Life cycle assessment as a prospective tool for sustainable agriculture and food planning at a local level

Owing to the far-reaching environmental consequences of agriculture and food systems,such as their contribution to climate change,there is an urgent need to reduce their impact.International and national governments set sustainability targets and implement corresponding measures.Nevertheless,critics of the globalized system claim that a territorial administrative scale is better suited to address sustainability issues.Yet,at the subnational level,local authorities rarely apply a systemic environmental assessment to enhance their action plans.This paper employs a territorial life cycle assessment methodology to improve local environmental agri-food planning.The objective is to identify significant direct and indirect environmental hotspots,their origins,and formulate effective mitigation strategies.The methodology is applied to the administrative department of Finistere,a strategic agricultural region in North-Western France.Multiple environmental criteria including climate change,fossil resource scarcity,toxicity,and land use are modeled.The findings reveal that the primary environmental hotspots of the studied local food system arise from indirect sources,such as livestock feed or diesel consumption.Livestock reduction and organic farming conversion emerge as the most environmentally efficient strategies,resulting in a 25%decrease in the climate change indicator.However,the overall modeled impact reduction is insufficient following national objectives and remains limited for the land use indicator.These results highlight the innovative application of life cycle assessment led at a local level,offering insights for the further advancement of systematic and prospective local agri-food assessment.Additionally,they provide guidance for local authorities to enhance the sustainability of planning strategies.

Life Cycle Assessment Introduced by Using Nanorefrigerant of Organic Rankine Cycle System for Waste Heat Recovery

The use of nanorefrigerants in Organic Rankine Cycle(ORC)units is believed to affect the cycle environment performance,but backed with very few relevant studies.For this purpose,a life cycle assessment(LCA)has been performed for the ORC system using nanorefrigerant,the material and energy input,characteristic indicators and comprehensive index of environmental impact,total energy consumption and energy payback time(BPBT)of the whole life cycle of ORC system using Al_(2)O_(3)/R141b nanorefrigerant were calculated.Total environmental comprehensive indexes reveal that ECER-135 index decrease by 1.5%after adding 0.2%Al_(2)O_(3)nanoparticles to R141b.Based on the contribution analysis and sensitivity analysis,it can be found out ORC system manufacturing is of the most critical stage,where,the ECER-135 index of ORC component production is the greatest,followed by the preparation process of R141b,transportation phase,and that of Al_(2)O_(3)nanoparticles preparation is small.The retirement phase which has good environmental benefits affects the result significantly by recycling important materials.Meanwhile,the main cause and relevant suggestion for improvement were traced respectively.Finally,the environmental impacts of various power generations were compared,and results show that the power route is of obvious advantage.Among the renewable energy,ORC system using Al_(2)O_(3)/R141b nanorefrigerant with minimal environmental impact is only 0.67%of coal-fired power generation.The environmental impact of current work is about 14.34%of other nations’PV results.

Carbon footprint accounting for cigar production processes: A life cycle assessment perspective

Although the tobacco industry is a significant contributor to energy consumption and carbon emissions its negative environmental impact has received inadequate attention globally.Cigarette factories are a key link in the tobacco industry’s production chain,and using data provided by a cigarette factory in China we conduct a life cycle assessment to account for the carbon footprint of cigar production in cigarette factories.The results of the assessment show that factory air conditioning is the most important contributor to the environmental load of the cigar manufacturing process,while electricity is the key factor that contributes the greatest envi‐ronmental load across all of the processes in the product life cycle.In addition,packaging,including small boxes and cigarette cartons,has a significant impact on the industry’s environmental footprint due to its use of raw materials.We find the carbon footprint of the entire production process for cigar products to be 383.59 kg CO_(2) eq.Based on our findings,we suggest ways to optimize cigar/cigarette factory processes to re‐duce carbon emissions that can help to promote sustainable development in related industries.

