scholarly journals Production of marine biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge. Preliminary techno-economic analysis and life-cycle GHG emissions assessment of Dutch case study

2022 ◽  
pp. 100178
Author(s):  
E.M. Lozano ◽  
S. Løkke ◽  
L.A. Rosendahl ◽  
T.H. Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Hydrothermal Liquefaction

Incorporating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Freight Transportation Infrastructure Project Evaluation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumith Kumar Oduru ◽  
Pasi Lautala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Freight Transportation ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Simplified Lca ◽  
Modal Route

Transportation industry at large is a major consumer of fossil fuels and contributes heavily to the global greenhouse gas emissions. A significant portion of these emissions come from freight transportation and decisions on mode/route may affect the overall scale of emissions from a specific movement. It is common to consider several alternatives for a new freight activity and compare the alternatives from economic perspective. However, there is a growing emphasis for adding emissions to this evaluation process. One of the approaches to do this is through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); a method for estimating the emissions, energy consumption and environmental impacts of the project throughout its life cycle. Since modal/route selections are often investigated early in the planning stage of the project, availability of data and resources for analysis may become a challenge for completing a detailed LCA on alternatives. This research builds on such detailed LCA comparison performed on a previous case study by Kalluri et al. (2016), but it also investigates whether a simplified LCA process that only includes emissions from operations phase could be used as a less resource intensive option for the analysis while still providing relevant outcomes. The detailed LCA is performed using SimaPro software and simplified LCA is performed using GREET 2016 model. The results are obtained in terms of Kg CO2 equivalents of GHG emissions. This paper introduces both detailed and simplified methodologies and applies them to a case study of a nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The analysis’ are done for three modal alternatives (two truck routes and one rail route) and for multiple mine lives.

scholarly journals A Case Study of Industrial Symbiosis to Reduce GHG Emissions: Performance Analysis and LCA of Asphalt Concretes Made With RAP Aggregates and Steel Slags

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Bonoli ◽  
Anna Degli Esposti ◽  
Chiara Magrini
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Asphalt Pavement ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Industrial Symbiosis ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
The Road ◽  
Emilia Romagna Region

The concept of sustainability in the road construction sector is a complex issue because of the various steps that contribute to the production and release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Addressing this issue, the European Commission has put various policy initiatives in place to encourage the construction industry to adopt circular economy (CE) and industrial symbiosis (IS) principles e.g., the use of recycled materials. Cooperativa Trasporti Imola (CTI), a company located in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy), has been chosen for the current case study to examine practices, management, and the industrial symbiosis network among various companies in the road construction and rehabilitation sector. In this regard, the use of steel slags, obtained by an electric arc furnace (EAF), and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), obtained by the deconstruction and milling of old asphalt pavement have been investigated. Two mixtures of recycled hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) i) were prepared incorporating different recycled material percentages for the wearing and binder course, respectively, ii) were characterized in terms of size distribution, strength modulus and volumetric properties, iii) and finally were compared to the performances of two mixtures entirely designed by virgin materials for the wearing and binder course, respectively. Therefore, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool was chosen to evaluate the environmental impacts that affect the designed road life cycle. The results show that recycling RAP and EAF slags in a CTI batch plant provides benefits by reducing the consumption of virgin bitumen and aggregates and by reducing CO2eq emissions. Finally, practical implications on the use of recycled materials in new asphalt mixtures from a life cycle and industrial symbiosis perspective are provided.

scholarly journals Comparison of Product Carbon Footprint Protocols: Case Study on Medium-Density Fiberboard in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Wang ◽  
Weifeng Wang ◽  
Hongqiang Yang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Medium Density Fiberboard ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Life Cycle Stage ◽  
Medium Density ◽  
Biogenic Carbon ◽  
Pas 2050

Carbon footprint (CF) analysis is widely used to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a product during its life cycle. A number of protocols, such as Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050, GHG Protocol Product Standard (GHG Protocol), and ISO 14067 Carbon Footprint of Products (ISO 14067), have been developed for CF calculations. This study aims to compare the criteria and implications of the three protocols. The medium-density fiberboard (MDF) (functional unit: 1 m3) has been selected as a case study to illustrate this comparison. Different criteria, such as the life cycle stage included, cut-off criteria, biogenic carbon treatment, and other requirements, were discussed. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) for MDF was conducted. The CF values were −667.75, −658.42, and 816.92 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) with PAS 2050, GHG protocol, and ISO 14067, respectively. The main reasons for the different results obtained were the application of different cut-off criteria, exclusion rules, and the treatment of carbon storage. A cradle-to-grave assessment (end-of-life scenarios: landfill and incineration) was also performed to identify opportunities for improving MDF production. A sensitivity analysis to assess the implications of different end-of-life disposals was conducted, indicating that landfill may be preferable from a GHG standpoint. The comparison of these three protocols provides insights for adopting appropriate methods to calculate GHG emissions for the MDF industry. A key finding is that for both LCA practitioners and policy-makers, PAS 2050 is preferentially recommended to assess the CF of MDF.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Nitrate and Compound Fertilizers Production—A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Georgios Gaidajis ◽  
Ilias Kakanis
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Water Eutrophication ◽  
Production Industry ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

