Economic Input-output Life-cycle Analysis Research Articles

Investigation of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management practices using an economic input-output life cycle analysis approach

The urban solid waste management is gaining attention due to ecological, economic, and demographic factors, emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices and infrastructure development. There are two main objectives of this work: developing an effective framework to predict the environmental impacts of alternative packaging waste collection rates and estimating the associated environmental emissions, energy consumption, and the materials required for goods and services for the case of Avcilar Municipality in Istanbul City, Türkiye. To achieve these objectives, an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment model was implemented to assess the impacts of all associated industrial sectors. The results showed that as the amount of packaging waste collection increases, the top two sectors that are responsible for the most emissions are Oil and Gasoline Production and Electricity Production and Supply sectors. In addition, the economic analysis results of the study show that as the packaging waste collection rate increases, the unit packaging waste collection cost decreases. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the environmental emissions of packaging waste management strategies. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of packaging waste management in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. Policymakers and waste management stakeholders can utilize this framework to identify strategies that minimize environmental impacts and carbon footprints, thereby fostering a transition towards more sustainable waste management options.

Economic input-output LCA of precast corundum-blended ECC overlay pavement

Many studies have explored the prospect of using Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) in rigid pavements by looking at aspects such as mechanical performance, temperature susceptibility, cost, and environmental impact. Although ECC is an excellent choice because of its high tensile capacity, its major drawback for pavement applications is that it lacks roughness because of no coarse aggregates. Recently, an ECC mix containing corundum fine aggregates has shown remarkably higher skid resistance and drainage performance for pavement applications. The current study attempts to perform a comprehensive Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Analysis (EIO-LCA) of a concrete pavement having a precast corundum-blended ECC overlay. This LCA is compared with the LCA of a conventional rigid pavement and a full-depth conventional ECC pavement. The study includes both an inventory analysis using EIO-LCA and an impact assessment at midpoint and endpoint level on selected impact categories. It is found that the pavement having a precast corundum-blended ECC overlay is more economically and environmentally sustainable than the full-depth concrete and ECC pavements, and also has lower life-cycle impacts overall.

Carbon footprint evaluation of local dwellings in Bangladesh towards low carbon society

PurposeLocal dwellings of Bangladesh have specific environmental characteristics. These dwellings extensively use locally available materials and construction techniques. Therefore, carbon footprint (CF), as a prominent environmental parameter, is greatly affected by construction materials and techniques. Nonetheless, scientific justification is limited to evaluate CF of these dwellings in Bangladesh according to different local construction materials. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate different rural dwellings’ CF for both construction and operational phases toward the development of low carbon society in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachFor evaluating CF, literature review and field studies were conducted to specify and categorize cases. An intensive field monitoring and occupant's survey were performed during summer. A widely recognized compliant database and assessment tool “Ecoinvent v3” was used based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040 and 14044. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to evaluate constructional and operational stages of carbon emission using hybrid methods formed by process-based and economic input–output life cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) approaches.FindingsThe study indicates that different building materials significantly impact on dwelling's amount of carbon emission according to construction techniques. Brick dwelling's construction stage carbon emission was nearly 3.86 times higher than timber, whereas, 6.75 times higher than mud dwelling. In terms of operational stage, local brick dwelling emits higher carbon compared to others relating to occupants’ lifestyle and activities.Originality/valueThis study will contribute to helping professionals and policy-makers to interpret and evaluate architectural design and construction processes for improving low-carbon dwellings in Bangladesh.

Variability in the Use of Disposable Surgical Supplies: A Surgeon Survey and Life Cycle Analysis

A substantial amount of waste is generated during surgery, yet few studies have investigated this problem. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter survey to investigate how the variation in the use of disposable supplies contributes to the environmental and financial burdens of health care. We created a questionnaire to identify differences in supply use and practice characteristics among hand surgeons who participated in the Wrist and Radius Injury Surgical Trial. We determined the average cumulative cost of 10 key surgical items based on the responses. Subsequently, we estimated the kilograms of carbon dioxide emitted during the life cycle of supplies, from raw material extraction to production and disposal, using economic input-output life cycle analysis. Thirty-five surgeons from 19 institutions responded to the survey (65% response rate). Based on the difference in costs between surgeons who used the fewest and the most supplies, we determined that expenditures and carbon dioxide emissions could decrease by $22.47 and 10.9 kg per procedure, respectively, with leaner use of 10 key items. Furthermore, assuming that surgeon variation in supply use is present in other surgical subspecialties, we estimated that $2.4 billion in savings and an 800.6 thousand metric ton reduction in carbon emissions could be achieved if all US surgeons reduced their supply use by this amount. This study revealed considerable variations in the use of disposable supplies among hand surgeons, highlighting the need for evidence-based tools, policies, and education campaigns to reduce hospital waste across health care systems. Optimal use of disposable supplies is necessary to reduce the cost and environmental burden of hand surgery care.

