Life Cycle Assessment
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Transcript of Life Cycle Assessment
Mary Ann CurranBSChE/MSc/PhD (June 2008)
LCA Research Program Manager
EPA Office of Research & DevelopmentNational Risk Management Research Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Life Cycle Assessment
LCA is an environmental management tool to:
• Apply a system-wide examination• Use a multi-media approach (air, water,
solid waste)• Identify trade-offs among alternatives• Identify opportunities to improve systems• Support environmental decision making• Achieve sustainable development
Life cycle thinking is being applied but often not called LCA
• For example:
OECD Report “Biofuels: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? Sept 2007
These studies reveal bigger picture issues of making (more) bioethanol, such as land availability, water use, soil and water quality, and food-for-fuel issues.
“Life Cycle Studies” often focus on a single issue, such as…
• Recycling/Resource Conservation• Greenhouse Gas Emissions• Climate Change• Carbon Balance• Energy Balance
So what is Life Cycle Assessment?
but miss the element of trade-offs.
There is a standardized tool for conducting a multi-media,
cradle-to-grave assessment
• ISO 14040 “Life Cycle Assessment – Principles and Framework” 1997
• ISO 14044 “Life Cycle Assessment – Requirements and Guidelines” 2006
* ISO – International Standards Organisation
ISO 14040 Standards
Goal andScope
Definition
InventoryAnalysis
ImpactAssessment
Interpretation
Life cycle assessment framework
Defining system boundaries for E85
Crude OilExtraction
Raw MaterialAcquisition
Stage
BlendstockGasolineRefining
ProductionStage
EtOHProduction
Bulk TerminalStorage
VehicleRefueling
Station
VehicleOperation
UseStage
Corn GrowingBulk Terminal
Storage
Inventory data availability is a barrier to conducting LCAs
• National LCI database still being developed (www.nrel.gov/lci)
• Data come from many different sources, such as:− Proprietary company data− Consultants, labs, universities− Public, e.g., Toxics Release Inventory (EPA)
• Databases use different units or different reference flows; report on different time periods
• Often more than one source is needed to calculate the necessary inventory data
• Data for new products must be estimated
LCA Software/Consultants• AIST-LCA• APME• Athena• ATHENA• BEES• Boustead• CMLCA• Dubo-Calc• EcoInvent• EcoQuantum• EDIP• eiolca.net• EMIS
• EPS• GaBi• GEMIS• GREET• IdeMAT• KCL-Eco 3.0• LCAiT• LCAPix • MIET• REGIS• SimaPro 5.0• SPINE• TEAM• Umberto
31 National Databases (in varying stages of development)
Argentina Chile France Malaysia Spain
Australia China Germany Norway Sweden
Austria Chinese Tapei
India The
Netherlands
Switzerland
Belgium Denmark Italy Portugal Thailand
Brazil Estonia Japan Poland UK
Canada Finland Korea South Africa USA
Vietnam
Impact Assessment -Common Impact Categories
Impact Category Indicator MeasurementImpact Category Indicator Measurement ResourcesResources kg Scarce Resourceskg Scarce Resources WaterWater mm33 Water Water Global WarmingGlobal Warming kg COkg CO2 e2 equivalentsquivalents Ozone DepletionOzone Depletion CFC-11 equivalentsCFC-11 equivalents AcidificationAcidification kg SOkg SO22 equivalents equivalents Eutrophication Eutrophication kg POkg PO44
3-3- equivalents equivalents Smog FormationSmog Formation kg Ethene equivalentskg Ethene equivalents Human ToxicityHuman Toxicity HTx equivalentsHTx equivalents Eco ToxicityEco Toxicity ETx equivalentsETx equivalents WasteWaste kg Wastekg Waste Land UseLand Use equivalent hectaresequivalent hectares NoiseNoise equivalent decibelsequivalent decibels OdorOdor ?? ??
LCIA usually models to midpoints(unlike Risk Assessment)
Emissions (CFCs, Halons)
Chemical reaction releases Cl- and Br-
Cl-, Br- destroys ozone MIDPOINT measures ozone depletion potential (ODP)
Less ozone allows increased UVB radiation which leads to following ENDPOINTS
immune system suppression
skin cancercataracts
marine life damage
damage to materials like plastics
crop damage
Can we create a Streamlined LCA?
• Out of necessity, all LCA’s are simplified in some aspect, however,
• Narrowing the scope by Omitting stages Limiting the inventory Targeting impacts
can overlook potential trade-offs and report misleading results.
Current LCA Practice
• Public LCI data sources are few• Vendor data lack transparency• No guidance exists for data modeling• Impact modeling varies • No guidance exists for peer review• International UNEP/SETAC workgroup is slowly
making progress• US Database is underway but struggling to get
support/data
Worldwide growing interest in the life cycle concept is
being ignited by
• Concerns about Global Climate Change (“An Inconvenient Truth”)
• Walmart Scorecard development
• Green/Sustainable buildings
• General interest by companies to be ‘green’
Sustainable Development requires balancing environmental,
economic and social factors
Suggested Reading• ISO Standards 14040 & 14044 (2006)• U.S. EPA (2006) Life Cycle Assessment Principles &
Practice EPA/600/R-06/060• Curran, M.A. (ed.) (1996) Environmental Life Cycle
Assessment. McGraw-Hill, New York• Baumann & Tillman (2004) The Hitch Hiker's Guide to
LCA: An Orientation in Life Cycle Assessment Methodology and Application
• Heijungs R, et al (1992) Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Products. Vol. I: Guide, and Vol. II: Backgrounds, Center for Envir. Studies, Leiden University
• International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment• Journal of Cleaner Production• Journal of Industrial Ecology