Life Cycle Assessment Approach Research Articles

Sustainable millet-based ethanol production in India: a comprehensive analysis of water footprint and environmental impact

This research seeks to comprehensively assess the water footprint and environmental sustainability of millet-based ethanol production in India, responding to the growing interest in resilient and nutritious alternatives. Utilizing a life cycle assessment approach, the study will scrutinize water usage across the entire production process, from millet cultivation to ethanol extraction. The primary aim is to gain an in-depth understanding of water consumption at each stage, pinpointing areas for enhancement and efficiency. Rajasthan exhibited the highest total water footprint at 6596 m3/ton, primarily due to its substantial ETc value, while Andhra Pradesh showcased the lowest at 1906 m3/ton, owing to its high average yield. Haryana displayed significant water usage during crop production, with a water footprint of 5870 m3/ton, where WFgreen, WFblue, and WFgrey contributed 3730 m3/ton, 2010 m3/ton and 130 m3/ton respectively. Uttar Pradesh demonstrated a comparatively lower total water footprint of 2564 m3/ton. These findings are anticipated to offer valuable insights into the viability and sustainability of millet-derived ethanol as an eco-friendly biofuel option in India, guiding policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in promoting its adoption and addressing environmental challenges linked with conventional fuel sources.

Cradle to gate life-cycle assessment of battery grade nickel sulphate production through high-pressure acid leaching

The rising global demand for high-purity nickel (Ni) sulphate, primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, is largely met by processing Indonesian laterite ores via hydrometallurgy. However, this supply chain is associated with significant environmental challenges and lack of transparent industrial data. This study uses a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use associated with the production of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from low-grade Indonesian laterites via high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL), which is then refined in China for the production of battery-grade nickel sulphate hexahydrate (NiSO4·6H2O, NSH). Fifteen impact categories are analyzed using established impact assessment and allocation (mass and economic) methods. The analysis reveals that feed preparation/HPAL and purification are the stages that contribute most to environmental impacts and in particular to global warming potential (GWP). Mass allocation results in higher environmental impacts, with 36.8 kg CO2-eq per 1 kg of Ni in NSH for GWP, compared to 33.8 kg CO2-eq per 1 kg of Ni in NSH when economic allocation is used. Sensitivity analysis shows a potential reduction (up to 13 %) in key impact categories if production of NSH is fully integrated in Indonesia or a greener electricity mix is used. Overall, our results indicate that the production of MHP in Indonesia and its refinement to NSH in China has a GWP about two times higher than the global average. Given the limited number of LCA studies for the production of battery-grade nickel, this study highlights major environmental concerns for the NSH production process from Indonesian laterites and identifies opportunities for improvement, towards a more sustainable global battery supply chain.

Assessing Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Fresh Unpacked, Fresh Packed, and Frozen Carrots in Austria: A Case Study with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach

Assessing Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Fresh Unpacked, Fresh Packed, and Frozen Carrots in Austria: A Case Study with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach

Environmental Assessment of Solid Recovered Fuel Production from Screening Waste Using a Life Cycle Assessment Approach

The circular economy, as a new model of waste management through energy self-sufficiency and valorisation, can be applied to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Screening waste from WWTP pretreatment is the only waste that is not energetically recovered and thus constrains the achievement of zero waste. Previous studies demonstrated the technical feasibility of producing solid recovered fuel (SRF) from this waste. Environmental benefits, including waste reduction, resource conservation, or reduced greenhouse gas emissions are analysed in this work. Environmental impact is quantified using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology through the SimaPro 9.2. software and the CML-IA baseline v3.08 impact methodology, that propose 11 impact categories. Five scenarios were established to compare current landfill disposal with the production of densified and non-densified SRF using solar and thermal drying. Within the system boundaries studied, from waste generation to SRF production, results show that landfill is the most environmentally damaging option while producing non-densified SRF using solar drying is the most environmentally viable scenario.

