ◽  
Comparative Examination

Die Ökobilanz hat sich als Instrument zur Bewertung der Umweltauswirkungen von Produkten und Prozessen durchgesetzt. Dennoch stellt ihre Durchführung Nutzer immer wieder vor Herausforderungen. Der Fachartikel präsentiert einen Ansatz für eine vergleichende Betrachtung der ökologischen Auswirkungen des unternehmerischen Handelns auf Basis der jeweiligen Unternehmens- und Branchenumsätze. Der Umsatz-Nachhaltigkeitsindex soll als Konzept für ein Benchmark für Unternehmen einer Branche dienen.   Life Cycle Assessment has prevailed as an instrument to evaluate the environmental impact of products and processes. Its execution, however, poses a challenge to operators. In this paper, we present an approach for a comparative examination of environmental impacts of industrial behavior based on the turnover of companies and their equivalent sectors. The Turnover-Sustainability-Index serves as a benchmark for companies within a sector.

scholarly journals Environmental Impact for 3D Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Life Cycle: An Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 6504-6515
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Bone Tissue Engineering ◽  
Bone Tissue ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ◽  
Industrial Soil ◽  
The Impact

With the development of additive manufacturing technology, 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds have evolved. Bone tissue engineering is one of the techniques for repairing bone abnormalities caused by a variety of circumstances, such as injuries or the need to support damaged sections. Many bits of research have gone towards developing 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds all across the world. The assessment of the environmental impact, on the other hand, has received less attention. As a result, the focus of this study is on developing a life cycle assessment (LCA) model for 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds and evaluating potential environmental impacts. One of the methodologies to evaluating a complete environmental impact assessment is life cycle assessment (LCA). The cradle-to-grave method will be used in this study, and GaBi software was used to create the analysis for this study. Previous research on 3D bone tissue engineering fabrication employing poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) soaked in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO) as a photoinitiator will be reviewed. Meanwhile, digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing is employed as the production technique. The GaBi program and the LCA model developed to highlight the potential environmental impact. This study shows how the input and output of LCA of 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds might contribute to environmental issues such as air, freshwater, saltwater, and industrial soil emissions. The emission contributing to potential environmental impacts comes from life cycle input, electricity and transportation consumption, manufacturing process, and material resources. The results from this research can be used as an indicator for the researcher to take the impact of the development of 3D bone tissue engineering on the environment seriously.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Charging Concepts for Battery Electric Vehicles: A Comparison of On-Board and Off-Board Charging Systems Based on a Life Cycle Assessment

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6508
Author(s):  
Mona Kabus ◽  
Lars Nolting ◽  
Benedict J. Mortimer ◽  
Jan C. Koj ◽  
Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
System Level ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Dc System ◽  
Battery Electric Vehicles

We investigate the environmental impacts of on-board (based on alternating current, AC) and off-board (based on direct current, DC) charging concepts for electric vehicles using Life Cycle Assessment and considering a maximum charging power of 22 kW (AC) and 50 kW (DC). Our results show that the manufacturing of chargers provokes the highest contribution to environmental impacts of the production phase. Within the chargers, the filters could be identified as main polluters for all power levels. When comparing the results on a system level, the DC system causes less environmental impact than the AC system in all impact categories. In our diffusion scenarios for electric vehicles, annual emission reductions of up to 35 million kg CO2-eq. could be achieved when the DC system is used instead of the AC system. In addition to the environmental assessment, we examine economic effects. Here, we find annual savings of up to 8.5 million euros, when the DC system is used instead of the AC system.

The Life Cycle Assessment of a Polypropylene Product, Part A: Raw Materials, Manufacturing and Disposal Scenario

2014 ◽  
Vol 535 ◽  
pp. 515-518
Author(s):  
Karin Kandananond
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Injection Molding Process ◽  
Molding Process ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Product Part

The life cycle of a polypropylene stacking chair is assessed in order to represent the environmental impact of a plastic product. The analysis is categorized into two phases, manufacturing and disposing. The manufacturing process of a chair concerns a prime material, polypropylene (PP) granulate, an injection molding process and a resource, electricity. According to the assessment, the PP granulate seems to contribute the highest impact on the environment in term of the fossil fuel used. Afterwards, the landfill method is used in the disposal scenario of waste, and the analysis shows that the highest impact comes in the form of carcinogens followed by ecotoxicity.

scholarly journals Life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of transport infrastructure and individual modes of transport

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristína Kováčiková ◽  
◽  
Antonín Kazda
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Transport Infrastructure

The paper is focused on the assessment of the environmental impacts of transport infrastructure and individual types of transport using the life cycle assessment method. The paper contains a description of the basic terminology of the problem related to transport, the environment and methods of environmental impact assessment. The paper contains analysis on monitoring carbon dioxide emissions from a global perspective as well as from a regional perspective focused on Slovakia. The aim of the paper is to create a proposal for the assessment of environmental impacts of transport infrastructure, in the form of specification of areas of assessment for selected types of transport with a focus on carbon dioxide emissions. Using the knowledge and principles of the life cycle method, a proposal for relevant indicators and a proposal for a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of selected types of transport, focused on carbon dioxide emissions, is created in the paper

scholarly journals Disposable Medical Masks: Environmental Costs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
BURÇİN ATILGAN TÜRKMEN
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Inventory Data

