scholarly journals Calculation and evaluation of industrial carbon footprint of cotton denim jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 155892502110203
Author(s):  
Yu Cheng ◽  
Hui-e Liang

Carbon footprint (CFP) reflects the greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by human activities or products throughout the life cycle, which is an important tool for assessing and managing greenhouse gas pollution. The reduction of Carbon footprint is an important topic today, and each of us needs to minimize our CFP in order to protect our planet. In this paper, the basic cotton denim jackets was played an research object roles to exploring the impact on the environment during the process of producing cotton denim jackets. Which based on the theory of industrial carbon footprint and combing with the production process chain of denim jackets, setting the accounting boundaries and functional units, the denim jacket can be divided into cutting, sewing, and finishing the three links in industrial production of carbon footprint. With the calculation and analyzation industrial carbon footprint of the denim jacket. The results show that the carbon footprint of denim jackets exceeds 1000 kg CO2 during the cycle from cutting to sewing and finishing. The largest carbon footprint is generated in the sewing process, which are about twice as high as the cutting process. The carbon footprint emissions of each piece of denim jacket is 1.75 kg CO2. Therefore, optimizing the production line in the sewing process, adopting high energy-efficient processing equipment and clean energy can better reduce the industrial carbon footprint of denim clothing. It also provided reference and basis for the supervision and evaluation of carbon emission by clothing manufacturers

Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
Qing He ◽  
Yongliang Yang

Carbon footprint refers to the greenhouse gas emissions of an activity during the whole life cycle or a specific period of time. Mulberry is an important cash crop. Thus, establishing a standardized accounting method for the carbon footprint of mulberry production and analyzing its carbon emission scenarios is important in correctly understanding the impact of mulberry production on the environment. Using the life cycle assessment method and on the basis of the statistical data of mulberry production of urban farmers in Haining City, China, in 2014–2016, this study calculates and evaluates the carbon footprint of mulberry production. Results show the following. (1) Indirect carbon emissions is the main part of total carbon emissions, accounting for 85%–88% of total carbon emission, and industrial inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) are the main cause of carbon emissions. (2) The total carbon emissions per hectare in 2016 (6550.73 kgce/hm2) rose relative to the 2015 data (5617.92 kgce/hm2 at least in 2014) (5729.64 kgce/hm2). The output value of mulberry in spring was greater than that in summer and autumn, and the production efficiency of mulberry carbon in spring was higher than that in summer and autumn. The ecological environment of the mulberry production industry can be improved by increasing the resources of carbon sequestration and reducing the source of production input. (3) In general, the photosynthetic carbon sink of mulberry is greater than the total carbon emission and presents a positive externality to the ecological environment.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3287
Author(s):  
Alireza Tabrizikahou ◽  
Piotr Nowotarski

For decades, among other industries, the construction sector has accounted for high energy consumption and emissions. As the energy crisis and climate change have become a growing concern, mitigating energy usage is a significant issue. The operational and end of life phases are all included in the building life cycle stages. Although the operation stage accounts for more energy consumption with higher carbon emissions, the embodied stage occurs in a time-intensive manner. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the existing methods, aiming to lower the consumption of energy and carbon emission in the construction buildings through optimizing the construction processes, especially with the lean construction approach. First, the energy consumption and emissions for primary construction materials and processes are introduced. It is followed by a review of the structural optimization and lean techniques that seek to improve the construction processes. Then, the influence of these methods on the reduction of energy consumption is discussed. Based on these methods, a general algorithm is proposed with the purpose of improving the construction processes’ performance. It includes structural optimization and lean and life cycle assessments, which are expected to influence the possible reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions during the execution of construction works.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanmei Li ◽  
Ningning Ha ◽  
Tingting Li

