scholarly journals Life-LCA: the first case study of the life cycle impacts of a human being

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bossek ◽  
Marcel Goermer ◽  
Vanessa Bach ◽  
Annekatrin Lehmann ◽  
Matthias Finkbeiner
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Consumption Pattern ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose Besides politics and companies, changes in a human being’s consumption pattern can significantly contribute to sustainable development. The recently published Life-LCA method adapts life cycle assessment to analyse human beings and quantifies their impacts. For the first time, this method is applied in this case study to provide insights and remaining challenges. Methods The environmental impacts of the life cycle of a middle-aged German man (“Dirk”) were determined by the Life-LCA method from his birth until his current age (0–49 years). To determine and quantify reduction options, a current 1-year period was analysed in detail by a baseline scenario of his current consumption and an optimized scenario after changing his consumption patterns. The environmental impact assessment included global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), and photochemical ozone creation potentials (POCP). Results and discussion Dirk emitted 1,140 t CO2-eq., 4.48 t SO2-eq., 1.69 t PO4-eq., and 0.537 t C2H4-eq. emissions over his current life. Transportation dominated all considered impact categories (40 up to 55%). Energy and water consumption is the second dominant product category for GWP (39%). Food products are with 10% the third biggest contributor to GWP, but rather contribute significantly to the impact categories AP (34%), EP (42%), and POCP (20%). The optimized scenario analysis revealed significant reductions for all studied impacts in the range of 60–65%. CO2-eq. emissions were reduced from 28 to 10 t/a. The remaining challenges include data collection from childhood, gaps and inconsistencies of existing data for consumer goods, the allocation between product users, and depreciation of long-living products. Conclusion The first Life-LCA case study confirmed the applicability of the Life-LCA method. It showed that the Life-LCA approach allows for tracking individual consumption patterns of a human being. The impacts of behavioural changes were quantified, and significant reduction potentials of the environmental impacts were revealed. Additional case studies on persons of different age, region, culture, and lifestyles are needed for further insights and methodological refinements.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Maize-Germ Oil Production and The Use of Bioenergy to Mitigate Environmental Impacts: A Gate-To-Gate Case Study

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Gaglio ◽  
Elena Tamburini ◽  
Francesco Lucchesi ◽  
Vassilis Aschonitis ◽  
Anna Atti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Industrial Processing ◽  
The Impact

The need to reduce the environmental impacts of the food industry is increasing together with the dramatic increment of global food demand. Circulation strategies such as the exploitation of self-produced renewable energy sources can improve ecological performances of industrial processes. However, evidence is needed to demonstrate and characterize such environmental benefits. This study assessed the environmental performances of industrial processing of maize edible oil, whose energy provision is guaranteed by residues biomasses. A gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was applied for a large-size factory of Northern Italy to describe: (i) the environmental impacts related to industrial processing and (ii) the contribution of residue-based bioenergy to their mitigation, through the comparison with a reference system based on conventional energy. The results showed that oil refinement is the most impacting phase for almost all the considered impact categories. The use of residue-based bioenergy was found to drastically reduce the emissions for all the impact categories. Moreover, Cumulative Energy Demand analysis revealed that the use of biomass residues increased energy efficiency through a reduction of the total energy demand of the industrial process. The study demonstrates that the exploitation of residue-based bioenergy can be a sustainable solution to improve environmental performances of the food industry, while supporting circular economy.

scholarly journals Environmental impacts of European trade: interpreting results of process-based LCA and environmentally extended input–output analysis towards hotspot identification

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2432-2450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Beylot ◽  
Sara Corrado ◽  
Serenella Sala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Input Output Analysis ◽  
European Trade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modelling Approaches