Abstract A massive increase in the use and production of masks worldwide has been seen in the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to reducing the transmission of the virus globally. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of disposable medical masks using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, first for the selected functional unit related to the manufacturing of one disposable medical mask and then for the global manufacturing of this type of mask in 2020. The inventory data was constructed directly from the industry. The system boundaries include the fabric, nose wire, and ear loops parts, transportation of materials, body making, ultrasonic vending, and packaging steps. The results suggest that the global warming potential of a disposable medical mask is 0.02 g CO2-Eq. for which the main contributor is the packaging step (44%) followed by the life cycle of fabric (27%), and nose wire (14%) parts. In total, 52 billion disposable medical masks used worldwide consumes 25 TJ of energy in 2020. The global warming potential of disposable medical masks supplied in a year of the COVID-19 pandemic is 1.1 Mt CO2 eq., equivalent to around 1.3 billion return flights from Istanbul to New York. This paper assessed the hotspots in the medical mask, allowing for a significant reduction in the environmental impact of mask use. This can be used as a roadmap for future mask designs.

scholarly journals Energy and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Pavement Materials and Technologies for Urban Roads

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo G. Praticò ◽  
Marinella Giunta ◽  
Marina Mistretta ◽  
Teresa Maria Gulotta
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Crumb Rubber ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
Bituminous Mixtures

Recycled and low-temperature materials are promising solutions to reduce the environmental burden deriving from hot mix asphalts. Despite this, there is lack of studies focusing on the assessment of the life-cycle impacts of these promising technologies. Consequently, this study deals with the life cycle assessment (LCA) of different classes of pavement technologies, based on the use of bituminous mixes (hot mix asphalt and warm mix asphalt) with recycled materials (reclaimed asphalt pavements, crumb rubber, and waste plastics), in the pursuit of assessing energy and environmental impacts. Analysis is developed based on the ISO 14040 series. Different scenarios of pavement production, construction, and maintenance are assessed and compared to a reference case involving the use of common paving materials. For all the considered scenarios, the influence of each life-cycle phase on the overall impacts is assessed to the purpose of identifying the phases and processes which produce the greatest impacts. Results show that material production involves the highest contribution (about 60–70%) in all the examined impact categories. Further, the combined use of warm mix asphalts and recycled materials in bituminous mixtures entails lower energy consumption and environmental impacts due to a reduction of virgin bitumen and aggregate consumption, which involves a decrease in the consumption of primary energy and raw materials, and reduced impacts for disposal. LCA results demonstrate that this methodology is able to help set up strategies for eco-design in the pavement sector.

Life Cycle Assessment on Resourceful Utilization System of Flue Gas Desulfurization and Denitration with Pyrolusite Slurry

2011 ◽  
Vol 383-390 ◽  
pp. 3792-3798
Author(s):  
Le Luo ◽  
Wei Yi Sun ◽  
Cheng Qiu ◽  
Shi Jun Su ◽  
Hong Tao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Electrolytic Manganese ◽  
Traditional Process

Reducing the adverse impacts to environment is a more and more important subject in electrolytic manganese industry. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been a hot tool to measure the type and size of environmental impact. This paper firstly applied LCA on two different processes of producing electrolytic manganese. One process is the resourceful utilization system of high sulfur coal and low grade pyrolusite (the novel process for short)in which high sulfur coal is burned to generate power and emission SO2, then the SO2 is absorbed as reducing agent to leach the pyrolusite with 30% MnO2 grade. The other process is prevalent interiorly, called traditional process where the power is supplied by standard coal combustion, and sulfur acid leaches the manganese ore with 18% Mn grade. Life cycle software converts the original data to nine different kinds of indexes that are able to indicate types and sizes of environmental impacts. Results show that: among nine environmental impacts, the proportion of abiotic depletion potential (ADP) is biggest in both processes, but the value of the novel process is 23.25% smaller pointing the process saves more resource. All the values of other important impacts including GWP, Waste Solids, AP and RI of the novel process are less than those in traditional process. Especially, the value of acidification (AP) in novel process was -2.10×10-8 < 0, which means the novel process could control the acidification. In addition, through the composite index, using high sulfur coal in the novel process hasn’t bring any more serious impact than using standard coal. Therefore, LCA has provided rational evidence to prove that resourceful utilization system of high sulfur coal and low grade pyrolusite is more efficient and environmentally friendly and pointed which environmental impacts and life cycle links need improving . This paper could provide a reference for further environmental impact assessment of electrolytic manganese industry and an objective basis for decision-making.

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