Carbon life cycle analysis

A life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as life cycle analysis, of a product or process begins with an inventory of the energy and environmental flows associated with a product from "cradle to grave" and provides information on the raw materials used from the environment, energy resources consumed, and air, water, and solid waste emissions generated. GHGs and other wastes, sinks, and emissions may then be assessed (Sheehan et ah, 1998). The net GHG emissions calculated from an LCA are usually reported per imit of product or as the carbon footprint. 

Evaluation of life cycle analysis (LCA) is thought to be important to confirm whether a process is really environmentally friendly or not. When the carbon source of some products comes from renewable resources, it is called carbon neutral and it is often thought that this means that a product is good for environment. But, as shown in Fig. 20, a lot of CO2 must be generated in every process and we have to accumulate all of that generated CO2 to evaluate the efficiency of the production process. ... 

For molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs), a full life-cycle analysis has been attempted (Lunghi and Bove, 2003). Both electrodes and the electrolyte matrix are manufactured by mixing powdered constituents with binders and... 

The trite answer is to do a life cycle analysis for each material used, theoretically from the cradle to the grave . That is all very well, but where is the cradle and where is the grave It has been suggested that with materials tied into the carbon cycle there is no cradle and there is no grave. What has to be done is to make the best analysis possible taking account of as many factors as are known ... 

The fact that menthol is produced from both renewable and fossil feedstocks allows for an interesting study in sustainability. In order to produce the same crop year after year, it is necessary to use fertilisers to replenish the nitrogen and minerals which the plant takes from the soil. Secondary metabolites such as menthol and essential oils occur at a level of, at most, only a few per cent of the dry weight of the herb. Therefore, in order to produce an economic return, it is necessary to use efficient, mechanical methods of cultivation and harvesting. A full life cycle analysis of menthol production reveals that production from cultivation of mint plants consumes more fossil fuel, produces more carbon dioxide effluent and has more environmental impact than either of the leading synthetic routes. 

LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS FOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY INTERACTION WITH CARBON AND NITROGEN CYCLES... 

David Keith, Carnegie Mellon University I want to sound a somewhat cautionary note about the life-cycle analysis. You implied that if you could do a life-cycle analysis and show that some process was producing less carbon, you might get a tax credit for it. 

Carbon footprint is most appropriately calculated using life-cycle assessment or input-output analysis [3,4]- In this sense it is based on the ISO 14040 [4] and ISO 14043 [5] norms, on life cycle assessment (LCA). Specific norms for carbon footprint of enterprises and products are ISO 14064 (part 1,2, and 3) [6-8], ISO 14067 [9], and PAS 2500 [10]. Carbon footprint calculation process is shown in Figure 1. 

Huntzicker, J. J., R. L. Johnson, J. J. Shah, and R. A. Cary, Analysis of Organic and Elemental Carbon in Ambient Aerosols by a Thermal-Optical Method, in Particulate Carbon Atmospheric Life Cycles (G. T. Wolff and R. L. Klimisch, Eds.), pp. 79-88, Plenum, New York, 1982. 

Another study used a life-cycle perspective to model the quantities of engineered nanoparticles released into the environment [8]. The ENMs nano-Ag, - 2, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were studied. The quantification was based on a substance flow analysis from products to air, soil, and water in Switzerland. The life-cycle of the nanoproducts formed the basis for assessing the mass flows of the ENMs from the products to the environment during the use phase and disposal. The following... 

I started working with SurePower during this project and performed an environmental analysis of the system. I found many benefits other than high reliability and low life-cycle cost. Compared with a traditional system using a ups and the electric grid, the SurePower system had a superior environmental performance. It had more than 40 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide (co2, the primary greenhouse gas) and less than one one-thousandth the... 

NAR 11] Narayan R., Carbon footprint of bioplastics using biocarbon content analysis and life-cycle assessment , A4R5BM//eh n, vol. 36, p. 716,2011. 

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