Scope definition

Establishing the physical and analytical boundaries for a QRA is also a difficult task. Even though you will provide input, the scope definition will largely be made by the QRA project team. Defining the physical boundaries is relatively straightforward, but it does force the QRA team to explicitly identify and account for interfaces that may significantly affect the QRA results. Eor example, analysts often treat a connection to a power supply (e.g., a plug) or a feed source as a physical boundary yet, loss of power or contamination of the feed must be considered in the QRA model. 

Life cycle assessment is defined by ISO 14040 as compilation and evalu ation of inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The ISO standards regulate the procedural aspects of LCA. They do not, however, provide all the information required for carrying out an LCA study. The main phases of LCA are goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation. The various applications of LCA are not regulated by the standard (Fig. 15.1). 

The goal and scope definitions inform the reader of the intended use of the study, including... 

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

Goal and Scope Definition. This phase deals with the selection of system boundaries and the setting of the functional unit which describes the primary function(s) fulfilled by a (product) system and can be used as a basis for the comparison of alternative systems. ... 

Life Cycle Interpretation. The results obtained within the Life Cycle Inventory and/or the Life Cycle Impact Assessment are interpreted in the light of the Goal and Scope Definition (e.g., by means of sensitivity or uncertainty analyses) in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations. ... 

ISO 14041 1998 (1998) Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Goal and Scope Definition and Life Cycle Inventory Analysis. European Commitee for Standardisation, Brussels, Belgium. 

The next 10 chapters are arranged in the order that a process engineer might follow in the design and evaluation of a process. These are the selection of a site, the writing of the scope (definition of project), the choosing of the process steps, the calculation of material balances, the listing of all major equipment with its specifications, the development of the physical layout of the plant, the instrumentation of the... 

In the first stage of the LCA analysis, it is necessary to define the objective and the scope of the paper before the actual start [35]. The study goal and scope definition determine the next procedure character and the circumstances in which the study outputs are valid [32]. [36] requires to establish a study goal and scope while the study scope means to determine the product system, the functional unit and system boundaries, to determine allocation rules, the assessment methodology, hypothesis and limits and data quality. 

Rebitzer G, Ekvall T, Frischknecht R, Hunkeler D, Norris G, Rydberg T, Schmidt WP, Suh S, Weidema BP, Pennington DW. Life Cycle Assessment Part 1 Framework, Goal and Scope Definition, Inventory Analysis, and Applications. Environment International. 2004 30(5) 701-720. DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2003.11.005... 

Goal and scope definition, where the goal of the study is defined, the eventual alternatives that will be considered are given, the system boundary is determined and the processes within the product- or service-system are defined. 

ISO (1998) ISO 14041 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis. International Organisation for Standardisation, Geneva... 

The approach taken is loosely based on the input-process-output meta-model utilized to transform a problem statement into a functional process. The section Scope definition discusses the intended purpose and potential constraints of the isolation effort, followed by an overview of the Toolbox available to the practitioner (input). The section Method development scouting and scale-up reviews platform-based, highly automated approaches to selectivity scouting, development of the isolation as well as options for scaling up the chromatographic separation depending on purpose and constraints (process). The final section. Performing the task, explores a work breakdown structure approach to the preparative isolation of impurities as a unit operation in the development process (output). 

An LCA typically starts by defining the goal and scope of the study. The goal and scope definitions are important since they define the level of detail in the study. The exact question to be answered using the LCA method is... 

The goal-and-scope definition process is an integral part of any LCA study. At the outset of an LCA, before any data are collected, key decisions must be made regarding the scope and boundaries of the system being studied. These decisions are mainly determined by the goal, i.e., the defined reasons for conducting the study, its intended applications, and the target audience. 

The scope definition is similar to the definition of the control volume in the thermodynamic analysis or the battery limits in process design, and for the LCA in terms of space and time (e.g., we follow the use of product X in the process from the raw materials to the time it is disposed by the consumer. Throughout the lifetime of the product, we analyze the environmental burden). The reasons for the study are also clearly defined (e.g., is the study necessary to make a decision about a process ), as well as an answer must be given as to who is performing the study and for whom. Consider the following hypothetical example ... 

This step is difficult since the results have to be interpreted, and the interpretation will be subjective. For example, what is more important—the environmental burden of acidification or global warming To answer these questions, the goal and scope definition must have been given proper care. 

ISO International Standard 14041, 1999E. Environmental management—life cycle assessment—goal and scope, definition and inventory analysis. International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva. 

ISO ISO/TR 14049 Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Examples of Application of ISO 14041 to Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis ISO/TR 14049 International Organization for Standardization Geneva, March 15, 2000, 2000. 

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