The main focus of this report is to establish a comparative study of traditional and biodegradable vest-plastic bag production through the utilization of a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The measurements were made for the Ukrainian limited liability company “Polymer”, as a representative manufacturer, in order to calculate the environmental impact of plastic bag manufacturing, and identify the more environmental friendly item. This research is based on a literature review of the special characteristics of life cycle assessment and its methods and methodologies, a field study, which included two semi-structure interviews, and measurements and comparison of the harmfulness of traditional and biodegradable bag production. The software SimaPro 7.3.2 and IMACT 2002+ method were chosen in order to accomplish the research purpose. The results of the study show that traditional vest-bags produced by the researched enterprise are less environmentally friendly. Their production process has a bigger impact on environment and human health than that of the biodegradable bags. Moreover, a list of recommendations for possible improvements was developed based on the results of the research. It was sent to the directors of LLC “Polymer” as a suggestion for creating a “green strategy” of further development.

Greenhouse tomatoes are the most widely grown greenhouse vegetable in Ontario, with southwestern Ontario having the largest concentration of greenhouse tomato operations in North America. However, there is little data concerning the environmental impacts of producing greenhouse tomatoes in Ontario. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of greenhouse tomato production in southwestern Ontario by using a life cycle assessment (LCA). Data were collected from greenhouse tomato growers in Leamington, Ontario via a survey, with additional data from documents and databases. The major source of environmental impact came from the energy and source (i.e. fossil fuels) required for heating the greenhouse, followed by fertilization, electricity use, and if included, liquid CO2. Different modelling scenarios proved effective in revealing the benefits and detriments of using various heating sources. This study revealed that energy saving methods should be investigated to mitigate the environmental burdens caused by heating the greenhouse.

Natural Fibre Composites (NFCs) offer new opportunities to mitigate negative impact of engineering activities on the environment. Due to their lost cost, light weight and environmental benefits, they find applications in building, furniture and automotive industry. This study seeks to improve mechanical properties of composites made from waste recyclable plastics and natural fibres from agricultural byproduct sources such as Agave americana leaves, corn, wheat and seed flax straws. The approach used is a holistic one which includes investigating the availability and properties of natural fibres and their composites with waste plastic for use in Canada and Lesotho, a small country in Southern Africa. The social and environmental implications of using these materials are also investigated. In both Lesotho and Canada, there are enough raw materials which can be used in NFCs if the necessary environment is developed. The unique microstructural and interfacial behaviour of Agave americana fibres were investigated and their possible impact on the composites forecasted. Composites made with a variety of underutilized natural fibres: Agave americana, corn, seed flax and wheat were also manufactured and tested. The addition of natural fibres and milled straw to the waste plastic improved mainly the tensile and flexural moduli of the composites. The environmental properties of NFCs were also analyzed through a case study using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as tool. The results suggest that NFCs could be seen as a more environmentally friendly alternative than conventional composites. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-12-03 12:32:23.095

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Companies are under increasing pressure to deal with environmental concerns during product design, for it is the design process which primarily decides the environmental impact of a manufactured product over its life. Tools which assist in taking a life cycle view of the product are a necessary support to designers. Prime amongst these tools is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a major criticism of LCA methodologies is that while they provide advice on environmentally superior product designs, they do not provide guidance on the economic impact. With product take back increasingly likely to become the responsibility of producer companies attention is now being paid to the later phases of a products life, such as maintenance and disposal costs. A new methodology is shown to be required to complement LCA, one which considers the economic implications of environmentally superior designs over the whole product life. It is argued that a major challenge of such a methodology will be how it deals with the uncertainty associated with the future. The research provides a review of product life cycle design methodologies and a critique of existing approaches to uncertainty. A design teams requirements for decision support that deals with product economic life cycle uncertainty is presented and a decision support methodology which meets these requirements is described. The methodology builds upon the theory of life cycle costing. In practice, the methodology integrates a computer based life cycle model with statistical techniques to quantify the contribution of life cycle variables. In bringing these proven but previously separate tools together the method resolves the issue of uncertainty in a novel and acceptable way. Through the use of an in-depth industrial case study, it is shown that the methodology provides practical support to the design team to produce economically superior product life cycle designs.

