Assessed Impact Categories Research Articles

A multifunctional life cycle assessment of durum wheat cropping systems

Agricultural systems strongly impact ecosystems by driving terrestrial degradation, water depletion, and climate change. The Life Cycle Assessment allows for comprehensive analyses of the environmental impacts of food production. Nonetheless, its application still faces challenges due to cropping systems’ increased complexity and multifunctionality. Past research has emphasized the need for more holistic approaches to consider dynamic crop interactions and diverse functions of cropping systems, beyond just meeting the demand for foods and feeds. In this context, this study applied an alternative combined and multifunctional modelling approach to compare the environmental performances of two durum wheat cropping systems. The latter differed in crop rotation schedules, farming methods, tillage techniques, and genotypes grown (including both modern and old ones). Novel methodological choices were adopted in this study, aiming at best representing the complexity and peculiarities of these systems, by considering crop rotation effects and reflecting the main durum wheat stakeholders’ perspectives. The results showed that the organic low-input landrace-growing system (Case 1) had considerably lower environmental impacts than the conventional high-input one (Case 2), regardless of the functional unit. The environmental hotspots were the increased land occupation and the bare fallow for Case 1 and Case 2, respectively. At the endpoint level, the most affected impact categories for both the systems of analysis were land use, fine particulate matter formation, global warming (human health), and human non-carcinogenic toxicity. Also, the midpoint analysis pointed out important differences in terms of other assessed impact categories, with Case 1 better performing for the majority of them. The identified improvement solutions include the following: the enhancement of the yield performances and the optimization of nitrogen provision from the leguminous crop for Case1, the shift toward a more efficient rotational scheme, the reduction of the use of external inputs, and the avoidance of unnecessary soil tillage operations for Case 2.

Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment of Data Centre Heat Recovery Technologies Combined with Fuel Cells for Energy Generation

The energy sector is essential in the transition to a more sustainable future, and renewable energies will play a key role in achieving this. It is also a sector in which the circular economy presents an opportunity for the utilisation of other resources and residual energy flows. This study examines the environmental and social performance of innovative energy technologies (which contribute to the circularity of resources) implemented in a demonstrator site in Luleå (Sweden). The demo-site collected excess heat from a data centre to cogenerate energy, combining the waste heat with fuel cells that use biogas derived from waste, meeting part of its electrical demand and supplying thermal energy to an existing district heating network. Following a cradle-to-gate approach, an environmental and a social life cycle assessment were developed to compare two scenarios: a baseline scenario reflecting current energy supply methods and the WEDISTRICT scenario, which considers the application of different renewable and circular technologies. The findings indicate that transitioning to renewable energy sources significantly reduces environmental impacts in seven of the eight assessed impact categories. Specifically, the study showed a 48% reduction in climate change impact per kWh generated. Additionally, the WEDISTRICT scenario, accounting for avoided burdens, prevented 0.21 kg CO2 eq per kWh auto-consumed. From the social perspective, the WEDISTRICT scenario demonstrated improvement in employment conditions within the worker and local community categories, product satisfaction within the society category, and fair competition within the value chain category. Projects like WEDISTRICT demonstrate the circularity options of the energy sector, the utilisation of resources and residual energy flows, and that these lead to environmental and social improvements throughout the entire life cycle, not just during the operation phase.

GeoGOBLIN: A catchment-scale land balance model for assessment of climate mitigation pathways considering environmental trade-offs for multiple impact categories

GeoGOBLIN, a novel environmental impact and land balance assessment tool, builds upon the GOBLIN biophysical land use emissions model for Ireland, offering enhanced resolution and system-level detail. It combines remotely sensed data and national agricultural census data to model climate change, air quality, and eutrophication emissions at the catchment level. Integration of the CBM-CFS3 forest carbon modelling framework (utilised in Ireland's National Inventory Report) increases alignment with national emissions reporting. GeoGOBLIN disaggregates emissions by life cycle assessment impact categories, making it a valuable tool for policymakers and researchers evaluating environmental and economic trade-offs associated with land-use scenarios. Illustrative scenarios demonstrate GeoGOBLIN's ability to assess the multifaceted impacts of alternative land uses, supporting informed decision-making for sustainable land use, food production, and a circular bioeconomy.

