scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Pellet Production in Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyarath Saosee ◽  
Boonrod Sajjakulnukit ◽  
Shabbir Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Wood Pellets ◽  
Wood Pellet ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
Production Processes

Thailand has increased wood pellet production for export and domestic use. The variations in production processes, raw materials, and transportation related to wood pellet production make it necessary to evaluate the environmental impacts assessment. The objective of this study was to compare via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), eight different cases of wood pellet production varying in terms of raw materials, production processes, energy use, and the format of transportation and to compare LCA of electricity production from wood pellets and fossil fuels. The comparison results show that leucaena is better as a feedstock for wood pellet production than acacia due to shorter harvest cycle and lesser use of resources. Pellet production consumes the most energy contributing significantly to the environmental impacts. The use of fossil fuels in wood pellet production and transportation also has a major contribution to the environmental impacts. Using wood pellets for electricity production is better than lignite in terms of human health, ecosystem quality and resource scarcity. Recommendations from this study include increasing yield of feedstock plants, shortening harvest cycle, reducing overuse of fertilizers and herbicides, pollution control, reducing fossil fuel use in the supply chain, good logistics, feedstock access, and offering incentives considering the externality cost.

scholarly journals Environmental impacts of paper handouts vs. Online handouts-from a life cycle assessment prospective

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Arango
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Hard Copy ◽  
Paper Production ◽  
Product Use ◽  
Production Processes

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">T</span>he purpose of this study was to address the concerns about sustainability between the uses of hard copy reference documents versus online copies. This project presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study comparing the production and use of a hard copy handout versus an online handout. For the purpose of this study, paper handouts and online handouts are two different and independent processes. This means that they not only have different outputs but also have different manufacturing stages in order to get to the final result. The scope of this study is “cradle to grave,” starting with the extraction of the raw materials, followed by paper and computer production processes, transportation, product use and disposal/recovery. Results indicate that under the made assumptions, the use of a paper handout has more environmental impacts. At the same time among the evaluated processes, paper production has higher environmental impacts.</p>

Life Cycle Assessment of Modern Wind Power Plants

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes M. Hapke ◽  
Karl R. Haapala ◽  
Zhaohui Wu ◽  
Ted K. A. Brekken
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Wind Power Plants

Power generation for the existing electrical grid is largely based on the combustion of fossil fuels. Global concerns have been raised regarding the environmental sustainability of the system due to life cycle impacts, including land losses from fuel extraction and impacts of combustion emissions. An approach to reduce carbon emissions of fossil fuel-based energy employs the conversion of wind energy to electrical energy. The work presented describes modern wind power plants and provides an environmental assessment of a representative wind park from a life cycle perspective. The empirical analysis uses commercially available data, as well as information from an existing wind power plant. The life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a modern wind farm in the northwestern U.S. found that environmental benefits of avoiding typical electricity production greatly outweigh the impacts due to wind turbine construction and maintenance. Effects of component reliability, varying capacity factors, and energy portfolio are explored.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of New High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) Modules and Multi-Junction Cells

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2916
Author(s):  
Jérôme Payet ◽  
Titouan Greffe
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Active Material ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
High Concentration

Worldwide electricity consumption increases by 2.6% each year. Greenhouse gas emissions due to electricity production raise by 2.1% per year on average. The development of efficient low-carbon-footprint renewable energy systems is urgently needed. CPVMatch investigates the feasibility of mirror or lens-based High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) systems. Thanks to innovative four junction solar cells, new glass coatings, Position Sensitive Detectors (PSD), and DC/DC converters, it is possible to reach concentration levels higher than 800× and a module efficiency between 36.7% and 41.6%. From a circular economy’s standpoint, the use of concentration technologies lowers the need in active material, increases recyclability, and reduces the risk of material contamination. By using the Life Cycle Assessment method, it is demonstrated that HCPV presents a carbon footprint ranking between 16.4 and 18.4 g CO2-eq/kWh. A comparison with other energy means for 16 impact categories including primary energy demand and particle emissions points out that the environmental footprint of HCPV is typically 50 to 100 times lower than fossil fuels footprint. HCPV’s footprint is also three times lower than that of crystalline photovoltaic solutions and is close to the environmental performance of wind power and hydropower.

