scholarly journals Integrating LCA with Process Modeling for the Energetic and Environmental Assessment of a CHP Biomass Gasification Plant: A Case Study in Thessaly, Greece

Eng ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-30
Author(s):  
Ioannis Voultsos ◽  
Dimitrios Katsourinis ◽  
Dimitrios Giannopoulos ◽  
Maria Founti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Biomass Gasification ◽  
Lower Efficiency ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
Gasification Process ◽  
Gasification Plant

The energetic and environmental performance of a cogeneration biomass gasification plant, situated in Thessaly, Greece is evaluated via a methodology combining process simulation and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Initially, the gasification process of the most common agricultural residues found in the Thessaly region is simulated to establish the effect of technical parameters such as gasification temperature, equivalence ratio and raw biomass moisture content. It is shown that a maximum gasification efficiency of approximately 70% can be reached for all feedstock types. Lower efficiency values are associated with increased raw biomass moisture content. Next, the gasifier model is up-scaled, achieving the operation of a 1 MWel and 2.25 MWth cogeneration plant. The Life Cycle Assessment of the operation of the cogeneration unit is conducted using as input the performance data from the process simulation. Global Warming Potential and the Cumulative Demand of Non-Renewable Fossil Energy results suggest that the component which had the major share in both impact categories is the self-consumption of electricity of the plant. Finally, the key conclusion of the present study is the quantification of carbon dioxide mitigation and non-renewable energy savings by comparing the biomass cogeneration unit operation with conventional reference cases.

Life Cycle Assessment of a Reflective Foil Material and Comparison With Other Solutions for Thermal Insulation of Buildings

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Desideri ◽  
S. Proietti ◽  
F. Zepparelli ◽  
P. Sdringola ◽  
E. Cenci
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Production Phase ◽  
Reflective Foil

In the last twenty years, the exploitation of non-renewable resources and the effects of their applications on environment and human health were considered central topics in political and scientific debate on European and worldwide scale. This kind of resources have been used in different sectors, as energy systems, technological research, but also in private/public buildings and production of consumer goods, involving significantly domestic and ordinary life of every human being. Studies about the effect of this exploitation carried out discouraging results, in terms of climate changes and energy sustenance; this determined a progressive approach process to a new concept of development, able to couple the qualitative standard of modern life with the respect of planet and its inhabitants. Starting from this reflection, scientific community moved towards research on alternative resources and developed a new way to conceive planning process and technical innovations, in order to exploit renewable energies and recycled materials, promote energy savings and reduce environmental pollution. In this context the present paper aims at evaluating benefits relating to different solutions of thermal insulation in building envelope. In fact a high grade of insulation ensures better comfort conditions in inner spaces, reducing energy consumptions due to heating and cooling conditioning. The paper presents the results of a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the reflective foil ISOLIVING, conceived and produced by an Italian company. The Life Cycle Assessment methodology allows to consider all stages of the life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the product’s disposal, in an optics “from cradle to grave.” In particular, the study takes into account the production phase of the reflective foil ISOLIVING, the installation phase, the transport of all components to the production site and also the end of life scenario of the material. The possibility to collect many detailed information about the production phase adds value to the study. The analysis is carried out according to UNI EN ISO 14040 and UNI EN ISO 14044, which regulate the LCA procedure. The LCA modeling was performed using SimaPro software application. The results of the analysis allow to make an important comparison concerning the environmental performances, between the reflective foil ISOLIVING and other types of insulating materials.

scholarly journals Process simulation and gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of hydrometallurgical refractory gold concentrate processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Elomaa ◽  
Pia Sinisalo ◽  
Lotta Rintala ◽  
Jari Aromaa ◽  
Mari Lundström
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Gold Recovery ◽  
Pressure Oxidation ◽  
Refractory Gold

