共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
The application of the methodology Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is time-consuming and expensive. A definite interpretation,
furthermore, is not always derivable from the determined results. The reason for the leeway of interpretation is frequently
due to the imprecision and uncertainty of the ingoing data. An improved clearance of interpretation is to be expected by an
ecological evaluation of methodology with the support of fuzzy-sets. The influence of uncertainties of ingoing data on evaluation
results becomes transparent through a representation as fuzzy-sets. Thus, the interpretation of an uncertainty of assessment
results is reduced in comparison to usual procedures for environmental LCA thus far. Time and cost saving is to be expected
from the fact that the extensive quantification of many energy and mass flows is replaced by a fuzzy-set supported iteration
loop, with which only the exact quantification of a few important flows is necessary. 相似文献
2.
Julien Matheys Wout Van Autenboer Jean-Marc Timmermans Joeri Van Mierlo Peter Van den Bossche Gaston Maggetto 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(3):191-196
Goal, Scope and Background This paper describes the influence of the choice of the functional unit on the results of an environmental assessment of different
battery technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles. Battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles are considered as being
environmentally friendly. However, the batteries they use are sometimes said to be environmentally unfriendly. At the current
state of technology different battery types can be envisaged: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lithium-ion
and sodium-nickel chloride. The environmental impacts described in this paper are based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach.
One of the first critical stages of LCA is the definition of an appropriate and specific functional unit for electric and
hybrid vehicle application. Most of the known LCA studies concerning batteries were performed while choosing different functional
units, although this choice can influence the final results. An adequate functional unit, allowing to compare battery technologies
in their real life vehicle application should be chosen.
The results of the LCA are important as they will be used as a decision support for the end-of-life vehicles directive 2000/53/EC
(Official Journal of the European Communities L269/24 2000). As a consequence, a thorough analysis is required to define an
appropriate functional unit for the assessment of batteries for electric vehicles. This paper discusses this issue and will
mainly focus on traction batteries for electric vehicles.
Main Features An overview of the different parameters to be considered in the definition of a functional unit to compare battery technologies
for battery electric vehicle application is described and discussed. An LCA study is performed for the most relevant potential
functional units. SimaPro 6 is used as a software tool and Eco-indicator 99 as an impact assessment method. The influence
of the different selected functional units on the results (Eco-indicator Points) is discussed. The environmental impact of
the different electric vehicle battery technologies is described. A sensitivity analysis illustrates the robustness of the
obtained results.
Results and Discussion Five main parameters are considered in each investigated functional unit: an equal depth of discharge is assumed, a relative
number of batteries required during the life of the vehicle is calculated, the energy losses in the battery and the additional
vehicle consumption due to the battery mass is included and the same lifetime distance target is taken into account. On the
basis of the energy content, battery mass, number of cycles and vehicle autonomy three suitable functional units are defined:
‘battery packs with an identical mass’, ‘battery packs with an identical energy content’ and ‘battery packs with an identical
one-charge range’.
The results show that the differences in the results between these three functional units are small and imply less variation
on the results than the other uncertainties inherent to LCA studies. On the other hand, the results obtained using other,
less adequate, functional units can be quite different.
Conclusions When performing an LCA study, it’s important to choose an appropriate functional unit. Most of the time, this choice is unambiguous.
However, sometimes this choice is more complicated when different correlated parameters have to be considered, as it is the
case for traction batteries. When using a realistic functional unit, the result is not influenced significantly by the choice
of one out of the three suitable functional units.
Additionally, the life cycle assessment allowed concluding that three electric vehicle battery technologies have a comparable
environmental impact: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride. Lithium-ion and sodium-nickel chloride have lower
environmental impacts than the three previously cited technologies when used in a typical battery electric vehicle application.
Recommendations and Perspectives The article describes the need to consider all relevant parameters for the choice of a functional unit for an electric vehicle
battery, as this choice can influence the conclusions. A more standardised method to define the functional unit could avoid
these differences and could make it possible to compare the results of different traction battery LCA studies more easily. 相似文献
3.
