scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Analysis of Conventional and Hybrid Heavy-Duty Trucks

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Rupp ◽  
Sven Schulze ◽  
Isabel Kuperjans

Heavy-duty trucks are one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in German traffic. Drivetrain electrification is an option to reduce tailpipe emissions by increasing energy conversion efficiency. To evaluate the vehicle’s environmental impacts, it is necessary to consider the entire life cycle. In addition to the daily use, it is also necessary to include the impact of production and disposal. This study presents the comparative life cycle analysis of a parallel hybrid and a conventional heavy-duty truck in long-haul operation. Assuming a uniform vehicle glider, only the differing parts of both drivetrains are taken into account to calculate the environmental burdens of the production. The use phase is modeled by a backward simulation in MATLAB/Simulink considering a characteristic driving cycle. A break-even analysis is conducted to show at what mileage the larger CO2eq emissions due to the production of the electric drivetrain are compensated. The effect of parameter variation on the break-even mileage is investigated by a sensitivity analysis. The results of this analysis show the difference in CO2eq/t km is negative, indicating that the hybrid vehicle releases 4.34 g CO2eq/t km over a lifetime fewer emissions compared to the diesel truck. The break-even analysis also emphasizes the advantages of the electrified drivetrain, compensating the larger emissions generated during production after already a distance of 15,800 km (approx. 1.5 months of operation time). The intersection coordinates, distance, and CO2eq, strongly depend on fuel, emissions for battery production and the driving profile, which lead to nearly all parameter variations showing an increase in break-even distance.

2005 ◽  
Vol 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Papasavva

AbstractThe integration of environmental, social, and economic (ESE) objectives into business decisions and future planning is the path towards sustainable development. The goal of this paper is to address the environmental component of sustainable development within the automotive industry based on the Life Cycle Analysis and Well-to-Wheels approach.Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is very relevant for making the concept of environmental sustainability operational because environmental impacts have to be examined from a 'cradle-to-grave' perspective. Life cycle analysis is an analytical tool that quantifies energy consumption and emissions associated with the raw material extraction, processing of materials, manufacturing, use phase, and end-of-life (reuse, recycling, and disposal) of products. The potential impact of current production and consumption patterns, on the future availability of non-renewable resources, can also be evaluated within the LCA framework. Thus, LCA provides an effective way for industry to support better management of natural resources, in order to maximize economic benefits and minimize environmental burdens.Well-to-Wheel (WtW) analysis is a subset of a complete LCA because it quantifies the environmental burdens associated only with the fuel production and its consumption during the driving time of a vehicle. Well-to-Wheel studies mainly provide energy use and air emissions inventories.This paper provides the results obtained from two major studies conducted at General Motors R&D Center. The first is a LCA study that assesses the environmental emissions associated with four alternative automotive paint processes and seven different paint formulations. The second is a WtW study that addresses 18 different combinations of alternative fuels and vehicle engines.Considering that the use phase of the vehicle contributes more than 80% of its life cycle energy consumption, and that the automotive paint process is the most energy intensive component of the manufacturing phase in any given vehicle, the results presented in this paper are noteworthy for environmental sustainability considerations relevant to the automotive industry.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 126-126
Author(s):  
R Olea ◽  
J H Guy ◽  
H Edge ◽  
S A Edwards

Formulating the inventory of relevant commodities to assess the life cycle of goods or services (LCI) is highly demanding on time and resources (Suh et al., 2004). Collected information is not always satisfactory to take account of all possible sources of environmental burdens (E-burdens) produced in the commodity supply chain. Several pre-assessment methods have been proposed to serve this function, although these have identified limitations; lack of previous experience and use of subjective cut off criteria are the most frequent weaknesses found (Suh, 2006). An objective pre-assessment method was developed as part of a life cycle analysis (LCA) for different pigmeat supply chain (PSC) scenarios.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 11003
Author(s):  
Andreas Pramudianto

Basically each product or service has its own life cycle. Life Cycle Analysis Method can be used to assess the impact of an activity both production and service activities. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Analisis Mengenai Dampak Lingkungan (AMDAL) is one of the activities that must be fulfilled in order to obtain an environmental permit. EIA activities have a life cycle process that needs to be known and understood so that environmental permits can be obtained. Therefore this study aims to find out the use of the LCA method in EIA procedures. In addition, with the LCA method, EIA activities are expected to be well studied according to the function of this service. LCA can provide to reduce the least impact from environmental damage. This research will be useful for the development of environmental science, especially related to the study of environmental impacts, especially EIA. It is expected that the results of the study will provide a complete picture of the relevance of the LCA method with EIA and the benefits that can be taken. The results of this study will be an important recommendation for decision makers regarding the importance of EIA in development, especially sustainable development through the method used, namely LCA.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2917 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Lozano-Miralles ◽  
Manuel Hermoso-Orzáez ◽  
Carmen Martínez-García ◽  
José Rojas-Sola

The construction industry is responsible for 40–45% of primary energy consumption in Europe. Therefore, it is essential to find new materials with a lower environmental impact to achieve sustainable buildings. The objective of this study was to carry out the life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of baked clay bricks incorporating organic waste. The scope of this comparative study of LCA covers cradle to gate and involves the extraction of clay and organic waste from the brick, transport, crushing, modelling, drying and cooking. Local sustainability within a circular economy strategy is used as a laboratory test. The energy used during the cooking process of the bricks modified with organic waste, the gas emission concentrate and the emission factors are quantified experimentally in the laboratory. Potential environmental impacts are analysed and compared using the ReCiPe midpoint LCA method using SimaPro 8.0.5.13. These results achieved from this method are compared with those obtained with a second method—Impact 2002+ v2.12. The results of LCA show that the incorporation of organic waste in bricks is favourable from an environmental point of view and is a promising alternative approach in terms of environmental impacts, as it leads to a decrease of 15–20% in all the impact categories studied. Therefore, the suitability of the use of organic additives in clay bricks was confirmed, as this addition was shown to improve their efficiency and sustainability, thus reducing the environmental impact.


