scholarly journals A Comparative Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Study of Bio-Energy Feedstock from Camelina sativa, an Italian Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9590
Author(s):  
Piernicola Masella ◽  
Incoronata Galasso
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Camelina Sativa ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Cradle To Gate

Growing energy needs and medium-term weakening of fossil energy reserves are driving forces towards the exploitation of alternative and renewable energy sources, such as biofuels from energy crops. In recent years, Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz has been rediscovered and is gaining popularity worldwide. The present work reports the results of a study on the life cycle, from cradle-to-gate, of C. sativa oil as a raw material for the production of biofuels in northern Italy, considering two scenarios, namely, the production of biodiesel (BD) and the extraction of pure vegetable oil (PVO). The functional unit was 1 megajoule of biofuel. A life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was calculated according to the ILCD2011 procedure. Focusing on the global warming potential, the PVO scenario performs better than the BD scenario, with around 30 g CO2eq MJ−1. The net energy ratio (NER) exceeds unity for BD (approximately 1.4) or PVO (approximately 2.5). The same general trend was recorded for all calculated LCIA indicators; the common evidence is a generalized worse performance of the BD scenario, with indicators always scoring higher than the PVO. In particular, the two human toxicity indicators—carcinogenic and fresh water—eutrophication represent a significant difference, attributable to the refining process. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, respectively, underline the generalized importance of agricultural performances in the field and of allocation choices. Specifically, the importance of the grain yield and seed oil content in determining the environmental performance of the two scenarios was evident. As far as allocation is concerned, mass allocation provides the most favorable results, while on the other hand, the expansion of the system was the most penalizing alternative.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Load-Bearing Straw Bale Residential Building

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3064
Author(s):  
Rozalia Vanova ◽  
Michal Vlcko ◽  
Jozef Stefko
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle Impact Assessment ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Load Bearing ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Life Cycle Impact ◽  
Straw Bale

As a renewable raw material, straw bale represents a sustainable way of construction with minimal environmental impact. This paper focused on life cycle impact assessment of load-bearing straw bale residential building. Product stage from raw materials extraction to manufacture of construction materials was considered in the assessment including seven variations of straw bale. Construction materials were evaluated due to IMPACT 2002+ method. Both midpoint and endpoint impact categories were included. The results showed the importance of straw bale origin. Ecosystem quality impact of straw from extensively cultivated pastures was twenty times higher than that of intensive crop production, thus making a significant difference to an overall score of the construction. Results showed advantage of straw as a construction material particularly when used locally. In addition, significant contributions of other construction materials were identified.

scholarly journals The Environmental and Economic Viability of Chitosan Production in Guayas-Ecuador: A Robust Investment and Life Cycle Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Riofrio ◽  
Tania Alcivar ◽  
Haci Baykara
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Material Resource ◽  
Shrimp Shells ◽  
Cradle To Gate ◽  
New Industry

Ecuador is a country where shrimp production is one of its primary industries. It generates annually about 72 thousand tons of wastes in the form of shrimp shells. Therefore, using this waste as a raw material resource to produce chitosan, a biopolymer, is established. An environmental and economic performance study is carried out as a possible investment report; where a conceptual design of the process is defined, a financial viability report is obtained. An environmental impact report establishes the degree of harm to the environment. The economic viability study considered costs related to capital and operation for the processing of 5000 tons of shrimp shells each year. On the other hand, a life cycle assessment was performed to obtain the environmental impact for 1 kg of chitosan produce, where a cradle-to-gate approach was established. Results showed that this new industry has a net present value of 10.38 million USD, a rate of return of 67.31%, and a payback period of 0.7 years. Additionally, it was calculated that the environmental impact with a higher normalized value was the human non-carcinogenic toxicity. It is concluded that the production of chitosan in Guayas-Ecuador is economically viable, cost-competitive in the market, and it represents an industrial activity with no considerable environmental impacts.

scholarly journals The Environmental and Economic Viability of Chitosan Production in Guayas-Ecuador: A Robust Investment and Life Cycle Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Riofrio ◽  
Tania Alcivar ◽  
Haci Baykara
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Material Resource ◽  
Shrimp Shells ◽  
Cradle To Gate ◽  
New Industry

Ecuador is a country where shrimp production is one of its primary industries. It generates annually about 72 thousand tons of wastes in the form of shrimp shells. Therefore, using this waste as a raw material resource to produce chitosan, a biopolymer, is established. An environmental and economic performance study is carried out as a possible investment report; where a conceptual design of the process is defined, a financial viability report is obtained. An environmental impact report establishes the degree of harm to the environment. The economic viability study considered costs related to capital and operation for the processing of 5000 tons of shrimp shells each year. On the other hand, a life cycle assessment was performed to obtain the environmental impact for 1 kg of chitosan produce, where a cradle-to-gate approach was established. Results showed that this new industry has a net present value of 10.38 million USD, a rate of return of 67.31%, and a payback period of 0.7 years. Additionally, it was calculated that the environmental impact with a higher normalized value was the human non-carcinogenic toxicity. It is concluded that the production of chitosan in Guayas-Ecuador is economically viable, cost-competitive in the market, and it represents an industrial activity with no considerable environmental impacts.

