Environmental Profile Study of Ozone Decolorization of Reactive Dyed Cotton Textiles by Utilizing Life Cycle Assessment

Research approaches on the use of ecotechnologies like ozone assisted processes for the decolorization of textiles are being explored as against the conventional alkaline reductive process for the color stripping of the cotton textiles. The evaluation of these ecotechnologies must be performed to assess the environmental impacts. Partial “gate to gate” Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was implemented to study the ozone based decolorization process of the reactive dyed cotton textiles. Experiments were performed to determine input and output data flows for decolorization treatment of reactive dyed cotton textile using the ozonation process. The functional unit was defined as “treatment of 40 g of reactive dyed cotton fabric to achieve more than 94% color stripping”. Generic and specific data bases were also used to determine flows, and International Life Cycle Data system (ILCD) method was selected to convert all flows into environmental impacts. The impact category “Water resource depletion” is the highest for all the ozonation processes as it has the greatest relative value after normalization amongst all the impact indicators. Electricity and Oxygen formation were found to be the major contributors to the environmental impacts. New experimental conditions have been studied to optimize the impacts.

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Porovnání environmentálních dopadů různých typů jogurtových kelímků

Entecho ◽

10.35933/entecho.2020.02 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 6-9

Author(s):

Nikola Kráľová ◽

Markéta Šerešová ◽

Vladimír Kočí

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Resource Use ◽

Impact Category ◽

Plastic Packaging ◽

Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽

Different Types ◽

The Impact ◽

Glass Packaging

Cílem práce bylo posoudit environmentální dopady různých typů zvolených jogurtových kelímků vyrobených z různých materiálů: z plastu, papíru, skla či z kompozitního materiálu. Environmentální dopady byly vyhodnoceny metodou posuzování životního cyklu (z angl. life cycle assessment, LCA). Výsledky práce ukazují, že skleněné a kompozitní obaly jsou horší než obaly plastové, s výjimkou kategorie dopadu Spotřeba fosilních surovin a humánní toxicita. Jako nejlepší vychází plastový obal s K3 dekorací (papír), který ve všech hodnocených kategoriích dopadu vykazuje nejlepší výsledky. V kategorii dopadu Klimatické změny se nejhůř umístil kompozitní obal a obal skleněný. Nejvíce ovlivněnou kategorií je Sladkovodní ekotoxicita, nejvyšší dopady v rámci této kategorie vykazuje obal skleněný a následně kompozitní. V rámci kategorie dopadu Ionizující záření má největší dopad skleněný obal následovaný obalem kompozitním. Na základě výsledků výzkumu bylo zjištěno, že hlavní příčinou dopadů plastových kelímků na životní prostředí je výroba PP granulátu, u skleněných obalů je to výroba samotného skla a v případě kompozitních obalů výroba kompozitního obalu. Abstract (en) The aim of the work was to assess the environmental impacts of different types of selected yoghurt cups made of different materials: plastic, paper, glass or composite material. Environmental impacts were assessed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The results of the work show that glass and composite packaging is worse than plastic packaging except for the impact category Resource use (mineral and metals) and Human toxicity. The best packaging appears to be plastic packaging with K3 decoration (paper), which has the smallest impacts in all evaluated impact categories. In the impact category Climate change, composite packaging and glass packaging have the greatest impact. The most affected category is Freshwater ecotoxicity. The highest impacts within this category are shown by glass packaging and subsequently composite packaging. In the impact category Ionizing radiation, the greatest impact has a glass packaging, then a composite packaging. Based on the results, it was determined that the main cause of the impacts of plastic cups is the production of PP granulate. In the case of glass packaging, it is the production of the glass itself, and in the case of composite packaging, the production of the composite packaging.

