Evaluating the reduction in green house gas emissions achieved by the implementation of the household appliance recycling in Japan

Background, Aim and Scope The Home Appliance Recycling Law (hereunder referred to as the Law) for used cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines was enacted in April 2001 in Japan. The Law requires that retailers reclaim, and manufacturers and importers recycle such home appliances. Consumers are required to pay collection and recycling fees incurred in disposing of any of the four home appliances. Home appliances must, as a general rule, be managed in accordance with the Law. In reality, other routes exist, such as via local authorities, scrap processors, illegal dumping and exporting. At about the time the Law was enacted, the refrigerant used for air conditioners and refrigerators was replaced by more environmentally friendly substances such as isobutene. Local authorities had the responsibility of disposing of the appliances of households before the enactment of the Law. It was general practice for local authorities to dispose of home appliances in landfills after breaking them up and recovering valuable resources such as iron, copper and aluminum. Although they made efforts to recover refrigerant fluorocarbons, there were not required to do so. Materials and Methods This study analyzed the material flow resulting from the Law and other processing flows to quantify the global warming effect caused by home appliance recycling using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. To evaluate the Law and to develop policy planning, the challenges of future efforts will be considered using time series data. For these reasons, we have assessed the Project Scenario, which corresponded to the present reality; the Baseline Scenario, which assumed that measures such as the Law were not implemented after 2000, and the Ideal Scenario, where all used products were recycled as prescribed by the Law. The environmental impacts for each scenario were estimated using value, which was obtained from multiplying the amount of reproduction and waste treatment by each inventory data. Results It is estimated that emission reductions of 4.7E+4 t CO₂e, subtracted the Project Scenario from the Baseline Scenario, were reduced for TVs in 2001 through recycling. The impact from recycling glass from cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions is significant. An improvement of 2.3E+4 t CO₂e could be anticipated by upgrading to the Ideal Scenario in 2001. It was estimated that there was a reduction of 9.2E+5 t CO₂e in 2001 for air conditioners. Although the effect of the recovery for refrigerants contributed greatly, some fluorocarbons that are still discharged have had a considerable impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Hypothetically, a reduction of 3.2E+6 t CO₂e could be anticipated with the Ideal Scenario in 2001. A reduction of 2.6E+6 t CO₂e was achieved for refrigerators in 2001. Although a further reduction can be anticipated through the Ideal Scenario, there will not be much difference with the Project Scenario by 2010. It was estimated that 3.8E+4 t CO₂e were reduced for washing machines in 2001. Only a small improvement can be expected through the Ideal Scenario. Discussion Since many assumptions were used in this study, a sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to grasp their impact. The findings of the sensitivity analysis are that the uncertainties are large, but the number of the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions is still clear except for the difference between the Project Scenario and the Ideal Scenario for TVs. This analysis gives authenticity to the findings. Conclusions Establishing a system for liquid crystal display and plasma display panel TVs is desirable because the absolute amount of used LCD/PDP TVs will rapidly increase as the usage of CRT TVs rapidly decreases from 2007. With regard to refrigerant recovery from air conditioners, a significant decrease in GHG emissions has been recorded. There is, however, still ample room for improvement. It will be necessary to switch to refrigerants with low global warming potentials (GWPs) or work more on improving the recovery rate in the future. Alternatives and recovery of fluorocarbons from refrigerators contributed greatly to GHG reductions. The GHG emissions from refrigerator recycling will be minimal whether used refrigerator will be processed legally or not because most used refrigerators will contain natural refrigerants in the near future. The improvement for washing machines was low because it was assumed that their main constituent steel has been previously recycled, and that the plastic recycling rate will not change significantly in the future. An improvement in the recycling technology itself is required. This study was carried out on four home appliance products, and it was found that the Home Appliance Recycling Law has brought significant reductions in GHG emissions. There is also room to make GHG reductions through improving the processing methods further. Recommendations and Perspectives The impact on GHG emissions by fluorocarbons of air conditioners and refrigerators is the greatest. Adequate measures are particularly required for air conditioners that may continue to discharge GHGs in the future. ESS-Submission Editor: Dr. Lindita Bushi (lindita.bushi@ghgm.com)     

LCA study of air conditioners with an alternative refrigerant

In the refrigeration and air conditioning industry, technologies to reduce environmental impacts, such as global warming, ozone-layer depletion, and discharging industrial wastes, are getting much attention nowadays. This paper reports the Life Cycle Assessment conducted to comparatively analyze two air conditioner units for residential use. One is a traditional type with HCFC22 being used for its refrigerant and the other is with HFC410A. Because the main focus of this analysis is on the comparison of the refrigerants, data of the refrigerants used are taken from the actual measurements in their production and disposal stages. As a result, the ozone layer depleting effect can be eliminated completely by using HFC410A. On the other hand, the global warming effect doesn’t get reduced extensively by using HFC410A. However, it does so by treating used refrigerants with a proper waste management. Moreover, it can be proved that using HFC410A reduces environmental impacts in all the other impact categories assessed, which are acidification, air pollution, water pollution, and energy consumption. To conclude this case study, replacing HCFC22 with HFC410A for the refrigerant is certainly one of the effective methods for reducing environmental impacts given by air conditioners.     

