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1.
José Potting Ole Hertel Wolfgang Schöpp Annemarie Bastrup-Birk 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(1):72-80
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.014Background, Aims and Scope
In the life cycle of a product, emissions take place at many different locations. The location of the source and its surrounding conditions influence the fate of the emitted pollutant and the subsequent exposure it causes. This source of variation is normally neglected in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), although it is well known that the impacts predicted by site-generic LCIA in some cases differ significantly from the actual impacts. Environmental impacts of photochemical ozone (ground-level ozone) depend on parameters with a considerable geographical variability (like emission patterns and population densities). A spatially differentiated characterisation model thus seems relevant.Methods
and Results. The European RAINS model is applied for calculation of site-dependent characterisation factors for Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for 41 countries or regions within Europe, and compatible characterisation factors for carbon monoxide (CO) are developed based on expert judgement. These factors are presented for three emission years (1990, 1995 and 2010), and they address human health impacts and vegetation impacts in two separate impacts categories, derived from AOT40 and AOT60 values respectively. Compatible site-generic characterisation factors for NMVOC, NOx, CO and methane (CH4) are calculated as emission-weighted European averages to be applied on emissions for which the location is unknown. The site-generic and site-dependent characterisation factors are part of the EDIP2003 LCIA methodology. The factors are applied in a specific case study, and it is demonstrated how the inclusion of spatial differentiation may alter the results of the photochemical ozone characterisation of life cycle impact assessment.Discussion
and Conclusions. Compared to traditional midpoint characterisation modelling, this novel approach is spatially resolved and comprises a larger part of the cause-effect chain including exposure assessment and exceeding of threshold values. This positions it closer to endpoint modelling and makes the results easier to interpret. In addition, the developed model allows inclusion of the contributions from NOx, which are ne- glected when applying the traditional approaches based on Photochemical Ozone Creation Potentials (POCPs). The variation in site-dependent characterisation factors is far larger than the variation in POCP factors. It thus seems more important to represent the spatially determined variation in exposure than the difference in POCP among the substances.2.
Laurence Toffoletto Cécile Bulle Julie Godin Catherine Reid Louise Deschênes 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(2):93-102
Goal, Scope and Background Canadian LCA practitioners currently use European or American methodologies when conducting comprehensive impact assessments,
despite the fact that these methods may not be appropriate for Canadian conditions. Due to the lack of suitable models that
are currently available, work has been undertaken to develop an LCIA method by adapting existing LCIA models to the Canadian
context. This new method allows the characterization of 10 impact categories.
Methods This project is strongly based on preliminary outcomes from SETAC recommendations for the best available practices in LCIA.
Models from 3 recent LCIA site-dependent methods, EDIP2003, IMPACT2002+ and TRACI, were used in this midpoint Canadian-specific
method. Characterization models were chosen based on their level of comprehensiveness, scientific sophistication and the possibility
of integrating site-specific values in the models.
Results and Discussion All regional and local impact categories in the method are site-differentiated. For aquatic eutrophication, (eco)toxicity
and land-use impact categories, regionally-differentiated models taking into account fate and effect were already available:
the parameters of these models were modified for the Canadian context. For acidification, aquatic and terrestrial eutrophication,
existing models were spatially differentiated for fate: regionalization of the effect factor was also included, based on the
level of sensitivity of each ecozone assessed with vulnerability factors. The default spatial resolution selected for this
method was Canadian ecozones, which define spaces in an ecologically meaningful way where organisms and their physical environment
evolve as a system. For each ecozone, 2334 site-dependent characterization factors have been calculated.
Conclusion This LCIA methodology proposes an attractive and useful set of site-dependent characterization factors for the 15 Canadian
terrestrial ecozones.
Recommendation and Outlook Efforts are being carried out to extend the specificity of some factors used in eutrophication modelization. Finally, the
transparency of the methodology will allow to re-calculate site-dependent characterization factors for different regions and
for additional substances. 相似文献
3.
Thomas Gloria Andrea Russell John Atherton Scott Baker Murray Cook 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(1):26-33
Goal, Scope and Background The Apeldoorn Workshop (April 15th, 2004, Apeldoorn, NL) brought together specialists in LCA and Risk Assessment to discuss
current practices and complications of the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) ecological toxicity (ecotox) methodologies
for metals. The consensus was that the LCIA methods currently available do not appropriately characterize impacts of metals
due to lack of fundamental metals chemistry in the models. A review of five methods available to perform ecotox impact assessment
for metals has been prepared to provide Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) practitioners with a better understanding of the current
state of the science and potential biases related to metals. The intent is to provide awareness on issues related to ecotox
impact assessment.