Socioeconomic and Environmental Prospects of the Food Industry

Food production systems and consumption patterns are significant contributors to the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the industry, which swap with changing population demographics. The life cycle assessment approach has been increasingly utilized to evaluate the agricultural and food processing systems to ensure reliable and evidence-based support for decision-making for both industry stakeholders and policymakers. This study discusses the key social, economic, and environmental impacts of various food processing sectors, especially greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land, water, and energy use. Impacts vary widely depending on the types of foods, their sources, and supply chains. The animal (excluding poultry) slaughtering, rendering, and processing category has the highest contributions in both socioeconomic and environmental impacts out of all food and beverage processing industries. The food industry touches transdisciplinary policy domains and is recognized as dynamic and complex. It is thus important to adopt an integrated approach involving stakeholders from all policy domains associated with food supply chains to ensure the sustainability of the food industry. A broader sustainability check must be adopted for any strategic change in the food industry to reduce the risks to its sustainability and avoid rebound effects on society.

Monitoring the Sustainability of the EU Biomass Supply: A Novel Hybrid Approach Combining Tracing and Selected Sustainability Impacts

In an attempt to make a first step toward monitoring the sustainability of wood as (one of) the main element(s) of the EU biomass supply, a novel approach combining a physical accounting model with a material flow–life cycle assessment approach was used to trace the locations of origin of the wood and the associated sustainability impacts. Applying this approach to EU trade data from 2018, we found that around one-third of the wood fiber input in finished paper products consumed in the EU was imported. The main countries of origin were Brazil, the United States and Uruguay. We used Uruguay as a case study of an important country that provides wood pulp to assess the associated sustainability impacts. The results reveal synergies and trade-offs between employment, value added and environmental impacts. We highlight the need to analyze sustainability impacts in different dimensions of sustainability and consider not only territorial impacts in isolation but also from a global perspective in order to have a more holistic overview. Future extensions of the approach could include the coverage of other commodities, additional impacts along the global supply chain (e.g., post-use) and additional sustainability indicators.

Current and potential materials for the low-carbon cement production: Life cycle assessment perspective

Given the carbon-intensive nature of cement production, conducting a comprehensive environmental evaluation using life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling is paramount to achieving eco-friendly cement standards. This study meticulously compiles and evaluates LCA findings from diverse analyses of current and potential supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) within the blended cement sector. It underscores the impact of the functional unit (FU) within the LCA approach, supply chain considerations, and technical and regulatory factors on the sustainability of blended cement mixtures. Most of LCAs studied herein show that integrating SCMs into the cement matrix typically reduces land use, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thereby lowering the global warming potential (GWP) of ordinary portland cement (OPC) samples from 831 to 980 kg of CO2-eq to 768-481 kg of CO2-eq per ton of cement. However, in some instances, environmental indicators like abiotic depletion potential-elements (ADP-E) and human toxicity potential (HTP) rise due to increased mining, electricity, and transportation demand for SCMs. Regarding the environmental potential of alkali-activated cementitious materials and low-carbon clinker formulations, we found that limitations arise in fully replacing OPC due to global raw material availability constraints, rendering them economically unfavorable and impeding their widespread adoption. Among the SCMs examined in this study, clays, which are more widely available compared to industrially sourced materials like fly ash, slag, and silica fume, exhibited a more favorable environmental profile when evaluated using a mass-based FU. Incorporating compressive strength into the FU resulted in greater environmental benefits from high-strength blendedcement composites. However, this approach might lead to inaccurate results because higher strength does not always correspond to a lower environmental impact. Thus, establishing a FU that accurately reflects the environmental impact of blended cement and its composites (e.g., concrete and mortar) is crucial. Despite the potential of various pozzolanic materials to reduce clinker content in cement mixtures, their wide utilization remains restricted due to the absence of widescale market-based initiatives, green procurement strategies, and effective policy measures, which hampers their industrial and public acceptance. Consequently, governmental support is essential for developing and integrating sustainable cement solutions.

