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Addressment of Uncertainty and Variability in Attributional Environmental Life Cycle AssessmentJanuary 2016 (has links)
abstract: 'Attributional' Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantitatively tracks the potential environmental impacts of international value chains, in retrospective, while ensuring that burden shifting is avoided. Despite the growing popularity of LCA as a decision-support tool, there are numerous concerns relating to uncertainty and variability in LCA that affects its reliability and credibility. It is pertinent that some part of future research in LCA be guided towards increasing reliability and credibility for decision-making, while utilizing the LCA framework established by ISO 14040.
In this dissertation, I have synthesized the present state of knowledge and application of uncertainty and variability in ‘attributional’ LCA, and contribute to its quantitative assessment.
Firstly, the present state of addressment of uncertainty and variability in LCA is consolidated and reviewed. It is evident that sources of uncertainty and variability exist in the following areas: ISO standards, supplementary guides, software tools, life cycle inventory (LCI) databases, all four methodological phases of LCA, and use of LCA information. One source of uncertainty and variability, each, is identified, selected, quantified, and its implications discussed.
The use of surrogate LCI data in lieu of missing dataset(s) or data-gaps is a source of uncertainty. Despite the widespread use of surrogate data, there has been no effort to (1) establish any form of guidance for the appropriate selection of surrogate data and, (2) estimate the uncertainty associated with the choice and use of surrogate data. A formal expert elicitation-based methodology to select the most appropriate surrogates and to quantify the associated uncertainty was proposed and implemented.
Product-evolution in a non-uniform manner is a source of temporal variability that is presently not considered in LCA modeling. The resulting use of outdated LCA information will lead to misguided decisions affecting the issue at concern and eventually the environment. In order to demonstrate product-evolution within the scope of ISO 14044, and given that variability cannot be reduced, the sources of product-evolution were identified, generalized, analyzed and their implications (individual and coupled) on LCA results are quantified.
Finally, recommendations were provided for the advancement of robustness of 'attributional' LCA, with respect to uncertainty and variability. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2016
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Sustainability assessment of active packaging incorporating nanomaterialsZhang, Hai 16 November 2017 (has links)
Packaging plays an important role in ensuring food safety and quality. The development antimicrobial packaging enables actively inhibiting/killing the spoilage microorganisms, and thus extending food product's shelf life. Generally, 50% shelf life extension is possible. The interest for using metallic nanoparticles in active packaging derives from its superior antimicrobial efficacy and no negative impact on the food sensory properties.
In this thesis, the packaging material of concern is a PLA (Polylactic Acid) coated paper incorporating zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in the coating layer. The material was characterized and its antimicrobial activity was evaluated. The SEM images show that the nanoparticles were homogenously distributed across the surface thanks to its surface modification. Antimicrobial assay indicates that the active material was effective in inactivating E. coli and S. aureus. Furthermore, E. coli was found to be more susceptible to this type of agent, showing 3.14 log reduction for 0.5 wt% agent loading in the PLA coating layer. This result was compared across the publications using the same agent for treating both Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. The discrepancy between the results can be explained by the fact that ZnO nanoparticles have multiple action mechanisms, and different antimicrobial testing methods may activate part of the action mechanisms.
On the other hand, recyclability is regarded as an important attribute for paper-based packaging material, as it enables to conserve the resources and reduce the environmental impacts. Accordingly, when it comes to the nano-enabled paper packaging material, recyclability should be maintained. In this case, a recyclability test was carried out in a lab-scale paper recycling line. The protocol was based on a method adapted from the ATICELCA MC501-13, which enabled to recover over 99% of the solids material. The mass balance result indicates that 86%-91% zinc oxide nanoparticles ended up in the rejected material stream, mostly embedded within the polymer coating; whereas 7%-16% nanoparticles ended up in the accepted material stream. Besides, the tensile strength of the recycled handsheets suggests that the nano-enabled coating had no negative impacts on the recovered fibre quality.
