The Life Cycle Assessment of Cement Product with Alternative Fuels Usage in Indonesia

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk melakukan Life Cycle Assessment dalam produksi semen. Untuk mendapatkan perbaikan dampak lingkungan, maka pengkajian harus menemukan hotspot. Perbaikan tersebut diharapkan dapat menemukan komposisi bahan bakar yang lebih baik untuk mengurangi dampaknya dengan menggunakan varian bahan bakar alternatif. Lingkup LCA meliputi penambangan hingga pengolahan semen (cradle to gate). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan nilai 1 ton semen : potensi dampak pemanasan global adalah 760,11 kg CO2-eq, potensi pengasaman 1,32 kg SO2-eq, potensi oksidan fotokimia 0,0508 kg C2H4-eq, potensi toksisitas manusia 123,97 kg 1,4-DB-eq dan potensi penipisan abiotik 2181,75 MJ. Data menunjukkan bahwa penyumbang dampak terbesar adalah unit kiln. Energi yang digunakan di unit proses kiln menyumbang 92,46% dari total intensitas energi dalam proses produksi semen. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa energi yang dibutuhkan untuk menghasilkan produk semen 1 ton adalah 3,27 GJ dengan unit proses kiln memiliki kontribusi penggunaan energi tertinggi dengan nilai 3,03 GJ/ton produk. Studi ini terdiri dari empat skenario untuk mengetahui praktik komposisi bahan bakar terbaik yang direkomendasikan di area hotspot.

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Gasoline Blending with Different Oxygenates in India

This paper includes a cradle-to-gate life cycle impact evaluation of gasoline blends in India. The potential environmental impacts of gasoline blends with three major components, i.e., methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol are assessed. The production of methanol from the natural gas reforming process, ethanol from hydrogenation with nitric acid, and n-butanol from the oxo process are considered in the current study. The results show that the gasoline blending with methanol has the lowest impact (11 categories) and is nearly constant from 5 to 15%. For gasoline with ethanol as an additive, the global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, and abiotic depletion potential rise with increasing ethanol addition. Meanwhile, increasing ethanol addition reduces the acidification potential and terrestric ecotoxicity potential impact of gasoline blends. Similarly, gasoline with n-butanol as an additive has higher acidification potential, eutrophication potential, human toxicity potential, terrestric ecotoxicity potential, marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential compared to methanol and ethanol.

Accelerating Net Zero from the perspective of Optimizing a Carbon Capture and Utilization System

Net zero requires an accelerated transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) can be an effective intermediate solution for the decarbonization of fossil fuels. However, many research works contain renewables in the design of CCU systems, which may mislead stakeholders regarding the hotspots of CCU systems. In this work we build a model of a CCU system with no renewables involved, and evaluate its greenhouse (GHG) emissions based on the life cycle assessment with a cradle-to-gate boundary. To pursue the best system performance, an optimization framework is established to digitalize and optimize the CCU system regarding GHG emissions reduction. The optimized CCU can reduce GHG emissions by 13% compared with the conventional process. Heating is identified as the most significant contributor to GHG emissions, accounting for 60%. Electrifying heating fully by low-carbon electricity can further reduce GHG emissions by 47%, but such extreme conditions will significantly sacrifice the economic benefit. By contrast, the multi-objective optimization can show how the decisions can affect the balance between GHG emissions and profit. Further, this work discusses the dual effect of carbon pricing on the CCU system – raising the cost of raw materials and utilities, but also gaining credits when emissions are reduced in producing valued products.

Do Miscanthus lutarioriparius-Based Oriented Strand Boards Provide Environmentally Benign Alternatives? An LCA Case Study of Lake Dongting District in China

Miscanthus lutarioriparius(M. lutarioriparius) in Lake Dongting District are in the situation of being discarded due to the government’s environmental policy, the decomposition of which will bring another pollution risk. The purpose of this study is to environmentally analyze the production of M. lutarioriparius-based oriented strand particleboards(M.OSB) as alternatives to the conventional artificial boards. The production systems were evaluated from a cradle-to-gate perspective using the Life Cycle Assessment(LCA)methodology. Our results showed that the M.OSB had an overall better profile than wood panels, identifying the production of starch adhesives and bio-fuels as the main environmental hotspots. It was also found that annual harvesting and utilization of M. lutarioripariuscould ease the burden to the environment during the decomposition of this plant, and further improve the environmental performance of M.OSB. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on the key parameters, suggesting that there are opportunities for improvement. This study provides useful information for enterprises and policymakers on where to focus their activities, with the aim of making the future of M. lutarioriparius utilization more technically and environmentally favourable.

