Thesis (PhD(Agric))--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The energy paradigm shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is driven, among others, by a growing sustainability awareness, necessitating more sophisticated measurements in terms of a wider range of criteria. Technical efficiency, financial profitability, environmental friendliness and social acceptance are some of the factors determining the sustainability of renewable energy systems. The resulting complexity and conflicting decision criteria, however, constitute major barriers to processing the information and decision-making based on the information. Seeking to implement local bioenergy systems, policymakers of the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM), South Africa, are confronted with such a problem. Following a case study approach, this study illustrates how life-cycle assessment (LCA), multi-period budgeting (MPB) and geographic information systems (GIS) can aid the decision-making process by providing financial-economic, socio-economic and environmental friendliness performance data in a structured and transparent manner, allowing for a comparison of the magnitude of each considered criterion along the life-cycle. However, as the environmental impacts cannot readily be expressed in monetary terms on a cardinal scale, these considerations are given less attention or are omitted completely in a market economy. By measuring the various considerations on an ordinal scale and by attaching weights to them using the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, this study, illustrates how to internalise externalities as typical market failures, aiding policymakers of the CWDM to choose the most sustainable bioenergy system. Following the LCA approach, 37 lignocellulosic bioenergy systems, encompassing different combinations of type of harvesting and primary transport, type of pretreatment (comminution, drying, and fast pyrolysis) and location thereof (roadside or landing of the central conversion plant), type of secondary transport from the roadside to the central conversion plant, and type of biomass upgrading and conversion into electricity, were assessed against five financial-economic viability criteria, three socio-economic potential criteria and five environmental impact criteria. The quantitative performance data were then, as part of the MCDA process, translated into a standardised ‘common language’ of relative performance. An expert group attached weights to the considered criteria using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The ‘financial-economic viability’ main criterion received a weight of almost 60%, ‘socio-economic potential’, nearly 25% and ‘lowest environmental impact’, the remainder of around 16%. Taking the prerequisite of financial-economic viability into consideration, the preferred option across all areas of the CWDM (despite various levels of productivity) comprises a feller-buncher for harvesting, a forwarder for primary transportation, mobile comminution at the roadside, secondary transport in truck-container-trailer combinations and an integrated gasification system for the conversion into electricity. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die energie paradigma verandering van fossielbrandstowwe na hernubare energiebronne word gedryf deur ‘n groeiende klem op volhoubaarheid, wat ook meer gesofistikeerde meting in terme van ‘n wyer verskeidenheid maatstawwe vereis. Tegniese doeltreffendheid, finansiële winsgewendheid, omgewingsvriendelikheid en sosiale aanvaarbaarheid is sommige van die faktore wat die volhoubaarheid van hernubare energie stelsels bepaal. Die verskeidenheid oorwegings bring egter kompleksiteit en konflik mee by die verwerking van inligting en die besluitneming wat daarop berus. Beleidmakers van die Kaapse Wynland Distriksmunisipaliteit wat ten doel het om plaaslik bio-energie stelsels te implementeer, word met hierdie probleem gekonfronteer. Hierdie ondersoek illustreer aan die hand van ‘n gevallestudie benadering hoe lewensiklus analise, multiperiode begroting en geografiese inligtingstelsels besluitneming kan ondersteun deur die voorsiening van finansieel-ekonomiese, sosio-ekonomiese (indiensneming) en omgewingsvriendelikheid prestasie data op ‘n gestruktureerde en deursigtige wyse. Dit maak die vergelyking van die waardes van al die kriteria by elke fase van die lewensiklus moontlik. Aangesien die omgewingseffekte nie geredelik in monetêre terme op ‘n kardinale skaal gemeet kan word nie, kry hulle binne die markekonomie minder aandag of word selfs buite rekening gelaat. Deur hierdie