Sabrina Spatari Michael Betz Harald Florin Martin Baitz Michael Faltenbacher 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(2):81-84
The growing availability of software tools has increased the speed of generating LCA studies. Databases and visual tools for
constructing material balance modules greatly facilitate the process of analyzing the environmental aspects of product systems
over their life cycle. A robust software tool, containing a large LCI dataset and functions for performing LCIA and sensitivity
analysis will allow companies and LCA practitioners to conduct systems analyses efficiently and reliably. This paper discusses
how the GaBi 3 software tool can be used to perform LCA and Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), a methodology that combines life
cycle economic, environmental, and technology assessment. The paper highlights important attributes of LCA software tools,
including high quality, well-documented data, transparency in modeling, and data analysis functionality. An example of a regional
power grid mix model is used to illustrate the versatility of GaBi 3. 相似文献
4.
Jaewon Lee Hye-jin Cho Bokmoon Choi Joonyong Sung Sungyoung Lee Minjong Shin 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2000,5(4):205-208
This study was intended to evaluate the environmental impact, and potential improvements for a typical tractor model (LT360D)
of LG Machinery Co., Ltd. The life cycle of this study includes all stages from raw material acquisition up to final disposal.
The eco-indicator 95 method was employed to perform an impact assessment. The result of this study is expected to represent
the environmental feature of typical diesel vehicles at each life cycle stage. This study is a starting point of building
life cycle inventories for typical off-road diesel tractors. With this result, environmental weak points of the tractor have
been defined, and major improvement strategies have been set up to develop the ‘Green Tractor’. 相似文献
5.
Rita C. Schenck 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(2):114-117
Background The primary purpose of environmental assessment is to protect biological systems. Data collected over the last several decades
indicates that the greatest impacts on biological resources derive from physical changes in land use. However, to date there
is no consensus on indicators of land use that could be applicable worldwide at all scales. This has hampered the assessment
of land use in the context of LCA.
Objectives The Institute for Environmental Research and Education and its partner Defenders of Wildlife have begun an effort to develop
the necessary consensus.
Methods In July 2000, they held a workshop attended by a diverse group of interested parties and experts to develop a preliminary
list of life cycle indicators for land use impacts.
Results Their preliminary list of impact indicators includes: protection of priority habitats/species; soil characteristics: soil
health; proximity to & protection of high priority vegetative communities; interface between water and terrestrial habitats/buffer
zones; assimilative capacity of water and land; hydrological function; percent coverage of invasive species within protected
areas; road density; percent native-dominated vegetation; restoration of native vegetation; adoption of Best Management Practices
linked to biodiversity objectives; distribution (patchiness; evenness, etc.); and connectivity of native habitat.
Conclusion The list of indicators conforms well to other efforts in developing indicators. There appears to be convergence among experts
in the field and in related fields on the appropriate things to measure.
Future Prospects These indicators are currently being tested in the United States. Further workshops and testing is planned towards developing
internationally recognized indicators for land use. 相似文献
6.
Goal, Scope and Background An extensive life cycle inventory of the maintenance of floor coverings has been carried out for the professional cleaning
sector in Sweden. Different maintenance methods for linoleum and PVC were inventoried. The objective has been to develop a
model for estimating the resource use in the Swedish professional floor cleaning and maintenance sector.
Several important actors involved in the Swedish professional cleaning sector participated in the inventory. An agreement
could be reached for a limited number of methods and products. The result can be regarded as representative for the maintenance
of linoleum and PVC in respect to professional maintenance in Sweden.