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LCA of Glass Versus PET Mineral Water Bottles: An Italian Case Study

Recycling ◽

10.3390/recycling6030050 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 50

Author(s):

Carmen Ferrara ◽

Giovanni De Feo ◽

Vincenza Picone

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Mineral Water ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Impact Category ◽

Life Cycle Thinking ◽

Pet Bottles ◽

The Impact

Due to the serious problem of plastic pollution in aquatic environment, many people reject plastic packaging in favour of glass containers which are considered more sustainable. To avoid misjudgements, the sustainability assessment of packaging alternatives should be carried out with a life cycle thinking approach. In this regard, the study presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of two alternative packaging systems for drinking water: reusable glass bottles and polyethylene (PET) bottles. The case study was performed considering the real data of an Italian mineral water company that bottles and distributes both natural and sparkling water. The environmental impacts of the two packaging systems were estimated with the ReCiPe 2016 (H) evaluation method adopting both midpoint and endpoint approaches. The results showed that the PET bottle is the most sustainable alternative for natural water for many impact categories; while, in the case of sparkling water, the environmental impacts of the two packaging systems are similar and the most environmentally sound solution can vary depending on the impact category. The following are the most significant aspects of the analysis: (1) the number of reuses of a single glass bottle; (2) the distribution distance. Their variation can determine which packaging is the most sustainable. Therefore, a life cycle assessment approach is needed for each specific case.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Households in Santiago, Chile: Environmental Hotspots and Policy Analysis

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052525 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2525

Author(s):

Camila López-Eccher ◽

Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez ◽

Iván Franchi-Arzola ◽

Edmundo Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Household Income ◽

Resource Scarcity ◽

Life Cycles ◽

The Impact ◽

Freshwater Eutrophication

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of household life cycles in Santiago, Chile, by household income level. The assessment considered scenarios associated with environmental policies. The life cycle assessment was cradle-to-grave, and the functional unit considered all the materials and energy required to meet an inhabitant’s needs for one year (1 inh/year). Using SimaPro 9.1 software, the Recipe Midpoint (H) methodology was used. The impact categories selected were global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, mineral resource scarcity, and fossil resource scarcity. The inventory was carried out through the application of 300 household surveys and secondary information. The main environmental sources of households were determined to be food consumption, transport, and electricity. Food consumption is the main source, responsible for 33% of the environmental impacts on global warming, 69% on terrestrial acidification, and 29% on freshwater eutrophication. The second most crucial environmental hotspot is private transport, whose contribution to environmental impact increases as household income rises, while public transport impact increases in the opposite direction. In this sense, both positive and negative environmental effects can be generated by policies. Therefore, life-cycle environmental impacts, the synergy between policies, and households’ socio-economic characteristics must be considered in public policy planning and consumer decisions.

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Applying Harmonised Geothermal Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines to the Rittershoffen Geothermal Heat Plant

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14133820 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (13) ◽

pp. 3820

Author(s):

Mélanie Douziech ◽

Lorenzo Tosti ◽

Nicola Ferrara ◽

Maria Laura Parisi ◽

Paula Pérez-López ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Heat Production ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Geothermal Systems ◽

Geothermal Heat ◽

The Future ◽

The Impact

Heat production from a geothermal energy source is gaining increasing attention due to its potential contribution to the decarbonization of the European energy sector. Obtaining representative results of the environmental performances of geothermal systems and comparing them with other renewables is of utmost importance in order to ensure an effective energy transition as targeted by Europe. This work presents the outputs of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) performed on the Rittershoffen geothermal heat plant applying guidelines that were developed within the H2020 GEOENVI project. The production of 1 kWhth from the Rittershoffen heat plant was compared to the heat produced from natural gas in Europe. Geothermal heat production performed better than the average heat production in climate change and resource use, fossil categories. The LCA identified the electricity consumption during the operation and maintenance phase as a hot spot for several impact categories. A prospective scenario analysis was therefore performed to assess the evolution of the environmental performances of the Rittershoffen heat plant associated with the future French electricity mixes. The increase of renewable energy shares in the future French electricity mix caused the impact on specific categories (e.g., land use and mineral and metals resource depletion) to grow over the years. However, an overall reduction of the environmental impacts of the Rittershoffen heat plant was observed.