Active packaging plays a positive role in reducing food losses. If food and packaging are considered as a whole system, its overall environmental impact can be justified by incorporating the food loss reduction due to the application of active packaging. The LCA calculation shows that a breakeven point can be easily achieved for the case of red meat products of high environmental impact. / El envase juega un papel importante asegurando la seguridad y calidad de los alimentos. El desarrollo de envases activos, especialmente envase antimicrobiano, permite inhibir o matar los microorganismos causantes del deterioro de los alimentos, alargando por tanto su vida útil. De forma general es posible extender la vida útil de los alimentos en un 50%. El interés por el uso de nanopartículas metálicas en el envasado activo se deriva de su gran efectividad antimicrobiana sin causar un efecto negativo en sus propiedades sensoriales.
En la presente tesis, se ha desarrollado un papel recubierto de PLA (ácido poliláctico) con nanopartículas de óxido de zinc (ZnO NPs) incorporadas en la capa de recubrimiento. Se ha caracterizado el material y se ha evaluado su capacidad antimicrobiana. Las imágenes obtenidas mediante SEM muestran que las nanopartículas fueron distribuidas a lo largo de la superficie gracias a su modificación. Los ensayos de efectividad antimicrobiana indicaron una actividad del material frente a E. coli y a S. aureus. Además, E. coli resultó ser más susceptible a este agente activo incorporado al 0.5 % en peso en el recubrimiento de PLA, mostrando una reducción de 3.14 log. Este resultado fue comparado con publicaciones donde se emplearon los mismos agentes activos para frente a microorganismos Gram-positivos y Gram-negativos. Las discrepancias encontradas entre los resultados pueden deberse a que las nanopartículas de ZnO tienen múltiples mecanismos de acción, y los diferentes métodos de ensayo poder estimular parte de estos mecanismos.
Por otra parte, el reciclado juega un importante papel en la conservación de los recursos y en la reducción de los impactos medioambientales. Por tanto, cuando se trata de un material de envase de papel con sustancias de tamaño nano, el reciclado debe tratarse adecuadamente. El ensayo de reciclabilidad fue llevado a cabo a escala laboratorio en una línea de reciclado de papel. El protocolo de ensayo se basó en el método adaptado de ATICELCA MC501-13, permitiendo una recuperación del 99% de material sólidos. Los resultados del balance de materia indicaron que el 86%-91% de las nanopartículas de óxido de zinc llegaron al flujo de material de rechazo, principalmente mezclado en el recubrimiento polimérico. Además, los resultados de tracción de las láminas recicladas sugieren que el recubrimiento con partículas nano no tiene un efecto negativo sobre la calidad de la fibra recuperada.
El envase activo juega un papel positivo en la reducción de los residuos alimentarios. Como resultado del uso del envase activo, considerando el envase y el alimento como un todo, el impacto ambiental sobre este sistema completo puede ser compensado por la reducción de pérdidas de alimentos. El cálculo LCA muestra que el punto de equilibrio se puede conseguir fácilmente en el caso de productos de carne roja de elevado impacto ambiental. / L'envàs té un paper prou important en la seguretat i la qualitat del aliments. El desenvolupament dels envasos actius, especialment l'envàs antimicrobià, el qual permeteix l'inhibició o mort dels microorganismes que produeixen el deteriorament dels aliments i, per tant, allargant la seua vida útil. De manera general, es possible l'allargament de la vida útil dels aliments en un 50%. L'interès per la utilització de nanopartícules metàl·liques en l'envasat actiu es deriva de la seua gran efectivitat antimicrobiana sense produir un efecte negatiu en les seus propietats sensorials.
En aquesta present tesis, s'ha desenvolupat un paper recobert de PLA (àcid polilàctic) amb nanopartícules d'òxid de zinc (ZnO NPs) incorporades a la capa de recobriment. S'ha caracteritzat el material i s'ha avaluat la seua capacitat antimicrobiana. Les imatges obtingudes per mitjà del SEM mostren que les nanopartícules foren distribuïdes en tota la superfície gràcies a la seua modificació. Els assajos d'efectivitat antimicrobiana varen indicar una activitat del material front a E.coli i a S. aureus. A més, E. coli va resultar ser més susceptible a aquest agent actiu incorporat al 0.5 % en pes en el recobriment de PLA, mostrant una reducció de 3.14 log. Aquest resultat va ser comparat amb publicacions on es van emprar els mateixos agents actius front a microorganismes Gram-positiu i Gram-negatiu. Les discrepàncies trobades entre els resultats poden deure's a que les nanopartícules de ZnO tenen diversos mecanismes d'acció, i els diferents mètodes d'assaig poder estimular part d'aquestes mecanismes.