Methods In this paper two case studies, one a copper based product (copper tube), the other a zinc-based product (gutter systems),
were selected and examined by applying freshwater ecological toxicity impact models – USES-LCA, Eco-indicator 99 (EI 99),
IMPACT 2002, EDIP 97, and CalTOX-ETP. Both studies are recent, comprehensive, cradle-to-gate, and peer-reviewed. The objective
is to review the LCIA results in the context of the practical concerns identified by the Apeldoorn Declaration, in particular
illustrating any inconsistencies such as chemical characterization coverage, species specificity, and relative contribution
to impact results.
Results and Discussion The results obtained from all five of the LCIA methods for the copper tube LCI pointed to the same substance as being the
most important – copper. This result was obtained despite major fundamental differences between the LCIA methods applied.
However, variations of results were found when examining the freshwater ecological toxicity potential of zinc gutter systems.
Procedural difficulties and inconsistencies were observed. In part this was due to basic differences in model nomenclature
and differences in coverage (IMPACT 2002+ and EDIP 97 contained characterization factors for aluminium that resulted in 90%
and 22% contribution to burden respectively, the other three methods did not). Differences were also observed relative to
the emissions source compartment. In the case of zinc, air emissions were found to be substantial for some ecotox models,
whereas, water emissions results were found to be of issue for others.
Conclusions This investigation illustrates the need to proceed with caution when applying LCIA ecotox methodologies to life cycle studies
that include metals. Until further improvements are made, the deficiencies should be clearly communicated as part of LCIA
reporting. Business or policy decisions should not without further discussion be based solely on the results of the currently
available methods for assessing ecotoxicity in LCIA.
Outlook The outlook to remedy deficiencies in the ecological toxicity methods is promising. Recently, the LCIA Toxic Impacts Task
Force of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has formed a subgroup to address specific issues and guide the work towards
establishment of sound characterization factors for metals. Although some measure of precision of estimation of potential
impact has been observed, such as in the case of copper, accuracy is also a major concern and should be addressed. Further
investigation through controlled experimentation is needed, particularly LCIs composed of a variety of inorganics as well
as organics constituents. Support for this activity has come from the scientific community and industry as well. Broader aspects
of structure and nomenclature are being collectively addressed by the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. These efforts will
bring practical solutions to issues of naming conventions and LCI to LCIA flow assignments. 相似文献
4.
Background, aim, and scope
Many studies evaluate the results of applying different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods to the same life cycle inventory (LCI) data and demonstrate that the assessment results would be different with different LICA methods used. Although the importance of uncertainty is recognized, most studies focus on individual stages of LCA, such as LCI and normalization and weighting stages of LCIA. However, an important question has not been answered in previous studies: Which part of the LCA processes will lead to the primary uncertainty? The understanding of the uncertainty contributions of each of the LCA components will facilitate the improvement of the credibility of LCA.Methodology
A methodology is proposed to systematically analyze the uncertainties involved in the entire procedure of LCA. The Monte Carlo simulation is used to analyze the uncertainties associated with LCI, LCIA, and the normalization and weighting processes. Five LCIA methods are considered in this study, i.e., Eco-indicator 99, EDIP, EPS, IMPACT 2002+, and LIME. The uncertainty of the environmental performance for individual impact categories (e.g., global warming, ecotoxicity, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical smog, human health) is also calculated and compared. The LCA of municipal solid waste management strategies in Taiwan is used as a case study to illustrate the proposed methodology.Results
The primary uncertainty source in the case study is the LCI stage under a given LCIA method. In comparison with various LCIA methods, EDIP has the highest uncertainty and Eco-indicator 99 the lowest uncertainty. Setting aside the uncertainty caused by LCI, the weighting step has higher uncertainty than the normalization step when Eco-indicator 99 is used. Comparing the uncertainty of various impact categories, the lowest is global warming, followed by eutrophication. Ecotoxicity, human health, and photochemical smog have higher uncertainty.Discussion
In this case study of municipal waste management, it is confirmed that different LCIA methods would generate different assessment results. In other words, selection of LCIA methods is an important source of uncertainty. In this study, the impacts of human health, ecotoxicity, and photochemical smog can vary a lot when the uncertainties of LCI and LCIA procedures are considered. For the purpose of reducing the errors of impact estimation because of geographic differences, it is important to determine whether and which modifications of assessment of impact categories based on local conditions are necessary.Conclusions
This study develops a methodology of systematically evaluating the uncertainties involved in the entire LCA procedure to identify the contributions of different assessment stages to the overall uncertainty. Which modifications of the assessment of impact categories are needed can be determined based on the comparison of uncertainty of impact categories.Recommendations and perspectives
Such an assessment of the system uncertainty of LCA will facilitate the improvement of LCA. If the main source of uncertainty is the LCI stage, the researchers should focus on the data quality of the LCI data. If the primary source of uncertainty is the LCIA stage, direct application of LCIA to non-LCIA software developing nations should be avoided. 相似文献5.