Steel slag as a low-impact filler in rubber compounds for environmental sustainability

ABSTRACT This study investigates the use of electric arc furnace (EAF) slag, as a substitute for conventional filler, such as calcium carbonate, in nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) composites in different volume fraction. The results demonstrate that slag exhibits morphological traits comparable to calcium carbonate when used as a filler, moreover their processability and mechanical properties are similar. Specifically, at 20% v/v, slag-flled NBR exhibits slightly longer scorch times but unchanged vulcanization times. Both fillers at 20% v/v show comparable hardness, compression strength, and elastic modulus. Tensile properties are also comparable, except for the strain at break, where slag-filled NBR shows a 40% higher tensile strain at break. The environmental impact of this innovative slag application has been evaluated through a comparative life cycle assessment. All assessed impact categories demonstrate a reduction of at least 89%. The study suggests that the use of EAF slag has the potential to promote sustainable waste management.

Minimizing the environmental impacts of waste valorization systems using multi-criteria life cycle optimization

Unsustainable waste management practices impose severe environmental hazards, health risks, and financial burdens. Waste valorization systems have emerged to mitigate the negative impacts of landfilling while recovering finite materials and renewable energy. This study aims to develop a life cycle assessment (LCA)-based multi-criteria framework using linear programming to optimize municipal waste allocation to multiple valorization facilities. The developed optimization model minimizes the life cycle impacts of integrated waste management on several life cycle impact categories. A multi-criteria decision-making analysis is implemented to account for the relative importance of the examined environmental categories, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to study the effect of varying the importance weights. The variation between different LCA methods, IMPACT, CML, and ReCiPe, is also investigated. The proposed framework is applied to Egypt based on local conditions and strategic priorities. The LCA findings reveal that processing recyclables in material recovery facilities enhances the environmental performance in all impact categories except ozone layer depletion. To achieve minimum environmental effects on the assessed impact categories, single objective models suggest the diversion of recyclables to material recovery facilities and non-recyclables to gasifiers. The Pareto front of IMPACT involves anaerobic digesters and incinerators, CML comprises composting facilities, and ReCiPe includes incinerators. Overall, this study provides a lifecycle-based decision-making guide for the planning and optimization of sustainable waste management systems, and highlights the potential variations in the outcomes of different LCA methods adopted.

Comparative Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessment of Fruit and Vegetable Waste Valorization by Anaerobic Digestion as an Alternative in a Mediterranean Market

Landfilling and incineration are the most widely used methods for the management and treatment of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) in Mediterranean markets, despite their potential environmental impact. A comparative life cycle assessment was conducted in this study to evaluate the environmental improvements from replacing the current landfill disposal method for FVW management and treatment in the wholesale market of Amman (Jordan) with an integrated anaerobic digestion process followed by composting. The proposed FVW treatment scenario is the best treatment option for all the assessed impact categories under the system expansion approach. Significant reductions in global warming and terrestrial ecotoxicity impacts categories would be achieved, reaching up to 322% and 352%, respectively, when compared to the current treatment scenario. Furthermore, the higher production of electrical energy (413%), as well as the production of co-products that would avoid the production of 100 kg/d of inorganic fertilizers, would contribute to such a low value of avoided impacts.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Solid Waste Management Systems in African Countries: A Systematic Review

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a vital tool for evaluating the environmental burden of solid waste. This study investigated the outcomes of selected studies that applied the LCA methodology in assessing the environmental consequences of solid waste management (SWM) systems in Africa. Thirteen process-based LCA studies on SWM were reviewed, drawing from established criteria in databases such as SCOPUS, Elsevier, and Google Scholar. These studies were distributed across various African countries, with three conducted in Mauritius and Nigeria each, two in Zimbabwe and South Africa each, and one in Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda, respectively. The evaluated parameters included aspects such as goal and scope, functional unit, system boundary, impact assessment categories, and sensitivity analysis. The findings revealed that majority of the studies employed similar waste management scenarios to determine the most environment-friendly, yet they differed considerably in some parameters. Climate change and global warming were the most assessed impact categories. Municipal solid waste (MSW) and plastic waste were the leading waste categories. MSW typically comprises paper, bottles, metal, plastics, glass, organics, and mixed waste proportions. The study also stated that the lack of reliable data on solid waste was a significant challenge faced by African countries in LCA studies. The paper’s findings highlighted that a significant number of the studies, particularly in Nigeria, did not incorporate sensitivity analysis into their assessments, a crucial component for result interpretation. Consequently, the study emphasizes the importance of conducting more LCA research studies in African countries to produce pertinent data on SWM.

