scholarly journals Life-Cycle Assessment of Sector-Coupled National Energy Systems: Environmental Impacts of Electricity, Heat, and Transportation in Germany Till 2050

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Baumgärtner ◽  
Sarah Deutz ◽  
Christiane Reinert ◽  
Niklas Nolzen ◽  
Lucas Elias Kuepper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Full Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Models ◽  
High Emission

National energy models provide decarbonization strategies. Most national energy models focus on costs and greenhouse gas emissions only. However, this focus carries the risk that burdens shift to other environmental impacts. Energy models have therefore been extended by life-cycle assessment (LCA). Furthermore, deep decarbonization is only possible by targeting all high-emission sectors. Thus, we present a holistic national energy model that includes high-emission sectors and LCA. The model provides detailed environmental impacts for electricity, heat, and transport processes in Germany for meeting the climate targets up to 2050. Our results show that renewable energies and storage are key technologies for decarbonized energy systems. Furthermore, sector coupling is crucial and doubles electricity demand. Our LCA shows that environmental impacts shift from operation to infrastructure highlighting the importance of an impact assessment over the full life cycle. Decarbonization leads to many environmental cobenefits; however, it also increases freshwater ecotoxicity and depletion of metal and mineral resources. Thus, holistic planning of decarbonization strategies should also consider other environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Porovnání environmentálních dopadů různých typů jogurtových kelímků

Entecho ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-9
Author(s):  
Nikola Kráľová ◽  
Markéta Šerešová ◽  
Vladimír Kočí
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Plastic Packaging ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Glass Packaging

Cílem práce bylo posoudit environmentální dopady různých typů zvolených jogurtových kelímků vyrobených z různých materiálů: z plastu, papíru, skla či z kompozitního materiálu. Environmentální dopady byly vyhodnoceny metodou posuzování životního cyklu (z angl. life cycle assessment, LCA). Výsledky práce ukazují, že skleněné a kompozitní obaly jsou horší než obaly plastové, s výjimkou kategorie dopadu Spotřeba fosilních surovin a humánní toxicita. Jako nejlepší vychází plastový obal s K3 dekorací (papír), který ve všech hodnocených kategoriích dopadu vykazuje nejlepší výsledky. V kategorii dopadu Klimatické změny se nejhůř umístil kompozitní obal a obal skleněný. Nejvíce ovlivněnou kategorií je Sladkovodní ekotoxicita, nejvyšší dopady v rámci této kategorie vykazuje obal skleněný a následně kompozitní. V rámci kategorie dopadu Ionizující záření má největší dopad skleněný obal následovaný obalem kompozitním. Na základě výsledků výzkumu bylo zjištěno, že hlavní příčinou dopadů plastových kelímků na životní prostředí je výroba PP granulátu, u skleněných obalů je to výroba samotného skla a v případě kompozitních obalů výroba kompozitního obalu. Abstract (en) The aim of the work was to assess the environmental impacts of different types of selected yoghurt cups made of different materials: plastic, paper, glass or composite material. Environmental impacts were assessed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The results of the work show that glass and composite packaging is worse than plastic packaging except for the impact category Resource use (mineral and metals) and Human toxicity. The best packaging appears to be plastic packaging with K3 decoration (paper), which has the smallest impacts in all evaluated impact categories. In the impact category Climate change, composite packaging and glass packaging have the greatest impact. The most affected category is Freshwater ecotoxicity. The highest impacts within this category are shown by glass packaging and subsequently composite packaging. In the impact category Ionizing radiation, the greatest impact has a glass packaging, then a composite packaging. Based on the results, it was determined that the main cause of the impacts of plastic cups is the production of PP granulate. In the case of glass packaging, it is the production of the glass itself, and in the case of composite packaging, the production of the composite packaging.

scholarly journals Full life cycle assessment of two surge wave energy converters

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-561
Author(s):  
Hakan Karan ◽  
R Camilla Thomson ◽  
Gareth P Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Wave Energy Converter ◽  
Energy Converter ◽  
Wave Energy Converters ◽  
Full Life Cycle ◽  
Full Life ◽  
Energy Converters