Abstract Purpose Trade is increasingly considered a significant contributor to environmental impacts. The assessment of the impacts of trade is usually performed via environmentally extended input–output analysis (EEIOA). However, process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to traded goods allows increasing the granularity of the analysis and may be essential to unveil specific impacts due to traded products. Methods This study assesses the environmental impacts of the European trade, considering two modelling approaches: respectively EEIOA, using EXIOBASE 3 as supporting database, and process-based LCA. The interpretation of the results is pivotal to improve the robustness of the assessment and the identification of hotspots. The hotspot identification focuses on temporal trends and on the contribution of products and substances to the overall impacts. The inventories of elementary flows associated with EU trade, for the period 2000–2010, have been characterized considering 14 impact categories according to the Environmental Footprint (EF2017) Life Cycle Impact Assessment method. Results and discussion The two modelling approaches converge in highlighting that in the period 2000–2010: (i) EU was a net importer of environmental impacts; (ii) impacts of EU trade and EU trade balance (impacts of imports minus impacts of exports) were increasing over time, regarding most impact categories under study; and (iii) similar manufactured products were the main contributors to the impacts of exports from EU, regarding most impact categories. However, some results are discrepant: (i) larger impacts are obtained from IO analysis than from process-based LCA, regarding most impact categories, (ii) a different set of most contributing products is identified by the two approaches in the case of imports, and (iii) large differences in the contributions of substances are observed regarding resource use, toxicity, and ecotoxicity indicators. Conclusions The interpretation step is crucial to unveil the main hotspots, encompassing a comparison of the differences between the two methodologies, the assumptions, the data coverage and sources, the completeness of inventory as basis for impact assessment. The main driver for the observed divergences is identified to be the differences in the impact intensities of goods, both induced by inherent properties of the IO and life cycle inventory databases and by some of this study’s modelling choices. The combination of IO analysis and process-based LCA in a hybrid framework, as performed in other studies but generally not at the macro-scale of the full trade of a country or region, appears a potential important perspective to refine such an assessment in the future.

scholarly journals Distinct microalgae species for food—part 1: a methodological (top-down) approach for the life cycle assessment of microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 2977-2995 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schade ◽  
T. Meier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Season Length ◽  
Microalgae Cultivation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Tubular Photobioreactor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tubular Photobioreactors

Abstract Specific microalgae species are an adequate source of EPA and DHA and are able to provide a complete protein, which makes them highly interesting for human nutrition. However, microalgae cultivation has also been described to be energy intensive and environmentally unfavorable in pilot-scale reactors. Moreover, production in cold temperature zones has not been sufficiently investigated. In particular, the effects of tube materials and cultivation season length have rarely been previously investigated in the context of a comparative LCA of microalgae cultivation. A computational “top-down” model was conducted to calculate input flows for Nannochloropsis sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum cultivation in a hypothetical tubular photobioreactor. Cultivation processes were calculated according to detailed satellite climatic data for the chosen location in Central Germany. This model was applied to a set of different scenarios, including variations in photobioreactor material, tube diameter, microalgae species, and cultivation season length. Based on these data, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed following ISO standard 14040/44. The impact assessment comprised the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, cumulative energy demand, and water scarcity. The results showed that a long cultivation season in spring and fall was always preferable in terms of environmental impacts, although productivity decreased significantly due to the climatic preconditions. Acrylic glass as a tube material had higher environmental impacts than all other scenarios. The cultivation of an alternative microalgae species showed only marginal differences in the environmental impacts compared with the baseline scenario. Critical processes in all scenarios included the usage of hydrogen peroxide for the cleaning of the tubes, nitrogen fertilizer, and electricity for mixing, centrifugation, and drying. Microalgae cultivation in a tubular photobioreactor in a “cold-weather” climate for food is sustainable and could possibly be a complement to nutrients from other food groups. The added value of this study lies in the detailed description of a complex and flexible microalgae cultivation model. The new model introduced in this study can be applied to numerous other scenarios to evaluate photoautotrophic microalgae cultivation in tubular photobioreactors. Thus, it is possible to vary the facility location, seasons, scale, tube dimensions and material, microalgae species, nutrient inputs, and flow velocity. Moreover, single processes can easily be complemented or exchanged to further adjust the model individually, if, for instance, another downstream pathway is required.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Dietary Patterns in the United States: A Full Food Supply Chain Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daesoo Kim ◽  
Ranjan Parajuli ◽  
Gregory J. Thoma
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vegetarian Diet ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Consumption Pattern

A tiered hybrid input–output-based life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to analyze potential environmental impacts associated with current US food consumption patterns and the recommended USDA food consumption patterns. The greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) in the current consumption pattern (CFP 2547 kcal) and the USDA recommended food consumption pattern (RFP 2000 kcal) were 8.80 and 9.61 tons CO2-eq per household per year, respectively. Unlike adopting a vegetarian diet (i.e., RFP 2000 kcal veg or RFP 2600 kcal veg), adoption of a RFP 2000 kcal diet has a probability of increasing GHGEs and other environmental impacts under iso-caloric analysis. The bigger environmental impacts of non-vegetarian RFP scenarios were largely attributable to supply chain activities and food losses at retail and consumer levels. However, the RFP 2000 vegetarian diet showed a significant reduction in the environmental impacts (e.g., GHGEs were 22% lower than CFP 2547). Uncertainty analysis confirmed that the RFP 2600 scenario (mean of 11.2; range 10.3–12.4 tons CO2-eq per household per year) is higher than CFP 2547 (mean of 8.81; range 7.89–9.95 tons CO2-eq per household per year) with 95% confidence. The outcomes highlight the importance of incorporating environmental sustainability into dietary guidelines through the entire life cycle of the food system with a full accounting of the effects of food loss/waste.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Complex Forestry Enterprise: A Case Study of a Forest–Fiberboard Integrated Enterprise

