scholarly journals A Preliminary Environmental Assessment of Epoxidized Sucrose Soyate (ESS)-Based Biocomposite

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2797
Author(s):  
Shokoofeh Ghasemi ◽  
Mukund P. Sibi ◽  
Chad A. Ulven ◽  
Dean C. Webster ◽  
Ghasideh Pourhashem
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Flax Fiber ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Good Potential ◽  
Epoxidized Sucrose Soyate ◽  
Almost All

Biocomposites can be both environmentally and economically beneficial: during their life cycle they generally use and generate less petroleum-based carbon, and when produced from the byproduct of another industry or recycled back to the manufacturing process, they will bring additional economic benefits through contributing to a circular economy. Here we investigate and compare the environmental performance of a biocomposite composed of a soybean oil-based resin (epoxidized sucrose soyate) and flax-based reinforcement using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. We evaluate the main environmental impacts that are generated during the production of the bio-based resin used in the biocomposite, as well as the biocomposite itself. We compare the life cycle impacts of the proposed biocomposite to a functionally similar petroleum-based resin and flax fiber reinforced composite, to identify tradeoffs between the environmental performance of the two products. We demonstrate that the bio-based resin (epoxidized sucrose soyate) compared to a conventional (bisphenol A-based) resin shows lower negative environmental impacts in most studied categories. When comparing the biocomposite to the fossil fuel derived composite, it is demonstrated that using epoxidized sucrose soyate versus a bisphenol A (BPA)-based epoxy resin can improve the environmental performance of the composite in most categories except eutrophication and ozone layer depletion. For future designs, considering an alternative cross-linker to facilitate the bond between the bio-based resin and the flax fiber, may help improve the overall environmental performance of the biocomposite. An uncertainty analysis was also performed to evaluate the effect of variation in LCA model inputs on the environmental results for both the biocomposite and composite. The findings show a better overall carbon footprint for the biocomposite compared to the BPA-based composite at almost all times, demonstrating a good potential for marketability especially in the presence of incentives or regulations that address reducing the carbon intensity of products. This analysis allowed us to pinpoint hotspots in the biocomposite’s supply chain and recommend future modifications to improve the product’s sustainability.

scholarly journals Flax Fiber for Technical Textile: A Life Cycle Inventory

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Gomez-Campos ◽  
Claire Vialle ◽  
Antoine Rouilly ◽  
Caroline Sablayrolles ◽  
Lorie Hamelin
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Flax Fiber ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Fiber Production ◽  
Cradle To Gate

Flax fiber appears as a suitable feedstock in the endeavor of deploying a sustainable biobased economy. Its environmental performance as reinforcement in composite materials has been studied in previous Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). However, these studies only present a coarse Life cycle Inventory (LCI) and often fail to detail all processes of the supply chain or to represent the co-products. This paper aims to bridge this gap and provide data for future LCAs on flax fiber production and transformation.The study focuses on the impacts of producing a bio-based reinforcement material (a fabric product for non-aesthetic purposes) with a system expansion perspective. The functional unit is defined as the production of 2400 m² flax-based technical textile per year, this corresponds to one hectare of cultivated land. The geographical scope considers that the production occurs in France and that some manufacturing process are outsourced in China. A Sensitivity Analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the electricity mix in the various countries involved in the manufacturing cycle.A detailed life cycle inventory for flax fiber production and transformation was built and the environmental performance of a flax technical textile was assessed as a cradle-to-gate LCA. The fate of co-products was documented and was shown to contribute to the reduction of the generated environmental impacts. Through a cradle-to-gate LCA, a broader understanding of the environmental performance of a flax-based technical textile was presented by including the valorization of co-products and a wider set of analyzed impact categories, going therefore beyond the existing state-of-the-art. Results show agricultural activities and electricity production to be the biggest contributors to the environmental impacts of flax technical textile; contributions due to land use changes were minor in comparison. Very specifically for this case study, a sensibility analysis showed the influence of an all-French production to be more efficient from an environmental point of view.

Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Fuel Procuring and Electricity Generating Processes in Japan by Using an 'LCA-NETS' Scheme

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yucho Sadamichi ◽  
Seizo Kato
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Impact Assessment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Coal Gasification ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Cold Energy ◽  
Life Cycle Impact ◽  
Almost All

