scholarly journals Disposable Medical Masks: Environmental Costs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
BURÇİN ATILGAN TÜRKMEN
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Inventory Data

Abstract A massive increase in the use and production of masks worldwide has been seen in the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to reducing the transmission of the virus globally. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of disposable medical masks using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, first for the selected functional unit related to the manufacturing of one disposable medical mask and then for the global manufacturing of this type of mask in 2020. The inventory data was constructed directly from the industry. The system boundaries include the fabric, nose wire, and ear loops parts, transportation of materials, body making, ultrasonic vending, and packaging steps. The results suggest that the global warming potential of a disposable medical mask is 0.02 g CO2-Eq. for which the main contributor is the packaging step (44%) followed by the life cycle of fabric (27%), and nose wire (14%) parts. In total, 52 billion disposable medical masks used worldwide consumes 25 TJ of energy in 2020. The global warming potential of disposable medical masks supplied in a year of the COVID-19 pandemic is 1.1 Mt CO2 eq., equivalent to around 1.3 billion return flights from Istanbul to New York. This paper assessed the hotspots in the medical mask, allowing for a significant reduction in the environmental impact of mask use. This can be used as a roadmap for future mask designs.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment Applications To The Dry Steam Geothermal Power Generation (Case Study: Star Energy Geothermal Wayang Windu, Ltd, Indonesia)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina Annisa ◽  
Benno Rahardyan
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Geothermal Power Plant ◽  
Continual Improvement ◽  
Acidification Potential ◽  
Geothermal Power

Geothermal potential in Indonesia estimate can produced renewable energy 29 GW, and until 2016 it still used 5% or about 1643 MW in. From that result, about 227 MW produced by Wayang Windu geothermal power plant. The Input were raw material, energy and water. These input produced electricity as main product, by product, and also other output that related to environment i.e. emission, solid waste and waste water. All environmental impacts should be controlled to comply with environmental standard, and even go beyond compliance and perform continual improvement.  This research will use Life Cycle Assessment method based on ISO 14040 and use cradle to gate concept with boundary from liquid steam production until electricity produced, and Megawatt Hours as the functional unit. Life Cycle Inventory has been done with direct input and output in the boundary and resulted that subsystem of Non Condensable Gas and condensate production have the largest environmental impact. LCI also show that every MWh electricity produced, it needed 6.87 Ton dry steam or 8.16 Ton liquid steam. Global Warming Potential (GWP) value is 0.155 Ton CO2eq./MWh, Acidification Potential (AP) 1.69 kg SO2eq./MWh, Eutrophication Potential (EP) 5.36 gPO4 eq./MWh and land use impacts 0.000024 PDF/m2. Life Cycle Impact Assessment resulted that AP contribute 78% of environmental impact and 98% resulted from H2S Non Condensable Gas. Comparison results with another dry steam geothermal power plant show that impact potential result of the company in good position and there’s a strong relation between gross production, GWP and AP value.Keywords: Life cycle assessment; Geothermal; Continual Improvement; Global Warming Potential; Acidification Potential

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Steel and Concrete Construction Frames: A Case Study of Two Residential Buildings in Iran

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Amir Oladazimi ◽  
Saeed Mansour ◽  
Seyed Abbas Hosseinijou
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Steel Frame ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Concrete Frame