Abstract Purpose Currently, almost all cyanide-free gold leaching processes are still in the development stage. Proactively investigating their environmental impacts prior to commercialization is of utmost importance. In this study, a detailed refractory gold concentrate process simulation with mass and energy balance was built for state-of-the-art technology with (i) pressure oxidation followed by cyanidation and, compared to alternative cyanide-free technology, with (ii) pressure oxidation followed by halogen leaching. Subsequently, the simulated mass balance was used as life cycle inventory data in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of the predominant cyanidation process and a cyanide-free alternative. Methods The environmental indicators for each scenario are based on the mass balance produced with HSC Sim steady-state simulation. The simulated mass balances were evaluated to identify the challenges in used technologies. The HSC Sim software is compatible with the GaBi LCA software, where LCI data from HSC-Sim is directly exported to. The simulation produces a consistent life cycle inventory (LCI). In GaBi LCA software, the environmental indicators of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), terrestrial eutrophication potential (EP), and water depletion (Water) are estimated. Results and discussion The life cycle assessment revealed that the GWP for cyanidation was 10.1 t CO2-e/kg Au, whereas the halogen process indicated a slightly higher GWP of 12.6 t CO2-e/kg Au. The difference is partially explained by the fact that the footprint is calculated against produced units of Au; total recovery by the halogen leaching route for gold was only 87.3%, whereas the cyanidation route could extract as much as 98.5% of gold. The addition of a second gold recovery unit to extract gold also from the washing water in the halogen process increased gold recovery up to 98.5%, decreasing the GWP of the halogen process to 11.5 t CO2-e/kg Au. However, both evaluated halogen processing scenarios indicated a slightly higher global warming potential when compared to the dominating cyanidation technology. Conclusions The estimated environmental impacts predict that the development-stage cyanide-free process still has some challenges compared to cyanidation; as in the investigated scenarios, the environmental impacts were generally higher for halogen leaching. Further process improvements, for example in the form of decreased moisture in the feed for halide leaching, and the adaptation of in situ gold recovery practices in chloride leaching may give the cyanide-free processing options a competitive edge.

Comparing Energy and Other Measures of Environmental Performance in the Original Manufacturing and Remanufacturing of Engine Components

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Adler ◽  
P. A. Ludewig ◽  
V. Kumar ◽  
J. W. Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Material Usage ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Engine Components ◽  
Original Component ◽  
Made In

The remanufacturing industry is rapidly becoming a source of economic growth and environmental benefit. In the past, researchers have presented cost and energy savings due to remanufacturing a variety of products, largely based on the results of industry-wide surveys. However, little or no effort has focused on the life cycle assessment of remanufacturing. In fact, no study has performed a life cycle assessment of engine components, comparing the original component manufacture with remanufactured components. In this paper, a comparison of the original manufacture and remanufacture of components from a typical Caterpillar diesel engine is described. The “gate-to-gate” analysis considers components that represent a majority of the engine assembly by weight. The comparison is made in two measures of environmental performance: energy and material usage.

Analytical, Performance and Prescriptive Measures for Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainability or Energy Efficiency Projects

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Om Taneja
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Analytical Performance ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Occupant Comfort ◽  
Lack Of Commitment

Sustainability goals for buildings are highly acclaimed as public and private sector’s contributions to environmental responsibility, resource efficiency, occupant comfort and well-being. All too often a building’s performance does not meet design expectations, particularly a new building’s energy savings projection that overstates achievable performance. Across the high-performing building industry, these unrealistic energy performance goals have come from, among other things, inadequate modeling and benchmarking practices, unreliable monitoring and equipment controls systems, and significant changes in space usage and tenant improvements. There is still lack of commitment to include operations staff in goal setting and provide adequate budgets for periodic benchmarking, commissioning, and tuning of buildings’ mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. This paper provides the analytical, performance & prescriptive measures for life cycle assessment of energy efficiency projects which can help in making adaptive changes to buildings systems to suit changing uses, or other internal and external factors that directly or indirectly affect performance.

Life Cycle Assessment of Timber Formwork: Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 1001 ◽  
pp. 155-161
Author(s):  
L'uboš Krišták ◽  
Rastislav Igaz ◽  
Dušan Brozman ◽  
Roman Réh ◽  
Petra Šiagiová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Experimental Model ◽  
Technological Process ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Energy Savings

The article deas with evaluation of the selected parts of a life cycle of timber formwork on a wooden basis, notably in the field of manufacturing and usage. Experimental research focused mainly on assessing the possibilities of energy savings in a manufacturing process through shortening a technological process of moulding. By optimalisation of a moulding period, it is possible to achieve considerable energy savings. Based upon the experiments, we created an experimental model in order to determine optimum moulding time. Withing a process of usage, we evaluated particular materials with regard to re-use cycle based upon the experience of commercial manufacturers.

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