Cradle to gate environmental impact assessment of acrylic fiber manufacturing

Purpose

The aim of the current study was to analyze the impacts of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment and to obtain information for assisting decision makers in improving relevant environmental protection measures for green field investments in developing countries especially in Africa and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. The key research questions were as follows: what are the different impacts of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment and which base material has the highest impact?

Methods

The life cycle assessment (LCA) started from obtaining the raw material until the end of the production process (cradle to gate analysis). Focus was given on water consumption, energy utilization in acrylic fiber production, and generated waste from the industry. The input and output data for life cycle inventory was collected from an acrylic fiber manufacturing plant in Egypt. SimaPro software was used to calculate the inventory of twelve impact categories that were taken into consideration, including global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), carcinogen potential (CP), ecotoxicity potential (ETP), respiratory inorganic formation potential (RIFP), respiratory organic formation potential (ROFP), radiation potential (RP), ozone layer depletion (OLD), mineral depletion (MD), land use (LU), and fossil fuel depletion (FFD).

Results and discussion

LCA results of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment show that 82.0 % of the impact is on fossil fuel depletion due to the high-energy requirement for acrylonitrile production, 15.9 % of the impact is on human health, and 2.1 % on ecosystem quality. No impacts were detected on radiation potential, ozone layer depletion, land use, mineral depletion, or human respiratory system due to organic substances.

Conclusions

Based on these study results, it is concluded that acrylic fiber manufacturing is a high-energy consumption industry with the highest impact to be found on fossil fuel depletion and human health. This study is based on modeling the environmental effects of the production of 1-kg acrylic fiber and can serve to estimate impacts of similar manufacturing facilities and accordingly use these results as an indicator for better decision-making.

     

A global life cycle assessment for primary zinc production

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to update the average environmental impacts of global primary zinc production using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. This study represents the latest contribution from zinc producers, which historically established the first life cycle inventory for primary zinc production in 1998 (Western Europe) and the first global LCA-based cradle-to-gate study for zinc concentrate and special high-grade zinc (SHG; 99.99 %) in 2009. Improvements from the previous studies were realized through expanded geographical scope and range of production technologies.

Methods

The product system under study (SHG zinc) was characterized by collecting primary data for the relevant production processes, including zinc ore mining and concentration, transportation of the zinc concentrate, and zinc concentrate smelting. This data was modeled in GaBi 6 and complemented with background data from the GaBi 2013 databases to create the cradle-to-gate LCA model. Allocation was used to distribute the inputs and outputs among the various co-products produced during the production process, with mass of metal content being the preferred allocation approach, when applicable.

Results and discussion

In total, this global study includes primary data from 24 mines and 18 smelters, which cover 4.7?×?10⁶ MT of zinc concentrate and 3.4?×?10⁶ MT of SHG zinc, representing 36 and 27 % of global production, respectively. While the LCA model generated a full life cycle inventory, selected impact categories and indicators are reported in this article (global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, ozone creation potential, and primary energy demand). The results show that SHG zinc has a primary energy demand of 37,500 MJ/t and a climate change impact of 2600 kg CO₂-eq./t. Across all impact categories and indicators reported here, around 65 % of the burden are associated with smelting, 30 % with mining and concentration, and 5 % with transportation of the concentrate. Sensitivity analyses were carried out for the allocation method (total mass versus mass of metal content) and transportation of zinc concentrate.

Conclusions

This study generated updated LCA information for the global production of SHG zinc, in line with the metal industry’s current harmonization efforts. Through the provision of unit process information for zinc concentrate and SHG zinc production, greater transparency is achieved. Technological and temporal representativeness was deemed to be high. Geographical representativeness, however, was found to be moderate to low. Future studies should focus on increasing company participation from underrepresented regions.

     

Lead industry life cycle studies: environmental impact and life cycle assessment of lead battery and architectural sheet production

Purpose

This paper will give an overview of LCA studies on lead metal production and use recently conducted by the International Lead Association.