Given the fact that during the recent years the majority of buildings in Iran have been constructed either on steel or concrete frames, it is essential to investigate the environmental impacts of materials used in such constructions. For this purpose, two multi-story residential buildings in Tehran with a similar function have been considered in this study. One building was constructed with a steel frame and the other was constructed with a concrete frame. Using the life cycle assessment tool, a complete analysis of all the stages of a building’s life cycle from raw material acquisition to demolition and recycling of wastes was carried out. In this research, the environmental impacts included global warming potential in 100 years, acidification, eutrophication potential, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), resource depletion (water and mineral), climate change, fossil fuel consumption, air acidification and biotoxicity. It could be concluded from the results that the total pollution of the concrete frame in all eleven aforementioned impact factors was almost 219,000 tonnes higher than that of the steel frame. Moreover, based on the results, the concrete frame had poorer performance in all but one impact factor. With respect to global warming potential, the findings indicated there were two types of organic and non-organic gases that had an impact on global warming. Among non-organic emissions, CO2 had the biggest contribution to global warming potential, while among organic emissions, methane was the top contributor. These findings suggest the use of steel frames in the building industry in Iran to prevent further environmental damage; however, in the future, more research studies in this area are needed to completely investigate all aspects of decision on the choice of building frames, including economic and social aspects.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts Evaluation of Sorbitol Production from Glucose

Eksergi ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rifkah Akmalina
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Photochemical Oxidants ◽  
Main Consumer

A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed on sorbitol production from glucose, which aims to quantify and evaluate the environmental impacts that produced from the process. SuperPro Designer software was employed to perform the process simulation, while SimaPro was used to quantify the LCA.Potency of global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidants creation, abiotic depletion, and ozone layer depletion were evaluated. A gate-to-gate LCA study of sorbitol production showed that global warming potential (GWP) had the largest impact to environment with the value of 3.551 kg CO2 eq/kg sorbitol. Glucose and electricity consumption were known as two major contributors to GWP, and hydrogen reactor was the main consumer of electricity. The use of glucose were responsible for more than 50% of total environmentalimpact in each category. Performing heat integration in sorbitol processing is highly recommended for gate-togate system to reduce energy demand, thus decreasing the environmental impacts. Therefore, this LCA study may be applied to perform a sustainable improvement on sorbitol production process.Keywords: sorbitol; life cycle assessment; global warming potential

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Pengelolaan Sampah di TPA Gunung Panggung Kabupaten Tuban, Jawa Timur

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161
Author(s):  
Rahmah Arfiyah Ula ◽  
Agus Prasetya ◽  
Iman Haryanto
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Acidification Potential ◽  
Alternative Scenarios

ABSTRACT The primary municipal waste treatment in Tuban Regency, East Java, was landfilling, besides the small amount of the waste was turned to compost. Landfilling causes global warming, which leads to climate change due to CH4 emission. This environmental impact could be worst by the population growth that increases the amount of waste. This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impact on waste management in the Gunung Panggung landfill in Tuban Regency and its alternative scenarios using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Four scenarios were used in this study. They are one existing scenario and three alternative scenarios comprising landfilling, composting, and anaerobic digestion. The scope of this study includes waste transportation to waste treatment which is landfilling, composting, and anaerobic digestion (AD). The functional unit of this analysis is per ton per year of treated waste. Environmental impacts selected are global warming potential, acidification potential, and eutrophication potential. The existing waste management in Gunung Panggung landfill showed the higher global warming potential because of the emission of CO2 and cost for human health, which is 6.379.506,17 CO2 eq/year and 5,92 DALY, respectively. Scenario 3 (landfilling, composting, and AD; waste sortation 70%) showed a lower environmental impact than others, but improvements were still needed. Covering compost pile or controlling compost turning frequency was proposed for scenario 3 amendment. Keywords: environmental impact, landfill, life cycle assessment, waste management   ABSTRAK Landfill merupakan pengelolaan sampah utama di tempat pemrosesan akhir (TPA) Gunung Panggung Kabupaten Tuban. Selain landfill, pengomposan diterapkan untuk mengolah sebagian kecil sampahnya. Landfill menghasilkan gas metana yang menyebabkan pemanasan global dan memicu perubahan iklim. Pertambahan penduduk memperbanyak sampah yang perlu diolah di TPA dan dapat memperparah dampak lingkungan yang ditimbulkan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menilai dampak lingkungan dari pengelolaan sampah eksisting di TPA Gunung Panggung Kabupaten Tuban Jawa Timur beserta skenario alternatifnya menggunakan Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Terdapat satu skenario eksisting dan tiga skenario alternatif pengelolaan sampah yaitu landfilling, pengomposan, dan fermentasi anaerob (anaerobic digestion). Ruang lingkup studi meliputi pengangkutan sampah, pengelolaan sampah dengan cara pengomposan, Anaerobic Digestion (AD), dan landfill. Satuan fungsional yang digunakan yakni ton sampah yang diolah per tahun. Dampak lingkungan yang dipelajari di antaranya: pemanasan global, asidifikasi, dan eutrofikasi. Dampak lingkungan skenario eksisting menunjukkan nilai tertinggi terutama pada pemanasan global (6.379.506,17 CO2eq/tahun) dan kerugian pada kesehatan manusia (5,92 DALY). Skenario alternatif 3, yang meliputi pengelolaan secara landfill, pengomposan, dan AD menunjukkan dampak lingkungan yang kecil, namun memerlukan perbaikan. Perbaikan untuk skenario 3 yaitu dengan menambahkan penutup pada tumpukan kompos atau mengontrol frekuensi pembalikan kompos untuk mengurangi emisi NH3. Kata kunci: dampak lingkungan, life cycle assessment, pengelolaan sampah, tempat pemrosesan akhir

