Characterisation of the environmental impact of a turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) re-circulating production system using Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a decision support tool that can be used to evaluate the potential environmental impact of a product system. Environmental impact associated with the production of (0.0508×0.1524×3.6576) m lumber referred to as “2by6” in the primary wood industry was evaluated. This assessment is a cradle to gate system with boundaries spanning from the point of raw material extraction in Osun state, to transportation of the lumber product to wood market in Ibadan, Oyo state. The study compared four production scenarios by varying haulage distance and energy source during production at two sawmill facilities located in Ife and Ikire in Osun state. Data obtained from the production system were analysed using GaBi6 software to estimate and classify the emissions into five impact categories. Life Cycle Impact Assessment result (LCIA) showed that Acidification Potential (AP), Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Smog Potential (SP) were the most significant impact indicators observed in the four production scenarios. AP (2.883, 3.352, 3.483, 3.951) kg H+ mole-Equiv, GWP (13.25, 14.44, 15.45, 16.65) kg CO2-Equiv and SP (1.86, 2.15, 2.24, 2.53) kg O3-Equiv. Scenario 4 which involved a longer transportation distance and employed a diesel generator for the milling process showed the least environmental performance. Processes that contributed significant impact were wood waste disposal method employed and the secondary transportation processes during logging activities. In order to achieve a better production system, practices that encourage less waste generation and the use of renewable energy were recommended.Keywords— LCA, lumber production, environmental impact, wood waste

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Life cycle assessment of edible insects (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) as a future protein and fat source

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93284-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Amin Nikkhah ◽

Sam Van Haute ◽

Vesna Jovanovic ◽

Heejung Jung ◽

Jo Dewulf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Production System ◽

Food Production ◽

Edible Insects ◽

Edible Insect ◽

Protaetia Brevitarsis Seulensis ◽

Food Production System

AbstractBecause it is important to develop new sustainable sources of edible protein, insects have been recommended as a new protein source. This study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental impact of small-scale edible insect production unit in South Korea. IMPACT 2002 + was applied as the baseline impact assessment (IA) methodology. The CML-IA baseline, EDIP 2003, EDP 2013, ILCD 2011 Midpoint, and ReCiPe midpoint IA methodologies were also used for LCIA methodology sensitivity analysis. The protein, fat contents, and fatty acid profile of the investigated insect (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) were analyzed to determine its potential food application. The results revealed that the studied edible insect production system has beneficial environmental effects on various impact categories (ICs), i.e., land occupation, mineral extraction, aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity, due to utilization of bio-waste to feed insects. This food production system can mitigate the negative environmental effects of those ICs, but has negative environmental impact on some other ICs such as global warming potential. By managing the consumption of various inputs, edible insects can become an environmentally efficient food production system for human nutrition.

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Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies

Journal of Industrial Ecology ◽

10.1111/jiec.13189 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cheila Almeida ◽

Philippe Loubet ◽

Tamíris Pacheco da Costa ◽

Paula Quinteiro ◽

Jara Laso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Supply Chains

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13095322 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5322

Author(s):

Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽

Noelia Llantoy ◽

Valeria Palomba ◽

Andrea Frazzica ◽

Mattia Dallapiccola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Mediterranean Climate ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Storage System ◽

Hot Water ◽

Electrical Consumption ◽

The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

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Life cycle assessment of peach transportation considering trade-off between food loss and environmental impact

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment ◽

10.1007/s11367-020-01832-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuma Sasaki ◽

Takahiro Orikasa ◽

Nobutaka Nakamura ◽

Kiyotada Hayashi ◽

Yoshihito Yasaka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Trade Off ◽

Food Loss

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Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Phase Change Material in an Evacuated Solar Tube Collector

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14144146 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (14) ◽

pp. 4146

Author(s):