Jyri Seppälä Maximilian Posch Matti Johansson Jean-Paul Hettelingh 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(6):403-416
Background, Aims and Scope Several authors have shown that spatially derived characterisation factors used in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) can
differ widely between different countries in the context of regional impact categories such as acidification or terrestrial
eutrophication. Previous methodology studies in Europe have produced country-dependent characterisation factors for acidification
and terrestrial eutrophication by using the results of the EMEP and RAINS models and critical loads for Europe. The unprotected
ecosystem area (UA) is commonly used as a category indicator in the determination of characterisation factors in those studies.
However, the UA indicator is only suitable for large emission changes and it does not result in environmental benefits in
terms of characterisation factors if deposition after the emission reduction is still higher than the critical load. For this
reason, there is a need to search for a new category indicator type for acidification and terrestrial eutrophying in order
to calculate site-dependent characterisation factors. The aim of this study is to explore new site-dependent characterisation
factors for European acidifying and eutrophying emissions based on accumulated exceedance (AE) as the category indicator,
which integrates both the exceeded area and amount of exceedance. In addition, the results obtained for the AE and UA indicators
are compared with each other.
Methods The chosen category indicator, accumulated exceedance (AE), was computed according to the calculation methods developed in
the work under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution
(LRTAP). Sulphur and nitrogen depositions to 150x150 km2 grid cells over Europe were calculated by source-receptor matrices
derived from the EMEP Lagrangian model of long-range transport of air pollution in Europe. Using the latest critical load
data of Europe, the site-dependent characterisation factors for acidification and terrestrial eutrophication were calculated
for 35 European countries and 5 sea areas for 2002 emissions and emissions predicted for 2010. In the determination of characterisation
factors, the emissions of each country/area were reduced by various amounts in order to find stable characterisation factors.
In addition, characterisation errors were calculated for the AE-based characterisation factors. For the comparison, the results
based on the use of UA indicator were calculated by 10% and 50% reductions of emissions that corresponded to the common practice
used in the previous studies.
Results and Discussion The characterisation factors based on the AE indicator were shown to be largely independent of the reduction percentage used
to calculate them.. Small changes in emissions (≤100 t) produced the most stable characterisation factors in the case of the
AE indicator. The characterisation errors of those characterisation factors were practically zero. This means that the characterisation
factors can describe the effects of small changes in national emissions that are mostly looked at in LCAs. The comparison
between country-dependent characterisation factors calculated by the AE and UA indicators showed that these two approaches
produce differences between characterisation factors for many countries/areas in Europe. The differences were mostly related
to the Central and Northern European countries. They were greater for terrestrial eutrophication because the contribution
of ammonia emission differ remarkably between the two approaches. The characterisation factors of the AE indicator calculated
by the emissions of 2002 were greater than the factors calculated by the predicted emissions for 2010 in almost all countries/sea
areas, due to the presumed decrease of acidifying and eutrophying emissions in Europe.
Conclusions and Recommendations. In this study, accumulated exceedance was shown to be an appropriate category indicator in LCIA applications
for the determination of site-dependent characterisation factors for acidification and terrestrial eutrophication in the context
of integrated assessment modelling. In the future, it would be useful to calculate characterisation factors for emissions
of separate parts of large countries and sea areas in Europe. In addition, it would also be useful to compare the approach
based on the AE indicator with the method of the hazard index, as recommended in the latest CML guidebook. 相似文献
6.
