Session 2

LCA study of lead acid battery using simaPro software By:Amandeep singhGaurav GuptaNitin PanwarVikas Ranveer Singh Mahala1Why do life-cycle assessment?

minimize the magnitude of pollution conserve non-renewable resources conserve ecological systems develop and utilize cleaner technologies maximize recycling of materials andwaste apply the most appropriate pollutionprevention and/or abatement techniquesWhat is life-cycle assessment?

simaPro SoftwareShort description and use44SimaProSimaPro is a detailed environmental analysis toolUsed for a product or processProducts and processes are called processes in this programQuantification of the raw material, energy use, and emissions to the air, water, and soilCharacterization of environmental impactsThe databases contain many common products and processes.55What SimaPro ContainsDatabasesInventory of the data in SimaProSubstances, processes, units, conversion factors, environmental impact categories, projects, librariesProjects (what you will be working on)The data used in a specific projectLibraryData available for use in all projectsGeneral dataData such as substances and units

6Note that in SimaPro, all products and processes are labeled as a process6

This is the opening screen of SimaPro77You will then be presented with this screen where you can select the server that you will useFor the first time, there will be no serversYou will need to add the server(s) you wish to use.

8

8Click

In the new window that appears click

In this window enter the server nameOur server is specter Click 9

9Click

Make sure that Professional is highlighted as shown to the leftThis is the most current versionClick

10

10Wait for the database to finish loading

Select a userSelect Expert, user ##, or Manager whenever possibleExpert can view and edit all expert, practioner, and visitor projectsManager and user## can view and edit all projects in the databasePractioner can only open projects on that level and default tutorials, but can create projectsVisitor can only open default tutorials and cannot create projects

The Password is the usernameEx. The password for Expert is expert

11

11The Project selection window will appearFrom here you can select an existing project or create your ownTo open and existing project click To create a new project click

12

12When creating a new project this screen will displayEnter the name of your projectUse a concise and descriptive name like Slater LCA TutorialClick 13

13

This is a screen similar to what you should see after following the previous stepsThis is the main screen of SimaPro (the LCA explorer screen) where you are able to do everything SimaPro is capable ofNote that this is the processes tab of the LCA explorer

The top barThe far left bar1414Project ManagementCreate a new projectOpen an existing projectClose the current projectSave the current item being editedPrint the current itemCut the selectionCopy the selectionPaste the selectionFind an item within SimaPro

15

15Editing toolsInserts a new line for inputDeletes the currently selected input lineUsed when creating a process in SimaProExpression toolsIn SimaPro the user can input mathematical expressions instead of numbersDisplays the expressions entered and their resultsUpdates all expressions (This is automatically done by default)

16

16Analysis Shortcut toolsThe analysis options are discussed in detail laterPerforms a network analysisPerforms a impact assessment analysisCompares the selected processes using an impact analysisSimaPro toolsShows the LCA explorer windowThis button allows you to view the data from all of the projectsThis button is only available for the manager and user## users because they can view all processesIt does not allow you to edit processes from other projects, only view and analyze them

17

17The far left bar provides links to use for navigating the programWizardsThis provides some pre-loaded tutorials and an LCA-wizard that you can use when creating a new LCA modelGoal and ScopeDescription allows you to define and view a description of the current projectLibraries displays the list of libraries and allows you to select which libraries are used in the project

18

18InventoryProcesses is the window that was shown earlier where you can navigate through the processes available in your projectProduct stages allows you to define what processes are included in the different stages of your process (assembly, life cycle, disposal, disassembly, and reuse)Waste types displays a list of the different types of waste management available in SimaPro These are labels that tell SimaPro how to treat the waste produced by a processParameters allows the user to define variables, both independent and dependant, for use in the LCA modelThese can be used in expressions for process inputs/outputs

19

19Impact assessmentMethods displays a list of the available impact assessment methodsYou can create your own methods tailored to your requirementsCalculation setups displays a list of the available calculation methodsYou can create a setup to display the results that you choose in a specific format so that all repeat calculations are presented the same way

20

20InterpretationInterpretation allows the user to input an interpretation of the dataDocument Links provides links to the documentation that corresponds to the selected libraries

21

21General DataLiterature references displays a list of the literature cited by the libraries in useSubstances displays a list of the available substancesUnits displays a list of the units used in SimaProQuantities displays the units sorted by what physical quantities they representImages displays all of the images used by the selected libraries including images of processes

22

22The LibrariesConsist of critically reviewed data used by researchersContains the LCI data for products and processesOur version of SimaPro does not allow users to edit these

2323

Click on the Libraries tabThis is the Libraries tab of SimaProThe checked boxes indicate that the library is active and its contents are available for useThese are all of the libraries available at RowanNow returning to the processes tab