Life cycle assessment of higher education institutions – method and case study

Against the backdrop of climate change and resource depletion, sustainability and sustainable development has been brought in the focus of industries and organisations. To quantify the environmental impacts of products and organisations the methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied area-wide in many different sectors. The higher education sector in particular has an important role to play in sustainable development due to the multiplier role by educating the academic employees of the future. Additionally, higher education institutions (HEIs) are a relevant sector by themselves due to their size and number of employees as well as their impact on innovation and future technologies. Therefore, HEIs should be at the forefront of assessing and reducing their environmental impact. In contrast to this an analysis of the available LCAs of HEIs shows significant limitations with regards to availability of assessments as well as guidelines on assessment methodologies. To contribute to closing this gap and increase the availability of LCA information for HEIs, a guideline is developed based on current LCA standards, which contains assistance regarding the goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment. The guideline is applied in a case study for Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH), one of the nine leading technical universities in Germany. Results of the case study show that the major contributors for the impact of the LUH are the transport activities, infrastructure and energy supply. In 13 of the 16 assessed impact categories, transport activities account for the largest share of potential environmental impacts, ranging from about 43% to 82%. However, the results of the case study must be considered with care as primary data availability from the LUH has been limited and therefore must be extended in the future.

Microalgal cultivation in open and closed systems under a tropical climate: A life cycle comparison

Microalgae can grow in different cultivation media, including domestic sewage, and have been used in several applications, including as biofertilizer in agriculture. Since microalgae have a cellular mechanism capable of using solar energy to synthesize bio-based compounds, the geographical location and appropriate climate conditions, such as radiation intensity and high temperature, increase the productivity and performance of cultivation systems. However, there are still few studies on microalgal cultivation in tropical areas, mainly to recover nutrients from domestic sewage for agricultural reuse of the biomass generated as biofertilizers. Aiming to overcome this lack of studies and to identify more environmentally sustainable solutions, life cycle assessment (LCA) method was employed to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of these microalgae cultivation systems. In this context, the aim of this study was to compare the potential environmental impacts of two systems: i) a raceway pond and ii) a flat panel photobioreactor on a pilot scale. Both systems were designed for microalgae cultivation under tropical climate conditions using domestic sewage anaerobically treated. The results indicated that the microalgae cultivation scenario in raceway pond was the worst option for the assessed impact categories. Sensitivity analysis showed that electricity consumption had a large influence on environmental impact while the use of inoculum did not significantly influence. Thus, electricity consumption increased the environmental impacts in most of the evaluated categories, however, the tropical climate conditions favored a decrease in the use of this input, helping to reduce the environmental impacts of the studied systems.

Life cycle assessment of food waste management options: a case study at campus level to foster sustainable campus

ABSTRACT This study aims to evaluate the environmental impact savings by different food waste management options of a university campus to support decision-making in the scope of sustainable campus. For this purpose, food waste generated inside the campus was characterized, and a hypothetical anaerobic digestion plant with a biogas recovery system was modeled. Two scenarios, representing the modeled plant, and current practices (landfilling and energy production methods) were formed, and life cycle assessment was conducted. For the modeled plant, the biogas and methane yields were calculated as 0.66 and 0.36 l/g VS, respectively, and generated electricity and heat were found as 92.6 and 188.9 kWh/day, respectively. Impact assessment results showed that global warming and acidification potential are the main impacts resulting from the current practices. More than 88% of impact savings can be achieved in all assessed impact categories by shifting to anaerobic digestion. In the scope of campus sustainability, 23% and 16% of the electricity and heat demand of the selected building on the campus can be supplied which results in 7%, 5%, 5%, and 4% impact reduction on campus level for global warming, photochemical ozone formation – impact on vegetation, terrestrial eutrophication, and acidification, respectively. Our results suggest that micro-scale changes may also provide a considerable amount of environmental impact savings.