Plastic waste management using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach: A step toward improving sustainability literacy

Plastic waste management using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach: A step toward improving sustainability literacy

Environmental impact of different Mediterranean technological systems for European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and Gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) farming

As at a global level, the aquaculture sector is growing in Italy too and, among the various species, European sea bass and Gilthead sea bream are becoming increasingly important. As a consequence, the environmental implications are an emerging issue and in-depth studies on the topic of farm sustainability are needed. This study compared the environmental performance of four specialised Sea bass and Sea bream farms in Italy, characterized by different technological system, using the Life Cycle Assessment approach. 1 tonne of fish biomass harvested and 1 kg of fish protein were chosen as functional units. The 'from cradle to gate' perspective was applied to define the system boundaries. The results revealed that land-based farms had higher environmental impacts compared to coastal farm with a Climate change of 9660 and 7250 kg CO2 eq for the former and 2443 and 3308 for the latter. Despite the use of aquafeeds emerged as a significant contributor of environmental impacts across all farms (with a share of more than 80 % of the Climate change in the coastal farms), even energy and liquid oxygen consumption, particularly on land-based farms, played a crucial role (with impact shares of 25–40 % in climate change). A sensitivity analysis on energy sources revealed that the use of more renewable energy can reduce the Climate Change of land-based farms by an average of 5 %, while an all-biodiesel fleet has a beneficial effect on particulate matter (-7.5 %) and acidification (-6 %) on coastal farms. The study provided a comprehensive overview of the environmental impact of Italian ESB and GSB production. In addition, highlighted areas for further research, including biofouling mitigation, optimization of energy consumption, and exploration of alternative oxygenation methods in land-based farms.

Life cycle assessment of plastic and paper carrying bags in the Philippines

Plastic waste mismanagement is a pertinent environmental concern among developing countries. The Philippines has a significant plastic waste concern as the country is among the top emitters of plastic wastes to the ocean. To manage plastic wastes, the government enacted policies. resulting to paper carrying bags becoming a prominent alternative. Switching from one carrying bag to another, however, requires clear assessment on the environmental implications as environmental trade-offs can occur. To provide the needed clarity, this study assessed the environmental implications of plastic and paper carrying bags through a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. This study developed a model with the novelty of a) supply chain integration, b) augmented Environmental Design of Industrial Products (EDIP) impact assessment, and c) inventory categorization. From the augmented EDIP assessment, paper carrying bags had a single score impact of 0.73 whereas plastic carrying bags had a single score of 0.63. In terms of geographic emissions, this work revealed that paper carrying bags emit 50.28% of its emissions outside the country whereas plastic carrying bag emit 34.72%. Policy recommendations derived from the findings are provided in this paper. Recommendations include carbon capture and storage, green procurement, circular management, and waste management system improvement. Policy makers may infer from the recommendations in managing environmental issues from the use of carrying bags.

Characterizing the packaging waste generation patterns and carbon emissions of university delivery service

As the main consumer group for online shopping and ordering fast food, young people—particularly university students—have contributed to a substantial amount of packaging waste. In the present study, the material flow method was employed to quantify the generation and end-of-life flows of packaging waste from both the express delivery and food delivery sectors at universities in China. Moreover, this study takes reusable packaging materials for food delivery services as a case study to evaluate their environmental benefits through a simplified life cycle assessment approach. The results show that approximately 1.7 (±0.3) million metric tons and 123 (±1.0) kilo metric tons of packaging waste were generated from express delivery and food delivery services, respectively, for university students in 2021. Although reusable food packaging is more complex and costly than regular disposable food packaging is, our modeling results show that reusable food packaging has significant emission reduction benefits under the current practice of 63 cycles per year of actual operation at a specific university. The reusable packaging mode in universities is feasible from an environmental perspective; however, it faces significant challenges due to a few concerns among stakeholders, such as high costs and inadequate recycling supply systems.

Quantification of the Environmental Impact of Feeding Yeast Probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae Actisaf Sc 47 in Dairy Cow: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach.