Methods

The lead industry, through the International Lead Association (ILA), has recently completed three life cycle studies to assess the environmental impact of lead metal production and two of the products that make up approximately 90 % of the end uses of lead, namely lead-based batteries and architectural lead sheet.

Results and discussion

Lead is one of the most recycled materials in widespread use and has the highest end-of-life recycling rate of all commonly used metals. This is a result of the physical chemical properties of the metal and product design, which makes lead-based products easily identifiable and economic to collect and recycle. For example, the end-of-life collection and recycling rates of lead automotive and industrial batteries and lead sheet in Europe are 99 and 95 %, respectively, making them one of the few products that operate in a true closed loop. These high recycling rates, coupled with the fact that both lead-based batteries and architectural lead sheet are manufactured from recycled material, have a beneficial impact on the results of LCA studies, significantly lowering the overall environmental impact of these products. This means that environmental impacts associated with mining and smelting of lead ores are minimised and in some cases avoided completely. The lead battery LCA assesses not only the production and end of life but also the use phase of these products in vehicles. The study demonstrates that the technological capabilities of innovative advanced lead batteries used in start-stop vehicles significantly offset the environmental impact of their production. A considerable offset is realised through the savings achieved in global warming potential when lead-based batteries are installed in passenger vehicles with start-stop and micro-hybrid engine systems which have significantly lower fuel consumption than regular engines.

Conclusions

ILA has undertaken LCAs which investigate the environmental impact associated with the European production of lead metal and the most significant manufactured lead products (lead-based batteries used in vehicles and architectural lead sheet for construction) to ensure up-to-date and robust data is publically and widely available.

     

Life cycle inventory analysis of granite production from cradle to gate

Purpose

Granite is a traditional high-quality material that is widely used in construction. A key strategy that is increasingly promoted to highlight the competitiveness of materials is life cycle environmental performance. Due to the lack of comprehensive life cycle inventories (LCIs), the environmental characterisation of granite products has received little attention in scientific literature. In this paper, a complete LCI of the production chain of intermediate and finished granite products is provided and analysed.

Methods

The Spanish granite production industry, which is the second major European producer and the seventh worldwide, is examined. The reference unit is defined as 1 m² of finished granite tiles with dimensions 60?×?40?×?2 cm used for indoor and outdoor applications. Input and output data were collected through the distribution of technical data collection surveys to quarries and processing facilities and via on-site visits. During data calculation and validation, technical support was provided by technicians from the Spanish Cluster of Granite Producers. The LCI data describe the industrial activity in baseline year 2010 that corresponds to a total production volume of 48,052 m³ of quarried granite and a net of 881,406 m² of processed granite.

Results and discussion

The production of 1 m² of polished granite tiles requires 28 kWh of electricity, 23 MJ of diesel, 103 l of water, and 7 kg of ancillary materials. Sandblasted, flamed or bush-hammered finishes applied to granite tiles have a minimal effect on their total energy and material requirements but significantly affect their water consumption. Electrical energy, cooling water and steel are the major industrial requirements in which granite sawing is the most demanding process. The resource efficiency of the production chain is 0.31. Approximately 117 kg of granite are wasted per square meter of granite tiles that are produced (53 kg). Seventy-four percent of granite waste is composed of granite scrap, which becomes a marketable by-product. The predominant source of granite waste is the sawdust that is generated during stone-cutting operations.

Conclusions

LCIs provide the relevant information required to characterise the environmental performance of granite production and products. LCI data can be easily managed by users due to the disaggregation into unit processes. LCI data can be used to analyse the environmental burden associated with intermediary granite products, such as granite blocks, sawn granite slabs and finished granite slabs, and to analyse the environmental burden of finished granite tiles according to the corresponding net production volumes.

Recommendations

LCI dataset of granite production should be extended to include alternative production technologies, such as diamond multiwire machines for sawing granite, which is an increasingly competitive production technology with interesting properties for cleaner production. Strong competitive granite industries, such as the industries in China, India and Brazil, should also provide LCIs of granite products to transparently compare different product chains, identify environmental strategies on the sector level, and promote the green procurement of granite products.     

