scholarly journals End-of-Life Tyres: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Treatment Scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3599
Author(s):  
Isabella Bianco ◽  
Deborah Panepinto ◽  
Mariachiara Zanetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Crumb Rubber ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Bituminous Mixtures ◽  
Waste Tyres ◽  
The Impact

Waste tyres and their accumulation is a global environmental concern; they are not biodegradable, and, globally, an estimated 1.5 billion are generated annually. Every year around 350,000 tons of end-of-life tyres (ELT) are managed in Italy, collected from cars, two-wheeled vehicles, trucks, up to large quarry vehicles and agricultural vehicles. ELTs are collected and sent for material or energy recovery, in line with the circular economy principles. This paper investigates the environmental impacts of two common scenarios of ELT treatments. Specifically, it is analysed the recycling of crumb rubber (CR, deriving from the tyre shredding) for the composition of bituminous mixtures for the wearing course of roads. This scenario is compared with the energy recovery route in a dedicated incinerator. To this aim the standardised methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (ISO 14040-44) is employed. Results shows that for most part of the impact categories analysed, the material recovery presents higher environmental benefits if compared with energy recovery.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Maize-Germ Oil Production and The Use of Bioenergy to Mitigate Environmental Impacts: A Gate-To-Gate Case Study

Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Gaglio ◽  
Elena Tamburini ◽  
Francesco Lucchesi ◽  
Vassilis Aschonitis ◽  
Anna Atti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Industrial Processing ◽  
The Impact

The need to reduce the environmental impacts of the food industry is increasing together with the dramatic increment of global food demand. Circulation strategies such as the exploitation of self-produced renewable energy sources can improve ecological performances of industrial processes. However, evidence is needed to demonstrate and characterize such environmental benefits. This study assessed the environmental performances of industrial processing of maize edible oil, whose energy provision is guaranteed by residues biomasses. A gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was applied for a large-size factory of Northern Italy to describe: (i) the environmental impacts related to industrial processing and (ii) the contribution of residue-based bioenergy to their mitigation, through the comparison with a reference system based on conventional energy. The results showed that oil refinement is the most impacting phase for almost all the considered impact categories. The use of residue-based bioenergy was found to drastically reduce the emissions for all the impact categories. Moreover, Cumulative Energy Demand analysis revealed that the use of biomass residues increased energy efficiency through a reduction of the total energy demand of the industrial process. The study demonstrates that the exploitation of residue-based bioenergy can be a sustainable solution to improve environmental performances of the food industry, while supporting circular economy.

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

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2166 ◽  
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.

Reuse of carbon black from end-of-life tires in new pneumatic formulations and life-cycle assessment of the thermolysis process

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 740-754
Author(s):  
AD La Rosa ◽  
E Pergolizzi ◽  
D Maragna ◽  
G Recca ◽  
G Cicala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Black ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The Other ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Main Attraction

Carbon black derived from end-of-life tires (ELTs) through thermolysis process was studied. The main attraction of this material is the low market price (€450 ton−1) compared with virgin carbon black (about €700 ton−1). Investigation was focused on the vulcanization reaction of rubber with the addition of both types of carbon black, that is, carbon black recycled (CBr) from the thermolysis of ELTs and carbon black virgin (CBv) from traditional oil process. The aim of the research was to verify that CBr has similar reactivity than CBv when blended with rubber and vulcanized. Furthermore, environmental benefits of recovering CBr and the other coproducts were evaluated by means of the life-cycle assessment methodology.

scholarly journals Reuse of bituminous pavements: A mini-review of research, regulations and modelling

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joke Anthonissen ◽  
Wim Van den bergh ◽  
Johan Braet
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Asphalt Pavement ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Life Cycle Stage ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement ◽  
Reclaimed Asphalt ◽  
Bituminous Mixtures

