Software as a bridge between theory and practice in life cycle assessment

Three mutually dependent elements are required for the application of life cycle assessment: methodology, data and software. Obviously, the design of software is determined by the methodology and the type of data available. Conversely, the development of software dictates the way in which data should be collected and recorded, and improves the theoretical framework, as it forces one to state the principles clearly and unambiguously. The influence of the development of software on both data and methodology is addressed and illustrated by examples, with reference to two key terms: transparency and explicitness. Three types of influence are distinguished: the design of a protocol, the formulation in terms of recipes, and the presentation of data.     

On the usefulness of life cycle assessment of packaging

In reaction to a paper inEnvironmental Management in which the sense and sensibility of environmental assessments of packaging were questioned, it is argued that these types of assessments may be very useful, provided the relevant types of questions are posed. These boundary conditions are discussed, along with an overview of more recent methodological developments with respect to environmental assessment of products.     

Harmonization of methods for impact assessment

Some aspects of a number of different techniques for environmental decision support, in particular risk assessment (RA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA), are briefly discussed. The importance of a coherent framework, the use of common data sets, and harmonization of methods is emphasized. The latter leads to a discussion of a fundamental difference between techniques that assess continuous emission fluxes, like RA, and techniques that assess discrete emission pulses, like LCA. The question whether it is possible to apply the same types of impact assessment models is positively answered for most models. The implications are threefold: It is allowed to employ the much easier steady-state models in pulse-oriented techniques, there exist often postulated but not yet rigidly proven equivalency factors for use in e.g. life-cycle assessment, and it is possible to harmonize the models as used in pulse-oriented and in flux-oriented models.     

Allocation and 'what-if' scenarios in life cycle assessment of waste management systems

Many modern waste treatment processes and waste management systems are able to treat many different types of waste at the same time, and deliver a number of useful outputs (secondary materials, energy) as well. These systems are thus increasingly multi-functional. As such, in life cycle assessment studies, they create problems related to multi-functionality and allocation. Especially in LCAs of waste management systems, the solution in the form of system expansion or avoided burdens approach dominates the practice, and the partitioning approach plays a minor role. In this paper, we analyse the logic and problems of these two approaches. It appears that for the avoided burdens approach, the number of 'what-if' assumptions is so large that LCAs on the same topic lead to quite diverging results. Since 'what-if' questions cannot be answered in an unambiguous way, such questions should preferably be left outside of a primarily scientific tool. The partitioning approach is not free from arbitrary choices as well, but, in contrast to the 'what-if' approaches, it does not claim to predict what happens or what would have happened.     

Substance flows through the economy and environment of a region

In the tradition of the study of materials flows through society, the Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) method and its software tool SFINX are presented. SFA aims at providing the relevant information for a country’s overall management strategy regarding single substances or coherent groups of substances. Three modelling techniques and their possibilities and limitations are discussed: Bookkeeping, static modelling, and dynamic modelling. The computer program SFINX can be used for varoius purposes: (1) to obtain an overview of stocks and flows of a substance in, out and through a nation’s economy and environment for a specific year, (2) to trace the origins of specific pollution problems, and (3) to estimate the effectiveness of certain abatement measures. Each application has its own requirements with regard to data and modelling.     

Substance flows through the economy and environment of a region

In the tradition of the study of materials flows through society, the Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) method and its software tool SFINX are presented. SFA aims at providing the relevant information for a country’s overall management strategy regarding single substances or coherent groups of substances. Three modelling techniques and their possibilities and limitations are discussed: Bookkeeping, static modelling, and dynamic modelling. The computer program SFINX can be used for varoius purposes: (1) to obtain an overview of stocks and flows of a substance in, out and through a nation’s economy and environment for a specific year, (2) to trace the origins of specific pollution problems, and (3) to estimate the effectiveness of certain abatement measures. Each application has its own requirements with regard to data and modelling.     

Substance flows through the economy and environment of a region

Part I: Abstract  In the tradition of the study of materials flows through society, the Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) method is presented. SFA aims at providing the relevant information for a country’s overall management strategy regarding single substances or coherent groups of substances. This article is dedicated to the presentation of a threestep general framework for SFA-type studies, and elaborates on its first step the systems definition. Attention is given to the definition of the external and internal system boundaries, the categorization of the system’s elements, aspects of materials choice, time, and space, and how these depend on the aim of the conducted study. Moreover, a broader discussion is started on the need for standardization of materials flow studies in general. Part II: Abstract  In the tradition of the study of materials flows through society, the Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) method and its software tool SFINX are presented. SFA aims at providing the relevant information for a country’s overall management strategy regarding single substances or coherent groups of substances. Three modelling techniques and their possibilities and limitations are discussed: Bookkeeping, static modelling, and dynamic modelling. The computer program SFINX can be used for varoius purposes: (1) to obtain an overview of stocks and flows of a substance in, out and through a nation’s economy and environment for a specific year, (2) to trace the origins of specific pollution problems, and (3) to estimate the effectiveness of certain abatement measures. Each application has its own requirements with regard to data and modelling.     

Successful combination of remediation techniques at a former silver factory

A residential area that was formerly part of a silver factory site severely contaminated with chlorinated solvents was remediated using an in situ electro‐bioreclamation technique. Electro‐bioreclamation is a method for heating soil and groundwater combined with soil vapor and low‐yield groundwater extraction and enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD). During the first two years of remediation in the source area (the intensive phase), a total of 80 kg of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was removed by heating combined with ERD. After another two years of ERD in the source and plume areas (the attenuation phase), the VOC concentrations were reduced to a level below 100 μg/L in groundwater. Given these satisfying results, electro‐reclamation in combination with ERD turned out to be a successful in situ remediation technique for removing VOCs. © 2006Wiley Periodicals, Inc.