scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Five Greek Yogurt Production Systems: A Perspective beyond the Plant Boundaries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Houssard ◽  
Dominique Maxime ◽  
Scott Benoit ◽  
Yves Pouliot ◽  
Manuele Margni
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Dairy Product ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Technology Choice ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
Acid Whey

Greek yogurt (GY), a high-protein-low-fat dairy product, particularly prized for its sensory and nutritional benefits, revolutionized the North American yogurt market in less than a decade, bringing with it new sustainability challenges. The standard production of GY generates large volumes of acid whey, a co-product that is a potential source of environmental pollution if not recovered. This study aims to assess the environmental performance of different technologies and identify the main factors for improving GY production. A complete life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the standard technology (centrifugation) with two new technologies (fortification and ultrafiltration) to reduce acid whey volumes. Three milk protein concentrate alternatives were also assessed. Results show that the technology choice is not a clear discriminant factor. However, minimizing losses and wastage (accounting for 23 to 25% of the environmental impacts for all indicators) beyond the processing plant and selecting milk ingredients (accounting for 63 to 67% of the impacts) with low environmental impacts are key factors in improving the environmental performance of GY systems. From a methodological perspective, the results also highlight a shortcoming in the current International Dairy Federation LCA guidelines (2015) for treating the multifunctionality of GY systems.

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Five Greek Yogurt Production Systems: A Perspective beyond the Plant Boundaries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9141
Author(s):  
Catherine Houssard ◽  
Dominique Maxime ◽  
Scott Benoit ◽  
Yves Pouliot ◽  
Manuele Margni
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Dairy Product ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Technology Choice ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
Acid Whey

Greek yogurt (GY), a high-protein-low-fat dairy product, particularly prized for its sensory and nutritional benefits, revolutionized the North American yogurt market in less than a decade, bringing with it new sustainability challenges. Standard GY production generates large volumes of acid whey, a co-product that is a potential source of environmental pollution if not recovered. This study aims to assess the environmental performance of different technologies and identify the main factors to improve GY production. A complete life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the standard technology (centrifugation) with two new technologies (fortification and ultrafiltration) to reduce acid whey volumes. Three milk protein concentrate alternatives were also assessed. Results show that technology choice is not a clear discriminant factor. However, minimizing losses and wastage (accounting for 23 to 25% of the environmental impacts for all indicators) beyond the processing plant and selecting milk ingredients (accounting for 63 to 67% of the impacts) with low environmental impacts are key factors to improve the environmental performance of GY systems. From a methodological perspective, the results also highlight a shortcoming in the current LCA guidelines (2015) issued by the International Dairy Federation to treat the multifunctionality of GY systems.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts Associated with Intensive Production in Pig Farms in Mexico through Life Cycle Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11248
Author(s):  
Mario Rafael Giraldi-Díaz ◽  
Eduardo Castillo-González ◽  
Lorena De Medina-Salas ◽  
Raúl Velásquez-De la Cruz ◽  
Héctor Daniel Huerta-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Pig Slurry ◽  
Growth Phases ◽  
Product System ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Intensive Production ◽  
Pig Farm

In this research, environmental impacts associated with the intensive production of pigs on a farm in Mexico were determined through the application of life cycle assessment methodology. The research was focused on the following stages of the product system: (i) pig rearing and growth phases; (ii) production operations in the pig-house; (iii) the supply of feed. The life cycle inventory database was mainly made up of data collected in field visits to local farms. The functional unit was defined as one finished swine weighing 124 kg. The results for the selected impact categories of carbon, water, and energy footprints were 538.62 kg CO2eq, 21.34 m3, and 1773.79 MJ, respectively. The greatest impact was generated in the final stages of pig fattening, mainly due to the large quantity of feed supplied. The impacts caused by operation of the pig farm were less significant, their contribution in all cases was less than a third of the total quantified values. The energy conversion of pig slurry improves the environmental performance of the product system by reducing the carbon footprint.

scholarly journals Environmental Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies: Assessment of the Status Quo and Future Prospects Based on a Meta-Analysis of Life-Cycle Assessment Studies

