Cradle to gate

Evaluated systems were modelled with the cradle to gate principle, thus the product system of particular foods was terminated at the point of entry into the school canteen. The following presentation of food and related activities, as well as waste management of the product and its packaging materials were not included in the LCA. One kg of the final food was selected as a functional unit. In the case the allocation was necessary, the weight-economic allocation was used. 

The environmental burden covers all impacts on the environment and includes extraction of raw materials, emission of hazardous and toxic materials, land use, and disposal. In certain cases, the analysis only takes into account the burden up to the "gate" of the producing facility and, in other cases, the analysis takes into account the actual disposal of the product. In the former case, the analysis is termed a "cradle-to-gate" analysis, while in the latter case it is referred to as a "cradle-to-grave" analysis. 

Eagen and Weinbeig120 conducted a life-cycle assessment on two different anodizing processes, differing in the mixture of boric and sulfuric acid or chromic acid used. Boric and sulfuric acid are shown to be a better choice than a mixture of boric and chromic acid. Tan et al.121 have conducted a cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment of an aluminum billet, which included the mining of bauxite, the processing of the alumina, and the final... 

Jimenez-Gonzalez, C., Curzons, A.D., Constable, D.J.C., and Cunningham, VL., Cradle-to-gate life cycle inventory and assessment of pharmaceutical compounds, Int Life Cycle Assess., 9, 114-121, 2004. 

Figure 1. Cradle to gate, grave and cradle system of the implementation of biobased polymers obtained from renewable resources (Adapted with permission from reference 3. Copyright 2004).

Jimenez-Gonzalez, 2000, 2003a). This methodology is transparent, well documented, and extremely flexible. Modular Gate-to-Gate (GTG) LCIs for materials can be used to construct chemical trees from an advanced material back to the cradle, and the inventories rolled-up to obtain a Cradle-to-Gate (CTG) LCI. Its utility was demonstrated for a typical, commercially successful GSK API (Curzons et al., 2001). These GTG LCI data were also available for additional analysis that led to the development of the FLA SC tool (Curzons et al., 1999). 

C. Jimenez-Gonzalez, A. D. Curzons, D. J. C. Constable and V. L. Cunningham, Life Cycle Assessment of Pharmaceutical Compounds Cradle-to-Gate LCI/A of a Typical Active Pharmaceutical, a Case-Study, International Journal for Life Cycle Assessment, 2003, OnlineFirst. Available at http //dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2003.ll.141. 

Figure 4 is an example of a cradle-to-grave life cycle. Figure 5 shows a further example of a product life cycle for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacture, taken from the chemical industry and this time represented as cradle-to-gate, terminating at the stage where PVC product leaves the gate of the PVC factory for... 

In these databases, chemical products are typically inventoried applying cradle to gate boundaries, which means that only the first half of the life cycle is included from raw material extraction (cradle) until the product is ready to be sold in the market (gate). It is thus necessary to include in the life cycle the distribution, use and end of life as waste. 

I PA 6.6 Compound Fig. 6 Simplified cradle-to-gate system for a PA 6.6 Ctnnpound... 

Biogenic carbon stored dyed), cradle-to-gate ... 

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