Today, one of the major challenges of dairy farmers is to reduce their environmental footprint to establish more effective, efficient, and sustainable production systems. Feed additives such as yeast probiotics could potentially allow them to achieve these objectives through the improvement of milk production, feed efficiency, and ration valorization, hence mitigating the environmental impacts of milk production. In this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) principle was performed to estimate the environmental impact of the production and supplementation of a commercial yeast probiotic (Actisaf Sc 47) in three trials performed in three different countries that are representative for around 50% of the milk production in Europe: France (French trial), United Kingdom (UK trial), and Germany (German trial). For each trial, two groups of animals were compared: control, without Actisaf Sc 47 supplementation, used as baseline; and experimental, with Actisaf Sc 47 supplementation at 5 or 10 g/cow/day. Different impact categories were analyzed for each group to calculate the impact of producing 1 kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk. An initial analysis was done only during the period of Actisaf Sc 47 supplementation and showed than the supplementation with Actisaf Sc 47 reduced, on average by 5%, the carbon footprint during the three trials. A second analysis was done via the extrapolation of all the data of each trial to an annual farm level, including the lactation period (305 days), dry period (60 days), and the period with and without Actisaf Sc 47 supplementation. Reported at a farm annual scale, the average reduction allowed by Actisaf Sc 47 supplementation was 2.9, 2.05, 2.47, 1.67, 2.28, 2.18, 2.14, and 2.28% of the carbon footprint, land use, water use, resource use, acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, and terrestrial eutrophication, respectively. On average, the production of 1 kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk by using Actisaf Sc 47 was shown to improve environmental impacts compared to control. Regarding Actisaf Sc 47 production, the LCA showed that the production of 1 kg of Actisaf Sc 47 emitted 2.1 kg CO2 eq with a negligible contribution to total the carbon footprint of milk ranging from 0.005 to 0.016%. The use of Actisaf Sc 47 in dairy cows could then result in different positive outcomes: improving performance and efficiency while reducing the global carbon footprint.

Closing the loop: Structural, environmental and regional assessments of industrial symbiosis

Regional symbiosis, based on industrial symbiosis principles, is one possible strategy for managing the environmental impact of human activities and the increasing risks associated with resource availability. An assessment is needed to ensure the benefits of implementing synergies in a region. Current research focuses on the environmental and structural analysis of symbiosis networks but lacks frameworks that consider the benefits of symbiosis at the regional scale. By combining ecological network analysis (ENA), circularity metrics and the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, this study intends to analyze the benefits brought by expanding industrial symbiosis to a broader region. Through the analysis of different symbiosis scenarios under two energetic cases (electricity and biomethane production), the study showed that implementing regional symbiosis was a lever to improve the robustness, the circularity and the environmental impact of the system. The environmental dimension was lowly affected by the scenario changes, but they provided a wider effect on regional metrics. The change in energetic production did not bring significant differences in the results. This study also showed that the structural metrics followed a different trend than the regional and environmental metrics, revealing the complementary views that were brought by the multidimensional analysis. It advocates for a holistic assessment of systems and highlights network structural organization, which should be accounted for in regional sustainability planning.

Enhancing circular economy of waste refrigerants management using deep eutectic solvents

The use of fluorinated gases (F-Gases) in the refrigeration industry is subjected to increasingly restricted laws, such as the F-Gas regulation 517/2014 in Europe, due to their high global warming potential (GWP). Currently, there is a lack of standardized recovery technologies, so most of the F-gases used to be incinerated at the end of their life cycle. This is contrary to the principles of circular economy and development of sustainable processes, which should consider the recycling of these gases. The difficult separation of F-Gases blends might have a solution on the use of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) as green absorbents. In this work, the performance of a DES was assessed for the recovery of pentafluoroethane (R-125) and difluoromethane (R-32) from the commercial refrigerant R-410A combining a dual approach based on the experimental measurement of the F-Gases absorption in the DES and on process simulation using Aspen Plus. The environmental impacts of the designed recovery process (circular economy scenario) were examined using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach and it was compared to the environmental impacts of the industrial manufacture of R-125 (lineal economy scenario). In comparison to the conventional R-125 production, the results of the proposed recovery process revealed a significant reduction in the environmental impacts between 92 and 99% with a recovery of R-125 of 76.7%, acceptable for its further reuse (purity of 98% w/w). The results of this work could pave the way for developing innovative F-Gases recovery technologies using DES, which can contribute to reduce the environmental impacts of these compounds via circular economy strategies.