Bacterial community structures in air conditioners installed in Japanese residential buildings

The bacterial community structures in four Japanese split-type air conditioners were analyzed using a next-generation sequencer. A variety of bacteria were detected in the air filter of an air conditioner installed on the first floor. In the evaporator of this air conditioner, bacteria belonging to the genus Methylobacterium, or the family of Sphingomonadaceae, were predominantly detected. On the other hand, the majority of bacteria detected in the air filters and evaporators of air conditioners installed on the fifth and twelfth floors belonged to the family Enterobacteriaceae. The source of bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae may have been aerosols generated by toilet flushing in the buildings. Our results suggested the possibility that the bacterial contamination in the air conditioners was affected by the floor level on which they were installed. The air conditioner installed on the lower floor, near the ground, may have been contaminated by a variety of outdoor bacteria, whereas the air conditioners installed on floors more distant from the ground may have been less contaminated by outdoor bacteria. However, these suppositions may apply only to the specific split-type air conditioners that we analyzed, because our sample size was small.     

Greening China's Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure in the Face of Rapid Development: Analysis Based on Material Stock and Flow through 2050

Wastewater treatment infrastructure (WWTI) construction in China has entered an accelerated stage of development in recent years as a result of rapid economic growth, urbanization, and the demand for improving water quality. As a result, a large amount of resources and materials will be allocated for the WWTI, and it is particularly important to find ways to reduce resource consumption effectively so that social dematerialization and sustainable development can be achieved. In this study, we employed the dynamic material flow model to estimate the material flows and stocks of WWTIs and the associated carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions through 2050, considering effects of a rise in water consumption, a longer lifetime, and an increased material recycling rate. Our results indicate that material consumption in WWTIs will increase rapidly through 2025 to meet the needs of the increased volume of discharged wastewater as well as to overcome the shortage of existing wastewater treatment plants. In contrast with the moderate effects of rise in water consumption, prolonging the lifetime will greatly reduce material consumption in WWTI construction during the period 2030–2050, and approximately 60% of the total material input will be saved in the medium‐lifetime scenario, compared with the short‐lifetime scenario. Material output and CO₂ emissions associated with WWTIs will be reduced by 87% and 37%, respectively, in the medium‐lifetime scenario, compared with the short‐lifetime scenario, under high‐water‐consumption growth. Our results highlight the great importance of pipeline construction and cement consumption in resource consumption associated with WWTI construction in China. Moreover, this study also examined the potential ways to reduce material consumption in WWTI construction in the context of the demand chain, the design, construction, operation and management, and demolition.     

Using population viability analysis to examine the potential long-term impact of fisheries bycatch on protected species

Fisheries bycatch is recognised as the dominant anthropogenic threat facing many protected species globally. Estimates of total bycatch are often associated with wide confidence intervals as a result of limited coverage by on-board observers. This makes it difficult for managers to assess risk and design effective management plans. Here, we present a case study of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) bycatch in static net fisheries across Irish waters, where potentially unsustainable bycatch levels have been reported with typically wide confidence intervals. We used Population Viability Analysis (PVA) to explore potential bycatch scenarios at a national level in order to inform future monitoring and management efforts; including (i) a baseline scenario where the probability of seals becoming bycaught was independent of age and sex; (ii) probability was biased towards juvenile, male, or female seals; (iii) there was net immigration of seals from outside of the national population; and (iv) colony-specific bycatch rates were applied to assess the relative vulnerability of the major grey seal breeding colonies to bycatch mortality. Results demonstrated that (i) higher levels of bycatch reduced population growth, with bycatch of 800 seals per year reducing the national population by 99% over 100 years; (ii) population viability was most sensitive to bycatch mortality of female seals, and more robust to juvenile or male mortality; (iii) recruitment of 500 seals per year prevented population decline despite a worst-case bycatch scenario of 800 seals bycaught per year; (iv) colonies in the south and southwest were the first to show signs of decline under increasing bycatch pressure. PVA provides a clear justification for improved monitoring of seal bycatch to obtain more precise bycatch estimates, and highlights the need for future studies to identify appropriate grey seal management units.     

Spatial releasing properties and mosquito repellency of cellulose-based beads containing essential oils and vanillin

Porous cellulose beads (Viscopearl) manufactured from wood pulp can provide gradual-release action for aromatic substances. Here we immersed lemongrass oil, xanthoxylum oil, and vanillin to apply mosquito repellents. The volatiles from this Viscopearl were analyzed to obtain information for quality control (QC) or specification using a GC–MS, and its standard compounds were determined as linalool, geranial, neral, and vanillin. In a test using a 20 L chamber, it was confirmed that their constant amounts were released continuously and they did not be affected by light. In another monitoring test for 47 days on the Viscopearl equipped with a commercialized air conditioner operated for 8 h every day under indoor conditions, the amounts of all released components increased in proportion to the open number of the pores on the module, which is a housing case containing the Viscopearl. In addition, the concentration of 8 major components including 3 standard QC compounds (linalool, geranial, and neral) in a repellency test room depended on both the ventilation and elapsed time. The vapor from the module did not affect main 7 plastic units of the air conditioner, whereas the Viscopearl equipped with an air conditioner showed good mosquito repellency under test chamber and room conditions that temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration were controlled at 24.8–25.4 °C, 63.8–65.7%, and 708–1383 ppm, respectively. Therefore, the plant essential oil-based repellent Viscopearl has high potential to be used as human protective agent against indoor mosquitoes by applying it to air conditioners.     