Yan Dong Ralph K. Rosenbaum Michael Z. Hauschild 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2018,23(8):1641-1653
Purpose
The study develops site-dependent characterization factors (CFs) for marine ecotoxicity of metals emitted to freshwater, taking their passage of the estuary into account. To serve life cycle assessment (LCA) studies where emission location is often unknown, site-generic marine CFs were developed for metal emissions to freshwater and coastal seawater, respectively. The new CFs were applied to calculate endpoint impact scores for the same amount of metal emission to each compartment, to compare the relative ecotoxicity damages in freshwater and marine ecosystems in LCA.Methods
Site-dependent marine CFs for emission to freshwater were calculated for 64 comparatively independent seas (large marine ecosystems, LMEs). The site-dependent CF was calculated as the product of fate factor (FF), bioavailability factor (BF), and effect factor (EF). USEtox modified with site-dependent parameters was extended with an estuary removal process to calculate FF. BF and EF were taken from Dong et al. Environ Sci Technol 50:269–278 (2016). Site-generic marine CFs were derived from site-dependent marine CFs. Different averaging principles were tested, and the approach representing estuary discharge rate was identified as the best one. Endpoint marine and freshwater metals CFs were developed to calculate endpoint ecotoxicity impact scores.Results and discussion
Marine ecotoxicity CFs are 1.5 orders of magnitude lower for emission to freshwater than for emission to seawater for Cr, Cu, and Pb, due to notable removal fractions both in freshwater and estuary. For the other metals, the difference is less than half an order of magnitude, mainly due to removal in freshwater. The site-dependent CFs generally vary within two orders of magnitude around the site-generic CF. Compared to USES-LCA 2.0 CFs (egalitarian perspective), the new site-generic marine CFs for emission to seawater are 1–4 orders of magnitude lower except for Pb. The new site-generic marine CFs for emission to freshwater lie within two orders of magnitude difference from USES-LCA 2.0 CFs. The comparative contribution share analysis shows a poor agreement of metal toxicity ranking between both methods.Conclusions
Accounting for estuary removal particularly influences marine ecotoxicity CFs for emission to freshwater of metals that have a strong tendency to complex-bind to particles. It indicates the importance of including estuary in the characterization modelling when dealing with those metals. The resulting endpoint ecotoxicity impact scores are 1–3 orders of magnitude lower in seawater than in freshwater for most metals except Pb, illustrating the higher sensitivity of freshwater ecosystems to metal emissions, largely due to the higher species density there.7.
Goal, Scope and Background Although LCA is traditionally a site-independent tool, there is currently a trend towards making LCA more site-dependent if not site-specific. For Europe, site-dependent impact factors have been calculated on a country basis for acidification, terrestrial eutrophication and toxicological impacts. It is, however, an open question whether this is the optimum level for site-dependent factors. The aim of this paper is to develop site-dependent characterisation factors for different parts of Sweden for air emissions of NOx, SOx and particulates regarding ecosystem and human health impacts. Based on experiences from a case-study, the usability of the site-dependent factors for LCA are discussed, as well as the appropriate level of site-dependency for ecosystem and human health impacts. Method logy. The Ecosense model is used for calculating site-dependent factors for some atmospheric pollutants. Characterisation factors are calculated for four different places in Sweden with two different stack heights. Results and Conclusions The characterisation factors for ecosystem impacts show fairly small differences between different parts of Sweden (within a factor of two). For health impacts, the differences between different parts of the country were larger and more significant (up to one order of magnitude). Also the difference between low and high stack heights may be relevant, especially in densely populated areas. These results suggest that for ecosystems, site-dependent characterisation factors for the considered atmospheric pollutants on a country level may be sufficient for most applications. However, for health impacts, site-dependent factors on a country level may be inappropriate. Beside LCA, the calculated factors and the methodology used should also be useful for other environmental system analysis tools, such as Strategic Environmental Assessment, Cost-Benefit Analysis and Environmental Management Systems. 相似文献
8.
