Influence of allocation methods on the environmental performance of biorefinery products—A case study

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is the prevailing framework for estimating the environmental performances of a product/service. The application of LCA frequently requires practitioners to address allocation issues, especially when a large number of co-products are produced. The choice of an allocation approach for multifunctional processes is among the most debated methodological aspects in the LCA community, given its potentially large influence on final outcomes. Despite numerous efforts, a uniform consensus on the best allocation practice is still lacking and no single method appears as the most suitable for all situations.The aim of this paper is to assess how different allocation methods affect the environmental performances of a lignocellulosic biorefinery. Biorefinery systems represent a good example of a multifunctional process, since they co-produce multiple energy and material products. The following allocation procedures are applied: system expansion (also named substitution method), partitioning method according to different features of co-products (mass, energy, exergy and economic value), and hybrid approach (given by a combination of the previous ones). In order to enhance the clarity of the discussion, a mathematical notation for these allocation procedures is adopted, and analytical interrelations are investigated. Results show the influence of the allocation methods on the environmental impacts assigned to the individual products, both on a unit and annual flow basis.     

酒店服务业生命周期评价体系研究

生命周期评价被认为是解决环境污染问题,实现可持续性发展的重要工具。初步建立了酒店服务业生命周期评价模型,并详细地分析了酒店服务业生命周期评价的框架结构,讨论了生命周期评价在酒店服务业中的应用前景。酒店服务业生命周期评价体系必将成为未来酒店服务业实现可持续发展的主要工具。     

An integrated impact assessment and weighting methodology: evaluation of the environmental consequences of computer display technology substitution

Computer display technology is currently in a state of transition, as the traditional technology of cathode ray tubes is being replaced by liquid crystal display flat-panel technology. Technology substitution and process innovation require the evaluation of the trade-offs among environmental impact, cost, and engineering performance attributes. General impact assessment methodologies, decision analysis and management tools, and optimization methods commonly used in engineering cannot efficiently address the issues needed for such evaluation. The conventional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) process often generates results that can be subject to multiple interpretations, although the advantages of the LCA concept and framework obtain wide recognition. In the present work, the LCA concept is integrated with Quality Function Deployment (QFD), a popular industrial quality management tool, which is used as the framework for the development of our integrated model. The problem of weighting is addressed by using pairwise comparison of stakeholder preferences. Thus, this paper presents a new integrated analytical approach, Integrated Industrial Ecology Function Deployment (I2-EFD), to assess the environmental behavior of alternative technologies in correlation with their performance and economic characteristics. Computer display technology is used as the case study to further develop our methodology through the modification and integration of various quality management tools (e.g., process mapping, prioritization matrix) and statistical methods (e.g., multi-attribute analysis, cluster analysis). Life cycle thinking provides the foundation for our methodology, as we utilize a published LCA report, which stopped at the characterization step, as our starting point. Further, we evaluate the validity and feasibility of our methodology by considering uncertainty and conducting sensitivity analysis.     

生命周期评价在我国固体废物环境管理中的应用

生命周期评价是评价产品、工艺或活动（服务）整个生命周期阶段有关环境负荷,进而辨识和评价减少环境影响机会的一种非常有用的工具。将生命周期评价应用于固体废物环境管理,无疑对于我国建立科学化的固体废物环境管理模式具有十分重要的作用。本文对生命周期评价的定义、主要阶段、应用工具、特点进行了阐述,并对生命周期评价如何应用于我国固体废物环境管理进行了探讨。     

生命周期评价综论

生命周期评价已被纳入到ISO14000环境管理体系中,将成为本世纪最有效的环境管理工具之一。通过综述生命周期评价的概念、起源和发展、技术框架及其应用,指出了当前生命周期评价的方法论和实践上存在的局限性,并对未来发展方向作了展望。     

Environmental benefits of substituting talc by sugarcane bagasse fibers as reinforcement in polypropylene composites: Ecodesign and LCA as strategy for automotive components

The auto industry is compelled to improve its environmental performance, namely by making use of renewable materials and cleaner manufacturing processes with lower energy intensity, and at the end-of-life of the auto, recyclable products and materials are desirable specifications that need to be considered at an earlier design stage, i.e., promoting the ecodesign. This paper provides an analysis of such a strategy for a material that is used extensively in the auto industry, namely polypropylene composites, as we have quantified the environmental impacts when sugarcane bagasse-reinforced polypropylene substitutes for talc-filled polypropylene (PP). To achieve these goals, a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed for the two alternatives, from raw extractions to the end-of-life (EOL) phase of sugarcane bagasse-PP and talc-PP composite, where data gathered in different industries in Brazil were included in the LCA GaBi software. Our analysis shows that in addition to similar mechanical performance, natural fiber composites showed superior environmental performance throughout the entire life cycle. This superior performance is because: (1) in the cultivation phase, sugarcane absorbs carbon through the photosynthesis process while growing, thus reducing the global warming impact of the materials used; (2) the production process is cleaner; (3) sugarcane bagasse-reinforced composites are lighter for equivalent performance, which reduces the amount of polypropylene used; and (4) the economic reuse proposed for the EOL sugarcane bagasse-PP composite was the best alternative to minimize environmental impacts.     

