Environmental impact analysis of an automotive ignition coil in a supply chain

Abstract

Automobile manufacturers have been contributing a large quantity of carbon emission on the earth for decades. This study examined an environmental impact problem of an automobile ignition coil within a supply chain. An assessment based on the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment to certify total carbon emission that a product contributes to the environment at various stages of production, packing and transportation. In this case, a production of every automobile ignition coil will generate a total of 0.8649 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq). An analysis exhibits that these constituent parts, including core, insulating filling resin and shell, are the major sources of CO2 emissions, which account for 23.78%, 16.37% and 15.04%, respectively. The major ingredients of these components are iron, epoxy resin and polybutylene terephthalate. A further investigation shows that the carbon emission of the packaging material should be considered in this case, due to paper and wood-containing materials. Also, while setting an environmental impact problem for a product, a generic analysis development can classify into three categories: human health, ecosystem quality and resource consumption. The analysis result showed that both of materials, i.e., polymer and metal, heavily influence the environment, especially metal. For a green manufacturing process, reducing the consumption of these raw materials in manufacturing is essential to achieve sustained economic growth but diminish carbon emission problem in the life cycle of an automobile ignition coil.