scholarly journals Global Warming Impact and Energy Analysis of Tempeh Made from Local and Imported Soybean

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ifdholy ◽  
Muhammad Romli ◽  
Edi Wiloso
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Global Warming Impact ◽  
Net Energy Ratio ◽  
Material Transportation ◽  
Net Energy Value

AbstractIndonesia is a country with the largest number of tempeh producers in the world. However, the practice of tempeh production by most entrepreneurs has not paid enough attention to environmental aspects. In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used as a method to assess the environmental impact of tempeh labeled as hygienic, produced by Rumah Tempeh Indonesia (RTI) located in Bogor, West Java. The hygienic tempeh consists of two types, namely one made of local soybean (Tempeh Sehat) and the other made of imported soybean (Tempeh Kita). The extent of the environmental impact, in the form of GHG emissions and energy efficiency, throughout the life cycle of tempeh is calculated, analyzed and some improvement scenarios are proposed. The life cycle of tempeh is limited to soybean cultivation, raw material transportation and tempeh processing at RTI. The results show that Tempeh Sehat generates GHG emissions of 0.323 kg CO2-eq, while Tempeh Kita is 0.555 kg CO2-eq per kg of product. The hotspots that contribute to GHG impacts are identified as originating from the stages of soybeans transportation and tempeh processing. Energy efficiency is indicated by the Net Energy Value (NEV) and the Net Energy Ratio (NER) of both types of products. Tempeh Sehat has NEV of 2.064 MJ, while Tempeh Kita is 0.318 MJ. Both types of products show the value of NER>1. Further analysis of existing production practices has led to several scenarios of improvement and their environmental effects have been discussed. Keywords: Tempeh; LCA;  GHG emission; energy efficiency

scholarly journals Developing a Novel Environmental Assessment Model for Power Generation Plants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndala Y. Mulongo ◽  
Cliton Aigbavboa
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Coal Gas ◽  
Life Cycle Stages

Environmental assessment is a concept that has been designed to facilitate the present generation to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs as well. Thus, this concept has drawn significant attention from various scholars, researchers and industrial practitioners around the world over the past three decades. Life Cycle Environmental Assessment (LCEA) is a widely metric used to assess the potential ecological impacts, which can be caused by electricity generating supply systems or by other systems than power production plants. However, the current LCEA model is biased and ineffective. Because, its omits factors that are increasingly contributing to the ecological degradation. This study has identified the omitted factors through a critical analysis of a set of previous journal articles conducted in the energy sector. In light of this, this study has developed a novel LCEA framework addressing those blind spots. The framework developed in this study is holistic in nature including all the life cycle stages of a power supply system such as Extraction of the Raw Material (ERM), Transport of Raw Material (TRM), Conversion of Raw into Electricity (CRE), and Transmission and Distribution of Electricity (TDE) to the end users. The novel developed LCEA model has been tested and applied to nine power generation plants such as coal, gas, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar thermal, wind onshore and wind offshore. The results have demonstrated that of conventional technologies including coal, gas, and nuclear, coal energy generating source has got the highest life cycle greenhouse gas Grid Emission Factor (GEF) of 2866 kg CO2e/MWh, followed by gas with 728 kg CO2e/MWh, and nuclear has got the least GEF of 35 kg CO2e/MWh. Whereas of renewable energy sources biomass has got the highest GEF of 1508 kg CO2e/MWh, followed by solar thermal with 46.6 kg CO2e/MWh, hydro 39 kg CO2e/MWh, wind offshore 25.25 kg CO2e/MWh, wind onshore 10.1 kg CO2e/MWh, and geothermal closes the ranking with 6.23 kg CO2e/MWh.

scholarly journals A Cradle to Gate Approach for Life-Cycle-Assessment of Blisk Manufacturing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kilian Fricke ◽  
Sascha Gierlings ◽  
Philipp Ganser ◽  
Martin Seimann ◽  
Thomas Bergs
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle Impact Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Cradle To Gate ◽  
Life Cycle Impact ◽  
Goal And Scope

