Concrete Water Footprint Assessment Methodologies

2015 ◽  
Vol 668 ◽  
pp. 247-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yazmin Lisbeth Mack ◽  
Lidiane Santana Oliveira ◽  
Vanderley Moacyr John
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
High Water ◽  
Iso 14044 ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Water Assessment

Concrete is the single most widely used material in the world and is only surpassed by water in terms of consumption. By 2013, 4 billion tonnes of Portland cement were produced worldwide, enough to produce about 32 billion tonnes of concrete, which represents more than 4.6 tonnes of concrete per person per year. The high water consumption and large amount of wastewater generated in the concrete industry has become a very important environmental issue. Due to the large global use of concrete, it is essential to correctly assess the environmental impacts of this material including impacts related to water consumption. Life cycle perspective is important because it allows identifying and reducing water related potential environmental impacts associated with products. In concrete life cycle assessment, these impacts are not considered mostly because of lack of data. There are several methodologies for water footprint assessment, as The Water Footprint Assessment Tool and the ISO 14046:2014 standard -that is based on life cycle assessment (ISO 14044)-, as well as sustainable reporting guidelines, which include water assessment for organizations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate existing water footprint methodologies based on life-cycle assessment, their concepts and difficulties, and link them to concrete industry. Out of at least eighteen existing water footprint methodologies, it was found that four of them are feasible for cement based materials industry, however there are differences between the definitions and criteria adopted by each methodology.

scholarly journals Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment: The Complementary Strengths of Analyzing Global Freshwater Appropriation and Resulting Local Impacts

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 803
Author(s):  
Winnie Gerbens-Leenes ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
John Anthony Allan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Local Impacts ◽  
Global Water

Considering that 4 billion people are living in water-stressed regions and that global water consumption is predicted to increase continuously [...]

Life cycle assessment of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the whole dairy supply chain

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Borghesi ◽  
Giuseppe Vignali
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Parmesan Cheese

Agriculture and food manufacturing have a considerable effect on the environment emissions: holdings and farms play an important role about greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. This study aims at evaluating the environmental impact of one of the most important Italian DOP product: organic Parmesan Cheese. Environmental performances of the whole dairy supply chain have been assessed according to the life cycle assessment approach (LCA). In this analysis Parmesan Cheese is made from an organic dairy farm in Emilia Romagna, which uses the milk from three different organic livestock productions. Organic agriculture is different from conventional; the major difference is represented by the avoidance of the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides made in chemical industry process. Organic agriculture uses organic fertilizers to encourage the natural fertility of the soil respecting the environment and the agro-system. In this case, life cycle approach is used to assess the carbon footprint and the water footprint of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the milk and cheese production. The object at this level is investigating the environmental impact considering the situation before some improvement changes. The functional unit is represented by 1 kg of organic Parmesan Cheese; inventory data refer to the situation in year 2017 and system boundaries consider the inputs related to the cattle and dairy farm until the ripening (included). The carbon footprint is investigated using IPCC 2013 Global Warming Potential (GWP) 100a method, developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and reported in kg of CO2eq. Otherwise, water footprint allows to measure the water consumption and in this work it is assessed using AWARE method (Available Water REmaining).

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Valuation of Biochar Production: Two Case Studies in Belgium

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rajabi Hamedani ◽  
Tom Kuppens ◽  
Robert Malina ◽  
Enrico Bocci ◽  
Andrea Colantoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Pig Manure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Impact

It is unclear whether the production of biochar is economically feasible. As a consequence, firms do not often invest in biochar production plants. However, biochar production and application might be desirable from a societal perspective as it might entail net environmental benefits. Hence, the aim of this work has been to assess and monetize the environmental impacts of biochar production systems so that the environmental aspects can be integrated with the economic and social ones later on to quantify the total return for society. Therefore, a life cycle analysis (LCA) has been performed for two potential biochar production systems in Belgium based on two different feedstocks: (i) willow and (ii) pig manure. First, the environmental impacts of the two biochar production systems are assessed from a life cycle perspective, assuming one ton of biochar as the functional unit. Therefore, LCA using SimaPro software has been performed both on the midpoint and endpoint level. Biochar production from willow achieves better results compared to biochar from pig manure for all environmental impact categories considered. In a second step, monetary valuation has been applied to the LCA results in order to weigh environmental benefits against environmental costs using the Ecotax, Ecovalue, and Stepwise approach. Consequently, sensitivity analysis investigates the impact of variation in NPK savings and byproducts of the biochar production process on monetized life cycle assessment results. As a result, it is suggested that biochar production from willow is preferred to biochar production from pig manure from an environmental point of view. In future research, those monetized environmental impacts will be integrated within existing techno-economic models that calculate the financial viability from an investor’s point of view, so that the total return for society can be quantified and the preferred biochar production system from a societal point of view can be identified.

