scholarly journals Recovery Strategies of Contaminated Marine Sediments: A Life Cycle Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8520
Author(s):  
Francesco Pasciucco ◽  
Isabella Pecorini ◽  
Simona Di Gregorio ◽  
Fabiano Pilato ◽  
Renato Iannelli
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Contaminated Sediments ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Recovery Strategies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Contaminated Marine Sediments

This study performed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on recovery strategies of dredged contaminated marine sediments in a large Mediterranean port located in central Italy (Tuscany) in order to find the most environmentally sound solution. The study considered marine sediments polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and/or organic compounds, two different sediment particle sizes and the combined use of three soil remediation technologies: soil washing, electrokinetic treatment and enhanced landfarming. The analyzed scenarios depended on the sediment properties and characteristics of the treatment technologies investigated, and were compared with the corresponding reference scenarios, consisting of the landfilling of dredged contaminated sediments. The LCA results show that scenarios associated with sediment recovery generated potential environmental impacts lower than the corresponding reference scenarios. Almost all the impact categories considered in the CML-IA baseline method showed an environmental convenience in the recovery of contaminated sediments, especially for abiotic depletion and global warming. Future studies should focus on optimizing the combined use of multiple technologies and reducing the resource consumptions related to their implementation in order to achieve both environmental and economic benefits.

A life cycle assessment study on the stabilization/solidification treatment processes for contaminated marine sediments

2018 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 391-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Barjoveanu ◽  
Sabino De Gisi ◽  
Rossella Casale ◽  
Francesco Todaro ◽  
Michele Notarnicola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Study ◽  
Treatment Processes ◽  
Assessment Study ◽  
Contaminated Marine Sediments

scholarly journals Using life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental benefit of upcycling vine shoots as fillers in biocomposite packaging materials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégoire David ◽  
Giovanna Croxatto Vega ◽  
Joshua Sohn ◽  
Anna Ekman Nilsson ◽  
Arnaud Hélias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Composite Materials ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Filler Content ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Dry Fractionation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose The objective of the present study was to better understand the potential environmental benefit of using vine shoots (ViShs), an agricultural residue, as filler in composite materials. For that purpose, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of a rigid tray made of virgin poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) PHBV, polylactic acid (PLA) or polypropylene (PP), and increasing content of ViSh particles was performed. The contribution of each processing step in the life cycle on the different environmental impacts was identified and discussed. Furthermore, the balance between the environmental and the economic benefits of composite trays was discussed. Methods This work presents a cradle-to-grave LCA of composite rigid trays. Once collected in vineyards, ViShs were dried and ground using dry fractionation processes, then mixed with a polymer matrix by melt extrusion to produce compounds that were finally injected to obtain rigid trays for food packaging. The density of each component was taken into account in order to compare trays with the same volume. The maximum filler content was set to 30 vol% according to recommendations from literature and industrial data. The ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint Hierarchist (H) methodology was used for the assessment using the cutoff system model. Results and discussion This study showed that bioplastics are currently less eco-friendly than PP. This is in part due to the fact that LCA does not account for, in existing tools, effects of microplastic accumulation and that bioplastic technologies are still under development with low tonnage. This study also demonstrated the environmental interest of the development of biocomposites by the incorporation of ViSh particles. The minimal filler content of interest depended on the matrices and the impact categories. Concerning global warming, composite trays had less impact than virgin plastic trays from 5 vol% for PHBV or PLA and from 20 vol% for PP. Concerning PHBV, the only biodegradable polymer in natural conditions in this study, the price and the impact on global warming are reduced by 25% and 20% respectively when 30 vol% of ViSh are added. Conclusion The benefit of using vine shoots in composite materials from an environmental and economical point of view was demonstrated. As a recommendation, the polymer production step, which constitutes the most important impact, should be optimized and the maximum filler content in composite materials should be increased.

Decarbonizing Materials and Machining for the Gas Turbines Sector Through Life Cycle Assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Musacchio ◽  
Angela Serra ◽  
Luca Cencioni ◽  
Simone Colantoni ◽  
Pietro Bartocci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Manufacturing Operations ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Machining Operations ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Nowadays the Energy Industry and Industrial Power Plants are committed to support sustainable development balancing environmental, social and economic benefits. Turbomachinery products, in particular gas turbines design, have to overcome the barriers imposed by: performance, lifetime and costs requirements. A new approach based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is needed to define the correlation between carbon footprint and costs for different materials, manufacturing processes and production regions. To develop a decision-making tool to design sustainable products in the gas turbine sector high quality data are needed to model what is the impact of: materials and operations. Manufacturing operations (like forging and casting) and machining operations (like drilling, milling, turning, together with coating operations) are taken into account in this study. These processes have been customized to model the processes of the real supply chains used in Baker Hughes to build up a database, which is more focused on gas turbines, respect to the ones which can be found in the commercial LCA databases.

