SimaPro Software Research Articles

Mechanical characterization and environmental assessment of stabilized earth blocks

Soil is a local material which allows populations in warm regions to better cope with severe environmental conditions. The materials’ performance depends on the chemical and physical nature of the soil. The greatest problem with these materials remains their high sensitivity to shrinkage, and their vulnerability in terms of cracking due to drying. These pathologies may lead to a radical decrease in their mechanical performance. Several works have indicated that the consideration of plant fibers, as reinforcement in earth materials, made it possible to avoid cracking, and, thus, ensure the stability of structures. These results are not generalizable and depend on the involved materials. This work aims to investigate different scenarios for the stabilization of earth blocks. In this context, the use of cement with two types of natural fibers for the stabilization of Lebanese earth blocks has been studied. The mechanical properties of stabilized earth blocks have shown that the developed mix provides suitable results compared to the traditional masonry block. The environmental impacts of earth blocks have been compared using SimaPro software. The results of this study show that the stabilized earth blocks are gaining their place as a sustainable, affordable building material suitable for low-cost construction.

Life cycle assessment of reverse osmosis for high-salinity seawater desalination process: Potable and industrial water production

Seawater desalination is applied worldwide as a solution to water supply, especially for countries with limited water resources. The industry sector is the primary water user in varying qualities for different purposes. Desalination of seawater is increasingly implemented in the Persian Gulf region, but the environmental impacts have not been adequately assessed. This study assessed the life cycle environmental impacts of potable and industrial grade water with the most detailed inventory, including the impact of the brine rejected to the sea and solid wastes using SimaPro software. The 18 ReCiPe midpoint H impact categories, three endpoint damage categories, and the single score have also been specified. The seawater reverse osmosis powered by fossil fuels was studied to produce potable and industrial water. Electricity has the highest contribution to most of the studied impact categories. The sensitivity analysis showed that a 10% decrease in electricity consumption could reduce fossil resource scarcity and global warming by about 5% for potable and industrial water. The single total score for Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) potable and industrial water production are 98.83 and 168.54 mPt, respectively, mainly related to the human health damage category. The cumulative energy demand assessment showed that non-renewable biomass and renewable (wind, solar and geothermal) have the least energy intensity, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the life cycle assessment of SWRO industrial water production has not been performed before. The current study would be a baseline for further comparisons. The potable water production results agree with the other studies despite having a much more detailed inventory.

PENILAIAN DAMPAK LINGKUNGAN PROSES PRODUKSI TAHU DI JAKARTA BARAT MENGGUNAKAN METODE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

The Indonesian population likes and demands processed soy products like tofu and tempeh. The daily mass production of tofu may have a detrimental effect on the environment. Using the Life Cycle Assessment approach, this study examines the environmental impact of the tofu production process in West Jakarta from cradle - to - grave. The 35 kg of tofu produced in each production batch served as the study's functional unit. The process of cultivating and transporting soybeans to the factory was included in the environmental impact analysis process. Tofu production data which includes washing, soaking, milling, cooking, screening, clumping and printing tofu were obtained from observational data, interviewing, and inventory data. and inventory data of the tofu production process. The equipment used such as plastic, stainless steel and wood tools are taken into account in the environmental impact analysis by taking into account the service life. The environmental impacts analyzed include the potential for global warming (GWP), acidification, the potential for depletion of the ozone layer (ODP), and eutrophication. Using Simapro software, environmental impact analysis was performed using the CML-IA methodology. The analysis's findings indicate that the following environmental effect values were produced: GWP of 34.2 kg CO2 eq, acidification of 0.0551 kg SO2 eq, ODP of 5.44E-7 kg CFC-11 eq, and eutrophication of 0 kg PO4 eq. The process of cultivation and transportation of soybeans to the factory was the biggest contributor to the potential for global warming in tofu production.