Japan imports almost all of the energy resources with 40% of them used for electricity generation. Electricity is generated mainly by five types of power plants (LNG-fired, LNG-CC, oil-fired, coal-fired, and nuclear), which have various environmental impacts, for example, fossil fuel depletion, global warming, acid rain, etc.The purpose of this paper is to make a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the electricity generating processes of power plants in Japan and to suggest some concrete measures to reduce the environmental impacts.Our study proceeds as follows. We focus on the fuel procuring process reflecting Japan's import of fuel resources and then the whole electricity generating process of the different types of power plants. Firstly, we quantify the environmental loads resulting from each type of plant by Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis. Secondly, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method is applied to evaluate the total impacts of each type of plant. Thirdly, we make some concluding remarks on reduction of the environmental impacts. LCI analysis and LCIA evaluation are done with use of the 'LCA-NETS' scheme we have developed.Our LCIA evaluation shows that in the fuel procuring process nuclear plants rank top, coal-fired plants second, oil-fired plants third, and LNG-fired plants bottom in the ascending (better) order of the `NETS/MJ' values, and that in the whole electricity generating process LNG-CC plants rank top, LNG-fired and coal-fired plants second, oil-fired plants third and nuclear plants last in the ascending (better) order of the `NETS/kWh' values.Our findings about the fuel procuring process imply that if LNG-fired plants can find an effective usage of their byproduct of cold energy or import natural gas without liquefaction directly from nearby countries, they will rank up next to nuclear plants and that if any legal regulations of desulfurization are imposed on sea transportation the impacts of crude oil and coal will be reduced a great deal.It follows from the total evaluation of the whole electricity generating process that if coal-fired plants can reduce the total impacts by 20% by introducing a technology of coal gasification they will be superior to LNG-CC plants and that if nuclear plants can adopt a technology of recycling uranium to reduce the total impacts by 50% they will be as good as LNG-CC plants.

scholarly journals Evaluation Model of Environmental Impacts of Insulation Building Envelopes

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2258
Author(s):  
Qianmiao Yang ◽  
Liyao Kong ◽  
Hui Tong ◽  
Xiaolin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Entire Life ◽  
Entire Life Cycle

Energy consumption during use is the focus of insulation envelope design, but the environmental impact of other stages in the entire life cycle of building envelopes should be of equal concern. In this paper, a model has been developed based on the life-cycle environmental assessment for calculating the environmental impacts of building envelopes. The model proposed will be useful to evaluate the environmental performance of various envelopes to optimize the design of energy-saving envelopes. Consequently, lots of experiments are conducted for environmental impact assessment and analysis for external windows and filler walls with energy-savings in heating areas of China. Four conclusions can be drawn from the analysis. (1) K of building envelope is the design parameter of the greatest impact on environmental performance and has a critical value, which is the value that has the smallest environmental impact over the entire life cycle. (2) The importance of the environmental impact of the building envelope during the life cycle stages is as follows: usage > production > transportation > disposal > construction. The construction process of the thermal insulation wall could be negligible. (3) The choice of regional building materials should consider the distance of transportation, which may be the key factor determining its life cycle environmental performance. (4) Aerated concrete EPS walls and wooden windows are the first choices for envelope construction from the environmental impact throughout the life cycle.

scholarly journals A Sensitivity Analysis Approach to Identify Key Environmental Performance Factors

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xi Yu ◽  
Aicha Sekhari ◽  
Antoine Nongaillard ◽  
Abdelaziz Bouras ◽  
Suiran Yu
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Performance Factors

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used in design phase to reduce the product’s environmental impacts through the whole product life cycle (PLC) during the last two decades. The traditional LCA is restricted to assessing the environmental impacts of a product and the results cannot reflect the effects of changes within the life cycle. In order to improve the quality of ecodesign, it is a growing need to develop an approach which can reflect the changes between the design parameters and product’s environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis approach based on LCA and ecodesign is proposed in this paper. The key environmental performance factors which have significant influence on the products’ environmental impacts can be identified by analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and the design parameters. Users without much environmental knowledge can use this approach to determine which design parameter should be first considered when (re)designing a product. A printed circuit board (PCB) case study is conducted; eight design parameters are chosen to be analyzed by our approach. The result shows that the carbon dioxide emission during the PCB manufacture is highly sensitive to the area of PCB panel.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts Associated with Intensive Production in Pig Farms in Mexico through Life Cycle Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11248
Author(s):  
Mario Rafael Giraldi-Díaz ◽  
Eduardo Castillo-González ◽  
Lorena De Medina-Salas ◽  
Raúl Velásquez-De la Cruz ◽  
Héctor Daniel Huerta-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Pig Slurry ◽  
Growth Phases ◽  
Product System ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
Intensive Production ◽  
Pig Farm

In this research, environmental impacts associated with the intensive production of pigs on a farm in Mexico were determined through the application of life cycle assessment methodology. The research was focused on the following stages of the product system: (i) pig rearing and growth phases; (ii) production operations in the pig-house; (iii) the supply of feed. The life cycle inventory database was mainly made up of data collected in field visits to local farms. The functional unit was defined as one finished swine weighing 124 kg. The results for the selected impact categories of carbon, water, and energy footprints were 538.62 kg CO2eq, 21.34 m3, and 1773.79 MJ, respectively. The greatest impact was generated in the final stages of pig fattening, mainly due to the large quantity of feed supplied. The impacts caused by operation of the pig farm were less significant, their contribution in all cases was less than a third of the total quantified values. The energy conversion of pig slurry improves the environmental performance of the product system by reducing the carbon footprint.