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4147
Author(s):  
Xuyao Zhang ◽  
Weimin Zhang ◽  
Dayu Xu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Wood Fuel ◽  
Forestry Production ◽  
The Impact

The complex forestry enterprises incorporate the production activities of different links in the value chain of forest products and should be the mainstay for the sustainable forestry production of China in the foreseeable future. This case study was carried out and main data were collected in a forest–board integrated enterprise of South China. A life cycle model using the impact 2002+ method was applied to identify the resource consumption and environmental impacts of different production stages along the industrial chain. This study incorporates the calculation of carbon sequestration per unit output into the standard LCA to evaluate the effect of the forest cultivation stage. The objective of this study is two-fold. The first objective is to gain a better understanding of the environmental impacts of the complex forestry enterprises. The second objective is to put forward environmental management suggestions for the identified hotspots along the forest value chain. Factors affecting the environment include carbon sequestration and seedlings, electric power, and the use of wood fuel. Improvement suggestions are put forward from three perspectives: Changing the type and application method of fertilizer, reducing electric power consumption, and reducing wood fuel consumption.

scholarly journals Environmental Impact of Edible Flower Production: A Case Study

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 579
Author(s):  
Nicole Mélanie Falla ◽  
Simone Contu ◽  
Sonia Demasi ◽  
Matteo Caser ◽  
Valentina Scariot
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Percentage Increase ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Potted Plants ◽  
Productive Process ◽  
Acidification Potential ◽  
The Impact

Nowadays the heightened awareness of the critical trend in resource depletion impels to improve the eco − sustainability of any productive process. The research presented in this paper aims to quantify the environmental impact of the emerging productive process of edible flowers, focusing on two model species, i.e., Begonia x semperflorens − cultorum hort and Viola cornuta L., and two types of product, i.e., flowering potted plants sold in plastic vases and packaged flowers ready to be consumed. The study was carried out in an Italian nursery located in Tuscany, interviewing the owners in order to complete the Life Cycle Inventory, assessing the value of the impact categories, and using the “cradle to gate” approach. The information about the production of flowering potted plants and packaged flowers were inserted in a database and elaborated by the appropriate software. The results of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis referred to 1 g of fresh edible flowers and were expressed in four impact categories. Global Warming Potential (GWP) values ranged from 24.94 to 31.25 g CO2 eq/g flowers, Acidification Potential (AP) ranged from 8.169E − 02 to 1.249E − 01 g SO2 eq/g flowers, Eutrophication Potential (EP) ranged from 3.961E − 02 to 5.284E − 02 g PO43 − eq/g flowers, and Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) ranged from 8.998E − 03 to 1.134E − 02 g C2H4 eq/g flowers. Begonias showed lower emissions than violas in the GWP and POCP indexes, whereas violas showed lower values in the AP and EP impact categories. The most impactful phase was the propagation, accounting on average for 42% of the total emissions. Overall, the findings highlighted a higher environmental load for the production of both begonias and violas packaged flowers, especially if in small containers, rather than as potted plants, with an emission percentage increase from 8% to 17% among the impact categories.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment Contribution in the Product Development Process: Case Study of Wood Aluminum-Laminated Panel

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Segovia ◽  
Pierre Blanchet ◽  
Ben Amor ◽  
Costel Barbuta ◽  
Robert Beauregard
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Physical And Mechanical Properties ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Aluminum Honeycomb ◽  
Laminated Panels ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wood Based Composite

The benefits of aluminum lamination in improving the physical and mechanical properties of wood-based composites is now well documented. This paper shows the contribution of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to assess and compare the environmental footprint in the development of laminated panels. SimaPro 9.0 software, using Ecoinvent database was used to analyze the environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing of wood aluminum-laminated (WAL) panels and aluminum honeycomb panel (AHP). The impact 2002+ method was used to estimate environmental impacts. The LCA results show that the WAL panels manufacturing had a lower environmental impact than AHP manufacturing. In term of product, wood-based composites were the best choice as a core in laminated panel manufacturing. Wood-based composite manufacturing showed environmental advantages in all damage categories except in ecosystem quality. Aluminum alloy sheets manufacturing played an important role in the generation of environmental impacts for laminated panel development.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of an NMC Battery for Application to Electric Light-Duty Commercial Vehicles and Comparison with a Sodium-Nickel-Chloride Battery

