Foundries are most widely facilities all around the world, producing high amounts of castings. In this study, environmental impact of metal foundries was investigated toward a life cycle assessment (LCA) goal. Studies were conducted in two foundry plants in order to collect the inventory data. The difference between the plants regarding their processes was the application of secondary sand reclamation (SSR) in Plant 2. Application of SSR is indicated as a

The aviation industry represents approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, however with significant growth expected over the coming decades this proportion is expected to increase. Continued governmental and social pressure to reduce global emissions is posing a challenging question to the industry; how to improve environmental efficiency and reduce emissions with increasing industry growth. The environmental impact of aviation globally is discussed, examining the significant emissions and protocols that exist and their relative impacts both environmentally and economically. The viability of alternative biofuels is discussed, determining the life cycle environmental impact of future replacements to kerosene based jet fuel. This thesis therefore aims to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of aviation emissions but also most importantly provide possible solutions to assist the industry in reducing its emissions ‘footprint’. An important factor in determining efficiency improvements is to understand the impact of particular stages of an aircraft life and the impact they have individually. This was achieved using an established methodology called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is an efficient tool for the analytical consideration of the environmental impact of manufacturing, operation and decommissioning. The results of a comprehensive LCA study of an Airbus A320 are documented considering all phases of the service life. The study draws useful conclusions, indicating the significance of special materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) on the total manufacturing emissions of the aircraft and indicating its operational phase as the one contributing most in its environmental performance breakdown. The thesis also examines short-term efficiencies for emissions reduction in commercial aviation, focussing on improvements in aircraft routing. The initiation of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) within European aviation willincentivise airlines to reduce their annual CO2 emissions. An alternative routing strategy is proposed for selected long haul routes, which introduces multiple stages into the route utilising two aircraft and is shown to reduce total CO2 emissions by up to 13.7%. Combined with blended biofuel, this reduction was estimated to increase to 16.6% with a reduction in ticket fares estimated to be as high as $19 per passenger per flight.

El objetivo de la tesis es contribuir a la aceptación del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) como herramienta metodológica para la evaluación medioambiental de procesos químicos diseñados siguiendo las pautas de la Química Verde. Se pretende asimismo complementar e integrar la evaluación ambiental con la correspondiente evaluación económica, también desde una perspectiva de ciclo de vida. Con el objetivo de mostrar la potencial utilidad del ACV en este ámbito, se llevan a cabo dos casos de estudio en los cuales se evalúan diferentes Procesos Avanzados de Oxidación (PAOs) para el tratamiento de aguas residuales de la industria conteniendo contaminantes orgánicos persistentes. Las tecnologías evaluadas son: fotocatálisis en fase heterogénea, fotocatálisis en fase homogénea mediante procesos foto-Fenton, y ozonización. El primer caso de estudio se lleva a cabo a partir de datos a escala de laboratorio, mientras que el segundo caso de estudio, de carácter más detallado, se lleva a cabo mediante datos de planta piloto e industrial. Ambos estudios complementan la dimensión ambiental con la dimensión económica, utilizando la herramienta Coste del Ciclo de Vida (CCV). A continuación, se lleva a cabo una discusión sobre la utilidad del ACV en el ámbito de los procesos químicos, dependiendo de la escala de análisis: desde el laboratorio hasta la aplicación comercial. Finalmente, se presentan las conclusiones globales de la tesis, que pueden resumirse del siguiente modo:- La cuantificación de los avances alcanzados mediante la aplicación de los principios de la Química Verde requiere herramientas, habiéndose mostrado la potencial utilidad del ACV en este ámbito mediante dos casos de estudio sobre PAOs.- Se ha mostrado la posibilidad de aplicar el ACV tanto al nivel más básico de la Química Verde (laboratorio) hasta el más avanzado (aplicación comercial). Sin embargo los resultados obtenidos mediante ACVs basados en datos de laboratorio no necesariamente coinciden con los obtenidos en un estudio detallado, debido a: 1) falta de optimización de los procesos en laboratorio y 2) exclusión de procesos o fases del ciclo de vida que pueden ser relevantes, debido a la falta de datos. Por ello, tales estudios deben ser utilizados únicamente como evaluaciones preliminares.- El ACV despliega su potencialidad en estudios detallados, utilizando datos originados a escala piloto o industrial. Asimismo, el CCV se presenta como un complemento muy apropiado para el ACV, principalmente también en el caso de estudios detallados. / The goal of the thesis is to contribute to the acceptance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a methodological tool for environmental evaluation of chemical processes designed by following the guidelines of Green Chemistry. This work also intends to complement and to integrate in the same framework the environmental assessment with the respective economic assessment, taking into account a life cycle perspective as well. In order to demonstrate the potential suitability of the LCA tool in this context, two case studies are carried out on the subject of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for treating industrial wastewaters containing persistent organic pollutants. In particular, the evaluated AOP technologies are: heterogeneous photocatalysis, homogeneous photo-Fenton, and ozonation. The first case study is carried out by exclusively using data derived from laboratory experiments, while the second case study is more detailed, and carried out by using data from pilot plants and industrial plants. Both studies include, along with the environmental assessment, the corresponding economic assessment, based on Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Following these studies, a discussion is made on the suitability of LCA in the context of chemical processes depending on the scale of analysis. Finally, the overall conclusions of the thesis are outlined, which can be summarised as follows:- In order to assess the advances derived from applying Green Chemistry principles in the design of chemicals and chemical processes, methodological tools are needed. This thesis supports that LCA can be used for such a purpose, as has been shown by means of two case studies on AOPs.- Application of LCA can be carried out at several stages: from the most basic, namely the laboratory scale, to the most advanced, namely commercial application. However, results obtained by means LCA studies based exclusively on laboratory-derived data do not necessarily match the results obtained in a detailed LCAs, mainly due to: 1) lack of optimization of the conditions in which the chemical process takes place in laboratory tests, and 2) excluding relevant operations or life cycle phases which are hardly quantifiable when evaluated from laboratory tests. For this reason, it is suggested that laboratory-derived LCAs should be used only as a means of obtaining preliminary environmental information.- The potential of LCA as a tool is displayed when detailed studies, based on large-scale application data, are carried out. The LCC tool, on the other hand, presents itself as a very suitable complement, mainly when performing detailed studies.