Per altra banda, el reciclatge també té un paper important en la conservació dels recursos i en la reducció dels impactes mediambientals. Per tant, quan es tracta d'un material d'envàs de paper amb substàncies de la grandària 'nano', el reciclatge ha de tractar-se adequadament. El assaig de reciclabilitat va ser dut a terme a escala de laboratori en una línia de reciclatge de paper. El protocol de l'assaig es va basar en el mètode adaptat d'ATICELCA MC501-13, permetent una recuperació del 99% del material sòlid. Els resultats del balanç de matèria van indicar que el 86-91% de les nanopartícules d'òxid de zinc varen arribar al fluix material de rebuig, principalment mesclat en el recobriment polimèric. A més, els resultats de tracció de les làmines reciclades suggereixen que el recobriment amb nanopartícules nano no tenen un efecte negatiu sobre la qualitat de la fibra recuperada.
L'envàs actiu juga un paper positiu en la reducció dels residus alimentaris. Com a resultat de l'ús de l'envàs actiu, considerant l'envàs i l'aliment com un tot conjunt, l'impacte ambiental sobre aquest sistema complet pot ser compensat per la reducció de pèrdues d'aliments. El càlcul LCA mostra que el punt d'equilibri es pot aconseguir fàcilment en el cas de productes de carn roja d'elevat impacte ambiental. / Zhang, H. (2016). Sustainability assessment of active packaging incorporating nanomaterials [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/75348 / TESIS
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Carbon and energy payback of variable renewable generationThomson, Rachel Camilla January 2014 (has links)
The continued drive to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in order to mitigate climate change has led to an increase in demand for low-carbon energy sources, and the development of new technologies to harness the available energy in the wind, waves and tides. Many controversies surround these technologies, however, particularly with regards to their economic cost, environmental impacts and the implications of the variability of their output for security of the electricity supply. In order to make informed policy decisions on future developments of the electricity system, it is necessary to address these controversies and confirm the environmental, economic and social sustainability of these new renewable generators. This thesis specifically examines two key issues: whether new variable-output renewable energy generators actually deliver a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes, and whether they produce a viable energy return on energy investment. Although renewable energy sources are themselves ‘carbon free’, GHG emissions (and energy consumption) occur during the construction, maintenance and decommissioning of the generator infrastructure required to convert this energy into electricity. Furthermore, the variability of the output power from such generators has implications for the operation of the grid - there may be a requirement for additional reserve capacity and the increased part-loading of conventional plant is likely to reduce its operating efficiency. Carbon and energy paybacks are measures of the time required for a new renewable installation to offset these life cycle impacts. The work presented in this thesis examines both the life cycle impacts and the GHG emissions displacement of variable renewable generation, using Great Britain as a case study, in order to provide a basis for significantly more robust and reliable estimates of carbon and energy paybacks. The extensive literature survey concentrates on two key areas: current calculation methodologies and estimates for life cycle carbon and energy consumption of power generators; and the marginal emissions displacement of variable renewable generation. A detailed life cycle assessment of the Pelamis wave energy converter is presented, which sets the embodied carbon and energy in the context of the wider environmental impacts and includes an examination of the effect of different assumptions on the analysis results. In order to investigate the true emissions displacement of renewable generation, a historical analysis of real data from the National Grid was carried out, identifying the marginal displacement factor of wind power and taking into account the effect of the efficiency penalties of conventional plant. The findings of the analyses presented in this thesis are combined with information from the literature to examine the actual carbon and energy payback of existing renewable generation infrastructure on the British grid, and to provide detailed recommendations for future carbon and energy payback calculations.