To study the impact of the promotion of electric vehicles on carbon emissions in China, the full life carbon emissions of electric vehicles are studied on the basis of considering such factors as vehicle weight and grid mix composition, and fuel vehicles are added for comparison. In this paper, we collect data for 34 domestic electric vehicles, and linear regression analysis is used to model the relationship between vehicle weight and energy consumption. Then, a Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment method is used to establish the life cycle carbon emission calculation model for electric vehicles and fuel vehicles. Finally, the life cycle carbon emissions of electric vehicles and fuel vehicles under different electrical energy structures are discussed using scenario analysis. The results show that under the current grid mix composition in China, the carbon emissions of electric vehicles of the same vehicle weight class are 24% to 31% higher than that of fuel vehicles. As the proportion of clean energy in the grid mix composition increases, the advantages of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions will gradually emerge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4688
Author(s):  
Marina Nikolić Topalović ◽  
Milenko Stanković ◽  
Goran Ćirović ◽  
Dragan Pamučar

Research was conducted to indicate the impact of the increased flow of thermal insulation materials on the environment due to the implementation of the new regulations on energy efficiency of buildings. The regulations on energy efficiency of buildings in Serbia came into force on 30 September 2012 for all new buildings as well as for buildings in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction. For that purpose, the carbon footprint was analyzed in three scenarios (BS, S1 and S2) for which the quantities of construction materials and processes were calculated. The life cycle analysis (LCA), which is the basis for analyzing the carbon life cycle (LCACO2), was used in this study. Carbon Calculator was used for measuring carbon footprint, and URSA program to calculate the operational energy. This study was done in two phases. In Phase 1, the embodied carbon was measured to evaluate short-term effects of the implementation of the new regulations. Phase 2 included the first 10 years of building exploitation to evaluate the long-term effects of the new regulations. The analysis was done for the period of 10 years, further adjustments to the regulations regarding energy efficiency of the buildings in Serbia are expected in accordance with EU directives. The study shows that, in the short-run, Scenario BS has the lowest embodied carbon. In the long-run, after 3.66 years, Scenario S2 becomes a better option regarding the impact on the environment. The study reveals the necessity to include embodied carbon together with the whole life carbon to estimation the impact of a building on the environment.


HortScience ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 989-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Joshua Knight

The production components of an evergreen shrub (Ilex crenata ‘Bennett’s Compacta’) grown in a no. 3 container in an east coast U.S. nursery were analyzed for their costs and contributions to carbon footprint, as well as the product impact in the landscape throughout its life cycle. A life cycle inventory was conducted of input materials, equipment use, and all cultural practices and other processes used in a model production system for this evergreen shrub. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of the model numerated the associated greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), carbon footprint, and variable cost of each component. The LCA also included the transportation and transplanting of the final product in the landscape as well as its removal after a 40-year useful life. GHG from input products and processes during the production (cutting-to-gate) of the evergreen shrub were estimated to be 2.918 kg CO2e. When considering carbon sequestration during production weighted over a 100-year assessment period, the carbon footprint for this model system at the nursery gate was 2.144 kg CO2e. Operations, combining the impact of material and equipment use, that contributed most of GHG during production included fertilization (0.707 kg CO2e), the liner and transplanting (0.461 kg CO2e), the container (0.468 kg CO2e), gravel and ground cloth installation (0.222 kg CO2e), substrate materials and preparation (0.227 kg CO2e), and weed control (0.122 kg CO2e). The major contributors to global warming potential (GWP) were also major contributors to the cutting-to-gate variable costs ($3.224) except for processes that required significant labor investments. Transporting the shrub to the landscaper, transporting it to the landscape site, and transplanting it would result in GHG of 0.376, 0.458, and 0 kg CO2e, respectively. Variable costs for postharvest activities were $6.409 and were dominated by labor costs (90%).


