Cradle-to-gate assessment

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. 

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. 

A study commissioned by the EU in 2006 on biotechnological production of bulk chemicals from renewable resources [37] investigates 21 bulk chemicals using LCA for environmental assessment. Systems boundary is cradle-to-gate based on a functional unit of 11 of product. In addition, waste management is assessed where credits for energy recovery are accounted. As feedstock, crops for production... 

Landis, A.E. (2010) Cradle to gate environmental foot print and life cycle assessment of poly(lactic add), in Poly(Lactic Acid) Synthesis, Structures, Properties, Processing, and Applications (WUey Series on Polymer Engineering and Technology) (eds R. Auras, L.-T. Lim, S.E.M. Selke and H. Tsuji), John WUey Sons, Inc., NJ, pp. 431 41. 

Both systems are assessed from cradle to gate on three aspects of sustainability (Fig. 14.2) and for specific boundaries for reference and prospective systems (Figs. 14.3 and 14.4). The system boundaries are slightly different for three piUars of sustainabihty. For the environmental impacts, the study excludes impacts from the production of capital goods, which are typical to any previous LCA studies conducted because of its added complexity when coUecting data. Nevertheless, the economic and social impacts are assessed on an economy-wide scale, which includes aU sectors directly or indirectly related to the electricity generation process. 

CRADLE TO GATE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF POLY(LACTIC ACID)... 

The system boundaries of an LCA may extend from cradle to gate, cradle to grave, or cradle to cradle. As depicted in Figure 26.1, cradle to gate implies that the life cycle assessment covers activities prior to the use phase, while cradle to grave includes the product s use and end of life. Cradle to cradle indicates a product that can be disposed of and returned back to the natural environment the life cycle of PLA can be considered as such because when PLA degrades, its carbon is recycled back into the environment for uptake by biomass. 

The life cycle inventory is a quantification of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental release data associated with the production of cotton fixrm cradle-to-gate (fiber) and manufacturing from gate-to-gate (fabric). The associated life cycle assessment models the environmental impact of representative cotton apparel from the field through to consumer care, use and disposal. 

Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to determine the environmental impacts of producing the biobased polyethylene. The LCA will consider the energy and GHG emission for producing biobased polyethylene from the raw materials to the plastic pellet. The cradle-to-factory gate approach can he useful for plastic packaging, bags, and other products. The cradle-to-gate LCA of biobased polyethylene and petroleum-based polyethylene are Usted in Table 5.3 (Hunter et al. 2008). 

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