Life Cycle Assessment of Laser-Induced Maize Production: Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture Practices

Conventional farming practices can provide higher agricultural yields through the extensive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other inputs. These practices have been associated with severe environmental effects, such as eutrophication, acidification, etc. Laser technology, among many other techniques, could be a viable option for environmental reduction if incorporated into agricultural production systems. However, the environmental performance of using lasers in agriculture practices needs to be investigated in order to provide sustainable management of the agriculture sector. Therefore, in this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of laser-induced maize production in bio-stimulated seeds was compared to conventional farming practices using the software SimaPro ver. 9.0. The study emphasized human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, and marine ecotoxicity due to their significant contributions. The results demonstrated that laser technology was an environmentally friendly system for treating maize seeds before sowing. The study further identified the mineral fertilization process as the most critical threat to the environment. Based on normalization, maize production process-related toxicity accounts for the highest environmental impacts of 8.2 and 7.3 kg 1,4-DCB/ton of grain produced by conventional practices and laser maize production, respectively, on the general environmental profile. At the endpoint level, the irradiated maize seeds performed better than their non-irradiated counterpart impacting human health at 5.46 × 10−3 DALY, ecosystems at 1.86 × 10−5 species⋅year, and resources at 60.74 USD 2013. Soil management was also identified as the conventional maize production process with the most significant environmental impacts. The greatest observed impacts were on marine ecotoxicity (19.23 kg 1,4-DCB) and freshwater ecotoxicity (12.94 kg 1,4-DCB) per ton of grain produced. The evaluation of potential human toxicity concluded that zinc contributed more than 90% in ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) and benzene contributed approximately 22% in CML 2000. The study concluded that improved environmental performance was obtained for laser-induced maize production compared to conventional farming practices. The LCA can provide information to policymakers and government agencies about shifting to more sustainable agricultural practices in arid regions, such as Iraq, prone to drought linked to water availability and soil salinity.

Comparison of environmental impact on various desalination technologies

The environmental impacts of desalination of saline water were studied by membrane i.e., Reverse Osmosis with Non-Renewable Energy (RONRE), Solar Renewable Energy (ROSRE), and phase change methods i.e., solar thermal systems, including the Waterfall Cascading Distillation with Linear Parabolic through Solar Concentrator (WCDLPC), Distillation with Stand-Alone Point-Focus Parabolic Solar Concentrator (DSPPC), Distillation With Linear Parabolic Concentrator, and Vacuum Pump (DLPCVP). The PVsyst software was used to design a local photovoltaic power plant to supply energy, and SimaPro software (Impact 2002+ method) was used to calculate the environmental indicators. The results showed that electricity consumption in RONRE, photovoltaic panel in ROSRE, WCDLPC and DLPCVP, and iron in DSPPC desalinations methods had the highest effects on the creation of environmental indicators. The highest values of human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resources depletion occurred in DSPPC, WCDLPC, RONRE, and RONRE, respectively. It is worth mentioning that the lowest values of these indicators occurred in ROSRE. The results of the final environmental index showed that the highest and lowest final environmental index of 2119.87 μPt and 176.71 μPt were observed in ROSRE and RONRE, respectively. The results indicated that changing the energy from fossil to solar energy form reduces the final environmental index by 91 %.

Life Cycle Assessment for the environmental impact assessment of a city’ cleaning system. The case of Cracow (Poland)

