Water life cycle assessment

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. 

Gasafi, E., Meyer, L., Schebek, L. (2004) Using Life-Cycle Assessment in Process Design Supercritical Water Gasification of Organic Feedstocks. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 7(3M), 75-91. 

A life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as life cycle analysis, of a product or process begins with an inventory of the energy and environmental flows associated with a product from "cradle to grave" and provides information on the raw materials used from the environment, energy resources consumed, and air, water, and solid waste emissions generated. GHGs and other wastes, sinks, and emissions may then be assessed (Sheehan et ah, 1998). The net GHG emissions calculated from an LCA are usually reported per imit of product or as the carbon footprint. 

Biswas WK, Barton L, Carter D. Global Warming Potential of Wheat Production in South Western Australia a Life Cycle Assessment. Water and Environment Journal. 2008 22(3) 206-216.DOI 10.1111/j.l747-6593.2008.00127.x... 

The CalTOX model was originally developed as a set of spreadsheet models and spreadsheet data sets for assessing human exposures from continuous releases to air, soil, and water [7]. Hertwich [65-67] applied the CalTOX model for the assessment of human toxicity in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Ecotoxicicity is not evaluated in the model. 

For a full life cycle assessment, the basic principle is that each material and energy input into the system should be traced back to natural resources obtained from the environment, or to releases into the environment. These are termed elementary flows , and they represent inputs into or outputs from the system being analysed. In an analysis of this type, it may be relatively straightforward to assign a material value to a flow of (for example) water effluent into the environment, but what may be less certain is the environmental impact of such a flow in a quantitative sense. 

Many site-specific characteristics have an impact on vitrification technologies. One critical aspect of any thermal technology is the water content of the waste. Water dilutes feed material, requires energy to drive off, and physically limits the feed rate of waste. Feed preparation is another variable, which differs with the technology and with site-specific characteristics. Many estimates do not take into account site preparation and waste disposal costs. Only complete treatment life-cycle assessments can provide reliable comparison data, and such studies are, by definition, highly site and waste specific (D18248T, p. 55). 

Clauson-Kaas, J., Hoibye, L. and Jacobsen, B.N. (2008) Weighing environmental advantages and disadvantages of advanced wastewater treatment of micro-pollutants using environmental life cycle assessment. Water Sci. Technol., 57 (1), 27-32. 

Eigure 2 illustrates how the life-cycle inventory fits within a life-cycle assessment. The LCI, shown as the large box at the top center of Figure 2, provides essential data regarding resource use and emissions to air, water, and ground. The impact assessment examines aspects of product production and use that are not considered in the LCI impacts on ecosystem and human health, implications for long-term resource availability, and considerations relative to social equity and well being. 

Life cycle assessment is a comprehensive, quantitative approach to evaluate a single product. An extensive survey of the use of mathematical programming to address environmental impacts for air, water, and land is given in [Greenberg (1995)]. A review of applied operations research... 

Alvarez-Gaitan, J.P., Peters, G.M., Rowley, H.V., Moore, S., Short, M.D., 2013. A hybrid life cycle assessment of water treatment chemicals an Austrahan experience. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 18, 1291—1301. 

In Muthu s recent book by Woodhead publications (Muthu, 2014), he comprehensively reviews the methods used to calculate environmental impact of textile and clothing supply chain, including product carbon footprints, ecological footprints, and life cycle assessment. The book presents information about the textile supply chain, its environmental impact, and an overview of the methods (greenhouse gas emissions, the water and energy footprints of the industry, and depletion of resources, as weU as the use of LCA) used to measure the overall environmental impact of the textile industry. 

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the preeminent method for the estimation of the complete carbon and water footprints associated with products, including energy resources. LCA is a system-level approach that accounts for all such activities from cradle to grave , with well-defined guidelines specified by ISO [1]. In addition to permitting environmental comparisons of alternative energy sources, LCA facilitates the elucidation of the relative environmental impacts of particular operations over the life cycle of the product under investigation. 

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