Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment

Whilst performing a full LCA is a complex process it can be conveniently broken down into four stages. 

Impact Assessment. One of the more common methods of assessing the data is to put a numerical value on various potential environmental impact criteria namely  

Abiotic Depletion. This takes account of depletion of all non-renewable resources. The impact is calculated as the sum of the resource used for each functional unit divided by the estimated reserves of that resource. 

Acidification Potential. The acidification potential of acid releases are expressed in terms of their potential to form relative to SO2. The total impact is defined as the sum of the acidification potential for each released component multiplied by the quantity released. 

Aquatic Toxicity. This is the sum of the toxicity factor of a particular emission multiplied by the amount. Since the factors have only been 

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Greadel T, Allenby B. An Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment. In Greadel T, Al-lenby B. (Eds.). Industrial Ecology. New Jersey Pearson Education 2003. p. 183-196... 

Materials Inventory of SOFC Concepts An Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment... 

The same holds tme for governmental institutions at national and international level of which many use LCA as an assessment tool in projects and increasingly consider life cycle aspects in legislation, as was briefly pointed out and illustrated in the introduction to this work. Further reading on Life Cycle Assessment in practice can be found e.g. in [3, 24],... 

Section 1 includes an introduction and a statement as to the aim of the recommended animal studies. The aim of the recommended studies is to reveal any effect (to the extent of the measurements/ parameters collected) of the active substance(s) on mammalian reproduction. As such, the studies are designed to incorporate exposure of mature adults and all stages of development from conception to sexual maturity. For convenience, the reproductive life cycle is divided into six periods (A through F) so that the periods assessed by each study criteria can be easily envisioned. The six periods are essentially as follows ... 

The question of how to systematically assess material alternatives in specific application cases, has not been answered so far. The next chapter will help with this and provides an introduction on how to assess the overall effects on the environment in such cases. The life cycle based methods and tools that will be presented are already in use by a number of leading companies to support realizeation of the possibilities of polymers (and many other materials) while minimizing the risks involved. 

Due to the rapid introduction of new products and models, the physical reliability life of a product (particularly in consumer-oriented markets) is often different from the market life of the product. The reutilization and repurposing of components and subassemblies through multiple product life cycles is a key enabler to proactively, intelligently, and economically manage the total environmental life cycle of electrical and electronic products (Ref 27). Such an approach will require accurate reliability degradation assessment of the components and sub-assemblies at the end of each product life cycle, and reliability life prediction for the next product life cycle. It is believed that such capabilities towards a comprehensive and integrated solution to the total environmental life cycle of electronics products will provide competitive advantages for players in the industry worldwide. 

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