Understanding the global warming potential of circular design strategies: Life cycle assessment of a design-for-disassembly building

Targets for carbon emissions and energy use are set within the built environment to drive change and reach net-zero by 2050. Meanwhile, circular design strategies, including design-for-disassembly (DfD), are promoted to address waste production, raw material usage and lack of reuse, however their environmental impacts are not always measured. Therefore, a process-based life cycle assessment of a DfD building has been performed to assess its environmental impacts across 18 impact categories. The results are compared against industry target values for global warming potential (GWP100), energy use and material reuse to assess whether current targets are effective for assessing a broad range of sustainability principles. For the product and construction stages, the rank order of the main contributors to GWP100 is representative of 8 of the 18 impact categories. The superstructure and building services account for at least 75 % of the total impacts for product and construction stage across all impact categories. Compared against industry target values, the case study building has a GWP100 that is 26 % below baseline industry target values for the product and construction stage, operates using less energy than targets for education and office buildings, and has been designed to enable the reuse of 65 %, by mass, of the substructure and superstructure at end-of-life. Current target values focus on driving reductions in GWP100 while maintaining low operational energy use, but do not fully capture the benefits from increasing material reuse through circular and DfD strategies. Patterns within assessed impact categories need to be further investigated to develop target values capable of representing a range of impact categories and material circularity.

Using Life Cycle Assessment in tenders to enhance the sustainable procurement of External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems

Green Public Procurement (GPP) is a policy instrument to decrease the environmental impact of products and services and create environmental value for society. A new method for assessing environmental award criteria in GPP processes was developed to integrate environmental and economic criteria into public tenders for External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS). The main objective of this study was to identify the effect that the inclusion of environmental impacts can have on decision-making in public procurement. At this scope, an environmental benchmark for the main phases of the supply chain (production, installation and disposal) of ETICS that use different insulating materials, including EPS and mineral wool, was defined for different Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) impact categories after a detailed literature review. Then the monetisation method of the externalities was applied to combine the environmental impacts and the direct costs associated with the manufacture of the ETICS system by obtaining a single score for the selection of the best bid from the environmental and economic point of view. This methodology was implemented in a spreadsheet and a case study was analysed as a practical application of the tool developed for the determination of the global index. The case study simulated a tender in which three contractors provided their bid for an ETICS system. The overall investigation of the results obtained in the case study showed that the environmental externalities have a rather limited incidence compared to direct costs (between 0.8 and 10%). However, even if the lower direct costs were provided by contractor 1 (87.72 €/m2) in comparison to contractor 2 (87.80 €/m2) and contractor 3 (92.74 €/m2), the slightly higher environmental impacts caused the costs to rise. The most environmentally and economically advantageous bid was then provided by contractor 2, for which the global index was the lowest for each monetisation method applied. For all the impact categories considered, the production stage (A1-A3) represents the most significant contribution. The thermal insulation material and the finishing coat provide the greatest contribution to the environmental impact. The tool was designed to improve the knowledge of the economic and environmental performances of ETICS systems, which might be also used by public administrations to define minimum environmental requirements and maximum specific costs when preparing tenders for the energy requalification of buildings.

Sustainability assessment of products - Case study of wind turbine generator types

This study proposes a product sustainability assessment tool (PSAT) that addresses the environmental, health and safety, social, and economic sustainability aspects from a life cycle perspective. The proposed PSAT uses the principles of Green Chemistry, Industrial Ecology, and Green Engineering as guidelines in the development of its assessment criteria. The developed assessment criteria are expressed as easy-to-answer questions covering the environmental, social, health and safety and economic aspects of sustainability. PSAT also incorporates life cycle assessment impact categories and the Circular Economy approach. PSAT comprises an Excel checklist of a questionnaire with a drop-down list of answers to select from describing the sustainability impact of the assessed product. PSAT serves to highlight the sustainability hotspots in a product's life cycle. The questionnaire consists of qualitative and quantitative assessment criteria and contains a total of 97 questions, out of which there are 11 design questions, 22 materials selection questions, 31 manufacturing questions, 24 use questions, and 9 end-of-life questions. The PSAT scoring system enables users to compare the sustainability performance of their products. PSAT aims to aid users in making informed decisions before purchasing a product based on the information on how the product is designed and what materials it contains, how it was manufactured, how it will perform during its use, and what will happen at the end of its useful life. It also aims to aid product manufacturers and designers in incorporating sustainability into all stages of the product life cycle. The PSAT methodology promotes a holistic view of a product life cycle, including the design, materials selection, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life stage.As a case study, PSAT was used to perform a comparative sustainability assessment of two types of 3 MW rated power wind turbines: a direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and a doubly-fed induction generator with a gearbox (DFIG). The results from the sustainability assessment reveal that the DFIG wind turbine had a better sustainability impact than the direct-drive PMSG in the materials selection, manufacturing, and end-of-life life cycle stages. On the other hand, the direct-drive PMSG had a better sustainability impact than DFIG in the life cycle stages design and use. Overall, DFIG demonstrated a better sustainability impact than the direct-drive PMSG.

