scholarly journals How Relevant Are Direct Emissions of Microplastics into Freshwater from an LCA Perspective?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9922
Author(s):  
Beatrice Salieri ◽  
Natasha Stoudmann ◽  
Roland Hischier ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Bernd Nowack
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Potential Range ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Freshwater Ecotoxicity ◽  
Characterization Factor ◽  
Lca Case Studies ◽  
The Impact

Microplastics are ubiquitous in ecosystems and a lot of research is being performed to understand their environmental fate and effects on organisms. However, the release and impact of MP has so far not been considered in LCA studies. This is due to missing information on the inventory side about microplastic releases and missing Characterization Factors to quantify the effects of MP. The goal of this study was to elucidate the relevance of MP release into freshwaters from an LCA perspective, by using worst-case assumptions. In accordance with the USEtox framework, an interim and simplified Characterization Factor for the impact category of freshwater ecotoxicity was calculated to be 3231 PAF·m3·d·kg−1. Applying this Characterization Factor, two LCA case studies were conducted, one on a polyester T-Shirt and one with a shower gel containing microplastics. The results show a small contribution of microplastics to the freshwater ecotoxicity for a scenario with state-of-the-art wastewater treatment. Different scenarios varying in microplastic release and removal during wastewater treatment and a sensitivity analysis of the Characterization Factor allowed identifying the potential range of the microplastic contribution to the overall ecotoxicity. In conclusion, the inclusion of microplastic release into LCA only marginally influences the overall environmental effects of the two products in the LCA case studies.

scholarly journals Reducing environmental impacts from garments through best practice garment use and care, using the example of a Merino wool sweater

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Wiedemann ◽  
Leo Biggs ◽  
Quan V. Nguyen ◽  
Simon J. Clarke ◽  
Kirsi Laitala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Multiple Users ◽  
Washing Machines ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose Garment production and use generate substantial environmental impacts, and the care and use are key determinants of cradle-to-grave impacts. The present study investigated the potential to reduce environmental impacts by applying best practices for garment care combined with increased garment use. A wool sweater is used as an example because wool garments have particular attributes that favour reduced environmental impacts in the use phase. Methods A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to compare six plausible best and worst-case practice scenarios for use and care of a wool sweater, relative to current practices. These focussed on options available to consumers to reduce impacts, including reduced washing frequency, use of more efficient washing machines, reduced use of machine clothing dryers, garment reuse by multiple users, and increasing number of garment wears before disposal. A sixth scenario combined all options. Worst practices took the worst plausible alternative for each option investigated. Impacts were reported per wear in Western Europe for climate change, fossil energy demand, water stress and freshwater consumption. Results and discussion Washing less frequently reduced impacts by between 4 and 20%, while using more efficient washing machines at capacity reduced impacts by 1 to 6%, depending on the impact category. Reduced use of machine dryer reduced impacts by < 5% across all indicators. Reusing garments by multiple users increased life span and reduced impacts by 25–28% across all indicators. Increasing wears from 109 to 400 per garment lifespan had the largest effect, decreasing impacts by 60% to 68% depending on the impact category. Best practice care, where garment use was maximised and care practices focussed on the minimum practical requirements, resulted in a ~ 75% reduction in impacts across all indicators. Unsurprisingly, worst-case scenarios increased impacts dramatically: using the garment once before disposal increased GHG impacts over 100 times. Conclusions Wool sweaters have potential for long life and low environmental impact in use, but there are substantial differences between the best, current and worst-case scenarios. Detailed information about garment care and lifespans is needed to understand and reduce environmental impacts. Opportunities exist for consumers to rapidly and dramatically reduce these impacts. The fashion industry can facilitate this through garment design and marketing that promotes and enables long wear life and minimal care.

scholarly journals Abiotic resource depletion potentials (ADPs) for elements revisited—updating ultimate reserve estimates and introducing time series for production data

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauran van Oers ◽  
Jeroen B. Guinée ◽  
Reinout Heijungs
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Cumulative Production ◽  
Abiotic Resource ◽  
Abiotic Resource Depletion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Calculation Procedures

