INDEX life cycle assessments

The EPS system was initially developed to be used within the product development process as a tool to help assess the environmental performance of products. The system is based on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology and uses inventory data (kg of substance A), characterization factors (impact/kg of substance X) and weighting factors (cost/impacts) to calculate the external costs or values of a product. By multiplying the characterization factor with the weighting factor, an impact index is obtained (cost/kg of substance X) which describe the cost/values related to the emission per use of a kg of a certain substance. 

ACLCA (2001) American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, http //lcacenter. org/ index, html (last accessed 7 December 2008). 

It is worth mentioning the link between our environment-related index and commonly used approaches such as life cycle assessment. According to our scope of research (see explanatory caveat in section 1.4) we limit our contribution to the design and operational space in the process life span. Thus, our focus is exclusively on the sustainability aspects that are under the control of the design and operational phases. In this regard, we aim at an operational efficiency, which means basically an effective utilization of resources in the process operation. Similar to life cycle assessment, we quantify the... 

Mass index (MI) is defined as the total mass used in a process/process step divided by the mass of product and it is approximately the E-factor plus one. A software package, the Environmental Assessment Tool for Organic Syntheses (EATOS), has been designed to calculate some of these metrics. More elaborate assessments such as life cycle assessment (LCA), could be performed, but this is also beyond the scope of this chapter. Our objective is to provide a preliminary assessment for the community to determine if further development of any guanidine organocatalysis is appropriate for use in green chemistry. 

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene Brominated flame retardant(s) Dioctylphthalate Erucamide Ethylene glycol European Union Flame retardant(s) High-density polyethylene High-impact polystyrene Life cycle assessment Low-density polyethylene Melt flow index Municipal solid waste Molecular weight Oleamide Polyamide(s)... 

Kalliala, E. and Nousiainen, R, Life Cycle Assessment of textiles from fibres to end-use and the environmental index model for textiles and textile services. Procds, The 79th World Conference of The Textile Institute, 10-13 Eebruary 1999, Chennai, India, 37 9. 

There are three parts to the index - there s a brand module, a facilities module and a products module. Each of these modules effeets product sustainability. Overall we re hoping to get a snapshot of the entire life cycle of a product and its impact-it is not a life cycle assessment in itself, but it does try to touch on and measure and evaluate the potential impact of every stage of the life cycle. 

TABLE 7.5 Greene Sustainability Index for Sustainable Containers Using Cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment ... 

Capello et al.16 applied LCA to 26 organic solvents (acetic acid, acetone, acetonitrile, butanol, butyl acetate, cyclohexane, cyclohexanone, diethyl ether, dioxane, dimethylformamide, ethanol, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzene, formaldehyde, formic acid, heptane, hexane, methyl ethyl ketone, methanol, methyl acetate, pentane, n- and isopropanol, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, and xylene). They applied the EHS Excel Tool36 to identify potential hazards resulting from the application of these substances. It was used to assess these compounds with respect to nine effect categories release potential, fire/explosion, reaction/decomposition, acute toxicity, irritation, chronic toxicity, persistency, air hazard, and water hazard. For each effect category, an index between zero and one was calculated, resulting in an overall score between zero and nine for each chemical. Figure 18.12 shows the life cycle model used by Capello et al.16... 

One of the consequences of the experiences gained with life cycle-based assessments and of the consequent development of new policy instruments is a shift of the viewpoint from the material to the product There is no ecologically good or bad material, but only more or less appropriate applications of a material. The study LCA of PVC principally competing materials on behalf of the European Commission showed, that this finding is also valid for PVC, which always had a rather bad environmental image [2] (downloadable at http //ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ chemicals/documents/competitiveness/index en.htm). Chances and Risks of Polymers depend on the specific application of a material and cannot be given on the level of the material itself. In further consequence the product-perspective is widened to the products (and services ) functions and further on to the consumer demand. 

An expansion of the Eco Index (an internal self-assessment tool created by the outdoor apparel industry) and Nike s Apparel Environmental Design Tool, the Higg Index aims to aggregate information on the environmental performance of products from major apparel brands. The Index considers performance across the full life-cycle of a product, including impacts fi om input materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use, and end-of-life. ... 

---