Åsa Jönsson 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1999,4(6):321-328
The results from two previously published case studies were used to assess the importance of use-related emissions from building
materials in a life cycle perspective. The first study was an LCA study of linoleum, vinyl flooring, and solid wood flooring,
while the second study examined the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by these floorings. For linoleum and vinyl flooring,
the emitted amounts for the use phase are of much the same magnitude as those emitted in the rest of the life cycle, but in
the case of solid wood flooring the emissions of the use phase far exceed those of the remaining life cycle. The ranking of
the selected floorings in the LCA study did not change when the impact of the use phase was also considered. This study recommends
that LCAs should not neglect flooring-related emissions in the use phase when assessing regional and global environmental
effects. 相似文献
9.
Kajsa Henryson Per-Anders Hansson Cecilia Sundberg 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2018,23(1):70-81
Purpose
In life cycle assessment (LCA), eutrophication is commonly assessed using site-generic characterisation factors, despite being a site-dependent environmental impact. The purpose of this study was to improve the environmental relevance of marine eutrophication impact assessment in LCA, particularly regarding the impact assessment of waterborne nutrient emissions from Swedish agriculture.Methods
Characterisation factors were derived using site-dependent data on nutrient transport for all agricultural soils in Sweden, divided into 968 catchment areas, and considering the Baltic Sea, the receiving marine compartment, as both nitrogen- and phosphorus-limited. These new characterisation factors were then applied to waterborne nutrient emissions from typical grass ley and spring barley cultivation in all catchments.Results and discussion
The site-dependent marine eutrophication characterisation factors obtained for nutrient leaching from soils varied between 0.056 and 0.986 kg Neq/kg N and between 0 and 7.23 kg Neq/kg P among sites in Sweden. On applying the new characterisation factors to spring barley and grass ley cultivation at different sites in Sweden, the total marine eutrophication impact from waterborne nutrient emissions for these crops varied by up to two orders of magnitude between sites. This variation shows that site plays an important role in determining the actual impact of an emission, which means that site-dependent impact assessment could provide valuable information to life cycle assessments and increase the relevance of LCA as a tool for assessment of product-related eutrophication impacts.Conclusions
Characterisation factors for marine eutrophication impact assessment at high spatial resolution, considering both the site-dependent fate of eutrophying compounds and specific nutrient limitations in the recipient waterbody, were developed for waterborne nutrient emissions from agriculture in Sweden. Application of the characterisation factors revealed variations in calculated impacts between sites in Sweden, highlighting the importance of spatial differentiation of characterisation modelling within the scale of the impact.10.
Sora Yi Kiyo H. Kurisu Keisuke Hanaki 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2011,16(7):652-668
Purpose
Few studies have examined differing interpretations of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results between midpoints and endpoints for the same systems. This paper focuses on the LCIA of municipal solid waste (MSW) systems by taking both the midpoint and endpoint approaches and uses LIME (Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method based on Endpoint Modeling, version 2006). With respect to global and site-dependent factors, environmental impact categories were divided into global, regional, and local scales. Results are shown as net emissions consisting of system emissions and avoided emissions. 相似文献11.
Pant Rana Van Hoof Gert Schowanek Diederik Feijtel Tom C. J. de Koning Arjan Hauschild Michael Olsen Stig I. Pennington David W. Rosenbaum Ralph 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2004,9(5):295-306
Background and Objective In the OMNIITOX project 11 partners have the common objective to improve environmental management tools for the assessment
of (eco)toxicological impacts. The detergent case study aims at: i) comparing three Procter &c Gamble laundry detergent forms
(Regular Powder-RP, Compact Powder-CP and Compact Liquid-CL) regarding their potential impacts on aquatic ecotoxicity, ii)
providing insights into the differences between various Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods with respect to data needs
and results and iii) comparing the results from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with results from an Environmental Risk Assessment
(ERA).
Material and Methods The LCIA has been conducted with EDIP97 (chronic aquatic ecotoxicity) [1], USES-LCA (freshwater and marine water aquatic ecotoxicity,
sometimes referred to as CML2001) [2, 3] and IMPACT 2002 (covering freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity) [4]. The comparative product
ERA is based on the EU Ecolabel approach for detergents [5] and EUSES [6], which is based on the Technical Guidance Document
(TGD) of the EU on Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of chemicals [7]. Apart from the Eco-label approach, all calculations
are based on the same set of physico-chemical and toxicological effect data to enable a better comparison of the methodological
differences. For the same reason, the system boundaries were kept the same in all cases, focusing on emissions into water
at the disposal stage.
