scholarly journals Environmental impacts, water footprint and cumulative energy demand of match industry in Pakistan

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251928
Author(s):  
Najeeb Ullah ◽  
Syeda Asma Bano ◽  
Ume Habiba ◽  
Maimoona Sabir ◽  
Andleeb Akhtar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Emissions Control ◽  
Material Transport ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Primary Material

A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for the matchsticks industry in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan to quantify environmental footprint, water footprint, cumulative energy use, and to identify improvement opportunities in the matchsticks manufacturing process. One carton of matchsticks was used as reference unit for this study. Foreground data was collected from the matchsticks industry through questionnaire surveys, personal meetings, and field measurements. The collected data was transformed into potential environmental impacts through the Centre for Environment Studies (CML) 2000 v.2.05 method present by default in the SimaPro v.9.1 software. Water footprint was calculated using methodology developed by Hoekstra et al., 2012 (water scarcity index) V1.02 and cumulative energy demand by SimaPro v.9.1 software. The results showed that transport of primary material (wood logs), sawn wood for matchsticks, red phosphorous, acrylic varnish, and kerosene fuel oil contributed to the overall environmental impacts. Transport of primary materials and sawn timber for matchsticks contributed significantly to abiotic depletion, global warming, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion, corrosion, human toxicity, and aquatic ecotoxicity effects. The total water footprint for manufacturing one carton of matchsticks was 0.265332 m3, whereas the total cumulative energy demand was 715.860 Mega Joules (MJ), mainly sourced from non-renewable fossil fuels (708.979 MJ). Scenario analysis was also conducted for 20% and 30% reduction in the primary material distance covered by trucks and revealed that reducing direct material transport distances could diminish environmental impacts and energy consumption. Therefore, environmental footprint could be minimized through diverting matchsticks industries freight from indigenous routes to high mobility highways and by promoting industrial forestry close to industrial zones in Pakistan. Many industries did not have emissions control systems, exceeding the permissible limit for emissions established by the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) of Pakistan. Thus, installation of emissions control system could also diminish emissions from match industry in Pakistan.

scholarly journals Review on Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Muteri ◽  
Maurizio Cellura ◽  
Domenico Curto ◽  
Vincenzo Franzitta ◽  
Sonia Longo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Environmental Indices ◽  
Silicon Based

The photovoltaic (PV) sector has undergone both major expansion and evolution over the last decades, and currently, the technologies already marketed or still in the laboratory/research phase are numerous and very different. Likewise, in order to assess the energy and environmental impacts of these devices, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies related to these systems are always increasing. The objective of this paper is to summarize and update the current literature of LCA applied to different types of grid-connected PV, as well as to critically analyze the results related to energy and environmental impacts generated during the life cycle of PV technologies, from 1st generation (traditional silicon based) up to the third generation (innovative non-silicon based). Most of the results regarded energy indices like energy payback time, cumulative energy demand, and primary energy demand, while environmental indices were variable based on different scopes and impact assessment methods. Moreover, the review work allowed to highlight and compare key parameters (PV type and system, geographical location, efficiency), methodological insights (functional unit, system boundaries, etc.), and energy/environmental hotspots of 39 LCA studies relating to different PV systems, in order to underline the importance of these aspects, and to provide information and a basis of comparison for future analyses.

scholarly journals Environmental and cost benefits of co-digesting food waste at wastewater treatment facilities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Morelli ◽  
Sarah Cashman ◽  
Xin (Cissy) Ma ◽  
Jason Turgeon ◽  
Sam Arden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand

Abstract The wastewater industry is undergoing a paradigm shift from focusing solely on treatment to incorporating concepts aimed at mitigating environmental impacts such as energy and nutrient recovery and water reuse. This study uses life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis to investigate the effect of expanding anaerobic digestion (AD) capacity and adding combined heat and power on environmental and cost indicators at a mid-sized wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) in Massachusetts, USA. Since 2014, Massachusetts has banned the disposal of organic waste from commercial organizations producing more than one ton of material per week. The WWTF's additional digester capacity allows the co-digestion of municipal solids with a food-based engineered bioslurry due to this ban. Study data were compiled for several AD feedstock quantity and performance scenarios, and compared to a baseline scenario representative of historic plant operations prior to co-digestion. Reductions in environmental impact are demonstrated for six of eight environmental impacts, including global climate change potential and cumulative energy demand. Eutrophication potential increases by 10 percent and 24 percent across assessed scenarios. Water use remains relatively constant across scenarios. Facility energy production increases dramatically with co-digestion, satisfying 100 percent of the WWTF's thermal energy requirement and producing surplus electricity assuming full AD capacity utilization.