verskeidenheid kriteria op ‘n ordinale skaal te meet en gewigte met behulp van multikriteria besluitneming aan hulle toe te ken, toon hierdie ondersoek hoe om eksternaliteite as tipiese markmislukkings te internaliseer om beleidmakers van die Kaapse Wynland Distriksmunisipaliteit in staat te stel om die mees volhoubare bio-energie stelsel te kies. Met behulp van lewensiklus analise is 37 lignosellulose bio-energie stelsels geïdentifiseer as verskillende kombinasies van oes van die bome, primêre vervoer van houtstompe, vooraf verwerking (verspaandering, droging, vinnige pirolise), die ligging van hierdie aktiwiteite (langs ‘n plantasie of by ‘n sentrale omsettingsaanleg), tipe sekondêre vervoer van houtspaanders vanaf die plantasie na die sentrale omsettingsaanleg en tipe biomassa opgradering en omsetting van die houtspaanders na elektrisiteit. Die verskillende stelsels is gemeet aan die hand van vyf finansieel-ekonomiese kriteria, drie indiensneming potensiaal kriteria en vyf omgewingsimpak kriteria. Die kwantitatiewe metings is deur middel van multikriteria besluitneming omgeskakel na ’n gestandaardiseerde “gemeenskaplike taal” van relatiewe prestasie. Lede van ‘n ekspertgroep het gewigte is aan die onderskeie kriteria met behulp van die analitiese hierargie proses toegeken. Aan die finansieel-ekonomiese lewensvatbaarheid hoof kriterium is ‘n gewig van by die 60% toegeken, aan die indiensnemingspotensiaal bykans 25% en aan omgewingsvriendelikheid sowat 16%. Die voorkeur kombinasie vir al die areas van die Kaapse Wynland Distriksmunisipaliteit sluit in ‘n saag-bondelaar vir die oesproses, ‘n plantasie-vragmotor vir primêre vervoer, mobiele verspaandering langs die plantasie, ‘n vragmotor-skeepshouer-treiler kombinasies vir die sekondêre vervoer van houtspaanders en ‘n geïntegreerde vergassingstelsel vir die omsetting van houtspaanders na elektrisiteit.

The cradle to cradle (C2C) is a sustainable business strategy that mimics the natural recycling cycle and waste is reused, the question of when and how to apply the C2C concept successfully in business is still controversial. This thesis takes Huawei, the leading enterprise in the mobile communication industry, as an example, and to investigate the challenges for Chinese mobile communication companies in implementing an effective C2C strategy to achieve a sustainable development. This study used the semi-structured interviews in the qualitative data collection method to interview both Huawei and China Telecommunications’ managers. Data analysis shows that for the electronics industry with low recycling rate and high pollution, Huawei still faces many challenges in adopting the C2C strategy，which includes alloy recycling, recycling of electronic products in consumers' hands, disassembly problems, and recycling of electronic products by value, Another challenge is the mismatch between C2C evaluation mechanism and China's mobile communications industry. Only fully considered cradle to cradle, cradle to Grave, and Life cycle, the sustainable mode of the mobile communications industry would be reached.

Submitted by PPG Engenharia e Tecnologia de Materiais (engenharia.pg.materiais@pucrs.br) on 2018-02-19T14:21:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese RONALDO SILVESTRE DA COSTA Final Entrega PGETEMA.pdf: 3370134 bytes, checksum: 383fa921245f353cae4a408bd4641901 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2018-02-23T17:34:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese RONALDO SILVESTRE DA COSTA Final Entrega PGETEMA.pdf: 3370134 bytes, checksum: 383fa921245f353cae4a408bd4641901 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-23T17:39:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese RONALDO SILVESTRE DA COSTA Final Entrega PGETEMA.pdf: 3370134 bytes, checksum: 383fa921245f353cae4a408bd4641901 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-30 / Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS) / The transport sector represents a significant responsibility in the pollution emissions. Also, the consumption of fossil fuels is related with the rising of global average temperature due to the greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels and natural gas are investigated as alternative fuels to mitigate the environmental impacts. However, due to the several source emissions within a product life-cycle, the environmental performance of an environmental friendly product must be verified. This work aims to quantify greenhouse gas emissions during household waste collection by heavy vehicles (trucks) fueled with different fuels. It was proposed the development and implementation