abstract: Several prominent research strategy organizations recommend applying life cycle assessment (LCA) early in the development of emerging technologies. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Research Council, the Department of Energy, and the National Nanotechnology Initiative identify the potential for LCA to inform research and development (R&D) of photovoltaics and products containing engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). In this capacity, application of LCA to emerging technologies may contribute to the growing movement for responsible research and innovation (RRI). However, existing LCA practices are largely retrospective and ill-suited to support the objectives of RRI. For example, barriers related to data availability, rapid technology change, and isolation of environmental from technical research inhibit application of LCA to developing technologies. This dissertation focuses on development of anticipatory LCA tools that incorporate elements of technology forecasting, provide robust explorations of uncertainty, and engage diverse innovation actors in overcoming retrospective approaches to environmental assessment and improvement of emerging technologies. Chapter one contextualizes current LCA practices within the growing literature articulating RRI and identifies the optimal place in the stage gate innovation model to apply LCA. Chapter one concludes with a call to develop anticipatory LCA – building on the theory of anticipatory governance – as a series of methodological improvements that seek to align LCA practices with the objectives of RRI. Chapter two provides a framework for anticipatory LCA, identifies where research from multiple disciplines informs LCA practice, and builds off the recommendations presented in the preceding chapter. Chapter two focuses on crystalline and thin film photovoltaics (PV) to illustrate the novel framework, in part because PV is an environmentally motivated technology undergoing extensive R&D efforts and rapid increases in scale of deployment. The chapter concludes with a series of research recommendations that seek to direct PV research agenda towards pathways with the greatest potential for environmental improvement. Similar to PV, engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are an emerging technology with numerous potential applications, are the subject of active R&D efforts, and are characterized by high uncertainty regarding potential environmental implications. Chapter three introduces a Monte Carlo impact assessment tool based on the toxicity impact assessment model USEtox and demonstrates stochastic characterization factor (CF) development to prioritize risk research with the greatest potential to improve certainty in CFs. The case study explores a hypothetical decision in which personal care product developers are interested in replacing the conventional antioxidant niacinamide with the novel ENM C60, but face high data uncertainty, are unsure regarding potential ecotoxicity impacts associated with this substitution, and do not know what future risk-relevant experiments to invest in that most efficiently improve certainty in the comparison. Results suggest experiments that elucidate C60 partitioning to suspended solids should be prioritized over parameters with little influence on results. This dissertation demonstrates a novel anticipatory approach to exploration of uncertainty in environmental models that can create new, actionable knowledge with potential to guide future research and development decisions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil and Environmental Engineering 2016

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:26:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:06:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / A interferência antrópica no meio ambiente e conseqüente alteração do clima, é hoje um consenso. Esta interferência climática se dá de forma local, regional e, conjuntamente com os gases de efeito estufa, de forma também global. Essa alteração climática, de maneira reversa, interfere por sua vez, no meio ambiente. Tal ciclo de interferências se processa sob várias formas e resulta em várias conseqüências. Porém o chamado Aquecimento Global é, certamente, o efeito de conseqüências globais de maior impacto. A causa principal do aumento da temperatura (Efeito Estufa) está no uso intensivo que se faz de energéticos fósseis. Assim, para minimizar as mudanças climáticas deve-se focar o esforço principalmente em ações que visem à diminuição, substituição e o uso mais eficiente dos energéticos fósseis. Olhando para o passado, parece que os antigos agricultores podem ter lançado gases estufa desde milênios atrás, alterando de maneira lenta, mas significativa, o clima do planeta muito antes do que na Era Industrial. Confirmada essa teoria, suas conseqüências seriam decisivas para a história do homem na Terra. Por exemplo, as temperaturas atuais de partes da América do Norte e Europa poderiam ser até 4 graus Celsius menores, o suficiente para inviabilizar nessas áreas, a agricultura e, conseqüentemente, o desenvolvimento humano e histórico dessas regiões. Este trabalho tem como foco principal fazer uma retrospectiva sobre algumas culturas que colapsaram frente a problemas ambientais e fazer um histórico das atividades humanas ao longo do tempo, desde os primórdios do homem até a Revolução Industrial, notadamente com o que diz respeito à vi agricultura e pecuária, no sentido da sua interferência na dinâmica natural do clima global e no meio ambiente. Mostrando, através de comparações de dados e inferências, que as emissões dessas atividades tiveram uma magnitude até significativa, comparativamente as mudanças induzidas após a própria Revolução Industrial. Demonstra-se, também, que essa interferência climático-ambiental era inevitável, no sentido que a evolução humana deveu-se a essas mesmas atividades. Outro ponto importante é uma reflexão sobre como a evolução humana (e conseqüentemente sua ciência e tecnologia) irá, porventura, encontrar as soluções dos problemas causados por essas mudanças climáticas e ambientais e a importância, neste contexto, para as soluções de problemas de ordem social / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

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