The potential of a bioeconomy to reduce Brazilian GHG emissions towards 2030: a CGE‐based life cycle analysis

AbstractBrazil is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world with most of its emissions coming from the land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector. New commitments have been set by the Paris Agreement and are reflected in the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The Brazilian NDC has three main pillars to reduce emissions: increasing the share of biomass in the total primary energy supply to 18%, reducing deforestation, and achieving 45% of renewable energy in the energy mix. It is important to enlarge the share of biomass in the Brazilian economy, but it is also important to assess the potential impacts on deforestation in order to set the right strategy eventually. This study is thus an effort to investigate the contributions of a biobased economy to reduce Brazilian emissions, considering the broader concept of the bioeconomy, using biomass for energy, chemicals, and materials. To satisfy the objectives of the project, especially those related to its interest in economy‐wide changes in feedstock (from fossil to biobased), computable general equilibrium modeling (CGE) was chosen as the basic methodology integrated with an economic input–output life cycle analysis (EIO‐LCA). Results show that the impacts of the bioeconomy scenarios are positive but not sufficiently high to reduce the estimated emissions drastically. Emissions by the energy sector produce the highest reductions (7.5%) but the 12% increase in the LULUCF sector offsets those reduction. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Embodied carbon as a proxy for the environmental impact of earthquake damage repair

In evaluating the life cycle environmental impacts of buildings, the contributions of seismic damage are rarely considered. In order to enable a more comprehensive assessment of a building's environmental impact by accounting for seismic events, this project developed an environmental impact database of building component seismic damage – the largest of its kind known to date – by combining data from Carnegie Mellon University's Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) database with cost estimates of repair previously developed for FEMA's Performance Assessment Calculation Tool (PACT), a software that models probabilistic seismic damage in buildings. Fifteen indicators of environmental impacts were calculated for the repair of approximately 800 building components for up to five levels of seismic damage, capturing ‘embodied’ impacts related to cradle-to-gate manufacturing of building materials, products, and equipment. Analysis of the data revealed that non-structural and architectural finishes often dominated the environmental impacts of seismic damage per dollar spent in repair. A statistical analysis was performed on the data using Principal Component Analysis, confirming that embodied carbon, a popular metric for evaluating environmental impacts in building LCAs, is a suitable proxy for other relevant environmental impact metrics when assessing the impact of repairing earthquake damage of buildings.

Scope-based carbon footprint analysis of U.S. residential and commercial buildings: An input–output hybrid life cycle assessment approach

Analyzing building related carbon emissions remains as one of the most increasing interests in sustainability research. While majority of carbon footprint studies addressing buildings differ in system boundaries, scopes, GHGs and methodology selected, the increasing number of carbon footprint reporting in response to legal and business demand paved the way for worldwide acceptance and adoption of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) set by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Current research is an important attempt to quantify the carbon footprint of the U.S. residential and commercial buildings in accordance with carbon accounting standards and Scopes set by WRI, in which all possible indirect emissions are also considered. Emissions through the construction, use, and disposal phases were calculated for the benchmark year 2002 by using a comprehensive hybrid economic input–output life cycle analysis. The results indicate that emissions from direct purchases of electricity (Scope 2) with 48% have the highest carbon footprint in the U.S. buildings. Indirect emissions (Scope 3) with 32% are greater than direct emissions (Scope 1) with 20.4%. Commuting is the most influential activity among the Scope 3 emissions with more than 10% of the carbon footprint of the U.S. buildings overall. Construction supply chain is another important contributor to the U.S. building's carbon footprint with 6% share. Use phase emissions are found to be the highest with 91% of the total emissions through all of the life cycle phases of the U.S. buildings.

