A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the energy, environmental and economic impacts of converting cassava to fuel ethanol in Guangxi Province, China. The entire life cycle is a system that includes...A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the energy, environmental and economic impacts of converting cassava to fuel ethanol in Guangxi Province, China. The entire life cycle is a system that includes stages from cassava farming to ethanol fuel combustion. A computer-based model was developed to assess energy, environmental, and economic (EEE) life cycle implication of cassava-based ethanol fuel. The LCA results for fuel ethanol were compared to conventional gasoline (CG) as a base-line case. On the life-cycle bases, the use of cassava-based ethanol fuel in Guangxi may consume more energy but reduce greenhouse gas, VOC, and CO emissions. Life cycle cost results indicate that although fuel ethanol currently is not competitive compared to conventional gasoline, it has great potentials when there are subsidies and/or yields of cassava planting are improved. In terms of balancing the energy, environmental and economical, the introduction form of cassava-based ethanol fuel would be E10. The assessment results generated from this study provide an important reference for Guangxi policy makers to better understand the trade-offs among energy, environmental effects, and economics for the most effective using of regional energy resources.展开更多
Assessment of the life cycle （LCA--life cycle assessment） of a product, service or technology is one of the most important tools of environmental policy. This method is assumed to be a perspective voluntary instrume...Assessment of the life cycle （LCA--life cycle assessment） of a product, service or technology is one of the most important tools of environmental policy. This method is assumed to be a perspective voluntary instrument for implementation of sustainable development and allows us to assess both the demand for energy and raw materials, as well as the impacts on human life and on the life of ecosystems in the representative phases of product existence. The main objective of the article is presentation of the LCA method application on the standard car tyre which focuses on the impacts of the whole life cycle of tyre, individual phases in life cycle and especially comparison of different methods of treatment with used waste car tyres （cement works, pyrolysis, recycling） with different transport distance. The results were evaluated by elementary flows and impact assessment. Dominative phase in the life cycle of car tyre is extraction of raw materials. The technologies for waste car tyre treatment are comparable in environemntal impacts. The software GaBi 4 Professional and methodology CML 2001 for impact assessment were used.展开更多
Currently,the reduction of weight in automotive is a very important topic to reduce the air pollution.In this context,the purpose of the present paper is to analyze a real case study through a comparison of the enviro...Currently,the reduction of weight in automotive is a very important topic to reduce the air pollution.In this context,the purpose of the present paper is to analyze a real case study through a comparison of the environmental impacts between a conventional steel bumper and a polyester prototype.In the first part of this work,a door-to-door life-cycle assessment methodology was used throughout the study of the component manufacturing phase.The SimaPro 7.1 software is used to evaluate the impacts of both bumpers on the environment and health.The second part is devoted to dust analysis from the polyester workshop.The obtained results have allowed us to show the company that its choice of steel substitution by the polyester is advantageous for certain impacts including the impact of climate change,but unfortunately there may be,given the working conditions of the polyester workshop,a transfer of impact,since we will end up with a risk of health(irritations,cancers)for the workers.LCA has proven to be a very useful tool for validating a redesigned automotive component from an environmental point of view;from this case study,several recommendations were made for the company to design environmentally friendly components,and ecodesign should be introduced into the company’s procedures.展开更多
基金Guangxi Tianchang Investment Co.,LtdNational Nature Science Foundation of China for funding this study(50175070).
文摘A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to compare the energy, environmental and economic impacts of converting cassava to fuel ethanol in Guangxi Province, China. The entire life cycle is a system that includes stages from cassava farming to ethanol fuel combustion. A computer-based model was developed to assess energy, environmental, and economic (EEE) life cycle implication of cassava-based ethanol fuel. The LCA results for fuel ethanol were compared to conventional gasoline (CG) as a base-line case. On the life-cycle bases, the use of cassava-based ethanol fuel in Guangxi may consume more energy but reduce greenhouse gas, VOC, and CO emissions. Life cycle cost results indicate that although fuel ethanol currently is not competitive compared to conventional gasoline, it has great potentials when there are subsidies and/or yields of cassava planting are improved. In terms of balancing the energy, environmental and economical, the introduction form of cassava-based ethanol fuel would be E10. The assessment results generated from this study provide an important reference for Guangxi policy makers to better understand the trade-offs among energy, environmental effects, and economics for the most effective using of regional energy resources.
文摘Assessment of the life cycle （LCA--life cycle assessment） of a product, service or technology is one of the most important tools of environmental policy. This method is assumed to be a perspective voluntary instrument for implementation of sustainable development and allows us to assess both the demand for energy and raw materials, as well as the impacts on human life and on the life of ecosystems in the representative phases of product existence. The main objective of the article is presentation of the LCA method application on the standard car tyre which focuses on the impacts of the whole life cycle of tyre, individual phases in life cycle and especially comparison of different methods of treatment with used waste car tyres （cement works, pyrolysis, recycling） with different transport distance. The results were evaluated by elementary flows and impact assessment. Dominative phase in the life cycle of car tyre is extraction of raw materials. The technologies for waste car tyre treatment are comparable in environemntal impacts. The software GaBi 4 Professional and methodology CML 2001 for impact assessment were used.
文摘Currently,the reduction of weight in automotive is a very important topic to reduce the air pollution.In this context,the purpose of the present paper is to analyze a real case study through a comparison of the environmental impacts between a conventional steel bumper and a polyester prototype.In the first part of this work,a door-to-door life-cycle assessment methodology was used throughout the study of the component manufacturing phase.The SimaPro 7.1 software is used to evaluate the impacts of both bumpers on the environment and health.The second part is devoted to dust analysis from the polyester workshop.The obtained results have allowed us to show the company that its choice of steel substitution by the polyester is advantageous for certain impacts including the impact of climate change,but unfortunately there may be,given the working conditions of the polyester workshop,a transfer of impact,since we will end up with a risk of health(irritations,cancers)for the workers.LCA has proven to be a very useful tool for validating a redesigned automotive component from an environmental point of view;from this case study,several recommendations were made for the company to design environmentally friendly components,and ecodesign should be introduced into the company’s procedures.