Process simulation and gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of hydrometallurgical refractory gold concentrate processing

Purpose

Currently, almost all cyanide-free gold leaching processes are still in the development stage. Proactively investigating their environmental impacts prior to commercialization is of utmost importance. In this study, a detailed refractory gold concentrate process simulation with mass and energy balance was built for state-of-the-art technology with (i) pressure oxidation followed by cyanidation and, compared to alternative cyanide-free technology, with (ii) pressure oxidation followed by halogen leaching. Subsequently, the simulated mass balance was used as life cycle inventory data in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of the predominant cyanidation process and a cyanide-free alternative.

Methods

The environmental indicators for each scenario are based on the mass balance produced with HSC Sim steady-state simulation. The simulated mass balances were evaluated to identify the challenges in used technologies. The HSC Sim software is compatible with the GaBi LCA software, where LCI data from HSC-Sim is directly exported to. The simulation produces a consistent life cycle inventory (LCI). In GaBi LCA software, the environmental indicators of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), terrestrial eutrophication potential (EP), and water depletion (Water) are estimated.

Results and discussion

The life cycle assessment revealed that the GWP for cyanidation was 10.1 t CO₂-e/kg Au, whereas the halogen process indicated a slightly higher GWP of 12.6 t CO₂-e/kg Au. The difference is partially explained by the fact that the footprint is calculated against produced units of Au; total recovery by the halogen leaching route for gold was only 87.3%, whereas the cyanidation route could extract as much as 98.5% of gold. The addition of a second gold recovery unit to extract gold also from the washing water in the halogen process increased gold recovery up to 98.5%, decreasing the GWP of the halogen process to 11.5 t CO₂-e/kg Au. However, both evaluated halogen processing scenarios indicated a slightly higher global warming potential when compared to the dominating cyanidation technology.

Conclusions

The estimated environmental impacts predict that the development-stage cyanide-free process still has some challenges compared to cyanidation; as in the investigated scenarios, the environmental impacts were generally higher for halogen leaching. Further process improvements, for example in the form of decreased moisture in the feed for halide leaching, and the adaptation of in situ gold recovery practices in chloride leaching may give the cyanide-free processing options a competitive edge.

     

Hybrid LCC of Appliances with Different Energy Efficiency (10 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background This paper is concerned with a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) by the use of the waste input-output (WIO) quantity- and price model of air conditioners with different energy efficiency at the use phase (high-end, low-end and average models) that were available in Japan as of winter 2002. The functional unit is an air conditioner of the 2.5kW type that is used for 10 years, and then subjected to an end-of-life (EoL) process that is consistent with the Japanese law on the recycling of appliances. Methods This is the first simultaneous application of the WIO methodology to an LCA and LCC over the entire life-cycle of a product including the use phase, and represents a methodological extension (in the sense of considering the use phase) and integration (in the sense of a simultaneous application) of previous studies by us (Kondo and Nakamura, Int. J. LCA, 2004, Nakamura and Kondo, Ecol. Econ., 2005, in press). The main body of data is provided by the WIO table for the year 2000, an update of the previous table for 1995 that was used in the above WIO studies. Compared with the WIO table for 1995 that consisted of only about 80 industry sectors, the current one consists of about 400 industry sectors, and includes air conditioner as a separate sector. The data on the purchase price and efficiency of air conditioners indicate wide variations: the cheapest one (the low-end model) costs half of the most expensive one (the high-end model), but its efficiency is about half of the latter. Results and Discussion When the cost in the use and EoL phases is included, the low-end model becomes the most expensive one, and the high-end model with the highest purchase cost the least expensive. This reversal of the relative cost levels is attributed to the difference in the efficiency in the use phase. A sensitivity analysis indicates that a reduction of the electricity price in the use phase by about 40% does not alter the significant superiority of the high-end model over the low-end model. In spite of the largest amount of input in the production phase, the high-end model performs the best in terms of both global warming potential (GWP) and landfill, while the low-end model performs the worst. The use phase generates the largest amount of waste for landfill across the three models, the largest component of which is flyash generated from coal firing power plants. A possible internalization of externality in the form of carbon tax was found to work in favor of the high-end model. The cost advantage of the high-end model, however, is sensitive to the rate of discounting of future costs: discounting at 15% diminishes its advantage over the low-end model. Recommendation and Perspective The results indicate the effectiveness of the pricing based on the life cycle cost for achieving sustainability, that is, for promoting the shift of the demand away from appliances with low environmental performance to the one with higher environmental performance. Acceptance by society of pricing based on life cycle costing would require, among other things, an economy-wide standardization of the LCC concept (in a manner analogous to ISO-LCA) that can be used complementary to ISO-LCA.     