Analysis of water footprint of a photobioreactor microalgae biofuel production system from blue, green and lifecycle perspectives

Microalgae are currently being investigated as a feedstock for the commercial production of transportation fuels, due to their potential scalability and sustainability advantages over conventional feedstocks. The water consumption of microalgae has been postulated to be a resource barrier for large-scale production. This study presents an assessment of the water footprint (WF) of a closed photobioreactor-based biofuel production system, where microalgae cultivation is simulated with geographical and temporal resolution. The assessment focuses on the WF as modeled for four different fuel conversion pathways, and in 10 continental US locations corresponding to high productivity yields. The WF is comprehensively assessed using a hybrid approach which combines process and economic input–output lifecycle analysis method, using three metrics: blue, green and lifecycle WF. Results show that the blue WF of microalgae biofuels varies between 23 and 85m3·GJ−1 depending on process and geographic location. The green WF shows that microalgae cultivation may reduce the required local water withdrawals. Water credits from the co-products vary with allocation methods and end uses, from credits of less than 4m3·GJ−1 up to credits of 334m3·GJ−1. Results for the net lifecycle WF with coproduct credits vary between 80 and −291m3·GJ−1. Discussion focuses on the sensitivity of microalgae biofuel WF and highlights potential local and national strain of water resources relative to other fuels and biofuels.

Improving the integrated hybrid LCA in the upstream scope 3 emissions inventory analysis

Purpose The protocols of carbon footprints generally define three scopes for different greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions levels. The most important carbon footprint emissions source comes from upstream indirect emissions of scope 3 for products that do not consume energy during their use phase. Upstream scope 3 GHG inventory can usually be analyzed through input–output or hybrid LCA analysis. The economic input–output life cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) and the hybrid LCA model have been widely used for this purpose. However, a cutoff error exists in the hybrid model, and the lack of a truncation criterion between process and IO inventory may lead to a high level of uncertainty in the hybrid model. This study attempts to improve the problem of cutoff uncertainty in hybrid LCA and proposes a method to minimize the cutoff uncertainty.

可持续消费的内涵及研究进展——产业生态学视角

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 可持续消费的内涵及研究进展——产业生态学视角 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201203170361 作者: 作者单位: 中国科学院生态环境研究中心城市与区域国家重点实验室,中国科学院生态环境研究中心,中国科学院生态环境研究中心 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金重点项目(71033005);国家自然科学基金面上项目(70873122) Definition and research progress of sustainable consumption: from industrial ecology view Author: Affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Enviornmental Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing: 100085,, Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:生产和消费是产生诸多环境问题的根本原因,而可持续生产和消费则是实现可持续发展的根本途径。基于产业生态学视角,界定了可持续消费的定义及内涵,认为可持续消费首先须符合代内公平、代际公平和资源能源永续合理利用等可持续理念;其次辨识了可持续消费研究依次经历关注消费者行为直接环境影响、关注产品和服务生命周期环境影响到关注消费者责任3个阶段;最后结合我国城市化、工业化背景,提出我国可持续消费研究应该以城市居民为重点、加强生命周期数据库建设和内注重可持续生产等建议。 Abstract:Production and consumption are basic human activities that impact on the environment, and sustainable consumption (SC),which emphases on fairness in and between generations, on sustainable use of energy and resource, is an effective way to get the goal of sustainable development. Industrial ecology (IE) strives to discover the relationship between industrial activities and their environmental impacts, and life cycle analysis (LCA) provides a method to evaluate the environmental impact of specific products or services, from cradle to grave. Strong Sustainable Consumption, in which life quality rises while resources and energy needs decline for the improvement of environmental awareness and the changes of consumption of consumer, is a senior model of SC, and Weak Sustainable Consumption, characterized by calling on producing more environmentally friendly products, is a junior stage of SC. The research interesting of SC changed with the development of SC theories and methods. Firstly, sustainable consumption studies mainly focused on the direct environmental impacts of consumption behaviro in 1990s, and then household metabolism was used to distinguish household environmental impacts by quantitative analysis of material flows and energy requirements. The HOMES (Household Metabolism Effectively Sustainable) project implemented by Groningen University unfolded that direct environmental impacts of consumption couldn't represent all the impacts, and the embedded parts were important too. The second stage of SC concerned for the whole life cycle environmental impacts of products and services with LCA. Because LCA is a bottom-up model and intact data of residential consumption is too hard to collect, so Hybrid LCA, or economic input-output LCA (EIO-LCA), was a substitute to overcome the limitation of data requirement for traditional LCA. Hybrid LCA is base on the complex relationships between industrial sectors, and can be used to detect how economic structure, life style, and technologic innovation affect environmental impacts. The third stage involved discussion of consumer responsibility due to increasing interesting in carbon responsibility and carbon responsibility allocation caused by international trade. By the use of Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) analysis, the focus of SC shifts to consumer responsibility of global carbon emission from environmental impacts of consumption. MRIO is supposed to be significant to discriminate the carbon footprint of different consumption pattern and to calculate the carbon emission allocation globally in the future. SC is an important part of Circle Economy and Resource saving and environment friendly society in China. Based on the process of urbanization and industrialization in the next decades, the authors make the following three suggestions for sustainable consumption researches in China: 1) Highlight the urban resident's consumption. Urban residents consume much more products and services than rural residents, and the quantity of urban residents will keep arising in the future. 2) Construct fundamental national LCA database by integrating acquired LCA database of related institutions and universities and establish standard methods. 3) Focus on sustainable production in short term. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Energy consumption and carbon footprint of high-speed rail projects: Using CAHSR and FHSR as examples

