Life cycle assessment is a tool to assess the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a products life cycle, i. Pdf life cycle assessment of fine chemical production. At the european level, the parliament has suggested that the commission develop a framework for an integrated life cycle oriented. Postdoctoral scholar civil and environmental engineering university of california, berkeley alissa kendall, ph. A life cycle analysis lca tool is used to select environmentally preferable products or assemblies, or lca is conducted on the entire building. Design for the environment lifecycle assessments safer. German federal environment agency uba and iso standards for lca in recent years lca of packaging systems and cooperation with packaging producers worldwide special focus on beverage packaging systems including many lca studies. A second paper focuses on life cycle impact assessment lcia, the subsequent phase of an lca for assessing the inventory data in terms of contributions to environmental impacts life cycle impact assessment pennington et al. On the nordic guidelines for life cycle assessment. Comparative life cycle assessment of tetra pak carton. In this study, three different municipal solid waste msw management options like pyrolysisgasification, incineration and sanitary landfill are analyzed by life cycle assessment model using simapro software. Life cycle assessment of decentralized mobile production.
Life cycle assessment is the most comprehensive one carbon the life cycle assessment then makes it possible to ecoinnovate, i. A white paper 2 executive summary in most industries worldwide, including the forest products sector, there is an increasing focus on the environmental, social and economic sustainability credentials of companies and products. All life cycle steps are included in the assessment, from raw material extraction to endof life management. Lifecycle assessment lca also called life cycle analysis is a tool for examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the workplace or at home, and disposing of it.
A life cycle assessment lca aims at assessing the quantifiable environmental impacts of a service or product from the extraction of the materials contained within the components involved, to the treatment of these materials at the endof life stage. The major stages in a life cycle are raw materials acquisition, manufacturing, consumer usereusemaintenance, and recycle waste management. What is and how to do it, and the european environment agencys lifecycle assessment. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation. A life cycle assessment lca, also known as life cycle analysis, ecobalance is a technique for an product related estimation of environmental aspects and impact. The use of algae for biofuel production is expected to play an important role in securing energy supply in the next decades. Conducting a life cycle assessment lca there are four main phases of the lca process. The idea of comprehensive environmental assessments of products was conceived in europe and in the united states in the.
Comparison of concrete and steel building frames from a life cycle perspective. The current report contains the results of the life cycle assessment lca study for four representative mattresses, yl polyether foam, latex foam, spring interior and a scandinavian mattress. The methodological development in lca has been strong, and lca is broadly applied in practice. The ecoindicator 95 method was employed to perform an impact assessment. In this methodology, all life cycle phases of the product are identified and assessed, from the raw material acquisition to the end of life phase. Life cycle assessment lca and ghg emission calculation development of methodologies and standards, e. Materials may include raw materials, intermediate products, emissions and waste. A life cycle assessment lca was carried out for milk production extending from the origin of the inputs to the agricultural step to the consumer phase and the waste management of the packaging. Life cycle assessment of automated container port logistics systems. Request pdf on nov 16, 2012, merlin alvaradomorales and others published life cycle assessment of biofuel production from brown seaweed in nordic conditions find, read and cite all the. Life cycle assessment lca is a commonly applied tool to analyze environmental burden for waste management technology, as well as system. Life cycle assessment environmental profile of cotton and.
In 1991, the nordic council of ministers initiated a project on lca. The life cycle of this study includes all stages from raw material acquisition up to final disposal. General guide for life cycle assessment detailed guidance first edition v such are seen as the most appropriate solutions for enabling the efficient use of reliable and robust life cycle approaches in small and medium enterprises sme. Life cycle assessment of consumer packaging for liquid food. An introduction to life cycle assessment lca nick santero, ph. The lcia also provides information for the interpretation phase.
Slide 45 in the end, you need to map effect of inventory to consequence or you can rely on others who work on this problem 3. An lca entails examining the product from the extraction of raw materials for the manufacturing process, through the production and use of the. In this study, we use life cycle assessment lca for comparing different alternative waste treatment strategies. Life cycle impact assessment lcia phase of life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts for a product system throughout the life cycle of the product iso 14040.