Development of a Life-Cycle Assessment Tool to Quantify the Environmental Impacts of Airport Pavement Construction

2017 ◽  
Vol 2603 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Yang ◽  
Imad L. Al-Qadi
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Portland Cement ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Material Production ◽  
Airport Pavement ◽  
Pavement Construction

The environmental impacts of airport pavement construction were evaluated in this study through a life-cycle analysis approach. Total primary energy (TPE) consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from material production and construction of pavement were determined by using life-cycle assessment (LCA), a quantitative methodology described in the ISO 14040 series. A tool was developed to implement a probabilistic LCA through the Monte Carlo method. This tool allowed for consideration of uncertainty from life-cycle inventory data. A case study on the construction of Runway 10R-28L at Chicago O'Hare International Airport focused on mainline and shoulder pavement designs. Environmental impacts from producing materials for the pavements increased from lower to upper layers, while asphalt layers had relatively higher TPE consumption than the upper portland cement concrete layer—and vice versa for GHGs. Impacts from material production overshadowed those from construction, which contributed less than 2% of TPE consumption and GHGs. Further analysis showed that two production processes—for asphalt binder and portland cement—were the leading contributors (45.3% and 29.2%, respectively) of TPE consumption, while the latter was the leading contributor (73.4%) of GHGs. A probabilistic analysis compared the original 10R-28L runway design and a modified design that did not use recycled materials or warm-mix asphalt technology. The results from 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations showed that the environmental impacts from the two cases were statistically significant, with the original design having lower TPE consumption (482 versus 693 MJ/yd2 for TPE) and GHGs (37.5 versus 53.9 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per square yard).

Environmental impacts-based milling process planning using a life cycle assessment tool

2019 ◽  
Vol 206 ◽  
pp. 349-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo de Souza Zanuto ◽  
Amauri Hassui ◽  
Francisco Lima ◽  
David Alan Dornfeld
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Process Planning ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Milling Process

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts Associated to Different Stages Spanning from Harvesting to Industrialization of Pineapple through Life Cycle Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 7007
Author(s):  
Eduardo Castillo-González ◽  
Mario Rafael Giraldi-Díaz ◽  
Lorena De Medina-Salas ◽  
Raúl Velásquez-De la Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Growth Stage ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Functional Unit ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Specialized Software ◽  
Energy Footprint ◽  
The One

In this research, environmental impacts associated with the harvest and processing of pineapple (fresh-packed, in syrup, and dehydrated) were determined using the life cycle assessment (LCA) tool and specialized software SimaPro® (version 8.4), according to ISO14040:2006 and ISO14044:2006 standards. The information used to develop inventory included field interviews and industrial visits within the study area. The functional unit was defined as one kilogram of fruit. The selected impact categories were carbon footprint, water footprint, and energy footprint; the results obtained for the agronomic stage were 0.47 kg CO2 eq (equivalent), 78 L of water, and 9.09 MJ, respectively. The growth stage of the pineapple plant was found to be the one that generates greatest environmental impacts for all three categories. For packaged fruit, 0.58 kg CO2 eq, 82 L of water, and 11.03 MJ were quantified; for pineapples in syrup it was 1.12 kg CO2 eq, 103 L of water, and 19.28 MJ; and for dehydrated fruit, it was 5.12 kg CO2 eq, 782 L of water and 97.04 MJ. This concludes that the most significant environmental impact occurred in all cases during the pineapple cultivation stage.

scholarly journals Status of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A Case Study of South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6234
Author(s):  
Golden Odey ◽  
Bashir Adelodun ◽  
Sang-Hyun Kim ◽  
Kyung-Sook Choi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Environmental Aspect ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
The Status ◽  
Bibliometric Review

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an environmental-impact assessment tool has received increasing attention over the years. Unlike the water footprint (WF) and carbon footprint (CF) assessments, whose focus is only on a single environmental aspect, the LCA systematically analyzes the different impacts along the entire life cycle, making possible the identification of potential environmental tradeoffs. In Korea, LCA has drawn much attention from both industry and academia since the mid-1990s. However, the level of Korean-related LCA studies with respect to different sectors in the last 20 years has not been analyzed. This study, therefore, sought to assess the status of environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies in South Korea. Specifically, the study focused on a bibliometric review of LCAs conducted in South Korea in the last 20 years and identified potential research gaps. Online searches of English-written articles published between 2000 and 2019 were conducted on Google, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, using eligible keywords. At the end of the search, about 91 LCA-related studies were discovered for South Korea within the study period. The majority of these studies focused on the construction (47%) and energy (30%) sectors, with fewer environmental studies on manufacturing (11%), transportation (9%), agriculture (2%), and information and communication (1%) industries. Based on publication trends, results show that LCA studies in South Korea have been on the rise in the past 20 years, even though the number of publications has not followed a constant pace. In comparison with the economic sectors of the country, reports show an inadequacy in the coverage of major industries of growing economic relevance, such as tourism, health, and agriculture, suggesting a need to increase and improve LCA-related studies in these sectors.