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 4228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffi Weyand ◽  
Carolin Wittich ◽  
Liselotte Schebek
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
The Status ◽  
Photovoltaic Technologies

Emerging photovoltaic technologies are expected to have lower environmental impacts during their life cycle due to their extremely thin-film technology and resulting material savings. The environmental impacts of four emerging photovoltaics were investigated based on a meta-analysis of life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies, comprising a systematic review and harmonization approach of five key indicators to describe the environmental status quo and future prospects. The status quo was analyzed based on a material-related functional unit of 1 watt-peak of the photovoltaic cell. For future prospects, the functional unit of 1 kWh of generated electricity was used, including assumptions on the use phase, notably on the lifetime. The results of the status quo show that organic photovoltaic technology is the most mature emerging photovoltaic technology with a competitive environmental performance, while perovskites have a low performance, attributed to the early stage of development and inefficient manufacturing on the laboratory scale. The results of future prospects identified improvements of efficiency, lifetime, and manufacturing with regard to environmental performance based on sensitivity and scenario analyses. The developed harmonization approach supports the use of LCA in the early stages of technology development in a structured way to reduce uncertainty and extract significant information during development.

scholarly journals Permeable Pavements Life Cycle Assessment: A Literature Review

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Antunes ◽  
Enedir Ghisi ◽  
Liseane Thives
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Inventory Analysis ◽  
Permeable Pavements ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Goal And Scope

The number of studies involving life cycle assessment has increased significantly in recent years. The life cycle assessment has been applied to assess the environmental performance of water infrastructures, including the environmental impacts associated with construction, maintenance and disposal, mainly evaluating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the consumption of energy and natural resources. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of permeable pavements and show studies of life cycle assessment that compare the environmental performance of permeable pavements with traditional drainage systems. Although the studies found in the literature present an estimate of the sustainability of permeable pavements, the great heterogeneity in the evaluation methods and results is still notable. Therefore, it is necessary to homogenize the phases of goal and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. It is also necessary to define the phases and processes of the evaluation, as well as the minimum amount of data to be considered in the modelling of life cycle assessment, in order to avoid heterogeneity in the functional units and other components. Thus, more consistent results will lead to a real evaluation of the environmental impacts caused by permeable pavements. Life cycle assessment studies are essential to guide planning and decision-making, leading to systems that consider increasing water resources and reducing natural disasters and environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Mobile Power Banks with Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang ◽  
Gu ◽  
Guo ◽  
Chen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Lithium Ion Battery ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Consumer Electronic ◽  
Lithium Ion Polymer Battery ◽  
Polymer Battery

Mobile power bank (MPB) is an emerging consumer electronic that stores and delivers electricity to other electronics. Nowadays, MPBs are produced and discarded in massive quantities, yet their environmental impacts have never been quantitatively evaluated. Employing a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, this study assesses the life cycle environmental impacts of MPBs, with a specific focus on comparing the environmental performance of different MPBs that are based on two types of batteries, namely, lithium-ion battery (LIB) and lithium-ion polymer battery (LIPB). The results suggest that battery production is the greatest contributor to the environmental impacts of both MPBs. LIPB based MPB is environmentally friendlier due to its higher energy density and longer cycle life. In addition, it is found that recycling can reduce the environmental burden of MPB industry as well as ease the vast depletion of metals such as cobalt and copper. The sensitivity analysis shows that figuring out an optimal retirement point and using less carbon-intensive electricity can reduce the climate change potential of MPBs. This study provides recommendations to further improve the environmental performance of MPB, including the usage of more sustainable cathode materials, market promoting direction, and formulation of end-of-life management policy.

scholarly journals Mass Timber Building Life Cycle Assessment Methodology for the U.S. Regional Case Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14034
Author(s):  
Hongmei Gu ◽  
Shaobo Liang ◽  
Francesca Pierobon ◽  
Maureen Puettmann ◽  
Indroneil Ganguly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Building Life Cycle ◽  
Mass Timber