Results and Discussion Significant differences between the LCIA methods with respect to data needs and results were identified. Most LCIA methods
for freshwater ecotoxicity and the ERA see the compact and regular powders as similar, followed by compact liquid. IMPACT
2002 (for freshwater) suggests the liquid is equally as good as the compact powder, while the regular powder comes out worse
by a factor of 2. USES-LCA for marine water shows a very different picture seeing the compact liquid as the clear winner over
the powders, with the regular powder the least favourable option. Even the LCIA methods which result in die same product ranking,
e.g. EDIP97 chronic aquatic ecotoxicity and USES-LCA freshwater ecotoxicity, significantly differ in terms of most contributing
substances. Whereas, according to IMPACT 2002 and USES-LCA marine water, results are entirely dominated by inorganic substances,
the other LCIA methods and the ERA assign a key role to surfactants. Deviating results are mainly due to differences in the
fate and exposure modelling and, to a lesser extent, to differences in the toxicological effect calculations. Only IMPACT
2002 calculates the effects based on a mean value approach, whereas all other LCIA methods and the ERA tend to prefer a PNEC-based
approach. In a comparative context like LCA the OMNIITOX project has taken the decision for a combined mean and PNEC-based
approach, as it better represents the ‘average’ toxicity while still taking into account more sensitive species. However,
the main reason for deviating results remains in the calculation of the residence time of emissions in the water compartments.
Conclusion and Outlook The situation that different LCIA methods result in different answers to the question concerning which detergent type is to
be preferred regarding the impact category aquatic ecotoxicity is not satisfactory, unless explicit reasons for the differences
are identifiable. This can hamper practical decision support, as LCA practitioners usually will not be in a position to choose
the ’right’ LCIA method for their specific case. This puts a challenge to the entire OMNIITOX project to develop a method,
which finds common ground regarding fate, exposure and effect modelling to overcome the current situa-tion of diverging results
and to reflect most realistic conditions. 相似文献
12.
Jarotwan Koiwanit Lakkana Piewkhaow Qing Zhou Anastassia Manuilova Christine W. Chan Malcolm Wilson Paitoon Tontiwachwuthikul 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2014,19(2):357-369
Purpose
While carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) has been widely recognized as a useful technology for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, it is necessary to evaluate the environmental performance of CCS from a full life cycle perspective to comprehensively understand its environmental impacts. The primary research objective is to conduct a study on life cycle assessment of the post-combustion carbon dioxide capture process based on data from SaskPower’s electricity generation station at the Boundary Dam in Saskatchewan, Canada. A secondary objective of this study is to identify the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodology which is most suitable for the assessment of carbon dioxide capture technology integrated with the power generation system in the Canadian context.Methods
The study takes a comparative approach by including three scenarios of carbon dioxide capture at the electricity generation station: no carbon dioxide capture (“no capture”), partial capture (“retrofit”), and fully integrated carbon dioxide capture of the entire facility (“capture”). The four LCIA methods of EDIP 97, CML2001, IMPACT2002+, and TRACI are used to convert existing inventory data into environmental impacts. The LCIA results from the four methods are compared and interpreted based on midpoint categories.Results and discussion
The LCA results showed an increase in the retrofit and capture scenarios compared to the no capture scenario in the impact categories of eutrophication air, ecotoxicity water, ecotoxicity ground surface soil, eutrophication water, human health cancer ground surface soil, human health cancer water, human health noncancer ground surface soil, ozone depletion air, human health noncancer water, and ionizing radiation. The reductions were observed in the retrofit and capture scenarios in the impact categories of acidification, human health criteria air-point source, human health noncancer air, ecotoxicity air, global warming, human health cancer air, and respiratory effects.Conclusions
Although the four LCIA methodologies significantly differ in terms of reference substances used for individual impact categories, all (TRACI, IMPACT2002+, CML2001, and EDIP 97) showed similar results in all impact categories. 相似文献13.