Potential impact of harvesting on the population dynamics of two epiphytic bromeliads

Large numbers of epiphytes are extracted from cloud forests for ornamental use and illegal trade in Latin America. We examined the potential effects of different harvesting regimes on the population dynamics of the epiphytic bromeliads Tillandsia multicaulis and Tillandsia punctulata. The population dynamics of these species were studied over a 2-year period in a tropical montane cloud forest in Veracruz, Mexico. Prospective and retrospective analyses were used to identify which demographic processes and life-cycle stages make the largest relative contribution to variation in population growth rate (λ). The effect of simulated harvesting levels on population growth rates was analysed for both species. λ of both populations was highly influenced by survival (stasis), to a lesser extent by growth, and only slightly by fecundity. Vegetative growth played a central role in the population dynamics of these organisms. The λ value of the studied populations did not differ significantly from unity: T. multicaulis λ (95% confidence interval) = 0.982 (0.897–1.060) and T. punctulata λ = 0.967 (0.815–1.051), suggesting population stability. However, numerical simulation of different levels of extraction showed that λ would drop substantially even under very low (2%) harvesting levels. Matrix analysis revealed that T. multicaulis and T. punctulata populations are likely to decline and therefore commercial harvesting would be unsustainable. Based on these findings, management recommendations are outlined.     

生物质调理剂对川西北高寒草地沙化土壤养分和微生物群落特征的影响

将农牧废弃物进行资源化处置制成生物质调理剂,用于沙化土壤改良是目前川西北沙化草地生态治理的有效途径之一.为了阐明不同原料调理剂在川西北高寒沙化草地上的实际应用效果,本研究以不施用调理剂为对照(CK),设置施用量均为12 t·hm-2的菌渣(JZ)、秸秆(JG)和生物炭(SWT)3种调理剂,分析了调理剂施用对土壤养分和微...     

Connectivity,persistence, and loss of high abundance areas of a recovering marine fish population in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

In the early 1990s, the Northwest Atlantic Ocean underwent a fisheries‐driven ecosystem shift. Today, the iconic cod (Gadus morhua) remains at low levels, while Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) has been increasing since the mid‐2000s, concomitant with increasing interest from the fishing industry. Currently, our knowledge about halibut ecology is limited, and the lack of recovery in other collapsed groundfish populations has highlighted the danger of overfishing local concentrations. Here, we apply a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal approach to model the spatial structure of juvenile Atlantic halibut over 36 years and three fisheries management regimes using three model parameters to characterize the resulting spatiotemporal abundance structure: persistence (similarity of spatial structure over time), connectivity (coherence of temporal pattern over space), and spatial variance (variation across the seascape). Two areas of high juvenile abundance persisted through three decades whereas two in the northeast are now diminished, despite the increased abundance and landings throughout the management units. The persistent areas overlap with full and seasonal area closures, which may act as refuges from fishing. Connectivity was estimated to be 250 km, an order of magnitude less than the distance assumed by the definition of the Canadian management units (~2,000 km). The underlying question of whether there are distinct populations within the southern stock unit cannot be answered with this model, but the smaller ~250 km scale of coherent temporal patterns suggests more complex population structure than previously thought, which should be taken into consideration by fishery management.     

Potential emission savings from refrigeration and air conditioning systems by using low GWP refrigerants

Purpose

Refrigeration and air conditioning systems have high, negative environmental impacts due to refrigerant charge leaks from the system and their corresponding high global warming potential. Thus, many efforts are in progress to obtain suitable low GWP alternative refrigerants and more environmentally friendly systems for the future. The system’s life cycle climate performance (LCCP) is a widespread metric proposed for the evaluation of the system’s environmental impact.

Methods

In this paper, the potential emission reductions in the commercial refrigeration and residential air conditioning systems, made possible by shifting towards more environmentally friendly refrigerants in the US, are presented. First, the current LCCP of the most common commercial refrigeration and residential air conditioning systems is calculated. Then, the LCCP of the baseline systems, when using the potential low GWP alternative refrigerants, is presented. This helps to determine the systems which have the highest potential for emission reductions.

Results and discussion

By shifting from the baseline refrigerants, R-404A and R-410A, to the suggested low GWP refrigerants, N-40 and L-41a, in the commercial refrigeration and residential HVAC systems, respectively, a combined drop of 30.43 % in the total emissions (i.e., total equivalent mass of emissions in kg CO_2eq) is obtained. This results from a 50.5 and 28.01 % drop in total emissions from supermarket refrigeration systems and residential air conditioning, respectively.

