Life Cycle Inventory LCI

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  

There are input and output elementary flows, for example, crude oil entering the system, and carbon dioxide leaving the system, respectively. 

Summing up, the product system is deflned as the collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows, performing one or more defined functions, and which models the Hfe cycle of a product.  

However, it is not always possible or useful to follow these procedures. In that case, ISO 14044 recommends a step-wise approach for the choice of an appropriate method of allocation. In the first place, the division of flows between the respective 

A special case of allocation occurs if outputs might be either regarded as coproducts or as waste. The ISO standard requires to identify the ratio between coproducts and waste since the inputs and outputs shall be allocated to the coproducts part only. Quite often, it is not clear only by the physical nature of a compound whether it is a coproduct or a waste. Instead, the economic value has to be taken into account if it is positive, it is considered a coproduct, and if it is negative, a waste. 

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The production of the agrochemical 6 (Scheme 5.7) is carried out batchwise via a three-step protocol. Mass balancing has been conducted for three stages of development Laboratory-, pilot- and operation scale. An LCA was available for the operation stage only. A description of this LCA including data sources and data acquisition methods was published by Geisler et al. (product A in reference [9] corresponds to product 6 here). Many parameters in the Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) are estimated, especially utihty demands and yields of processes for the production of precursors. Uncertainty in these estimations was illustrated in a... 

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). During LCI, mass and energy balances are performed to quantify the material and energy inputs into the system as well as wastes and emissions from the system. 

Abstract Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool to assess impacts of cradle-to-grave chains of products/services. In the Riskcycle framework, the focus is on additives. Additives are usually minor constituents of products, but depending on their specific properties they can be important in the total scope of impacts of such products. In the LCA literature, additives are hardly visible. Most case studies of products containing additives do not mention them. The reasons for this are unclear, but are at least partly due to the fact that information on additives is not included in standard LCA databases. This is true for both life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) databases. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude whether or not additives indeed are important contributors to environmental impacts over the life cycle. 

Life cycle inventory (LCI) data on additives may be incomplete. 

The SSG was created in this manner to give a broad overview of the EHS performance profile of solvents and highlight any areas that would have major issues to eliminate, mitigate, or manage. The most recent addition to the SSG was the LCA score. The LCA score is based on a life cycle inventory (LCI) of each solvent and includes the impact categories shown in Table 3.6. The unique aspect of the LCA score is that it is based on a very comprehensive list of factors which contribute to a solvent s environmental impact, which includes the waste generation from... 

Recently, terms such as life cycle inventory (LCI), cradle-to-grave-analysis, eco-balancing, and material flow analysis have come into use. 

Life-cycle inventory (LCI) deals with the material inventories of each phase of a product life, namely by tracking the variation between input and output flows. 

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... 

Table 2.4 Examples of life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle assessment (LCA) metrics.

The chapter starts with a description of what silk is, where and how it is produced, focusing on South Indian sericulture. We then review the existing silk LCAs and other environmental assessments that underpin this study. Following an overview scope and overview of the life cycle inventory (LCI), and results, the discussion compares the environmental impacts of silk with those of other natural fibres. Major contributors to the high observed impact ( hotspots ) are described and opportunities and barriers improvement outlined. 

LCA includes the following important steps materials extraction, manufacturing and waste production, packaging, transportation, product use and product disposal. In order to calculate the amount of emissions and waste created during the life cycle of a product, much fundamental information is needed on manufacturing processes, materials and energy use. A life cycle inventory (LCI) is therefore compiled to record the emissions and resources consumed that can be attributed to a specific product. Databases have been developed that enable the user to input new information or data specific to their products and processes. Ecoinvent v3 (http //www.ecoinvent. org/database/) is probably the most comprehensive international LCI database. The ecoinvent database is included in most LCA software models. The following are some of the software suitable for LCA of plastics (O Neill, 2003) ... 

Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) pursues the compilation and quantification of inputs and outputs for a given product system throughout its life-cycle on a volume or mass basis e.g. kg of CO2, kg of cadmium, cubic metre of solid waste). 

In order to select between glass or plastic packaging, a life cycle inventory (LCI) was carried out [1]. Polypropylene was tentatively selected as the most suitable polymer, based on the range of grades available, from rigid (for bottle manufacturing) to flexible (for bag manufacturing). 

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... 

LCA covers the entire life cycle including extraction of the raw material, manufacturing, transport and distribution, product use, service and maintenance, and disposal (recycling, incineration or landfill). LCA can be divided into two distinct parts, the life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact (Shell Bitumen 2003). 

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

Life cycle inventory (LCI) is a methodology for estimating the consumption of resources and the quantities of waste flows and emissions caused or otherwise attributable to a product s life cycle [3]. The inventoiy analysis constitutes a detailed compilation of all of the environmental inputs and outputs to each stage of the life cycle [10]. The inventory usually includes raw material and energy consumed, emissions to air and water, and solid waste produced. The processes within the life cycle and the associated material and energy flows as well as other exchanges are modelled to represent the product system and its total inputs and outputs from and to the natural environment, respectively (Fig. 8.2). This results in a product system model and an inventory of environmental exchanges related to the functional unit. 

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. 

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