Environmental impact of tofu production in West Jakarta using a life cycle assessment approach

Tofu is one of the processed soybean foods that are very popular with Indonesian society. Despite the popularity of Tofu, Tofu production in Indonesia is generally small and medium, reaching 500 kg per day, as in the tofu factory in Semanan, West Jakarta. The purpose of this study is to analyze the environmental impact of tofu production in West Jakarta. The life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to achieve this goal with SimaPro software for impact calculations. This research applies the LCA cradle to gate, which consists of soybean cultivation, transportation, and tofu production processes. The environmental impacts of tofu production analyzed in this study include global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, and eutrophication. The impact analysis showed that the acquisition of soybeans, which consisted of soybean cultivation and transportation, had the most significant environmental impact with a global warming potential value of 0.882 kg CO2 eq out of a total of 0.978 CO2 eq for the whole process.

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Ammonia-Based Electricity

In recent years, several researchers have studied the potential use of ammonia (NH3) as an energy vector, focused on the techno-economic advantages and challenges for full global deployment. The use of ammonia as fuel is seen as a strategy to support decarbonization; however, to confirm the sustainability of the shift to ammonia as fuel in thermal engines, a study of the environmental profile is needed. This paper aims to assess the environmental life cycle impacts of ammonia-based electricity generated in a combined heat and power cycle for different ammonia production pathways. A cradle-to-gate assessment was developed for both ammonia production and ammonia-based electricity generation. The results show that electrolysis-based ammonia from renewable and nuclear energy have a better profile in terms of global warming potential (0.09–0.70 t CO2-eq/t NH3), fossil depletion potential (3.62–213.56 kg oil-eq/t NH3), and ozone depletion potential (0.001–0.082 g CFC-11-eq/t NH3). In addition, surplus heat for district or industrial applications offsets some of the environmental burden, such as a more than 29% reduction in carbon footprint. In general, ammonia-based combined heat and power production presents a favorable environmental profile, for example, the carbon footprint ranges from −0.480 to 0.003 kg CO2-eq/kWh.

Cradle-to-Grave Life-Cycle Assessment of Cellulosic Fiberboard

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the construction and operation of buildings accounted for nearly 38% of total global energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2019. The construction sector has been striving to use more low-carbon footprint building products to mitigate climate change and enhance environmentally preferable purchasing. Over the last several decades, there has been substantial growth in engineered wood products for the construction industry. To assess these products used in construction for their environmental profile, lifecycle assessments (LCAs) are performed. This study performed an LCA to estimate environmental impacts (cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave) of cellulosic fiberboard (CFB) per m³ functional unit basis. The lifecycle inventory data developed were representative of CFB production in North America. Overall, the cradle-to-grave LCA results per m3 of CFB were estimated at 305 kg CO₂ e global warming (GW), 19.3 kg O₃ e photochemical smog formation, 1.03 kg SO₂ e acidification, 0.33 kg N e eutrophication, and 415 MJ fossil-fuel depletion. Except for smog formation, most environmental impacts of CFB were from cradle-to-gate. For example, 71% and 29% of total GW impacts were from cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave lifecycle stages, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that reducing transport distance, on-site electricity use, natural gas for drying, and starch additives in the manufacturing phase had the most influence. Around 353 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB is stored as long-term carbon during CFB’s life which is higher than the total cradle-to-grave greenhouse gases (CO₂ e) emissions. Thus, the net negative GW impact of CFB (-47 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB) asserted its environmental advantages as an engineered wood panel construction material. Overall, the findings of the presented study would prove useful for improving the decision-making in the construction sector.

Environmental and economic analysis of bioethanol production from sugarcane molasses and agave juice

In this article, sugarcane molasses and agave juice were compared as potential feedstocks for producing bioethanol in Mexico in terms of their environmental impact and economic factors. Life cycle assessment (LCA) using SimaPro was carried out to calculate environmental impacts by using a cradle-to-gate approach. A preliminary economic analysis was performed to determine the economic feasibility of the studied options. Also, capital goods costs were obtained using the Aspen Plus economy package. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was involved to compare the environmental and economic viability of producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice. LCA results revealed that cultivation and fermentation were the most harmful stages when producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice, respectively. Furthermore, when it was derived from agave juice rather than sugarcane molasses, it had more environmental benefits. This was ascribed to the lower consumption rate of fertilizers, pesticides, and emissions given off from the former. Regarding financial aspects, the preliminary analysis showed that producing bioethanol was not economically viable when grid energy alone was used. However, if power from the grid is partially replaced with renewable energy, producing bioethanol becomes economically feasible, and sugarcane molasses is the most suitable feedstock. Graphical abstract