Application Of Life Cycle Assessment Research Articles

Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Life Cycle Thinking: A New Approach to Environmental and Nutritional Assessment of Potato Chips.

The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become a key concept to promote the cross-sectoral coordination toward sustainable development. In particular, understanding the interdependences of these pillars, as well as addressing a life cycle perspective, is essential when evaluating food production systems. This study explores the environmental impacts and nutritional quality of potato chips, addressing life cycle thinking and a WEF nexus approach. For this purpose, the combined application of life cycle assessment (LCA) and the Nutrient-Rich Food 9.3 (NRF9.3) index was considered to identify the main environmental hotspots and advanced opportunities. The results indicated a major contribution of the cultivation stage on water use, whereas the processing accounted for most of the impacts in energy-related indicators and eutrophication potentials. Improvement opportunities reside in the joint application of drip irrigation, allowing to achieve important water savings, as well as the use of natural gas or pellets instead of diesel, which constitute cleaner energy sources. On the other hand, a poor nutritional density of potato chips became evident from the quantification of the NRF9.3, which can be significantly improved if potatoes undergo a roasted process instead of frying.

Influence of precision livestock farming on the environmental performance of intensive dairy goat farms

The implementation of Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) concepts has been pointed out as an indirect strategy that could potentially help mitigating the environmental impacts of livestock production systems. To date, few studies have focused on analyzing specifically the relationship among PLF adoption and environmental performance, so sustainability benefits have not yet been quantified for many technologies. Moreover, studies evaluating the environmental impact of dairy production have traditionally focused on cattle, and when exploring sheep or goats, they have often involved extensive, low-productive systems, providing an incomplete picture of the sector. In this study we apply life cycle assessment (LCA) to analyze the environmental impact associated to intensive dairy goat production, and to explore the influence of adopting a smart-farming PLF platform on the environmental performance of a group of dairy goat farms in Spain. The PLF-platform relies on systematic on-farm monitoring of individual animal data, coupled with big data processing and interpretation, which supports farmers to take adequate -and timely-farm management decisions. In order to capture its influence, two different periods were analyzed in five selected farms: a baseline year just before innovation was implemented (2014) and four years after (2018), when most of the effect of improved management was reflected. Results after the PLF-platform implementation showed significant reductions (−11%) in greenhouse gas emissions and similar trends in other impact categories (9–16% reductions). The PLF platform provided a precise monitoring of the productivity, genetic merit and physiological state of each animal, allowing adequate criteria for a number of decision-making processes, such as selecting animals for breeding, replacement or culling. This optimization led to an increase in the genetic selection progress, ultimately reflected on milk productivity. Moreover, a reduction of unproductive periods such as first partum age or dry period length was often achieved. As a result of this general improvement, the efficiency of resource usage in relation to milk (and meat) production was increased, with positive effect on the environmental performance. Production of 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) resulted in 1.53–1.71 kg CO2 eq. Results in other impacts categories were also in a similar range than previously reported values for highly productive dairy systems, including dairy cattle, which stresses the important role that small ruminant farming can play on environmentally sustainable livestock production, particularly in the Mediterranean context.

Sustainability assessment of corn production in conventional and conservation tillage systems

To develop sustainable cropping systems, the coherence between economic, environmental, and energy aspects must be considered. We aimed to assess the sustainability of corn (Zea mays) production using four tillage systems which varied in the intensity of soil disturbance (i.e., conventional till with moldboard plow (MP), conventional till with chisel plow (CP), strip-tillage (ST), and no-till (NT)) by performing life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis and Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA). It is common that material and energy wastage is not considered in sustainability assessment studies. When material and energy wastes are calculated in monetary terms, the hidden costs of production will be revealed. Simultaneous application of LCA and MFCA methods in sustainability assessments can provide such valuable information. Cradle-to-farm gate was considered as the system boundary in LCA-MFCA. The total annual energy input for corn production using MP, CP, ST, and NT was found to be 37472 MJ ha−1 (3092 MJ t−1), 36384 MJ ha−1 (3290 MJ t−1), 33717 MJ ha−1 (3309 MJ t−1), and 32889 MJ ha−1 (2764 MJ t−1), respectively. As energy demand increased, yield per ha also increased in all tillage systems except in NT in which yield increase was concurrent with improved energy efficiency. The gross value was calculated as 1470 $ ha−1 (121 $ t−1) for MP, 1446 $ ha−1 (131 $ t−1) for CP, 1380 $ ha−1 (128 $ t−1) for ST, and 1334 $ ha−1 (112 $ t−1) for NT system. The economic indices for each tillage system were computed. Our results showed that eliminating those negative products in corn production can increase farmers' net benefit by 200 $ ha−1. Global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential, and photochemical ozone creation were selected to reflect the environmental impact associated with corn production in each tillage system. From an environmental standpoint, NT and MP performed much better than CP and ST. In three important impact categories (i.e., global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication potential) MP, and in the other two impact categories (i.e., photochemical ozone creation potential and ozone depletion potential) NT system performed best among all tillage systems. It can be concluded that NT showed the best performance in terms of energy, economic and environmental indicators for corn production followed by MP system.

