scholarly journals Carbon Footprint of a Port Infrastructure from a Life Cycle Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Saravia de los Reyes ◽  
Gonzalo Fernández-Sánchez ◽  
María Dolores Esteban ◽  
Raúl Rubén Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Continuous Emission ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Useful Life ◽  
Ch4 And N2o ◽  
Port Infrastructure ◽  
The Impact

One of the most important consequences caused by the constant development of human activity is the uncontrolled generation of greenhouse gases (GHG). The main gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) are illustrated by the carbon footprint. To determine the impact of port infrastructures, a Life Cycle Assessment approach is applied that considers construction and maintenance. A case study of a port infrastructure in Spain is analyzed. Main results reflect the continuous emission of GHG throughout the useful life of the infrastructure (25 years). Both machinery (85%) and materials (15%) are key elements influencing the obtained results (117,000 Tm CO2e).

scholarly journals The importance of embodied energy in carbon footprint assessment

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaid Alwan ◽  
Paul Jones
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Design Team ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operational Energy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Whole Life Cycle

Purpose – The construction industry has focused on operational and embodied energy of buildings as a way of becoming more sustainable, however, with more emphasis on the former. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact that embodied energy of construction materials can have on the decision making when designing buildings, and ultimately on the environment. This is an important aspect that has often been overlooked when calculating a building's carbon footprint; and its inclusion this approach presents a more holistic life cycle assessment. Design/methodology/approach – A building project was chosen that is currently being designed; the design team for the project have been tasked by the client to make the facility exemplary in terms of its sustainability. This building has a limited construction palette; therefore the embodied energy component can be accurately calculated. The authors of this paper are also part of the design team for the building so they have full access to Building Information Modelling (BIM) models and production information. An inventory of materials was obtained for the building and embodied energy coefficients applied to assess the key building components. The total operational energy was identified using benchmarking to produce a carbon footprint for the facility. Findings – The results indicate that while operational energy is more significant over the long term, the embodied energy of key materials should not be ignored, and is likely to be a bigger proportion of the total carbon in a low carbon building. The components with high embodied energy have also been identified. The design team have responded to this by altering the design to significantly reduce the embodied energy within these key components – and thus make the building far more sustainable in this regard. Research limitations/implications – It may be is a challenge to create components inventories for whole buildings or for refurbishments. However, a potential future approach for is application may be to use a BIM model to simplify this process by imbedding embodied energy inventories within the software, as part of the BIM menus. Originality/value – This case study identifies the importance of considering carbon use during the whole-life cycle of buildings, as well as highlighting the use of carbon offsetting. The paper presents an original approach to the research by using a “live” building as a case study with a focus on the embodied energy of each component of the scheme. The operational energy is also being calculated, the combined data are currently informing the design approach for the building. As part of the analysis, the building was modelled in BIM software.

Aligning financial and functional equivalent depreciations rates of building assets

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Salvado ◽  
Nuno Almeida ◽  
Alvaro Vale e Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
School Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Functional Equivalent ◽  
Useful Life ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Both financial and non-financial functions are imbedded in the life-cycle management activities of building assets. These functions provide relevant information for the establishment of operational and maintenance strategies and for decision-making processes related with the timing of major repairs, replacements and rehabilitations. The purpose of this paper is to focus on improving the alignment of financial and non-financial functions related to the recognition that the service potential of buildings should be appropriately funded as it is consumed over its life cycle. Design/methodology/approach Authors undertake an analysis of depreciation rates used to accommodate a systematic allocation of the depreciable amount of building assets over its useful life. Different depreciation approaches and calculation methods are explored. A case study of a school building portfolio is used to debate situations of misalignment of financial and non-financial depreciation rates. Data mining methods including decision tree and clustering are used to predict equivalent functional depreciation rates of buildings system and subsystems and promote an enhanced alignment with regulated financial depreciation rates toward an optimized life-cycle management of the school building portfolio. Findings Historical data show the relevance of considering technical and functional characteristics of the building system and their subsystems (landscaping; structure; external elevations and roofs; interior divisions; and services and equipment) when determining depreciation rates for the building assets The case study showed a misalignment of equivalent functional and financial depreciation rates used in the life-cycle management activities of the school building portfolio ranging between 1/1.26 for external elevations and roofs and 1/5.21 for landscaping. Originality/value Buildings initial technical and functional attributes are affected with its wear, aging or decay, causing loss of value until they reach end-of-life. This paper demonstrates the impact of the different interpretations of the concept of useful life and the subsequent misalignment that it generates between financial functions based on financial depreciation rates and non-financial functions based on historical data and the functional equivalent (technical and functional) depreciation rates. Economic data of 158 public school buildings constructed in Portugal since the 1940s, that sound life-cycle thinking enhances the alignment of both financial and non-financial functions.