of a methodology to compare both pollutant gas emissions and noise for the use of CNG (compressed natural gas) and diesel-B5, aiming to mitigate environmental impacts in captive fleet that travels daily in the Porto Alegre city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The trucks were monitored using a portable gas analyzer equipment (O2, CO, CO2, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, HC), and the fuel consumptions and autonomy were obtained from the company that provides the service. With the data collected on established routes, it was applied the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to carry out the study comparing the environmental performance of the use of CNG and Diesel-B5. The results showed that higher global warming impact (according IPCC method) was observed to CNG, independently of the time horizon considered (20 100 or 500 years). When comparing the contribution of the process stages (from production to use of fuels), CNG presented higher impacts in the collection and venting steps, while diesel -- B5 presented in the collection step. / O setor de transportes apresenta significativos problemas ambientais relacionados ?s emiss?es de poluentes, agravados em regi?es urbanas. A queima e a explora??o de combust?veis f?sseis s?o constantemente relacionadas ao aumento da temperatura m?dia global. O uso de combust?veis, como os de origem vegetal e g?s natural, tem sido uma alternativa frequente na mitiga??o de gases de efeito estufa. No entanto, devido ?s v?rias fontes de poluentes presentes no ciclo de vida do produto, o desempenho ambiental de produtos considerados amig?veis ao meio ambiente deve ser verificado. Este trabalho teve como objetivo quantificar as emiss?es de gases de efeito estufa emitidos durante a coleta de res?duos domiciliares por ve?culos pesados (caminh?es) abastecidos com diferentes combust?veis: g?s natural e diesel-B5. Prop?e-se o desenvolvimento e a implementa??o de uma metodologia para a compara??o das emiss?es de poluentes para o uso de GNV (g?s natural veicular) e Diesel-B5, objetivando a mitiga??o de impactos ambientais em frota cativa que trafega diariamente na cidade de Porto Alegre ? RS. Os caminh?es foram monitorados com um equipamento analisador port?til de gases (O2, CO, CO2, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, HC), e os consumos e a autonomia dos combust?veis foram obtidos junto ? empresa prestadora do servi?o. Com os dados levantados nas rotas estabelecidas, foi aplicada a metodologia de Avalia??o do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) para realizar o estudo de compara??o do desempenho ambiental entre o uso de GNV e Diesel-B5, considerando todas as etapas desde a produ??o at? o consumo final dos combust?veis. Os resultados mostraram que o maior potencial para aquecimento global (segundo o m?todo IPCC) ocorre para o GNV, considerando per?odos de 20 anos, 100 anos e 500 anos. Quando comparadas as contribui??es das diferentes etapas do processo, desde a produ??o at? o uso do combust?vel, observou-se que o GNV apresenta os maiores impactos nas etapas de transporte e coleta de res?duos, enquanto o Diesel-B5 apresenta impacto significativo apenas na etapa de coleta de res?duos.

O uso intensivo de áreas do solo provoca alterações na sua qualidade, tornando-se necessária a criação de métodos de avaliação e monitoramento. A técnica de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) é uma importante ferramenta para o cálculo de impactos ambientais, relativos a um sistema de produto com fronteiras delimitadas, sendo o Uso do Solo uma das categorias de impacto avaliada. Na ACV este impacto é avaliado, a partir de fatores de caracterização, os quais utilizam indicadores que quantificam as consequências de modificações na estrutura do solo, levando em consideração a realidade e as características morfológicas de cada país ou região. Este estudo tem como objetivo apresentar adequações relacionadas às condições brasileiras do modelo para a caracterização de impactos provocados pelo uso do solo, a partir da adaptação de fatores de caracterização. De acordo com a pesquisa bibliográfica acerca dos métodos de avaliação do uso do solo na ACV, dois grupos são avaliados a Biodiversidade e as Funções de Suporte de Vida (FSV). Neste estudo foram identificados diferentes métodos que avaliam os impactos nas FSV e a partir de alguns critérios adotados foram posteriormente submetidos a uma análise, a fim de se determinar o método de maior relevância para as condições brasileiras. O método escolhido utiliza como indicador a Matéria Orgânica do Solo (MOS), porém devido à ausência