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Evaluation environnementale du véhicule électrique : méthodologies et application / Electric vehicle environmental assessment : methodologies and applicationPicherit, Marie-Lou 27 September 2010 (has links)
Le véhicule électrique est aujourd’hui présenté comme l’une des solutions alternatives sérieuses au véhicule à moteur à combustion interne, visant à limiter la consommation d’énergies fossiles, ainsi que les émissions de polluants locaux et de gaz à effet de serre. L’évaluation des forces et faiblesses de cette technologie au regard de l’environnement est aujourd’hui limitée, compte tenu notamment du peu de retour d’expérience sur ce type de véhicules.L’objectif de ce travail de recherche est de proposer une approche combinant une connaissance fine du véhicule étudié (obtenu notamment par des essais expérimentaux et l’utilisation de modèles de consommation) et de la méthode d’évaluation environnementale Analyse de Cycle de Vie (ACV), pour identifier les paramètres clefs du bilan environnemental, et par différentes analyses de sensibilité, d’en proposer une analyse détaillée. Pour y parvenir, des essais expérimentaux ont été réalisés sur un véhicule électrique à usage essentiellement urbain et son équivalent thermique. Un modèle permet d’estimer les consommations de véhicules selon leurs spécificités (chimie et capacité de batterie, rendement de la chaîne de traction) et leurs conditions d’utilisation (trafic, usages d’auxiliaires). Des hypothèses et scénarios sont également établis sur la durée de vie des batteries qui équipent le véhicule. Les jeux de données obtenus sont mis en œuvre dans l’ACV d’un véhicule électrique, et les résultats obtenus interprétés puis comparés à ceux du véhicule thermique équivalent. Enfin, analyses de sensibilité et test de divers scénarios permettent l’identification des paramètres clefs du bilan environnemental. / Today, the electric vehicle is seen as a potent substitute to the internal combustion engine vehicle, aiming at reducing consumption of fossil fuels, and emissions of local pollutants and greenhouse gases. The assessment of strengths and weaknesses of this technology from the environmental viewpoint is currently limited, especially considering the lack of experiment feedbacks.The objective of this research is to offer an approach combining a deep understanding of the studied vehicle (through experiments and use of consumption patterns) and the environmental assessment method “Life Cycle Analysis” (LCA), to identify the key parameters of environmental appraisal, and relying on different sensitivity analysis, to propose a detailed analysis.To achieve this, experimental tests were carried out on an urban electric vehicle and its internal combustion engine equivalent. A model was built to estimate the consumption of electric vehicles according to their characteristics (chemistry and battery capacity, vehicle energy efficiency) and use (traffic, use of auxiliaries). Assumptions and scenarios are also made on the lifetimes of batteries in the vehicle. The data sets obtained are implemented in the life cycle analysis of an electric vehicle, and the results are interpreted and compared to its internal combustion engine equivalent vehicle. In the end, sensitivity analysis and test of various scenarios allow the identification of key parameters for the environmental assessment.