Carbon emissions reduction potentiality for railroad transportation based on life cycle assessment

This study addresses the comparative carbon emissions of different transportation modes within a unified evaluation framework,focusing on their carbon footprints from inception to disposal.Specifically,the entire life cycle carbon emissions of High-Speed Rail(HSR),battery electric vehicles,conventional internal combustion engine vehicles,battery electric buses,and conventional internal combustion engine buses are analyzed.The life cycle is segmented into vehicle manufacturing,fuel or electricity production,operational,and dismantlingrecycling stages.This analysis is applied to the Beijing-Tianjin intercity transportation system to explore emission reduction strategies.Results indicate that HSR demonstrates significant carbon emission reduction,with an intensity of only 24%-32% compared to private vehicles and 47%-89% compared to buses.Notably,HSR travel for Beijing-Tianjin intercity emits only 24% of private vehicle emissions,demonstrating the emission reduction benefits of transportation structure optimization.Additionally,predictive modeling reveals the potential for carbon emission reduction through energy structure optimization,providing a guideline for the development of effective transportation management systems.

Overall Life Cycle Comprehensive Assessment of Pneumatic and Electric Actuator

Pneumatic actuators and electric actuators have almost been applied to all manufacturing industries. The two kinds of actuators can replace each other in most fields, such as the point to point transmission occasion and some rotating occasions. However, there are very few research results about the advantages and disadvantages of two kinds of actuators under the same working conditions so far. In this paper, a novel comprehensive assessment method, named as overall life cycle comprehensive assessment （OLCCA）, is proposed for comparison and assessment of pneumatic and electric actuators. OLCCA contains mechanical properties evaluation （MPE）, life cycle cost analysis based on users （LCCABOU） and life cycle environmental impact analysis （LCEIA） algorithm in order to solve three difficult problems： mechanical properties assessment, cost analysis and environmental impact assessment about actuators. The mechanical properties evaluation of actuators is a multi-objective optimization problem. The fuzzy data quantification and information entropy methods are combined to establish MPE algorithm of actuators. Two kinds of pneumatic actuators and electric actuators with similar bearing capacity and similar work stroke were taken for example to verify the correctness of MPE algorithm. The case study of MPE algorithm for actuators verified its correctness. LCCABOU for actuators is also set up. Considering cost complex structure of pneumatic actuators, public device cost even method （PDCEM） is firstly presented to solve cost division of public devices such as compressors, aftercooler, receivers, etc. LCCABOU method is also effective and verified by the three groups of pneumatic actuators and electric actuators. Finally, LCEIA model of actuators is established for the environmental impact assessment of actuators. LCEIA data collection method and model establishment procedure for actuators are also put forward. With Simapro 7, LCEIA comparison results of six actuators can be obtained： Fossil fuels are the major environmental factor of pneumatic and electric actuators; Environmental impact of electric actuator is large than one of pneumatic actuator under the similar mechanical properties and working conditions of pneumatic and electric actuators. The results are correct and correspond with the actual mechanical properties of actuators. This paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation method of the actuators, which can solve the critical problem that similar electromechanical products are very difficult to be compared with each other from the angle of performance, cost and environment impact.

Process of aluminum dross recycling and life cycle assessment for Al-Si alloys and brown fused alumina

In 2008,around 596 000 t of aluminum dross was generated from secondary aluminum industry in China;however,it was not sufficiently recycled yet.Approximately 95% of the Al dross was land filled without innocent treatment.The purpose of this work is to investigate Al dross recycling by environmentally efficient and friendly methods.Two methods of Al dross recycling which could utilize Al dross efficiently were presented.High-quality aluminum-silicon alloys and brown fused alumina(BFA) were produced successfully by recycling Al dross.Then,life cycle assessment(LCA) was performed to evaluate environmental impact of two methods of Al dross recycling process.The results show that the two methods are reasonable and the average recovery rate of Al dross is up to 98%.As the LCA results indicate,they have some advantages such as less natural resource consumption and pollutant emissions,which efficiently relieves the burden on the environment in electrolytic aluminum and secondary aluminum industry.