Development of simplified characterization factors for the assessment of expanded polystyrene and tire wear microplastic emissions applied in a food container life cycle assessment

AbstractTo date, life cycle assessment (LCA) does not include a methodology for assessing the impacts of plastic litter leaked to the environment. This limits the applicability of LCA as a tool to compare the potential impacts of single‐use plastics and their alternatives on ecosystem quality and human health. As a contribution to tackle this issue, this work proposes simplified fate and characterization factors (CFs) for modeling the impacts of two types of microplastics—expanded polystyrene and tire and road wear particles—in the marine environment. In terms of fate mechanisms, this work explores different sedimentation, degradation, and fragmentation rate scenarios, based on literature values and expert estimates. Whereas the fate of expanded polystyrene is sensitive to the different fragmentation, degradation, and sedimentation scenarios, for tire and road wear particles the fate is primarily sensitive to sedimentation. The fate factors are integrated into CFs using an existing exposure and effect factor for microplastics in aquatic environments. Since the CFs of the two studied microplastics show important differences, these results reveal the need for developing polymer‐specific CFs. Finally, the CFs are tested in a case study of on‐the‐go food containers (one single‐use plastic, two compostable alternatives, and one reusable plate). Depending on the fate scenario, plastic litter impacts range from barely noticeable to more than doubling the total potential damage to ecosystem quality, compared to no plastic litter impact assessment. The high uncertainty of the results encourages further research on modeling microplastic fate and impacts in detail.

Bibliometric Mapping of Research on Life Cycle Assessment of Olive Oil Supply Chain

The olive oil supply chain and even its individual stages have been extensively investigated through life cycle assessment (LCA) in recent decades. Most practices of the olive oil supply chain have been associated with negative environmental effects, such as soil degradation, carbon dioxide emissions, air and ground pollution, and depletion of groundwater. The current work aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis, through a science mapping approach, coupled with a review on the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of the olive oil sector, with relevance to the environmental impacts of agricultural and industrial practices of this food sector. A total of 110 documents published in 2008–2021 were analyzed and discussed. More than 78% of documents were released from 2015. The main Scopus categories relating to the topic analyzed were environmental sciences (25%), energy (18%), and engineering (17%). The most productive countries were Italy, Spain, and Greece. The cluster analysis identified three main research topics related to the “agricultural phase”, “oil extraction”, and “waste management and by-product valorization”. Most of the recent publications focused on the application of LCA to evaluate the environmental impact of innovative agricultural practices, sustainable control of parasites and weeds, wastes, and by-products valorization within a circular economy.

Application of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) to Solar Energy Development in Indonesia

Application of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) to Solar Energy Development in Indonesia

The life cycle assessment of subsurface drainage performance under rice-canola cropping system

The life cycle assessment (LCA) concept is a widely used tool to assess the environmental aspects of any activity throughout its life cycle. This study is the first application of LCA for assessing the agro-environmental sustainability of subsurface drainage systems under rice-canola cropping rotation. The systems included D0.65L15, D0.65L30, and D0.9L30, consisting of two depths (D=0.65 and 0.9 m) and two spacing (L= 15 and 30 m) and a bi-level drainage system with alternate depths of 0.9 and 0.65 m with 15 m spacing (Bilevel). A paddy plot with conventional surface drainage and similar cropping system was considered as control (Control). Two water management strategies, including mid-season drainage (MSD) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD), were practiced during rice-growing period. Free drainage (FD) was adopted during canola-growing period. Required field data were collected during 2011–2016, including four rice-canola-growing cycles (two MSD-FD cycles and two AWD-FD cycles). Using the LCA concept, the effectiveness of different drainage systems were assessed under the cycles of MSD-FD and AWD-FD. The AWD-FD system showed 7% less environmental impacts than MSD-FD. Also, AWD-FD reduced human health, climate change, and resource depletion indicators by 7.7%, 9.9%, and 8.4%, respectively, compared with MSD-FD, which improved the ecosystem quality index by 7.2%. The Bilevel, D0.9L30, D0.65L30, and D0.65L15 drainage systems, respectively, reduced the environmental impacts by 11.8%, 11.1%, 2.6%, and 5.9% under AWD-FD and 25.4%, 17.6%, 25.1%, and 14.1% under MSD-FD compared with Control. On average, Bilevel reduced the environmental impacts by 18.6% compared with the conventional surface drainage system. Based on the results, the LCA concept can be used as a suitable tool to evaluate the performance of subsurface drainage systems before implementation on a large scale.

