Flax Fiber for Technical Textile: A Life Cycle Inventory

Flax fiber appears as a suitable feedstock in the endeavor of deploying a sustainable biobased economy. Its environmental performance as reinforcement in composite materials has been studied in previous Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). However, these studies only present a coarse Life cycle Inventory (LCI) and often fail to detail all processes of the supply chain or to represent the co-products. This paper aims to bridge this gap and provide data for future LCAs on flax fiber production and transformation.The study focuses on the impacts of producing a bio-based reinforcement material (a fabric product for non-aesthetic purposes) with a system expansion perspective. The functional unit is defined as the production of 2400 m² flax-based technical textile per year, this corresponds to one hectare of cultivated land. The geographical scope considers that the production occurs in France and that some manufacturing process are outsourced in China. A Sensitivity Analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the electricity mix in the various countries involved in the manufacturing cycle.A detailed life cycle inventory for flax fiber production and transformation was built and the environmental performance of a flax technical textile was assessed as a cradle-to-gate LCA. The fate of co-products was documented and was shown to contribute to the reduction of the generated environmental impacts. Through a cradle-to-gate LCA, a broader understanding of the environmental performance of a flax-based technical textile was presented by including the valorization of co-products and a wider set of analyzed impact categories, going therefore beyond the existing state-of-the-art. Results show agricultural activities and electricity production to be the biggest contributors to the environmental impacts of flax technical textile; contributions due to land use changes were minor in comparison. Very specifically for this case study, a sensibility analysis showed the influence of an all-French production to be more efficient from an environmental point of view.

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Cradle-to-gate life cycle inventory and environmental performance of Douglas-fir roundwood production in Germany

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.05.012 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 244-252 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Sara González-García ◽

Inga Krowas ◽

Gero Becker ◽

Gumersindo Feijoo ◽

María Teresa Moreira

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Life Cycle Inventory ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Cradle To Gate

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A Preliminary Environmental Assessment of Epoxidized Sucrose Soyate (ESS)-Based Biocomposite

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules25122797 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (12) ◽

pp. 2797

Author(s):

Shokoofeh Ghasemi ◽

Mukund P. Sibi ◽

Chad A. Ulven ◽

Dean C. Webster ◽

Ghasideh Pourhashem

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Bisphenol A ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Flax Fiber ◽

Carbon Intensity ◽

Good Potential ◽

Epoxidized Sucrose Soyate ◽

Almost All

Biocomposites can be both environmentally and economically beneficial: during their life cycle they generally use and generate less petroleum-based carbon, and when produced from the byproduct of another industry or recycled back to the manufacturing process, they will bring additional economic benefits through contributing to a circular economy. Here we investigate and compare the environmental performance of a biocomposite composed of a soybean oil-based resin (epoxidized sucrose soyate) and flax-based reinforcement using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. We evaluate the main environmental impacts that are generated during the production of the bio-based resin used in the biocomposite, as well as the biocomposite itself. We compare the life cycle impacts of the proposed biocomposite to a functionally similar petroleum-based resin and flax fiber reinforced composite, to identify tradeoffs between the environmental performance of the two products. We demonstrate that the bio-based resin (epoxidized sucrose soyate) compared to a conventional (bisphenol A-based) resin shows lower negative environmental impacts in most studied categories. When comparing the biocomposite to the fossil fuel derived composite, it is demonstrated that using epoxidized sucrose soyate versus a bisphenol A (BPA)-based epoxy resin can improve the environmental performance of the composite in most categories except eutrophication and ozone layer depletion. For future designs, considering an alternative cross-linker to facilitate the bond between the bio-based resin and the flax fiber, may help improve the overall environmental performance of the biocomposite. An uncertainty analysis was also performed to evaluate the effect of variation in LCA model inputs on the environmental results for both the biocomposite and composite. The findings show a better overall carbon footprint for the biocomposite compared to the BPA-based composite at almost all times, demonstrating a good potential for marketability especially in the presence of incentives or regulations that address reducing the carbon intensity of products. This analysis allowed us to pinpoint hotspots in the biocomposite’s supply chain and recommend future modifications to improve the product’s sustainability.

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Cradle-to-gate life cycle inventory of vancomycin hydrochloride

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.10.057 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 408 (6) ◽

pp. 1331-1337 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Celia Ponder ◽

Michael Overcash

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Life Cycle Inventory ◽

Vancomycin Hydrochloride ◽

Cradle To Gate

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Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics; Update of the ecoinvent Database

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-1041-r01-03 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1041 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Niels Jungbluth ◽

Roberto Dones ◽

Rolf Frischknecht

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Electricity Production ◽

Research Projects ◽

Industry Association ◽

Ecoinvent Database ◽

Federal Authority ◽

Different Types ◽

Production Stages ◽

Background Database

AbstractRecently, the data for photovoltaics in the ecoinvent database have been updated on behalf of the European Photovoltaics Industry Association and the Swiss Federal Authority for Energy. Data have been collected in this project directly from manufacturers and were provided by other research projects. LCA studies from different authors are considered for the assessment. The information is used to elaborate a life cycle inventory from cradle to grave for the PV electricity production in 3kWp plants in the year 2005.The inventories cover mono- and polycrystalline cells, amorphous and ribbon-silicon, CdTe and CIS thin film cells. Environmental impacts due to the infrastructure for all production stages and the effluents from wafer production are also considered. The ecoinvent database is used as background database.Results from the LCA study are presented, comparing different types of cells and analysing also the electricity production in a range of different countries. It is also discussed how the environmental impacts of photovoltaics have been reduced over the last 15 years, using the CED indicator. The consistent and coherent LCI datasets for basic processes make it easier to perform LCA studies, and increase the credibility and acceptance of the life cycle results. The content of the PV LCI datasets is made publicly available via the website www.ecoinvent.org for ecoinvent members.