Use of recycled natural fibres in industrial products: A comparative LCA case study on acoustic components in the Brazilian automotive sector

This paper summarizes the results and the lessons learnt from an LCA case study comparing acoustic automotive components. Three alternative acoustic components produced by the Brazilian automotive sector are considered: dual-layer polyurethane (DL-PU) panel, recycled textile absorption-barrier-absorption (ABA-cotton) panel and recycled textile DL (DL-cotton) panel. DL-PU is a “status-quo” alternative, composed mainly of synthetic plastics and the two other alternatives are mainly made of recycled cotton fibres. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, the three following phases of the panels’ life cycle are examined: production, use and end-of-life. For the latter, two end-of-life scenarios are analysed: landfill and incineration with energy recovery. For the LCA model, some Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) datasets have been adapted from the data available in the EcoInvent database in order to adjust to the Brazilian context. LCA results show that, within the entire life cycle, the DL-cotton option, which combines two layers of recycled fibres of different densities, is overall the best alternative from an environmental perspective. This result is therefore independent from the end-of-life scenario. This is mainly due to the lower weight of this component, which is extremely important for the transportation aspects, but also due to its lower consumption of fossil resources, to the energy saving during its production and to the avoidance of textile disposal that would happen otherwise. The obtained results confirm the available literature dealing with the use of renewable fibres in industrial products. The particular behaviour of recycled fibres compared to virgin ones (in terms of shared contribution of agricultural production and of avoidance of landfilling) is highlighted in this paper, thanks to the application of the “50/50” allocation rule. LCA results are discussed in terms of their potential use in an R&D context. Further research needs are also derived from the case study, including the potential benefits of developing multi-objective optimization methods that include environmental impact to be used in the design of such a component.     

An Eco-balance of a Recycling Plant for Spent Lead–Acid Batteries

This study applies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to present an eco-balance of a recycling plant that treats spent lead–acid batteries. The recycling plant uses pyrometallurgical treatment to obtain lead from spent batteries. The application of LCA methodology (ISO 14040 series) enabled us to assess the potential environmental impacts arising from the recycling plants operations. Thus, net emissions of greenhouse gases as well as other major environmental consequences were examined and hot spots inside the recycling plant were identified. A sensitivity analysis was also performed on certain variables to evaluate their effect on the LCA study. The LCA of a recycling plant for spent lead–acid batteries presented shows that this methodology allows all of the major environmental consequences associated with lead recycling using the pyrometallurgical process to be examined. The study highlights areas in which environmental improvements are easily achievable by a business, providing a basis for suggestions to minimize the environmental impact of its production phases, improving process and company performance in environmental terms.     

Assessing the “design paradox” with life cycle assessment: A case study of a municipal solid waste incineration plant

One of the most important processes in an integrated waste management system is incineration, which, among the different waste management disposal options still remains a critical waste treatment system. New dynamics and approaches have to be developed to embrace such a wide and complex topic, and better knowledge and assessment of incineration are strategically significant to define future environmental scenarios.Life cycle assessment (LCA), as a tool to optimise process-operating conditions and to support decision-making process, is often applied to investigate processes under design in various sectors, since choices made in the development phases can affect the future environmental profile. However, even if the greatest opportunity to improve a process from an environmental perspective is during the design phase, at the same time the knowledge is limited, in accordance with the so-called “design paradox”.Thus, in this context, this study used LCA methodology to quantitatively assess the extent to which the environmental impact of an incineration line reflects the environmental burdens perceived during the design phase. A comparative LCA was conducted at the design phase and under operating conditions at an Italian municipal solid waste incineration plant.The outcomes of the study indicated that for almost all of the categories analysed, the impacts associated with the process under design overestimated the impacts associated with the operating process, with the exception of climate change and water depletion. The results suggested that after the conduction of an LCA at the design phase of a process, an LCA of the operative conditions should be carried out to verify how much the over- or under-estimations affected the results.     

