A cutting-edge tool for sustainable environmental management through life cycle assessment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to implement a novel Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) model in a software (called SharifLCA) that can overcome the disadvantages of current models. This software can assess environmental impact categories such as the impacts of carcinogenic, non-carcinogenic including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, climate change (in various climate scenarios), ozone layer depletion potential including cataract and skin cancer, global warming potential, and resource depletion throughout the system life cycle. The model has the ability to consider different parameters affecting the results of LCA, such as the population affected by pollution, health risk assessment parameters, characteristics of pollution resource, and meteorological and topological data of the region. Furthermore, the life cycle environmental impacts of an electricity generation system are evaluated using the SharifLCA software under different scenarios. The results showed that the human health effect is higher when using fuels with lower quality. Moreover, the impacts of the carbon capture and storage system on environmental impact categories in different sectors of the system's life cycle are evaluated. In addition, the model has the ability to consider different parameters affecting the results, such as the population affected by pollution, health risk assessment parameters, characteristics of pollution resources, and meteorological and topological data. Therefore, the SharifLCA software can significantly increase accuracy in assessing local health impacts. The model presented in this study will be of great interest for researchers and policy-makers to increase the accuracy of LCA results.