Comparative process-based life-cycle assessment of bioconcrete and conventional concrete

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 667-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Soleimani ◽  
Mohsen Shahandashti
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Human Toxicity ◽  
Conventional Concrete ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cradle To Gate

Purpose Bioconcrete is widely believed to be environmentally beneficial over conventional concrete. However, the process of bioconcrete production involves several steps, such as waste recovery and treatment, that potentially present significant environmental impacts. Existing life-cycle assessments of bioconcrete are limited in the inventory and impact analysis; therefore, they do not consider all the steps involved in concrete production and the corresponding impacts. The purpose of this study is to extensively study the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of all the production stages of two most common bioconcrete types (i.e. sludge-based bioconcrete and cement kiln dust-rice husk ash (CKD-RHA) bioconcrete) as opposed to conventional concrete. Design/methodology/approach A cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment process model is implemented to systematically analyze and quantify the resources consumed and the environmental impacts caused by the production of bioconcrete as opposed to the production of conventional concrete. The impacts analyzed in this assessment include global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity, smog, fossil fuel use, human toxicity, particulate air and water consumption. Findings The results indicated that sludge-based bioconcrete had higher levels of global warming potential, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity, fossil fuel use, human toxicity and particulate air than both conventional concrete and CKD-RHA bioconcrete. Originality/value The contribution of this study to the state of knowledge is that it sheds light on the hidden impacts of bioconcrete. The contribution to the state of practice is that the results of this study inform the bioconcrete production designers about the production processes with the highest impact.

scholarly journals Life cycle assessment and energy comparison of aseptic ohmic heating and appertization of chopped tomatoes with juice

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Ghnimi ◽  
Amin Nikkhah ◽  
Jo Dewulf ◽  
Sam Van Haute
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Uncertainty Analysis ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Ohmic Heating ◽  
Heating System

AbstractThe energy balance and life cycle assessment (LCA) of ohmic heating and appertization systems for processing of chopped tomatoes with juice (CTwJ) were evaluated. The data included in the study, such as processing conditions, energy consumption, and water use, were experimentally collected. The functional unit was considered to be 1 kg of packaged CTwJ. Six LCA impact assessment methodologies were evaluated for uncertainty analysis of selection of the impact assessment methodology. The energy requirement evaluation showed the highest energy consumption for appertization (156 kWh/t of product). The energy saving of the ohmic heating line compared to the appertization line is 102 kWh/t of the product (or 65% energy saving). The energy efficiencies of the appertization and ohmic heating lines are 25% and 77%, respectively. Regarding the environmental impact, CTwJ processing and packaging by appertization were higher than those of ohmic heating systems. In other words, CTwJ production by the ohmic heating system was more environmentally efficient. The tin production phase was the environmental hotspot in packaged CTwJ production by the appertization system; however, the agricultural phase of production was the hotspot in ohmic heating processing. The uncertainty analysis results indicated that the global warming potential for appertization of 1 kg of packaged CTwJ ranges from 4.13 to 4.44 kg CO2eq. In addition, the global warming potential of the ohmic heating system ranges from 2.50 to 2.54 kg CO2eq. This study highlights that ohmic heating presents a great alternative to conventional sterilization methods due to its low environmental impact and high energy efficiency.