Methods, Results and Discussion The maintenance was divided into two different types: periodical and frequent maintenance. It showed that 36 maintenance systems
were relevant (each system is a combination of periodical and frequent maintenance) and that the expected impacts from maintenance
could be found through an inventory of these 36 systems. The resource use for each system was inventoried and pertaining LCI
data was collected. However, it showed that the resource use for the maintenance systems could not be quantified without estimating
three so called ‘application-specific context parameters’, which were not depending on the maintenance system but related
to the specific type of premises. The three parameters were: the frequency of the periodical maintenance (P); the frequency
of the frequent maintenance (P), and; the estimated service life (L) of the floor covering. The prediction of a specific resource
use for maintenance of a specific floor covering could thereby not be carried out without the knowledge of the three application-specific
parameters. However, all collected data were supplied to a specifically developed calculation program, which made it possible
to estimate the impact from the 36 maintenance systems for different choices of estimated service life and maintenance intervals
for the periodical and frequent maintenance. Approximately 1300 different scenarios were provided, using different values
for F, P and L, respectively, and compared in order to answer several questions of concern to the professional cleaning sector
in Sweden.
Conclusions Some of the most important conclusions generated from the scenarios were: The impacts from maintenance proved to be significant
compared to the impacts from the floor. In several cases, wax-based systems turned out to be preferable to polish systems.
However, the result is sensitive to the chosen cleaning method. When polish systems are chosen, the choice of floor covering
may influence the usage phase in a significant way.
Recommendation and Outlook A framework has been provided as a base for further development. Possibly, the data could be improved and supplied with data
of other products and materials. Even other types of floor coverings may be considered. The focus has primarily been on energy
use and emission of chemicals recorded as dry substance. It is desirable with a development of a method for quantitative assessment
of the actual chemicals. 相似文献
7.
Bo Weidema 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1998,3(4):237-240
Different lists of application areas for life cycle assessment are reviewed together with some suggestions for a typology
of these application areas. It is concluded that the scope of a life cycle assessment is determined by the area of validity
of the decision with respect to time, space, and interest groups affected. On this basis, six application areas are distinguished.
It is further concluded that the application area has limited influence on the inventory analysis and impact assessment phases,
although these may be influenced significantly by the decision-maker and the complexity of the trade-offs between the involved
environmental impacts. The reporting format for a life cycle assessment depends on the socio-economic importance of the decision,
the intended audience, and the time available for decision making. 相似文献
8.
Bente Solberg-Johansen Roland Clift Andrew Jeapes 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1997,2(1):16-19
One of the main shortcomings of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) when applied to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, is that there is currently
no recognised procedure to deal with radionuclide emissions in the Impact Assessment stage. A framework which considers both
human and environmental impacts is required and a methodology which is compatible with the other impact assessment approaches
in LCA must be developed. It is important that the discussion is not only restricted to concepts, but that a working methodology
is developed which can be readily applied by LCA practitioners. A provisional method is available for assessing radiological
impacts on human health, but no consideration has been given to potential effects on the environment. A methodology is proposed
in this paper which assesses irradiation of the environment using Environmental Increments (EI) as the quality standard. This
approach is based on the same principles as for the Ecotoxicity classification group, and it represents a working methodology
which can be continuously improved as knowledge in the area increases. 相似文献
9.
Günter Fleischer Karin Gerner Heiko Kunst Kerstin Lichtenvort Gerald Rebitzer 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(3):149-156
Intention, Goal and Scope: Dealing with data gaps, data asymmetries, and inconsistencies in life cycle inventories (LCI) is
a general prohlem in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. An approach to deal with these difficulties is the simplification
of LCA. A methodology that lowers the requirements for data quality (accuracy) for process emissions within a simplified LCA
is introduced in this article. Background: Simplification is essential for applying LCA in the context of design for environment
(DfE). The tool euroMat is a comprehensive DfE software tool that is based on a specific, simplified LCA approach, the Iterative
Screening LCA (IS-LCA). Within the scope of the IS-LCA, there is a quantitative assessment of energy-related processes, as
well as a semi-quantitative assessment of non-energy related emissions which supplement each other. Objectives: The semi-quantitative
assessment, which is in the focus of this article, aims at lowering the requirements for the quality of non-energy related
emissions data through combined use of qualitative and quantitative inventory data. Methods: Potential environmental impacts
are assessed based on ABC-categories for qualities (harmfulness) of emissions and XYZ-categories for quantities of emitted
substances. Employing statistical methods assignment rules for the ABC/XYZ-categories were derived from literature data and
databases on emissions to air, water, and soil. Statistical tests as well as a DfE case study (comparing the materials aluminum
and carbon fiber reinforced epoxy for a lightweight container to be used in an aerospace application) were conducted in order
to evaluate the level of confidence and practicality of the proposed, simplified impact assessment. Results: Statistical and
technical consistency checks show that the method bears a high level of confidence. Results obtained by the simplified assessment
correlate to those of a detailed quantitative LCA. Conclusions: Therefore, the application of the ABC/XYZ-categories (together
with the cumulative energy demand) can be considered a practical and consistent approach for determining the environmental
significance of products when only incomplete emission data is available. Future Prospects: The statistical base of the method
is expanded continuously since it is an integral part of the DfE software tool euroMat, which is currently being further developed.
