A hybrid life cycle assessment model for comparison with conventional methodologies in Australia

Background, aim, and scope  

One barrier to the further implementation of LCA as a quantitative decision-support tool is the uncertainty created by the diversity of available analytical approaches. This paper compares conventional (‘process analysis’) and alternative (‘input–output analysis’) approaches to LCA, and presents a hybrid LCA model for Australia that overcomes the methodological limitations of process and input–output analysis and enables a comparison between the results achieved using each method. A case study from the water industry illustrates this comparison.     

Energy aspects in LCA of forest products

Intention and Background.  

This paper outlines guidelines for the treatment of energy in LCAs of forest products. The paper is a result of the Cost Action E 9 ‘Life cycle assessment of forestry and forest products’ and reflects the experience of Cost E9 delegates, contributing to Working Group ‘End of life — recycling, disposal and energy generation’.     

The formulation of life cycle impact assessment framework for Malaysia using Eco-indicator

Background, aim, and scope  

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an emerging supporting tool designed to help practitioner in systematically assessing the environmental performance of selected product’s life cycle. A product’s life cycle includes the extraction of raw materials, production, and usage, and ends with waste treatment or disposal. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) as a part of LCA is a method used to derive the environmental burdens from selected product’s stages. LCIA is structured in classification, characterization, normalization and weighting. Presently most of the LCIA practices use European database to establish the characterization, normalization and weighting value. However, using these values for local LCA practice might not be able to reflect the actual Malaysian’s environmental scenario. The aim of this study is to create a Malaysian version of normalization and weighting value using the pollution database within Malaysia.     

Making Sense in Time: Remote Sensing and the Challenges of Temporal Heterogeneity in Social Analysis of Environmental Change—cases from Malawi

This article contributes to the encouraging recent trend toward more critical examination of the linkages between remote sensing and social analysis of environmental change. Using two case studies from Malawi, we explain the importance of thinking about temporal scale when using remote sensing data. Specifically, from our on-the-ground research, we came to appreciate three important issues: (1) multiple causation and multiple temporal scales operating simultaneously—making inference of casual relations between particular social factors and observed land use changes difficult; (2) ‘visible’ vs. ‘invisible’ processes and events; and (3) ‘continuous’ vs. ‘punctuated’ social and environmental processes. We observe that in each case, social differentiation is key to understanding which temporal frames are most relevant in understanding observed land use dynamics. We conclude that, while these are not entirely new observations, research on the applications of remote sensing in social analysis of environmental change could be enriched by more rigorous examination of linkages between environmental change, temporal scale, and the social relations (including social differentiation) that can help to explain how and why particular temporal frames are most salient.

PIQET: the design and development of an online ‘streamlined’ LCA tool for sustainable packaging design decision support

Background, aim and scope  

‘Streamlined’ life cycle assessment (LCA) tools hold out the possibility of providing LCA information quickly and easily in order to support a variety of decision-making environments and situations. The utility of such tools is closely related to the accuracy needs and possibilities, and the particular decisions to be supported. In order to facilitate the provision and application of LCA information in decision making during packaging design, development and utilisation, there is a prima facia case for a ‘streamlined’ LCA tool, provided it meets a set of requirements, including functionality, accuracy, validity, reliability and usability.     

Assessing the validity of impact pathways for child labour and well-being in social life cycle assessment

Background, aim and scope  

Assuming that the goal of social life cycle assessment (SLCA) is to assess damage and benefits on its ‘area of protection’ (AoP) as accurately as possible, it follows that the impact pathways, describing the cause effect relationship between indicator and the AoP, should have a consistent theoretical foundation so the inventory results can be associated with a predictable damage or benefit to the AoP. This article uses two concrete examples from the work on SLCA to analyse to what extent this is the case in current practice. One considers whether indicators included in SLCA approaches can validly assess impacts on the well-being of the stakeholder, whereas the other example addresses whether the ‘incidence of child labour’ is a valid measure for impacts on the AoPs.     

Evaluating alternative life-cycle strategies for electrical appliances by the waste input-output model

Goal, Scope and Background  

In 2001, a new law on the recycling of end-of-life electric home appliances (EL-EHA) was put into effect in Japan; it was the first legislation of its sort in the world, and deserves to be called the ‘Japan model.’ This article is concerned with the LCA of alternative life-cycle strategies for EL-EHA, which consist of recycling as prescribed by the law, ‘ecodesign’ strategies such as the implementation of design for disassembly (DfD) and the extension of product life (EPL), with and without ex-post functional upgradability, and the once-dominant treatment methods such as landfilling and simple shredding.     