Bárbara Civit Alejandro Pablo Arena David Allende 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2014,19(9):1632-1642
Purpose
In the last decade, the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool for selection between different technologies or products fulfilling the same function has spread rapidly in Latin American countries. However, this accelerated growth in the use of LCA has not always been supported with progress in construction of local inventories or the development of impact assessment methods that consider local and regional characteristics of the sites where technologies, products, and activities or services are being produced or developed. The aim of this study is to propose a local methodology to estimate regional factors for the terrestrial acidification impact category in Argentina based on the critical load exceedance in sensitive areas.Material and methods
Acidification factors for ecological regions in Argentina were calculated following a procedure that compares acidic deposition with critical loads, using a linear function to represent the damage, when the deposition is above the soil buffering capacity. The acidic deposition in the study area was estimated using the air transport model wind trajectory model, with emissions from the global inventory EDGAR. Detailed soil maps were used in order to include the acidification sensitivity of the receiving ecosystems. Also, an application case of the calculated factors is presented in order discuss the relevance of the regional factors implementation in local studies.Results and discussion
Deposition fluxes were estimated for different ecoregions in Argentina. The regional factors calculated differ from site-generic factors used commonly to estimate potential impacts, demonstrating that their use in local studies could lead to erroneous outcomes. This was more evident in the application case, where the potential impact calculated was very different, depending on the impact factor used.Conclusions and recommendations
The model presented in this study allows the assessment of the impact caused by deposition of acidifying substances emitted during the life cycle of a product or process, taking into account the local characteristics where the intervention occurs, and it is the first development of a regional model for acidification within the LCA context carried out in Argentina. The obtained results highlight the importance of developing regional characterization factors for local or regional impacts referred to a definite region. 相似文献14.
When looking at a product’s life cycle, emissions and resource uses, as well as the resulting impacts, usually occur at different
points in time. For instance, construction materials are often ‘stored’ in buildings for many decades before they are recycled
or disposed of. The goal of the LCA Discussion Forum 22 was to present and discuss arguments pro and contra a temporally differentiated
weighting of impacts. The discussion forum started with three talks that illustrated the importance of temporal aspects in
LCI and LCIA. The following two presentations discussed the economical principles of discounting, the adequacy of this concept
within LCA, and the ethical questions involved. After one further short presentation, three groups were formed that discussed
questions about temporally-differentiated weighting, and consequences for LCI as well as LCIA (damage assessment and final
weighting). The discussion forum ended with the following conclusions: (a) long-term impacts should be considered in LCA,
and (b) long-term emissions should be inventoried separately from short-term emissions. There was no consensus on whether
short-term and long-term impacts should be weighted equally. Some prefer to weigh short-term emissions higher, because they
are considered to be closer. Consistent and approved forecasts should be used when considering future changes in environmental
conditions in LCI and LCIA. 相似文献
15.
16.
Otávio Cavalett Mateus Ferreira Chagas Joaquim E. A. Seabra Antonio Bonomi 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2013,18(3):647-658
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to expand the discussion about how, and to what extent, the environmental performance is affected by the use of different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) illustrated by the case study of the comparison between environmental impacts of gasoline and ethanol form sugarcane in Brazil.Methods
The following LCIA methods have been considered in the evaluation: CML 2001, Impact 2002+, EDIP 2003, Eco-indicator 99, TRACI 2, ReCiPe, and Ecological Scarcity 2006. Energy allocation was used to split the environmental burdens between ethanol and surplus electricity generated at the sugarcane mill. The phases of feedstock and (bio)fuel production, distribution, and use are included in system boundaries.Results and discussion
At the midpoint level, comparison of different LCIA methods showed that ethanol presents lower impacts than gasoline in important categories such as global warming, fossil depletion, and ozone layer depletion. However, ethanol presents higher impacts in acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidation, and agricultural land use categories. Regarding to single-score indicators, ethanol presented better performance than gasoline using ReCiPe Endpoint LCIA method. Using IMPACT 2002+, Eco-indicator 99, and Ecological Scarcity 2006, higher scores are verified for ethanol, mainly due to the impacts related to particulate emissions and land use impacts.Conclusions
Although there is a relative agreement on the results regarding equivalent environmental impact categories using different LCIA methods at midpoint level, when single-score indicators are considered, use of different LCIA methods lead to different conclusions. Single-score results also limit the interpretability at endpoint level, as a consequence of small contributions of relevant environmental impact categories weighted in a single-score indicator. 相似文献17.