Life Cycle Thinking for the environmental and financial assessment of rice management systems in the Senegal River Valley

Rice is a staple food in Senegal, which however imports more than 70% of the rice consumed annually to meet its domestic demand. Despite governmental efforts to increase rice self-sufficiency, both rice supply and yields remain low. Senegalese farmers face challenges related to irrigation infrastructure and fertiliser access, besides those derived from climate change. This study applies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) combined with financial Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to evaluate alternative scenarios for rice management in the Senegal River Valley and identify sustainability hotspots and potential improvements. Specifically, rice cultivation in Ross Béthio (Saint Louis, Senegal) is assessed based on the observed agricultural practices during the dry seasons of 2016 and 2017. Two scenarios capturing conventional (CONV) and intensive (INT) practices are compared to two reference scenarios (SAED scenarios) according to the recommendations of the official agricultural advisory service. The INT scenario generates the lowest impacts per kg of paddy rice in seven out of thirteen impact categories, including climate change, freshwater and marine eutrophication, ozone depletion and water scarcity. This is due to the higher yields (7.4 t ha−1) relative to CONV (4.8 t ha−1) and the two reference SAED scenarios (6.0 t ha−1). The two latter scenarios show the lowest values in the remaining categories, although they also generate slightly lower profits than INT (138 € t−1 vs. 149 € t−1) due to increased labour costs for additional fertilisation treatments. The results from both LCA and LCC underline the importance of increasing yields to decrease environmental impacts and production costs of rice when estimated per kg of product. Well-designed fertiliser application doses and timing and increased mechanisation can deliver further environmental benefits. Additional improvements (e.g. in irrigation, crop rotations, straw management) could be considered to promote the long-term sustainability and profitability of rice production in Senegal. LCA in combination with financial LCC is identified as a decision-support tool for evaluating the sustainability of alternative crop management practices. Life Cycle Thinking can still benefit from experiential learning based on information exchange between farmers, researchers and extension agents to contribute to a sustainable agriculture and ultimately to food security in Africa.

Addressing the contributions of electricity from biomass in Brazil in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals using life cycle assessment methods

AbstractThe implications of bioenergy deployment for sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been gaining importance worldwide, as bioenergy may contribute to other sustainability impacts besides climate change. Decarbonization of the energy sector can promote major co‐benefits between Climate Action and other SDGs and lead to important tradeoffs. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methods have been proposed to monitor the SDGs as many of them are closely interconnected but often separately studied. A harmonized application of environmental and social LCA can reveal additional relevant aspects of SDGs. This work proposes an interpretation of combined environmental and socioeconomic LCA impacts by comparing the SDG impacts of electricity from sugarcane biomass with other technological options, which altogether represent 96% of the Brazilian electricity matrix. Our analysis indicates that sugarcane electricity has a higher SDGs score (58 points) compared to coal and oil electricity (42 and 47 points, respectively); however, it is lower than natural gas (78). Sugarcane SDG internal normalization related to the biosphere is very close to natural gas, varying only 3–4 points. On the Economy and Society SDG score, sugarcane electricity is also lower than natural gas. Key areas in sugarcane electricity production that need to be enhanced to better contribute to achieving the SDGs include improving its awareness levels, increasing wages and women representation on the workforce, and promoting measures to decrease work accidents as well as the use of fertilizers and pesticides. This approach may help design specific measures for different value chains for them to significantly contribute to the achievement of SDGs.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lightweight Aggregates Made from Waste—Applying the Circular Economy