That should foster the application of the method. Outside DfE, the method should also be capable of facilitating simplified
LCAs in general. 相似文献
10.
Linear Programming (LP) is a powerful mathematical technique that can be used as a tool in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In
the Inventory and Impact Assessment phases, in addition to calculating the environmental impacts and burdens, it can be used
for solving the problem of allocation in multiple-output systems. In the Improvement Assessment phase, it provides a systematic
approach to identifying possibilities for system improvements by optimising the system on different environmental objective
functions, defined as burdens or impacts. Ultimately, if the environmental impacts are aggregated to a single environmental
impact function in the Valuation phase, LP optimisation can identify the overall environmental optimum of the system. However,
the aggregation of impacts is not necessary: the system can be optimised on different environmental burdens or impacts simultaneously
by using Multiobjective LP. As a result, a range of environmental optima is found offering a number of alternative options
for system improvements and enabling the choice of the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO). If, in addition, economic
and social criteria are introduced in the model, LP can be used to identify the best compromise solution in a system with
conflicting objectives. This approach is illustrated by a real case study of the borate products system.
An erratum to this article is available at . 相似文献
11.
John Reap Felipe Roman Scott Duncan Bert Bras 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2008,13(4):290-300
Background, aims, and scope Life cycle assessment (LCA) stands as the pre-eminent tool for estimating environmental effects caused by products and processes
from ‘cradle to grave’ or ‘cradle to cradle.’ It exists in multiple forms, claims a growing list of practitioners, and remains
a focus of continuing research. Despite its popularity and codification by organizations such as the International Organization
for Standards and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, life cycle assessment is a tool in need of improvement.
Multiple authors have written about its individual problems, but a unified treatment of the subject is lacking. The following
literature survey gathers and explains issues, problems and problematic decisions currently limiting LCA’s goal and scope
definition and life cycle inventory phases.
Main features The review identifies 15 major problem areas and organizes them by the LCA phases in which each appears. This part of the
review focuses on the first 7 of these problems occurring during the goal and scope definition and life cycle inventory phases.
It is meant as a concise summary for practitioners interested in methodological limitations which might degrade the accuracy
of their assessments. For new researchers, it provides an overview of pertinent problem areas toward which they might wish
to direct their research efforts.
Results and discussion Multiple problems occur in each of LCA’s four phases and reduce the accuracy of this tool. Considering problem severity and
the adequacy of current solutions, six of the 15 discussed problems are of paramount importance. In LCA’s first two phases,
functional unit definition, boundary selection, and allocation are critical problems requiring particular attention.
Conclusions and recommendations Problems encountered during goal and scope definition arise from decisions about inclusion and exclusion while those in inventory
analysis involve flows and transformations. Foundational decisions about the basis of comparison (functional unit), bounds
of the study, and physical relationships between included processes largely dictate the representativeness and, therefore,
the value of an LCA. It is for this reason that problems in functional unit definition, boundary selection, and allocation
are the most critical examined in the first part of this review.
相似文献
Bert BrasEmail: |
12.
