Screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup: a case study

A screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup has been carried out. The purpose was to identify ‘hot-spots', that is parts of the life-cycle that are important to the total environmental impact. The system investigated includes agricultural production, industrial refining, packaging, transportation, consumption and waste management. Energy use and emissions were quantified and some of the potential environmental effects assessed. Packaging and food processing were found to be hot-spots for many, but not all, of the impact categories investigated. For primary energy use, the storage time in a refrigerator (household phase) was found to be a critical parameter.     

Economic-balance hybrid LCA extended with uncertainty analysis: case study of a laptop computer

The emergence of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on the global stage as a design and policy tool increases the importance of assessing and managing uncertainty. This article develops and implements uncertainty methods for hybrid LCA. Hybrid LCA combines a bottom-up construction of the supply-chain based on facility-level data on material/energy use with a top-down economic input-output (EIO) model to account for processes for which direct data were unavailable. For the bottom-up part of the LCA, we account for variability in process and usage pattern data by developing parameter ranges. For the EIO side we develop a method to assess price uncertainty. These methods are explored through a case study examining energy use and carbon dioxide emissions of manufacturing and use of a laptop computer, a 2001 Dell Inspiron 2500. Results show that manufacturing the computer requires 3010-4340 MJ of primary energy, 52-67% less than the energy to make a desktop computer, and emits 227-270 kg CO₂. The manufacturing phase represents 62-70% of total primary energy of manufacturing and operation. This indicates, as for desktop computers, that mitigating manufacturing energy use, for example through extending lifespan, can be an important strategy to manage the life cycle energy of laptop computers. Results also indicate that truncation error from excluded processes in the bottom-up process model is significant, perhaps particularly so due to complex supply chains of information technology products.     

基于投入产出与生命周期评价的集成电路产业环境影响分析

我国集成电路产业正蓬勃发展,在国家经济与高科技产业中占据重要地位。基于投入产出与生命周期评价,分别使用生命周期评价软件SimaPro7.0中的Eco-indicator 98与IMPACT 2002+2种评价模式作为量化影响评价方法,分析了我国集成电路产业的生产制造过程对环境的影响。根据Eco-indicator98分析结果,集成电路产业的各项环境影响中,重金属污染最高,其次为能源消耗、夏季烟雾、温室效应等;而IMPACT 2002+的损害评价结果显示,人体健康危害为集成电路产业最显著的环境损害,其次为生态系统质量、资源消耗及气候变化。在评估能源消耗与气候变化影响时,2种模式的结果一致。     

铅酸蓄电池生命周期评价

铅酸蓄电池是世界上产量最大、用途最广的一种二次电池。铅酸蓄电池生命周期过程中每一个环节都有可能对环境带来不利影响,评估从生产到废弃处理关键过程中对环境的影响,可以为制定有效的管理政策提供科研支撑。目前,尚缺乏针对我国特色的铅酸蓄电池行业全生命周期评价的研究,造成此行业的污染防治无据可依。因此,本研究针对铅酸蓄电池的生命周期进行评价,通过设定研究目的与范围、收集数据与分析清单、获得影响评价和解释结果,研究了铅酸蓄电池对环境的影响,结果表明铅酸蓄电池在生产环节的板栅浇铸过程和废弃处理环节的脱硫过程应属于管理中着重控制的部分。     

Life cycle assessment of milk produced in two smallholder dairy systems in the highlands and the coast of Peru

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to two smallholder milk production systems in Peru in order to evaluate the environmental burden of milk produced in each. An Andean highland milk production system where livestock feeding is restricted to permanent pastures supplemented with on farm grown ryegrass-clover was opposed to a coastal system with dairy cows fed a diet consisting of fodder maize and purchased concentrate. Milk production levels (kg/cow day) differed considerably with 2.57 for the highland and 19.54 for the coastal system. A Life Cycle Inventory was calculated for the functional unit of 1 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) and the environmental impacts global warming, acidification and eutrophication were estimated for 1 kg ECM, 1 ha and 1 animal, considering the multi-functionality of the system. The highland system was characterized by a high land use (23.1 m²a/kg ECM vs. 1.71 m²a/kg ECM at the coast). Irrigation water and energy were on the other hand used to a much higher amount at the coast (7291 l/kg ECM and 8791 MJ/kg ECM, respectively) than in the highlands (848 l/kg ECM and 0.20 MJ/kg ECM). Global warming potential, acidification and eutrophication were higher for 1 kg ECM produced in the highlands than at the coast by 10.6 kg CO₂ equivalents, 6.58 g sulfur dioxide equivalents and 10.63 g phosphate equivalents, respectively. Nevertheless, 5220 kg CO₂ equivalents more were emitted per animal at the coast than in the highlands. Also acidification and eutrophication were estimated to be on average 6 and 4 times higher at the coast compared to the highlands when expressed for the functional units of 1 ha and 1 animal.