Assessing freshwater use impacts in LCA,part 2: case study of broccoli production in the UK and Spain

Background, aim and scope  

Milà i Canals et al. (Int J Life Cycle Ass 14(1):28-42, 2009) referred to as ‘Part 1’ in this paper) showed that impacts associated with use of freshwater must be treated more rigorously than is usual in life cycle assessment (LCA), going beyond the conventional consideration only of ‘blue’ water (i.e. irrigation and other abstractions), and suggested an operational method to include the impacts on freshwater ecosystems (freshwater ecosystem impact) and abiotic resource depletion (freshwater depletion). The inclusion of water-related impacts in LCA is of paramount importance, particularly for agricultural systems due to their large water consumption worldwide. A case study of UK consumption of broccoli grown in the UK and Spain is presented here to illustrate the method suggested in Part 1.     

A life cycle method for assessment of a colliery’s eco-indicator

Global Scope and Background  The study was aimed at presenting the methodology of the process eco-indicator, in relation to hard coal mines, and thereby making evaluation of the impact of the mine’s coal extraction process on the environment. The life cycle of a mine is made up of three phases: opening and developing the mine’s deposit, extraction of the mine’s deposit, closing the mine. Methods  The assessment of environmental influence of mining operation of a colliery was executed on a basis of the life cycle analysis, in accordance with the standard series PN-EN 14040. The environmental loads caused by individual unit processes were calculated by means of the aforementioned methodology with division into the basic influence categories: human health, ecosystem quality and natural resources. The obtained values of eco-indicators for the individual unit processes made it possible to compare the unit-process-caused environmental loads. Mean values of the eco-indicators of the individual unit processes were calculated by means of the inventory analysis covering 38 collieries. Next, these indicators were used to compare environmental load values by each similar process in a colliery. A total eco-indicator was calculated for colliery by summing up the eco-indicators of the individual unit processes. The eco-indicators, structured as above, were calculated for the phase of opening out a deposit and for the phase of extraction. Results and Discussion  The model mine in the phase of extraction of a deposit causes a total environmental load which expressed in points of the eco-indicator 99 amounts to 23.9 [MEw]. In the ‘human health’ category losses amount to 8.4 per cent, in the ‘quality of ecosystem’ 0.6 per cent and in the ‘resourses’ category 91 per cent. The greatest losses in all categories are caused by the process of getting body of coal and the next greatest ones are:

Post-consumer waste wood in attributive product LCA

Background  

In product life cycle assessment (LCA), the attribution of environmental interventions to a product under study is an ambiguous task. This is due to a) the simplistic modeling characteristics in the life cycle inventory step (LCI) of LCA in view of the complexity of our techno-economic system, and b) to the nontangible theoretical nature of the product system as a representation of the processes ‘causally’ linked to a product. Ambiguous methodological decisions during the setup of an LCI include the modeling of end-of-life scenarios or the choice of an allocation factor for the allocation of joint co-production processes. An important criterion for methodological decisions — besides the conformity with the relevant series of standards ISO 14 040 — is if the improvement options, which can be deduced from the LCI, are perceived by the decision-maker as to redirect the material flows at stake into more sustainable paths.     

Energy system analysis of marginal electricity supply in consequential LCA

Background, aim and scope  

This paper discusses the identification of the environmental consequences of marginal electricity supplies in consequential life cycle assessments (LCA). According to the methodology, environmental characteristics can be examined by identifying affected activities, i.e. often the marginal technology. The present ‘state-of the-art’ method is to identify the long-term change in power plant capacity, known as the long-term marginal technology, and assume that the marginal supply will be fully produced at such capacity. However, the marginal change in capacity will have to operate as an integrated part of the total energy system. Consequently, it does not necessarily represent the marginal change in electricity supply, which is likely to involve a mixture of different production technologies. Especially when planning future sustainable energy systems involving combined heat and power (CHP) and fluctuating renewable energy sources, such issue becomes very important.     

