Life-cycle assessment of four types of floor covering

Four types of floor covering have been investigated with respect to their environmental impact: linoleum, cushion vinyl, tufted carpet with a woollen pile and tufted carpet with a polyamide pile. The analysis relates to all stages in the life-cycle (from ‘cradle to grave’) and focuses on floor coverings for domestic use. The analysis is performed by means of the method for life-cycle assessment (Dutch approach). Each floor covering is assessed with regard to its environmental impact. This impact can be of various type: depletion of raw materials, cumulative energy requirement, global warming, acidification, tropospheric ozone creation, stratospheric ozone depletion, eutrophication, production of waste and human health. The inventory of environmental interventions (materials, energy requirements, waste and emissions to air, water and soil) was fairly complete. Most interventions relating to the processes that make up the life-cycle of the floor coverings in question could be quantified. A large part of the data is associated with the process energy requirement. In general these data are quite reliable. The results of the impact assessment for linoleum differs considerably from those for other types of floor coverings. Linoleum turns out to be the most environmentally favourable floor covering. It was not possible to differentiate between the environmental impact of cushion vinyl, tufted carpet with a woollen pile and tufted carpet with a polyamide pile.     

Comparing Green and Grey Infrastructure Using Life Cycle Cost and Environmental Impact: A Rain Garden Case Study in Cincinnati,OH

Green infrastructure (GI) is quickly gaining ground as a less costly, greener alternative to traditional methods of stormwater management. One popular form of GI is the use of rain gardens to capture and treat stormwater. We used life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare environmental impacts of residential rain gardens constructed in the Shepherd's Creek watershed of Cincinnati, Ohio to those from a typical detain and treat system. LCA is an internationally standardized framework for analyzing the potential environmental performance of a product or service by including all stages in its life cycle, including material extraction, manufacturing, use, and disposal. Complementary to the life cycle environmental impact assessment, the life cycle costing approach was adopted to compare the equivalent annual costs of each of these systems. These analyses were supplemented by modeling alternative scenarios to capture the variability in implementing a GI strategy. Our LCA models suggest rain garden costs and impacts are determined by labor requirement; the traditional alternative's impacts are determined largely by the efficiency of wastewater treatment, while costs are determined by the expense of tunnel construction. Gardens were found to be the favorable option, both financially (~42% cost reduction) and environmentally (62‐98% impact reduction). Wastewater utilities may find significant life cycle cost and environmental impact reductions in implementing a rain garden plan.     

产品生命周期可得性水足迹计算方法

水足迹方法试图量化评价人类活动对水资源可得性的影响,从而为水资源可持续利用提供科学的依据.水足迹的评价方法尚未统一,目前全球应用最为广泛的是WFN（water footprint network,水足迹协作网络）水足迹计算方法.基于LCA（life cycle assessment,生命周期评价）方法的基本框架,围绕水资源可得性的水量、水质和空间分布3个因素,在分析现有水足迹计算公式的基础上,指出了WFN水足迹计算方法的不足.根据国际水足迹标准（ISO 14046）的原则和要求,改进了WFN的水足迹计算公式,提出了产品生命周期WAF（water availability footprint,可得性水足迹）定义和评价方法,其中包括单元过程数据计算、背景过程数据处理和生命周期汇总.通过方法对比和案例研究得到:WAF方法统一了水消耗量与水污染量定义中的水质基准,可以明确区分水污染和水净化两类过程,还可以反映区域水资源稀缺程度的影响;采用WAF方法,在现有LCA数据库和软件的支持下可以更为规范地完成生命周期水足迹建模与计算但目前单元过程数据计算中各种污染物的基准浓度选取有不可避免的主观性,将直接影响到水足迹计算结果及其客观性,有待进一步研究.      

A carbon footprint analysis in the textile supply chain

This research work focuses on the application of life-cycle assessment methodology to determine the carbon footprint of different players involved in a supply chain of the textile sector. A case study of a product by a textile leader company was carried out. This study demonstrates that, in the textile chain, the main contribution to the greenhouse effect is provided by the electrical and thermal energy used and by the transportation (since different production phases are delocalised in a wide range that goes from South Africa, Italy, Romania and all around the world, from the distribution centre to the stores). The Monte Carlo analysis has been used in order to obtain, for each calculated impact, not only the average value but also the distribution curve of the results characterised by uncertainty parameters. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of management choices such as:

??a change in the transportation modality, from aeroplane to boat;

??a combination of road and rail transportation; and

??a selection among suppliers that allows the firm to cut environmental impacts.     