Abstract The aviation industry has been growing continuously over the past decades. Despite the current Covid-19 crisis, this trend is likely to resume in the near future. On an international level, initiatives like the Green Recovery Plan promoted by the European Union set the basis towards a more environmentally friendly future approach for the aero-industry. The increasing air traffic and the focus on a more sustainable industry as a whole lead to an extensive need for a more balanced assessment of a products life cycle especially on an ecological level. Blisks (or IBRs) remain a central component of every current and very possible every future aero engine configuration. Their advantages during operation compared to conventional compressor rotors are met with a considerably complex manufacturing and production process. In the high-pressure compressor segment of an engine, the material selection is limited to Titanium alloys such as Ti6Al4V and heat-resistant Nickel-alloys such as Inconel718. The corresponding process chains consist of numerous different process steps starting with the initial raw material extraction and ending with the quality assurance (cradle to gate). Especially the central milling process requires a highly qualified process design to ensure a part of sufficient quality. Life-Cycle-Assessments enable an investigation of a products overall environmental impact and ecological footprint throughout its distinct life-cycle. Formal LCAs are generally divided by international standards into four separate steps of analysis: the goal and scope definition, the acquisition of Life Cycle-Inventory, the Life-Cycle-Impact-Assessment and the interpretation. This content of this paper focuses on a general approach for Life-Cycle-Assessment for Blisk manufacturing. • Firstly, the goal and scope is set by presenting three separate process chain scenarios for Blisk manufacturing, which mainly differ in terms of raw material selection and individual process selections for blade manufacturing. • Secondly, the LCI data (Life-Cycle Inventory) acquisition is illustrated by defining all significant in- and outputs of each individual process step. • Thirdly, the approach of a Life-Cycle-Impact-Assessment is presented by introducing the modelling approach in an LCA-software environment. • Fourthly, an outlook and discussion on relevant impact-indicators for a subsequent interpretation of future results are conducted.

Relapse After Early-Stage, Favorable Hodgkin Lymphoma: Disease Characteristics and Outcomes With Conventional or High-Dose Chemotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-115
Author(s):  
Paul J. Bröckelmann ◽  
Horst Müller ◽  
Teresa Guhl ◽  
Karolin Behringer ◽  
Michael Fuchs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hodgkin Lymphoma ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
High Dose Chemotherapy ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Second Line ◽  
Second Line Therapy ◽  
Line Therapy ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
First Diagnosis

PURPOSE We evaluated disease and treatment characteristics of patients with relapse after risk-adapted first-line treatment of early-stage, favorable, classic Hodgkin lymphoma (ES-HL). We compared second-line therapy with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or conventional chemotherapy (CTx). METHODS We analyzed patients with relapse after ES-HL treated within the German Hodgkin Study Group HD10+HD13 trials. We compared, by Cox proportional hazards regression, progression-free survival (PFS) after relapse (second PFS) treated with either ASCT or CTx and performed sensitivity analyses with overall survival (OS) from relapse and Kaplan-Meier statistics. RESULTS A total of 174 patients’ disease relapsed after treatment in the HD10 (n = 53) and HD13 (n = 121) trials. Relapse mostly occurred > 12 months after first diagnosis, predominantly with stage I-II disease. Of 172 patients with known second-line therapy, 85 received CTx (49%); 70, ASCT (41%); 11, radiotherapy only (6%); and 4, palliative single agent therapies (2%). CTx was predominantly bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP [68%]), followed by the combination regimen of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (19%), or other regimens (13%). Patients aged > 60 years at relapse had shorter second PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.0; P = .0029) and were mostly treated with CTx (n = 33 of 49; 67%) and rarely with ASCT (n = 8; 16%). After adjustment for age and a disadvantage of ASCT after the more historic HD10 trial, we did not observe a significant difference in the efficacy of CTx versus ASCT for second PFS (HR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.3 to 1.6; P = .39). In patients in the HD13 trial who were aged ≤ 60 years, the 2-year, second PFS rate was 94.0% with CTx (95% CI, 85.7% to 100%) versus 83.3% with ASCT (95% CI, 71.8% to 94.8%). Additional sensitivity analyses including OS confirmed these observations. CONCLUSION After contemporary treatment of ES-HL, relapse mostly occurred > 12 months after first diagnosis. Polychemotherapy regimens such as BEACOPP are frequently administered and may constitute a reasonable treatment option for selected patients with relapse after ES-HL.

scholarly journals 2-Piece Cork Stoppers as Alternative for Valorization of Thin Cork Planks: Analysis by LCA Methodology

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 873
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Flor-Montalvo ◽  
Agustín Sánchez-Toledo Ledesma ◽  
Eduardo Martínez Cámara ◽  
Emilio Jiménez-Macías ◽  
Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Lca Methodology ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Thickness ◽  
Cork Stoppers ◽  
Wine Bottle

Natural stoppers are a magnificent closure for the production of aging wines and unique wines, whose application is limited by the availability of raw materials and more specifically of cork sheets of different thickness and quality. The growing demand for quality wine bottle closures leads to the search for alternative stopper production. The two-piece stopper is an alternative since it uses non-usable plates in a conventional way for the production of quality caps. The present study has analyzed the impact of the manufacture of these two-piece stoppers using different methodologies and for different dimensions by developing an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), concluding that the process phases of the plate, its boiling, and its stabilization, are the phases with the greatest impact. Likewise, it is detected that the impacts in all phases are relatively similar (for one kg of net cork produced), although the volumetric difference between these stoppers represents a significant difference in impacts for each unit produced.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electrical Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

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