de dados em algumas regiões, podem ser utilizados valores de Carbono Orgânico do Solo (COS), componente essencial da MOS. Os valores para o COS no estado natural foram atribuídos segundo dados de literatura para o bioma Amazônia, os quais foram posteriormente adaptados para se obter o COS para os tipos de uso de solo considerados neste estudo, segundo a realidade brasileira. / The intensive use of land areas cause changes in its quality, making it necessary to create methods for assessing and monitoring. The technique of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an important tool for the calculation of environmental impacts related to a product system with defined borders, and the Land Use category of impact assessed. In this LCA impacts are assessed from factors characterization using indicators that quantify the effects of changes in soil structure, taking into account the reality and the morphological characteristics of each country or region. This study aims to present adjustments related to the Brazilian model for characterizing impacts caused by land use, based on the calculation of characterization factors. In accordance with the literature of the LCA methods, two groups contribute to this category Biodiversity and Life Support Functions (FSV). In this study were discussed and evaluated different methods to calculate (FSV), from some criteria adopted, these were subjected to a comparative analysis, to the method of greatest relevance to Brazilian conditions. The method chosen to use as an indicator of Soil Organic Matter (SOM), but due to lack of data in some regions, can be used values of Soil Organic Carbon (COS) essential component of SOM. The values for COS in the natural state were assigned according to the literature data of the Amazon biome, which were adapted to obtain the COS for the types of land use considered in this study according to the Brazilian reality.

A Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) é um método estruturado, compreensivo e padronizado a nível internacional que quantifica informações sobre emissões, recursos consumidos e impactos ambientais potenciais de produtos através do seu ciclo de vida. Uma das fases do estudo, a Avaliação de Impacto do Ciclo de Vida (AICV), refere-se ao processo quantitativo e/ou qualitativo aplicado na avaliação dos impactos associados ao inventário do ciclo de vida. Dentre os impactos ambientais abordados na AICV estão aqueles relacionados ao uso da terra, sendo avaliados segundo duas vertentes: impactos sobre a biodiversidade e impactos sobre Serviços Ecossistêmicos. A modelagem dos impactos dos serviços ecossistêmicos na ACV ainda apresenta limitações e alguns erros conceituais como, por exemplo, não avaliar de fato os benefícios fornecidos ao homem. Além disso, um dos grandes desafios na ACV refere-se à diferenciação espacial nos procedimentos metodológicos de AICV, sobretudo para impactos devido ao uso da terra. Assim, o principal objetivo desde estudo é discutir a inserção do conceito de serviços ecossistêmicos na ACV e obter fatores de caracterização de impactos em serviços ecossistêmicos relacionados ao solo para a AICV, aplicáveis de maneira regionalizada para o Brasil. A revisão de literatura e comparação do mecanismo ambiental para os impactos do uso da terra na AICV com o modelo em cascata de serviços ecossistêmicos possibilitou o desenvolvimento de um novo modelo conceitual para serviços ecossistêmicos relacionados solo. Cada uma das etapas do modelo de cascata foi alinhada à terminologia da ACV para coincidir com os níveis de modelagem de ponto intermediário e de danos ao mesmo tempo considerando os principais processos, funções, serviços, benefícios e valores relacionados ao solo. Além disso, foram calculados fatores de caracterização para impactos aos serviços ecossistêmicos relacionados à fertilidade do solo através da aplicação de um modelo de caracterização de AICV espacialmente diferenciado. O procedimento metodológico envolveu (i) a definição do mecanismo ambiental, tendo como indicador o teor de Carbono Orgânico do Solo (COS), (ii) a definição da Vegetação Natural Potencial como situação de referência e (iii) a definição das unidades biogeográficas de análise denominadas Associação Solo-Vegetação (ASV). Com base nestes parâmetros, foram calculados os estoques de COS para 32 classes diferentes de uso da terra e os estoques de COS para as situações referência, necessários para o cálculo dos impactos resultantes do uso da terra. Foram calculados e disponibilizados mais de três mil fatores de caracterização aos usuários de ACV, aplicáveis em 32 classes diferentes de uso