The environmental impact of activities after life: life cycle assessment of funerals

Purpose

Although the funeral market is propagating new ‘green’ alternatives and exploring innovative techniques like resomation, very little is known about the environmental impact of funerals. This research aimed to develop a benchmark of funerals, by quantifying the environmental impacts of the most common funeral techniques, i.e. burial and cremation, by identifying where the main impacts originate from and by comparing these impacts to impacts of other activities during a person’s life.

Methods

The environmental impacts of funerals were analysed by means of a life cycle assessment (LCA), based on Dutch company information, literature and expert judgements. The results were analysed per impact category but also on an aggregated level by means of shadow prices. Two sensitivity analyses were performed: one examined the high impact of cotton in funeral coffins; the other checked the results by means of another weighting method.

Results and discussion

The results showed no significant difference between the two funeral techniques in five impact categories. Burial has the lowest impact in more than half of the categories, but its impact is many times higher in the two most differing categories than for cremation. The total shadow price of burial is about 30 % higher than the shadow price of cremation, but the main cause for this difference is a highly debated category, namely land use. If the results would be considered without the shadow prices of land impact categories, burial would score 25 % lower than cremation. These results are representing average practise and may deviate on certain aspects for other countries, but as a starting point for further studies, this benchmark is well applicable.

Conclusions and recommendations

This study delivered an environmental benchmark of funerals and insights in the impacts of the individual processes, which can be used in further assessment of ’green’ funeral options. The benchmark results show that the environmental impact of funerals is largely determined by secondary processes and that the total impact can be quite small in comparison to other human activities. Besides these environmental insights, it is important to take into account social, cultural, climatic, local, economical and ethical arguments before changing policies or giving recommendations.

     

Cost-combined life cycle assessment of ferronickel production

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Ferronickel is irreplaceable in modern infrastructure construction because of its use in stainless steel production. This study explored the...     

Soil salinisation: a local life cycle assessment impact category

Salinity is an increasing environmental problem in agricultural ecosystems and is not adequately represented in conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) impact categories. It is often not the total quantity of salts emitted or the proportion of salt accumulated in the soil profile that is the primary mechanism for deteriorating soil conditions for irrigated salinity, rather the ratio of major cations in the soil matrix and the potential for colloid dispersion and reduced permeability. A soil salinisation potential (SP) is proposed as an indicator for irrigated salinity and potential soil degradation from poor irrigation practices. The indicator uses the threshold electrolyte concentration concept that predicts the adjusted sodium adsorption ratio (SAR)/ Electrical conductivity (EC) ratio that soil will no longer flocculate, but potentially disperse. The SAR is converted to a threshold EC and compared to the measured EC in order to develop a site-specific irrigation equivalence factor (EF). This site/region/process specific EF is then used to weight the sodium load to soil and repeated for each stage throughout the entire life cycle to determine the overall Salinisation Potential (SP). The data required for calculating the SP is generally readily available either on site or from the water chemistry of the local watercourses. Preliminary calculations simply require the volume, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), alkalinity and the concentrations of Na, Ca, and Mg of the irrigation water. The site/process/region specific nature of the indicator ensures a quantitative measure to enable comparisons between different systems and is useful for identifying stages in the life cycle of a product (particularly food products), where the potential for soil salinisation and soil degradation is most severe.     

Sensitivity to weighting in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Weighting in life cycle assessment (LCA) incorporates stakeholder preferences in the decision-making process of comparative LCAs. Research...     

Marginal production technologies for life cycle inventories

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.     

Impacts of onshore wind energy production on birds and bats: recommendations for future life cycle impact assessment developments

Purpose

Models for quantifying impacts on biodiversity from renewable energy technologies are lacking within life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). We aim to provide an overview of the effects of wind energy on birds and bats, with a focus on quantitative methods. Furthermore, we investigate and provide the necessary background for how these can be integrated into new developments of LCIA models in future.