During the past 2 years, high-speed rail (HSR) has become a popular concept in the United States partially because of its perceived environmental benefits. Many states are competing for HSR funding after the federal government made HSR a domestic priority. Of course, the allocation of funding is subject to many constraints. Among them, one of the necessary considerations should be the environmental efficiency of each HSR line. Using the proposed lines in California (CAHSR) and Florida (FLHSR) as examples, this article details a method that can be used to assess the life-cycle energy usage and carbon emission efficiency for new HSR lines. Ridership is forecasted based on data from existing HSR lines, and energy and emissions are analysed with the Economic Input–Output–Life-Cycle Analysis tool. Calculation shows that the construction of CAHSR is more environmentally efficient primarily due to its higher ridership predictions.

Probabilistic life cycle analysis model for evaluating electric power infrastructure risk mitigation investments

One effect of climate change may be increased hurricane frequency or intensity due to changes in atmospheric and geoclimatic factors. It has been hypothesized that wetland restoration and infrastructure hardening measures may improve infrastructure resilience to increased hurricane frequency and intensity. This paper describes a parametric decision model used to assess the tradeoffs between wetland restoration and infrastructure hardening for electric power networks. We employ a hybrid economic input–output life-cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) model to capture: construction costs and life-cycle emissions for transitioning from the current electric power network configuration to a hardened network configuration; construction costs and life-cycle emissions associated with wetland restoration; and the intrinsic value of wetland restoration. Uncertainty is accounted for probabilistically through a Monte Carlo hurricane simulation model and parametric sensitivity analysis for the number of hurricanes expected to impact the project area during the project cycle and the rate of wetland storm surge attenuation. Our analysis robustly indicates that wetland restoration and undergrounding of electric power network infrastructure is not preferred to the “do-nothing” option of keeping all power lines overhead without wetland protection. However, we suggest a few items for future investigation. For example, our results suggest that, for the small case study developed, synergistic benefits of simultaneously hardening infrastructure and restoring wetlands may be limited, although research using a larger test bed while integrating additional costs may find an enhanced value of wetland restoration for disaster loss mitigation.

Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Anaerobic Biodegradation of Municipal Solid Waste

Energy requirements and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for current landfilling of municipal solid waste (MSW) was compared to potential biodegradation of MSW in anaerobic digesters (AD) throughout the United States. A hybrid life-cycle analysis was completed to assess the potential for anaerobic biodegradation of MSW to methane, a valuable energy source. Conversion of MSW to methane in AD would generate a form of renewable energy, reduce GHG emissions, and save landfill space for nonbiodegradable materials. Based on laboratory- and pilot-scale studies conducted in the United States, full-scale data from facilities in Europe, and economic input-output life-cycle analysis, the annual 127 million t of MSW landfilled in the United States could be biologically converted to 5.9 billion m 3 of methane. Net methane production would have an estimated value of $1.5 billion/year when converted to an equivalent amount of electricity at an assumed value of $0.1/kWh. The 15 billion kWh/year of renewable energy released through the biodegradation process is estimated to satisfy the annual consumption of 1.3 million United States households. The analysis also suggests that diversion of MSW from landfills to AD systems would result in GHG emissions reductions of 146 million t CO 2 e per year, due to decreased landfill activity and use of biogenic methane instead of fossil fuel for electricity production. This represents a reduction in total emissions of 1.9% compared to U.S. GHG emissions in 2006. Nationwide AD systems are projected to reduce cumulative energy consumption by nearly 15 million TJ and reduce GHG emissions by 7.2 billion t CO 2 e, over a 50-year period. Logistics and capital costs of developing a nationwide reactor-based system for MSW management are considerable. Development of appropriate national policy and incentives would be needed to stimulate such a transition from the current landfill-based system that currently exists. It is estimated that a carbon emissions credit on the order of $30 to $60/t CO 2 e would facilitate break-even economics for nationwide implementation of AD systems. Alternatively, renewable energy credits would enhance the value of electricity produced from AD biogas. Carbon emissions taxes on landfills would further improve the economics of AD systems.