Environmental impact assessment of magnesium alloy automobile hub based on life cycle assessment

In order to find out the impact of aluminum alloy hub replaced by the magnesium alloy hub on environment,the resource consumption,energy consumption and pollutant emission during hub production and their service life of the two types of hubs are investigated based on the life cycle assessment(LCA)theory.The results indicate that the adverse impact on environment can be effectively reduced by the application of magnesium alloy hubs.Compared with aluminum alloy hubs,the global warming potential(GWP)and human toxicity potential(HTP)are reduced by 39.6%and 24.0%,respectively.CO2 is the main pollutant in the life cycles of the two kinds of hubs,which is generated throughout the whole life cycle including the fabrication process and the service life,while the pollutants of particles mainly come from the fabrication stage.Compared with the aluminum alloy hubs,the green effect brought by magnesium alloy hubs is mainly due to the reduction of fuel consumption caused by weight loss.

计及LCA碳排放的源荷双侧合作博弈调度研究

为实现新型电力系统的低碳经济目标,提出一种计及生命周期评价(lifecycleassessment, LCA)的源荷双侧合作博弈优化调度模型。首先,考虑灵活可调度的柔性负荷,构建含热电联产机组、燃气锅炉、电转气等设备的源荷双侧合作运行框架。然后,运用LCA方法分析源荷双侧中不同能源链的温室气体排放,并结合碳交易机制,建立碳交易成本计算模型。最后,基于合作博弈策略,建立以源荷合作联盟总成本最小为目标的源荷双侧协同运行优化模型,并利用改进的Shapley值法对成员合作收益进行分配。算例分析表明,所提模型有利于降低系统运行的总成本、减少系统碳排放量、提升可再生能源消纳量,有效促进系统低碳经济的发展。

基于LCA的山岭隧道碳排放核算研究现状与展望

首先,梳理山岭隧道碳排放核算研究的进展并进行探讨,基于生命周期评价理论(life cycle assessment,LCA)与排放因子法,结合山岭隧道特点对其全生命周期内各阶段的碳排放来源进行分析,着重探讨施工与运营阶段的计算边界;其次,强调碳排放核算过程中清单分析涉及到的碳排放因子与活动数据的获取方式与应用条件;然后,对核算结果的应用、不确定分析与碳排放预测的相关研究成果进行整理;最后,指出当前山岭隧道碳排放研究中存在的问题,并展望其未来发展方向。

考虑广义储能和LCA碳排放的综合能源系统低碳优化运行策略

综合能源系统(IES)是当前能源转型低碳发展背景下实现“双碳”目标的关键,为了提高IES碳减排能力,需要充分利用需求侧负荷资源和传统储能设备等广义储能资源参与IES优化.首先,建立一种综合考虑可再生能源、能源转换设备、广义储能设备、能源市场交易的IES优化运行模型.然后,使用生命周期评估法(LCA)对IES中能源循环、设备循环的全过程进行碳排放量计算,并将碳排放成本纳入系统总成本.最后,利用仿真实验验证所提模型不仅有利于降低IES总调度成本,还能降低系统的碳排放量,有效促进IES的低碳发展.

Life Cycle Assessment of Green Buildings Based on Grey Clustering Method

To promote and develop green buildings,a standardized,applicable and easily operable index system for the assessment of such buildings was established on the basis of life cycle cost effectiveness.From the perspectives of environment-friendly materials,water resource environment,energy and environment,quality of indoor and outdoor environment,operation and management,and economical efficiency of life cycle,a modified index system was built,AHP was applied to obtain weights of indexes,evaluation methods of the grey system were used to evaluate green buildings,case study was adopted to verify the practicability and scientificity of the method.The results showed that Grey Clustering Method was an objective and reliable tool to evaluate green buildings,the calculation was simple,practical and easily operable,and moreover,the assessment process could be optimized by computer programming to improve its efficiency and precision.

Environmental impact assessment of China’s primary aluminum based on life cycle assessment

Assessing and accounting for material consumption and environmental impact are necessary to measure environmental externalities of the aluminum industry and to construct an ecological civilization.In this research,life cycle assessment(LCA)theory was used to assess the environmental impact of primary aluminum based on the lime soda Bayer process and different power generation modes,and the sources and distributions of the four selected impact categories were analyzed.The results show that,(1)Negative environmental impact of aluminum industry generally occurs from alumina extraction,carbon anode fabrication and electrolysis,particularly electrolysis and alumina extraction.Primary energy demand(PED),water use(WU),global warming potential(GWP)and freshwater eutrophication potential(FEP)are main environmental impact categories.(2)The environmental load with thermal power is higher than that with hydropower,e.g.,for the former,the greenhouse gas emission coefficient of 21800 kg CO2 eq/t(Al)will be generated,while for the latter,4910 kg CO2 eq/t(Al)will be generated.(3)Both power mode methods reflect the energy structure,whereas direct emissions reflect the technical level,indicating the potential for large energy savings and emission reductions,and some policies,related to clean power,energy efficiency and technological progress,should be made for emission reduction.

