Environmental effects evaluation of photovoltaic power industry in China on life cycle assessment

Abstract Forecasting crop yield and its environmental effects can help increase agricultural energy efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. This study provides mathematical, adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and neural networks (ANNs) techniques for forecast yield, economic profit, and global warming of wheat production. For this purpose, 75 wheat farms located in the central area of Hamadan province were selected randomly and data were gathered through oral interview. Then, computed the input and output energy, life cycle assessment (LCA) was utilized to specify the environmental effects of wheat cultivation. The calculations displayed that the averages of inputs and outputs energy were about 43055 MJ ha−1 and 117407 MJ ha−1, respectively. The LCA results demonstrated that wheat cultivation cause to the emissions of 624.29 kg CO2 eq. ton−1. ANN structures for predicting yield, economic profit and global warming in wheat production with two hidden layers were the best topologies. ANFIS model results indicated that in the 3-level ANFIS model, the highest R2 is found for net return (0.962). The results comparison showed that ANN and ANFIS models outperform linear models to predict yield, economic profit, and global warming of wheat production.

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Towards Prospective Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment

Volume 6: 25th Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference (DFMLC) ◽

10.1115/detc2020-22526 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Abigail R. Clarke-Sather ◽

Saleh Mamun ◽

Daniel Nolan ◽

Patrick Schoff ◽

Matthew Aro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Economic Impacts ◽

Cultural Perspective

Abstract Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-established tool for measuring environmental effects of existing technology. While the most recent LCA research has focused on environmental impacts, in particular on the effects of climate change, there is growing interest in how LCA can be used prospectively. A 2019 workshop in Duluth, Minnesota sought to define the needs and priorities of prospective life cycle assessment from a perspective that considers diverse viewpoints. In that workshop, participants outlined frameworks for how sustainability impacts might figure into a prospective LCA tool focused on assessing technologies currently under development. Those frameworks included social and economic impacts, which were characterized alongside environmental impacts, with the goal of predicting potential impacts and developing recommendations for improving technologies. Cultural perspective, in particular the roots of the German circular economy, was explored and held up as a reminder that different communities are influenced by different sustainability concerns, leading to diverse policy and cultural prerogatives. The purpose of this paper is to catalyze conversation about how to frame methodologies of existing LCA tools that could be used in a prospective sustainability context.

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Life cycle assessment of grid-connected photovoltaic power generation from crystalline silicon solar modules in China

Applied Energy ◽

10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.11.023 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 164 ◽

pp. 882-890 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Guofu Hou ◽

Honghang Sun ◽

Ziying Jiang ◽

Ziqiang Pan ◽

Yibo Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Crystalline Silicon ◽

Photovoltaic Power

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Environmental effects of China's solar photovoltaic industry during 2011–2016: A life cycle assessment approach

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.129 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 170 ◽

pp. 310-329 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Liang Xu ◽

Sufang Zhang ◽

Mengshi Yang ◽

William Li ◽

Jerry Xu

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Assessment Approach

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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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