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peicong Luo ◽  
Xiaoying Wang ◽  
Hailong Jin ◽  
Yuling Li ◽  
Xuejiao Yang

Recently, as renewable and distributed power sources boost, many such resources are integrated into the smart grid as a clean energy input. However, since the generation of renewable energy is intermittent and unstable, the smart grid needs to regulate the load to maintain stability after integrating the renewable energy source. At the same time, with the development of cloud computing, large-scale datacenters are becoming potentially controllable loads for the smart grid due to their high energy consumption. In this paper, we propose an appropriate approach to dynamically adjust the datacenter load to balance the unstable renewable energy input into the grid. This could meet the demand response requirements by taking advantage of the variable power consumption of datacenters. We have examined the scenarios of one or more datacenters being integrated into the grid and adopted a stochastic algorithm to solve the problem we established. The experimental results illustrated that the dynamic load management of multiple datacenters could help the smart grid to reduce losses and thus save operational costs. Besides, we also analyzed the impact of the flexibility and the delay of datacenter actions, which could be applied to more general scenarios in realistic environments. Furthermore, considering the impact of the action delay, we employed a forecasting method to predict renewable energy generation in advance to eliminate the extra losses brought by the delay as much as possible. By predicting solar power generation, the improved results showed that the proposed method was effective and feasible under both sunny and cloudy/rainy/snowy weather conditions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaid Alwan ◽  
Paul Jones

Purpose – The construction industry has focused on operational and embodied energy of buildings as a way of becoming more sustainable, however, with more emphasis on the former. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact that embodied energy of construction materials can have on the decision making when designing buildings, and ultimately on the environment. This is an important aspect that has often been overlooked when calculating a building's carbon footprint; and its inclusion this approach presents a more holistic life cycle assessment. Design/methodology/approach – A building project was chosen that is currently being designed; the design team for the project have been tasked by the client to make the facility exemplary in terms of its sustainability. This building has a limited construction palette; therefore the embodied energy component can be accurately calculated. The authors of this paper are also part of the design team for the building so they have full access to Building Information Modelling (BIM) models and production information. An inventory of materials was obtained for the building and embodied energy coefficients applied to assess the key building components. The total operational energy was identified using benchmarking to produce a carbon footprint for the facility. Findings – The results indicate that while operational energy is more significant over the long term, the embodied energy of key materials should not be ignored, and is likely to be a bigger proportion of the total carbon in a low carbon building. The components with high embodied energy have also been identified. The design team have responded to this by altering the design to significantly reduce the embodied energy within these key components – and thus make the building far more sustainable in this regard. Research limitations/implications – It may be is a challenge to create components inventories for whole buildings or for refurbishments. However, a potential future approach for is application may be to use a BIM model to simplify this process by imbedding embodied energy inventories within the software, as part of the BIM menus. Originality/value – This case study identifies the importance of considering carbon use during the whole-life cycle of buildings, as well as highlighting the use of carbon offsetting. The paper presents an original approach to the research by using a “live” building as a case study with a focus on the embodied energy of each component of the scheme. The operational energy is also being calculated, the combined data are currently informing the design approach for the building. As part of the analysis, the building was modelled in BIM software.


Author(s):  
Viktoras Vorobjovas ◽  
Algirdas Motiejunas ◽  
Tomas Ratkevicius ◽  
Alvydas Zagorskis ◽  
Vaidotas Danila

Climate change is one of the main nowadays problem in the world. The politics and strategies for climate change and tools for reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and green technologies are created and implemented. Mainly it is focused on energy, transport and construction sectors, which are related and plays a significant role in the roads life cycle. Most of the carbon footprint emissions are generated by transport. The remaining emissions are generated during the road life cycle. Therefore, European and other countries use methods to calculate GHG emissions and evaluate the impact of road construction methods and technologies on the environment. Software tools for calculation GHG emissions are complicated, and it is not entirely clear what GHG emission amounts generate during different stages of road life cycle. Thus, the precision of the obtained results are often dependent on the sources and quantities of data, assumptions, and hypothesis. The use of more accurate and efficient calculation-evaluation methods could let to determine in which stages of road life cycle the largest carbon footprint emissions are generated, what advanced road construction methods and technologies could be used. Also, the road service life could be extended, the consumption of raw materials, repair, and maintenance costs could be reduced. Therefore the time-savings could be improved, and the impact on the environment could be reduced using these GHG calculation-evaluation methods.


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