The application of Life Cycle Assessment in the construction sector can be a very useful tool to reduce the environmental impact generated by the sector. In order to quantify the improvement in environmental terms with the use of artificial lightweight aggregates (LWA) manufactured with waste, in this work, we conducted a comparative evaluation of the life cycle of LWAs for a total of five different scenarios: LWAs obtained in a traditional way, i.e., using exclusively clay in their manufacture (Spanish blond clay, Portuguese red clay and Portuguese blond clay), and LWAs manufactured with four different wastes, with a partial substitution of 2.5% for each of the clays per waste (almond and hazelnut shells, sludge from the purification of paper money, cork dust and coffee grounds). The functional unit was set as the production of 1 kilo of lightweight aggregates and the CML 2000 methodology and the SimaPro software were used. The results obtained in this research allow us to conclude that the addition of organic wastes showed a slightly higher environmental performance than the conventional system, the ALAs manufactured with almond and hazelnut shells being the most environmentally friendly option, with reductions of more than 30% in some cases, followed by the LWAs manufactured with coffee grounds. On the other hand, the addition of paper sewage sludge and cork dust represents minimal environmental optimization.

Life cycle assessment of paper mill wastewater: a case study in Viet Nam.

Although in a critical position in the economy, the paper industry releases a lot of wastewater that requires adequate treatment for sustainable development. This study presents an application of Life cycle assessment (LCA) with the ReCiPe tool on the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a paper factory in Vietnam to evaluate the environmental effect of the individual techniques in WWTP, especially the internal circulation (IC) reactor, a pioneer and practical anaerobic technology. Both Midpoint and Endpoint categories results demonstrated that chemical use and electricity consumption mainly contributed to the environmental impact in the WWTP. The Dissolved air flotation (DAF) and Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) are classified as effective techniques to reduce the impacts on the environment. Moreover, the comparison of LCA between IC and up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) shows that IC is the better practically green technique for the environment.

Developing Buildings’ Life Cycle Assessment in Circular Economy-Comparing methods for assessing carbon footprint of reusable components

The buildings’ life cycle assessment is missing consensus on the methods for revealing the environmental benefits in the case of components that are designed for disassembly. To clarify conflicting guidelines, this study provides a new improved method and investigates its applicability by comparing it to two approaches suggested in previous literature. The study investigates the effects of methodological choices by applying them in the life cycle assessment of three buildings with the same spatial layout but different structural solutions: business as usual, wooden structures, and hybrid building with structures designed for disassembly. The method was streamlined by focusing solely on the category of global warming potential and by using table values in life cycle stages that have minor role. The assessment shows that design-for-disassembly could be as powerful climate protection strategy as wooden structures. The main result of this study is the verification of a new secure method for assessing the design-for-disassembly components. The suggested approach would improve the applicability of life cycle assessment in a normative context by improving the consistency of assessment in the case of circular economy. This study suggests further research on combining the utilization rate with buildings’ life cycle assessment to provide even better applicability of the method in circular economy.

Life cycle assessment of sample preparation in analytical chemistry: a case study on SBSE and SPE techniques

In the past twenty years, green analytical chemistry has gained more and more attention. However, the environmental impacts of analytical methods have never been quantified. The purpose of this work is to apply life cycle assessment (LCA) to the preparation of one sample using SBSE and SPE techniques and to show that LCA is a suitable framework to quantitatively assess the environmental impacts of a sample preparation. The amounts of consumables, chemicals and energy needed to prepare a sample with both techniques were determined with the literature and lab measurements. We converted this data into environmental impacts through the use of a life cycle inventory database (ecoinvent 3.7.1) and a life cycle impact assessment method (ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint). The results of the LCA (baseline scenario) showed that the SBSE induces less overall environmental impacts than the SPE because it uses less chemicals to prepare one sample. The impacts of both techniques could be reduced by reusing the vial and vial caps which are the largest contributors. The spatial location of the laboratory (and its associated electricity mix) also plays a significant role for the SBSE process as it uses more electricity than the SPE process. This study paves the way for the application and standardization of LCA to whole chemical analysis, composed of the sample collection, preparation, analysis and the data analysis.