Wave energy has the potential to play an important role in the UK's electricity mix in the coming years and it is important to understand the interactions of wave energy converters with the environment before considering them viable alternatives for other technologies. The aim of this study was to identify the environmental impacts of the deployment of the Oyster wave energy converter to the EMEC test site at Orkney, UK over its lifetime across three general categories: resource use, human health and ecological consequences. A full life cycle assessment was performed on two different models of the Oyster wave energy converter: Oyster 1 and Oyster 800. It was found that the latter is a fitting upgrade for its predecessor as it has lower environmental impacts in all categories; however, the high infrastructural needs of the Oyster technology makes its environmental performance worse than most other wave energy converters. Key sustainability indicators for energy converters include carbon footprint and energy payback period, and these were found to be 79 and 57 gCO2 eq/kWh and 45 and 42 months for the Oyster 1 and Oyster 800, respectively. Although these are significantly higher than most estimates for other types of renewable energy converter, the carbon impacts are still significantly lower than for conventional fossil-fuelled power generation.

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.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Households in Santiago, Chile: Environmental Hotspots and Policy Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2525
Author(s):  
Camila López-Eccher ◽  
Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez ◽  
Iván Franchi-Arzola ◽  
Edmundo Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of household life cycles in Santiago, Chile, by household income level. The assessment considered scenarios associated with environmental policies. The life cycle assessment was cradle-to-grave, and the functional unit considered all the materials and energy required to meet an inhabitant’s needs for one year (1 inh/year). Using SimaPro 9.1 software, the Recipe Midpoint (H) methodology was used. The impact categories selected were global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, mineral resource scarcity, and fossil resource scarcity. The inventory was carried out through the application of 300 household surveys and secondary information. The main environmental sources of households were determined to be food consumption, transport, and electricity. Food consumption is the main source, responsible for 33% of the environmental impacts on global warming, 69% on terrestrial acidification, and 29% on freshwater eutrophication. The second most crucial environmental hotspot is private transport, whose contribution to environmental impact increases as household income rises, while public transport impact increases in the opposite direction. In this sense, both positive and negative environmental effects can be generated by policies. Therefore, life-cycle environmental impacts, the synergy between policies, and households’ socio-economic characteristics must be considered in public policy planning and consumer decisions.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment with Integrated Circular Economy Principles: A Toy Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3856
Author(s):  
Rebeka Kovačič Lukman ◽  
Vasja Omahne ◽  
Damjan Krajnc
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment

When considering the sustainability of production processes, research studies usually emphasise environmental impacts and do not adequately address economic and social impacts. Toy production is no exception when it comes to assessing sustainability. Previous research on toys has focused solely on assessing environmental aspects and neglected social and economic aspects. This paper presents a sustainability assessment of a toy using environmental life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, and social life cycle assessment. We conducted an inventory analysis and sustainability impact assessment of the toy to identify the hotspots of the system. The main environmental impacts are eutrophication, followed by terrestrial eco-toxicity, acidification, and global warming. The life cycle costing approach examined the economic aspect of the proposed design options for toys, while the social assessment of the alternative designs revealed social impacts along the product life cycle. In addition, different options based on the principles of the circular economy were analysed and proposed in terms of substitution of materials and shortening of transport distances for the toy studied.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Characteristics of Environmental Impacts According to the Cut-Off Criteria Applicable to the Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) of Apartment Buildings in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2898
Author(s):  
Rakhyun Kim ◽  
Myung-Kwan Lim ◽  
Seungjun Roh ◽  
Won-Jun Park
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Environmental Impact Analysis ◽  
Apartment Buildings ◽  
Environmental Impact Categories ◽  
Weight Percentile

This study analyzed the characteristics of the environmental impacts of apartment buildings, a typical housing type in South Korea, as part of a research project supporting the streamlined life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of buildings within the G-SEED (Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design) framework. Three recently built apartment building complexes were chosen as study objects for the quantitative evaluation of the buildings in terms of their embodied environmental impacts (global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone layer depletion potential, photochemical oxidant creation potential, and abiotic depletion potential), using the LCA approach. Additionally, we analyzed the emission trends according to the cut-off criteria of the six environmental impact categories by performing an S-LCA with cut-off criteria 90–99% of the cumulative weight percentile. Consequently, we were able to present the cut-off criterion best suited for S-LCA and analyze the effect of the cut-off criteria on the environmental impact analysis results. A comprehensive environmental impact analysis of the characteristics of the six environmental impact categories revealed that the error rate was below 5% when the cut-off criterion of 97.5% of the cumulative weight percentile was applied, thus verifying its validity as the optimal cut-off criterion for S-LCA.

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