Abstract Purpose In 1995, the original method for assessing the impact category abiotic resource depletion using abiotic depletion potentials (ADPs) was published. The ADP of a resource was defined as the ratio of the annual production and the square of the ultimate (crustal content based) reserve for the resource divided by the same ratio for a reference resource (antimony (Sb)). In 2002, ADPs were updated based on the most recent USGS annual production data. In addition, the impact category was sub-divided into two categories, using two sets of ADPs: the ADP for fossil fuels and the ADP for elements; in this article, we focus on the ADP for elements. Since then, ADP values have not been updated anymore despite the availability of updates of annual production data and also updates of crustal content data that constitute the basis of the ultimate reserves. Moreover, it was known that the coverage of elements by ADPs was incomplete. These three aspects together can affect relative ranking of abiotic resources based on the ADP. Furthermore, dealing with annually changing production data might have to be revisited by proposing new calculation procedures. Finally, category totals to calculate normalized indicator results have to be updated as well, because incomplete coverage of elements can lead to biased results. Methods We used updated reserve estimates and time series of production data from authoritative sources to calculate ADPs for different years. We also explored the use of several variations: moving averages and cumulative production data. We analyzed the patterns in ADP over time and the contribution by different elements in the category total. Furthermore, two case studies are carried out applying two different normalization reference areas (the EU 27 as normalization reference area and the world) for 2010. Results and discussion We present the results of the data updates and improved coverage. On top of this, new calculation procedures are proposed for ADPs, dealing with the annually changing production data. The case studies show that the improvements of data and calculation procedures will change the normalized indicator results of many case studies considerably, making ADP less sensitive for fluctuating production data in the future. Conclusions The update of ultimate reserve and production data and the revision of calculation procedures of ADPs and category totals have resulted in an improved, up-to-date, and more complete set of ADPs and a category total that better reflects the total resource depletion magnitude than before. An ADP based on the cumulative production overall years is most in line with the intent of the original ADP method. We further recommend to only use category totals based on production data for the same year as is used for the other (emission-based) impact categories.

Life cycle assessment of introducing an anaerobic digester in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blanco ◽  
Sergio Collado ◽  
Adriana Laca ◽  
Mario Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Impact Category ◽  
Treatment Scenario ◽  
The Impact

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is being established as a standard technology to recover some of the energy contained in the sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as biogas, allowing an economy in electricity and heating and a decrease in climate gas emission. The purpose of this study was to quantify the contributions to the total environmental impact of the plant using life cycle assessment methodology. In this work, data from real operation during 2012 of a municipal WWTP were utilized as the basis to determine the impact of including AD in the process. The climate change human health was the most important impact category when AD was included in the treatment (Scenario 1), especially due to fossil carbon dioxide emissions. Without AD (Scenario 2), increased emissions of greenhouse gases, mostly derived from the use of electricity, provoked a rise in the climate change categories. Biogas utilization was able to provide 47% of the energy required in the WWTP in Scenario 1. Results obtained make Scenario 1 the better environmental choice by far, mainly due to the use of the digested sludge as fertilizer.

scholarly journals Porovnání environmentálních dopadů různých typů jogurtových kelímků

Entecho ◽  
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.

Optimisation and control of the inflow to a wastewater treatment plant using integrated modelling tools

1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Mark ◽  
Claes Hernebring ◽  
Peter Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Real Time Control ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Time Control ◽  
The Impact

The present paper describes the Helsingborg Pilot Project, a part of the Technology Validation Project: “Integrated Wastewater” (TVP) under the EU Innovation Programme. The objective of the Helsingborg Pilot Project is to demonstrate implementation of integrated tools for the simulation of the sewer system and the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), both in the analyses and the operational phases. The paper deals with the programme for investigating the impact of real time control (RTC) on the performance of the sewer system and wastewater treatment plant. As the project still is in a very early phase, this paper focuses on the modelling of the transport of pollutants and the evaluation of the effect on the sediment deposition pattern from the implementation of real time control in the sewer system.

Navigating the New Retail Landscape

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Treadgold ◽  
Jonathan Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Personal Leadership ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rapid Emergence

The retail industry globally is in an era of profound, perhaps unprecedented, change, change which has been further accelerated for many by the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and its attendant health and economic crises. This book is intended to serve as a wide-ranging, robust, practical guide to leaders of enterprises tasked with understanding and delivering success in the new landscape of retailing. Part 1 describes the major directions and drivers of change that define the new global landscape of retailing. Accelerating changes in technology, the rise to prominence globally of internet enabled shoppers and the rapid emergence of entirely new retail enterprises and business models are combining to re-shape the very fundamentals of the retail industry. The new landscape of retailing is unforgiving: success can be achieved more quickly than ever before but failure is equally rapid. Opportunities in the new landscape of retailing are profound, but so too are the challenges. Part 2 discusses the structures, skills and capabilities that retail enterprises will need to be successful in this new landscape and the skills and capabilities required of the leaders of retail enterprises. More than 25 detailed case studies of innovative, successful enterprises internationally and more than one hundred smaller examples, all updated and many new since the first edition, are used to illustrate the themes discussed. Frameworks are presented to provide practical guidance for enterprise leaders to understand and contextualize the nature of change re-shaping retail landscapes globally. Clear guidance is given of the capabilities, skills and perspectives needed at both an enterprise and personal leadership level to deliver success in the new landscape of retailing.

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