Incorporating unit manufacturing process models into life cycle assessment workflows

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) carries significant uncertainties and imprecision due to a number of factors, including the framework’s linearity assumptions and the wide use of aggregate unit processes in practice. In this work, we exploit the unit manufacturing process (UMP) information model (ASTM E3012-16) to enable parametric environmental analysis of manufacturing systems without disrupting the traditional LCA workflow. We present a formal mapping of an extension of the ASTM E3012 data model and the ecoSpold2 data model. We then demonstrate the utility of this mapping by (1) generating life cycle inventory (LCI) data from an example UMP model representing a vertical milling process and (2) linking the results with an existing LCI database. To show value, we use the Brightway2 framework to process the LCI data and complete a LCA. We conclude by comparing LCA results generated from the parametric milling UMP model against LCA results of a similar milling unit process model from a commercial database.