Methods

We reviewed available literature summarizing the effects of wind energy developments on birds and bats. We provide an overview of available quantitative assessment methods that have been employed outside of the LCIA framework to model the different impacts of wind energy developments on wildlife. Combining the acquired knowledge on impact pathways and associated quantitative methods, we propose possibilities for future approaches for a wind energy impact assessment methodology for LCIA.

Results and discussion

Wind energy production has impacts on terrestrial biodiversity through three main pathways: collision, disturbance, and habitat alterations. Birds and bats are consistently considered the most affected taxonomic groups, with different responses to the before-mentioned impact pathways. Outside of the LCIA framework, current quantitative impact assessment prediction models include collision risk models, species distribution models, individual-based models, and population modeling approaches. Developed indices allow scaling of species-specific vulnerability to mortality, disturbance, and/or habitat alterations.

Conclusions

Although insight into the causes behind collision risk, disturbance, and habitat alterations for bats and birds is still limited, the current knowledge base enables the development of a robust assessment tool. Modeling the impacts of habitat alterations, disturbance, and collisions within an LCIA framework is most appropriate using species distribution models as those enable the estimation of species’ occurrences across a region. Although local-scale developments may be more readily feasible, further up-scaling to global coverage is recommended to allow comparison across regions and technologies, and to assess cumulative impacts.

     

IMPACT 2002+: A new life cycle impact assessment methodology

The new IMPACT 2002+ life cycle impact assessment methodology proposes a feasible implementation of a combined midpoint/damage approach, linking all types of life cycle inventory results (elementary flows and other interventions) via 14 midpoint categories to four damage categories. For IMPACT 2002+, new concepts and methods have been developed, especially for the comparative assessment of human toxicity and ecotoxicity. Human Damage Factors are calculated for carcinogens and non-carcinogens, employing intake fractions, best estimates of dose-response slope factors, as well as severities. The transfer of contaminants into the human food is no more based on consumption surveys, but accounts for agricultural and livestock production levels. Indoor and outdoor air emissions can be compared and the intermittent character of rainfall is considered. Both human toxicity and ecotoxicity effect factors are based on mean responses rather than on conservative assumptions. Other midpoint categories are adapted from existing characterizing methods (Eco-indicator 99 and CML 2002). All midpoint scores are expressed in units of a reference substance and related to the four damage categories human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resources. Normalization can be performed either at midpoint or at damage level. The IMPACT 2002+ method presently provides characterization factors for almost 1500 different LCI-results, which can be downloaded at http://www.epfl.ch/impact     

Seasonal primary production cycle in Lake Onega

A long-term average curve of seasonal changes in the primary production of phytoplankton in the pelagial zone of Lake Onega has been plotted on the basis of experimental data approximated by a prescribed function. Long-term average values of primary production for each day of the growing season and its integrated and daily average values for different periods of the season have been calculated. Interannual variation of the seasonal process of primary production has been analyzed, and its quantitative estimations are given. The influence of basic environmental factors on the seasonal dynamics of primary production is discussed.     

Working conditions in hydrogen production: A social life cycle assessment

Social impacts of novel technology can, parallel to environmental and economic consequences, influence its sustainability. By analyzing the case of hydrogen production by advanced alkaline water electrolysis (AEL) from a life cycle perspective, this paper illustrates the social implications of the manufacturing of the electrolyzer and hydrogen production when installed in Germany, Austria, and Spain. This paper complements previous environmental and economic assessments, which selected this set of countries based on their different structures in electricity production. The paper uses a mixed method design to analyze the social impact for the workers along the process chain. Appropriate indicators related to working conditions are selected on the basis of the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The focus on workers is chosen as a first example to test the relatively new Product Social Impact Life Cycle Assessment (PSILCA) database version 2.0. The results of the quantitative assessment are then complemented and compared through an investigation of the underlying raw data and a qualitative literature analysis. Overall, advanced AEL is found to have least social impact along the German process chain, followed by the Spanish and the Austrian. All three process chains show impacts on global upstream processes. In order to reduce social impact and ultimately contribute to Sustainable Development, policymakers and industry need to work together to further improve certain aspects of working conditions in different locations, particularly within global upstream processes.     