In large urban agglomerations, the composition and amount of municipal waste are diversified and depend on the level of wealth, season, number of tourists, etc. In city strategies, there is a visible search for solutions that minimize the impact on the environment and optimize costs incurred by residents. One of the municipal waste streams is street sweepings, i.e. waste generated as a result of street cleaning processes, classified under the code 200303 and is not treated as hazardous waste. Their quantity, quality, and seasonal variability have an impact on the natural environment, including air quality. Their removal reduces the amount of PM10 and PM 2.5. They are usually disposed of the landfills. In Cracow, where air emissions have been successfully reduced in recent years via different actions, experimental studies were carried out on the impact of mechanical street cleaning on air quality, and methods of their management were discussed. The article analyzes various technological solutions based on the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology for assessing the environmental impact of technologies and waste generated in the processes of street cleaning in urbanized areas. It is used to assess the impact of individual products, technologies, strategies or systems on the environment, taking into account emissions “from the cradle to the grave”. In the latest documents of the European Commission, the LCA method is recommended for the analysis of environmental performance measurement in the life cycle of products and organizations. The presented calculations in the SimaPro software showed that for the adopted assumptions, on the example of a selected street section, it is possible to reduce the impact by 5 times, as a result of city cleaning processes. The calculations take into account the consumption of water, fuel, and the operation of the machinery as well as the management of sweeping waste and wastewater treatment. The process of managing this type of waste reduces emissions related mainly to toxic effects for humans (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects), reduction of solid particles and ecotoxicity for freshwater. Comparing the analyzed scenarios (scenario 1 - after cleaning the city and scenario 0 - before), scenario 1 is characterized by a much lower impact on the environment. Although there are loads in this scenario 1 in each impact category of EF 3.0, the overall result is still lower than in all scenarios 0 options. In scenario 1, the environmental impact mainly relates to the freshwater ecotoxicity, ionizing radiation and climate change categories, which are qualitatively different. From scenario 0, where the greatest environmental impact is in the particulate matter category.

Environmental Assessment of Giant Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii Farming through Life Cycle Assessment

The giant freshwater prawn (GFP), Macrobrachium rosenbergii has emerged as a significant crustacean in global aquaculture. A cradle-to-farm Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to assess the potential environmental impacts of GFP in Malaysia. The four main iterative farming phases involved were pond preparation, stocking, farming, and harvesting. The impact categories chosen were global warming, terrestrial ecotoxicity, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, human non-carcinogenic toxicity, human carcinogenic activity, and water consumption. The software SimaPro 9.3.0.3 was used for impact analysis, with background data from the database Ecoinvent 3.0. and ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) V1.06/World (2010). Among other environmental impact categories, stocking and harvesting phases contributed to human carcinogenic toxicity impact values of 33.33%, followed by farming (33.31%). Another impact category, freshwater ecotoxicity also produces the same pattern with the stocking and harvesting process, still generating the highest impact value of 33.34%, followed by farming (33.30%). Apart from the identified capital items that require consideration for future waste management in aquaculture, this LCA study found that M. rosenbergii farming generates a low impact to the environment, however, could inspire further research on other perspectives of sustainability.

Comparison of amine adsorbents and strong hydroxides soluble for direct air CO2 capture by life cycle assessment method

Although diffusion and adoption of CO 2 capture technologies are known as one of the main solutions of green house gas emissions, they still have environmental, economic, and performance challenges. This research presents the investigation of the process of absorption of carbon dioxide from the air by amine soluble which is also a common adsorbent of this process in comparison with the absorption of strong hydroxides, which is a relatively more up-to-date process. Regarding the absorption process with amine, a system simulation is performed by Aspen hysis hysys software. By using the input and output data of both processes and using Simapro software, the life cycle of both processes is evaluated. The results showed that the most severe negative impact in direct air CO 2 capture is on marine ecotoxicity with 13.7 kg 1,4- DCB 1,4-DCB which is for strong hydroxides and the responsible element is Calcium carbonate with the share of 90.6%. The impact on marine ecotoxicity for amine adsorbents is 8.77 kg 1,4- DCB 1,4-DCB which Diethanolami is 70.2% the cause factor. Resources consumption is 43% more in the process of absorption with amines than strong hydroxides and also environmental effects of the process of absorption with amines on human health and ecosystem is by 8% and 3% less respectively compared to absorption with strong hydroxides. • Investigating the process of absorption of carbon dioxide from the air. • Performing a system simulation of absorption process with amine by Aspen hysis hysys software. • Evaluating the life cycle of both processes by using the input and output data utilizing Simapro software.