Agnieszka Jachura ◽

Robert Sekret

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Phase Change ◽

Phase Change Material ◽

Solar Collector ◽

Hot Water ◽

Production Operation ◽

Management Scenarios ◽

Change Material

This paper presents an environmental impact assessment of the entire cycle of existence of the tube-vacuum solar collector prototype. The innovativeness of the solution involved using a phase change material as a heat-storing material, which was placed inside the collector’s tubes-vacuum. The PCM used in this study was paraffin. The system boundaries contained three phases: production, operation (use phase), and disposal. An ecological life cycle assessment was carried out using the SimaPro software. To compare the environmental impact of heat storage, the amount of heat generated for 15 years, starting from the beginning of a solar installation for preparing domestic hot water for a single-family residential building, was considered the functional unit. Assuming comparable production methods for individual elements of the ETC and waste management scenarios, the reduction in harmful effects on the environment by introducing a PCM that stores heat inside the ETC ranges from 17 to 24%. The performed analyses have also shown that the method itself of manufacturing the materials used for the construction of the solar collector and the choice of the scenario of the disposal of waste during decommissioning the solar collector all play an important role in its environmental assessment. With an increase in the application of the advanced technologies of materials manufacturing and an increase in the amount of waste subjected to recycling, the degree of the solar collector’s environmental impact decreased by 82% compared to its standard manufacture and disposal.

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Estimation of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from a Traditional Nutrient-Rich Cambodian Diet Food Production System Using Life Cycle Assessment

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13073660 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 3660

Author(s):

Rathna Hor ◽

Phanna Ly ◽

Agusta Samodra Putra ◽

Riaru Ishizaki ◽

Tofael Ahamed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Production System ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Food Production ◽

Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽

Food Production System

Traditional Cambodian food has higher nutrient balances and is environmentally sustainable compared to conventional diets. However, there is a lack of knowledge and evidence on nutrient intake and the environmental greenness of traditional food at different age distributions. The relationship between nutritional intake and environmental impact can be evaluated using carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from agricultural production based on life cycle assessment (LCA). The objective of this study was to estimate the CO2 equivalent (eq) emissions from the traditional Cambodian diet using LCA, starting at each agricultural production phase. A one-year food consumption scenario with the traditional diet was established. Five breakfast (BF1–5) and seven lunch and dinner (LD1–7) food sets were consumed at the same rate and compared using LCA. The results showed that BF1 and LD2 had the lowest and highest emissions (0.3 Mt CO2 eq/yr and 1.2 Mt CO2 eq/yr, respectively). The food calories, minerals, and vitamins met the recommended dietary allowance. The country’s existing food production system generates CO2 emissions of 9.7 Mt CO2 eq/yr, with the proposed system reducing these by 28.9% to 6.9 Mt CO2 eq/yr. The change in each food item could decrease emissions depending on the type and quantity of the food set, especially meat and milk consumption.

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Attributional & Consequential Life Cycle Assessment: Definitions, Conceptual Characteristics and Modelling Restrictions

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137386 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7386

Author(s):

Thomas Schaubroeck ◽

Simon Schaubroeck ◽

Reinout Heijungs ◽

Alessandra Zamagni ◽

Miguel Brandão ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Product Life Cycle ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Consequential Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Modelling Framework ◽

Potential Environmental Impact ◽

Reference Environment ◽

The Impact

To assess the potential environmental impact of human/industrial systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a very common method. There are two prominent types of LCA, namely attributional (ALCA) and consequential (CLCA). A lot of literature covers these approaches, but a general consensus on what they represent and an overview of all their differences seems lacking, nor has every prominent feature been fully explored. The two main objectives of this article are: (1) to argue for and select definitions for each concept and (2) specify all conceptual characteristics (including translation into modelling restrictions), re-evaluating and going beyond findings in the state of the art. For the first objective, mainly because the validity of interpretation of a term is also a matter of consensus, we argue the selection of definitions present in the 2011 UNEP-SETAC report. ALCA attributes a share of the potential environmental impact of the world to a product life cycle, while CLCA assesses the environmental consequences of a decision (e.g., increase of product demand). Regarding the second objective, the product system in ALCA constitutes all processes that are linked by physical, energy flows or services. Because of the requirement of additivity for ALCA, a double-counting check needs to be executed, modelling is restricted (e.g., guaranteed through linearity) and partitioning of multifunctional processes is systematically needed (for evaluation per single product). The latter matters also hold in a similar manner for the impact assessment, which is commonly overlooked. CLCA, is completely consequential and there is no limitation regarding what a modelling framework should entail, with the coverage of co-products through substitution being just one approach and not the only one (e.g., additional consumption is possible). Both ALCA and CLCA can be considered over any time span (past, present & future) and either using a reference environment or different scenarios. Furthermore, both ALCA and CLCA could be specific for average or marginal (small) products or decisions, and further datasets. These findings also hold for life cycle sustainability assessment.

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