Toward Standards-Based Generation of Reusable Life Cycle Inventory Data Models for Manufacturing Processes

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Brundage ◽  
David Lechevalier ◽  
K. C. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory ◽  
Manufacturing Processes ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory Data ◽  
Quality Assessments ◽  
Lci Data

The production stage of a product's life cycle can significantly contribute to its overall environmental impact. Estimates of environmental impact for a product are typically produced using life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. These methods rely on life cycle inventory (LCI) data containing impact estimates of manufacturing processes and other operations that contribute to a product's creation. The accuracy of LCI data is critical for quality assessments; however, these data are often insufficient in the types and varieties of manufacturing processes covered and are often only a coarse estimate of actual impacts. At the same time, much manufacturing research focuses on how to model, measure, assess, and reduce the environmental impacts of manufacturing processes. Recent standards emerging from ASTM International define a structured format for presenting these studies in a reusable way. In this paper, we investigate the potential for using the ASTM E3012-16 format to generate LCI datasets suitable to perform LCA by mapping from the ASTM standard into the widely adopted ecoSpold2 format. A process is presented for generating LCI datasets from ASTM models, and overlaps and gaps between the two standards are identified.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Autonomous Electric Field Tractors in Swedish Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11285
Author(s):  
Oscar Lagnelöv ◽  
Gunnar Larsson ◽  
Anders Larsolle ◽  
Per-Anders Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Agricultural Work ◽  
Single Score ◽  
Damage Categories

There is an increased interest for battery electric vehicles in multiple sectors, including agriculture. The potential for lowered environmental impact is one of the key factors, but there exists a knowledge gap between the environmental impact of on-road vehicles and agricultural work machinery. In this study, a life cycle assessment was performed on two smaller, self-driving battery electric tractors, and the results were compared to those of a conventional tractor for eleven midpoint characterisation factors, three damage categories and one weighted single score. The results showed that compared to the conventional tractor, the battery electric tractor had a higher impact in all categories during the production phase, with battery production being a majority contributor. However, over the entire life cycle, it had a lower impact in the weighted single score (−72%) and all three damage categories; human health (−74%), ecosystem impact (−47%) and resource scarcity (−67%). The global warming potential over the life cycle of the battery electric tractor was 102 kg CO2eq ha−1 y−1 compared to 293 kg CO2eq ha−1 y−1 for the conventional system. For the global warming potential category, the use phase was the most influential and the fuel used was the single most important factor.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Aquaculture Stewardship Council Certified Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Sherry ◽  
Jennifer Koester
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Salmon Aquaculture ◽  
Certification Standards

Salmon aquaculture has grown rapidly and is expected to continue to grow to meet consumer demand. Due to concerns about the environmental impacts associated with salmon aquaculture, eco-labeling groups have developed standards intended to hold salmon producers accountable and provide a more sustainable option to consumers. This study utilized life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental impacts of salmon raised to Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification standards in order to determine if ASC certification achieves the intended reductions in impact. We find that environmental impacts, such as global warming potential, do not decrease with certification. We also find that salmon feed, in contrast to the on-site aquaculture practices, dominates the environmental impacts of salmon aquaculture and contributes to over 80% of impacts in ozone depletion, global warming potential, acidification, and ecotoxicity. Based on these findings, we recommend that eco-labeling groups prioritize reducing the environmental impacts of the feed supply chain.

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