Implementing by-product management into the Life Cycle Assessment of the mussel sector

In Galicia (NW Spain), the mussel sector is an economic and social cornerstone, with great relevance at both regional and international scales. The environmental impact of this sector has been recently discussed from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective. In previous studies, it was concluded that the management of mussel shells and mussel organic by-products needed to be implemented into future life cycle assessments. In this article, LCA methodology was used in order to assess the environmental performance of two valorization alternatives for mussel by-products: mussel shell valorization to produce calcium carbonate, and mussel organic remains valorization to produce pâté.From the environmental characterization for mussel shell valorization, propane and electricity production, sludge and ash management, haulage and atmospheric releases were identified as the hot-spots on which improvement potentials should be focused. Furthermore, the environmental profile for mussel shell valorization was compared to those for incineration and landfilling as alternative management options.The environmental characterization of pâté production from mussel organic by-product led to the recommendation of acting on the formulation of mussel pâté, the thermal energy demand and the product transport. Additionally, this valorization alternative was compared to another common scenario which considered the use of mussel organic by-product to manufacture fish meal.Finally, the valorization of mussel shells and organic by-products was implemented into the assessment of the Galician mussel sector. Thus, mussel by-product management was found to contribute to the potential environmental impacts to a lesser extent than mussel culture, purification and canning transformation.     

Environmental assessment of dehydrated alfalfa production in Spain

Alfalfa is the major forage crop produced in temperate regions worlwide. Although this crop is currently used mainly for producing high-value livestock feed, its application for bioenergy production is a recent focus of interest. Even though it is not mandatory, alfalfa is normally dried in order to improve the quality of the final product. In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to quantify the environmental impacts linked to alfalfa production in the major cultivation zone in Spain (Ebro Valley), including field activities, dehydration and transport to farms for livestock feeding. In addition, the identification of the most relevant processes contributing to the environmental impact and the potential improvements actions were also defined as objectives. Inventory data were obtained mainly from interviews with farmers complemented with published literature and comments from experts.LCA results were obtained for global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidant formation, land use, non-renewable cumulative energy demand and human, terrestrial and aquatic ecotoxicities. Within the life cycle of alfalfa, the dehydration process, production of phosphate fertilizer, application of nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides, water consumption and final transport to the consumer (by road and ship) were identified as hot spots. Based on these, some improvement measures were proposed and evaluated: (i) reduction of the moisture content of alfalfa and the use of a higher percentage of biomass for combustion in the dehydration process, (ii) no application of nitrogen fertilizer in maintenance years and (iii) use of more efficient trucks for transport. Their implementation would produce significant reduction of eutrophication, global warming, acidification, non-renewable cumulative energy demand and, to a lesser extent, photochemical oxidation formation and human toxicity impacts.     

Life cycle assessment of the production and use of polypropylene tree shelters

A detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been conducted for the manufacture, use and disposal of polypropylene tree shelters, which are used to protect young seedlings in the first few years of growth. The LCA was conducted using Simapro software, the Ecoinvent database and ReCiPe assessment methodology. Detailed information on materials, manufacturing, packaging and distribution of shelters was obtained from Tubex Ltd. in South Wales, UK. Various scenarios based on different forest establishment methods, with or without tree shelters were derived and analysed using data from published literature and independent sources. The scenarios included commercial forestry in northern temperate conditions, amenity forest establishment in temperate conditions, and forest establishment in semi-arid conditions. For commercial forestry, a reduction in required seedling production and planting as well as additional time-averaged wood production led to significant benefits with tree shelters, both compared to unprotected and fenced cases. For the amenity forest scenarios, tree shelter use had a net environmental impact, while for semi-arid forestry, the benefits of reduction in water use outweighed shelter production impacts. The current practice of in-situ degradation was compared to collection and disposal and it was found that in-situ degradation was slightly preferable in terms of overall environmental impact. Use of biopolymer-based shelters would improve the environmental performance slightly.     

Identification and testing of potential key parameters in system analysis of municipal solid waste management

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) are well-established methods used for many years in many countries for system analysis of waste management. According to standard LCA procedure the assessment should include improvement analysis, in many cases this is performed by simple sensitivity analyses. An obstacle to perform more thorough sensitivity analyses is that it is hard to distinguish input data important to the results, i.e. key parameters. This paper further elaborates sensitivity analyses performed in an environmental system analysis for a hypothetical Swedish municipality. In this paper, the method to identify and test input data that can be categorised as potential key parameters is described. The method and the results from computer simulations of the identified parameters are presented, and some conclusions are drawn regarding the robustness of the results for environmental impact from municipal solid waste management. The major conclusion is that the results are robust. Changes in results, when changing the preconditions, are often small and the changes observed do not lead to new conclusions; i.e., a change of ranking order between treatment options.     

Integrating methods for the environmental sustainability: the SPIn-Eco Project in the Province of Siena (Italy)

This paper shows how different methods can be integrated in order to provide an organic evaluation of the environmental sustainability at the territorial level. A territory is a complex, dynamic and open system where a population develops, uses resources, produces goods and services, consumes, depletes and finally obtains economic results. All these elements characterise human behaviour, which can be monitored, measured and compared to the capacity of the environment to sustain it in the long run. The SPIn-Eco Project for the Province of Siena (Italy) is described as an example of an environmental sustainability assessment of an area, and its methods (Ecological Footprint, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Extended Exergy Analysis, Emergy Evaluation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Remote Sensing) are briefly introduced. This Project has been proposed and funded by the most important provincial administrative and financial institutions in the territory (the Administration of the Province of Siena and the Monte dei Paschi Foundation, respectively), and was designed and realised in 4 years (2001-2004) by a research team coordinated by the University of Siena.     