Results

Whereas livestock is mainly responsible for impacts on the environment in the highlands, at the coast both livestock related emissions and forage cultivation play an important role. Furthermore CO₂ releases from soybean cultivations heavily contribute to total emissions. Sensitivity analysis indicates that for dairy systems relying on crop by-products as feed the choice of the allocation method is a crucial point in a LCA study. Based on the results of this study, strategies in order to reduce the environmental burden of milk production should focus on an increase of production levels and a reduction of methane emissions from enteric fermentation in the highlands and a modification of the concentrate components replacing soya as the protein source at the coast.     

Life cycle assessment of an industrial symbiosis based on energy recovery from dried sludge and used oil

Recovering energy from wastes is a useful strategy for integrated waste and energy management in an eco-industrial park (EIP) and gives promising reduction of wastes, total energy consumption and operation cost. In Jinqiao EIP, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, an industrial symbiosis, based on the energy recovery from municipal sewage sludge and re-refined oil, was proposed in the central heat-supplying company of Jinqiao EIP. It is expected that hot off-gas or part of the steam from the central heat-supplying company could be used for sludge drying and used oil re-refining while the dried sludge and refined oil can be partial substitution for fossil fuel. For the purpose of assessing the environmental performance of this industrial symbiosis, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used and different scenarios were set up in this study to evaluate the Global warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Human toxicity air (HTA) and Total Environmental Impact Potential (TEIP) of the system. Results indicate that when the substitute ratio of coal by sludge is 14%, the proposed industrial symbiosis has the least environmental impact. Compared with the current situation (sludge is landfilled), co-combustion of dried sludge and re-refined oil with coal at optimal scale will release less CO₂, CH₄, NO_x, N₂O and CO, but more SO₂, H₂S, NH₃, HCl, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and heavy metals.     

Quantifying energy use, carbon dioxide emission, and other environmental loads from island tourism based on a life cycle assessment approach

The main purpose of industrial ecology is to evaluate and minimize impacts from economic activities of human society. Tourism as one economic activity, results in a full range of environmental impacts, but few applications of industrial ecology to tourism management have previously been discussed. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used in this research to explore environmental impacts of island tourism, and then the environmental loads per tourist per trip can be found. Penghu Island in Taiwan is taken as an example to examine this new approach. Various environmental loads in transportation, accommodation, and recreation activity sector are all inventoried and calculated here. In summary, per tourist per trip uses 1606 MJ of energy, 607 L of water, and emits 109,034 g of CO₂, 2660 g of CO, 597 g of HC, 70 g of NO_x. In addition, per tourist per trip also discharges 416 L of wastewater, 83.1 g of BOD, and 1.95 g of solid waste. In terms of energy use, the transportation consumes the largest energy (67%); in particular, the airplane sector. Moreover, per Penghu tourist results in more environmental loads than local people; for example, the amount of solid waste discharge per tourist is 1.95 kg per day, while that of per local people is 1.18 kg. Finally, the advantages and limitations of such LCA approach are also discussed.     

Approach and application of life cycle screening in early phases of process design: case study of supercritical water gasification

Process design can be influenced most in the early phases. Here, screening methods play a major role, as they reduce the complexity of a system studied by making a pre-selection from a set of alternatives available. The remaining alternatives can be analyzed in more detail in the subsequent design process, which increases design efficiency. The present paper focuses on a multi-stage screening approach for use in the early process development phase in particular. This approach is based on the use of non-compensatory decision support methods that are transferred to life cycle assessment. It may be divided into a first stage, in which the decision matrix used is developed on the basis of decision analysis principles, and a second stage, in which the decision matrix developed is further processed using non-compensatory decision support methods. An example of such a method is the pareto-dominance analysis applied here. The approach proposed is validated by application to the process of biomass gasification in supercritical water, which is being developed at the moment. Here, screening is performed to identify those life cycles, the potential environmental impacts of which contribute most to the total impacts. Attributes are selected in line with the requirement of a simple, but still sufficient modeling of these environmental impacts. By pareto-dominance analysis, emissions from the gasification of sewage sludge, the pre-chain of natural gas production, and from the construction of the supercritical gasification plant are identified to dominate over the remaining life cycles studied. Apart from the predominating alternatives, it is of particular importance to know the dominated alternatives. Due to their small shares in the result, no or only a small expenditure is needed to identify improvement potentials of these alternatives.     

