Environmental Impact Assessment of an Ignition Pencil Coil by a Combination of Carbon Footprint and Environmental Priority Strategies Methodology

Abstract

This study presents a combined carbon footprint (CF) and environment damage assessment with a cradle-to-gate approach for an ignition coil. The process considers a data flow of product as the phases: raw materials preparation, part processing, final-product finishing, and packaging. The assessment was performed to explore an automotive ignition pencil coil during its developing phase. This study illustrated that a green product problem could be evaluated as a carbon footprint and environmental hazard. By using the conceptual flow to set up the assessment procedure, a product can be decomposed into several material ingredients to specify the input parameters in a Life Cycle Assessment. A total CF of an ignition coil can be investigated individually by each of the materials. The total CF of an ignition pencil coil equal to 0.5254 kgCO2eq was calculated. The insulated filling and copper winding of an ignition coil generated the two most impacting processes in terms of CF (21.83% and 17.50%, respectively). EPS (Environmental Priority Strategies) methodology evaluates the environmental damage of the product in the product design process. As a result, the metal material has a seriously damaging impact on human health and inanimate resources, especially inanimate resources. The total CF generated by the newly devised ignition coil is over 39~62 percent less than a general type one that exists in the current market. The new ignition pencil coil also uses fewer raw materials and therefore reduces environmental damage to the Earth.