scholarly journals Blockchain in Health Care Innovation: Literature Review and Case Study From a Business Ecosystem Perspective (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuchih Ernest Chang ◽  
YiChian Chen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Business Ecosystem ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Blockchain technology is leveraging its innovative potential in various sectors and its transformation of business-related processes has drawn much attention. Topics of research interest have focused on medical and health care applications, while research implications have generally concluded in system design, literature reviews, and case studies. However, a general overview and knowledge about the impact on the health care ecosystem is limited. OBJECTIVE This paper explores a potential paradigm shift and ecosystem evolution in health care utilizing blockchain technology. METHODS A literature review with a case study on a pioneering initiative was conducted. With a systematic life cycle analysis, this study sheds light on the evolutionary development of blockchain in health care scenarios and its interactive relationship among stakeholders. RESULTS Four stages—birth, expansion, leadership, and self-renewal or death—in the life cycle of the business ecosystem were explored to elucidate the evolving trajectories of blockchain-based health care implementation. Focused impacts on the traditional health care industry are highlighted within each stage to further support the potential health care paradigm shift in the future. CONCLUSIONS This paper enriches the existing body of literature in this field by illustrating the potential of blockchain in fulfilling stakeholders’ needs and elucidating the phenomenon of coevolution within the health care ecosystem. Blockchain not only catalyzes the interactions among players but also facilitates the formation of the ecosystem life cycle. The collaborative network linked by blockchain may play a critical role on value creation, transfer, and sharing among the health care community. Future efforts may focus on empirical or case studies to validate the proposed evolution of the health care ecosystem.

scholarly journals Study of the viticultural technical itineraries carbon footprint at fine scale

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 01030
Author(s):  
E. Adoir ◽  
S. Penavayre ◽  
T. Petitjean ◽  
L. De Rességuier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Life Project ◽  
One Year

Viticulture faces two challenges regarding climate change: adapting and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Are these two challenges compatible? This is one of the questions to which Adviclim project (Life project, 2014–2019) provided tools and answers. The assessment of greenhouse gas emissions was implemented at the scale of the plot using a life cycle approach: calculating the carbon footprint. This approach makes it possible to take into account the emissions generated during each stage of the life cycle of a product or a service: in this case, the cultivation of one hectare of vine for one year. Carbon footprint was assessed for the 5 pilot sites of the Adviclim project: Saint-Emilion (France), Coteaux du Layon/Samur (France), Geisenheim (Germany), Cotnari (Romania) and Plompton (United Kingdom). An important work for primary data collection regarding observed practices was carried out with a sample of reresentative farms for these 5 sites, and for one to three vintages depending on the site. Beyond the question asked in the project, the calculation of these carbon footprints made it possible to (i) make winegrowers aware of the life cycle approach and the share of direct emissions generated by viticulture, (ii) acquire new references on the technical itineraries and their associated emissions, (iii) improve the adaptation of the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint to viticulture.

scholarly journals Solar Photo-Assisted Degradation of Bipyridinium Herbicides at Circumneutral pH: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1117
Author(s):  
Alejandra Teutli-Sequeira ◽  
Ruben Vasquez-Medrano ◽  
Dorian Prato-Garcia ◽  
Jorge G. Ibanez
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Fenton Process ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Energy Share ◽  
Circumneutral Ph