scholarly journals Environmental Potentials of Asphalt Materials Applied to Urban Roads: Case Study of the City of Münster

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6113
Author(s):  
Mayara S. Siverio Lima ◽  
Mohsen Hajibabaei ◽  
Sina Hesarkazzazi ◽  
Robert Sitzenfrei ◽  
Alexander Buttgereit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Asphalt Materials ◽  
Pavement Structures

Life cycle assessment (LCA) tools have been used by governments and city administrators to support the decision-making process toward creating a more sustainable society. Since LCA is strongly influenced by local conditions and may vary according to various factors, several institutions have launched cooperation projects to achieve sustainable development goals. In this study, we assessed the potential environmental enhancements within the production of road materials applied to the road network of Münster, Germany. We also compared traditional pavement structures used in Münster and alternative options containing asphalt mixtures with larger amounts of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Although the case study was conducted in Münster, the data collected and the results obtained in this study can be used for comparison purposes in other investigations. In the analysis, we considered all environmental impacts from raw material extraction to the finished product at the asphalt plant. Two environmental indicators were used: non-renewable cumulative energy demand (nr-CED) and global warming potential (GWP). The results show that using RAP increases the consumption of energy but potentially decreases the environmental impacts in terms of the nr-CED and GWP associated with the production of asphalt materials.

scholarly journals Do single-use medical devices containing biopolymers reduce the environmental impacts of surgical procedures compared with their plastic equivalents?

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R Unger ◽  
Troy A Hottle ◽  
Shakira R Hobbs ◽  
Cassandra L Thiel ◽  
Nicole Campion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Medical Devices ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Respiratory Effects ◽  
Medical Products ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Single Use

Background While petroleum-based plastics are extensively used in health care, recent developments in biopolymer manufacturing have created new opportunities for increased integration of biopolymers into medical products, devices and services. This study compared the environmental impacts of single-use disposable devices with increased biopolymer content versus typically manufactured devices in hysterectomy. Methods A comparative life cycle assessment of single-use disposable medical products containing plastic(s) versus the same single-use medical devices with biopolymers substituted for plastic(s) at Magee-Women’s Hospital (Magee) in Pittsburgh, PA and the products used in four types of hysterectomies that contained plastics potentially suitable for biopolymer substitution. Magee is a 360-bed teaching hospital, which performs approximately 1400 hysterectomies annually. Results There are life cycle environmental impact tradeoffs when substituting biopolymers for petroplastics in procedures such as hysterectomies. The substitution of biopolymers for petroleum-based plastics increased smog-related impacts by approximately 900% for laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomies, and increased ozone depletion-related impacts by approximately 125% for laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomies. Conversely, biopolymers reduced life cycle human health impacts, acidification and cumulative energy demand for the four hysterectomy procedures. The integration of biopolymers into medical products is correlated with reductions in carcinogenic impacts, non-carcinogenic impacts and respiratory effects. However, the significant agricultural inputs associated with manufacturing biopolymers exacerbate environmental impacts of products and devices made using biopolymers. Conclusions The integration of biopolymers into medical products is correlated with reductions in carcinogenic impacts, non-carcinogenic impacts and respiratory effects; however, the significant agricultural inputs associated with manufacturing biopolymers exacerbate environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Iberian Traditional Pig Production System in Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier García-Gudiño ◽  
Alessandra N. T. R. Monteiro ◽  
Sandrine Espagnol ◽  
Isabel Blanco-Penedo ◽  
Florence Garcia-Launay
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Pig Production ◽  
Iberian Pig

Traditional Iberian pig production is characterized by outdoor systems that produce animals fed with natural resources. The aim of this study was to assess the environmental impacts of such systems through Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental impacts were analysed per kilogram of live weight at farm gate. Iberian pig production in montanera had the lowest impacts for climate change (CC), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EU) and cumulative energy demand (CED), being 3.4 kg CO2 eq, 0.091 molc H+ eq, 0.046 kg PO43− eq, and 20.7 MJ, respectively, due to the strict use of natural resources (acorns and grass) during the fattening period. As Iberian farms had a greater dependence on compound feed in cebo campo, environmental impacts on CC, AC, EU and CED were 22, 17, 95 and 28% higher, respectively, than with montanera. For land occupation (LO), however, cebo campo had a lower impact (31.6 m2·year) than montanera (43.0 m2·year) system. Traditional Iberian pig production systems have environmental impacts higher than conventional systems studied in literature but are similar to other traditional systems. Based on the present assessment, it is necessary to account for the contribution of emissions resulting from the consumption of natural resources to avoid the underestimation of environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Sustainable values of the 2017 French food-based dietary Guidelines:Findings from the BioNutriNet project