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Bioenergy Production from Different Wood Pellet Supply Chains

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sgarbossa ◽  
Martina Boschiero ◽  
Francesca Pierobon ◽  
Raffaele Cavalli ◽  
Michela Zanetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Wood Pellets ◽  
Wood Pellet ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Toxicity Potential ◽  
The Eu

The EU is one of the largest producers and consumers of wood pellets in the world, covering around 36% of the global wood pellet production and around 50% of the global consumption in 2018. The EU wood pellet consumption is expected to further increase in response to the ambitious energy and climate goals for 2030. Currently, wood pellets are mainly produced from sawdust and other sawmill residues; however, other types of forest feedstock are being investigated in order to meet the increasing wood pellet demand and move toward greater energy independence. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the environmental impact of different wood pellet supply chains. A comparative cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment is performed considering the following wood feedstock systems: (i) sawdust from sawmill (S1), (ii) roundwood logs (S2), (iii) whole trees from forest thinning operation (S3), and (iv) logging residues produced during forest tree harvesting (S4). The study focuses on Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP), and Human Toxicity Potential (HTP). Results show that S3 displays the lowest figures on all the environmental impact categories considered in this study. Compared to the reference case S1, S3 shows a GWP reduction of 46%, an ODP reduction of 6.6%, a POCP reduction of 14.8%, and HTP reduction of 13.2%. S3 and S4 have lower GWP than S1 and S2, even when the biogenic CO2 emissions are considered. Overall, the life cycle phases that have the highest GWP, POCP, and HTP are the burning phase and the preparation of the material to be pelletized, particularly the drying process. Nevertheless, the main phases that contribute to the ODP are the forest operations and the pellet preparation.

A Life Cycle Assessment Study on a New Countertop Material

2021 ◽  
Vol 897 ◽  
pp. 137-142
Author(s):  
Luiza Silva ◽  
Elisabete Silva ◽  
Isabel Brás ◽  
Idalina Domingos ◽  
Dulcineia Wessel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Photochemical Oxidation ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Product Packaging ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Abiotic Depletion

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the most important analytical tools available to provide the scientific basis of engineering solutions for sustainability. The focus of this study was a LCA (cradle to gate) of a product intended to be used in countertops. The functional unit chosen was 1 m2 of finished panel (countertop) and the boundary system involved the study of raw materials and product packaging and the panel’s production process. The chosen method for impact assessment was EPD (2018) available in SimaPro PhD software and Acidification, Eutrophication, Global Warming, Photochemical Oxidation, Abiotic Depletion (elements), Abiotic Depletion (fossil fuels), Water Scarcity and Ozone Layer Depletion were the impact categories considered. Results showed that the panel’s manufacturing is the process that presented the highest influence in all categories analyzed ranging from 88% on Abiotic Depletion to approximately 101% on Water Scarcity. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) is the greatest contributors to all impact categories except to Photochemical Oxidation that is the Polyester.

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 Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Electric Vehicles and Electricity Supply: How Hourly Defined Life Cycle Assessment and Smart Charging Can Contribute

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baumann ◽  
Michael Salzinger ◽  
Simon Remppis ◽  
Benjamin Schober ◽  
Michael Held ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Unit Commitment ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Smart Charging ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
Renewable Electricity Generation

Increasing shares of renewable electricity generation lead to fundamental changes of the electricity supply, resulting in varying supply mixes and environmental impacts. The hourly-defined life cycle assessment (HD-LCA) approach aims to capture the environmental profile of electricity supply in an hourly resolution. It offers a flexible connectivity to unit commitment models or real-time electricity production and consumption data from electricity suppliers. When charging EVs, the environmental impact of the charging session depends on the electricity mix during the session. This paper introduces the combination of HD-LCA and smart charging and illustrates its impacts on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of BEVs.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Nitrate and Compound Fertilizers Production—A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Georgios Gaidajis ◽  
Ilias Kakanis
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Water Eutrophication ◽  
Production Industry ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

The production and utilization of fertilizers are processes with known and noteworthy environmental impacts. Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a high contribution to water eutrophication due to the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) derivatives are some of the most crucial impacts derived from the overall life cycle of fertilizer use. The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been reliable and analytical tool for the identification, quantification, and evaluation of potential environmental impacts of fertilizers related to the products, production processes, or activities throughout their lifecycle. In this paper, a gate-to-gate LCA approach was applied in order to identify and evaluate the impacts derived from the production processes of nitrate and compound fertilizers the production industry in Northeastern Greece. The results from this study prove that compound fertilizers have a greater impact compared with nitrate fertilizers, contributing up to 70% of the total production impacts. Furthermore, climate change, freshwater eutrophication, and fossil fuel depletion were identified as the most crucial impact categories. Finally, a comparison with relevant LCA studies was conducted, in order to identify the possibility of a consistency pattern of the fertilizer production impacts in general.

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