2424Case studyLCA of LEAD ACID battery in automobilesGOAL and SCOPE OF STUDYThe aim is to describe the most important aspects of the environmental impacts of automobile battery manufacturing. Key questions :-What are the environmental impacts of automobile battery manufacturing? What is the extent of these environmental impacts?Does the new technology of automobile battery manufacturing help reduce environmental impacts? How much?What types of eco-design guidelines should be formed for automobile battery manufacturing?MethodsThe method of study for the LCA was carried out according to the steps outlined in standard sequence ISO14040Scope and system boundaryTwo types of automobile batteries were studied, i.e. a conventional battery and a calcium-maintenance free battery, which has a longer lifetime than the conventional one. The boundaries of the systems studied extend to include raw materials, production, transportation (of raw materials, products and waste), utilization and disposal.Table below shows the comparison of the raw materials of a conventional battery and calcium-maintenance free battery used in this study

Cont.The main production processes of an automobile battery are divided into seven stages: grid casting, oxide mixing, pasting, curing, formation, assembly and packaging , the analytical boundaries of which can be seen in Fig shown below. The types of environmental impact to be studied can be divided into five groups: global warming (GW), acidification (AD), ozone depletion(OD), heavy metal (HM), and energy resources (ER).

Functional unitHere the Ah(ampere hour) has been taken as the functional unit.The conventional battery was used over a period of two years, while the calcium-maintenance free battery was used over four years. The maximum Ah capacity is 80 and 90 for the conventional battery and the calcium maintenance free battery, respectively.Life cycle inventoryThe information used in the LCA can be divided into primary data derived from the manufacturing process and transportation of products manufactured during the 2008 production year. Information on the period when the product was in use can be obtained from data used in the simulation test to determine actual use of a battery. For information outside the scope of the manufacture process or which cannot be stored directly such as data on raw materials, energy, electricity, water supply and recycling, the research team used secondary data sourced from inventory databases on the environment, basic materials and energy use in ThailandResultsImpact assessmentSensitivity analysisMeans of developing and improving lead acid batteryImpact assessmentAt this stage, the environmental impact of the product systems was assessed by separating the types of impact into five groups, namely; global warming, acidification, ozone depletion, heavy metal and energy resources using.When we consider the degree of each type of impact over the lifecycle of both types of batteries as presented in the bar chart in Fig. 2,Cont It is apparent that the impact during the stage of obtaining and use of raw materials is relatively high; accounting for approximately 50% of all the various stages of product life and the impact from acidification as a result of using raw materials such as sulfuric acid used in the formation process during manufacture.

Recycling also results in the depletion of the ozone layer and the release of metal into the environment.

Which raw material/manufacturing process has the highest environmental impact?The two most important issues (global warming and acidification) were considered at the stages of obtaining raw materials and manufacture. Figure 4 shows the percentage of impact on global warming and acidification from materials used in the manufacturing of a conventional battery.

Figure 5 shows the ratio of impact on global warming and acidification during the manufacturing process of a conventional battery

Sensitivity analysisA sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the reliability of the results gathered and is usually presented in the form of a percentage of change or an absolute deviation value. Here three possible options that may affect the results of the study by focusing on energy and raw materials, which cause acidification and global warming have been determined. The three possible options and the sensitivity analysis in the form of absolute deviation values of the results is presented in Table 3

Means of developing and improving lead acid batteryBattery can be improved by using raw materials that can be recycled, choosing types of plastic that are environmentally friendly, such as PP or PE plastic, while avoiding those that have a high environmental impact, like PVC or nylon.Reducing the quantity and types of plastic used facilitates separation of pieces of plastic and plastic that can be recycled.Increasing the charge efficiency of batteries so as to prevent self-discharge is one way of helping to reduce impact on the environment during usage.The correct disposal of batteries is also a process that can help and one which should be promoted to develop a suitable battery collection and recycling network and prevent contaminated lead from entering the plastic recycling chain.

ConclusionA comparison of the environmental impact resulting from use of both automobile batteries over a two year period revealed that the calcium-maintenance free battery was more beneficial to the environment than the conventional battery in all five environmental impact types due to the fact that it had a longer lifespan by more than two years.Throughout the entire lifecycle of the battery found that the calcium- maintenance free battery had approximately 28% less impact because the extent of impact during battery use was only slightly different.ContThe stage of obtaining raw materials had the most pronounced impact on the environment, followed by the stage of product use.In the production phase, environmental impacts are dominated by formation (40%), grid casting (30%) and oxide mixing (5%).These issues were analyzed and ways of improving the battery were proposed and separated according to the environmental issues that arose during the life cycle of the batteryreferencesEnvironment Protection Engineering, kanchanapiya premrudee, utaka jantima, annanon kittinan, lecksiwilai naruetep, kitpakonsanti kittiwan, boonyananth sudkla

SULLIVAN J. L., GAINES L., A review of battery life-cycle analysis: State of knowledge and critical needs, Argonne National Laboratory, U.S., 2010.

Life Cycle Assessment LCA of Li-Ion batteries for electric vehicles, M. Gauch, R. Widmer, D. Notter, A. Stamp, H.J. Althaus, P. WgerLCAoverview tutorial

Thank you