2005 ◽  
Vol 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Moropoulou ◽  
Christopher Koroneos ◽  
Maria Karoglou ◽  
Eleni Aggelakopoulou ◽  
Asterios Bakolas ◽  
...  

AbstractOver the years considerable research has been conducted on masonry mortars regarding their compatibility with under restoration structures. The environmental dimension of these materials may sometimes be a prohibitive factor in the selection of these materials. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that can be used to assess the environmental impact of the materials. LCA can be a very useful tool in the decision making for the selection of appropriate restoration structural material. In this work, a comparison between traditional type of mortars and modern ones (cement-based) is attempted. Two mortars of traditional type are investigated: with aerial lime binder, with aerial lime and artificial pozzolanic additive and one with cement binder. The LCA results indicate that the traditional types of mortars are more sustainable compared to cementbased mortars. For the impact assessment, the method used is Eco-indicator 95


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-154
Author(s):  
Zoltán Korényi

Összefoglaló. A dolgozat témája a különböző erőműfajták életciklusra vonatkozó fajlagos anyagigényének a vizsgálata. Az elemzések a nemzetközi szakirodalmi források felhasználásával történtek. Módszere, a bázisadatok elemzése, majd az anyagigényeknek az erőmű beépített teljesítményére és az életciklus alatt megtermelt villamosenergiára vonatkoztatott fajlagos értékek meghatározása. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy a nap- és szélerőművek elterjedésével a hagyományos erőművek által felhasznált fosszilis energiaforrások (pl. a szén) bent maradnak ugyan a földben, de cserébe az új technológia legyártásához a hagyományos anyagokból (beton, acél, alumínium, réz stb.) fajlagosan jóval nagyobb mennyiségekre lesz szükség. Emellett megnő a ritkán előforduló fémek (gallium, indium stb.) felhasználása, ami Európában, a lelőhelyek hiányában, új kockázatokkal jár. Summary. The topic of the study is to determine the material use of different power plant types. This is a part of the known life cycle analysis (LCA). The aim of LCA is to determine the impact of human activity on nature. The procedure is described in the standards (ISO 14040/41/42/42). Under environmental impact we mean changes in our natural environment, air, water, soil pollution, noise and impacts on human health. In the LCA, the environmental impact begins with the opening of the mine, continues with the extraction and processing of raw materials, and then with the production of equipment, construction and installation of the power plant. This is followed by the commissioning and then operation of the power plants for 20-60 years, including maintenance. The cycle ends with demolition, which is followed by recycling of materials. The remaining waste is disposed of. This is the complex content of life cycle analysis. Its purpose is to determine the ecological footprint of man. The method of the present study is to isolate a limited area from the complex LCA process. This means determining the amount of material needed to build different power plants, excluding mining and processing of raw materials. Commercially available basic materials are built into the power plant’s components. The research is based on the literature available in the international area. The author studied these sources, analysed the data, and checked the authenticity. It was not easy because the sources from different times, for different power plants showed a lot of uncertainty. In overcoming the uncertainties, it was a help that the author has decades of experience in the realisation of power plants. It was considered the material consumption related to the installed electricity capacity of the power plant (tons/MW) as basic data. The author then determined the specific material consumptions, allocated to the electric energy generated during the lifetime, in different power plants. The calculation is carried out with the help of the usual annual peak load duration hours and the usual lifetime of the power plants. The results show that with the spread of solar and wind energy, the fossil energy sources previously needed for conventional power plants will remain inside the Earth, but in exchange for the production of new technological equipment from traditional structural materials (concrete, steel, aluminium, copper and plastic), the special need multiplies. If we compare the power plants using renewable energy with the electric energy produced during the life cycle of a nuclear power plant, the specific installed material requirement of a river hydropower plant is 37 times, that of an onshore wind farm it is 9.6 times, and that of an outdoor solar power park is 6.6 times higher. Another important difference is that wind turbines, solar panels and batteries also require rare materials that do not occur in Europe (e.g. gallium, indium, yttrium, neodymium, cobalt, etc.). This can lead to security risks in Europe in the long run.


2018 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 632-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilke Celik ◽  
Zhaoning Song ◽  
Adam B. Phillips ◽  
Michael J. Heben ◽  
Defne Apul

Author(s):  
Minjung Kwak ◽  
Louis Kim ◽  
Harrison M. Kim ◽  
Peter Finamore ◽  
Herb Hazewinkel

This paper presents a method for comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of two distinctively different systems based on industrial heavy-duty off-road equipment. The study demonstrates how to compare the environmental impact performance of two different machines when they perform the same types of operations, but have different levels of operational productivity. Considering the entire life cycle of a machine from material extraction to end-of-life treatment, the two machines are analyzed and compared in terms of their life cycle impact score. To make a fair comparison between the two machines, the impact generated by the same amount of production is used as the basis for comparison. The results of the study can quantify the relative life cycle impact across different machine architectures for design and market support purposes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 452-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Leon ◽  
Lawrence Kalbers ◽  
Nancy Coster ◽  
Dolphy Abraham

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