Green evaluation of microwave-assisted leaching process of high titanium slag on life cycle assessment

A greenness evaluation index and system of microwave-assisted leaching method were established.The effects of the life cycle assessment variables,such as the resource consumption,environment impact,cost,time and quality,were investigated,and the concept of green degree was applied in the production of synthetic rutile.An analytic hierarchy process was utilized to assess matrix of greenness evaluation.The Gauss-Seidel iterative matrix method was employed to solve the assessment matrix and obtain the weights and membership functions of all evaluation indexes.A fuzzy decision-making method was applied to build the greenness evaluation model,and then the scores of green degree in microwave-assisted leaching process was obtained.The greenness evaluation model was applied to the life cycle assessment of the microwave-assisted leaching process.The results show that the microwave-assisted leaching process has advantages over the conventional ones,with respect to energy-consumption,processing time and environmental protection.

Life cycle assessment in the environmental impact evaluation of urbandevelopment--a case study of land readjustment project,Hyogo District, Japan

In this paper, the Life Cycle of Urban Development was firstly analyzed, and the phases of Life Cycle Assessment applied to Urban Development (ULCA) were described. As a case study, ULCA was applied in the environmental impact assessment of the land readjustment project of Hyogo District of Saga, Japan. In addition, mitigation proposals for reducing CO2 were also presented and the relevant environmental ef-fects were simulated.

A techno-economic and life cycle assessment for the production of green methanol from CO_(2): catalyst and process bottlenecks

The success of catalytic schemes for the large-scale valorization of CO_(2) does not only depend on the development of active,selective and stable catalytic materials but also on the overall process design.Here we present a multidisciplinary study(from catalyst to plant and techno-economic/lifecycle analysis)for the production of green methanol from renewable H2 and CO_(2).We combine an in-depth kinetic analysis of one of the most promising recently reported methanol-synthesis catalysts(InCo)with a thorough process simulation and techno-economic assessment.We then perform a life cycle assessment of the simulated process to gauge the real environmental impact of green methanol production from CO_(2).Our results indicate that up to 1.75 ton of CO_(2) can be abated per ton of produced methanol only if renewable energy is used to run the process,while the sensitivity analysis suggest that either rock-bottom H2 prices(1.5$kg1)or severe CO_(2) taxation(300$per ton)are needed for a profitable methanol plant.Besides,we herein highlight and analyze some critical bottlenecks of the process.Especial attention has been paid to the contribution of H2 to the overall plant costs,CH4 trace formation,and purity and costs of raw gases.In addition to providing important information for policy makers and industrialists,directions for catalyst(and therefore process)improvements are outlined.

Life cycle environmental impact assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production and utilization in Northwestern Ontario,Canada

Biochar-based bioenergy production and sub- sequent land application of biochar can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fixing atmospheric carbon into the soil for a long period of time. A thorough life cycle assessment of biochar-based bioenergy production and biochar land application in Northwestern Ontario is conducted using SimaPro Ver. 8.1. The results of energy consumption and potential environmental impact of biochar-based bioenergy production system are compared with those of conventional coal-based system. Results show that biocbar land application consumes 4847.61 MJ per tonne dry feedstock more energy than conventional system, but reduces the GHG emissions by 68.19 kg CO2e per tonne of dry feed- stock in its life cycle. Biochar land application improves ecosystem quality by 18 %, reduces climate change by 15 %, and resource use by 13 % but may adversely impact on human health by increasing disability adjusted life years by 1.7 % if biomass availability is low to medium. Replacing fossil fuel with woody biomass has a positiveimpact on the environment, as one tonne of dry biomass feedstock when converted to biochar reduces up to 38 kg CO2e with biochar land application despite using more energy. These results will help understand a comprehensive picture of the new interventions in forestry businesses, which are promoting biochar-based bioenergy production.