A Holistic Framework for Determining the Trade-off between Embodied and Operational Carbon Emissions of High-rise Residential Buildings

Buildings’ carbon emissions consist of embodied carbon (EC) associated with the production and transportation of materials and operational carbon (OC) generated from consumed energy during daily use. However, previous studies concentrated on either EC or OC but ignored an integrated analysis of their relationships. Therefore, this paper aims to explore appropriate building envelope design solutions by examining the trade-off between EC and OC of high-rise residential buildings. To achieve this aim, the life cycle assessment method was used to evaluate the EC and OC of the residential buildings using SimaPro and DesignBuilder software. A building information modelling (BIM) model was developed to extract the geometric data and material consumption. A typical 30-story public residential building in Hong Kong was examined. The EC and OC of the case building were calculated as 561 kg CO2e/m2 and 50.18 kg CO2e/m2/yr, respectively. Different low carbon design scenarios were identified from the literature review and the semi-structured interviews with designers and contractors. Results indicate that low carbon concrete is an effective approach for not only reducing the EC by 5%-15%, but saving a mild percentage of OC, and is therefore encouraged. However, changing the thickness of external walls leads to a very limited life cycle carbon reduction (0.99%). Lower U-value of envelopes is recommended as 2.84% and 2.89% life cycle carbon is reduced when adopting insulations for external walls and triple-glazing windows. The findings are valuable for examining the relationships between EC and OC and can support low carbon building decision-making.

Life Cycle Assessment of Cynara cardunculus L. -Based Polygeneration and Biodiesel Chains

Given the current scenario of increasing environmental problems associated with the need for rapid energy transition, this article aimed to investigate the implementation of Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon), a plant with high environmental performance, as a source of energy resources. This study presented thLife Cycle Assessment of two energy production chains—for the polygeneration of power, heat, and cooling; and to produce biodiesel—fed with cardoon seeds, in addition to comparing these chains with the use of the traditional Italian grids (power and gas) and with the production of diesel based on palm, soybean, and rapeseed. Approximately 49 t of seeds were cultivated and processed, yielding 8.5 t of oil. The system boundaries encompass three main macro-phases, cardoon production, oil extraction, and, depending on the application, energy generation (polygeneration) or transesterification (biodiesel). The models were developed using the software SimaPro V9.3.0.2, and the inventory was based on the database ecoinvent V3.8. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment was performed using the ReCiPe V1.06 method at the midpoint (H) and endpoint (H/A) levels. Crude cardoon oil showed a global warming of 20–55% lower than other vegetable oils (palm, soybean, and rapeseed). In the case of biodiesel production, cardoon-based biodiesel presented a reduction in the impact burden by 12–57% compared to biodiesel based on palm, soybean, and rapeseed. With the use of oil in Polygeneration, a subtle increase in the impact burden was observed, with 13% more impact than the use of Italian power and gas grids.

Characterization and evaluation of the life cycle of energy use from drying bed sludge

This study sought to characterize sludge digested in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors during the drainage process of Drying Bed Sludge (DBS) to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for different DBS disposal scenarios. In addition, the potential recovered energy from the waste material was verified when submitted to Anaerobic Digestion (AD) or when combusted through simulation software SimaPro®. Laboratory analyses were conducted with the collected samples from a wastewater treatment plant in Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The calorific value, ashes generated from the burning process, and methane production were conducted in two experiments for a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the biogas generated. The scenarios included DBS disposal in landfills and ditches, DBS biodigestion, and combustion. The methane yield generated by DBS resulted in a lower value compared to DBS produced by the UASB reactor disposal system. The LCA results show that the impact category pertaining to global warming is indeed influenced for all scenarios, almost entirely comprised of biogas emissions coming from the drying bed waste. Heavy metal emissions may occur during combustion, which may impact human toxicity. Under the scenario in which DBS undergoes biodigestion, the pollutants include nitrogen oxide, sulfur monoxide, and carbon monoxide.