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 Case study of a water bioengineering construction site in Austria. Ecological aspects and application of an environmental life cycle assessment model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. von der Thannen ◽  
S. Hoerbinger ◽  
C. Muellebner ◽  
H. Biber ◽  
H. P. Rauch
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Construction Site ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Soil And Water

AbstractRecently, applications of soil and water bioengineering constructions using living plants and supplementary materials have become increasingly popular. Besides technical effects, soil and water bioengineering has the advantage of additionally taking into consideration ecological values and the values of landscape aesthetics. When implementing soil and water bioengineering structures, suitable plants must be selected, and the structures must be given a dimension taking into account potential impact loads. A consideration of energy flows and the potential negative impact of construction in terms of energy and greenhouse gas balance has been neglected until now. The current study closes this gap of knowledge by introducing a method for detecting the possible negative effects of installing soil and water bioengineering measures. For this purpose, an environmental life cycle assessment model has been applied. The impact categories global warming potential and cumulative energy demand are used in this paper to describe the type of impacts which a bioengineering construction site causes. Additionally, the water bioengineering measure is contrasted with a conventional civil engineering structure. The results determine that the bioengineering alternative performs slightly better, in terms of energy demand and global warming potential, than the conventional measure. The most relevant factor is shown to be the impact of the running machines at the water bioengineering construction site. Finally, an integral ecological assessment model for applications of soil and water bioengineering structures should point out the potential negative effects caused during installation and, furthermore, integrate the assessment of potential positive effects due to the development of living plants in the use stage of the structures.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Hybrid Energy Storage System for Residential Buildings in Continental Climates

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3820
Author(s):  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Hybrid Energy Storage ◽  
Innovative System ◽  
The Impact

With the aim of contributing to achieving the decarbonization of the energy sector, the environmental impact of an innovative system to produce heating and domestic hot water for heating demand-dominated climates is assessed is evaluated. The evaluation is conducted using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the ReCiPe and IPCC GWP indicators for the manufacturing and operation stages, and comparing the system to a reference one. Results show that the innovative system has a lower overall impact than the reference one. Moreover, a parametric study to evaluate the impact of the refrigerant is carried out, showing that the impact of the overall systems is not affected if the amount of refrigerant or the impact of refrigerant is increased.

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.

scholarly journals Exploring sustainability potentials in vineyards through LCA? Evidence from farming practices in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Russo ◽  
A. E. Strever ◽  
H. J. Ponstein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Human Health ◽  
South African ◽  
Wine Grape ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Manual Labour ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose Following the urgency to curb environmental impacts across all sectors globally, this is the first life cycle assessment of different wine grape farming practices suitable for commercial conventional production in South Africa, aiming at better understanding the potentials to reduce adverse effects on the environment and on human health. Methods An attributional life cycle assessment was conducted on eight different scenarios that reduce the inputs of herbicides and insecticides compared against a business as usual (BAU) scenario. We assess several impact categories based on ReCiPe, namely global warming potential, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial toxicity, freshwater toxicity, marine toxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity and human non-carcinogenic toxicity, human health and ecosystems. A water footprint assessment based on the AWARE method accounts for potential impacts within the watershed. Results and discussion Results show that in our impact assessment, more sustainable farming practices do not always outperform the BAU scenario, which relies on synthetic fertiliser and agrochemicals. As a main trend, most of the impact categories were dominated by energy requirements of wine grape production in an irrigated vineyard, namely the usage of electricity for irrigation pumps and diesel for agricultural machinery. The most favourable scenario across the impact categories provided a low diesel usage, strongly reduced herbicides and the absence of insecticides as it applied cover crops and an integrated pest management. Pesticides and heavy metals contained in agrochemicals are the main contributors to emissions to soil that affected the toxicity categories and impose a risk on human health, which is particularly relevant for the manual labour-intensive South African wine sector. However, we suggest that impacts of agrochemicals on human health and the environment are undervalued in the assessment. The 70% reduction of toxic agrochemicals such as Glyphosate and Paraquat and the 100% reduction of Chlorpyriphos in vineyards hardly affected the model results for human and ecotoxicity. Our concerns are magnified by the fact that manual labour plays a substantial role in South African vineyards, increasing the exposure of humans to these toxic chemicals at their workplace. Conclusions A more sustainable wine grape production is possible when shifting to integrated grape production practices that reduce the inputs of agrochemicals. Further, improved water and related electricity management through drip irrigation, deficit irrigation and photovoltaic-powered irrigation is recommendable, relieving stress on local water bodies, enhancing drought-preparedness planning and curbing CO2 emissions embodied in products.

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

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.

scholarly journals Are Renewables as Friendly to Humans as to the Environment?: A Social Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Electricity

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shutaro Takeda ◽  
Alexander Keeley ◽  
Shigeki Sakurai ◽  
Shunsuke Managi ◽  
Catherine Norris
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
The Impact

The adoption of renewable energy technologies in developing nations is recognized to have positive environmental impacts; however, what are their effects on the electricity supply chain workers? This article provides a quantitative analysis on this question through a relatively new framework called social life cycle assessment, taking Malaysia as a case example. Impact assessments by the authors show that electricity from renewables has greater adverse impacts on supply chain workers than the conventional electricity mix: Electricity production with biomass requires 127% longer labor hours per unit-electricity under the risk of human rights violations, while the solar photovoltaic requires 95% longer labor hours per unit-electricity. However, our assessment also indicates that renewables have less impacts per dollar-spent. In fact, the impact of solar photovoltaic would be 60% less than the conventional mix when it attains grid parity. The answer of “are renewables as friendly to humans as to the environment?” is “not-yet, but eventually.”

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