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Study and Design of Sustainable Packaging for Household Hoods

Volume 4: 23rd Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference; 12th International Conference on Micro- and Nanosystems ◽

10.1115/detc2018-85369 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniele Landi ◽

Leonardo Postacchini ◽

Paolo Cicconi ◽

Filippo E. Ciarapica ◽

Michele Germani

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Secondary Data ◽

International Standards ◽

Primary Data ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Iso 14040 ◽

Attributional Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Cradle To Gate

In industrialized countries, packaging waste is one of the major issues to deal with, representing around 35% of the total municipal solid waste yearly generated. Therefore, an analysis and an environmental assessment of packaging systems are necessary. This paper aims at analyzing and comparing the environmental performances of two different packaging for domestic hoods. It shows how, through a packaging redesign, it is possible to obtain a reduction of the environmental impacts. This study has been performed in accordance with the international standards ISO 14040/14044, by using attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from Cradle to Gate. The functional unit has been defined as the packaging of a single household hood. Primary data have been provided by a household hood manufacturer, while secondary data have been obtained from the Ecoinvent database. LCA software SimaPro 8.5 has been used to carry out the life cycle assessment, and ReCiPe method has been chosen for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) stage. The results have shown the new packaging model being able to cut down the environmental impacts of approximately 30%. These outcomes may be used by household manufacturers to improve performances and design solutions of their different packaging.

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Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Valuation of Biochar Production: Two Case Studies in Belgium

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12112166 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 2166 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sara Rajabi Hamedani ◽

Tom Kuppens ◽

Robert Malina ◽

Enrico Bocci ◽

Andrea Colantoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Production Systems ◽

Point Of View ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Pig Manure ◽

Future Research ◽

Life Cycle Perspective ◽

The Impact

It is unclear whether the production of biochar is economically feasible. As a consequence, firms do not often invest in biochar production plants. However, biochar production and application might be desirable from a societal perspective as it might entail net environmental benefits. Hence, the aim of this work has been to assess and monetize the environmental impacts of biochar production systems so that the environmental aspects can be integrated with the economic and social ones later on to quantify the total return for society. Therefore, a life cycle analysis (LCA) has been performed for two potential biochar production systems in Belgium based on two different feedstocks: (i) willow and (ii) pig manure. First, the environmental impacts of the two biochar production systems are assessed from a life cycle perspective, assuming one ton of biochar as the functional unit. Therefore, LCA using SimaPro software has been performed both on the midpoint and endpoint level. Biochar production from willow achieves better results compared to biochar from pig manure for all environmental impact categories considered. In a second step, monetary valuation has been applied to the LCA results in order to weigh environmental benefits against environmental costs using the Ecotax, Ecovalue, and Stepwise approach. Consequently, sensitivity analysis investigates the impact of variation in NPK savings and byproducts of the biochar production process on monetized life cycle assessment results. As a result, it is suggested that biochar production from willow is preferred to biochar production from pig manure from an environmental point of view. In future research, those monetized environmental impacts will be integrated within existing techno-economic models that calculate the financial viability from an investor’s point of view, so that the total return for society can be quantified and the preferred biochar production system from a societal point of view can be identified.

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Is Recycling Always the Best Option? Environmental Assessment of Recycling of Seashell as Aggregates in Noise Barriers

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr8070776 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 776

Author(s):

Begoña Peceño ◽

Carlos Leiva ◽

Bernabé Alonso-Fariñas ◽

Alejandro Gallego-Schmid

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Waste Recycling ◽

Point Of View ◽

Raw Material ◽

Recycling Process ◽

Noise Barriers ◽

Noise Barrier ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Natural Aggregates

Waste recycling is an essential part of waste management. The concrete industry allows the use of large quantities of waste as a substitute for a conventional raw material without sacrificing the technical properties of the product. From a circular economy point of view, this is an excellent opportunity for waste recycling. Nevertheless, in some cases, the recycling process can be undesirable because it does not involve a net saving in resource consumption or other environmental impacts when compared to the conventional production process. In this study, the environmental performance of conventional absorption porous barriers, composed of 86 wt % of natural aggregates and 14 wt % cement, was compared with barriers composed of 80 wt % seashell waste and 20 wt % cement through an attributional cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment. The results show that, for the 11 environmental impact categories considered, the substitution of the natural aggregates with seashell waste involves higher environmental impacts, between 32% and 267%. These results are justified by the high contribution to these impacts of the seashell waste pre-treatment and the higher cement consumption. Therefore, the recycling of seashells in noise barrier manufacturing is not justified from an environmental standpoint with the current conditions. In this sense, it could be concluded that life cycle assessments should be carried out simultaneously with the technical development of the recycling process to ensure a sustainable solution.

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