Life cycle assessment of a field-grown red maple tree to estimate its carbon footprint components

Purpose  

This study analyzes the interrelated components in the production of a 5-cm caliper, field-grown, spade-dug Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’ tree in terms of their contributions to the carbon footprint, global warming potential (GWP), of this balled and burlapped product during production and its complete life cycle.     

Regeneration of peach (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus persica</Emphasis> L. Batsch) cultivars and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus persica</Emphasis> × <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus dulcis</Emphasis> rootstocks via organogenesis

Somatic peach plants were regenerated from callus derived from the base of stem explants of the scion cultivars ‘UFO-3’, ‘Maruja’, ‘Flariba’ and ‘Alice Bigi’, and the peach × almond rootstocks ‘Garnem’ and ‘GF677’. A protocol for organogenic plant regeneration was developed using three culture media containing different concentrations of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and indolebutyric acid to produce organogenic calli. Shoots were obtained from sliced calli after their transfer to a differentiation culture medium containing 2 mg l⁻¹ BA and 1 mg l⁻¹ α-naphthalene acetic acid. Using this procedure, up to 29 regenerated plants per callus were obtained. The highest regeneration rate was obtained with the peach × almond rootstocks. This work provides an effective protocol that could be utilized for peach transformation research.     

Application of life cycle assessment to the LCA case studies single superphosphate production

Goal, Scope and Background  

There is a competition between wet and thermal routes for phosphate fertilizers manufacture. In the Brazilian case, the thermal route is represented by thermophosphate. This fertilizer is considered the most adequate one for Brazilian agricultural conditions; its main restriction is the intensive consumption of energy necessary for its production. The wet route uses sulfuric acid to direcdy produce the single superphosphate (SSP) or the intermediate phosphoric acid, which will be used to result in triple superphosphate (TSP) and ammonium phosphate production. The main restriction of the wet route is the large amount of phosphogypsum generated in phosphoric acid production. Envisaged is an environmental comparison of both routes using LCA methodology. This paper presents the LCA for SSP production. The goal of the study is to establish the Environmental Profile of this fertilizer. Eight impact categories were selected for the study. The system boundaries was defined for a ‘cradle to gate’ approach, including extraction of natural resources, intermediate products, and production.     

The French initiative on environmental information of mass market products

Context and goals of the initiative  

Following the “Grenelle de l’Environnement”, the French Parliament is currently discussing a project of law in which it is mentioned that environmental information of mass market products in France will be experimented on sale’s place. This experiment will begin from the 1st July 2011 and will last at least 1 year. After this experiment, the French parliament will assess the opportunity to generalise this information.     

In vitro assay of native Iranian almond species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus</Emphasis> L. spp.) for drought tolerance

Eight native Iranian almond species from three sections, ‘Euamygdalus’ (Prunus communis; Prunus eleagnifolia and Prunus orientalis); ‘Lycioides’ (Prunus lycioides and Prunus reuteri) and ‘Spartioides’ (Prunus arabica, Prunus glauca and Prunus scoparia) were in vitro screened for drought tolerance using sorbitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an osmoticum. Different levels of water stress were induced using five concentrations of either sorbitol or polyethylene glycol in Woody Plant Medium (WPM). Water potential of various media ranged from −0.80 to −2.05 MPa and water stress in culture medium adversely affected plantlet growth. Wild species from ‘Spartioides’ were less affected than ‘Lycioides’ and ‘Euamygdalus’. At the same level of water potential, sorbitol had lower adverse effects than PEG; the latter being severe. Prunus × sorbitol and Prunus × PEG interactions were significant. At 0.2 M sorbitol and 0.003 M PEG, ‘Spartioides’ produced significantly more roots with higher total root length and root volume, as well as root-dry weight than those of ‘Lycioides’ and ‘Euamygdalus.’ It is concluded that in vitro screening of native Iranian almond species under specific and limited water-stress conditions may provide a system for effectively differentiating the wild species of almond for their expected root mass production under field conditions.     