Aquatic eutrophication is a serious environmental problem that occurs all over the world. To protect surface waters (in particular the Baltic Sea), the regulatory pressure on onsite wastewater treatment (OWT) systems have increased in Sweden. Stringent requirements have led to uncertainties regarding the capability of conventional treatment techniques (soil treatment systems (STS)) to remove phosphorus (P), but they have also stimulated the development and introduction of enhanced P treatment techniques. In this thesis the accumulation and mobility of P as well as the chemical P removal mechanisms were studied in soils and reactive filter media. This knowledge was then used in environmental systems analysis. A model based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was developed to evaluate the overall environmental performance of conventional and enhanced P treatment systems under various local conditions. The P accumulation in the studied STS varied (320-870 g m-3) and the accumulated P was rather mobile in some soils. Phosphorus compounds were identified in alkaline reactive filter media (calcium phosphates predominated) by means of X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES). In sandy soils from STS aluminium was found to be a key element for P removal, as evidenced by a strong relationship between oxalate-extractable P and Al. The LCA studies indicated that enhanced P treatment systems may be beneficial from an eutrophication and P recycling perspective but causes increased impacts in terms of global warming and acidification. Despite the drawbacks, enhanced P treatment techniques should be considered suitable substitutes to surface water discharge STS under most conditions. This is because the latter systems have such a strong eutrophication impact. On the other hand, under appropriate conditions, STS with groundwater discharge may be advantageous. These systems generally caused low environmental impacts except for the dispersion of P resources. / <p>QC 20130419</p>

An increased awareness about the global warming has created a demand for more information on how the climate is affected by different activities.This master thesis was initiated by Tricorona, a Swedish company that offers its customers analysis and calculation of their climate impact. Tricorona also supplies climate neutralisation with CERs, in accordance with the Kyoto protocol and controlled by the UN. This work demands updated emission factors for greenhouse gases. An emission factor gives information about the greenhouse gasintensity of a service or a product [kg CO2-eq./ functional unit].The purpose of this thesis is to examine how electricity, district heating, hotels, taxis, food and materials affect the climate and how emission factors for these areas can be calculated.This was done by reviewing and comparing different studies and by interviewing experts. The information was evaluated and recommendations on calculations and emission factors were made.The consumption of energy is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions for district heating, electricity, hotels, taxis and materials. For food production the biogenic greenhousegas emissions are also important, such as the emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from land use and the methane emissions from ruminants.For climate impact assessment of electricity, district heating, hotels and taxis it is recommended that the calculations should be based on an average consumption of energy. All types of energy carriers should be included in the calculations and the emission factors used should be based on Life Cycle Assessments. Climate impact assessments based on energy consumption is a simplification that underestimates the real greenhouse gas emissions. The recommended emission factors are associated with some uncertainties that originate from the quality of the data used, the assumptions made and the system boundaries that were chosen.Despite that, the recommended emission factors can be considered representative since they are based on the best available data. For food and materials it is recommended that emissionfactors from Life Cycle Inventories should be used.