Assessing environmental performance by combining life cycle assessment, multi-criteria analysis and environmental performance indicators

We present a new analytical tool, called COMPLIMENT, which can be used to provide detailed information on the overall environmental impact of a business. COMPLIMENT integrates parts of tools such as life cycle assessment, multi-criteria analysis and environmental performance indicators. It avoids disadvantages and combines complementary aspects of these three tools. The methodology is based on environmental performance indicators, expanding the scope of data collection towards a life cycle approach and including a weighting and aggregation step. A case study on the Thai pulp industry illustrates the usefulness of COMPLIMENT.     

Integrated environmental assessment and pollution prevention in Vietnam: the case of anthracite production

Using the concept of life cycle analysis, the whole life cycle of anthracite production in Vietnam was assessed and the environmental “hot-spots” were identified. These include (i) dust pollution at coal transfer points or piles in storage; (ii) noise pollution resulting from the usage of heavy equipment, and (iii) high volume of acid and turbid mine water discharged into the environment.Pollution prevention and treatment options were identified and discussed in this study which consists of wet treatment of dust, planning, collection and treatment of mine water, planting of trees for dust and noise reduction as well as minimization of erosion. Some recommendations are made for pollution abatement from coal production and improvement of anthracite production in the region.     

Water footprint: methodologies and a case study for assessing the impacts of water use

The methodologies, approaches and indicators for assessing the impacts of freshwater usage are still evolving. The development of the water footprint concept has been an important step in this direction but the existing methodologies mainly assess the quantity of water used rather than the related impacts. Although there is a recognised need to consider the latter, particularly on a life cycle basis, the difficulty is that there are little or no reliable data on water usage in life cycle databases; furthermore, there is no agreed life cycle impact assessment method for estimating impacts related to freshwater use. However, there have been some methodological developments which propose methods for inventory modelling and impact assessment for water use in life cycle assessment. This paper reviews some of these approaches and discusses their strengths and limitations through a case study, which considers the impacts of freshwater consumption from corn-derived ethanol produced in 12 different countries. The results show a huge variation in the results between different methods and demonstrate the need for a standardised methodology for assessing the impacts of water use on a life cycle basis. Specific recommendations for further research in this field have been made accordingly.     

Life cycle assessment of spray dried soluble coffee and comparison with alternatives (drip filter and capsule espresso)

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with spray dried soluble coffee over its entire life cycle and compare it with drip filter coffee and capsule espresso coffee. It particularly aims to identify critical environmental issues and responsibilities along the whole life cycle chain of spray dried coffee. This life cycle assessment (LCA) specifically uses foreground data obtained directly from coffee manufacturers and suppliers. Aside from energy consumption and greenhouse gases emissions, water footprint is also studied in detail, including regionalization of water impacts based on the ecological scarcity method 2006. Other impact categories are screened using the IMPACT 2002+ impact assessment method.The overall LCA results for a 1 dl cup of spray dried soluble coffee amounts approximately to 1 MJ of primary non-renewable energy consumption, to emissions of 0.07 kg of CO_2-eq, and between 3 and 10 l of non-turbined water use, depending on whether or not the coffee cultivation is irrigated and wet treated. When considering turbined water, use can be up to 400 l of water per cup. Pouch – and to a lesser extent metal can packaging alternatives – show lower environmental burdens than glass or sticks.On average, about one half of the environmental footprint occurs at a life cycle stage under the control of the coffee producer or its suppliers (i.e., during cultivation, treatment, processing, packaging up to distribution, along with advertising) and the other half at a stage controlled by the user (shopping, appliances manufacturing, use and waste disposal). Key environmental parameters of spray dried soluble coffee are the amount of extra water boiled and the efficiency of cup cleaning during use phase, whether the coffee is irrigated or not, as well as the type and amount of fertilizer used in the coffee field. The packaging contributes to 10% of the overall life cycle impacts.Compared to other coffee alternatives, spray dried soluble coffee uses less energy and has a lower environmental footprint than capsule espresso coffee or drip filter coffee, the latter having the highest environmental impacts on a per cup basis. This study shows that a broad LCA approach is needed to help industry to minimize the environmental burdens directly related to their products. Including all processes of the entire system is necessary i) to get a comprehensive environmental footprint of the product system with respect to sustainable production and consumption, ii) to share stakeholders responsibility along the entire product life cycle, and iii) to avoid problem shifting between different life cycle stages.     

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.     