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Kesse-guyot ◽  
Dan Chaltiel ◽  
Benjamin Allès ◽  
Philippe Pointereau ◽  
Pauline Rebouillat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Dietary Exposure ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand ◽  
Land Occupation

AbstractBackgroundRecently, Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) have introduced the sustainability concept relying on health and environmental issues related diet. In 2017, the French FBDG were updated including, beyond healthy diet for human, environmental protection and the promotion of organic food.ObjectivesThe aim of the present analysis was to describe sustainable indicators (nutrition, environment, economic, sanitary exposure and long-term) according to adherence to the 2017 FBDG.Material and MethodsThe sample included a total of 28,240 from the NutriNet-Santé cohort having completed an, in the framework of the BioNutriNet project, an organic food frequency questionnaire allowing to estimate organic and conventional food consumption for 264 items. After matching, several databases were compiled to evaluate environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand and land occupation and the pReCiPe score aggregating the three individual indicators), purchase costs of the diet and dietary exposure to pesticides, all data accounting for farming systems. A recently validated adherence score estimating compliance with the 2017 FBDG (programme national nutrition santé guidelines-score, PNNS-GS 2) was used and the quintiles were computed for comparison purpose of multiple sustainable. Numbers of averted or avoided deaths by adhering to the FBDG were also estimated using the PRIME.ResultsA higher PNNS-GS2 scores is positively correlated to a high plant-based diet, a lower energy intake and a higher cost (+ 0.91€/d). It was associated with lower environmental impacts (ΔQ5vsQ1pReCiPe: -50% for PNNS-GS2). Higher PNNS-GS2 was associated with lower exposure to all pesticides except those used in organic farming and led to a reduction of about 20,000 averted or delayed deaths.ConclusionOur results suggest that 2017 FBDG are in line with the sustainable despite a slight higher cost. Such dietary guidelines, if largely adopted, may help in health promotion and reducing environmental protection in a context of an alarming climatic change.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Bioplastics and Food Waste Disposal Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6894
Author(s):  
Shakira R. Hobbs ◽  
Tyler M. Harris ◽  
William J. Barr ◽  
Amy E. Landis
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Anaerobic Digester ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand

The environmental impacts of five waste management scenarios for polylactic acid (PLA)-based bioplastics and food waste were quantified using life cycle assessment. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the potential for a pretreatment process to accelerate the degradation of bioplastics and were modeled in two of the five scenarios assessed. The five scenarios analyzed in this study were: (1a) Anaerobic digestion (1b) Anaerobic digestion with pretreatment; (2a) Compost; (2a) Compost with pretreatment; (3) Landfill. Results suggested that food waste and pretreated bioplastics disposed of with an anaerobic digester offers life cycle and environmental net total benefits (environmental advantages/offsets) in several areas: ecotoxicity (−81.38 CTUe), eutrophication (0 kg N eq), cumulative energy demand (−1.79 MJ), global warming potential (0.19 kg CO2), and human health non-carcinogenic (−2.52 CTuh). Normalized results across all impact categories show that anaerobically digesting food waste and bioplastics offer the most offsets for ecotoxicity, eutrophication, cumulative energy demand and non-carcinogenic. Implications from this study can lead to nutrient and energy recovery from an anaerobic digester that can diversify the types of fertilizers and decrease landfill waste while decreasing dependency on non-renewable technologies. Thus, using anaerobic digestion to manage bioplastics and food waste should be further explored as a viable and sustainable solution for waste management.

scholarly journals Application of Life-cycle Assessment for the Study of Carbon and Water Footprints of the 16.5 MWe Wind Farm in Villonaco, Loja – Ecuador

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Tama Franco
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand

Wind technology is considered to be among the most promising types of renewable energy sources, and due to high oil prices and growing concerns about climate change and energy security, it has been the subject of extensive considerations in recent years, including questions related to the relative sustainability of electricity production when the manufacturing, assembly, transportation and dismantling processes of these facilities are taken into account. The present article evaluates the environmental impacts, carbon emissions and water consumption, derived from the production of electric energy of the Villonaco wind farm, located in Loja-Ecuador, during its entire life cycle, using the Life Cycle Analysis method. Finally, it is concluded that wind energy has greater environmental advantages, since it has lower values of carbon and water footprints than other energy sources. Additionally, with the techniques Cumulative Energy Demand and Energy Return on Investment, sustainability in the production of electricity from wind power in Ecuador is demonstrated; and, that due to issues of vulnerability to climate change, the diversification of its energy mix is essential considering the inclusion of non-conventional renewable sources such as solar or wind, this being the only way to reduce both the carbon footprint and the water supply power.

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