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1160
Author(s):  
Antonella Accardo ◽  
Giovanni Dotelli ◽  
Marco Luigi Musa ◽  
Ezio Spessa
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Nickel Chloride ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Commercial Vehicles ◽  
Light Duty ◽  
Electric Light ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents the results of an environmental assessment of a Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) Lithium-ion traction battery for Battery Electric Light-Duty Commercial Vehicles (BEV-LDCV) used for urban and regional freight haulage. A cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of NMC111 is provided, operation and end-of-life stages are included, and insight is also given into a Life Cycle Assessment of different NMC chemistries. The environmental impacts of the manufacturing stages of the NMC111 battery are then compared with those of a Sodium-Nickel-Chloride (ZEBRA) battery. In the second part of the work, two electric-battery LDCVs (powered with NMC111 and ZEBRA batteries, respectively) and a diesel urban LDCV are analysed, considering a wide set of environmental impact categories. The results show that the NMC111 battery has the highest impacts from production in most of the impact categories. Active cathode material, Aluminium, Copper, and energy use for battery production are the main contributors to the environmental impact. However, when vehicle application is investigated, NMC111-BEV shows lower environmental impacts, in all the impact categories, than ZEBRA-BEV. This is mainly due to the greater efficiency of the NMC111 battery during vehicle operation. Finally, when comparing BEVs to a diesel LDCV, the electric powertrains show advantages over the diesel one as far as global warming, abiotic depletion potential-fossil fuels, photochemical oxidation, and ozone layer depletion are concerned. However, the diesel LDCV performs better in almost all the other investigated impact categories.

scholarly journals LCA of Glass Versus PET Mineral Water Bottles: An Italian Case Study

Recycling ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Carmen Ferrara ◽  
Giovanni De Feo ◽  
Vincenza Picone
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mineral Water ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Pet Bottles ◽  
The Impact

Due to the serious problem of plastic pollution in aquatic environment, many people reject plastic packaging in favour of glass containers which are considered more sustainable. To avoid misjudgements, the sustainability assessment of packaging alternatives should be carried out with a life cycle thinking approach. In this regard, the study presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of two alternative packaging systems for drinking water: reusable glass bottles and polyethylene (PET) bottles. The case study was performed considering the real data of an Italian mineral water company that bottles and distributes both natural and sparkling water. The environmental impacts of the two packaging systems were estimated with the ReCiPe 2016 (H) evaluation method adopting both midpoint and endpoint approaches. The results showed that the PET bottle is the most sustainable alternative for natural water for many impact categories; while, in the case of sparkling water, the environmental impacts of the two packaging systems are similar and the most environmentally sound solution can vary depending on the impact category. The following are the most significant aspects of the analysis: (1) the number of reuses of a single glass bottle; (2) the distribution distance. Their variation can determine which packaging is the most sustainable. Therefore, a life cycle assessment approach is needed for each specific case.

scholarly journals Environmental Impact Assessment of Thai Minced Fish Paste (Surimi) Using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-153
Author(s):  
Harnpon Phungrassami ◽  
Phairat Usubharatana
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Allocation Method ◽  
The Impact

Environmental impacts of fishery production have resulted in increased concern and awareness. Thailand, as one of the largest global fish exporters, faces challenges related to environmental problems caused by fishery processes. Here, the environmental impact of Thai surimi production was estimated based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, focusing specifically on two Thai surimi products made from goatfish and ponyfish caught within the southern region of Thailand. Three impact categories where explored: global warming, acidification and eutrophication. Life cycle impacts were calculated for one kg of product using both mass and economic allocations. Results of this study indicated that goatfish has lower impacts than ponyfish for all the impact categories. Fuel consumption during the fishery phase and electricity consumption during processing were the main parameters leading to most of the considered environmental impacts. The value of Global Warming  Potential(GWP) ranged within 1.3‒3.0 kg CO2eq for goatfish and 2.2‒7.1 kg CO2eq ponyfish depending on the allocation method. The acidification impact of goatfish and ponyfish were revealed at 3.2‒7.3 gSO2eq and 12.7‒39.7 gSO2eq, respectively. The eutrophication of goatfish and ponyfish were 0.7‒1.6 gPO4eq and 2.5‒8.1 gPO4eq, respectively. Sensitivity analysis of fuel consumption, electricity consumption, product yield and allocation method were evaluated.

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