scholarly journals Natural Fibre Polymer Composites – A Game Changer for the Aviation Sector?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Gomez-Campos ◽  
Claire Vialle ◽  
Antoine Rouilly ◽  
Lorie Hamelin ◽  
Aline Rogeon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Polymer Composites ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Natural Fibre ◽  
Mitigation Option ◽  
Full Life Cycle ◽  
Marine Eutrophication ◽  
Fire Suppressant ◽  
Biocomposite Material

As part of the efforts to reduce the environmental impacts caused by the aviation sector, the use of bio-based instead of fossil-based materials has been assessed as a possible mitigation option. Natural Fibre Polymer Composites have proven to have a higher environmental performance in the automotive sector and are emerging as an option for weight reduction in aircraft. This study quantifies, though Life Cycle Assessment, the environmental performance of specific flax-based composite panels intended for aircrafts as interior fitting elements (i.e. partition panels, tray tables, baggage compartments) compared to a glass fibre/epoxy composite with a honeycomb core. Through system expansion, the fate of co-products issued from the production of the flax fibre technical textile used as reinforcement in the biocomposite material were considered in the assessment. Results showed that for an application in the aeronautics sector, the weight of the panels is the upmost critical parameter shaping the overall environmental performance of panels. Focusing on the panel production only, the biocomposite panel showed a higher environmental performance in the categories of climate change and marine eutrophication compared to the conventional panel, and the fire suppressant agent was identified as the main contributor to the environmental impacts of the bio-based panel. Yet these gains were negligible when considering the full life cycle of the panels, due to the higher weight (14%) of the bio-based panels; which is linked to the bio-based panel being at a prototype stage.In order to improve the environmental performance of the biocomposite panel and thus reduce its weight, it was shown relevant to optimize geometry of the panel itself, especially its core, so less resin could be used.

Ecodesign Applied to Components Based on Sugarcane Fibers Composites

2010 ◽  
Vol 636-637 ◽  
pp. 226-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra M. Luz ◽  
Paulo M.C. Ferrão ◽  
C. Alves ◽  
M. Freitas ◽  
Armand Caldeira-Pires
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Sugarcane Bagasse ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Fiber Composites ◽  
Flexural Properties ◽  
Natural Fiber Composites ◽  
Technical Performance

This work evaluates the technical performance and environmental impacts, when sugarcane bagasse is applied as reinforcement of polypropylene in a component instead neat polypropylene (PP). To achieve the goals of this study, the tensile and flexural properties and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a function of fiber content were performed. In addition, different end-of-life (EOL) options for natural fiber composites were proposed, including incineration, recycling (with economic reuse) and discharging (landfill). Besides the good mechanical properties, natural fiber composites showed great environmental performance during the entire life cycle, mainly in the cultivation phase, when sugarcane consumes carbon while growing, contributing to global warming decreases. As a conclusion, sugarcane bagasse fibers production results in lower environmental impacts compared to neat PP and the recycling with economic reuse of sugarcane bagasse-PP composite was the best alternative to minimize environmental impacts after the end-of-life.

scholarly journals Environmental Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies: Assessment of the Status Quo and Future Prospects Based on a Meta-Analysis of Life-Cycle Assessment Studies

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 4228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffi Weyand ◽  
Carolin Wittich ◽  
Liselotte Schebek
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
The Status ◽  
Photovoltaic Technologies

Emerging photovoltaic technologies are expected to have lower environmental impacts during their life cycle due to their extremely thin-film technology and resulting material savings. The environmental impacts of four emerging photovoltaics were investigated based on a meta-analysis of life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies, comprising a systematic review and harmonization approach of five key indicators to describe the environmental status quo and future prospects. The status quo was analyzed based on a material-related functional unit of 1 watt-peak of the photovoltaic cell. For future prospects, the functional unit of 1 kWh of generated electricity was used, including assumptions on the use phase, notably on the lifetime. The results of the status quo show that organic photovoltaic technology is the most mature emerging photovoltaic technology with a competitive environmental performance, while perovskites have a low performance, attributed to the early stage of development and inefficient manufacturing on the laboratory scale. The results of future prospects identified improvements of efficiency, lifetime, and manufacturing with regard to environmental performance based on sensitivity and scenario analyses. The developed harmonization approach supports the use of LCA in the early stages of technology development in a structured way to reduce uncertainty and extract significant information during development.

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