The environmental benefits and burdens of RFID systems in Li-ion battery supply chains – An ex-ante LCA approach

This article explores the current and future technological pathways of RFID components and quantifies their environmental impacts through life cycle assessment (LCA), and also covering the critical materials and energy use of tags, readers, and backend servers. We assess RFID-enabled lithium-ion battery supply chains with different cathode chemistries – lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) as case applications. The results indicate that miniaturization and novel antenna materials can reduce the current environmental impacts of tags and readers by 60 % and 4 %, respectively. Direct energy consumption and antennas are the main contributors for tags, while microcontrollers and transceivers are the main contributors for readers. Furthermore, the overall environmental improvements of RFID system outweigh their additional environmental impacts. The use of RFID systems in optimizing battery supply process gives higher reductions in climate change and abiotic resource depletion impacts than switching to low-carbon battery chemistries (i.e. using NCM instead of NCA).

Environmental analysis and comparison of the conventional and fractal glass textured surface photovoltaic panels

There are two major forms of solar energy that are typically utilized: photovoltaic and concentrated applications. The application of fractal glass texture to photovoltaic solar panels is a cutting-edge technique in the field of solar panels that generate electricity from exposure to light. When it comes to studying the environmental implications of a product during its development and commercialization, the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is an excellent technique that can be utilized. The purpose of this study is to offer a thorough understanding of the product’s effects on the environment by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria, including environmental, economic, and other evaluations. Through the utilization of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the SimaPro software, this paper presents a comparative analysis of conventional solar panels and fractal glass texture panels. During the course of this research, 18 midpoint indicators and three endpoint indices were investigated. In addition, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out on the fractal property of the panel in order to evaluate the impact that it has on environmental impacts and damages. For the purpose of this study, three distinct levels of fractal coating were applied to the panel surface: one percent, three percent, and five percent. As a result of the data, it was determined that the “Photovoltaic cell single-Si wafer” and the “Transport, freight, sea, transoceanic tanker” had the most significant impact on the midpoint and endpoint indices for both panels, respectively. Furthermore, there is a direct association between the rise in fractal coating on panels and the reduction in environmental repercussions, approximately. This correlation exists because of several factors.

Comparing carbon-saving potential of the pyrolysis of non-recycled municipal plastic waste: Influences of system scales and end products

Pyrolysis of non-recycled municipal plastic waste has the potential to mitigate the plastic waste crisis and to produce transport fuels (diesel or hydrogen), as compared with the conventional methods such as incineration or landfilling that have potential adverse environmental consequences. Transport fuel production from non-recycled municipal plastic waste contributes to the transition to more sustainable waste management. However, little is known about the influences of system scales and end product selection on the carbon footprints of the plastic waste treatment. Here, we applied the approach of life cycle assessment to compare the carbon-saving potential of centralized, large-scale and decentralized, small-scale pyrolysis systems producing diesel and hydrogen in the United Kingdom. It is shown that centralized systems had a lower global warming potential results than decentralized systems despite their greater transportation distances. The global warming potentials of diesel production for centralized and decentralized systems were 801 and 1345 kg CO2-eq. per tonne of non-recycled municipal plastic waste, respectively, whilst hydrogen production had much higher global warming potentials which are 7110 and 7990 kg CO2-eq per tonne of non-recycled municipal plastic waste, respectively. In hydrogen-producing systems, crude carbon nanotubes are also produced, and the purification process of carbon nanotubes requires significant material resource (hydrochloric acid and deionized water) inputs, resulting in high Scope 2 and 3 emissions. Also, it is worth noting that the global warming potential related to the Scope 1 emissions for the diesel-producing systems exceeds 80%, whereas the hydrogen-producing systems yield opposite results. The end use of diesel produced has a greater carbon footprint than the end use of hydrogen. The carbon saving from the displacement of fossil hydrogen was two times higher than that from diesel displacement. Decentralized, small-scale hydrogen production from plastic waste had the highest global warming potential among all as the conversion process of municipal plastic waste to hydrogen and carbon nanotubes for small-scale systems is more energy and resource intensive. Sensitivity analysis showed that various factors, such as feedstock composition and the heating energy consumption in the conversion process, had less influence on the global warming potential of centralized systems as compared to decentralized systems.