da terra para 74 unidades biogeográficas (ASV). Além desses, foram obtidos fatores de caracterização também para as 27 unidades federativas do país, que apesar de estarem agregados em divisões políticas, levam em consideração dados regionais de COS. Por fim, os resultados e discussões deste trabalho contribuem na integração de dois campos de estudo e podem auxiliar ao melhor entendimento do sistema de produtos, não apenas focando em danos ambientais, mas também possibilitando a identificação de impactos positivos e agregação de valor. / Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a structured, comprehensive and standardized method at international level that quantifies information on emissions, resources consumed and potential environmental impacts of products through their life cycle. One of it phases, the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), refers to the quantitative and/or qualitative process applied in assessing the impacts associated with the life cycle inventory. Among the environmental impacts addressed in LCIA are those related to land use, being evaluated according to two pathways: impacts on biodiversity and impacts on ecosystem services. The ecosystem services impact modelling on LCA still presents limitations and some conceptual errors, such as not actually evaluating the benefits provided to humans. In addition, one of the major challenges in LCA relates to the spatial differentiation in LCIA methodological procedures, especially for impacts due to land use. Thus, the main goal of the present study is to discuss the ecosystem services concept integration in LCA and obtain characterization factors of soil-related ecosystem services impacts, regionally applicable to Brazil. The literature review and the LCA environmental mechanism of land use impacts and the cascade model of ecosystem services comparison allowed the development of a new conceptual model for soil-related ecosystem services. Each one of these steps in the cascade model was aligned with the LCA\'s terminology to match the midpoint and endpoint modelling levels while considering the key processes, functions, services, benefits, and values related to the soil. In addition, characterization factors for ecosystem services related to soil fertility were calculated applying a spatially differentiated characterization model. The methodological procedure involved the (i) environmental mechanism definition, establishing the Soil Organic Carbon content (SOC) as an indicator, (ii) the definition of Potential Natural Vegetation as a reference situation and (iii) the definition of the biogeographic analysis units denominated Soil Vegetation Association (SVA). Based on these parameters, SOC stocks were calculated for 32 different land use classes and SOC stocks for reference situations allowing the calculation of impacts resulting from land use. More than two thousand characterization factors were calculated, being available to LCA users, applicable in 32 different land use classes to 74 biogeographic units (SVA). In addition, characterization factors were also obtained for the 27 Brazilian federative units, which, although aggregated in political divisions, consider SOC regional data. Finally, the results and discussions of this study contribute to the integration of two scientific domains and help to better understand the product system, not only focusing on environmental damages, but also enabling the identification of positive impacts and value aggregation.

Wind energy technologies are considered to be among the most promising types of renewable energy sources, which have since attracted broad considerations through recent years due to the soaring oil prices and the growing concerns over climate change and energy security. In Kuwait, rapid industrialisation, population growth and increasing water desalination are resulting in high energy demand growth, increasing the concern of oil diminishing as a main source of energy and the climate change caused by CO2 emissions from fossil fuel based energy. These demands and challenges compelled governments to embark on a diversification strategy to meet growing energy demand and support continued economic growth. Kuwait looked for alternative forms of energy by assessing potential renewable energy resources, including wind and sun. Kuwait is attempting to use and invest in renewable energy due to the fluctuating price of oil, diminishing reserves, the rapid increase in population, the high consumption of electricity and the environment protection. In this research, wind energy will be investigated as an attractive source of energy in Kuwait.