Conclusions

Shifting to lower GWP refrigerants in the refrigeration and air conditioning systems helps to reduce the total emissions and negative environmental impacts of these systems. Shifting to a secondary circuit commercial refrigeration system using N-40/L-40 and residential air conditioning and heat pump systems using L-41a helps in reducing the total emissions.

     

Environmental effects from a recycling rate increase of cardboard of aseptic packaging system for milk using life cycle approach

Goal, Scope and Background  Despite the well-known advantages of recycling materials to reduce solid waste or save natural resources, the recycling stage is an additional process within the life cycle that has its own energy and input requirements, as well as specific emissions. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the life cycle inventory associated with the increase in recycling rate (from 2% up to 22% at present) of the cardboard contained in the aseptic packaging for long-life milk. The main aspects of the manufacturing of the Tetra Pak aseptic package, including the filling of the product, the distribution of the conditioned product, up to the final disposal and recycling rates, were considered. Materials and Methods  This study was conducted in accordance with the general directives of the ISO 14040 series. The packaging material system was assessed using 1000 liters of milk as a functional unit, in a packaging system containing 12 units of 1 L cartons each, placed on a corrugated paperboard tray wrapped in polyethylene shrink film and arranged onto one-way wooden pallets. Brazilian inventories for energy, carton, corrugated paperboard and aluminum, based on site-collected data were employed. The final disposal of used packages was modeled using the Average Brazilian Municipal Solid Waste Management data collected for the purpose of the census of the year 2000. Results  Comparison of the total energy consumption throughout the whole life cycle of two recycling scenarios (i.e. different recycling rates) analyzed shows that the higher recycling rate led to a 6% reduction of the total energy requirement for the long-life milk package material system. The most significant reductions in the consumption of natural resources were: 8% water, 11% wood and 10% land use savings. Greenhouse gases were the main reduced air emissions and contributed with a reduction of 9.7% in GWP. Most water emissions were reduced: 10% COD, 9% BOD and 6% TSS. A unique drawback directly caused by the increase of the recycling rate was an increase of 14.4 g in TDS emissions (57%). Discussion  The reduction in energy requirements are related and limited to the proportionality among the different materials that make up the packaging system. Most emission reductions result from the replacement of virgin materials with recycled materials in the packaging system. Although the average balance of water emissions is positive, the need to improve wastewater treatment processes in the paper recycling plants to reduce TDS is highlighted as a key issue. Conclusions  It may be concluded that the increase in the recycling rate brings about a series of benefits in terms of reduction of energy and natural resource consumption, air pollutants and most water emissions. In this case, the increase of the recycling rate improved the overall environmental performance of the aseptic Tetra Pak system for milk. Recommendations and Perspectives  The authors are currently analyzing alternative recycling scenarios that will enable one to evaluate maximum reduction in GWP. Further studies could include the agriculture stages, livestock and consumer phase to broaden the environmental evaluation. ESS-Submission Editor: Dr. Andreas A. Detzel (andreas.detzel@ifeu.de)     

Implementing an appropriate metric for the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production: A national case study

Livestock farming is of major economic relevance but also severely contributes to environmental impacts, especially greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as methane (CH₄; particularly from ruminant production) and nitrous oxide (N₂O; mainly from manure management and soil cultivated for feed production). In this study, we analyse the impact of GHG emissions from Austrian livestock production, using two metrics: a) the commonly used global warming potential (GWP) over 100 years (GWP₁₀₀ in CO₂-equivalents, CO₂-e), and b) the recently introduced metric GWP*, which describes additional warming as a function of the timeline of short-lived GHG emissions (unit CO₂ warming equivalents, CO₂-we). We first compiled the sectoral (i.e. only direct emissions without upstream processes) GWP₁₀₀ for different livestock categories with a focus on dairy cattle, beef cattle and pigs in Austria between 1990 and 2019. We also estimated product-related (i.e. per kg carcass weight or per litre of milk) GWP₁₀₀ values, including upstream processes. We then calculated the corresponding GWP* metrics, both sectoral and product-related, and compared them with the GWP₁₀₀ values. Decreasing livestock numbers and improved production efficiency were found to result in strong sectoral emission reductions from dairy production (–32 % of GWP₁₀₀ from 1990 to 2019) and from pigs (–32 % CO₂-e). This contrasts with low reductions from other livestock categories and even increases for cattle other than dairy cows (+3 % CO₂-e), mainly due to rising suckler cow numbers. Allocated results per kg milk and kg body mass show quite similar results. Using the GWP* metric, the climate impacts of Austrian livestock production are less severe. When assuming constant management and emission intensity over a period of at least 20 years, the CO₂-we (GWP*) is almost 50 % less than CO₂-e (GWP₁₀₀) per kg Austrian raw milk due to the different impacts of the short-lived CH₄. A similar trend applies to an average cattle carcass (-40 % warming impact). The emission reductions of the shrinking Austrian livestock population represent an important contribution to a climate-neutral agriculture: The CH₄ reductions of livestock production during the past 20 years reduce the current total Austrian CO₂-we by 16 %. Continuous CH₄ reduction, as we show it here for Austrian livestock, is an effective option to tackle the climate crisis in the short term. It shall be stressed that a relatively low GWP* should not be interpreted as a concession for further CH₄ emissions but as an actual reduction of (additional) warming.     