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Criticality and LCA – Building comparison values to show the impact of criticality on LCA

European Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.14207/ejsd.2019.v8n4p304 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 304 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Björn Koch ◽

Fernando Peñaherrera ◽

Alexandra Pehlken

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Resource Consumption ◽

Impact Indicator ◽

New Approach ◽

Critical Materials ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu ◽

Abiotic Depletion

Including criticality into Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has always been challenging to achieve but desirable to accomplish. In this article, we present a new approach for the evaluation of resource consumption of products by building comparison values based on Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) combined with weighted criticality values to show the direct impacts of criticality on LCA results. For this purpose, we develop an impact indicator based on the Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP) of natural resources and use the two main parameters defined by the EU to determine the criticality of a material - the economic importance and the supply risk – in our case studies to build the Criticality Weighted Abiotic Depletion Potentials (CWADPs), one for each parameter. These indicators allow identifying and measuring the impacts of criticality when comparing the results of resource depletion using the ADP methodology and the results that incorporate criticality. The comparison of the CWADPs to the corresponding EU criticality values and its thresholds it reflects the equivalent criticality of the assessed product. This information reflects the impacts of criticality on LCA and assesses the total resource consumption of critical materials in a system.Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment, criticality, resources, materials, sustainability indicator

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Life Cycle Assessment of viticultural technical management routes (TMRs): comparison between an organic and an integrated management route

OENO One ◽

10.20870/oeno-one.2016.50.2.783 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Anthony Rouault ◽

Sandra Beauchet ◽

Christel Renaud-Gentie ◽

Frédérique Jourjon

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metal ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Plant Protection ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Impact Categories ◽

Nitrogen Emissions ◽

Technical Management ◽

Lca Results

Aims: Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), this study aims to compare the environmental impacts of two different viticultural technical management routes (TMRs); integrated and organic) and to identify the operations that contribute the most to the impacts.Methods and results: LCA impact scores were expressed in two functional units: 1 ha of cultivated area and 1 kg of collected grape. We studied all operations from field preparation before planting to the end-of-life of the vine. Inputs and outputs were transformed into potential environmental impacts thanks to SALCA™ (V1.02) and USETox™ (V1.03) methods. Plant protection treatments were a major cause of impact for both TMRs for fuel-related impact categories. For both TMRs, the main contributors to natural resource depletion and freshwater ecotoxicity were trellis system installation and background heavy metal emissions, respectively.Conclusion: This study shows that the studied organic TMR has higher impact scores than the integrated TMR for all the chosen impact categories except eutrophication. However, the chosen TMRs are only typical of integrated and organic viticulture in Loire Valley and some emission models (heavy metal, fuel-related emissions, and nitrogen emissions) have to be improved in order to better assess the environmental impacts of viticulture. Soil quality should also be integrated to LCA results in viticulture because this lack may be a disadvantage for organic viticulture.Significance and impact of study: This study is among the first to compare LCA results of an integrated and an organic TMR.

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Environmental Impact for 3D Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Life Cycle: An Assessment

Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry ◽

10.33263/briac125.65046515 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 6504-6515

Keyword(s):

Tissue Engineering ◽

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Bone Tissue Engineering ◽

Bone Tissue ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ◽

Industrial Soil ◽

The Impact

With the development of additive manufacturing technology, 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds have evolved. Bone tissue engineering is one of the techniques for repairing bone abnormalities caused by a variety of circumstances, such as injuries or the need to support damaged sections. Many bits of research have gone towards developing 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds all across the world. The assessment of the environmental impact, on the other hand, has received less attention. As a result, the focus of this study is on developing a life cycle assessment (LCA) model for 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds and evaluating potential environmental impacts. One of the methodologies to evaluating a complete environmental impact assessment is life cycle assessment (LCA). The cradle-to-grave method will be used in this study, and GaBi software was used to create the analysis for this study. Previous research on 3D bone tissue engineering fabrication employing poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) soaked in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO) as a photoinitiator will be reviewed. Meanwhile, digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing is employed as the production technique. The GaBi program and the LCA model developed to highlight the potential environmental impact. This study shows how the input and output of LCA of 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds might contribute to environmental issues such as air, freshwater, saltwater, and industrial soil emissions. The emission contributing to potential environmental impacts comes from life cycle input, electricity and transportation consumption, manufacturing process, and material resources. The results from this research can be used as an indicator for the researcher to take the impact of the development of 3D bone tissue engineering on the environment seriously.