Investigation of the environmental impacts of steel deck pavement based on life cycle assessment

To investigate the environmental impacts of steel deck pavement through the whole life cycle,the steel deck pavement was divided into five stages:raw materials production,asphalt mixture mixing,pavement construction,operation management,and pavement removing stage.Based on the process-based life cycle assessment(PLCA)method,the calculation methods of energy consumption and gas emissions of two typical steel deck pavement systems(EA+EA pavement and GA+SMA pavement)were determined.The data lists of two pavements were analyzed,and the calculation model was built.Four characteristic indices including primary energy demand(PED),global warming potential(GWP),acidification potential(AP)and respiratory inorganics(RI)were used to quantify the environmental impacts of two pavements.The results show that the environmental impact of the GA+SMA pavement is more than 1.3 times that of the EA+EA pavement.Moreover,the critical stage of energy-saving and emission-reduction of EA+EA pavement and GA+SMA pavement are the raw material production stage and asphalt mixture mixing stage,respectively.

Using hybrid modeling for life cycle assessment of motor bike and electric bike

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is environmental evaluation of products, materials, and processes over their life cycle. Truncation uncertainty and corresponding uncertainty are main problems occurred in process life cycle assessment (PLCA) modeling and economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) modeling. Through combination of these two modelings in different life cycle stage and use of an uncertainty reduction strategy, a hybrid life cycle assessment modeling method was proposed in this study. Case studies were presented on gasoline-powered motorbikes (M-bike) and electricity-powered electric bike (E-bike). Web-based software was developed to analyze process environmental impacts. Results show that the largest part of life cycle energy (LCE) is consumed at use stage. Less energy is consumed in life cycle of E-bike than that of M-bike. GWP (Global Warming Potential), CO (Carbon Monoxide), PM10 (particulate matter) emission of M-bike are higher than that of E-bike, especially at use stage, AP (acidification Potential) emission of E-bike is higher than that of M-bike. Comprehensively, E-bike is energy efficient and less emitting, and better choice for urban private transportation.

Life Cycle Assessment of Creosote-Treated Wooden Railroad Crossties in the US with Comparisons to Concrete and Plastic Composite Railroad Crossties

Creosote-treated wooden railroad crossties have been used for more than a century to support steel rails and to transfer load from the rails to the underlying ballast while keeping the rails at the correct gauge. As transportation engineers look for improved service life and environmental performance in railway systems, alternatives to the creosote-treated wooden crosstie are being considered. This paper compares the cradle-to-grave environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) results of creosote-treated wooden railroad crossties with the primary alternative products: concrete and plastic composite (P/C) crossties. This LCA includes a life cycle inventory (LCI) to catalogue the input and output data from crosstie manufacture, service life, and disposition, and a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil fuel and water use, and emissions with the potential to cause acidification, smog, ecotoxicity, and eutrophication. Comparisons of the products are made at a functional unit of 1.61 kilometers (1.0 mile) of rail-road track per year. This LCA finds that the manufacture, use, and disposition of creosote-treated wooden railroad crossties offers lower fossil fuel and water use and lesser environmental impacts than competing products manufactured of concrete and P/C.

Life cycle assessment of mobile phone housing

The life cycle assessment of the mobile phone housing in Motorola(China) Electronics Ltd. was carried out, in which materials flows and environmental emissions based on a basic production scheme were analyzed and assessed. In the manufacturing stage, such primary processes as polycarbonate molding and surface painting are included, whereas different surface finishing technologies like normal painting, electroplate, IMD and VDM etc. were assessed. The results showed that housing decoration plays a significant role within the housing life cycle. The most significant environmental impact from housing production is the photochemical ozone formation potential. Environmental impacts of different decoration techniques varied widely, for example, the electroplating technique is more environmentally friendly than VDM. VDM consumes much more energy and raw material. In addition, the results of two alternative scenarios of dematerialization showed that material flow analysis and assessment is very important and valuable in selecting an environmentally friendly process.