Neste trabalho foi realizada a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) da produção do painel MDP (medium density particleboard), feito de partículas de madeira e adesivo sintético, largamente empregado na indústria moveleira, sendo o painel de madeira mais produzido e consumido no mundo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o ciclo de vida produtivo (cradle to gate) do painel MDP no Brasil. A ACV é normalizada pelas séries ISO 14040 e 14044. Empresas produtoras do MDP no país foram visitadas para a coleta de dados, e na avaliação dos impactos ambientais os resultados foram comparados pelos métodos CML (2001), EDIP (1997) e USEtox (2008). Os resultados apontaram que os principais hotspots foram o óleo BPF (baixo ponto de fluidez) utilizado na planta de energia e a resina UF (ureia formaldeído), aplicada como aglomerante na produção dos painéis. A cadeia produtiva da madeira mostrou maior destaque para as categorias de eutrofização e ecotoxicidade, respectivamente, pelo uso de fertilizantes e do herbicida glifosato no solo. Também verificou-se que na produção de 1 m³ de painel MDP há um crédito de carbono médio de 969 kg de \'CO IND.2\'-eq. Perante os resultados, foram analisados diversos cenários com sugestões de melhorias ambientais, sendo propostas alterações quanto ao consumo das matérias primas: óleo BPF, resina UF e madeira. Para o óleo BPF, o cenário ambientalmente mais adequado foi a sua substituição total pelo uso de somente resíduos de madeira. Sobre a resina UF, verificou-se que os principais impactos estão relacionados às cadeias produtivas do metanol e da ureia, sendo assim sugerida a otimização no consumo destes recursos. Também, a resina UF foi comparada com a resina MUF (melamina ureia formaldeído), e percebeu-se que os impactos ambientais da segunda foram superiores. Porém, mais cenários analisando o emprego de resinas alternativas são requisitados, tendo em vista a busca por resinas análogas à UF, mas com menores impactos potenciais. E sobre a madeira, foi analisada sua substituição pela adição de resíduos de madeira na produção do MDP, tendo sido constatado que quanto maior a quantidade de resíduos adicionados, menores seriam os impactos ambientais. Todavia, os benefícios ambientais verificados com o uso dos resíduos dependem de variáveis, como: dos aspectos ambientais do ciclo de vida dos resíduos, da quantidade de resíduos aplicada na produção dos painéis, do critério de alocação adotado na ACV, e da distância no percurso de transporte dos resíduos até a fábrica de painéis. Portanto, deve-se analisar caso a caso para afirmar sobre a viabilidade ambiental no emprego de resíduos na produção de painéis de madeira. / In this project was carried out a study of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the MDP (medium density particleboard) production, made of wood particles and synthetic adhesive, widely used in furniture industry, being the most produced and consumed wood-based panel in the world. This study aimed to assess the productive life cycle (cradle to gate) of the MDP in Brazil. LCA technique is standardized by ISO 14040 and 14044 documents. The data collection phase in this study occurred realizing technical visits on the Brazilian MDP producers and for the environmental impact assessment, the results were compared considering the following methods: CML (2001), EDIP (1997) and USEtox (2008). The results showed that the main hotspots were the heavy fuel oil used on power plants and UF (urea formaldehyde) resin applied as binder to produce the panels. The wood consumption showed to be more relevant to eutrophication and ecotoxicity impact categories, respectively, by the use of fertilizers and the glyphosate herbicide in the soil. It was also observed that the production of 1m³ of MDP generates an average carbon credit of 969 kg of \'CO IND.2\'-eq. Given the results, several scenarios were analyzed including environmental suggestions of improvements, being proposed changes to the consumption of the raw materials: heavy fuel oil, UF resin and wood. The replacement of heavy fuel oil for wooden residue was the most suitable alternative, because the environmental impacts results were considerably reduced. For the UF resin, it was found that the main impacts are related to the production (cradle to gate) of methanol and urea, thus, we suggested optimizing the consumption of these resources. Also, UF resin was compared with the MUF (melamine urea formaldehyde) resin, and the second one showed more impacts than the first. However, more scenarios analyzing the use of alternatives resins are required, in order to find others options of similar resins to UF, but with lower potential impacts. Considering the wood consumption, it was examined its replacement by wooden residue like raw material to produce the MDP. The results pointed out the addition of residues can promote lower environmental impacts. On the other hand, the environmental benefits related depend of variables such as: the environmental aspects of the life cycle of waste generation, the quantity of waste applied to produce the panels, the allocation criteria adopted to the LCA study, and the distance to transport the waste to the panel industry. Therefore, one must examine each case to assert about the environmental sustainability in the use of waste to produce wood panels.