Multiobjective optimisation method for life-cycle design of mechanical products

Manufacturing that minimises the exhaustion of natural resources, energy used and deleterious environmental impact is increasingly demanded by societies that seek to protect global environments as much as possible. To achieve this, life-cycle design (LCD) is an essential component of product design scenarios; however, LCD approaches have not been well integrated in optimal design methods that support quantitative decision-making. This study presents a method that yields quantitative solutions through optimisation analysis of a basic product design incorporating life-cycle considerations. We consider two types of optimisation approaches that have different aims, namely, (1) to reduce the use of raw materials and energy consumption and (2) to facilitate the reuse of the product or its parts when it reaches the end of its useful life. We also focus on how the optimisation results differ according to the approach used, from the viewpoint of the 3R concept (Reduce, Reuse and Recycling). Our method obtains optimum solutions by evaluating objectives fitted to each of these two optimisation approaches with respect to the product's life-cycle stages, which are manufacturing, use, maintenance, disposal, reuse and recycling. As an applied example, a simple linear robot model is presented, and Pareto optimum solutions are obtained for the multiobjective optimisation problem whose evaluated objectives are the operating accuracy of the robot and the different life-cycle costs for the two approaches. The characteristics of the evaluated objectives and design variables, as well as the effects of using material characteristics as design parameters, are also examined.     

国内外废电池管理与回收处理分析

通过对国内外在废电池的管理与回收利用方面的成果及存在问题的分析 ,探讨了如何加强废电池环境无害化管理的方法 ,提出了控制电池生产源、加强管理法规建设、完善管理体系、建立健全环境无害化管理机制、研究适合国情的先进技术等几方面的建议     

生活垃圾分类处理方式的生态效率评价

中国生活垃圾产量大、增速快，若处理方式不当会给环境和社会带来巨大危害，近年来提倡的垃圾分类处理方式是垃圾减量化的关键一环.综合考虑垃圾处理对环境、能源、经济和社会四方面影响，构建适用于垃圾处理的3E+S生态效率评价模型.将垃圾源头分类、末端分类处理方式纳入垃圾处理生命周期中构建4种生活垃圾处理情景.结果表明，混合收运+末端分类的处理情景具有潜在最优生态效率，分类收运+焚烧的处理情景由于源头分类、收运环节更为复杂导致其总环境影响潜值最大，且生命周期成本最高.对比考虑或不考虑社会成本计算得到的生态效率表明，社会成本的加入显著影响生态效率.源头分类是影响生活垃圾分类处理生态效率的敏感性因素，通过降低垃圾源头分类单元过程多余的环境排放和成本或推广使用以末端机械化分类（PGAS）技术为代表的低污染低成本的垃圾分类新技术，都能够提高垃圾处理的生态效率.     

Dealing with double-counting in tiered hybrid life-cycle inventories: a few comments

Strømman et al. (2009) developed a method for dealing with double-counting in tiered hybrid LCA. Their algorithms identify overlaps of physical and monetary flows in the process and input–output parts of their hybrid data base, and then remove double-counted monetary flows in the input–output system using structural path analysis. Strømman's adjustment criterion is that the set of input–output paths to be removed should have the same monetary value as the process system flow that it overlaps with. I comment on Strømman's methods with respect to the accuracy of the correspondence between process and input–output systems. I argue that the set of double-counted paths to be removed from the input–output system is better selected on the basis of sector definitions than monetary value.     

The significance of various factors for GHG emissions of buildings

The objective of the research was to create improved understanding of the significance of diverse factors for the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of buildings. The specific focus of the study was on the assessment of the significance of building materials and embodied carbon. The scope of the study covers multi-storey residential buildings in Finland. This research was based on a literature survey and supported by a parametric case study. The parametric study assessed the building-material-related GHG emissions relative to total GHG emissions and the possible range of variation. The research assesses the minimum and maximum GHG emissions for production of buildings with similar spaces, to reveal the likely range of variation for the emissions. The calculations for the ‘minimum’ and ‘maximum’ scenarios assume a similar purpose of use, occupancy and spaces in the building, while the production methods, materials, site conditions and location are varied. The research also assesses the relative importance of various building components and other calculation parameters in terms of GHGs. Total material-related GHG emissions were compared with the GHG emissions caused by the operation of the building, at three distinct levels of energy performance. In addition, the material- and operation-related GHG emissions were compared with the location-related GHG emissions arising from people's mobility.     

铅元素人为循环环境释放物形态分析

环境中铅污染物来自于物质人为循环的环境释放,铅释放物的形态差异意味着其在环境介质中迁移和转化的起始状态不同.确定铅元素人为循环环境释放物的形态,可以为环境风险评估和源头管理提供科学依据.本研究通过追踪铅元素人为循环流动过程,应用物理化学分析方法,辨识生命周期各阶段环境释放物中铅元素的形态,并以2010年为例,定量分析中国铅元素人为循环中环境释放物的形态分布特征.结果表明,2010年中国铅人为循环中环境释放物主要形态表现为PbSO4,约占总量的23.4%;其次是PbO、Pb和PbCO3,共占总释放量的46.2%.国内每消费1 kt精铅,将向环境释放547.9 t的铅,这些环境释放物中73.3%来源于产品使用阶段和废物处置与回收阶段;从形态看,PbSO4占释放物的量为128.2 t,主要来源于生产阶段和废物处置与回收阶段,PbO、Pb和PbCO3则分别主要来源于废物处置与回收、产品使用和生产几个阶段.