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Proposição de melhorias do desempenho ambiental do processo de produção do aço líquido. / Improvements proposition of environmental performance of liquid steeel production process.Camillo, Luciana Dimas 23 August 2016 (has links)
O aço é um insumo de usos diversos que variam desde a construção civil, até a confecção de bens de consumo. Sob a perspectiva ambiental, as transformações que ocorrem nessa cadeia produtiva se destacam pelos elevados consumos de insumos e de energia - nas formas elétrica e térmica -, e por emissões para o Meio Ambiente. Assim, o grande desafio das siderúrgicas é encontrar alternativas que reduzam os impactos ambientais associados aos seus processos. Esta busca requer porém, uma análise sistêmica e integrada que considere o produto final em todo seu ciclo de vida. Este estudo tem por finalidade a avaliação do desempenho ambiental da produção de aço líquido para um arranjo tecnológico médio no país. Para tanto, utilizou-se a ferramenta de Análise de Ciclo de Vida (ACV). Embora o diagnóstico tenha sido efetuado sobre todas as etapas de processamento, optou-se por evidenciar etapas que fossem inerentes do processamento do aço líquido. O diagnóstico inicial, então, revelou que as principais etapas responsáveis pelos impactos ambientais inerentes ao processo são: a) produção de energia elétrica do Grid brasileiro, b) a manufatura do aço e c) captação e transporte de água. A partir desta vistoria de etapas inerentes pôde-se propor cenários de melhoria de desempenho ambiental para o processo de produção do aço líquido, a saber: I) Aproveitamento de Gás de Aciaria para produção de Energia Elétrica e II) Instalação de Tecnologia de apagamento a seco do coque. Embora o Cenário III não esteja contemplado nas cargas inerentes de processo, o mesmo foi efetuado a partir de solicitação da empresa: III) Substituição do fornecimento de Minério de Manganês. A técnica de ACV foi novamente aplicada com o intuito de verificar a validade das ações propostas. O estudo concluiu que houve melhorias relevantes no desempenho ambiental principalmente nos modelos CED e USEtox, em todas a categorias de impacto apresentadas (Fósseis Não Renováveis, Nuclear Não Renovável, Biomassa Não Renovável, Biomassa Renovável, Energia decorrente de efeitos naturais, Água Renovável, Toxidade Humana a Câncer, Toxidade Humana Não Câncer e Ecotoxidade Aquática) para os Cenário I e II. Pouco impacto foi observado no modelo ReCiPe Midpoint (H) para o Cenário I e II a não ser pela piora na categoria de impacto de Formação de Oxidantes Fotoquímicos para o Cenário II. Isso aconteceu por um aumento na emissão de monóxido de carbono descrito pela proposição. O Cenário III apresentou melhoria significativa apenas de uma categoria de impacto: Depleção de Metais, devido redução da depleção manganês, explicada pela melhoria de qualidade na troca de fornecedores. / Steel is an input for various uses ranging from construction, to the production of consumer goods. From an environmental perspective the changes that occur in the production chain are highlighted by high consumption of raw materials and energy - in electric and thermal forms - and emissions to the environment. So the great challenge of the steel is to find alternatives that reduce environmental impacts associated with their processes. This search, however, requires a systemic and integrated analysis that considers the final product throughout its life cycle. This study aims to evaluate the environmental performance of the liquid steel production to an average technological arrangement in the country. For this, we used the Life Cycle Analysis Tool (ACV). Although the diagnosis has been made on all processing stages, we chose to highlight steps that were inherent in the liquid steel processing. The initial diagnosis then revealed that the main stages responsible for the environmental impacts inherent in the process are: a) electricity production of the Brazilian Grid, b) the manufacture of steel and c) uptake and transport of water. From this survey inherent steps could be proposed improvement scenarios of environmental performance for the liquid steel production process, as follows: I) Steelmaking Gas Utilization for Production of Electricity and II) Coke Dry Quenching Tecnology. Although Scenario III is not contemplated in the process of inherent charges, the same was made on request from the company: III) Replacing the supply of manganese ore. The LCA technique was applied again in order to verify the validity of the proposed actions. The study concluded there were significant improvements in the environmental performance mainly in CED and USEtox models in all the presented impact categories (Fossils Renewable Not Nuclear Renewable No Biomass Renewable Non Renewable Biomass Energy from natural effects, Renewable Water, Toxicity Human to Cancer, Human Toxicity Ecotoxicity not Cancer and Frashwater Ecotoxity) for Scenario I and II. Little impact was observed in the model ReCiPe Midpoint (H) for Scenario I and II unless the worsening Photochemical Oxidant Formation impact category for Scenario II. This happened by an increase in carbon monoxide emission described by the proposition. Scenario III showed significant improvement only in a depletion impact category metals due reducing manganese depletion, explained by the improvement of quality of switching suppliers.