An lca is a comprehensive method for assessing a range of environmental impacts across the full life cycle of a product system, from materials acquisition to manufacturing, use, and final. Nordic ilibrary environmental assessment of seafood. Towards a l c sustainability a life cycle initiative. A life cycle assessment lca is a method that measures the environmental impact of different products. The main objectives were to find any hot spots in the life cycle of milk, to determine the significance of the dairy. Lca examples investigating environmental impact of food packaging. Comparative study of municipal solid waste treatment. A more recent compilation and introduction to the methodology can be found in jensen,1997. A life cycle assessment lca is a tool that can be used to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a product, material, process, or activity.
This recent approach towards tracking the environmental impact of a specific product or process has been manipulated to better suit each and every need. A guide to approaches, experiences and information sources 20. Environmental life cycle assessment lca has developed fast over the last three decades. A large number of methods and tools for describing environmental aspects have been developed for use in different types of decision context. On the nordic guidelines for life cycle assessment springerlink. The results from the inventory analysis and impact assessment are summarized during the interpretation phase. Life cycle assessment lca life cycle assessment lca is a tool to evaluate the environmental effects of a product or process throughout its entire life cycle. Pdf life cycle assessment of automated container port. Carried out by mit and commissioned by dyson, this lca report is the first to compare such a. Life cycle assessment of hand drying systems 3 executive summary this lca is an analysis and comparison of the environmental impacts of handdrying systems found in public washrooms. Goals and scoping3 the scoping step determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be included. When an atomic nucleus is split by nuclear fission.
This master thesis is dealing with the lca o f a norwegian bridge. Lifecycle assessment lca a guide to approaches, experiences and information sources there are great expectations for lca. Isocompliant life cycle inventory lci data for analysis and ultimate use in lcas is a key objective of this study and should remain a focus for the immediate future. Life cycle assessment lca of food and beverage packaging. Assistant professor civil and environmental engineering university of california, davis. Nordic life cycle assessment wine pkp ackage st dst udy. Support life cycle thinking in the development of goods and services support life cycle thinking in a broad range fof policies with its activities and deliverables, this project addresses the needs of. Life cycle assessment introduction life cycle analysis or assessment lca is an examination of a products total environmental impacts from raw materials extraction on through to waste management. Life cycle assessment for vattenfalls electricity generation. Recent developments in life cycle assessment sciencedirect. When an atomic nucleus is split by nuclear fission, heat is generated. Life cycle assessment lca methodology is standardised at the international level through iso 14 044 to quantify the environmental impacts of a service or product throughout its life lca is. Introduction to life cycle assessment 10 the following is just a brief list of the groups that use lcas and of the possibilities that an lca could be used for. A consequential life cycle assessment lca and an energy analysis of seaweedbased biofuel production were carried out in nordic conditions.
Life cycle assessment of power transformercase study miro hegedic1, tihomir opetuk1, goran dukic1, hrvoje draskovic2 1university of zagreb, faculty of mechanical engineering and naval architecture, ivana lucica 5, zagreb, croatia 2koncarpower transformers ltd. The nordic swan ecolabel generates sustainable solutions, which build upon a life cycle assessment. Gaining benefits from discarded textiles for all fibres and recycling methods considered, recycling is a better environmental option than incineration, though the relative benefits are moderate compared to the benefits of reuse. Life cycle inventories and life cycle assessments of. Comparison of concrete and asphalt roads from a life cycle perspective. Life cycle assessment lca of industrial milk production. Project participants represented national projects in this field in finland, sweden, denmark, norway and iceland. Evaluation of potential improvments to the product systems of cement and concrete with respect to environmental aspects. The european platform on life cycle assessment, a project of the european commission, has two main goals. A comprehensive lca life cycle assessment study on tetra pak and alternative packages has been carried out for 24 packaging specifications on four nordic markets denmark, finland, norway, and sweden resulting in a total of 29 packaging types including different filler locations and product groups and 115 packaging systems when. Three norwegian dairies of different sizes and degree of automation were studied. A wholebuilding lca is performed using a life cycle assessment and data compliant with iso 14044 or other. This studys 1 international standards organization, environmental management life cycle assessment principles and.
