Emissions, energy requirements and material flows are calculated for each process. Life cycle assessment gsa sustainable facilites tool. Best practices of biomass energy life cycle assessment. Ieapvpstask 12 methodology guidelines on life cycle assessment of photovoltaic electricity i executive summary life cycle assessment lca is a structured, comprehensive method of quantifying material and energy flows and their associated emissions in the life.
Three different scenarios were found eligible for analysis. A comparable approach was adopted by the world energy council wec for life cycle assessment lca. Huo center for transportation research, energy systems division. These are usually sources of only electrical energy but sometimes sources of heat are evaluated. Life cycle assessment lca is a tool to evaluate the environmental effects of a. Gabi automatically tracks all material, energy, and. Pdf life cycle environmental assessment of municipal.
Comparison of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of various. Life cycle analysis lca is a comprehensive form of analysis that utilizes the principles of life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, and various other methods to evaluate the environmental, economic, and social attributes of energy systems ranging from the extraction of raw materials from the ground to the use of the energy carrier to. Lifecycle assessment lca a method for characterizing and quantifying and interpreting environmental flows for a product or service from a cradletograve perspective waste and pollution out raw material acquisition material processing manufacturing or construction use end of life recycle remanufacture reuse materials, energy and. Comparison of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of. Lifecycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts of.
Compared to other countries eu and beyond, in serbia the lca tool is insuffi. Lca has been used in many industries since the early 1990. First version of the commissions european reference life cycle database elcd goes online. A lifecycle assessment, written by the university of tennessee under a grant from epa. Energy life cycle assessment for the production of biodiesel. This book deals with the application of life cycle assessment lca methodology to sustainable energy systems and technologies. Pdf life cycle assessment of renewable energy sources. Pdf importance of life cycle assessment of renewable energy. Life cycle assessment is a cradletograve approach for assessing industrial systems. This study is based in the year 2022, when pyrolysis conversion technology is assumed to be commercial and advanced system designs are available for all stages of the fuel cycle. As society and its decisionmakers choose which methods have the most negative impact, life cycle assessment provides an approach for quantifying each burden. Ieapvpstask 12 methodology guidelines on life cycle assessment of photovoltaic electricity i executive summary life cycle assessment lca is a structured, comprehensive method of quantifying material and energy flows and their associated emissions in the life cycles of products i. Methodology guidelines on life cycle assessment of. Comparison of energy systems using life cycle assessment.
Feb 04, 2021 the international reference life cycle data system ilcd handbook general guide for life cycle assessment detailed guidance publications office of the european union, 2010. Life cycle assessment of coffee fort collins, colorado. Any power production technology should be able to demonstrate that its able to comply with current and future environmental regulation and that it demonstrates a considerable surplus in the energy balance being a part of the entire power system. The amounts of energy required in farming, meat processing, and baseline conversion to. I conversion to biodiesel, ii rendering and conversion, and iii farming, rendering, and conversion. Life cycle assessment of a natural gas combined cycle power. Emerging approaches, challenges and opportunities in life. As clean energy increasingly becomes part of the national dialogue, lenders, utilities, and lawmakers need the most. Integrated life cycle assessment of electricitysupply scenarios confirms global environmental benefit of lowcarbon technologies edgar g. The life cycle assessment modeling approach follows the methodology described in hsu et al. Pdf life cycle assessment of a wastewater treatment.
Lca is a productoriented tool for analysing the environmental impacts that a specific product, process or. Life cycle assessment of electricity systems dtu orbit. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material extraction and processing. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from solar photovoltaics. Systematic energy life cycle assessment on perceptions of efficiency with nontechnical shareholders christopher l. Pdf reducing the huge environmental impacts caused by buildingsdirect energy consumption and embodied energy of materialsneeds a broader. Vegae, and lei shif aindustrial ecology programme, department of energy and process engineering, norwegian. Cradletograve begins with the gathering of raw materials from the earth.
Life cycle assessment of a wastewater treatment plant focused on material and energy flows juan rodriguez introductionanthropogenic activities generate environmental impacts that should be minimized to protect the quality of the environment, to preserve the ecosystems and to optimize the use of natural resources. John marano and massood ramezan,federal energy technology center life cycle assessment. This paper discusses the potential environmental impacts associated with the use of a compressed air energy storage caes as a means of stabilizing the electricity output of a wind farm with a capacity of 150 mw. Therefore, lca can be used as a tool to assess the sustainability of various energy sources for different locations. Life cycle assessment of coalfired power production pamela l. Systematic energy lifecycle assessment on perceptions of. It does not cover other environmental impacts of the energy technologies in. Endof life the final stage of a life cycle is the endof life stage which reflects what happens to the lighting products when they have stopped working and are no longer required. An exclusive lca feature is that it is exposed to environmental effects of the service or product throughout the designed life cycle. The lca is a standardized methodology 6 to assess sustainability of all industrial. Life cycle assessment of energy efficient buildings sciencedirect. The endof life phase takes into account any other integral parts of a products life cycle. The report concluded that the life cycle energy consumption of led lamps and cfls is similar at approximately 3,900 mj per 20 million lumenhours of lighting service.