The building industry currently consumes over a third of energy produced and emits 39% of greenhouse gases globally produced by human activities. The manufacturing of building materials and the construction of buildings make up 11% of those emissions within the sector. Whole-building life-cycle assessment is a holistic and scientific tool to assess multiple environmental impacts with internationally accepted inventory databases. A comparison of the building life-cycle assessment results would help to select materials and designs to reduce total environmental impacts at the early planning stage for architects and developers, and to revise the building code to improve environmental performance. The Nature Conservancy convened a group of researchers and policymakers from governments and non-profit organizations with expertise across wood product life-cycle assessment, forest carbon, and forest products market analysis to address emissions and energy consumption associated with mass timber building solutions. The study disclosed a series of detailed, comparative life-cycle assessments of pairs of buildings using both mass timber and conventional materials. The methodologies used in this study are clearly laid out in this paper for transparency and accountability. A plethora of data exists on the favorable environmental performance of wood as a building material and energy source, and many opportunities appear for research to improve on current practices.

scholarly journals Combining Biomass Gasification and Solid Oxid Fuel Cell for Heat and Power Generation: An Early-Stage Life Cycle Assessment

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Moretti ◽  
Blanca Corona ◽  
Viola Rühlin ◽  
Thomas Götz ◽  
Martin Junginger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Biomass Gasification ◽  
Environmental Benefits

Biomass-fueled combined heat and power systems (CHPs) can potentially offer environmental benefits compared to conventional separate production technologies. This study presents the first environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of a novel high-efficiency bio-based power (HBP) technology, which combines biomass gasification with a 199 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to produce heat and electricity. The aim is to identify the main sources of environmental impacts and to assess the potential environmental performance compared to benchmark technologies. The use of various biomass fuels and alternative allocation methods were scrutinized. The LCA results reveal that most of the environmental impacts of the energy supplied with the HBP technology are caused by the production of the biomass fuel. This contribution is higher for pelletized than for chipped biomass. Overall, HBP technology shows better environmental performance than heat from natural gas and electricity from the German/European grid. When comparing the HBP technology with the biomass-fueled ORC technology, the former offers significant benefits in terms of particulate matter (about 22 times lower), photochemical ozone formation (11 times lower), acidification (8 times lower) and terrestrial eutrophication (about 26 times lower). The environmental performance was not affected by the allocation parameter (exergy or economic) used. However, the tested substitution approaches showed to be inadequate to model multiple environmental impacts of CHP plants under the investigated context and goal.

scholarly journals Comparison of Environmental Performance of Single-Family House and Multi-Storey Apartment in Turkey using Life Cycle Assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sedat Gulcimen ◽  
Nigmet Uzal ◽  
Tolgahan Varışlı ◽  
Ghaith Khidrah
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Floor Area ◽  
Operation Phase ◽  
Family House

Abstract In recent years, there has been a significant transition from multi-storey buildings to single-family houses especially due to COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, people prefer to live in single-family houses or detached houses where they have more free space in outside of the house. The aim of this study is to quantify and compare the environmental performance of a single-family house and multi-storey apartment building in Turkey throughout their life cycle with cradle-to-grave approach. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 was used to analyse the environmental impacts of the single-family house and multi-storey apartment buildings. The functional unit was chosen as 1m2 of floor area of a house over their lifespan (50 years). With cradle-to-grave approach of the LCA, the system boundaries for the environmental assessment covers the pre-operation, operation and post-operation stages. The results of this LCA study revealed that majority of the environmental impacts occurs at operation phase for both single-family house and multi-storey apartment. The operation stage has the highest impact with 79% and 78% share of the global warming potential (GWP) for single-family house and the multi-storey apartment, respectively. In comparison of environmental impact results, GWP of the multi-storey apartment per m2 of floor area is 30% lower than single-family house. The environmental impacts of the operation phase have significant importance on the overall environmental performance of both single-family house and multi-storey apartment. The results showed that electricity consumption and steel usage are the main contributors of the environmental impacts coming from the operation and pre-operation phases, respectively. To pave the way to a sustainable future, the building industry must strive to use of renewable energy sources and sustainable construction materials in order to reduce their environmental impacts with a sustainable approach.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

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