Gregory A. Norris 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(2):118-120
The private sector decision making situations which LCA addresses mustalso eventually take theeconomic consequences of alternative products or product designs into account. However, neither the internal nor external economic
aspects of the decisions are within the scope of developed LCA methodology, nor are they properly addressed by existing LCA
tools. This traditional separation of life cycle environmental assessment from economic analysis has limited the influence
and relevance of LCA for decision-making, and left uncharacterized the important relationships and trade-offs between the
economic and life cycle environmental performance of alternative product design decision scenarios. Still standard methods
of LCA can and have been tightly, logically, and practically integrated with standard methods for cost accounting, life cycle
cost analysis, and scenario-based economic risk modeling. The result is an ability to take both economic and environmental
performance — and their tradeoff relationships — into account in product/process design decision making. 相似文献
13.
Zulina Zakaria Mohd Nasir Hassan Muhamad Awang 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1999,4(4):191-194
Conclusion In conclusion, LCA that is conducted and used appropriately is an indispensable tool to assist decision-makers in making an
informed decision about the environmental impacts of their activities, products or services. A global effort towards LCA use
should be encouraged and countries in the Asian/Pacific Regions should not be left out. LCA-related activities reported in
the symposium were described 相似文献
14.
Bo P. Weidema Niels Frees Anne-Merete Nielsen 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1999,4(1):48-56
Marginal technologies are defined as the technologies actually affected by the small changes in demand typically studied in
prospective, comparative life cycle assessments. Using data on marginal technologies thus give the best reflection of the
actual consequences of a decision. Furthermore, data on marginal technologies are easier to collect, more precise, and more
stable in time than data on average technologies. A 5-step procedure is suggested to identify the marginal technologies. The
step-wise procedure first clarifies the situation in which the marginal should apply, and then identifies what specific technology
is marginal in this situation. The procedure is illustrated in two examples: European electricity production and pulp and
paper production. 相似文献
15.
Joan Rieradevall Xavier Domènech Pere Fullana 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1997,2(3):141-144
A case study of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) is performed concerning the treatment of household solid wastes in a landfill.
The stages considered in this LCA study are: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis and impact assessment. The data
of the inventory include the consumption of raw materials and energy through the transport of wastes and the management of
landfill, and the corresponding emissions to the environment. Abiotic resource depletion, global warming, acidification, eutrophication
and human toxicological impacts have been considered as impact categories for the impact assessment phase of the LCA. A comparison
of the environmental impact of the landfilling with and without energy recovery is carried out.
Members of the Spanish Association for LCA Development (APRODACV) 相似文献
16.
Andreas Kicherer Stefan Schaltegger Heinrich Tschochohei Beatriz Ferreira Pozo 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(7):537-543
Goal, Scope and Background The eco-efficiency analysis and portfolio is a powerful decision support tool for various strategic and marketing issues.
Since its original academic development, the approach has been refined during the last decade and applied to a multitude of
projects. BASF, as possibly the most prominent company using and developing this tool, has applied the eco-efficiency approach
to more than 300 projects in the last 7 years. One of the greatest difficulties is to cover both dimensions of eco-efficiency
(costs or value added and environmental impact) in a comparable manner. This is particularly a challenge for the eco-efficiency
analyses of products.
Methods In this publication, an important approach and field of application dealing with product decisions based on the combination
of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is described in detail. Special emphasis is put on the quantitative
assessment of the relation of costs and environmental impacts. In conventional LCA an assessment of environmental impact categories
is often made by normalization with inhabitant equivalents. This is necessary to be able to compare the different environmental
impact categories, because of each different unit. For the proposed eco-efficiency analysis, the costs of products or processes
are also normalized with adapted gross domestic product figures.
Results and Discussion The ratio between normalized environmental impact categories and normalized costs (RE,C) is used for the graphical presentation of the results in an eco-efficiency portfolio. For the interpretation of the results
of an eco-efficiency analysis, it is important to distinguish ratios RE,C which are higher than one from ratios lower than one. In the first case, the environmental impact is higher than the cost
impact, while the inverse is true in the second case. This is very important for defining which kind of improvement is needed
and defining strategic management decisions. The paper shows a statistical evaluation of the RE,C factor based on the results of different eco-efficiency analyses made by BASF. For industries based on large material flows
(e.g. chemicals, steel, metals, agriculture), the RE,C factor is typically higher than one.
