Assessment life-cycle

Life cycle assessment(s) (LCA) is a tool for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with products or services. LCA involves compiling an inventory of inputs and outputs of the relevant product system, which are then evaluated, along with interpretation of the results of the inventory analysis and impact assessment in relation to the objective of the study, to determine the potential impact of the product/service on the environment [19]. 

LCA considers the entire life cycle of products or services from raw material acquisition through to production, use and disposal. LCA is a method of assessing products or services and has been proven to be a valuable tool to document the environmental considerations that need to be part of the decision-making process with regards to environmental sustainability [20]. 

LCA studies [22], The risk of decisions shifting burdens from the production or use phase to the disposal phase because of data gaps can therefore be diminished. 

LCA have been successfully utilised in the field of plastics waste management, for example, to assess differences in environmental performance between different waste incineration strategies [24] or related activities such as the flue gas cleaning process of plastic waste incinerators [25], to compare the environmental performance of different scenarios for the management of mixed plastics waste as well as that of specific plastic waste fractions [25-32]. 

What is life cycle assessmenf and how does if bear on fhe cenfral quesfions of this book Let s begin with some definitions, in order to be clear about the matters at hand. 

Resource and environmental profile analysis (REPA), the forerunner to the current practice of life cycle assessment, focused on quantifying the energy requirements and emissions of a product or process but not the impacts on human health or the ecosystem. Ideally, according to the originators of REPA, the analysis would be linked to a risk assessment of emissions related to a process or product [91,92]. It is worth noting, with respect to the theme of this book, that REPA originated in 1969. Environmental life cycle considerations did not formally enter into product development or modification before that time. 

Life cycle assessment (EGA) looks at the potential effects on the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production. 

The first REPA attempted to quantify the energy, material, and environmental consequences of the entire life cycle of a Coca-Cola beverage container from the extraction of raw materials to disposal under consideration were refillable bottles, plastic bottles, and cans. 

Life cycle thinking (LCT) is a holistic approach to the design or optimization of a product or process. In the words of one authority [95], LCT  

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) chronicles the life of a commercial product from manufacture to disposal ( cradle to grave ) in order to estimate its true cost and, at the same time, to discover how the product s life cycle might be modified to increase profitability within the framework of existing laws and regulations. The familiar admonitions to reduce, reuse, recycle seek to apply LCA concepts to both ends of products life cycles by minimizing both inputs of natural resources and the amounts of waste products. When applied to toxic chemicals, an LCA examines the quantities of toxics used in manufacturing a product, the exposure of workers who make the product and of consumers who use it, and the environmental fate and transport of toxic chemicals after the product is disposed of. Pollution prevention is based on the life-cycle-assessment approach and has been embraced by many governments. 

Environmental laws regulating the disposal of hazardous chemical waste may also be informed by the LCA concept. The Waste in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive in the European Union is closely linked to the RoHS directive restricting the use of specific chemicals in electrical products. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the United States complanents other environmental laws that regulate toxic chemicals by regulating the disposal of the hazardous chemical by-products of industrial processes. A significant difference between RCRA and WEEE is that WEEE is linked to pollution prevention laws such as RoHS, while RCRA is more of an end of the pipe law. 

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

Environmental or ecological footprints provide a measure of demand on the earth s resources and originally referred to human demand. Carbon footprinting is a similar measure but only in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced. These tools are intended to provide a measure of environmental impact. In essence, footprinting is a subset of life cycle assessment (LCA) that can be applied to human activities, processes, and products such as biopolymers. 

Inventory Analysis. Documents material and energy flows that occur within the system boundaries. It is often called the life cycle inventory (LCI) stage. 

Impact Analysis. Characterizes and assesses the environmental effects using the data obtained from the inventory. It is often called the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) stage. 

Interpretation. Reviews the results of the LCA, identifies opportunities to reduce the environmental burden throughout the product s life, and provides conclusions and recommendations. 

Corporate competitiveness traditionally has been achieved through new product development, quality performance, and cost control. Competitiveness in the twenty-first century will require extending these traditional elements to include the life-cycle environmental impacts of materials and final products. Three forces are driving this evolution. The forces driving life-cycle accountability are 

Collectively, these developments have fostered a burgeoning corporate interest in the concepts of life-cycle design (LCD)—the application of life-cycle assessment (LCA) concepts to determine what a product contains, how it was produced, how it 

Any industrial system can be represented by a system boundary that encloses aU the operations of interest. The region surrounding this boundary is known as the system environment (fig. 4.1). The inputs to the system are all raw materials taken from the environment, and the outputs are waste materials released back into the environment. 

LCA is defined as a phased approach (fig. 4.2), comprising three interrelated components inventory, impact, and improvement assessments. 

LCA activity has three components as defined by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) life-cycle inventory, life-cycle impact assessment. 

