Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy: A Case Study of a Photovoltaic Solar Panel in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
Marcell Mariano Corrêa Maceno ◽  
Thaísa Lana Pilz ◽  
Daniel Rodrigues Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Solar Panel

scholarly journals Social Life Cycle Assessment of Product Value Chains Under a Circular Economy Approach: A Case Study in the Plastic Packaging Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6671
Author(s):  
Diana Reinales ◽  
David Zambrana-Vasquez ◽  
Aitana Saez-De-Guinoa
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Plastic Packaging ◽  
The Social

Environmental and economic impact assessment of products have a long record, while social performance analysis of products have less references in the scientific literature due its particularities and the adaptations needed for the features of the studied subject. In addition, there is a lack of a methodological framework of its application in the analysis of value chains, with the aim of estimating the impacts of technical innovations from the social point of view. This paper describes the theoretical framework and impact assessment approach for the Social Life Cycle Assessment of product value chains under a circular economy approach by applying a scoring system in different subcategories and indicators, considering the plastic packaging sector as a case study. Twelve subcategories have been chosen, because of their relevance to the case study, related to the impacts on the labor conditions, consumers’ well-being, end-of-life of the product, local community conditions, technology and suppliers, among others. The validation of the methodology in the plastic packaging sector is done by considering the main stakeholders involved in the value chain and the particularities of the sector.

scholarly journals The Role of Environmental Evaluation within Circular Economy: An Application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Method in the Detergents Sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-257
Author(s):  
Maria G. Lucchetti ◽  
Luisa Paolotti ◽  
Lucia Rocchi ◽  
Antonio Boggia
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Production Process ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Vegetable Oils ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Coconut Oil ◽  
Environmental Evaluation

Abstract The present work aims to analyse the environmental advantages of a production process that applies circular economy. The study examines a product that is generated through the use of a certain percentage of recovered secondary materials, thus helping to avoid impacts related to the disposal of these materials and preserving the ecosystems from indiscriminate excessive natural resources extraction. The product analysed is an ecological detergent (“Ri-Detersivo” – Re-Detergent), produced by the company Tea Natura, mainly composed of regenerated vegetable oils coming from food industry. The methodology used in this paper is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A partial LCA will be carried out here, arriving at the saponification phase, and comparing the environmental impacts deriving from the Re-Detergent production process with those of a traditional soap, comparable to that studied in terms of function. The analysis of the case study found that the use of regenerated vegetable oils for the production of soap allows to significantly reduce the environmental impacts compared to the use of coconut oil imported from third countries.

scholarly journals Building Circular Economy: a Case Study Designed and Built Following a BIM-Based Life Cycle Assessment Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Manca ◽  
Z. Prochazkova ◽  
U. Berardi ◽  
L. Alfaro ◽  
F. Pich-Aguilera
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Assessment Approach

scholarly journals Water footprint assessment of gold refining: Case study based on life cycle assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 107319
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Jinglan Hong ◽  
Chengxin Wang ◽  
Lu Sun ◽  
Tianzuo Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Gold Refining

scholarly journals A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1229
Author(s):  
Alberto Di Bartolo ◽  
Giulia Infurna ◽  
Nadka Tzankova Dintcheva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Net Zero

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

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