scholarly journals Life cycle sustainability assessment of geothermal heating and cooling system: UIC case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 07003
Author(s):  
Krishna R. Reddy ◽  
Sanjeeta N. Ghimire ◽  
Emmanuelle Wemeyi ◽  
Roya Zanjani ◽  
Liang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Conventional Heating ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Geothermal Heating ◽  
Heating And Cooling

This study presents a sustainability assessment of geothermal heating and cooling system of three buildings at the University of Illinois at Chicago - Grant, Lincoln, and Douglas Halls based upon the triple bottom line sustainability framework and presents a comparison between geothermal and conventional heating and cooling systems. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to evaluate and quantify the environmental impacts for both geothermal and conventional systems. Similarly, economic impacts were evaluated by making a comparison between direct and indirect costs of both systems. Indirect costs were calculated using Stepwise 2006 incorporated in monetized LCA and compared that cost with social cost of carbon. Social impacts were quantified using Social Sustainability Evaluation Matrix (SSEM) which covers four major dimensions of society: social-individual, socio-institutional, socio-economic, and socio-environmental. An overall sustainability index for geothermal system and conventional system was calculated by evaluating environmental, economic, and social impacts using Integrated Value Model for Sustainability Assessment (MIVES) methodology. The results show that the geothermal heating and cooling system is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than the conventional system.

BIM-enabled sustainability assessment of material supply decisions

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 668-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alireza Ahmadian F.F. ◽  
Taha H. Rashidi ◽  
Ali Akbarnezhad ◽  
S. Travis Waller
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Material Supply ◽  
Trade Offs

Purpose Enhancing sustainability of the supply process of construction materials is challenging and requires accounting for a variety of environmental and social impacts on top of the traditional, mostly economic, impacts associated with a particular decision involved in the management of the supply chain. The economic, environmental, and social impacts associated with various components of a typical supply chain are highly sensitive to project and market specific conditions. The purpose of this paper is to provide decision makers with a methodology to account for the systematic trade-offs between economic, environmental, and social impacts of supply decisions. Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a novel framework for sustainability assessment of construction material supply chain decisions by taking advantage of the information made available by customized building information models (BIM) and a number of different databases required for assessment of life cycle impacts. Findings The framework addresses the hierarchy of decisions in the material supply process, which consists of four levels including material type, source of supply, supply chain structure, and mode of transport. The application is illustrated using a case study. Practical implications The proposed framework provides users with a decision-making method to select the most sustainable material alternative available for a building component and, thus, may be of great value to different parties involved in design and construction of a building. The multi-dimensional approach in selection process based on various economic, environmental, and social indicators as well as the life cycle perspective implemented through the proposed methodology advocates the life cycle thinking and the triple bottom line approach in sustainability. The familiarity of the new generation of engineers, architects, and contractors with this approach and its applications is essential to achieve sustainability in construction. Originality/value A decision-making model for supply of materials is proposed by integrating the BIM-enabled life cycle assessment into supply chain and project constraints management. The integration is achieved through addition of a series of attributes to typical BIM. The framework is supplemented by a multi-attribute decision-making module based on the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution to account for the trade-offs between different economic and environmental impacts associated with the supply decisions.

The Optimization of Large Scale Heating and Cooling Network

2014 ◽  
Vol 525 ◽  
pp. 616-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Bin Liu ◽  
Ai Juan Zou ◽  
Jia Jun Liao ◽  
Ya Meng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
The Cost

It is a question if large scale heating/cooling network could be applied in China economically, environmental protection and energy saving. Toward this question, this paper studied the optimization of large scale heating and cooling network. The components of the system are analyzed and modeled in detail including heating/cooling source, heating/cooling users and transmit system. And the system can be optimized through the way of Life Cycle Cost, which compared the cost of large scale heating and cooling system with conventional system. The optimization also takes efficiency and economy in to consideration.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment with Integrated Circular Economy Principles: A Toy Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3856
Author(s):  
Rebeka Kovačič Lukman ◽  
Vasja Omahne ◽  
Damjan Krajnc
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment

When considering the sustainability of production processes, research studies usually emphasise environmental impacts and do not adequately address economic and social impacts. Toy production is no exception when it comes to assessing sustainability. Previous research on toys has focused solely on assessing environmental aspects and neglected social and economic aspects. This paper presents a sustainability assessment of a toy using environmental life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, and social life cycle assessment. We conducted an inventory analysis and sustainability impact assessment of the toy to identify the hotspots of the system. The main environmental impacts are eutrophication, followed by terrestrial eco-toxicity, acidification, and global warming. The life cycle costing approach examined the economic aspect of the proposed design options for toys, while the social assessment of the alternative designs revealed social impacts along the product life cycle. In addition, different options based on the principles of the circular economy were analysed and proposed in terms of substitution of materials and shortening of transport distances for the toy studied.