Shades of Green: Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Small-Scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Tree

Are small-scale wind turbines green? In this study, we perform a ‘cradle to grave’ life cycle assessment of a novel domestic-scale 10 kW vertical axis wind turbine tree which uses combined Savonius and H-Darrieus blades. Situated at a test site in Surat Thani, Thailand, SimaPro software was used to evaluate the environmental impact profile of the tree. Comparisons to the Thai grid mix were made, using both with and without end-of-life treatments. Impact profiles were calculated using wind data collected over two years at Surat Thani, and from wind data from a higher capacity factor (CF) site at Chiang Mai, Thailand. Energy and greenhouse gas payback times were estimated for both locations. The relative magnitudes of impacts were compared with environmental prices protocol, and we investigated reductions in impacts using three mitigative scenarios: changes to design, transportation and materials. The results showed that Chiang Mai had a CF = 7.58% and Surat Thani had a CF = 1.68%. A total of 9 out of 11 impacts were less than the grid values at Chiang Mai, but at Surat Thani, 9 of 11 impacts were more than the grid values. End-of-life treatments reduced impacts by an average of 11%. The tower and generator were majority contributors to impacts (average 69%). Greenhouse gas and energy payback times were 28.61 and 54.77 years, and 6.50 and 12.50 years for Surat Thani and Chiang Mai, respectively, with only the Chiang Mai times being less than the turbine’s estimated lifetime. Location changes mitigated impacts most, followed by design, transportation, and then materials. We make recommendations to further improve the environmental impact profile of this turbine tree.

Environmental impact of second-generation biofuels production from agricultural residues in Cameroon: A life-cycle assessment study

The world in general, and Cameroon in particular, are facing three major problems which are population increase, natural resource decrease and climate change. This work focuses on assessing the environmental impact of the production of second-generation liquid and gaseous biofuels by means of the life cycle assessment method, in order to contribute to sustainable development with emphasis on environmentally concerned decision-making and appropriate choice of technologies. The increasingly essential Life Cycle Assessment method is at the heart of this work. Avocado, cocoa and peanut residues have been converted on a laboratory scale to second generation gaseous biofuels (biogas) and liquid biofuels (ethanol). Biomethane yields are 177, 127 and 73 mL/g for avocado seed, cocoa pods and peanut shells respectively. When it comes to bioethanol, avocado seed, cocoa pods, and peanut shells produced yields of 178, 61 and 49 mL/kg biomass respectively. Based on the annual production of the three crops, 200,000 kg and 30,376,960 m3 of bioethanol and biomethane respectively can be produced at the national level of Cameroon. The SimaPro software version 9.1.1.1, the Ecoinvent database v.3.6 and the ReCiPe Midpoint impact method v.1.04 were used for the assessment. All categories of resulting environmental impacts are assessed and quantified. The categories with the most significant impacts are land use, global warming, Human non-carcinogenic toxicity, Terrestrial ecotoxicity, Fossil resource scarcity and water consumption observed in the agricultural phase. Global warming, Land use and Terrestrial ecotoxicity are the hot spots observed in the process of converting biomass into bioethanol and biomethane. The main sources of detected impacts are the processes of seed production, the use of electricity, distilled water and chemicals during the process of converting waste to biofuel on a laboratory scale. This laboratory-scale work will serve as a reference for decision-making of pilot plants and then large-scale production of liquid and gaseous biofuels with the objective of promoting the development of a sustainable biomass-energy industry based on avocado seeds, cocoa pods and peanut shells through identification of critical factors.

Upcycle strategy on tree branches to improve eco-efficiency towards a circular economy using life cycle assessment

A circular economy (CE) is considered capable of being a solution to reduce the use of natural resources and reduce waste without harm. A circular economy system uses products and materials at maximum value and function. Various strategies were developed for this purpose. However, these efforts often require additional energy and materials to create more valuable products. Does the increase in value-creation mean more than the energy consumption and materials to make it happen? This study conducted a study of efforts to increase wood branch waste, which is usually only used for firewood, which is processed into hanger products with an upcycle strategy. This study uses the eco-efficiency method to determine the increase in value in the economic aspect compared to the environmental impact it causes. The cost of environmental impact is calculated using a life cycle assessment with Simapro software. The findings from this study are that upcycle efforts can increase product eco-efficiency. The eco-efficiency index (EEI) of hanger products is 4.512 and the EEI of firewood is 3.816.