Bituminous pavement can be recycled – even multiple times – by reusing it in new bituminous mixtures. If the mechanical properties of the binder get worse, this reclaimed asphalt is often used in the sub-structure of the road. Apparently, up till now, no end-of-life phase exists for the material. Actually, defining the end-of-life and the end-of-waste stage of a material is important for life cycle assessment modelling. Various standards and scientific studies on modelling life cycle assessment are known, but the crucial stages are not yet defined for reclaimed asphalt pavement. Unlike for iron, steel and aluminium scrap, at this moment, no legislative end-of-waste criteria for aggregates are formulated by the European Commission. More research is necessary in order to develop valuable end-of-life criteria for aggregates. This contribution is a mini-review article of the current regulations, standards and studies concerning end-of-life and end-of-waste of reclaimed asphalt pavement. The existing methodology in order to define end-of-waste criteria, a case study on aggregates and the argumentation used in finished legislative criteria are the basis to clarify some modelling issues for reclaimed asphalt material. Hence, this contribution elucidates the assignment of process environmental impacts to a life cycle stage as defined by EN15804, that is, end-of-life stage (C) and the supplementary information Module D with benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

scholarly journals Life-cycle assessment of decentralized solutions for wastewater treatment in small communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lourenço ◽  
L. M. Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Constructed Wetlands ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Standard Life ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study benchmarks vermifiltration (VF) as secondary wastewater treatment in three nature-based decentralized treatment plants using life-cycle assessment. The comparison is justified by the comparatively easier and cheaper operation of VF when compared to more traditional technologies, including small rate infiltration (SRI), constructed wetlands (CW), and activated sludge (AS). Standard life cycle assessment was used and applied to three case studies located in southern Europe. Material intensity during construction was highest for VF, but impacts during operation were lower, compensating those of the other phases. Impacts during the construction phase far outweigh those of operation and dismantling for facilities using constructed wetlands and activated sludge, when the number of served inhabitants is small, and due to lack of economies of scale. VF used as secondary treatment was shown to contribute to reducing the environmental impacts, mainly in constructed wetlands and activated sludge. The replacement of CW by VF seems to bring important environmental benefits in most impact categories, in particular in the construction phase. The replacement by VF in facilities with SRI seems to result in the improvement of some of the impact categories, in particular in the operation phase. As for dismantling, no conclusive results were obtained.

scholarly journals Energy and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Pavement Materials and Technologies for Urban Roads

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo G. Praticò ◽  
Marinella Giunta ◽  
Marina Mistretta ◽  
Teresa Maria Gulotta
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Crumb Rubber ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
Bituminous Mixtures

Recycled and low-temperature materials are promising solutions to reduce the environmental burden deriving from hot mix asphalts. Despite this, there is lack of studies focusing on the assessment of the life-cycle impacts of these promising technologies. Consequently, this study deals with the life cycle assessment (LCA) of different classes of pavement technologies, based on the use of bituminous mixes (hot mix asphalt and warm mix asphalt) with recycled materials (reclaimed asphalt pavements, crumb rubber, and waste plastics), in the pursuit of assessing energy and environmental impacts. Analysis is developed based on the ISO 14040 series. Different scenarios of pavement production, construction, and maintenance are assessed and compared to a reference case involving the use of common paving materials. For all the considered scenarios, the influence of each life-cycle phase on the overall impacts is assessed to the purpose of identifying the phases and processes which produce the greatest impacts. Results show that material production involves the highest contribution (about 60–70%) in all the examined impact categories. Further, the combined use of warm mix asphalts and recycled materials in bituminous mixtures entails lower energy consumption and environmental impacts due to a reduction of virgin bitumen and aggregate consumption, which involves a decrease in the consumption of primary energy and raw materials, and reduced impacts for disposal. LCA results demonstrate that this methodology is able to help set up strategies for eco-design in the pavement sector.

scholarly journals End-of-Life Recycling Options of (Nano)Enhanced CFRP Composite Prototypes Waste—A Life Cycle Perspective

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2129
Author(s):  
Fotini Petrakli ◽  
Anastasia Gkika ◽  
Alexandra Bonou ◽  
Panagiotis Karayannis ◽  
Elias P. Koumoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Fibre ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Impact Indicator ◽  
Cfrp Composite

Life cycle assessment is a methodology to assess environmental impacts associated with a product or system/process by accounting resource requirements and emissions over its life cycle. The life cycle consists of four stages: material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. This study highlights the need to conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the new product development process, as a means to assess and evaluate the environmental impacts of (nano)enhanced carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) prototypes over their entire life cycle. These prototypes, namely SleekFast sailing boat and handbrake lever, were manufactured by functionalized carbon fibre fabric and modified epoxy resin with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The environmental impacts of both have been assessed via LCA with a functional unit of ‘1 product piece’. Climate change has been selected as the key impact indicator for hotspot identification (kg CO2 eq). Significant focus has been given to the end-of-life phase by assessing different recycling scenarios. In addition, the respective life cycle inventories (LCIs) are provided, enabling the identification of resource hot spots and quantifying the environmental benefits of end-of-life options.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Sustainability Assessments of an Innovative FRP Composite Footbridge

