scholarly journals Functional Unit for Impact Assessment in the Mining Sector—Part 1

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9313
Author(s):  
Julien Bongono ◽  
Birol Elevli ◽  
Bertrand Laratte
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Multiscale Approach ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
End Use ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sector Part ◽  
Selection Of

More and more efforts are directed towards the standardization of the methods of determining the functional unit (FU) in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These efforts concern the development of theories and detailed methodological guides, but also the evaluation of the quality of the FU obtained. The objective of this article is to review this work in order to propose, using a multiscale approach, a method for defining the FU in the mining sector, which takes into account all the dimensions of the system under study. In this first part, the emphasis is on identifying the shortcomings of the FU. The absence of a precise normative framework specific to each sector of activity, as well as the complex, multifunctional and hard-to-scale nature of the systems concerned, are at the origin of the flexibility in the selection of the FU. This lack of a framework, beyond generating a heterogeneous definition of the FU for the same system, most often leads to an incomplete formulation of this sensitive concept of LCA. It has been found that key parameters such as the end-use of a product or process, as well as the interests of stakeholders, are hardly taken into account in the specification of the FU.

A Framework for the Integration of System Engineering and Functional Analysis Techniques to the Goal and Scope of Life Cycle Assessment

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Esterman ◽  
Maria E. Fumagalli ◽  
Brian Thorn ◽  
Callie Babbitt
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
System Engineering ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Boundary Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Goal And Scope

With the increased concern over the impact that product and processes have on the environment several tools for environmental impact assessment have been developed. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is perhaps the most broadly known and used. The use of LCA is common in industry and there is a growing interest to improve the approach since several unresolved problems have been identified with its use. One important issue to resolve is the proper definition of the functional unit. The stated primary goal of the functional unit in LCA is to ensure comparability of LCA results; however, when reviewing the literature, LCA practitioners remark that comparing LCA studies is a very difficult task. The attributed reasons for this problem are the lack of standardized assumptions and practices, including the definition of the functional unit. Even though several unresolved problems present in LCA have had solutions proposed, a clear and actionable solution to the specific problem of functional unit definition is still not available. This paper will introduce system engineering and functional analysis concepts to the goal and scope definition phase of LCA in order to provide a framework for system definition, system boundary definition, and reference flows identification. System engineering principles and functional analysis have been extensively used to aid the design process, yet these approaches have not been effectively applied to the LCA domain. The benefits associated with the proposed framework include improved comparability of LCAs, dynamic updating of LCAs, and the integration of LCA into early stage product development.

scholarly journals Life cycle assessment-based selection of a sustainable lightweight automotive engine hood design

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 1373-1383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Sun ◽  
Jingru Liu ◽  
Bin Lu ◽  
Peng Zhang ◽  
Mingnan Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Automotive Engine ◽  
Selection Of

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Autoclaved Concrete Blocks and Fired Blocks in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 913 ◽  
pp. 1018-1026
Author(s):  
Yan Qiong Sun ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Su Ping Cui
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Cement Production ◽  
Terrestrial Ecotoxicity ◽  
Concrete Blocks

In this paper, a variety of blocks were grouped into the autoclaved blocks and fired blocks as far as the productive technology is concerned. In order to compare the life cycle impacts of the two kinds of the blocks, a life cycle assessment of two products on the functional unit 1m3 was carried out through the exploitation of mineral stage, transportation stage and the production of the blocks stage on the considering of the resource and energy consumption and the pollutant discharges. The results demonstrated that the fired blocks appeared to have less impact than autoclaved concrete blocks on human health, marine ecotoxicity toxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity toxicity nearly 30%. The raw coal led to the serious impacts on the fossil depletion through the cement production stage of the autoclaved concrete blocks accounting for 45.86% and the gangue exploitation stage of the fired blocks accounting for 42.5%. Assessment of the data quality that the data was of pretty high or within the permission. The sensitivity analysis and contribution analysis assessment showed that the conclusion were robust.

scholarly journals Penilaian Dampak Lingkungan Industri Tahu Menggunakan Life Cycle Assessment (Studi Kasus: Pabrik Tahu Sari Murni Kampung Krajan, Surakarta)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elvis Umbu Lolo ◽  
Richardus Indra Gunawan ◽  
Agerippa Yanuranda Krismani ◽  
Yonathan Suryo Pambudi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Steam Boiler ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Energy Materials ◽  
Toxicity Potential ◽  
Human Toxicity Potential ◽  
Efficient Consumption ◽  
Do So

The problem faced by the tofu industry is waste management. So, it is necessary to do so that tofu waste does not pollute the environment by managing waste and emissions, efficient consumption of energy, materials, andwater. One way to identify environmental pollution is by Life Cycle Assessment. This study uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The LCA flow in this study is to determine goals and scopes, create inventory data, make grouping impacts and how much impact they generate, as well as interpreting to provide improvements. The functional unit in this study is 1 kg of tofu which is produced in 1 day. The results of this study were divided into five impact categories, namely, climate change, the most important being 2195 kg CO2, human toxicity potential at 2187 kg 1,4-Dikchloro benzene, eutrophication at 0.935 kg PO4, photo oxidant at 0.797 kg C2H4, and acidification at 15,915 kg. SO2. The recommended improvement alternative is to make efforts to use water efficiently during the tofu production process, including the need to clean the scale in the steam boiler to increase the volume of steam produced, so that the use of water and energy is more efficient.

Influence of functional unit on the life cycle assessment of traction batteries

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Matheys ◽  
Wout Van Autenboer ◽  
Jean-Marc Timmermans ◽  
Joeri Van Mierlo ◽  
Peter Van den Bossche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Unit

scholarly journals Mitigation Life Cycle Assessment: Best Practices from LCA of Energy and Water Infrastructure That Incurs Impacts to Mitigate Harm

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Grubert ◽  
Jennifer Stokes-Draut
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Lca Results

Climate change will require societal-scale infrastructural changes. Balancing priorities for water, energy, and climate will demand that approaches to water and energy management deviate from historical practice. Infrastructure designed to mitigate environmental harm, particularly related to climate change, is likely to become increasingly prevalent. Understanding the implications of such infrastructure for environmental quality is thus of interest. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) is a common sustainability assessment tool that aims to quantify the total, multicriteria environmental impact caused by a functional unit. Notably, however, LCA quantifies impacts in the form of environmental “costs” of delivering the functional unit. In the case of mitigation infrastructures, LCA results can be confusing because they are generally reported as the harmful impacts of performing mitigation rather than as net impacts that incorporate benefits of successful mitigation. This paper argues for defining mitigation LCA as a subtype of LCA to facilitate better understanding of results and consistency across studies. Our recommendations are informed by existing LCA literature on mitigation infrastructure, focused particularly on stormwater and carbon management. We specifically recommend that analysts: (1) use a performance-based functional unit; (2) be attentive to burden shifting; and (3) assess and define uncertainty, especially related to mitigation performance.

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