Conclusions and Recommendations This contribution shows that LCC and LCA may be combined in a way that they mirror the concept of eco-efficiency. LCAs that
do not consider LCC may be of very limited use for company management. For that very reason, corporations should install a
data management system that ensures equal information on both sides of the eco-efficiency coin. 相似文献
17.
Yasuhumi Mori Gjalt Huppes Helias A. Udo de Haes Suehiro Otoma 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2000,5(6):327-334
To date, numerous simplified Life Cycle Assessment methods and techniques have been developed to reduce complexities associated
with practical application. However, these methods often identify critical elements according to subjective considerations.
In this paper, we develop and apply a new type of Life Cycle Inventory method — Component Manufacturing Analysis (CMA) — that
is easy to implement and less arbitrary. Application of CMA requires identification of all product components and their associated
weights, which are then entered into a factory-type database. Because the factory database has a rigorous yet generic structure
and because calculation is done automatically, the application of CMA tends to be less arbitrary and more complete than other
simplified methods. Results of a case study on beverage vending machines show that the manufacturing stage is a significant
phase in the whole life-cycle inventory of a product. We conclude that CMA shows promise for further development and future
application. 相似文献
18.
Environmental assessment of brownfield rehabilitation using two different life cycle inventory models 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Pascal Lesage Tomas Ekvall Louise Deschênes Réjean Samoson 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(6):391-398
Goal, Scope and Background The primary goal of this paper is to present a LCI modelling approach that allows the inclusion of all three types of impacts.
The approach is based on consequential LCA (CLCA) rather than more common attributional LCA (ALCA). In CLCA, system boundaries
are expanded in order to include all significantly affected activities. In addition we show how changing from an attributional
to a consequential approach alters how the impacts are evaluated, and discuss the applicability of these two distinct approaches
to brownfield rehabilitation decision support. The paper is restricted to urban and contaminated brownfields that are the
result of industrial use and whose rehabilitation is aimed at allowing residential redevelopment.
Main Features The approach is based on an analogy between the open-loop recycling of material resources and brownfield rehabilitation. Brownfield
rehabilitation is associated with two functions: (1) managing the legacy of past occupations on the site, analogous to a waste
management function, and (2) providing redevelopable land, analogous to a commodity production function. The consequential
system is expanded to cover the subsequent occupation life cycle of the brownfield and the effects on the occupation life
cycles of other sites. The proposed model quantifies effects on sites competing to supply the same occupation function. Two
approaches are proposed to determine the nature of the sites that are affected and to what extent they are affected: the first
resembling a closed-loop approximation, and the second based on economic partial-equilibrium models.
Results and Conclusions The scope of the CLCA is far more complex than that of the ALCA. It requires additional data that are associated with important
sources of uncertainty. It does allow, however, for the inclusion of tertiary impacts, making it suitable for the evaluation
of the often cited environmental benefits of reintegrating the site in the economy. In addition, the ALCA methodology seems
to be inappropriate to compare brownfield management options that result in different subsequent uses of the site. Since the
effects of this fate are included within the scope of CLCA, however, virtually any brownfield management option available
to a decision-maker can aptly be compared. The evaluation of primary and secondary impacts also differs when the consequential
approach is used rather than the attributional approach. It is impossible to anticipate the effects of these methodological
differences on the results based on the qualitative discussion presented in this paper.
Perspectives The complexity and uncertainty introduced by switching to a consequential approach is very high: it is therefore recommendable
to evaluate the significance in the gain of environmental information in an actual case study to determine if system expansion
is recommendable. Such a case study is presented in Part II to this paper.
[39] Lesage P, Ekvall T, Deschênes L, Samson R (20006): Environmental Assessment of Brownfield Rehabilitation Using Two Different
Life Cycle Inventory Models. Part 2: Case Study. Int J LCA, OnlineFirst (DOI: ) 相似文献
19.
