Life Cycle Analysis of the Raseta Pump Using OpenLCA

Author(s):  
Andriamahefasoa Rajaonison ◽  
Hery Tiana Rakotondramiarana

Developed and crafted in Madagascar, the Raseta pump is a novel hydraulic ram (hydram) pump using a springs system. It operates differently from other pumps by the exclusive use of water energy due to the water hammer phenomenon induced by the sudden stop of the water flow. The present study initiates the investigation of the environmental impacts of this new type of hydram pump through a life cycle analysis using OpenLCA 1.8. It was found that, when operating in a small-scale water pumping system, the choice of the pump supply pipe material has small differences of environmental impacts, whether the material is made of steel or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Moreover, compared to a solar pump for the same pumping flow rate, the use of the Raseta pump is more environmentally friendly and less harmful to human health. However, the actual advantageous utilization of such a system needs further studies such as social and techno-economic analysis.

Author(s):  
Matt R. Bohm ◽  
Karl R. Haapala ◽  
Kerry Poppa ◽  
Robert B. Stone ◽  
Irem Y. Tumer

This paper describes efforts taken to further transition life cycle analysis techniques from the latter, more detailed phases of design, to the early-on conceptual phase of product development. By using modern design methodologies such as automated concept generation and an archive of product design knowledge, known as the Design Repository, virtual concepts are created and specified. Streamlined life cycle analysis techniques are then used to determine the environmental impacts of the virtual concepts. As a means to benchmark the virtual results, analogous real-life products that have functional and component similarities are identified. The identified products are then scrutinized to determine their material composition and manufacturing attributes in order to perform an additional round of life cycle analysis for the actual products. The results of this research show that enough information exists within the conceptual phase of design (utilizing the Design Repository) to reasonably predict the relative environmental impacts of actual products based on virtual concepts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2917 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Lozano-Miralles ◽  
Manuel Hermoso-Orzáez ◽  
Carmen Martínez-García ◽  
José Rojas-Sola

The construction industry is responsible for 40–45% of primary energy consumption in Europe. Therefore, it is essential to find new materials with a lower environmental impact to achieve sustainable buildings. The objective of this study was to carry out the life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of baked clay bricks incorporating organic waste. The scope of this comparative study of LCA covers cradle to gate and involves the extraction of clay and organic waste from the brick, transport, crushing, modelling, drying and cooking. Local sustainability within a circular economy strategy is used as a laboratory test. The energy used during the cooking process of the bricks modified with organic waste, the gas emission concentrate and the emission factors are quantified experimentally in the laboratory. Potential environmental impacts are analysed and compared using the ReCiPe midpoint LCA method using SimaPro 8.0.5.13. These results achieved from this method are compared with those obtained with a second method—Impact 2002+ v2.12. The results of LCA show that the incorporation of organic waste in bricks is favourable from an environmental point of view and is a promising alternative approach in terms of environmental impacts, as it leads to a decrease of 15–20% in all the impact categories studied. Therefore, the suitability of the use of organic additives in clay bricks was confirmed, as this addition was shown to improve their efficiency and sustainability, thus reducing the environmental impact.


Author(s):  
Honggeng Zhu ◽  
Longyang Dai ◽  
Rentian Zhang ◽  
Guoxian Zhu ◽  
Linbi Yao ◽  
...  

The structural features of a pumping system will directly affect the investment of the pumping station and its pumping efficiency. In the design and construction of low head or extra-low head pumping stations, bulb tubular pumping system and shaft tubular pumping system are widely adopted. So far all the 5 large tubular pumping stations finished or under construction took the form of rear type bulb tubular pumping system (bulb is arranged inside the discharge passage) in China’s Eastern Route Project of South-to-North Water Diversion. However, front type shaft tubular pumping systems (shaft is arranged inside the suction box) are more widely used in city flood-control pumping stations, which are characteristic of large amounts and medium or small scale. To improve the reliability of city flood-control pumping stations, the authors have invented a new-type shaft tubular pumping system featuring shaft suction box, siphon-type discharge passage with vacuum breaker valve as the cutoff device, which is possessed of such advantages as simpler structure, reliable cutoff and better energy performance. Taking an real pumping station in Yancheng city of China as an example, the computational fluid dynamics method was adopted in this paper to simulate the three dimensional turbulent flow of a model new-type tubular pumping system (impeller diameter D = 0.3m, rotational speed n = 1100r/min and specific speed ns is about 1500) and predict its performance, to improve the pumping system efficiency through hydraulic design optimization. Computation results show that the efficiency of the new-type shaft tubular pumping system reached 56.0% when the design head and discharge are 1.15m and 0.326m3/s respectively, and up to 68.8% when the maximum head and relevant discharge are 1.95m and 0.296m3/s respectively, having more extensive foreground for low-head, especially extra-low-head city flood-control pumping stations.


Batteries ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Dai ◽  
Jarod C. Kelly ◽  
Linda Gaines ◽  
Michael Wang

In light of the increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the global vehicle market, understanding the environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that characterize the EVs is key to sustainable EV deployment. This study analyzes the cradle-to-gate total energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, SOx, NOx, PM10 emissions, and water consumption associated with current industrial production of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries, with the battery life cycle analysis (LCA) module in the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, which was recently updated with primary data collected from large-scale commercial battery material producers and automotive LIB manufacturers. The results show that active cathode material, aluminum, and energy use for cell production are the major contributors to the energy and environmental impacts of NMC batteries. However, this study also notes that the impacts could change significantly, depending on where in the world the battery is produced, and where the materials are sourced. In an effort to harmonize existing LCAs of automotive LIBs and guide future research, this study also lays out differences in life cycle inventories (LCIs) for key battery materials among existing LIB LCA studies, and identifies knowledge gaps.


Author(s):  
Cesare Castellini ◽  
Antonio Boggia ◽  
Luisa Paolotti ◽  
Greg J. Thoma ◽  
Dae-soo Kim

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 961-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janus T. Kirkeby ◽  
Harpa Birgisdottir ◽  
Gurbakash Singh Bhander ◽  
Michael Hauschild ◽  
Thomas H. Christensen

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