Life Cycle Assessment of Shared Municipal Solid Waste Management Facilities in a Metropolitan Region

In Brazil, there are densely populated metropolitan regions, motivated by a great migratory flux in the 1970s. One of the consequences is the increased per capita municipal solid waste generation, which has been constantly associated with deficient waste management. That is the case of 19 municipalities from Goiás State that inappropriately disposed of 73% of the produced household waste. According to Law No. 12,305/2010, these municipalities must implement a waste management facility with MSW recovery and landfill diversions to minimize environmental impacts. Furthermore, a specific life cycle assessment tool was used to conduct an environmental assessment of different alternatives for a shared waste management system among the metropolitan municipalities. The results have shown that the current scenario has the largest environmental impacts in seven of 12 assessed impact categories, among them the global warming potential. In this scenario, final waste disposal has the greatest environmental impact, particularly due to unlicensed landfills. Conversely, anaerobic digestion with greater landfill diversions generates the lowest emissions in eight of 12 impact categories. This demonstrates the importance of anaerobic digestion and the compliance of the diversion targets established by the Brazilian National Plan for Solid Waste Management.

An analysis of Brazilian raw cow milk production systems and environmental product declarations of whole milk

The aim of this study is twofold: (i) to provide an LCA of raw cow milk production systems from the two most representative states (Paraná and Minas Gerais) for milk production in Brazil considering four impact categories according to product category rules of raw milk; and (ii) to analyze the environmental performance of milk produced in Brazil (at the farm-gate) with that of milk produced in other parts of the world (at the farm-gate) based on valid EPDs of processed whole milk and LCA studies of milk in the existing literature. For building life cycle inventories, agricultural processes and activities associated with milk production were mapped out. Three milk production systems in Brazil were assessed, one confined, and two semi-confined, in two different regions, within Minas Gerais and Paraná states. The functional unit used in this study was 1 kg of fat and protein corrected milk. Moreover, an analysis of the environmental performance of milk produced in Brazil with that of milk produced in other parts of the world based on valid EPDs of processed milk was made. LCA results and the results obtained from the valid EPDs used different life cycle impact assessment methods (IPCC 2013; CML, ReCiPE) and impact categories (climate change, acidification potential, eutrophication, formation potential of tropospheric ozone). The raw milk (cradle-to-farm-gate) produced in Brazil (in different states and based on different systems - confined or semi-confined) has lower environmental impacts when associated with those (cradle-to-farm-gate) of published EPDs. The study also briefly compared the results of Brazilian milk production systems with cradle-to-farm-gate LCAs of raw milk found in the literature, and discussed a few strategies for the Brazilian market of milk and dairy products. MPS in Brazil can serve as a benchmark for MPS in other countries, and EPDs can add transparency to business-to-business and business-to-consumer relations.

Environmental impacts and associated costs of railway turnouts based on Austrian data

The production and provision of railway infrastructure causes environmental impacts for several environmental indicators. The goal of this study is a single-score evaluation for environmental impacts of turnouts by calculating associated environmental costs. The methodology includes the life cycle assessment using the CML-IA baseline method to calculate mid-point indicators. Monetary valuation models are investigated as a basis for environmental pricing. Turnouts equipped with USP result in lower annual environmental costs (EC) of €429 than turnouts with conventional concrete sleepers (€495). Of the assessed impact categories, global warming potential (GWP) is responsible for the vast majority of EC with values from 87% to 97%. The main uncertainties lie within the emission factors to calculate mid-point indicators and the deviation within the environmental pricing schemes. Steel and concrete production, circular economy, use of alternative propulsion systems for track work machinery, and efficient maintenance strategies are major potentials for mitigation.