Wind power capacity is currently growing fast around the world. At the same time different forms of life cycle analysis are becoming common for measuring the environmental impact of wind energy systems. This thesis identifies several problems with current methods for assessing the environmental impact of wind energy and suggests improvements that will make these assessments more robust. The use of the exergy concept combined with life cycle analysis has been proposed by several researchers over the years. One method that has been described theoretically is life cycle exergy analysis (LCEA). In this thesis, the method of LCEA is evaluated and further developed from earlier theoretical definitions. Both benefits and drawbacks with using exergy based life cycle analysis are found. For some applications the use of exergy can solve many of the issues with current life cycle analysis methods, while other problems still remain. The method of life cycle exergy analysis is used to evaluate the sustainability of an existing wind turbine. The wind turbine assessed appears to be sustainable in the way that it gives back many times more exergy than it uses during the life cycle.

This thesis project was conducted to compare the environmental impacts between two types of material for a superstructure of cruising ship (Norwegian Gem) using life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. With the increasing price of industrial raw materials and finite resources, more and more corporations or manufacturers endeavor in seeking more economical materials and less environmental impacts within the ship building field. In recent years, lightweight composite material has been applied in various industrial fields, for instance, green buildings, aircraft and wind turbine blade. In order to study impacts of steel superstructure and composite material superstructure of the ship, a detail study was conducted which using the comparative LCA method and SimaPro software. Two different superstructures are compared, steel superstructure and sandwich material superstructure. The results showed thatover the life cycle the environmental impacts of sandwich superstructure type are much less than for the steel superstructure. The main contribution of impacts over the life time is operation phase due to fuel consumption. When increasing the waste recycling section for composite structure, the influence on environment has an obvious decrease compared to steel superstructure.

Environmental metrics play a significant role in behavioural change, policy formation, education, and industrial decision-making. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful framework for providing information on environmental impacts, but LCA data is under-utilized, difficult to access, and difficult to understand. Some of the issues that are required to be resolved to increase relevancy and use of LCA are accessibility, validation, reporting and publication, and transparency. This thesis proposes that many of these issues can be resolved through the application of open frameworks for LCA software and data. The open source software (OSS), open data, open access, and semantic web movements advocate the transparent development of software and data, inviting all interested parties to contribute. A survey was presented to the LCA community to gauge the community’s interest and receptivity to working within open frameworks, as well as their existing concerns with LCA data. Responses indicated dissatisfaction with existing tools and some interest in open frameworks, though interest in contributing was weak. The responses also pointed out transparency, the expansion of LCA information, and feedback to be desirable areas for improvement. Software for providing online LCA databases was developed according to open source, open data, and linked data principles and practices. The produced software incorporates features that attempt to resolve issues identified in previous literature in addition to needs defined from the survey responses. The developed software offers improvements over other databases in areas of transparency, data structure flexibility, and ability to facilitate user feedback. The software was implemented as a proof of concept, as a test-bed for attracting data contributions from LCA practitioners, and as a tool for interested users. The implementation allows users to add LCA data, to search through LCA data, and to use data from the software in separate independent tools.. The research contributes to the LCA field by addressing barriers to improving LCA data and access, and providing a platform on which LCA database tools and data can develop efficiently, collectively, and iteratively.

No description available.

Buildings generate millions of tons of greenhouse gases, toxic air emissions, water pollutants and solid wastes that contribute to negative environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology for assessing the environmental performance of products over their life time. However, many building products are discarded much before the end of their service life, especially as a result of refurbishment and renovation projects. The need for such projects is increasing because most buildings are not designed to accommodate changes in their functions and needs of their occupants. This is particular to commercial buildings, especially hospitality facilities, which are unique with regard to operational schemes and the type of services offered that are highly resource-intensive. In this investigation, statistical data related to refurbishment and renovation projects in Turkey were analysed to determine the percentage of refurbishment projects for hotels. Bills of quantities for refurbishment projects of three five-star hotels in Ankara were obtained and evaluated with regard to the volume and type of material discarded as a result of the renovation works. ATHENA, an LCA software, was used to evaluate these projects according to the six environmental impact indicators: primary energy consumption, solid waste, air pollution index, water pollution index, global warming potential and weighted resource use. A system was formulated for evaluating materials according to each indicator by calculating their &ldquo / eco-scores&rdquo / the total score is considered to be the yard-stick for comparing environmental appropriateness of these materials. Finally, recommendations on the choice of materials were made, with an aim to reducing material waste and harmful emissions.