The exclusion of site-specific data from the inventory phase of an LCA continues to be a point of controversy. Though the
current simplified data collection strategy is widely supported by the LCA community, there are still many who are concerned
about the implications this limitation has for the utility and reliability of LCA results. This is particularly relevant to
practitioners who are attempting to draw conclusions about the environmental performance of different systems for the development
of environmental policy. The current site-generic methodology introduces uncertainties into LCA results that have the potential
to misdirect decisions on improvement measures. Therefore, in this paper we assess the practicality of collecting site-specific
data and examine its value for study interpretation and decision-making. In our case study, we compare the contribution of
a number of plastics-based packaging systems to photochemical oxidant formation. Our results demonstrate that the aggregation
of photochemical oxidant precursor emissions into a single global parameter is an unreliable indicator of environmental burden
and that the real significance of each packaging’ contribution to the formation of photochemical smog in the atmosphere can
only be understood after the addition of spatial and temporal information. We conclude that for non-global cumulative impact
categories, additional spatial and temporal data should be collected, and that the benefits to decision makers far outweigh
the additional effort needed to acquire this data for the LCA inventory. 相似文献
18.
Stefano Cucurachi Coen C. van der Giesen Reinout Heijungs Geert R. de Snoo 《Journal of Industrial Ecology》2017,21(1):70-81
The portfolio of impacts that are quantified in life cycle assessment (LCA) has grown to include rather different stressors than those that were the focus of early LCAs. Some of the newest life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models are still in an early phase of development and have not yet been included in any LCA study. This is the case for sound emissions and noise impacts, which have been only recently modeled. Sound emissions are matter‐less, time dependent, and bound to the physical properties of waves. The way sound emissions and the relative noise impacts are modeled in LCA can show how new or existing matter‐less impacts can be addressed. In this study, we analyze, through the example of sound emissions, the specific features of a matter‐less impact that does not stem from the use of a kilogram of matter, nor is related to the emission of a kilogram of matter. We take as a case study the production of energy by means of wind turbines, contradicting the commonly held assumption that windmills have no emissions during use. We show how to account for sound emissions in the life cycle inventory phase of the life cycle of a wind turbine and then calculate the relative impacts using a noise LCIA model. 相似文献
19.
Christopher Koroneos Nikolaos Stylos Nicolas Moussiopoulos 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(2):129-136
- Part 1: Present Situation and Future Perspectives
Part 2: Application on an Island Economy
Goal, Scope and Background Incorporation of exposure and risk concepts into life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is often impaired by the number of sources
and the complexity of site-specific impact assessment, especially when input-output (I-O) analysis is used to evaluate upstream
processes. This makes it difficult to interpret LCIA outputs, especially in policy contexts. In this study, we develop an
LCIA tool which takes into account the geographical variability in both emissions and exposure, and which can be applied to
all economic sectors in I-O analysis. Our method relies on screening-level risk calculations and methods to estimate population
exposure per unit of emissions from specific geographic locations.
Methods We propose a simplified impact assessment approach using the concept of intake fraction, which is the fraction of a pollutant
or its precursor emitted that is eventually inhaled or ingested by the population. Instead of running a complex site-specific
exposure analysis, intake fractions allow for the accounting of the regional variability in exposure due to meteorological
factors and population density without much computational burden. We calculate sector-specific intake fractions using previously-derived
regression models and apply these values to the supply chain emissions to screen for the sectors whose emissions largely contribute
to the total exposures. Thus, the analytical steps are simplified by relying on these screening-level risk calculations. We
estimate population exposure per unit emissions from specific geographic locations only for the facilities and pollutants
that pass an initial screening analysis. We test our analytical approach with reference to the case of increasing insulation
for new single-family homes in the US. We quantify the public health costs from increasing insulation manufacturing and compare
them with the benefits from energy savings, focusing on mortality and morbidity associated with exposure to primary and secondary
fine particles (PM2.5) as well as cancer risk associated with exposure to toxic air pollutants. We estimate health impacts
using concentration-response functions from the published literature and compare the costs and benefits of the program by
assigning monetary values to the health risks. In the second part of this paper, we present the results of our case study
and consider the implications for incorporating exposure and risk concepts into I-O LCA.
Conclusions We have presented a methodology to incorporate regional variability in emissions and exposure into input-output LCA, using
reduced-form information about the relationship between emissions and population exposure, along with standard input-output
analysis and risk assessment methods. The location-weighted intake fractions can overcome the difficulty in incorporation
of regional exposure in LCIA. 相似文献
20.