scholarly journals Industrial or Traditional Bamboo Construction? Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bamboo-Based Buildings

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Zea Escamilla ◽  
Guillaume Habert ◽  
Juan Correal Daza ◽  
Hector Archilla ◽  
Juan Echeverry Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Hollow Block ◽  
Regenerative Development ◽  
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

The past five decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in population. This has led to an ever-growing housing demand. It has been proposed that the use of bio-based materials, and specifically bamboo, can help alleviate the housing demand in a sustainable manner. The present paper aims to assess the environmental impact caused by using four different construction materials (bamboo, brick, concrete hollow block, and engineered bamboo) in buildings. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to measure the environmental impact of the different construction materials in the construction of single and multi-storey buildings. The LCA considered the extraction, production, transport, and use of the construction materials. The IPCC2013 evaluation method from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC2013 was used for the calculations of CO2 emissions. The assessment was geographically located in Colombia, South America, and estimates the transport distances of the construction materials. The results show that transportation and reinforcing materials significantly contribute to the environmental impact, whereas the engineered bamboo construction system has the lowest environmental impact. The adoption of bamboo-based construction systems has a significant potential to support the regenerative development of regions where they could be used and might lead to long-lasting improvements to economies, environments, and livelihoods.

The use of life cycle assessment for evaluating the sustainability of the Amsterdam water cycle

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Klaversma ◽  
A. W. C. van der Helm ◽  
J. W. N. M. Kappelhof
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Phosphate Removal ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The Impact

Waternet, the water cycle company of Amsterdam and surrounding areas, uses the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to evaluate the environmental impact of investment decisions and to determine the potential reduction of direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of different alternatives. This approach enables Waternet to fulfil its corporate objective to improve sustainability and to become climate neutral by 2020. Three example studies that give a good overview of the use of LCAs at Waternet and problems encountered are discussed: phosphate removal and recovery from wastewater, pH correction of drinking water with carbon dioxide (CO2) and materials for drinking water distribution pipes. The environmental impact assessments were performed in SimaPro 7 using the ReCiPe method and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Global Warming Potential (IPCC GWP) 100a method. The Ecoinvent 2.0 and 2.2 databases were used for the material and process data. From the examples described, it can be concluded that only the phosphate removal case had a significant effect on the climate footprint. The article discusses applications and limitations of the LCA technique. The most important limitation is that the impact of water consumption and the possible impact of effluent compounds to surface water are not considered within the used methods.

scholarly journals Comparative life cycle assessment: ground source heat pump system versus gas furnace and air conditioner system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha Kathleen Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Air Conditioner ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System ◽  
Ground Source ◽  
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are an extremely efficient space heating and cooling technology. There is a large consensus throughout the literature that GSHP systems can reduce operational CO2 emissions by up to 80% in comparison to natural gas furnace (GF) and air conditioner (AC) systems. The literature is limited; however, in regards to the specific environmental impacts associated with the systems, as well as the impacts that occur throughout the systems’ entire life cycle. In this project, a comparative life cycle assessment was conducted to compare a GSHP system with a GF/AC system, examining 14 specific environmental impact categories. Results were consistent with the literature in regards to the operational stage; however the GSHP system displayed a significantly greater overall environmental impact. While these results are specific to the region of Ontario, Canada, they call into question the prevailing opinion that GSHPs are the more environmentally sustainable option.