Life cycle assessment of commercial furniture: a case study of Formway LIFE chair

Background, aims and scope  The environmental aspects of companies and their products are becoming more significant in delivering competitive advantage. Formway Furniture, a designer and manufacturer of office furniture products, is a New Zealand-based company that is committed to sustainable development. It manufactures two models of the light, intuitive, flexible and environmental (LIFE) office chair: one with an aluminium base and one with a glass-filled nylon (GFN) base. It was decided to undertake a life cycle assessment (LCA) study of these two models in order to: (1) determine environmental hotspots in the life cycle of the two chairs (goal 1); (2) compare the life cycle impacts of the two chairs (goal 2); and (3) compare alternative potential waste-management scenarios (goal 3). The study also included sensitivity analysis with respect to recycled content of aluminium in the product. Materials and methods  The LIFE chair models consist of a mix of metal and plastic components manufactured by selected Formway suppliers according to design criteria. Hence, the research methodology included determining the specific material composition of the two chair models and acquisition of manufacturing data from individual suppliers. These data were compiled and used in conjunction with pre-existing data, specifically from the ecoinvent database purchased in conjunction with the SimaPro7 LCA software, to develop the life cycle inventory of the two chair models. The life cycle stages included in the study extended from raw-material extraction through to waste management. Impact assessment was carried out using CML 2 baseline 2000, the methodology developed by Leiden University’s Institute for Environmental Sciences. Results  This paper presents results for global warming potential (GWP100). The study showed a significant impact contribution from the raw-material extraction/refinement stage for both chair models; aluminium extraction and refining made the greatest contribution to GWP100. The comparison of the two LIFE chair models showed that the model with the aluminium base had a higher GWP100 impact than the model with the GFN base. The waste-management scenario compared the GWP100 result when (1) both chair models were sent to landfill and (2) steel and aluminium components were recycled with the remainder of the chair sent to landfill. The results showed that the recycling scenario contributed to a reduced GWP100 result. Since production and processing of aluminium was found to be significant, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the impact of using aluminium with different recycled contents (0%, 34% and 100%) in both waste-management scenarios; this showed that increased use of recycled aluminium was beneficial. The recycling at end-of-life scenarios was modelled using two different end-of-life allocation approaches, i.e. consequential and attributional, in order to illustrate the variation in results caused by choice of allocation approach. The results using the consequential approach showed that recycling at end-of-life was beneficial, while use of the attributional method led to a similar GWP100 as that seen for the landfill scenario. Discussion  The results show that the main hotspot in the life cycle is the raw-material extraction/refinement stage. This can be attributed to the extraction and processing of aluminium, a material that is energy intensive. The LIFE chair model with the aluminium base has a higher GWP100 as it contains more aluminium. Sensitivity analysis pertaining to the recycled content of aluminium showed that use of aluminium with high recycled content was beneficial; this is because production of recycled aluminium is less energy intensive than production of primary aluminium. The waste-management scenario showed that recycling at end-of-life resulted in a significantly lower GWP100 than landfilling at end-of-life. However, this result is dependent upon the modelling approach used for recycling. Conclusions  With respect to goal 1, the study found that the raw-material extraction/refinement stage of the life cycle was a significant factor for both LIFE chair models. This was largely due to the use of aluminium in the product. For goal 2, it was found that the LIFE chair model with the aluminium base had a higher GWP100 than the GFN model, again due to the material content of the two models. Results for goal 3 illustrated that recycling at end-of-life is beneficial when using a system expansion (consequential) approach to model recycling; if an attributional ‘cut-off’ approach is used to model recycling at end-of-life, there is virtually no difference in the results between landfilling and recycling. Sensitivity analysis pertaining to the recycled content of aluminium showed that use of higher recycled contents leads to a lower GWP100 impact. Recommendation and perspectives  Most of the GWP100 impact was contributed during the raw-material extraction/refinement stage of the life cycle; thus, the overall impact of both LIFE chair models may be reduced through engaging in material choice and supply chain environmental management with respect to environmental requirements. The study identified aluminium components as a major contributor to GWP100 for both LIFE chair models and also highlighted the sensitivity of the results to its recycled content. Thus, it is recommended that the use of aluminium in future product designs be limited unless it is possible to use aluminium with a high recycled content. With respect to waste management, it was found that a substantial reduction in the GWP100 impact would occur if the chairs are recycled rather than landfilled, assuming an expanding market for aluminium. Thus, recycling the two LIFE chair models at end-of-life is highly recommended.     