Ecodesign coupled with Life Cycle Assessment to reduce the environmental impacts of an industrial enzymatic cleaner

The application of life cycle assessment (LCA) through ecodesign strategies enables making informed choices on the sustainability of products and services. Accordingly, in this work we quantify the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of an enzymatic multipurpose cleaner to provide guidance on how producers and consumers can boost the implementation of more sustainable production and consumption patterns. LCA methodology with primary data is applied. To enable future comparison, 1 kg of detergent in its container is used as a functional unit, and cradle-to-grave system boundaries are set according to the reference "detergents and cleaning products" Product Category Rules (PCR). The environmental impacts are grouped into upstream, core and downstream life cycle phases, and seven impact categories are analyzed. Regarding the upstream stage, the degreaser 3-butoxy-2-propanol has the larger environmental load in 4 of 7 categories analyzed. During the core stage, electricity, natural gas and road transport of raw materials are the main contributors, while road transport has the largest share in 6 of the 7 downstream impact categories. Considering a cradle-to-grave boundary, a CO 2 -eq footprint of 0.76 kg per kg of packaged detergent is obtained, where energy consumption and transportation are the main impact drivers. Five ecodesigned scenarios are proposed to lower the overall environmental footprint of the enzymatic cleaner, including the use of renewable energy, higher volume packaging, the use of recycled packaging, the use of renewable surfactants from vegetal origin instead of petrochemically derived ones and the change from road transport for distribution to railway transport are analyzed. Among the proposed new scenarios aimed lower the cradle-to-grave environmental impacts, enlarging packaging volume results the most effective choice, lowering the impacts by 8–38% (global warming reduction by 25%). On the contrary, the substitution of the petroleum-based surfactant by one based on palm kernel oil increases the impacts by 4–16%. Overall, using larger packaging and the adoption of railway transportation are the most effective measures to reduce the impacts. As the followed PCR does not take into account the impacts generated after the use phase, we encourage its extension to the complete life cycle so toxicity and biodegradability aspects can also be considered. Covering from the extraction of raw materials, to production, transport, use and end-of-life, this work may pave the path toward the adoption of responsible production and consumption patterns in the cleaning sector. .

Application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in measuring the environmental impact of coalfired power plant - A review

Coal-fired power is among the most significant electric generated in most developed countries. The environmental impact of coal-fired power plants is usually associated with air, water and waste pollution. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standard method used to evaluate the potential of environmental impacts of a product or process over its life cycle stages. This paper aims to review the application of LCA in evaluating the environmental impact of coal-fired power plant fields. The results were summarised in term of goal, scope, functional unit, system boundaries, impact assessment method and impact category.

The Sustainability Data Science Life Cycle for automating multi-purpose LCA workflows for the analysis of large product portfolios

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a powerful and sophisticated tool to gain deep understanding of the environmental hotspots and optimization potentials of products. Yet, its cost-intensive manual data engineering and analysis workflows restrain its wider application in eco-design, green procurement, supply chain management, sustainable investment or other relevant business processes. Especially for large product portfolios and increasing reporting requirements, traditional LCA workflows and tools often fail to provide the necessary scalability. The Sustainability Data Science Life Cycle (S-DSLC) is a concept for workflow automation for multi-purpose LCA of large product portfolios. The concept integrates the frameworks of LCA, the cross-industry standard process for data mining (CRISP-DM), and the Data Science Life Cycle (DSLC). Key aspects of the concept are deep business-, stakeholder and user-understanding, deployment of LCA results in interactive browser tools (i.e. LCA-dashboards and Guided Analytics) tailored to the needs of individual roles and business processes, as well as the automation of data preparation, model generation and Life Cycle Impact Assessment based on modern data analytic tools. The demonstration of the concept shows substantial scalability improvements for dealing with large product portfolios and broad application of LCA results in various business processes.

Stakeholders’ perspectives on BIM and LCA for green buildings

There is growing concern about the environmental impacts of buildings on climate change. In this regard, the concept of integrating building technologies and environmental assessment methods, namely Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), has arisen as an innovative approach to improve building environmental assessment at the design phase. Recent studies made attempts to develop theoretical frameworks for BIM and LCA integration focusing on the technical aspects and the challenges of this integration. However, the stakeholders' perspectives on this integration of BIM and LCA for building environmental assessment have been overlooked. Therefore, there is a pressing need to understand the stakeholders' perspectives on BIM and LCA and their value for improving green building design and assessment. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on the potential implementation of an integrated BIM-LCA framework for building environmental assessment. To this end, this study investigates (1) the current applications of BIM and LCA in green buildings from the stakeholders' perspectives and (2) the stakeholders' level of awareness and agreement on the significance of BIM and LCA for green building design and assessment. In order to achieve this goal, a national survey was conducted among multiple stakeholders in the New Zealand building industry. The results indicate that BIM and LCA applications for green buildings are still immature. A statistically significant correlation is observed between the importance of BIM and LCA applications for green buildings. The stakeholders perceive BIM and LCA potentials and their integration positively. However, the current practices and applications of BIM and LCA do not align with the stakeholders’ perceptions. Massive efforts are still required for a wide implementation of BIM and LCA and their potential integration for green buildings.