IMPACT World+: a globally regionalized life cycle impact assessment method

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - This paper addresses the need for a globally regionalized method for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), integrating multiple state-of-the-art...     

Towards social life cycle assessment: a quantitative product social impact assessment

Purpose

The main goal of this paper is to present the feasibility of the quantitative method presented in the Product Social Impact Assessment (PSIA) handbook throughout a case study. The case study was developed to assess the social impacts of a tire throughout its entire life cycle. We carried out this case study in the context of the Roundtable for the Product Social Metrics project in which 13 companies develop two methodologies, a qualitative and a quantitative one, for assessing the social impact of product life cycle.

Methods

The quantitative methodology implemented for assessing the social impact of a Run On Flat tire mounted in a BMW 3 series consists of 26 indicators split in three groups. Each group represents a stakeholder group. Primary data of the quantitative indicators were collected along the product life cycle of the Run On Flat by involving the companies, which owned the main steps of the product life cycle. Throughout this case study, an ideal/worst-case scenario was defined for the distance-to-target approach to compare the social performances of more products when they are available.

Results and discussion

The implementation of the PSIA quantitative method to a Run On Flat illustrated the necessity to have a referencing step in order to interpret the results. This is particularly important when the results are used to support decision-making process in which no experts are involved. It frequently happens in a big company where the management level has to take often decisions on different topics. Reference values were defined using ideal or worst-case-target scenarios (Fontes et al. 2014). For those topics where it was possible, an ideal/ethical scenario was defined, e.g., 0 h of child labor per product. In other cases, we defined a worst-case scenario, e.g., 0 training hours per product. It was then possible to interpret the results using a distance-to-target approach. A matrix was developed in the case study for identifying in which step of the product life cycle data is not available; that means we need more transparency in the supply chain.

Conclusions

Each value of the matrix can be compared to the ideal/worst scenario to compare the step to each other and to identify along the product life cycle which step and the relative supplier that needs further measures to improve the product performance. Furthermore, a quantitative value for each indicator related to the product life cycle is calculated and compared with the ideal/worst scenario. The case study on Run On Flat represents the first implementation of the quantitative method of PSIA.

     

基于生命周期评价的本土化水足迹影响评价模型构建

水足迹作为评价水资源消耗和污染情况的综合性指标,能够对水环境面临的环境风险进行科学系统的量化、评估和管理。针对传统水足迹影响方法未进行环境影响评估等问题,研究构建了一个符合ISO 14046国际标准的基于生命周期评价的通用型本土化水足迹影响评价模型。研究通过多介质逸度模型模拟了多介质污染物排放在环境中的迁移转换,从而剔除最终未进入到水介质的部分,同时仅考虑了与水环境有关的经口摄入途径,首创了集水稀缺影响、水污染生态与健康风险量化为一体的且适用于我国国情的水足迹评价模型。模型的构建可帮助实现水系统优化,有效控制二次污染及污染转移,实现精准管控。同时由于模型具有普适性,其也可为其他国家或区域开展生命周期水足迹影响评价提供理论支持和实践经验。此外,研究以某企业镍铁合金生产的水足迹影响评价为例,对模型的应用进行了示例研究。研究发现为该企业镍铁合金生产的水足迹影响主要来源于交通运输、焦炭生产、发电、压缩空气以及电极糊制备等间接过程。同时,为降低其环境负荷,需控制氮、磷、二氧化硫及铬、砷、汞、铜等重金属的排放。     

Overview and recommendations for regionalized life cycle impact assessment

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Regionalized life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has rapidly developed in the past decade, though its widespread application, robustness, and...     

Measuring ecological impact of water consumption by bioethanol using life cycle impact assessment

Purpose  

Though the development of biofuel has attracted numerous studies for quantifying potential water demand applying life cycle thinking, the impacts of biofuel water consumption still remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to quantify ecological impact associated with corn-based bioethanol water consumption in Minnesota in responding to different refinery expansion scenarios by applying a life cycle impact assessment method.