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Urban water supply and life cycle assessment
Published in Thomas Bolognesi, Francisco Silva Pinto, Megan Farrelly, Routledge Handbook of Urban Water Governance, 2023
The first scientific study applying an LCA approach to evaluate the environmental impacts of urban water supply dates back to the late 1990s. Since then, the application of the LCA has constantly evolved. This is the direct result of more complete databases, developments in life cycle impact methodologies, and software tools for process modelling that became available to LCA practitioners over the years. However, several methodological inconsistencies and gaps can still be identified in the literature about the topic, and, in due course, they should be filled to produce a more satisfactory interpretation of the environmental burdens associated with urban water supplies. As previously mentioned in the introduction, the LCA methodology is structured in four phases according to the International Standards Organization (ISO 2006): goal and scope definition; inventory analysis; life cycle impact assessment; and interpretation. These are discussed next, in the context of the evaluation of urban water supply.
Recycling and Sustainability of Nanocomposites
Published in Ahalapitiya H. Jayatissa, Applications of Nanocomposites, 2022
Salma Shaik, Matthew J. Franchetti
LCA is a methodological framework that considers the entire life cycle of a product or system to assess its environmental impacts at every stage of its life starting from raw material extraction to manufacturing, distribution, consumption and EoL disposal (Muralikrishna and Manickam 2017). As such, material production, manufacturing, use and end-of-life are the four main stages of a product’s life cycle (Petrakli et al. 2020). Since the ENMs and their engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have raised concerns about their environmental impacts in the recent past (Miseljic and Olsen 2014), LCA is becoming a key requirement of a product’s environmental requirement (Hogan 2015). Performing LCA as the first step of a product development life cycle right after its inception, will give the flexibility of adopting the most sustainable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly route for the development of nanocomposites. The results of a comprehensive LCA conducted by Petrakli et al. (2020) to assess and evaluate the environmental impacts of (nano)enhanced Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) prototypes showed that extraction and production of materials contribute to more than 65 and 70% to the climate change impact followed by manufacture stage at around 30% (Petrakli et al. 2020). Such analysis would be indispensable for researchers and engineers to identify the potential hot spots to pay more attention to find more green and sustainable solutions to manufacturing nanocomposites.
End Life Cycle Recycling Policy Framework for Commercially Available Solar Photovoltaic Modules and Their Environmental Impacts
Published in Satya Bir Singh, Prabhat Ranjan, Alexander V. Vakhrushev, A. K. Haghi, Mechatronic Systems Design and Solid Materials, 2021
Manisha Sheoran, Pancham Kumar, Susheela Sharma
LCA is a tool to assess the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product’s life cycle and consider all attributes or aspects of the natural environment, human health, and resources and can be defined as a method for analyzing and assessing the environmental impacts of a material, product, or service along its entire life cycle (ISO-2005). Thus, ISO14040 defined LCA as the “compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle” (ISO-2006). For further classification of it into environmentally friendly technology, the whole life cycle assessment of the PV technology is taken into analysis. The utilization of solar energy came out to be a very alluring option. With the increasing population and economy of the world, the traditional sources of energy have failed to fulfill the demands of energy. And the greenhouse gaseous emissions have also increased and this is causing environmental deterioration. Therefore, a sustainable energy resource is strictly required to accomplish the needs of energy and to combat the environmental deteriorations [3, 4]. Various types of harnessing systems are developed for solar energy like building integrated PV and building applied this includes facade, sloped or pitched, submerged PV, floating PV, solar tree, etc. Among these solar PV trees are eventually being trendy for the generation of electricity because of lesser requirements of land area. SPTV are being more prominent in urban areas due to the lesser availability of space. Moreover, these resemble a natural tree [5].
Environmental impacts of repurposing phone booths as COVID-19 sampling stations
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2023
Martin Schoch, Sunaree Lawanyawatna, Shabbir H Gheewala
This study’s research question compares the environmental and economic impacts of repurposing decommissioned phone booths into COVID-19 sampling stations versus constructing new sampling stations in Thailand, using an LCA and a cost-time comparison approach. The study’s results can be general, as there may be variations depending on the availability of payphones and their types, local economic conditions, and the design and execution of the conversion. Yet, the expected outcome is to provide insights to the planning team and the public to scale the impact of the transition. The novelty of comparing LCA results with economic aspects lies in the judgement of environmental and economic considerations in decision-making processes. Traditionally, LCA has been used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or process throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal. However, a product’s or process’s economic aspects are equally important, as they can affect its overall sustainability and viability (Jeswani et al. 2010). By comparing LCA results along with economic aspects, it is possible to identify the trade-offs between environmental performance and economic feasibility (Norris, 2001). Integrating economic aspects into LCA can help decision-makers choose more sustainable and cost-effective options considering environmental and economic considerations (Zamagni, Pesonen, and Swarr 2013). It can also provide valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges of adopting sustainable practices and technologies.
A distributed and collaborative model for product design selection considering its supply chain costs and environmental footprint
Published in International Journal of Systems Science: Operations & Logistics, 2023
Imane Ballouki, Mohammed Douimi, Latifa Ouzizi
In this step, we will use a hybrid eco-design tool that combines the LCA data with a multi-criteria method: Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS; Chen & Hwang, 1992). LCA is a software tool that helps product designers to evaluate products’ environmental impact overall their lifecycle (procurement, production, use, distribution, and end of life). TOPSIS is used to calculate the score S to evaluate the different designs proposed using Euclidian distance. The concept of this distance is that best alternatives are the ones with the shortest distance from the ideal positive solution and the furthest distance from the ideal negative solution. More details about this method can be found in (Ballouki et al., 2018). Figure 1 shows the process followed in this first step of our selection methodology. Configuring optimal supply chain:
Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing for assessing maritime transport: a comprehensive literature review
Published in Maritime Policy & Management, 2023
Giovanni Mondello, Roberta Salomone, Giuseppe Saija, Francesco Lanuzza, Teresa Maria Gulotta
In this context, focusing on the environmental and economic concerns, two methods based on the so-called Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) (UNEP 2021) approach have been developed: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC). LCA is a standardised method that allows assessment of the potential environmental impacts of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction and processing, through manufacturing, transport, use and final disposal (ISO 2006a, 2006b). Similarly, the LCC method permits evaluation of the positive and negative potential economic impacts of a product, process or service following a life cycle perspective (Hunkeler, Lichtenvort, and Rebitzer 2008;). The LCC method, unlike LCA, is not specifically standardised, with the exception of ISO 15686 (ISO 2017), which provides a framework aimed at applying the LCC in the building sector. Both methods, and particularly the LCA, have been implemented for evaluating the environmental and economic impacts related to the different life cycle phases of maritime means of transport, such as ship design, shipbuilding, operation, maintenance, and End-of-Life (EoL). Despite this, to the authors’ knowledge, among the international scientific literature, no studies aimed at providing a review-based assessment on the application of both LCA and LCC for evaluating maritime means of transport have been carried out. Such an assessment could provide significant support to both the research community and shipping companies.