The life cycle of rice: LCA of alternative agri-food chain management systems in Vercelli (Italy)

The Vercelli rice district in northern Italy plays a key role in the agri-food industry in a country which accounts for more than 50% of the EU rice production and exports roughly 70%. However, although wealth and jobs are created, the sector is said to be responsible for environmental impacts that are increasingly being perceived as topical. As a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation is necessary to understand and manage the environmental impact of the agri-food chain, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to the rice production system: from the paddy field to the supermarket. The LCA has pointed out the magnitude of impact per kg of delivered white milled rice: a CO_2eq emission of 2.9 kg, a primary energy consumption of 17.8 MJ and the use of 4.9 m³ of water for irrigation purposes. Improvement scenarios have been analysed considering alternative rice farming and food processing methods, such as organic and upland farming, as well as parboiling. The research has shown that organic and upland farming have the potential to decrease the impact per unit of cultivated area. However, due to the lower grain yields, the environmental benefits per kg of the final products are greatly reduced in the case of upland rice production and almost cancelled for organic rice. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the eco-profile of Italian rice and should be used for transparent and credible communication between suppliers and their customers.     

From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: a case-study in the south of Italy

In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a 'support tool', to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a 'knowledge base' for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distributed to producers to determine the life cycle of different protected crops (tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, melons and zucchinis), and obtain information on greenhouse usage (e.g. tunnel vs. pavilion). Ecoprofiles of products in the district were also estimated, to identify supply chain elements with the highest impact in terms of global energy requirements, greenhouse gas emissions, eutrophication, water consumption and waste production. These results of this study enable selection of the 'best practices' and ecodesign solutions, to reduce the environmental impact of these products. Finally, sensitivity analysis of key LCA issues was performed, to assess the variability associated with different parameters: vegetable production; water usage; fertiliser and pesticide usage; shared greenhouse use; substitution of plastics coverings; and waste recycling.     

On process optimization considering LCA methodology

The goal of this work is to research the state-of-the-art in process optimization techniques and tools based on LCA, focused in the process engineering field. A collection of methods, approaches, applications, specific software packages, and insights regarding experiences and progress made in applying the LCA methodology coupled to optimization frameworks is provided, and general trends are identified. The "cradle-to-gate" concept to define the system boundaries is the most used approach in practice, instead of the "cradle-to-grave" approach. Normally, the relationship between inventory data and impact category indicators is linearly expressed by the characterization factors; then, synergic effects of the contaminants are neglected. Among the LCIA methods, the eco-indicator 99, which is based on the endpoint category and the panel method, is the most used in practice. A single environmental impact function, resulting from the aggregation of environmental impacts, is formulated as the environmental objective in most analyzed cases. SimaPro is the most used software for LCA applications in literature analyzed. The multi-objective optimization is the most used approach for dealing with this kind of problems, where the ε-constraint method for generating the Pareto set is the most applied technique. However, a renewed interest in formulating a single economic objective function in optimization frameworks can be observed, favored by the development of life cycle cost software and progress made in assessing costs of environmental externalities. Finally, a trend to deal with multi-period scenarios into integrated LCA-optimization frameworks can be distinguished providing more accurate results upon data availability.     

Analysis of the recycling potential of used automotive oil filters using the Life Cycle Assessment approach

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether a specific recycling system for used oil filters (UOFs) is environmentally viable by considering all steps of the product's life cycle. In that aspect an analysis of the environmental impacts regarding different waste management scenarios of UOFs in Greece is presented using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. Waste scenarios varied from maximum feasible recycling and recovery of metals and used lubricant oil, to disposal of UOFs to landfills without any prior treatment. In order to perform this analysis, the principles of ISO 14040 were followed and a relevant LCA software was used (SimaPro 7.2). Additionally, the results of a previous work conducted by the authors were deployed, including some experimental measurements undertaken so as to evaluate and quantify the factors affecting the recovery of the lubricant oil contained in used automotive filters. Indicatively, it was estimated that a maximum of 1340 tons of used oil and 1810 tons of steel are disposed every year in Greece, as a result of the non-effective management of used automotive filters.     

棉织品的生命周期评价

生命周期评价（LCA）是ISO14000管理体系的重要组成部分，本文将棉捉品生命周期的四个阶段对环境的影响分别进行了评估，并将结果汇总计算，比较分析了在棉织品生命周期中，对环境影响最大的阶段，从而为棉织品的生态设计提供了依据。