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13000
Author(s):  
Timothy Jena ◽  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Frp Composite ◽  
Reinforced Plastic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

Sustainable construction and the design of low-carbon structures is a major concern for the UK construction industry. FRP composite materials are seen as a suitable alternative to traditional construction materials due to their high strength and light weight. Network Rail has developed a prototype for a new innovative footbridge made entirely from FRP with the aim of replacing the current steel design for footbridges. This study conducted a life cycle analysis of this novel composite footbridge design to quantify the cost and environmental benefits. An LCA and LCC analysis framework was used to analyse the environmental impacts and cost savings of the bridge throughout its lifespan from raw material extraction to its end of life. From the results of the LCA and LCC, the FRP footbridge sustainability was reviewed and compared to a standard steel footbridge. Due to the uncertainty of the fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) structure’s lifespan, multiple scenarios for longevity at the assets-use stage were studied. The study revealed that the FRP bridge offered substantial economic savings whilst presenting potentially worse environmental impacts, mainly caused by the impact of the production of FRP materials. However, our study also demonstrated the influences of uncertainties related to the glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) material design life and end-of-life disposal on the whole life cycle analyses. The results show that if the FRP footbridge surpasses its original estimation for lifespan, the economic savings can be increased and the environmental impacts can be reduced substantially.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biobased packaging solutions for Extended Shelf-Life (ESL) milk

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Cappiello ◽  
Clizia Aversa ◽  
Annalisa Genovesi ◽  
Massimiliano Barletta
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Shelf Life ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Packaging System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Total Impact ◽  
Glass Packaging ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

Abstract The dairy market is one of the most important sectors worldwide and milk packaging contributes to over one third of the global dairy packaging demand. The end-of-life of the disposable packages is a critical stage of their life cycle, as demonstrated by the fact that disposable bottles are one of the litter items that are most found on beach shores. The aim of this paper is to analyse the performance of Bio-plastic bottles compared to other alternatives currently in use in the milk packaging sector, using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Bio-compostable plastic can be a powerful means to create a circular economy for disposable items. A PLA-based bottle is compared to a PET bottle, a HDPE bottle, a Multilayer carton and a Glass bottle. In the analysis, also secondary and tertiary packaging is included. The functional unit chosen is “the packaging needed to contain 1 litre of ESL milk and to guarantee a shelf life of 30 days”. Two sensitivity analysis are also performed in order to assess the influence of the end-of-life stage on the total impact. The results show that Bioplastic system has a better performance than fossil-based systems and Multilayer carton in the categories of Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, Human toxicity and Freshwater Eutrophication. The recycling scenario strongly changes the impact of the Glass packaging system in the considered categories.

scholarly journals Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Low Noise Pavements: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Reclaimed Asphalt and Crumb Rubber Based Warm Mix Technologies

Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Puccini ◽  
Pietro Leandri ◽  
Andrea Luca Tasca ◽  
Lavinia Pistonesi ◽  
Massimo Losa
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Crumb Rubber ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
Reclaimed Asphalt ◽  
Standard Scenario ◽  
The Difference

Increasing environmental awareness is pushing towards sustainable approaches to the design and management of transport infrastructures. A life cycle assessment of low noise pavements is carried out here, with the aim to evaluate and compare the use of warm mix asphalts containing crumb rubber (CR) from end-of-life tires (ELTs) and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Different scenarios have been considered, taking into account production, construction, maintenance activities, and end-of-life of the pavement, according to a cradle to grave approach. Hot mix asphalt (HMA) was used as a reference wearing course. Results show that the simultaneous implementation of warm asphalt technologies and recycled materials can lead to a 50% reduction of the environmental burdens, compared to the standard scenario. The difference is mainly ascribed to the material depletion, the energy consumption, and the emissions associated with the frequency of maintenance of the wearing course. The use of asphalt rubber is environmentally advantageous, if compared to polymer modified binders (PMB); moreover, rubberized open-graded mixtures require the lowest bitumen content and maintenance. The findings of this research support the use of recycled materials and warm technologies as a way to improve the environmental sustainability of low noise pavements.

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