Assessing the environmental consequences of shelf life extension: Conventional versus active packaging for pastry cream

Shelf life extension can reduce food losses throughout the entire food chain and packaging can be an effective way to attain this goal. Along these lines, active packaging is an appealing alternative that uses natural antimicrobial compounds to inhibit the growth of microorganisms causing food spoilage. Specifically, a packaging was developed based on polyethylene film with a coating fully compatible with food (all components declared as food additive and food contact materials). This bag is monomaterial, which means that, after use, it can be considered fully recyclable. In this study, conventional and bioactive bags carrying viable Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and phytic acid with antimicrobial activity were used to pack pastry cream. The environmental implications of the packaging choice have been assessed applying life cycle assessment to both the empty packages and the complete food-packaging system. To assess the empty packages, a bag of 200 mL capacity was the functional unit, and all life cycle stages were included, from cradle to waste treatment. In that case, the active packaging implies an increase in all the impact categories, due to the application of the bacterial coating on the conventional bag film. When assessing the food-packaging systems, the functional unit was 218 g of packed pastry cream and the system boundaries included the whole life cycle of the pastry cream-package, considering also indirect effects in terms of shelf life and food waste. Under this perspective, the environmental load of the coating production is offset by the extension of product shelf life from 3 to 13 days, with the subsequent reduction in the waste generated along the food chain. In this way, a reduction in all the impact categories corresponding to the pastry cream in active packaging is observed, ranging from 45% for ionizing radiation to 75% for climate change. It can be concluded that, despite the limitations regarding waste estimation, extending the shelf life of foods is a key issue when assessing the environmental impacts of novel packages. Future research should focus on developing better models, based on empirical data, which relate product shelf life and potential waste. In addition, a holistic sustainability assessment should also consider economic issues under a life cycle approach.

A Content Review of Life Cycle Assessment of Nanomaterials: Current Practices, Challenges, and Future Prospects.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of 71 previous studies on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of nanomaterials (NMs) from 2001 to 2020 (19 years). Although various studies have been carried out to assess the efficiency and potential of wastes for nanotechnology, little attention has been paid to conducting a comprehensive analysis related to the environmental performance and hotspot of NMs, based on LCA methodology. Therefore, this paper highlights and discusses LCA methodology’s basis (goal and scope definition, system boundary, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation) to insights into current practices, limitations, progress, and challenges of LCA application NMs. We found that there is still a lack of comprehensive LCA study on the environmental impacts of NMs until end-of-life stages, thereby potentially supporting misleading conclusions, in most of the previous studies reviewed. For a comprehensive evaluation of LCA of NMs, we recommend that future studies should: (1) report more detailed and transparent LCI data within NMs LCA studies; (2) consider the environmental impacts and potential risks of NMs within their whole life cycle; (3) adopt a transparent and prudent characterization model; and (4) include toxicity, uncertainty, and sensitivity assessments to analyze the exposure pathways of NMs further. Future recommendations towards improvement and harmonization of methodological for future research directions were discussed and provided. This study’s findings redound to future research in the field of LCA NMs specifically, considering that the release of NMs into the environment is yet to be explored due to limited understanding of the mechanisms and pathways involved.

Assessing and Improving the Eco-Efficiency of Manufacturing: Learning and Challenges from a Polish Case Study

Manufacturing offers substantial opportunities for economic growth after COVID-19, as long as it delivers competitively priced goods while simultaneously reducing pressure on the environment. In this study, we present the methodological feasibility of the joint application of life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for assessing eco-efficiency at the sector level. We employ this methodology to assess the environmental profiles of manufacturing in Poland in relation to their gross value added, and subsequently calculate the improvement targets for the eco-inefficient manufacturing industries. The study reveals that only the chemical industry is relatively eco-efficient, whereas the remaining industries have considerable room for improvement due to their very low eco-efficiency, and thus should follow the best practices established by the chemical industry. Although there are always individual paths for manufacturing industries to achieve the decoupling of economic growth from environmental pressure, activities such as the transformation of manufacturing methods to be less energy and material intensive and/or to be low-emission, the reincorporation of waste into the manufacturing processes, and the implementation of environmental management systems should become common targets of manufacturing in Poland.