Waste management has gone through a history of shiftingproblems, demands, and strategies over the years. In contrastto the long prevailing view that the problem could be solved byhiding or moving it, waste is now viewed as a problem rangingfrom local to global concern, and as being an integral part ofseveral sectors in society. Decisive for this view has beensociety’s increasing complexity and thus the increasingcomplexity of waste, together with a general development ofenvironmental consciousness, moving from local focus on pointemission sources, to regional and global issues of more complexnature. This thesis is about the development and application orware;a model for computer aided environmental systems analysis ofmunicipal waste management. Its origin is the hypothesis thatwidened perspectives are needed in waste managementdecision-making to avoid severe sub-optimisation ofenvironmental performance. With a strong foundation in lifecycle assessment (LCA), orware aims to cover the environmentalimpacts over the entire life cycle of waste management. It alsoperforms substance flow analysis (SFA) calculations at a ratherdetailed level of the system. Applying orware has confirmed the importance of applyingsystems perspective and of taking into account site specificdifferences in analysis and planning of waste manage-ment,rather than relying on overly simplified solutions. Somefindings can be general-ised and used as guidelines to reduceenvironmental impact of waste management. Recovery of materialand energy resources from waste generally leads to netreductions in energy use and environmental impact, because ofthe savings this brings about in other sectors. Waste treatmentwith low rate of energy and materials recovery should thereforebe avoided. The exact choice of technology however depends onwhat products can be recovered andhow they are used. Despite the complexity of the model and a certain degree ofuser unfriendliness, involved stakeholders have expressed thevalue of participating in orware case studies. It providesimproved decision-basis, but also wider understanding of thecomplexity of waste management and of environmental issues ingeneral. The thesis also contains a first suggestion of a frameworkto handle uncertainty in orware, based on a review of types ofuncertainty in LCA and tools to handle it. / QC 20100413

This thesis aims to assess potential environmental impacts of media and communication and to contribute to the development of methods for sustainability assessment. Although the main focus is on printed and electronic media products and environmental impacts, a broader sector analysis is also included and social aspects are discussed. The thesis provides a review of different environmental assessment tools in order to better understand their relationships and the appropriateness of different tools in different situations. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to assess printed and electronic versions of newspapers, books and invoices. Results of the screening LCAs of newspapers and books indicate that when comparing printed and electronic versions there are benefits and drawbacks for both. For news and books read on e-reading devices with energy efficient e-ink screens, the main environmental impacts in the studies stemmed from the production of the device and partly from disposal, with the latter having the potential to reduce some environmental impacts through recycling of materials. However, there are data gaps regarding the production of the e-reading devices, most notably for the e-ink screen and the waste management of obsolete e-reading devices. Existing data on internet energy use are uncertain. The potential impacts from a hypothetical total change from paper invoices to electronic invoices in Sweden were assessed through a screening consequential LCA regarding greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative energy demand. The results indicate that emissions and energy demand could decrease as a result of a change. The screening LCAs performed indicate that users’ practices could substantially influence the environmental impacts. Key factors which can influence results and comparisons of printed and electronic media products are total use of electronic devices, total use of printed media, amount and type of paper, energy use of electronic devices, potential printing of electronic media, electricity mix, and the system boundaries set for the assessments. To get a wider perspective, a sector study of the ICT sector and media sector concerning global greenhouse gas emissions and operational electricity use was performed. It was estimated that the contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 was roughly 1-2 % for each sector. To assess media and communication products from a sustainability perspective, social aspects should also be covered. The author participated in an international project group on social aspects and LCA, one outcome from which was guidelines for social LCA (S-LCA). In addition to providing guidance for S-LCA, another important role of the guidelines is to facilitate discussions, criticism and proposals for improvement and development of the methodology being developed. The LCA and sector studies in this thesis are limited to direct and to some extent indirect environmental impacts. Further studies of the environmental impacts of more long-term changes in practices and potential structural changes, as well as potential social impacts, could provide important additional insights. This could increase the possibility of facilitating sustainable practices related to ICT and media. / QC 20100610