中国规划环境影响评价中存在的问题与对策

本文对我国规划环境影响评价中存在的问题进行了分析,提出完善规划环评机制,强化规划环评的审批管理．加强有关规划环评技术方法的研究,提高规划环评审批者及相关专家的业务水平等推进规划环评的措施．     

规划环境影响评价中的公众参与实例研究

公众参与作为规划环境影响评价的重要组成部分,具有重要的作用和意义。以大同市医药工业园区规划环境影响评价中的公众参与为例,介绍了公众参与的工作程序、方式、分析结果及意见的落实,证实了公众参与的必要性。     

Analysis of risk trade-off relationships between organic solvents and aqueous agents: case study of metal cleaning processes

When substance substitution is implemented to reduce the target risk of production processes, countervailing risks may occur. The goal of this study is to analyze the risk trade-off relationships between organic solvents and aqueous agents in the case study of metal cleaning processes. Global environmental impacts and local risks were evaluated for the eight scenarios by life cycle and risk assessments, respectively. The results show that the contribution of the processes using chlorinated solvents to photochemical ozone creation, human toxicity, ozone depletion, and ecotoxicity was larger than processes using aqueous detergents, while the contribution of aqueous processes to eutrophication was larger than chlorinated processes. Neighbors’ health risk around a cleaning site using chlorinated solvents was sufficiently small in all scenarios, whereas ecological risk due to surfactants which are contained in aqueous detergents and emitted to the local aquatic environment should be reduced. Cleansing agents and process facilities should be selected on the basis of the comprehensive analysis of risk trade-off relationships for feasible and cleaner production.     

Life cycle analysis and choice of natural gas-based automotive alternative fuels in Chongqing Municipality,China

Road transport produces significant amounts of emissions by using crude oil as the primary energy source. A reduction of emissions can be achieved by implementing alternative fuel chains. The objective of this study is to carry out an economic, environmental and energy (EEE) life cycle study on natural gas-based automotive fuels with conventional gasoline in an abundant region of China. A set of indices of four fuels/vehicle systems on the basis of life cycle are assessed in terms of impact of EEE, in which natural gas produces compressed natural gas (CNG), methanol, dimethylether (DME) and Fischer Tropsch diesel (FTD). The study included fuel production, vehicle production, vehicle operation, infrastructure and vehicle end of life as a system for each fuel/vehicle system. A generic gasoline fueled car is used as a baseline. Data have been reviewed and modified based on the best knowledge available to Chongqing local sources. Results indicated that when we could not change electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles into commercial vehicles on a large scale, direct use of CNG in a dedicated or bi-fuel vehicle is an economical choice for the region which is most energy efficient and more environmental friendly. The study can be used to support decisions on how natural gas resources can best be utilized as a fuel/energy resource for automobiles, and what issues need to be resolved in Chongqing. The models and approaches for this study can be applied to other regions of China as long as all the assumptions are well defined and modified to find a substitute automotive energy source and establish an energy policy in a specific region.     

Resource productivity enhancement as means for promoting cleaner production: analysis of co-incineration in cement plants through a life cycle approach

The objective of this paper is to assess the environmental effectiveness of a strategic measure aimed at resource productivity enhancement. The cement industry has been identified as a relevant sector for this global issue, since the related production process enables the use of waste in partial substitution of raw materials and in substitution of traditional fuels. The analysis of the cement production sector in Italy has been here performed, investigating the recovery of energy from waste through co-incineration. In terms of air emissions, the emission performances of cement kilns appear independent from the use of alternative fuels at the percentages usually employed. However, in order to measure the cleanliness of a production system, systematic analysis with global perspective is needed. For this aim, the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been used for a case study analysis of an Italian active plant using an amount of recovered plastics as an alternative fuel resource. The improvement on the investigated process has been quantitatively measured as a way for cleaner production, first in terms of gross energy requirement, and then through an environmental performance comparison with a sector benchmark. The analysis has highlighted the benefits on the global environmental balance for the practice of co-incineration in the cement production process.     

Uncertainty evaluation in air quality planning decisions: a case study for Northern Italy

In recent years, evaluating the robustness of environmental models results has become essential in order to effectively support decision makers to define suitable emission control strategies. This evaluation is performed in literature through uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. Therefore, the application of such methodologies to air quality Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) is extremely challenging. In fact, in this case uncertainty and sensitivity analyses should be assessed not only for each single component of the system, but also for the overall IAM. In the paper, an attempt is made to extend and systematize the information available on uncertainty/sensitivity analysis, at first considering environmental models in general, and then focusing on air quality IAMs. The study aims to offer a tentative framework addressed to modelers and decision makers in the implementation of IAM and evaluation of its results. The framework has been tested on Lombardy region (Northern Italy). The results show how the uncertainty on Drivers of emissions propagates on the whole modelling chain characterizing an integrated assessment study.     

我国环境影响评价中存在的问题及其对策

通过分析我国的环境影响评价制度与工作体系，认为存在９个方面的问题，对此提出了６点相应的对策及建议。