Environmental impacts of canola (Brassica napus L.) production in Iran: a case study in Alborz province

In this study, the environmental impacts of rapeseed production were studied using the SimaPro software. The initial data were collected from 30 farmers in the Alborz Province by face-to-face questionnaire method. The selected functional unit (FU) was one Mton-1 rapeseed production. Five environmental indices were evaluated, including the potential of abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming and ozone layer depletion. To produce each ton of rapeseed, 84 kg of nitrogen, 63 kg of phosphate, 63 kg of potassium, 133.5 l of diesel fuel and 586 kW of electricity were used. Also, the CO2, CO, N2O and NOX (different types of oxides of nitrogen) emissions were about 361, 4.1, 11.5 and 4.8 kg per ton of rapeseed respectively. The results indicate that the global warming potential amounts to 1629.52 kg CO2 eq. Also, the acidification and eutrophication potentials were found to be 8.31 kg SO2 eq. and 2.73 kg PO4 eq. respectively. It was also revealed that the chemical fertilizers had the highest contribution among the evaluated inputs within the rapeseed growing period. Overall, this study showed that reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen-based ones, is important for reducing environmental footprints in rapeseed production.

Multicriteria optimization as enabler for Sustainable Ceramic Matrix Composites

AbstractOver the past 40 years, development of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) has focused mainly on the improvement of material performance and optimization of cost‐efficient production routes. Recently, more fields of application have opened up for CMCs, in which environmental impacts are relevant. These impacts have barely been investigated so far but receive growing interest due to increasing awareness of the environmental consequences. Our innovative approach frames material properties in relation to environmental impacts (e.g., global warming potential in CO2 emission) by varying process parameters to balance optimum performance against environmental considerations. First, the process of wet filament winding has been investigated up to the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) state by changing both the curing and tempering temperatures. During the production of CFRP plates, mass and energy flows were tracked in each step. Three point‐bending and interlaminar shear tests have been performed on the resulting samples to identify basic mechanical properties. The environmental impacts are determined by a cradle‐to‐gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), using the software SimaPro. The resulting tradeoffs between mechanical properties and environmental impacts show nonlinear behavior, thus revealing optimum points above which improved mechanical properties are associated with significantly higher CO2 emissions.

How road cross-sections affect the environmental impacts from cradle to grave

At the international level, increasing efforts have been made to assess the burdens of transport by road and adopt effective mitigation strategies. In this study, life cycle analyses have been carried out to compare the environmental performances of 100 m-long highway sections during 60 year-service life. According to the standard EN 15804, emissions and abiotic depletions have been assessed for four different cross-sections (i.e., embankment, trench, bridge, and tunnel) paved with asphalt or concrete and traveled by motor vehicles during their service life. The software SimaPro gave results in terms of construction, operation, and traffic: whatever the pavement, trenches are the least impactful sections, and the opposite is for tunnels (e.g., 5.72 × 10 6 and 1.12 × 10 7 kg CO 2 eq. respectively across the entire life with rigid pavement). As concerns the construction phase, flexible pavements imply fewer burdens than rigid ones; the opposite is across the entire life. Therefore, the adoption of green strategies to manage roads requires deep knowledge to implement effective procedures at different life cycle stages.

