Life-cycle inventory data collection

The inventory stage involves the collection of all the data that will be used in the life-cycle analysis. The quality of the data is an important part of the life-cycle inventory (LCI) process, and, as with any model, the results of an LCA are only as good as the data inputs. There are two basic sources of data for an LCA, primary and secondary in nature. Primary data are derived directly from the... 

Life-cycle Inventory—Framework Design and Data Collection 187... 

LIFE-CYCLE INVENTORY—FRAMEWORK DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION... 

A life-cycle inventory analysis [4] has examined the performance of lead production and battery manufacturing facilities in North America. This study collected data descriptive of industrial emissions in the base year of 1995-1996. The mass flows indicated that the estimates offered by Socolow and Thomas [24] are indeed characteristic of the industry. Secondary lead production was associated with losses to air and water of the order of 0.009%. Lead losses during battery production amounted to 0.002% of material processed. These estimates are some three orders of magnitude lower than those made by Lave et al. [23]. Levels of lead release continue to decrease with improvements in technology and operating practice. 

Adequate primary process data and database for every industry sector such as energy, transport, mining and metals, agriculture, building construction, materials, and chemicals are fundamental for LCA studies. There are initiatives in various countries to collect such data or develop databases (often referred to as life cycle inventory [LCI]) for LCA, which are... 

An inventory analysis compiles the flows of materials and energy into and out of the system. Necessary work consists of construction of a flow model, data collection, and calculation of results. In other words, the phase of life-cycle inventory (LCI) provides the systems model of the technical system ( product system ) under study, complying with the goal and scope definition. This model consists of certain elements, which in terminology of the ISO standards are the following ... 

Ecological data have been collected for all the products in this project as well as for all process steps required (see Table 13.1). First a life-cycle inventory was established for aU relevant ecological inputs. In a second step a data assessment was carried out aggregating individual data into 10 environmental categories such as anthropogenic green house effect, eutrophication potential, and the like (Fig. 13.21). 

The goal and scope definition stage is then followed by a life cycle inventory analysis. In the life cycle inventory analysis stage, data on raw materials and energy consumption, emissions, waste, monetary flows, and social issues are collected. While data on raw material inputs, environmental outputs, and monetary flows are quantitative, data on social issues are in forms of both quantitative (e.g., number of working hours, amount of child labor) and qualitative (e.g., risk ofpubhc resistance to the prospective product, risk... 

The International Standard Organization (ISO 14040) [26] breaks the LCA framework into four main stages (1) Goal and scope definition of the study. This stage clarifies the purposes of carrying the study while the assumptions and system boundaries are described clearly. (2) Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis. LCI involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs of the entire system defined within the system boundaries. (3) Life cycle impact assessment involves qualifying the potential environmental impacts of the inventory analysis results. (4) The interpretation of the results from the previous phases of the study in relation to the objective of the study. This interpretation can be in form of conclusions and recommendations to decision-makers for process changes to deliver improvement in the environmentel performance. 

The life cycle of fuel cells is shown in Figure 14.2. The Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs. These input and output flows involve... 

The life cycle inventory analysis involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify the total system s inputs and outputs that are relevant from an environmental point of view, i.e., mainly resource use, atmospheric emissions, aqueous emissions, solid waste and land use. 

The life cycle inventory analysis (ii) involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify the total system s inputs and outputs that are relevant from an environmental point of view, that is, mainly resource use, atmospheric emissions, aqueous emissions, solid waste, and land use. The LCIA (iii) aims at evaluating the significance of potential environmental impacts using the results of the life cycle inventory analysis. The life cycle interpretation (iv) is the final step of the LCA where conclusions are drawn from both the life cycle inventory analysis and the LCIA or, in the case of life cycle inventory studies, from the inventory analysis only. The important LCA requirements are given in Figure 15.5 [150]. 

The inventory analysis is a technical process of collecting data, in order to quantify the inputs and outputs of the system. Energy and raw materials consumed, emissions to air, water, soil and solid waste produced by the system are calculated for the entire life cycle of the product or service. To make this analysis easier, the system under study is split into several subsystems and unit processes, and the data obtained are grouped in different categories in a LCI table. 

Meaningful data of technical products and the life cycles behind them can only be obtained if the appropriate technical understanding and expert knowledge of the data collectors is ensured. Studies often lack especially in this regard. The main purpose of an inventory analysis in the context of data collection consists of the identification and quantification of the relevant input and output flows over the whole life cycle of a product. With these, one must also count, among others, the use of resources and the use of land, raw materials, fabricated products. 

These early life cycle assessments provided estimates of exposure and risk in the United States that do not appear to have been revisited since. The US EPA has collected some relevant data under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program, however, which are presented in Section 4.2.7. 

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