The production and utilization of fertilizers are processes with known and noteworthy environmental impacts. Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a high contribution to water eutrophication due to the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) derivatives are some of the most crucial impacts derived from the overall life cycle of fertilizer use. The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been reliable and analytical tool for the identification, quantification, and evaluation of potential environmental impacts of fertilizers related to the products, production processes, or activities throughout their lifecycle. In this paper, a gate-to-gate LCA approach was applied in order to identify and evaluate the impacts derived from the production processes of nitrate and compound fertilizers the production industry in Northeastern Greece. The results from this study prove that compound fertilizers have a greater impact compared with nitrate fertilizers, contributing up to 70% of the total production impacts. Furthermore, climate change, freshwater eutrophication, and fossil fuel depletion were identified as the most crucial impact categories. Finally, a comparison with relevant LCA studies was conducted, in order to identify the possibility of a consistency pattern of the fertilizer production impacts in general.

Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment for energy generation from sugarcane bagasse: Case study for a sugar mill in Mexico

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 281-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam A. Amezcua-Allieri ◽  
Elías Martínez-Hernández ◽  
Omar Anaya-Reza ◽  
Moisés Magdaleno-Molina ◽  
Luis A. Melgarejo-Flores ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Sugarcane Bagasse ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
Sugar Mill

scholarly journals Greenhouse Gas Impact of Algal Bio-Crude Production for a Range of CO2 Supply Scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 11931
Author(s):  
Pratham Arora ◽  
Ronald R. Chance ◽  
Howard Hendrix ◽  
Matthew J. Realff ◽  
Valerie M. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Hydrothermal Liquefaction ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Carbon Utilization ◽  
Ghg Reduction

Refined bio-crude production from hydrothermal liquefaction of algae holds the potential to replace fossil-based conventional liquid fuels. The microalgae act as natural carbon sequestrators by consuming CO2. However, this absorbed CO2 is released to the atmosphere during the combustion of the bio-crude. Thus, the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of refined bio-crude are linked to the production and supply of the materials involved and the process energy demands. One prominent raw material is CO2, which is the main source of carbon for algae and the subsequent products. The emissions associated with the supply of CO2 can have a considerable impact on the sustainability of the algae-based refined bio-crude production process. Furthermore, the diurnal algae growth cycle complicates the CO2 supply scenarios. Traditionally, studies have relied on CO2 supplied from existing power plants. However, there is potential for building natural gas or biomass-based power plants with the primary aim of supplying CO2 to the biorefinery. Alternately, a direct air capture (DAC) process can extract CO2 directly from the air. The life-cycle GHG emissions associated with the production of refined bio-crude through hydrothermal liquefaction of algae are presented in this study. Different CO2 supply scenarios, including existing fossil fuel power plants and purpose-built CO2 sources, are compared. The integration of the CO2 sources with the algal biorefinery is also presented. The CO2 supply from biomass-based power plants has the highest potential for GHG reduction, with a GHG footprint of −57 g CO2 eq./MJ refined bio-crude. The CO2 supply from the DAC process has a GHG footprint of 49 CO2 eq./MJ refined bio-crude, which is very similar to the scenario that considers the supply of CO2 from an existing conventional natural gas-based plant and takes credit for the carbon utilization.

scholarly journals Assessing the Mitigation Potential of Environmental Impacts From Circular Economy Strategies on an Industrial Sector and Its Value Chain: A Case Study on the Steel Value Chain in Quebec

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavien Binet ◽  
François Saunier ◽  
Manuele Margni
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Steel Industry ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Mitigation Potential ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

This research project aims to evaluate the potential reduction of environmental impacts from circular economy strategies on an industrial sector at a regional scale with a case study on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Quebec's steel industry and its value chain. To do so, an integrated model has been created based on the matrix approach, building on material flow analysis (MFA) tracking flows and stocks and on life cycle assessment (LCA) to compute direct (from the activity, e.g., combustion process) and indirect (from the supply chain, e.g., production of raw material inside or outside of region) emissions. This theoretical model is designed to be applied to any emissions or environmental impacts from a specific sector in a given region and enable to model the effects of circularity strategies to both flows and related environmental impacts. The overall mitigation potential of individual or combined circular economy strategies on a specific sector could thus be evaluated across its entire value chain. In the case study, a set of the most promising circular strategies applicable in the Quebec context were identified, and the GHG reduction potential within and outside the province is calculated and compared with actual emissions. Six circular strategies were analyzed acting at three different levers, namely, GHG/material (increase iron recycling rate, switch to hydrogen-based reduction production), material/product (reduce weight of vehicle, limit over-specification in building construction), and product/service (increase buildings and cars lifetime, increase car-sharing), and therefore impact rather direct or indirect emissions on different stages of the steel life cycle. Combining these six strategies into a consolidated scenario shows that a circular-driven economy allows to cut down GHG emissions of the cradle-to-gate steel industry value chain by −55%, i.e., 1.67 Mt CO2e. Taking into account use phase of steel, overall reductions are estimated at −6.03 Mt CO2e, i.e., −30% of the whole life cycle.

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