The evaluation of the environmental impact of a product or process requires a means of attributing resource use, waste and pollution. It is often far from easy to decide what is relevant to the product or process under consideration. It can even be difficult to define adequately what the product or process life cycle really is. Earlier, pollution could easily be traced to local sources. Now, as humanity is becoming more mobile, pollution originates in a large number of non-point sources, such as transport and consumption. To fully cover all relevant routes of pollution and energy consumption it is necessary to go 

Analysis of own product Product improvement Internal product comparison External product comparison To meet governmental regulations Other purposes 

LCAs are an essential component of sustainability and can be used to scientifically determine the environmental effects of products, processes, and systems. LCA can be used to calculate the energy and raw materials consumed and the resulting carbon footprint, waste, and pollution generated in the production of a product or process. LCA is needed to establish the sustainability of products and processes because it follows a worldwide thorough approach to establishing measmeable environmental outcomes of products and processes. LCA will be more fully explained in later chapters. 

Polymer Processing Principles cmd Design, Second Edition. Donald G. Baird and Dimitris I. ColUas. 2014 John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published 2014 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

FIGURE 11.1 Life-cycle assessment conceptual model. (Data from Curran, 1996.) 

FIGURE 11.2 Life-cycle system concept showing the boundaries on which the life-cycle assessment must be performed. (Reprinted by permission of the pubhsher from Curran, 1996.) 

FIGURE lU The flow diagram, sometimes referred to as a cradle-to-grave materials flow diagram, of a recycling scheme showing both materials and energy flow in and ont of the system for a product life cycle. (Reprinted with permission of the publisher from Cnrran, 1996.) 

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Curran, M. A., Broad-Based Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, Environ. Sci. Technol, 27 430 1993. 

ECA Life cycle assessment vss Volatile suspended solids... 

The key element of life-cycle design is Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is generally envisioned as a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the cradle-to-grave life cycle of a produc t, process, or ac tivity. A produc t s life cycle can be roughly described in terms of the following stages ... 

Adhesives and resins are one of the most important raw materials in wood-based panels. Thus, each question concerning the life cycle assessment and the recycling of bonded wood panels does bring into question the adhesive resins used. This includes, for example, the impact of the resin on various environmental aspects such as waste water and effluents, emission of noxious volatile chemicals during production and from the finished boards, or the reuse for energy generation of wood panels. The type of resin has also a crucial influence on feasibility and efficiency for several material recycling processes. 

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a compilation and evaluation of inputs, outputs, and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The LCA methodology is comprehensively described based on the ISO 14000 series standards. References are also given to I.CA information sources. 

The need for the implementation of target levels for air quality in industrial work rooms stems from different concerns. In addition to technological factors, the systematic design methodology, life cycle assessment, advances in air distribution methods, and increased integration with the process and... 

Several tools can be used to evaluate the environmental consequences of an industrial ventilation project. Some of the most common methods used are covered in this chapter. The life cycle assessment tool is considered in detail, as it is a comprehensive and product-oriented approach that is covered by international standardization. Other tools, such as risk assessment, cost-benefit... 

J. ISO, Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Principles and Framework (ISO 14040 1997). 

ISO, F.nvironmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis (ISO 14041). 

ISO, Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Life Cycle Impact Assessment (ISO/DIS 14042),... 

Nordic Guidelines on Life-Cycle Assessment Nordic Council of Ministers, Report Nord 1995 20., Copenhagen, 1994. 

S. SLTAC Guidelines for Life-Cycle Assessment A Code of Practice, Proceedings from the SETAC workshop held in Sesirabra, Portugal, March 31-April 3, 1993. 

FIGURE 16.1 Comparison of life cycle assessment and life cycle cost calculations. The result of LCA is (weighted) emissions and the present value of investment and operating costs, e.g,. in Euros. Note that in LCA calculations the present value coefficient is I, but the present value of LCC is always affected by interest rate and the length of the period. ... 

LCC calculations frequently provide energy-efficient solutions. This gives reduced energy consumption and a reduction in environmental pollution. For example, the installation of a heat recovery system in a ventilation system may reduce the energy consumption and emissions by 50 to 80%. Figure 16.1 compares life cycle cost and life cycle assessment calculations. 

T.E. Graedel, Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment , Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1998. 

Full life cycle assessment of solvent. Does its manufacture use more noxious materials than it replaces What is the ultimate environmental fate of the solvent ... 

All useful methods attempt to capture and describe all of the impacts during the entire life of the product or service from cradle to grave . This is the basis of the cluster of measurement tools known collectively as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). 

The whole topic of Life Cycle Assessment is dealt with in detail in Chapter 7. However, there are some important points about LCA as it relates to green product design. It is important to be able to compare different solutions, it is also important to be aware of the limitations of LCA. These include ... 

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) considering the impact category global warming... 

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