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Evaluating the Environmental Impact Score of a Residential Building Using Life Cycle Assessment

Research Anthology on Environmental and Societal Well-Being Considerations in Buildings and Architecture ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-9032-4.ch006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 142-159

Author(s):

Manish Sakhlecha ◽

Samir Bajpai ◽

Rajesh Kumar Singh

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Residential Building ◽

Resource Depletion ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Construction Methods ◽

Growing Economy

Buildings consume major amount of energy as well as natural resources leading to negative environmental impacts like resource depletion and pollution. The current task for the construction sector is to develop an evaluation tool for rating of buildings based on their environmental impacts. There are various assessment tools and models developed by different agencies in different countries to evaluate building's effect on environment. Although these tools have been successfully used and implemented in the respective regions of their origin, the problems of application occur, especially during regional adaptation in other countries due to peculiarities associated with the specific geographic location, climatic conditions, construction methods and materials. India is a rapidly growing economy with exponential increase in housing sector. Impact assessment model for a residential building has been developed based on life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The life cycle impact assessment score was obtained for a sample house considering fifteen combinations of materials paired with 100% thermal electricity and 70%-30% thermal-solar combination, applying normalization and weighting to the LCA results. The LCA score of portland slag cement with burnt clay red brick and 70%-30% thermal-solar combination (PSC+TS+RB) was found to have the best score and ordinary Portland cement with flyash brick and 100% thermal power (OPC+T+FAB) had the worst score, showing the scope for further improvement in LCA model to include positive scores for substitution of natural resources with industrial waste otherwise polluting the environment.

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The Impact Assessment of Campus Buildings Based on a Life Cycle Assessment–Life Cycle Cost Integrated Model

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12010294 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 294 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhuyuan Xue ◽

Hongbo Liu ◽

Qinxiao Zhang ◽

Jingxin Wang ◽

Jilin Fan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Electric Energy ◽

Integrated Model ◽

Economic Costs ◽

Analytic Hierarchy ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

The Impact

The development of higher education has led to an increasing demand for campus buildings. To promote the sustainable development of campus buildings, this paper combines social willingness-to-pay (WTP) with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the characteristics of Chinese campus buildings to establish a life cycle assessment–life cycle cost (LCA–LCC) integrated model. Based on this model, this paper analyses the teaching building at a university in North China. The results show that the environmental impacts and economic costs are largest in the operation phase of the life cycle, mainly because of the use of electric energy. The environmental impacts and economic costs during the construction phase mainly come from the building material production process (BMPP); in this process, steel is the main source. Throughout the life cycle, abiotic depletion-fossil fuel potential (ADP fossil) and global warming potential (GWP) are the most prominent indexes. Further analysis shows that these two indexes should be the emphases of similar building assessments in the near future. Finally, this study offers suggestions for the proposed buildings and existing buildings based on the prominent problems found in the case study, with the aim to provide reference for the design, construction, and operation management of similar buildings.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Maize-Germ Oil Production and The Use of Bioenergy to Mitigate Environmental Impacts: A Gate-To-Gate Case Study

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources8020060 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 60 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mattias Gaglio ◽

Elena Tamburini ◽

Francesco Lucchesi ◽

Vassilis Aschonitis ◽

Anna Atti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Food Industry ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Impact Categories ◽

Industrial Processing ◽

The Impact

The need to reduce the environmental impacts of the food industry is increasing together with the dramatic increment of global food demand. Circulation strategies such as the exploitation of self-produced renewable energy sources can improve ecological performances of industrial processes. However, evidence is needed to demonstrate and characterize such environmental benefits. This study assessed the environmental performances of industrial processing of maize edible oil, whose energy provision is guaranteed by residues biomasses. A gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach was applied for a large-size factory of Northern Italy to describe: (i) the environmental impacts related to industrial processing and (ii) the contribution of residue-based bioenergy to their mitigation, through the comparison with a reference system based on conventional energy. The results showed that oil refinement is the most impacting phase for almost all the considered impact categories. The use of residue-based bioenergy was found to drastically reduce the emissions for all the impact categories. Moreover, Cumulative Energy Demand analysis revealed that the use of biomass residues increased energy efficiency through a reduction of the total energy demand of the industrial process. The study demonstrates that the exploitation of residue-based bioenergy can be a sustainable solution to improve environmental performances of the food industry, while supporting circular economy.

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