Erasmo Cadena Joan Colón Adriana Artola Antoni Sánchez Xavier Font 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2009,14(5):401-410
Background, aim, and scope Composting is a viable technology to treat the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) because it stabilizes biodegradable
organic matter and contributes to reduce the quantity of municipal solid waste to be incinerated or land-filled. However,
the composting process generates environmental impacts such as atmospheric emissions and resources consumption that should
be studied. This work presents the inventory data and the study of the environmental impact of two real composting plants
using different technologies, tunnels (CT) and confined windrows (CCW).
Materials and methods Inventory data of the two composting facilities studied were obtained from field measurements and from plant managers. Next,
life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to calculate the environmental impacts. Composting facilities were located
in Catalonia (Spain) and were evaluated during 2007. Both studied plants treat source separated organic fraction of municipal
solid waste. In both installations the analysis includes environmental impact from fuel, water, and electricity consumption
and the main gaseous emissions from the composting process itself (ammonia and volatile organic compounds).
Results and discussion Inventory analysis permitted the calculation of different ratios corresponding to resources consumption or plant performance
and process yield with respect to 1 t of OFMSW. Among them, it can be highlighted that in both studied plants total energy
consumption necessary to treat the OFMSW and transform it into compost was between 130 and 160 kWh/t OFMSW. Environmental
impact was evaluated in terms of global warming potential (around 60 kg CO2/t OFMSW for both plants), acidification potential (7.13 and 3.69 kg SO2 eq/t OFMSW for CT and CCW plant respectively), photochemical oxidation potential (0.1 and 3.11 kg C2H4 eq/t OFMSW for CT and CCW plant, respectively), eutrophication (1.51 and 0.77 kg /t OFMSW for CT and CCW plant, respectively), human toxicity (around 15 kg 1,4-DB eq/t OFMSW for both plants) and ozone layer
depletion (1.66 × 10−5 and 2.77 × 10−5 kg CFC−11 eq/t OFMSW for CT and CCW plant, respectively).
Conclusions This work reflects that the life cycle perspective is a useful tool to analyze a composting process since it permits the comparison
among different technologies. According to our results total energy consumption required for composting OFMSW is dependent
on the technology used (ranging from 130 to 160 kWh/t OFMSW) as water consumption is (from 0.02 to 0.33 m3 of water/t OFMSW). Gaseous emissions from the composting process represent the main contribution to eutrophication, acidification
and photochemical oxidation potentials, while those contributions related to energy consumption are the principal responsible
for global warming.
Recommendations and perspectives This work provides the evaluation of environmental impacts of two composting technologies that can be useful for its application
to composting plants with similar characteristics. In addition, this study can also be part of future works to compare composting
with other OFMSW treatments from a LCA perspective. Likewise, the results can be used for the elaboration of a greenhouse
gasses emissions inventory in Catalonia and Spain. 相似文献
20.
Seungdo Kim Taeyeon Hwang Michael Overcash 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(1):35-43
The environmental performance of a color computer monitor is investigated by implementing a Life Cycle Assessment. The goal
of this study is to collect LCI data of foreground systems, to identify hot spots, and to introduce life cycle thinking at
the product design stage. Secondary data are used in the background system, and site-specific data are collected in the foreground
system.
Results show that the use phase is the most contributing phase. The operating mode and the energy saving mode during the overall
use phase contribute to the total by 59% and by 9.9%, respectively. In the production phase, the cathode ray tube assembly
process and the printed circuit board assembly process are the most contributing processes. The sensitivity analysis on the
use pattern scenario shows that the contribution ratio of the use phase ranges from 32% to 84%. Even in the home use case,
which is the best case scenario, the use phase is one of the most contributing processes to the environmental performance
of the color computer monitor. There is no significant difference in the choice of the impact assessment methodologies for
identifying the improvement opportunities.
For the external use of Life Cycle Assessment in a short-run product for the market, it is recommended that Life Cycle Assessment
should be carried out in parallel with the product design stage. It is also necessary to have a pre-existing, in-house database
for a product group in order to accelerate life cycle procedures. 相似文献