Comparative life cycle assessment of ornamental stone processing waste recycling, sand, clay and limestone filler

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Ayres Rebello ◽  
Robson Zulcão ◽  
João Luiz Calmon ◽  
Ricardo Franci Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Processing Waste ◽  
Limestone Filler ◽  
Ornamental Stone ◽  
Rotary Dryer ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

Owing to the cost of destination and transportation of ornamental stone processing waste, many studies focused on the reuse and recycling of this product. However, there is a scarcity of articles addressing the environmental viability of the recycling of ornamental stone. In this context, this study comprehends a comparative life cycle assessment of ornamental stone processing waste and conventional materials: sand, clay and limestone filler. The modelling software used was SimaPro 8.3.0.0 with Ecoinvent 3.2 database, employing the ReCiPe H/H methodology for impact assessment. The results show that the recycling of ornamental stone processing waste is environmentally preferable, and the artificial drying alternatives, such as flash dryer and rotary dryer, have lower environmental impact than extracting and processing clay through atomisation methods and limestone filler production. The sensitivity analysis indicated that it is possible to transport the ornamental stone processing waste 37 km after processing, so it reaches the same environmental impact as sand extracted by dredging. On the other hand, an increase of 25% in the energy consumption incremented only 7% of the environmental impact owing to the Brazilian energy mix.

scholarly journals Comparative life cycle assessment: ground source heat pump system versus gas furnace and air conditioner system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha Kathleen Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pump ◽  
Air Conditioner ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System ◽  
Ground Source ◽  
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are an extremely efficient space heating and cooling technology. There is a large consensus throughout the literature that GSHP systems can reduce operational CO2 emissions by up to 80% in comparison to natural gas furnace (GF) and air conditioner (AC) systems. The literature is limited; however, in regards to the specific environmental impacts associated with the systems, as well as the impacts that occur throughout the systems’ entire life cycle. In this project, a comparative life cycle assessment was conducted to compare a GSHP system with a GF/AC system, examining 14 specific environmental impact categories. Results were consistent with the literature in regards to the operational stage; however the GSHP system displayed a significantly greater overall environmental impact. While these results are specific to the region of Ontario, Canada, they call into question the prevailing opinion that GSHPs are the more environmentally sustainable option.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Artificial Wetland Systems for Rural Wastewater Treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 299 ◽  
pp. 02006
Author(s):  
Siyi Wang ◽  
Zixiang Ji ◽  
Yumin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Aeration Tank ◽  
Treatment Model ◽  
Treatment Technology ◽  
Artificial Wetland ◽  
Ecological Treatment

Decentralized wastewater treatment technology, especially natural ecological treatment technology has widely been used in rural regions. In this paper, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of a typical wastewater ecological treatment technology - artificial wetland technology was conducted. SimaPro software was applied to simulate the wastewater treatment facility, and the CML2 baseline2000 impact evaluation method was selected to analyze the environmental loads and benefits during the life cycle. The environmental impact of the facility adopting grey-black separation mode is compared with that of the unified collection and treatment model to provide scientific basis and suggestions for the selection of wastewater collection and treatment model. The results indicated that the main environmental impact of the Southeast University artificial wetland system comes from the construction and operation of the artificial wetland and aeration tank. Marine water ecotoxicity is the main impact factor, followed by freshwater water ecotoxicity.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of different packaging systems for coffee capsules

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annachiara Tonelli ◽  
David Mosna ◽  
Giuseppe Vignali
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Organic Waste ◽  
Multilayer Film ◽  
Modified Atmosphere ◽  
Packaging System ◽  
Environmental Product Declaration ◽  
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment

"The aim of this work is to compare the environmental impact of three different packaging systems for coffee capsules, which can be used in the same coffee machine. A comparative Life Cycle Assessment has been performed considering the following three types of coffee capsules: 1. Compostable coffee capsules packaged into a multichamber PET tray. 2. Capsules made of aluminium and packaged into cardboard boxes. 3. Capsules made of polypropylene with an aluminium top lid, singularly packaged in modified atmosphere into a bag made of multilayer film of aluminium and polypropylene. The functional unit considered is a coffee capsule. To evaluate the environmental impact, the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) method is used. This work shows that it is possible to reduce the environmental impact of compostable capsules packaged in PET tray by two ways: by using a less polluting starch polymer and by producing biogas instead of compost from the organic waste. With these improvements, the compostable coffee capsule in PET tray results the less damaging packaging system for all categories except than for the ozone layer depletion and the fossil fuels depletion."

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document