Enhancing sustainable development of the first ASEAN bio-hub using social life cycle assessment approach

Enhancing sustainable development of the first ASEAN bio-hub using social life cycle assessment approach

Carbon savings from sugarcane straw-derived bioenergy: Insights from a life cycle perspective including soil carbon changes

Sugarcane straw removal for bioenergy production will increase substantially in the next years, but this may deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) and exacerbate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These aspects are not consistently approached in bioenergy life cycle assessment (LCA). Using SOC modeling and LCA approach, this study addressed the life cycle GHG balance from sugarcane agroindustry in different scenarios of straw removal, considering the potential SOC changes associated with straw management in sugarcane-cultivated soils in Brazil. Long-term simulations showed SOC losses of up to −0.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1 upon complete straw removal, whereas the moderate removal had little effects on SOC and the maintenance of all straw in the field increased SOC accumulation by up to 0.4 Mg ha−1 yr−1. Our analysis suggests that accounting for SOC changes in LCA calculations could lower the net GHG benefits of straw-derived bioenergy, whose emissions intensity varied according to soil type. Overall, SOC depletion induced by complete straw removal increased the life cycle GHG emissions of straw-derived bioenergy by 26 % (3.9 g CO2eq MJ−1) compared to a scenario without taking SOC changes into account. Straw removal for cellulosic ethanol could be effective for mitigating GHG emissions relative to gasoline, but it was not advantageous for bioelectricity generation depending on the energy sources that are displaced. Therefore, straw-induced change of SOC stocks is a critical factor to model life cycle GHG emissions of straw-derived bioenergy.

Biodiversity impacts of Norway's renewable electricity grid

Norway aims to transform into a low-emission nation by 2050. However, the energy transition comes with challenges, as expanding renewable energy infrastructure requires significant land areas, which raises concerns about associated environmental impacts, particularly on species richness. The first system-wide life cycle assessment (LCA) approach that integrates multiple biodiversity models is presented, evaluating the current effects of renewable energy production and transmission in Norway. The impacts of Norwegian hydropower and onshore wind power plants are quantified, which contribute 98% of Norway's electricity generation. Additionally, the effects of power lines are included to assess the spatial origins of the biodiversity impacts derived from both energy production and transmission relative to where electricity was transmitted to and consumed in Norway. The analyses show that hydropower exerts the most substantial impact on species richness and that the electric grid affects mostly mammal richness due to habitat conversion and fragmentation. As energy production primarily originates in western-central and northern Norway, regions with low electricity generation, such as south-east Norway, import a substantial share of the biodiversity impacts for their energy consumption. However, integrating an international dimension is crucial, as multiple European countries exchange energy with Norway, and thus also contribute to the pressure on local species richness. The results present the current operational impacts on biodiversity caused by Norway's electricity system. Since Norway intends to increase its renewable energy production capacity in the coming decades, this approach can serve as an instrument for developing scenarios to assess the future construction of hydropower, onshore wind power, and power lines. It can help shape Norway's energy future, ensuring a holistic approach that integrates impacts on species diversity and promotes an environmentally friendly energy transition. While focused on Norway, the methodology is adaptable to other regions if the required data is available.