Eco-efficiency analysis of water distribution system flushing into a containment Pond

For a salt or other conservative contaminant contamination event in a water distribution system, opening fire hydrants to flush the system is currently an accepted decontamination method. However, all the contaminated flushed water is discharged to the local surroundings of the fire hydrants and imposes an environmental impact. Another system decontamination alternative can be using a containment pond to catch the contaminated water. To reduce environmental impacts of flushing salt from a water distribution system a comparative life cycle assessment study has been performed for both conventional flushing and for flushing contaminated water into a containment pond. This was performed using SimaPro software for both of these decontamination options and the impacts have been assessed using the IMPACT 2002+ methodology. The results show that environmental impacts can be reduced by 25% for rural areas, 69% for urban roads, 61% for urban lawns, and 64% for mixed land use. In addition, a sensitivity analysis reveals the two most sensitive variables resulting in the finding that a 10% change in the time needed for system decontamination led to a 10% change in environmental impact and a 10% change in the area of land exposed to contaminated water discharge led to an 8% change in environmental impact.

Life cycle assessment on recycled e-waste concrete

The electronic industry is a fast-growing trade. Its speedy development quickly leads to obsoleting the devices. The e-plastic, as the second major component in e-waste after metal components, is costly yet challenging to recycle due to the complexities of the plastic resin mixtures. Therefore, utilising e-plastic to replace natural coarse aggregate in concrete material can reduce the environmental impact of landfilling the e-plastic and decrease the cost of concrete, making the concrete eco-friendlier. This study aims to deploy a life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the potential reduction in the environmental impact of e-plastic concrete compared among four scenarios with different types of binders, using SimaPro software. The four scenarios are built up from 1) conventional concrete, 2) concrete with 20 % coarse aggregate replaced by e-plastic, 3) 20 % e-plastic concrete with 30 % cement replaced by GGBS and 4) 20 % e-plastic concrete with 100 % cement replaced by GGBS and fly ash. From the global warming potential (GWP) perspective, using ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) analysis, all the e-plastic concrete shows a positive reduction of 1.26 %, 23.8 % and 21.43 % respectively compared to conventional concrete. However, the overall environmental impact shows a negative reduction, especially for scenario 3 and scenario 4. The presence of additives such as superplasticiser and alkaline solvent in the scenario 4 generates an environmental impact to the concrete from their manufacturing process. Therefore scenario 4 has a significant negative reduction in most of the indicators. Practically, e-plastic in concrete helps reduce the consumption of natural resources, lower the construction industry's environmental strain, and fix e-plastic deluged.

Life cycle assessment of tomato production for different production strategies in Norway

The availability of fresh vegetables grown in greenhouses under controlled conditions throughout the year has given rise to concerns about their impact on the environment. In high latitude countries such as Norway, greenhouse vegetable production requires large amounts of energy for heat and light, especially during the winter. The use of renewable energy such as hydroelectricity and its effect on the environment has not been well documented. Neither has the effect of different production strategies on the environment been studied to a large extent. We conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse tomato production for mid-March to mid-October (seasonal production), 20th January to 20th November (extended seasonal) production, and year-round production including the processes from raw material extraction to farm gate. Three production seasons and six greenhouse designs were included, at one location in southwestern and one in northern Norway. The SimaPro software was used to calculate the environmental impact. Across the three production seasons, the lowest global warming (GW) potential (600 g CO2-eq per 1 kg tomatoes) was observed during year-round production in southwestern Norway for the design NDSFMLLED + LED, while the highest GW potential (3100 g CO2-eq per 1 kg tomatoes) was observed during seasonal production in northern Norway for the design NS. The choice of artificial lighting (HPS (High Pressure Sodium) or LED (Light Emitting Diodes)), heating system and the production season was found to have had a considerable effect on the environmental impact. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in most of the impact categories including GW potential, terrestrial acidification, and fossil resource scarcity from seasonal to year-round production. Overall, year-round production in southwestern Norway had the lowest environmental impact of the evaluated production types. Heating of the greenhouse using natural gas and electricity was the biggest contributor to most of the impact categories. The use of an electric heat pump and LED lights during extended seasonal and year-round production both decreased the environmental impact. However, while replacing natural gas with electricity resulted in decreased GW potential, it increased the ecotoxicity potential.