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Subsídios à avaliação do ciclo de vida do pescado: avaliação ambiental das atividades de piscicultura e pesque-pague, estudo de caso na bacia hidrográfica do rio Mogi-Guaçu / Inputs to the life cycle assessment of the fish from fishery: environmental evaluation of the activities of fish production and fishery, study of case in water basin of the Mogi-Guaçu riverMillani, Thiago José 17 August 2007 (has links)
O desafio de se atingir o desenvolvimento sustentável tem levado os sistemas produtivos buscar um equilíbrio entre os aspectos ambientais, econômicos e sociais. Com relação ao uso dos recursos hídricos, a aqüicultura se mostra, no Brasil, como uma atividade economicamente emergente, mas que precisa considerar os aspectos de sustentabilidade em sua produção. O presente trabalho apresenta como objetivo avaliar os potenciais impactos causados pelas atividades de piscicultura e pesque-pague no corpo hídrico, localizado na região de montante da bacia hidrográfica do rio Mogi-Guaçu. Dentre as metodologias de avaliação de impactos ambientais, pode-se destacar a Avaliação do ciclo de vida (ACV) por seu caráter sistêmico, e por isso é utilizada neste trabalho. Para o desenvolvimento do estudo da ACV, foi utilizado o método Environmental Design of Industrial Products - EDIP, alguns métodos de caracterização hídrica na fase de inventário da ACV e uma avaliação qualitativa da introdução de espécies não nativas em uma região. Os resultados deste trabalho estão estruturados de acordo com a metodologia da ACV, aplicada ao pescado advindo de pesque-pague em estudo de caso localizado na região de montante da bacia hidrográfica do rio Mogi-Guaçu. A unidade funcional adotada é a quantidade de kcal contida em um kg de filé de peixe. A utilização da metodologia da ACV na produção animal permite uma avaliação quantitativa dos principais impactos ambientais gerados ao longo do seu ciclo de vida, permitindo acompanhar o comportamento ambiental de cada unidade de processo. A piscicultura se mostra como a maior consumidora dos recursos naturais não renováveis e, seu efluente apresenta um maior potencial de acidificação, em relação ao pesque-pague. O pesque-pague, por sua vez, se mostra como o maior consumidor dos recursos naturais renováveis e seu efluente apresenta um maior potencial de eutrofização, ecotoxicidade e de toxicidade humana. O consumo de energia elétrica é, praticamente, equivalente por parte das atividades de piscicultura e pesque-pague. Qualitativamente, avaliaram-se os potencias impactos decorrentes da introdução de espécies exóticas e alóctones, diagnosticando as principais espécies comercializadas nos pesque-pague, presentes na bacia hidrográfica do rio Mogi-Guaçu. Portanto, as atividades de piscicultura e pesque-pague apresentam potenciais de impactos ambientais negativos ao corpo hídrico da região e precisam adotar medidas para reduzi-los, tais como, redução do uso de substâncias químicas e melhoria da qualidade dos alimentos dos peixes. / The challenge to reach the sustainable development has taken the production systems to search a balance among the environmental, economical and social aspects. For the hydraulic resources consumption, the water based activities in Brazil show as economically emergent, but need to include the sustainable aspects in the production. The goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the potential impacts in the water caused for the activities of fish production and fishery, located in the region of the water basin of the Mogi-Guaçu river. Among the methodologies of environmental impact assessment, the life cycle assessment (LCA) can be focused, because of its systemic aspect and that\'s why it is applied in this work. For the development of the study of this LCA, the methods used are the Environmental Design of Industrial Products - EDIP, some water characterization methods for the inventory analysis of the LCA and a qualitative analysis of the impacts of the inclusion of fishes which are not from the region studied. The results of this work are structured according the LCA methodology, applied to the fish from fish production and fishery in a study case located at the water basin of the Mogi-Guaçu river. The functional unit is the amount of kcal contained in one kg of filet of fish. The use of the methodology of the LCA in the animal production allows a quantitative evaluation of the main environmental impacts caused by its cycle of life, allowing the monitoring of the environmental behavior of each unit of process. The fish production is the highest consumer of the non renewable resources and its water emissions present the highest potential for acidification. The fishery is the highest consumer of renewable resources and its water emissions present the highest potential for nutrient enrichment, ecotoxicity and of human toxicity. The consumption of electric energy is, basically, equal on the activities of fish production and fishery. Qualitatively, it was evaluated the ecological impacts due to the inclusion of fishes which are not from the region studied. Concluding, the activities of fish production and fishery present negative impact potentials for the water quality and some actions should be done to reduce these impacts, as, chemical consumption reductions and a better quality food for the fishes.