Assessing contributory risk using economic input-output life-cycle analysis

The contribution of consumer purchases of non-essential products to environmental pollution is characterized. Purchase decisions by consumers induce a complex sequence of economy-wide production interactions that influence the production and consumption of chemicals and subsequent exposure and possible public health risks. An economic input-output life-cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) was used to link resource consumption and production by manufacturers to corresponding environmental impacts. Using the US Department of Commerce's input-output tables together with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory and AIRData databases, the economy-wide air discharges resulting from purchases of household appliances, motor homes, and games and toys were quantified. The economic and environmental impacts generated from a hypothetical 10,000 US dollar purchase for selected consumer items were estimated. The analysis shows how purchases of seemingly benign consumer products increase the output of air pollutants along the supply chain and contribute to the potential risks associated with environmental chemical exposures to both consumers and non-consumers alike.

A Life-Cycle Comparison of Alternative Automobile Fuels

ABSTRACT We examine the life cycles of gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and ethanol (C2H5OH)-fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) automobiles. Port and direct injection and spark and compression ignition engines are examined. We investigate diesel fuel from both petroleum and biosources as well as C2H5OH from corn, herbaceous bio-mass, and woody biomass. The baseline vehicle is a gasoline-fueled 1998 Ford Taurus. We optimize the other fuel/powertrain combinations for each specific fuel as a part of making the vehicles comparable to the baseline in terms of range, emissions level, and vehicle lifetime. Life-cycle calculations are done using the economic input-output life-cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) software; fuel cycles and vehicle end-of-life stages are based on published model results. We find that recent advances in gasoline vehicles, the low petroleum price, and the extensive gasoline infrastructure make it difficult for any alternative fuel to become commercially viable. The most attractive alternative fuel is compressed natural gas because it is less expensive than gasoline, has lower regulated pollutant and toxics emissions, produces less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is available in North America in large quantities. However, the bulk and weight of gas storage cylinders required for the vehicle to attain a range comparable to that of gasoline vehicles necessitates a redesign of the engine and chassis. Additional natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure is required for large-scale use of natural gas for transportation. Diesel engines are extremely attractive in terms of energy efficiency, but expert judgment is divided on whether these engines will be able to meet strict emissions standards, even with reformulated fuel. The attractiveness of direct injection engines depends on their being able to meet strict emissions standards without losing their greater efficiency. Biofuels offer lower GHG emissions, are sustainable, and reduce the demand for imported fuels. Fuels from food sources, such as biodiesel from soybeans and C2H5OH from corn, can be attractive only if the co-products are in high demand and if the fuel production does not diminish the food supply. C2H5OH from herbaceous or woody biomass could replace the gasoline burned in the light-duty fleet while supplying electricity as a co-product. While it costs more than gasoline, bioethanol would be attractive if the price of gasoline doubled, if significant reductions in GHG emissions were required, or if fuel economy regulations for gasoline vehicles were tightened.

Life-Cycle Methods for Comparing Primary and Rechargeable Batteries

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be used to improve the environmental performance of products throughout their life cycle. With ongoing discussions about system boundaries, appropriate data, and model limitations, LCA methods are in a constant state of evolution. This paper presents the use of a hybrid LCA approach to product environmental assessment in which two methods of analysis are combined to present the total environmental impact for two battery systems. A quantitative model for product assessment has been developed at Carnegie Mellon. The model is based on economic input−output life-cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) and has been explained in previous works. The EIO-LCA tool allows a user to quantify the direct and indirect relationships among industry sectors and the associated environmental burdens through the materials extraction and manufacturing phases. However, to study environmental effects over a product's entire life, use and end-of-life impacts must also be quantified. This is accomplished using th...