Life cycle assessment of energy from solid wastepart 1. Aia guide to building life cycle assessment in practice. Over thirty lca experts were brought together by the american center for life cycle assessment, with full redundant editing to provide a consistent and comprehensive coverage of. Environmental life cycle assessment is an introductory college level textbook on the science of life cycle assessment. Life cycle assessment lca is emerging as one of the most. System boundaries in life cycle assessments lca must be specified in several dimensions. The study has been commissioned by tetra pak and was finalised in december 2017. This is the essence of the nordic swan ecolabel, and this is where it sets itself apart from other labels or certifications.
The objective of this study was to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of a decentralized mobile production system for pelletizing logging residues in northern sweden operating at either the forest landing or forest terminal from a life cycle assessment lca perspective. Wool is the textile fibre where the largest benefits per tonne can be achieved from reuse and recycling. Henrik wenzel was trained as a chemical engineer from the technical university of denmark dtu in 1982. Swedish, finnish, danish and norwegian authors, published nordic guidelines on lifecycle assessment 26. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation of the environmentally relevant inputs and outputs and the potential environmental impacts of the life cycle of a product, material or service sabs iso, 1998. Mar 15, 2015 phase of interpretation life cycle interpretation is a systematic technique to identify, quantify, check, and evaluate information from the results of the life cycle inventory andor the life cycle impact assessment. The development of the ilcd has been coordinated by the european commission and has.
The result of this study is expected to represent the environmental feature of typical diesel vehicles at each life cycle stage. At the european level, the parliament has suggested that the commission develop a framework for an integrated lifecycleoriented product policy. Ilcd handbook general guide on lca detailed guidance. A network project run has gathered researchers in the field of life cycle assessment lca and seafood to discuss and develop methodology for lcas of seafood products. Life cycle assessment results showed that the overall environmental impacts of bioadhesive was 30% lower compared to the petroadhesives production process. One click lca, the worldleading construction lifecycle assessment and costing software, announces integration with climate earth, the leading provider of digital epds. A bibliometric investigation of life cycle assessment research in the web of science databases. Global guidance principles for life cycle assessment databases a basis for greener processes and products united nations environment programme p.
The textile production lca inventory calculations were based on the production process data of one finnish textile manufacturing company 22. Life cycle assessment department of environmental affairs. Choice of system boundaries in life cycle assessment. Whereas lca developed from merely energy analysis to a comprehensive environmental burden analysis in the 1970s, fullfledged life cycle impact assessment and life cycle costing models were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, and sociallca and particularly consequential lca gained ground in the first. Flow of the life cycle stages, energy, materials, and effluents for pv systems raw. Life cycle assessment lca methodology aims at evaluating the environmental impacts of a product or system from a holistic approach. The objectives of the project have been to develop a code of practise for lca built on nordic consensus, to provide industry and other practitioners with a set of guidelines for lca, mainly in key issue identification lcas and to influence the international discussion on the subject. The future of building life cycle assessment in practice summary as the architectural and construction industries increasingly emphasize sustainability, more comprehensive methods are being developed to evaluate and reduce environmental impacts by buildings. Life cycle assessment of biofuel production from brown. Key findingsoftetra paklca studyfornordic countries. In the life cycle impact assessment lcia, the product or production system is examined from an environmental perspective using category indicators. The available data covered the total manufacturing system. Ecolabelling is an effective tool for pioneering businesses that want visible proof of their environmental efforts. The advantages of impact assessment and life cycle assessment lca have been highly documented based on the amount of published academia in the recent years.