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Desenvolvimento de fatores de normalização de impactos ambientais regionais para avaliação do ciclo de vida de produtos no Estado de São Paulo / Development of normalization factors to life cycle assessment in São Paulo stateSilva, André Luiz Ribeiro Tachard da 30 April 2010 (has links)
A normalização é uma importante etapa da Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida, uma vez que fornece uma unidade comum, permitindo a comparação das diferentes categorias de impacto. A referência de normalização mais utilizada considera o impacto das atividades totais da sociedade num certo período de tempo. Estes dados são inexistentes no Brasil para impactos regionais e locais, de forma que este trabalho objetivou iniciar o preenchimento dessa lacuna, com os fatores de normalização para as categorias \"acidificação\" e \"eutrofização\", no estado de São Paulo. Tais fatores foram calculados com base em um inventário das estimativas anuais de aporte ao meio ambiente de substâncias contribuintes para estas categorias, cuja realização possibilitou a análise do estado da arte desses impactos em São Paulo e dos setores responsáveis pela geração das substâncias contribuintes. Conforme esperado, os fatores (ou referências) de normalização encontrados foram diferentes daqueles por hora utilizados no Brasil, baseados em dados europeus. Entre as razões que explicam esta diferença estão a baixa emissão de \'SO IND.X\' devido a matriz energética brasileira, o uso de etanol com combustível e o despejo de esgoto sem tratamento (ou tratamento inadequado). / Normalization is an important step in Life Cycle Assessment as it provides a common unit, allowing the comparison of the different impact categories. The normalization reference most widely used considers the \"background\" impact from the total activities of society in a chosen reference period. These data are inexistent in Brazil for regional and local impacts so that this work aimed to begin filling this lack, first developing normalization factors for the categories \"acidification\" and \"eutrophication\" in the state of Sao Paulo. These factors were calculated from an inventory of the annual load to the environment of substances contributing to these categories; the production of this inventory allowed the analysis of a) the state of the art of these impacts in Sao Paulo and b) the sectors responsible for the generation of contributors. As expected, normalization factors (or references) were different from those currently used in Brazil, based on European data. Among the reasons for this difference are lower \'SO IND.X\' emissions due to the Brazilian energy matrix, the use of ethanol as fuel and disposal of sewage without treatment (or mistreatment).
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Indirect Land-Use Change from BiofuelProduction : Uncertainties and Policymaking from an EUPerspectiveOffergeld, Taniya January 2012 (has links)
No description available.
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Environmental life cycle driven decision making in product designLu, Di 02 June 2010 (has links)
There is growing interest in the assessment of products from a life cycle perspective. Product life cycles are often dominated by extensive chemical supply chains that lead up to the materials contained in the products and the overwhelming contribution that the production of these chemicals make to the overall life cycle due to their energy intensity. Hence, chemical engineers are uniquely positioned to carry out significant components of this assessment because of their skills in chemical process design and analysis. Furthermore, the complexity and extent of life cycle concerns creates opportunities for new process systems tools to be developed to support product design and analysis.
The specific thesis objectives are threefold. The first is to develop a systematic methodology to optimize material selections for a product based on life cycle inventory (LCI) characteristics. The second is to use this methodology combined with sustainability assessment standards to assess whether these standards are congruent with life cycle assessment. The third is to develop an approach to design product sustainability assessment standards that are clear and consistent with life cycle principles. The overall contributions will be in the applied domain of life cycle assessment and its integration into standards setting, and in contributions to optimization tools and methods.