This study investigated the degradation of the herbicides diquat (DQ) and paraquat (PQ) by a solar photo-Fenton process that is mediated by Fe(III)-oxalate complexes at circumneutral pH = 6.5 in compound parabolic collectors (CPC)-type reactors. The photo-Fenton process operates efficiently at acidic pH; however, circumneutral operation was key to overcome drawbacks, such as acidification and neutralization steps, reagent costs, and the environmental footprint of chemical auxiliaries. This work revealed a remarkable reduction of total organic carbon for PQ (87%) and DQ (80%) after 300 min (at ca. 875 kJ L−1). Phytotoxicity assays confirmed that the treatment led to a considerable increase in the germination index for DQ (i.e., from 4.7% to 55.8%) and PQ (i.e., from 16.5% to 59.7%) using Cucumis sativus seeds. Importantly, treatment costs (DQ = USD$8.05 and PQ = USD$7.72) and the carbon footprint of the process (DQ = 7.37 and PQ = 6.29 kg CO2-Eqv/m3) were within the ranges that were reported for the treatment of recalcitrant substances at acidic conditions in CPC-type reactors. Life cycle assessment (LCA) evidenced that H2O2 and electricity consumption are the variables with the highest environmental impact because they contribute with ca. 70% of the carbon footprint of the process. Under the studied conditions, a further reduction in H2O2 use is counterproductive, because it could impact process performance and effluent quality. On the other hand, the main drawback of the process (i.e., energy consumption) can be reduced by using renewable energies. The sensitivity study evidenced that carbon footprint is dependent on the energy share of the local electricity mix; therefore, the use of more renewable electrical energy sources, such as wind-power and photovoltaic, can reduce greenhouse gases emissions of the process an average of 26.4% (DQ = 5.57 and PQ = 4.51 kg CO2-Eqv/m3) and 78.4% (DQ = 3.72 and PQ = 2.65 kg CO2-Eqv/m3), respectively. Finally, from the economic and environmental points of view, the experimental results evidenced that photo-assisted treatment at circumneutral pH is an efficient alternative to deal with quaternary bipyridinium compounds.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Applied Measures on the Simulated Scenarios for the Sustainable Building Construction through Carbon Footprint Emissions—Case Study of Building Construction in Serbia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4688
Author(s):  
Marina Nikolić Topalović ◽  
Milenko Stanković ◽  
Goran Ćirović ◽  
Dragan Pamučar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Research was conducted to indicate the impact of the increased flow of thermal insulation materials on the environment due to the implementation of the new regulations on energy efficiency of buildings. The regulations on energy efficiency of buildings in Serbia came into force on 30 September 2012 for all new buildings as well as for buildings in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction. For that purpose, the carbon footprint was analyzed in three scenarios (BS, S1 and S2) for which the quantities of construction materials and processes were calculated. The life cycle analysis (LCA), which is the basis for analyzing the carbon life cycle (LCACO2), was used in this study. Carbon Calculator was used for measuring carbon footprint, and URSA program to calculate the operational energy. This study was done in two phases. In Phase 1, the embodied carbon was measured to evaluate short-term effects of the implementation of the new regulations. Phase 2 included the first 10 years of building exploitation to evaluate the long-term effects of the new regulations. The analysis was done for the period of 10 years, further adjustments to the regulations regarding energy efficiency of the buildings in Serbia are expected in accordance with EU directives. The study shows that, in the short-run, Scenario BS has the lowest embodied carbon. In the long-run, after 3.66 years, Scenario S2 becomes a better option regarding the impact on the environment. The study reveals the necessity to include embodied carbon together with the whole life carbon to estimation the impact of a building on the environment.

scholarly journals Incorporating an Asset Health Index into a Life Cycle Costing: A Proposition and Study Case

Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1787
Author(s):  
Orlando Durán ◽  
Fabián Orellana ◽  
Pablo Perez ◽  
Tamara Hidalgo
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Health Index ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Proposal A ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
Useful Life ◽  
Physical Assets

A physical asset’s health is the consequence of a series of factors, ranging from the characteristics of the location where it operates to the care it is submitted to. These characteristics can influence the durability or the horizon of the useful life of any equipment, as well as determine its operational performance and its failure rates in the future. Therefore, the assessment of the influence of asset health on Life Cycle Costs is a compelling need. This paper proposes the incorporation of a factor that reflects the projected behavior of an asset’s health index into its corresponding Life Cycle Costing (LCC) model. This allows cost estimates to be made more realistic and LCC models to be operated more accurately. As a way of validating this proposal, a case study is shown. The methodology proposed in this case study was applied in a real case, considering an LNG facility located in central Chile. In addition, sensitivity studies and comparisons with the results obtained by a traditional Life Cycle Costing model are included. The results show the usefulness of incorporating asset health aspects into the Life Cycle Costing of physical assets.

scholarly journals Carbon footprint and land use of oat and faba bean protein concentrates using a life cycle assessment approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 242 ◽  
pp. 118376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannele Heusala ◽  
Taija Sinkko ◽  
Nesli Sözer ◽  
Eemeli Hytönen ◽  
Lisbeth Mogensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Faba Bean ◽  
Protein Concentrates ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Bean Protein

The life cycle approach as an innovative methodology for the recovery and restoration of cultural heritage

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Settembre Blundo ◽  
Anna Maria Ferrari ◽  
Martina Pini ◽  
Maria Pia Riccardi ◽  
José Francisco García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovative Methodology ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – In this paper, of exploratory character, the purpose of this paper is to propose the analysis of the life cycle for assessing the environmental, economic, and social impact in the activity of recovery, restoration, and valorization of Cultural Heritage. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis protocol is applied to the case of recovery and restoration processes and then outlining the salient features of what may become a model of Cultural Heritage Life Cycle Management (CH-LCM). Findings – The authors propose the approach of the life cycle, normally used to assess the impact of materials, processes or products, to the management of cultural heritage as an innovative methodology with great potential. Originality/value – The methodology for this sector is highly innovative, especially in its interdisciplinary approach, through the use of different technical, historical, and economic skills which can provide the tools for the preparation of a management plan according to the logic of the life cycle.

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