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-05-02T13:57:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLDV.pdf: 2484486 bytes, checksum: d3e5e77576203f23208cb028dd992b41 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-03T13:05:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLDV.pdf: 2484486 bytes, checksum: d3e5e77576203f23208cb028dd992b41 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-05-03T13:05:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLDV.pdf: 2484486 bytes, checksum: d3e5e77576203f23208cb028dd992b41 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-03T13:17:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLDV.pdf: 2484486 bytes, checksum: d3e5e77576203f23208cb028dd992b41 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The construction sector is one of the sectors that most require natural resources and generate waste throughout the production chain. In this sense, given the need to preserve the environment and natural resources for future generations, the industry needs to improve the environmental performance of its operations chain. In order to achieve effective improvements by the actions developed by the sector, these actions need to be based on information about the environmental performance that are objective and verifiable. One of the methods that allow the collection of environmental information is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is one of the main tools of environmental impact assessment for the lifecycle of products and systems. The LCA allows to evaluate the impacts of raw material extraction, manufacturing process, use and disposalt. In this context, a study of the manufacturing process of structural ceramic blocks (cradle to factory gate) was conducted, aiming to analyze its main impacts and processes that contribute most to these environmental impacts. To conduct this study data collection was performed in two plants located in the State of São Paulo. Based on data collected locally and on the international database Ecoinvent®, the life cycle inventory (LCI) was drawn up with the necessary adaptations to represent the local context. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was carried out using the following methods: CML 2002, Edip 97, USEtox and IPCC 2013. Based on the LCIA results, it was possible to identify the processes that contributed to each of the impacy categories analyzed, with the electricity being the process that most contributed to all categories. But the fuel used in the burning of the blocks, in turn, did not generate significant environmental impacts due to factories studied using biomass. Therefore, this study allowed to evaluate the magnitude and importance of the environmental impacts generated by the manufacture of ceramic bricks and also to characterize the environmental performance of ceramic bricks based on LCA. / A construção civil é um dos setores que mais consome recursos naturais e gera resíduos na sua cadeia de produção. Neste sentido, diante da necessidade de preservar o meio ambiente e os recursos naturais para as futuras gerações, é fundamental que o setor melhore o desempenho ambiental de suas operações. Para que as ações desenvolvidas pelo setor resultem em melhorias efetivas, é necessário que elas sejam subsidiadas por informações sobre o desempenho ambiental, que sejam objetivas e verificáveis. Um dos métodos que permite a compilação de informações ambientais é a Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida (ACV), que se apresenta como um dos principais instrumentos de avaliação dos impactos ambientais gerados durante o ciclo de vida de produtos e sistemas. A ACV permite avaliar os impactos desde a extração de recursos naturais, processamento de matéria-prima, manufatura até o uso e descarte dos mesmos. Neste contexto, foi realizado um estudo do processo de fabricação de blocos cerâmicos estruturais (do berço ao portão da fábrica) com o intuito de averiguar seus principais impactos ambientais e os processos que mais contribuem para estes impactos. Para realizar este estudo, foi feita a coleta de dados em duas fábricas localizadas no Estado de São Paulo. Com base nos dados coletados in-loco e na base de dados internacional Ecoinvent®, o inventário do ciclo de vida (ICV) foi elaborado com as devidas adaptações para que representasse o contexto local. A partir do ICV, foi realizada a avaliação dos impactos do ciclo de vida (AICV) por meio dos métodos CML 2002, EDIP 97, USEtox e IPCC 2013. Com base nos resultados da AICV, foram identificados os processos que mais contribuíram para cada uma das categorias de impacto analisadas, sendo a eletricidade o processo que colaborou de forma mais significativa para todas as categorias. Já o combustível utilizado na queima dos blocos, por sua vez, não gerou impactos ambientais significativos, devido às fábricas estudadas utilizarem biomassa. Portanto, o presente estudo permitiu avaliar a magnitude e significância dos impactos ambientais gerados pela fabricação de blocos cerâmicos, bem como caracterizar o desempenho ambiental de blocos cerâmicos com base em ACV.