The three objectives will be illustrated in the domain of carpet systems. Previous research has generated a substantial database of gate-to-gate (GTG) life cycle inventories for various chemicals that make up carpet, extending from the inputs to the final carpet mill back to the natural resources such as oil, natural gas and mined calcium carbonate. Carpet recycling is a promising alternative approach for reducing life cycle impacts and is being practiced at a growing scale in the U.S. This thesis uses the specific individual LCI gate-to-gate blocks for virgin materials and for important carpet recycling and general polymer recycling processes. A database for the GTG LCI will be used to construct a virtual chemical tree that automatically that represents the potential cradle-to-gate (CTG) use of resources. The alternatives for each possible route for the product will be generated, and optimization approaches will be applied to optimize the performance of the carpet system according to life cycle objectives.
Sustainability assessment standards are currently being developed for a range of building products, such as carpet, resilient flooring, commercial textile coverings and office furniture. This activity has been stimulated through the considerable success of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED standard. The LEED Standard is points-based: the building design and construction earns points for having certain attributes or promoting certain activities. The points are totaled and then the building earns a rating based on the total being above a certain threshold. The second thesis objective is met through extending the LCI optimization methodology to represent point-based standards. A product can then be optimized to maximize the number of points it earns or to minimize its life cycle attributes. This approach can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an emerging carpet sustainability standard, NSF-140, in integrating LCI into the standard.
The last objective, standard design, is approached through designing the tables that award points in the standard to be consistent with life cycle information. Certain minimum principles of consistency are articulated and then the designs shown to be consistent with these principles in the case that the life cycle impact assessment method maps the life cycle inventory to impact through a linear weighting.
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Life cycle assessment of bridges, model development and case studiesDu, Guangli January 2015 (has links)
In recent decades, the environmental issues from the construction sector have attracted increasing attention from both the public and authorities. Notably, the bridge construction is responsible for considerable amount of energy and raw material consumptions. However, the current bridges are still mainly designed from the economic, technical, and safety perspective, while considerations of their environmental performance are rarely integrated into the decision making process. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive, standardized and internationally recognized approach for quantifying all emissions, resource consumption and related environmental and health impacts linked to a service, asset or product. LCA has the potential to provide reliable environmental profiles of the bridges, and thus help the decision-makers to select the most environmentally optimal designs. However, due to the complexity of the environmental problems and the diversity of bridge structures, robust environmental evaluation of bridges is far from straightforward. The LCA has rarely been studied on bridges till now. The overall aim of this research is to implement LCA on bridge, thus eventually integrate it into the decision-making process to mitigate the environmental burden at an early stage. Specific objectives are to: i) provide up-to-date knowledge to practitioners; ii) identify associated obstacles and clarify key operational issues; iii) establish a holistic framework and develop computational tool for bridge LCA; and iv) explore the feasibility of combining LCA with life cycle cost (LCC). The developed tool (called GreenBridge) enables the simultaneous comparison and analysis of 10 feasible bridges at any detail level, and the framework has been utilized on real cases in Sweden. The studied bridge types include: railway bridge with ballast or fix-slab track, road bridges of steel box-girder composite bridge, steel I-girder composite bridge, post tensioned concrete box-girder bridge, balanced cantilever concrete box-girder bridge, steel-soil composite bridge and concrete slab-frame bridge. The assessments are detailed from cradle to grave phases, covering thousands of types of substances in the output, diverse mid-point environmental indicators, the Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and monetary value weighting. Some analyses also investigated the impact from on-site construction scenarios, which have been overlooked in the current state-of-the-art. The study identifies the major structural and life-cycle scenario contributors to the selected impact categories, and reveals the effects of varying the monetary weighting system, the steel recycling rate and the material types. The result shows that the environmental performance can be highly influenced by the choice of bridge design. The optimal solution is found to be governed by several variables. The analyses also imply that the selected indicators, structural components and life-cycle scenarios must be clearly specified to be applicable in a transparent procurement. This work may provide important references for evaluating similar bridge cases, and identification of the main sources of environmental burden. The outcome of this research may serve as recommendation for decision-makers to select the most LCA-feasible proposal and minimize environmental burdens. / <p>QC 20150311</p>
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