Key Issues in Conducting Life Cycle Assessment of Bio-Based Renewable Energy Sources

2013 ◽  
pp. 13-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edi Iswanto Wiloso ◽  
Reinout Heijungs
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Key Issues

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Environmental and Energy Systems

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5892
Author(s):  
Luca Ciacci ◽  
Fabrizio Passarini
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Green Technologies ◽  
And Storage

The transition towards renewable energy sources and “green” technologies for energy generation and storage is expected to mitigate the climate emergency in the coming years [...]

scholarly journals IMPACT OF MODAL CHOICE IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS: ANALYSIS OF BRAZILIAN BIOETHANOL SUPPLY CHAIN

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Monteiro Lopes ◽  
Ilton Curty Leal Junior ◽  
Vanessa De Almeida Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
South Central

Currently, concerns with sustainable development lead organizations to improve their production processes in order to reduce greenhouse gases emission and energy consumption. Since the bioethanol supply chain is a CO2 emitter and depends on several energy sources, it becomes important to analyze how to improve this chain regarding environmental issues. Thus, this paper presents a comparative study of scenarios with bioethanol supply chain configurations which use different modal alternatives and renewable energy in all its mid-stages. The analysis was based on LCA (life cycle analysis) concepts and in a partial application of LCI (life cycle inventory), so that we can identify which of these scenarios is most appropriate in terms of lower total energy consumption, greater share of renewable energy use and lower CO2 emissions. Based on concepts found in the bibliographic research, the methodology used and the data collected from documental research, this paper analyzes the supply chain that begins with sugarcane plantation and bioethanol production in the south central region of Brazil with destination to export. Based on the results, we concluded that it is possible to improve the performance of the supply chain in environmental terms with a combination of renewable energy sources and modes of transport that are more suitable to the product studied.

scholarly journals Environmental Component Economic Evaluation of the Renewable Energy Sources Life Cycle

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 01010
Author(s):  
E N Sosnina ◽  
O V Masleeva ◽  
E V Kryukov ◽  
N I Erdili
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Hydroelectric Station ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Environment Sustainability

Traditionally, renewable energy sources (RES) are considered the most environmentally friendly, but only the stage of their operation is evaluated. A method for the integrated assessment of the renewable energy environment sustainability has been proposed, taking into account their entire life cycle - from the extraction of natural resources for the production of a power plant to its utilization. An impact assessment of RES different types on the environment has been carried out in four areas: consumption of natural resources, pollution of water resources, pollution of the soil and pollution of the atmosphere. The comparison of the considered environmental components has been carried out on the basis of an environmental pollution economic assessment at the stages of the RES life cycle. Studies have shown that the life cycle of a solar power plant makes the greatest contribution to environmental pollution, but the mini-hydroelectric station - the smallest.

scholarly journals Cost-Effective Options for the Renovation of an Existing Education Building toward the Nearly Net-Zero Energy Goal—Life-Cycle Cost Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Hu
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Life Cycle Cost Analysis ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources

A comprehensive case study on life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was conducted on a two- story education building with a projected 40-year lifespan in College Park, Maryland. The aim of this paper was to (1) create a life cycle assessment model, using an education building to test the model, (2) compare the life cycle cost (LCC) of different renovation scenarios, taking into account added renewable energy resources to achieve the university’s overall carbon neutrality goal, and (3) verify the robustness of the LCC model by conducting sensitivity analysis and studying the influence of different variables. Nine renovation scenarios were constructed by combining six renovation techniques and three renewable energy resources. The LCCA results were then compared to understand the cost-effective relation between implementing energy reduction techniques and renewable energy sources. The results indicated that investing in energy-efficient retrofitting techniques was more cost-effective than investments in renewable energy sources in the long term. In the optimum scenario, renovation and renewable energy, when combined, produced close to a 90% reduction in the life cycle cost compared to the baseline. The payback period for the initial investment cost, including avoided electricity costs, varies from 1.4 to 4.1 years. This suggests that the initial investment in energy-efficient renovation is the primary factor in the LCC of an existing building.

scholarly journals Environmental Impact of Energy Systems Integrated with Electrochemical Accumulators and Powered by Renewable Energy Sources in a Life-Cycle Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2770
Author(s):  
Anna Stoppato ◽  
Alberto Benato ◽  
Francesco De Vanna
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Renewable Sources ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impact of storage systems integrated with energy plants powered by renewable sources. Stationary storage systems proved to be a valid solution for regulating networks, supporting frequency, and managing peaks in electricity supply and demand. Recently, their coupling with renewable energy sources has been considered a strategic means of exploiting their high potential since it permits them to overcome their intrinsic uncertainty. Therefore, the storage systems integration with distributed generation can improve the performance of the networks and decrease the costs associated with energy production. However, a question remains regarding the overall environmental sustainability of the final energy production. Focusing on electrochemical accumulators, the problems mainly concern the use of heavy metals and/or impacting chemical components of storage at the center of environmental hazard debates. In this paper, an environmental assessment from a life-cycle perspective of the hybrid energy systems powered by fossil and renewable sources located on two non-interconnected minor islands is presented. Existing configurations are compared with new ones obtained with the addition of batteries for the exploitation of renewable energy. The results show that, for batteries, the assembly phase, including raw material extraction, transport, and assembly, accounts for about 40% of the total, while the remaining part is related to end-of-life processes. The reuse and recycling of the materials have a positive effect on overall impacts. The results also show that the overall impact is strongly related to the actual energy mix of the place where batteries are installed, even if it is usually lower than that of the solution without the batteries. The importance of a proper definition of the functional unit in the analysis is also emphasized in this work.

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