Genetic variation and population structure in a threatened species,the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens: the use of genetic data to inform conservation actions

The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens), listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act, was the subject of an extensive eradication program throughout its range during the 20th century. Eradication campaigns, habitat destruction/fragmentation/conversion, and epizootic outbreaks (e.g., sylvatic plague) have reduced prairie dog numbers from an estimated 95,000 individuals in the 1920s to approximately 14,000 (estimated adult spring count) today. As a result of these anthropogenic actions, the species is now found in small isolated sets of subpopulations. We characterized the levels of genetic diversity and population genetic structure using 10 neutral nuclear microsatellite loci for twelve populations (native and transplanted) representative of the three management designated “recovery units,” found in three distinct biogeographic regions, sampled across the species' range. The results indicate (1) low levels of genetic diversity within colonies (H_e = 0.109–0.357; H_o = 0.106‐ 0.313), (2) high levels of genetic differentiation among colonies (global F_ST = 0.296), (3) very small genetic effective population sizes, and (4) evidence of genetic bottlenecks. The genetic data reveal additional subdivision such that colonies within recovery units do not form single genotype clusters consistent with recovery unit boundaries. Genotype cluster membership support historical gene flow among colonies in the easternmost West Desert Recovery Unit with the westernmost Pausaugunt colonies and among the eastern Pausaugunt colonies and the Awapa Recovery unit to the north. In order to maintain the long‐term viability of the species, there needs to be an increased focus on maintaining suitable habitat between groups of existing populations that can act as connective corridors. The location of future translocation sites should be located in areas that will maximize connectivity, leading to maintenance of genetic variation and evolutionary potential.     

Life cycle assessment of Australian automotive door skins

Background, aim, and scope  Policy initiatives, such as the EU End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive for only 5% landfilling by 2015, are increasing the pressure for higher material recyclability rates. This is stimulating research into material alternatives and end-of-life strategies for automotive components. This study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on an Australian automotive component, namely an exterior door skin. The functional unit for this study is one door skin set (4 exterior skins). The material alternatives are steel, which is currently used by Australian manufacturers, aluminium and glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene composite. Only the inputs and outputs relative to the door skin production, use and end-of-life phases were considered within the system boundary. Landfill, energy recovery and mechanical recycling were the end-of-life phases considered. The aim of the study is to highlight the most environmentally attractive material and end-of-life option. Methods  The LCA was performed according to the ISO 14040 standard series. All information considered in this study (use of fossil and non fossil based energy resources, water, chemicals etc.) were taken up in in-depth data. The data for the production, use and end-of-life phases of the door skin set was based upon softwares such as SimaPro and GEMIS which helped in the development of the inventory for the different end-of-life scenarios. In other cases, the inventory was developed using derivations obtained from published journals. Some data was obtained from GM-Holden and the Co-operative research Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology (AutoCRC), in Australia. In cases where data from the Australian economy was unavailable, such as the data relating to energy recovery methods, a generic data set based on European recycling companies was employed. The characterization factors used for normalization of data were taken from (Saling et. al. Int J Life Cycle Assess 7(4):203–218 2002) which detailed the method of carrying out an LCA. Results  The production phase results in maximum raw material consumption for all materials, and it is higher for metals than for the composite. Energy consumption is greatest in the use phase, with maximum consumption for steel. Aluminium consumes most energy in the production phase. Global Warming Potential (GWP) also follows a trend similar to that of energy consumption. Photo Oxidants Creation Potential (POCP) is the highest for the landfill scenario for the composite, followed by steel and aluminium. Acidification Potential (AP) is the highest for all the end-of-life scenarios of the composite. Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) is the highest for the metals. The net water emissions are also higher for composite in comparison to metals despite high pollution in the production phases of metallic door skins. Solid wastes are higher for the metallic door skins. Discussion  The composite door skin has the lowest energy consumption in the production phase, due to the low energy requirements during the manufacturing of E-glass and its fusion with polypropylene to form sheet molding compounds. In general, the air emissions during the use phase are strongly dependent on the mass of the skins, with higher emissions for the metals than for the composite. Material recovery through recycling is the highest in metals due to efficient separation techniques, while mechanical recycling is the most efficient for the composite. The heavy steel skins produce the maximum solid wastes primarily due to higher fuel consumption. Water pollution reduction benefit is highest in case of metals, again due to the high efficiency of magnetic separation technique in the case of steel and eddy current separation technique in the case of aluminium. Material recovery in these metals reduces the amount of water needed to produce a new door skin set (water employed mainly in the ingot casting stage). Moreover, the use of heavy metals, inorganic salts and other chemicals is minimized by efficient material recovery. Conclusions  The use of the studied type of steel for the door skins is a poor environmental option in every impact category. Aluminium and composite materials should be considered to develop a more sustainable and energy efficient automobile. In particular, this LCA study shows that glass-fiber composite skins with mechanical recycling or energy recovery method could be environmentally desirable, compared to aluminium and steel skins. However, the current limit on the efficiency of recycling is the prime barrier to increasing the sustainability of composite skins. Recommendations and perspectives  The study is successful in developing a detailed LCA for the three different types of door skin materials and their respective recycling or end-of-life scenarios. The results obtained could be used for future work on an eco-efficiency portfolio for the entire car. However, there is a need for a detailed assessment of toxicity and risk potentials arising from each of the four different types of door skin sets. This will require greater communication between academia and the automotive industry to improve the quality of the LCA data. Sensitivity analysis needs to be performed such as the assessment of the impact of varying substitution factors on the life cycle of a door skin. Incorporation of door skin sets made of new biomaterials need to be accounted for as another functional unit in future LCA studies. Discussion contributions to this article from the readership would the highly welcome. The authors     