Mapping of resistance to spot blotch disease caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana in spring wheat

Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a destructive disease of wheat in warm and humid wheat growing regions of the world. The development of disease resistant cultivars is considered as the most effective control strategy for spot blotch. An intervarietal mapping population in the form of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed from a cross ‘Yangmai 6’ (a Chinese source of resistance) × ‘Sonalika’ (a spot blotch susceptible cultivar). The 139 single seed descent (SSD) derived F₆, F₇, F₈ lines of ‘Yangmai 6’ × ‘Sonalika’ were evaluated for resistance to spot blotch in three blocks in each of the 3 years. Joint and/or single year analysis by composite interval mapping (CIM) and likelihood of odd ratio (LOD) >2.2, identified four quantitative trait loci (QTL) on the chromosomes 2AL, 2BS, 5BL and 6DL. These QTLs were designated as QSb.bhu-2A, QSb.bhu-2B, QSb.bhu-5B and QSb.bhu-6D, respectively. A total of 63.10% of phenotypic variation was explained by these QTLs based on the mean over years. Two QTLs on chromosomes 2B and 5B with major effects were consistent over 3 years. All QTL alleles for resistance were derived from the resistant parent ‘Yangmai 6’.     

Quantitative trait loci for resistance to spot blotch caused by Bipolarissorokiniana in wheat (T.aestivum L.) lines ‘Ning 8201’ and ‘Chirya 3’

Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a destructive disease of wheat in warm and humid wheat growing regions of the world. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for spot blotch resistance, two mapping populations were developed by making the crosses between common susceptible cultivar ‘Sonalika’ with the resistant breeding lines ‘Ning 8201’ and ‘Chirya 3’. Single seed descent derived F₆, F₇, F₈ lines of the first cross ‘Ning 8201’ × ‘Sonalika’ were evaluated for resistance to spot blotch in three blocks in each of the 3 years. After screening of 388 pairs of simple sequence repeat primers between the two parents, 119 polymorphic markers were used to genotype the mapping population. Four QTLs were identified on the chromosomes 2AS, 2BS, 5BL and 7DS and explained 62.9% of phenotypic variation in a simultaneous fit. The QTL on chromosome 2A was detected only in 1 year and explained 22.7% of phenotypic variation. In the second cross (‘Chirya 3’ × ‘Sonalika’), F₇ and F₈ population were evaluated in three blocks in each of the 2 years. In this population, five QTLs were identified on chromosomes 2BS, 2DS, 3BS, 7BS and 7DS. The QTLs identified in the ‘Chirya 3’ × ‘Sonalika’ population explained 43.4% of phenotypic variation in a simultaneous fit. The alleles for reduced disease severity in both the populations were derived from the respective resistant parent. The QTLs QSb.bhu-2B and QSb.bhu-7D from both populations were placed in the same deletion bins, 2BS1-0.53-0.75 and 7DS5-0.36-0.61, respectively. The closely linked markers Xgwm148 to the QTL on chromosome 2B and Xgwm111 to the QTL on chromosome 7D are potentially diagnostic markers for spot blotch resistance.     

Food cues and gonadal development in neotropical spotted antbirds (Hylophylax naevioides)

Most temperate-zone birds live in environments with a regular seasonality, and primarily use the long-term changes in photoperiod as a cue to initiate gonadal development in anticipation of the breeding season. Short-term cues such as food and temperature are later used to fine-tune the rate of gonadal development to local conditions. Many tropical habitats are seasonal, but the timing of the seasons (e.g., rainy season) can vary considerably between years. We hypothesize that to time breeding in environments with seasonal variability, tropical birds respond to both long-term and short-term environmental cues to initiate gonadal growth. We tested the effectiveness of photoperiod and food cues for the initiation of gonad growth in captive male spotted antbirds (Hylophylax n. naevioides) from Panama. A ‘control’ group was maintained on the short natural photoperiod of 12 h light and 12 h dark (LD 12:12) and adequate food. A ‘food-stimulated’ group was also held on LD 12:12 but received an increase in food quantity and quality. A ‘photo+food-stimulated’ group experienced an increase in daylength by 1 h (LD 13:11, the maximal photoperiod in Panama) and an increase in food quantity and quality. Within 3 weeks testis sizes of ‘food-stimulated’ birds increased significantly, suggesting that food cues alone can initiate gonad development. As expected from the previous experiment, testis sizes of ‘photo+food-stimulated’ birds, but not ‘control’ birds, also increased. We suggest that the capability to respond to both food and photoperiodic cues allows animal the flexibility to adjust reproductive activity to variable environmental conditions each year. Future work should elucidate whether food provides nutritional or non-nutritional cues, and the neurophysiological mechanisms by which food stimulates reproductive activity.