scholarly journals Dampak Lingkungan dan Kesehatan Pemanfaatan Limbah Cat Sebagai Produk Material Bangunan

METANA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
Ari Dina Permana Citra ◽  
Hargianti Dini Iswandari
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Environmental Media ◽  
Soil Media

Limbah cat yang tidak mempunyai nilai ekonomis dan memerlukan biaya untuk pengolahannya, dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai bahan baku menjadi produk yang berguna. Limbah cat digunakan sebagai bahan baku campuran pembuatan produk bata beton (paving block) agar dapat mencegah dampak negative lingkungan. Penelitian yang dilakukan bertujuan untuk mengkaji dampak lingkungan dan kesehatan dari limbah cat dan pemanfaatannya sebagai campuran bata beton.  Dampak lingkungan sebagai ekotoksisitas dan dampak kesehatan berupa toksisitas dihitung menggunakan perangkat kajian daur hidup LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) pada variasi kadar limbah cat sebesar 1,2,3,4 dan 5% pada bata beton. Hasil kajian menunjukkan penurunan potensi dampak lingkungan dan kesehatan produk bata beton dibandingkan limbah cat padat. Ekotoksisitas limbah cat terendah pada media tanah dan tertinggi pada media perairan air tawar. Toksisitas pada manusia jauh lebih tinggi dibanding pada media lingkungan, dipakai sebagai dasar penanganan limbah cat. Pemanfaatan limbah cat sebagai bahan baku campuran bata beton dapat mengurangi ekotoksisitas dan toksisitas secara signifikan, dapat digunakan sebagai model pengelolaan limbah. Paint waste that has no economic value and requires a cost for its processing can be used as raw material to become a useful product. Waste paint is used as a raw material for the manufacture of concrete brick products (paving blocks) in order to prevent negative environmental impacts. The research carried out aims to assess the environmental and health impacts of paint waste and its use as a concrete brick mixture. Environmental impacts as ecotoxicity and health impacts in the form of toxicity are calculated using the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) life cycle assessment tool on the variation of paint waste content of 1,2,3,4 and 5% in concrete bricks. The results of the study show a decrease in the potential environmental and health impacts of concrete brick products compared to solid paint waste. The lowest paint waste ecotoxicity in soil media and highest in freshwater waters media. Toxicity in humans is much higher than in environmental media, used as a basis for handling paint waste. The use of paint waste as raw material for concrete brick mix can significantly reduce the ecotoxicity and toxicity, it can be used as a waste management model.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment Used to Determine Potential Midpoint Environment Impact Factors and Water Footprint of Field-grown Tree Production Inputs and Processes

2015 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Tree Production

Previously published life cycle assessment (LCA) studies regarding the global warming potential (GWP) of tree production have shown that the carbon footprint during the cradle-to-grave life cycle of a tree can reduce atmospheric CO2. This study provides another unique contribution to the literature by considering other potential midpoint environmental impacts such as ozone depletion, smog, acidification, eutrophication, carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic human toxicity, respiratory effects, ecotoxicity, and fossil fuel depletion for 5-cm-caliper, field-grown, spade-dug trees. Findings from this study validate using data from various literature sources with a single-impact focus on GWP and compiled and calculated in a spreadsheet or using a LCA software package with embedded databases (SimaPro) to generate comparable GWP estimates. Therefore, it is appropriate to use SimaPro to generate midpoint environmental impact estimates in LCA studies of field-grown trees. The authors also compared the midpoint environmental impacts with other agricultural commodities [corn (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and wool] and determined that trees compare favorably, with the exception that fossil fuel depletion for the trees was greater than the other products as a result of the high equipment use in harvesting and handling trees. In addition, the water footprint (WF) associated with tree production is also determined through LCA using the Hoekstra water scarcity method in SimaPro. The propagation-to-gate WF for the three tree production systems ranged from 0.09 to 0.64 m3 per tree and was highly influenced by irrigation water, which was the major contributor to WF for each production system. As expected, the propagation stage of each tree represented significantly less WF than the field production phase with larger plants and lower planting densities, even with more frequent irrigation/misting in liner production.

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