Environmental analysis of packaging‐derived changes in food production and consumer behavior

This study analyzed the environmental impacts of packaging‐derived changes in food production and consumer behavior to assist packaging designers in making environmentally conscious decisions. Packaging can be functionalized to prevent food loss and waste (FLW), for example, extending the expiration date and apportioning the package size, but it can generate additional environmental impacts from changes in food and packaging production. Previous studies assessed additional impacts from packaging production; however, the effects of packaging functionalization are yet to be connected with food production and consumer behavior. To examine the effect of functionalization on these aspects, we analyzed packaging‐derived changes in food production for milk and cabbage products. The case study compared products with functionalized packaging that permits a longer expiration date or a smaller portion size to their base‐case products. Our results showed that the packaging‐derived changes increased the global warming potential (GWP) of food production more than other processes did. Thus, changes in food production weakened the effectiveness of the packaging functionalization to decrease the GWP. Moreover, the analysis of consumer behavior scenarios showed that consumers’ perception of the expiration date decisively influences the effectiveness of packaging functionalization. When consumers discarded food after the expiration date, provided they consumed in small quantities, the packaging functionalization reduced FLW. From the scenario analysis, we identified appropriate combinations of packaging functionalization and consumer behaviors to effectively decrease total GWP. With our expanded analysis, packaging designers can understand the effectiveness of their decisions on the product life cycle in reducing FLW and environmental impacts.     

Effects of potential mining activities on migration corridors of Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) in the Altun National Nature Reserve,China

The Altun National Nature Reserve (ANNR) on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China plays a key role in protecting the endemic, endangered Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii). However, increasing mining activities in the ANNR pose a threat its habitats and migration corridors. This study aims to clearly understand potential effects of mining activities on habitats and migration corridors of Chiru. Using a linkage mapper corridor simulation tool in combination with the planned mining zones and roads distribution, we estimated the potential effects of these activities on migration corridors in eight scenarios (I: no mining activities; II: eastern mining zones exploited; III: central zones exploited; IV: western zones exploited; V: western and central zones exploited; VI: eastern and central zones exploited; VII: western and eastern zones exploited; VIII: all zones exploited). The results indicated that locations and length of potential Chiru migration corridors were different in 8 scenarios, thereby influencing the distribution and migration of Chiru in the ANNR; the protection importance value index (NIVI) of each core habitat changed in 8 scenarios. The western and central mining activities (in scenario V) would affect the Chiru migration most strongly, as the total length of all corridors was the longest with a length of 991.1 km and the total number of corridors was 25 which was the highest among the 8 scenarios. In scenario V, all migration corridors were greatly altered and the corridor length sharply increased. Also, the total length (942.8 km) of migration corridor was the second longest in scenario VI, and the third in scenario III. The central mining activities will significantly affect the seasonal migration routes for Chiru. Our results suggested that exploration of the central mining zones should be forbidden and central zones need to be strictly protected. Also, the northwestern region of the ANNR where most of migration corridors are located should also be strictly protected.     

城市化对空气污染人群暴露贡献的定量方法研究

短期快速城市化引发一系列生态环境问题,尤其是近年来以细颗粒物(PM_(2.5))为代表的城市与区域空气污染问题。人群的污染暴露一方面是因为污染区范围的扩张,另外一方面则归因于城市化引发的人口迁移,目前的研究重点关注于前者的贡献,而忽略了后者的贡献。因此,建立了城市化对空气污染人群暴露贡献的定量方法,并选取我国PM_(2.5)污染最为严重的京津冀城市群开展了实证研究,通过利用2000、2005、2010、2015年PM_(2.5)浓度和人口栅格数据以及人口自然增长率数据,定量评估了城市化引发的人口迁移对空气污染人群暴露的贡献。研究结果显示:(1)京津冀地区受污染影响面积和人口变化显著,造成大量的人口暴露于PM_(2.5)污染。(2)城市化引发的人口迁移与自然增长贡献率方面:总体上,2000—2015年,京津冀城市群总的人口迁移贡献率为48%,北京市和天津市总的人口迁移贡献率分别为94%和88%,而河北省污染总的人口迁移贡献率为-32%。其中在污染保持区,北京市和天津市的人口迁移贡献率均接近100%,而河北省的迁移贡献率为-26%,尤其在2010—2015年,河北省衡水市的人口迁移贡献率达到-6613%;在污染新增区,北京市和天津市的人口迁移贡献率分别为86%和84%,而河北省污染的人口迁移贡献率为-757%。本研究建立了定量化的方法揭示了城市化在空气污染人群暴露中的定量贡献,为科学引导城市化发展提供了定量的手段,为合理规划京津冀城市群地区的人口流动与空气污染奠定了数据基础。