Comparative life cycle assessment of LFP and NCM batteries including the secondary use and different recycling technologies

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) batteries are the most widely used power lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles (EVs) currently. The future trend is to reuse LIBs retired from EVs for other applications, such as energy storage systems (ESS). However, the environmental performance of LIBs during the entire life cycle, from the cradle to the grave, has not been extensively discussed. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of LFP and NCM batteries. Apart from the phases of production, the first use in EVs, and recycling, the repurposing of retired LIBs and their secondary use in the ESS were also included in the system boundary. Also, the environmental impacts of various recycling processes were evaluated. The LCA results suggested that the NCM battery had better comprehensive environmental performance than the LFP one but shorter service life over the whole life cycle. In China, the first and secondary use phases contributed most to the environmental impacts with electricity mostly generated from fossil fuels. The LIB production phase was relevant to all assessed impact categories and contributed more than 50% to Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP elements) particularly. The environmental loads could be mitigated through the recovery of metals and other materials. And, hydrometallurgy was recommended for recycling waste LIBs by better environmental advantages than pyrometallurgy and direct physical recycling. Sensitivity analysis revealed that by optimizing the charge-discharge efficiency of LIBs, particularly LFP batteries, all environmental burdens could be considerably decreased. Therefore, improving the electrochemical performance of LIBs and increasing the use proportion of clean energy were crucial to reduce the environmental impacts over their entire life cycle.

A review: life cycle assessment of cotton textiles

A significant amount of research has been published on the environmental impact assessment of cotton textiles using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. This review summarized and analysed the findings of these publications, and presented valuable insights for identifying the hotspots that have considerable potential for reducing the environmental burden of cotton textiles. The relevant papers were selected according to two criteria: life cycle assessment of cotton textiles or footprint of cotton textiles. Subsequently, key features were screened and critically analysed: functional unit, system boundary, data sources and geographic location, and impact assessment methods and impact categories. We found that there is an emerging market demand to transform conventional cotton to organic cotton. From the global perspective, a spatially explicit LCA of cotton textiles should be conducted. In addition, a comprehensive and holistic life cycle impact assessment containing more impact categories that are appropriate to cotton textiles is required. LCA is a well-justified approach among practitioners and researchers and has been widely applied to the topic of cotton textiles. This methodology should be studied and developed further to more precisely evaluate the environmental impacts of cotton textiles.

Characterizing municipal solid waste component densities for use in landfill air space estimates.

Understanding the densities of individual waste materials in landfills as a function of landfill overburden pressure can provide a means to estimate the space occupied by these materials when they are landfilled. A compression device was used to simulate the overburden pressures in a landfill to determine the densities associated with 14 material categories. The materials with the greatest density were food waste, yard waste, and glass, ranging from 1302 to 1865 kg m-3. The lowest density was associated with aluminum and steel/tin cans at 206 and 389 kg m-3, respectively. Some materials did not exhibit a large variation in density when the load increased, indicating that their density was mostly independent of the overburden pressure. The data gathered from this research can be used as lifecycle assessment impact categories, where the functional unit of interest is 1 tonne of a material and the impact is measured as m3 of landfill space occupied.

Life cycle assessment of electricity generation: a review of the characteristics of existing literature

The environmental impacts of electricity generation are a critical issue towards sustainability and thus an important research topic in several countries. The life cycle assessment methodology has been widely employed to assess electricity generation. However, there are still gaps in research to be explored within this theme. Therefore, this paper aims to conduct a systematic theoretical analysis of the state of the art of the scientific research on LCA of electricity generation systems in the world. A critical review of 47 studies was conducted. The study is comprehensive in the analysis of the main aspects of the identified high impact studies as follows: authors, countries, universities, keywords, journals, number of citations, life cycle impact assessment methods, impact categories, software tools, and databases. The Methodi Ordinatio was applied to rank the studies in terms of impact factor and number of citations, pointing out high impact research. Wind and solar powers have two of the smallest impact indices in their generation in terms of global warming, compared to other sources. The ecoinvent database was the most used among the studies analyzed, providing data for potential environmental impacts. The most frequently used impact category in the assessments was climate change. The studies are not equally distributed but most of them are concentrated in European countries. In some countries, clean sources seem promising due to their capacity to generate electricity in places with high wind incidence and high capacity for sunlight capture. The conclusions of this article summarize the characteristics of existing literature and provide suggestions for future work. The results of the study can also be used to promote development actions and foment changes in energy matrices in a global context. The main studies in this area point that in the future, the main sources for electricity generation will be renewable ones, since life cycle assessment of electricity generation systems has been seeking to generate knowledge to support informed decision-making.