Vitamin B1 and B6 Retention in Milk after Continuous-Flow Microwave and Conventional Heating at High Temperatures

2001 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 890-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
ISABEL SIERRA ◽  
CONCEPCIÓN VIDAL-VALVERDE
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Continuous Flow ◽  
Vitamin B6 ◽  
Vitamin B1 ◽  
Raw Milk ◽  
Microwave Treatment ◽  
Conventional Heating ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Tubular Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heating And Cooling

The effect of continuous-flow microwave treatment at high temperatures on the retention of vitamins B1 and B6 in raw milk with different fat content was evaluated. Results were compared with those obtained using a conventional system (tubular heat exchanger) with the same heating and cooling phases. Heat treatment of whole (3.4% fat) and skim (0.5% fat) milk at 90°C produced no losses of vitamin B1 or vitamin B6 (pyridoxamine and pyridoxal). However, at 110 and 120°C, while vitamin B1 content of milk remained constant, pyridoxamine increased (4 to 5% and 9 to 11%, respectively) and pyridoxal decreased (5 to 6% and 9 to 12%, respectively). Under the assayed conditions, no differences were observed between the content of these vitamins in conventionally and continuous-flow microwave-treated milk.

scholarly journals Framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Additive Manufacturing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ribeiro ◽  
Matos ◽  
Jacinto ◽  
Salman ◽  
Cardeal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Disruptive Technologies ◽  
The People ◽  
Specific Dimension ◽  
Traditional Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a group of technologies that create objects by adding material layer upon layer, in precise geometric shapes. They are amongst the most disruptive technologies nowadays, potentially changing value chains from the design process to the end-of-life, providing significant advantages over traditional manufacturing processes in terms of flexibility in design and production and waste minimization. Nevertheless, sustainability assessment should also be included in the research agenda as these technologies affect the People, the Planet and the Profit: the three-bottom line (3BL) assessment framework. Moreover, AM sustainability depends on each product and context that strengthens the need for its assessment through the 3BL framework. This paper explores the literature on AM sustainability, and the results are mapped in a framework aiming to support comprehensive assessments of the AM impacts in the 3BL dimensions by companies and researchers. To sustain the coherence of boundaries, three life cycle methods are proposed, each one for a specific dimension of the 3BL analysis, and two illustrative case studies are shown to exemplify the model.

Technical and Economical Analysis of a Micro-CHP Facility Based on Dynamic Simulation: A Case Study

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejin Cho ◽  
Rogelio Luck ◽  
Louay M. Chamra
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Dynamic Simulation ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Power Grids ◽  
Conventional Heating ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Transient Heating ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
State Models ◽  
Chp System

Combined Heating and Power (CHP) generation systems have been widely recognized as a key alternative for heat and electricity generation due to their outstanding energy efficiency, reduced emissions, and relative independence from centralized power grids. Similar to CHP systems, micro-CHP (micro-Cooling, Heating, and Power) systems consist of power cogeneration systems and thermally-activated components such as absorption chillers, water tanks, boilers and air handling units. There have been many studies in regard to steady-state models following load profiles in order to demonstrate the economic advantage of CHP systems. However, there has not been much work using dynamic simulation of CHP systems, which include the transient response of the building along with the rest of the CHP components. This paper presents both technical and economical results from the dynamic simulation of the micro-CHP system used to model the test facility at Mississippi State University (MSU). The results are compared to a dynamic model using a conventional heating and cooling system. TRNSYS, a dynamic simulation program, is used to simulate the time response of the micro-CHP system based on the transient heating, cooling, and electric power demand of a test facility. The performance and costs of a conventional heating and cooling system are assessed using TRNSYS and the results are then compared against the simulated performance of the micro-CHP system. Details of the simulation model include geometric and material information (e.g., size and type of walls and windows), internal gains (following the equipment and occupancy schedules), local weather information (e.g., ambient temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation), and estimated infiltration of the test facility.

scholarly journals Analysis of Worker Category Social Impacts in Different Types of Concrete Plant Operations: A Case Study in South Korea

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungjun Roh ◽  
Sungho Tae ◽  
Rakhyun Kim ◽  
Daniela Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment

As sustainable development has emerged as a priority on the international agenda, increasing emphasis has been placed on “Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA),” wherein environmental, economic, and social performance are comprehensively integrated. This study, as part of an LCSA approach, uses Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) to analyze the worker category social impact for concrete plants in South Korea. For the analysis, three types of concrete plant with different operating systems were selected and evaluated: Direct operation, operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers, and operated by cement suppliers. Eleven major social topics, which were mentioned in the international standards and international institutes, were selected as the subjects of evaluation; the social impacts were evaluated by applying the evaluative criteria for social topics presented in the Handbook for Product Social Life Cycle Assessment of PRé Sustainability. We determined that the highest social impact was found in concrete plants operated by cement suppliers (0.77), followed by plants operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers (0.50), and finally by plants with direct operations (0.09). These results can be applied by concrete plants to improve worker category areas in which they are lacking and by future researchers to evaluate the sustainable development of a variety of industries.

Life Cycle Cost for a Solar Heating and Cooling System

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Hang ◽  
Ming Qu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Solar Heating ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Solar Absorption ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Absorption Cooling ◽  
Solar Absorption Cooling

Solar absorption cooling has been an intriguing research subject since 1970. However, it is not widely applied because the first cost of the system is high, the commercial hot water absorption chiller is not mature, the site demonstration and evaluation are not adequate and the price of conventional fossil energy sources is relatively low. This paper investigates the commercialization potentials of solar absorption cooling and solar heating system by comparing the life cycle cost between it and the conventional electrical chiller cooling and gas-fired boiler heating system. A computational model has been programmed in the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) to analyze the economical performances of the two systems applied to a dedicated building. The model considers the cost of capital, installation, operation and maintenance, the discount rate, the fuel prices, and the inflation rates. The result of the model indicated that given the present fuel cost, the solar absorption cooling and heating system is not as economic as the conventional system especially when its size is small. However, according to the sensitivity analysis carried, the solar absorption cooling and heating system could compete with the conventional cooling and heating system when the electricity price and fuel inflation increase.

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