An integrated hybrid life cycle assessment model was employed to model the potential environmental impacts of several compressed air energy storage systems. Milestone completion report this report summarizes the results of a lifecycle assessment of a renewable hydrogen production process employing windelectrolysis. The production of computers contains a greater energy demand than. Zhang 2007 has completed a life cycle inventory of two representative chinese dams through an economic input output life cycle analysis eiolca. Measurement of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions involves calculating the globalwarming potential of energy sources through life cycle assessment. Life cycle assessment of hydrogen production via natural. In the modern economy, international value chainsproduction, use, and disposal of goodshave global environmental impacts.
Life cycle inventories and life cycle assessments of. Firstever global life cycle assessment of renewable energy future 6 october 2014 the shepherds flat wind farm is an 845 mw wind farm in the u. Pdf this work examines the politics of creating, utilizing, and modifying life cycle assessment lca in the construction of renewable energy. A hybrid life cycle assessment lca is used to evaluate four sustainability metrics over the life cycle of a power tower concentrating solar power csp facility. Lightweighting, hevs, evs, phevs, and batteries li. The national renewable energy laboratory nrel recently led the life cycle assessment lca harmonization project, a study that helps to clarify inconsistent and conflicting life cycle ghg emission estimates in the published literature and provide mo re precise estimates of life cycle ghg emissions from pv systems. Jan 26, 2010 the energy life cycle assessment for the production of biodiesel from rendered lipids in the united states is presented in this study. Pdf life cycle assessment of the wave energy converter. Lifecycle assessment or lca also known as life cycle analysis is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service.
The life cycle assessment is based on the iso 14040 standard, and includes a goal and scope, life cycle inventory lci, life cycle impact assessment lcia, and interpretation 5. Primary energy is defined as the energy embodied in natural resources e. Richard1, greg mines2 and jay nathwani3 1 bcs, incorporated u. Within this perspective, the life cycle analysis lca can be a helpful tool and its potential should be deeper explored for future applications regarding the. Life cycle performance of various energy sources used in. Life cycle assessment of computers fort collins, colorado. In fact, reselling and upgrading can be 20 and 12 times more efficient at reducing life cycle energy compared to recycling table 2 williams 2003. The two life cycle energy case studies for aircraft brackets compare 1 the same metal part made by additive manufacturing to the conventional process. The life cycle assessment lca is a tool that can be used effectively in evaluating various renewable energy sources for their sustainability and. Energy and sustainability are two of the most important and often most misunderstood subjects in our world today. Life cycle assessment allows for these burdens to be examined separately and summed into a single index. Ef energy contained in the natural gas fed to the hydrogen plant eff fossil fuel energy consumed within the system e a includes the energy consumed by all of the processes. Zaman published 2009 engineering the study aimed to analyze potential environmental burdens of different wasteto energy technologies.
Life cycle assessment of coalfired power production. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from electricity. Life cycle analysis lca of energy technology and pathways. The reference design is for a drycooled, 106 mwnet power tower facility located near tucson, az that uses a mixture. A life cycle assessment lca is an analytical tool used to quantify and interpret the flows toandfrom the environment e. Environmental life cycle assessment lca has developed fast over the last three decades. Life cycle assessment of gasoline and diesel produced via. Life cycle assessment of hydrogen production via natural gas. Wec decided to include life cycle assessment of various energy production forms in its 20022004 studies work programme. Using life cycle assessment 2004 world energy council government. Nonetheless, relevant for this assessment on china are two particular papers. Comparative lifecycle assessment of renewable electricity.
Life cycle assessment lca is a popular environmental management tool for environmental impact assessment, environmental auditing, environmental performance assessment, and risk assessment. As a from both the life cycle inventory analysis and life cycle impact study in finland they identi. Life cycle analysis lca is a comprehensive form of analysis that utilizes the principles of life cycle assessment, life cycle cost analysis, and various other methods to evaluate the environmental, economic, and social attributes of energy systems ranging from the extraction of raw materials from the ground to the use of the energy carrier to perform work commonly referred to as the life. Such life cycle analyses of energy technologies are essential, especially as material and energy. Through this methodology, an energy life cycle assessment elca is. Methodological considerations and results based on a brazilian experience explain the lca aspect of hydropower while a comparison of life cycle assessment studies of different biofuels compares the lca approaches for different renewable energy sources. Life cycle assessment department of environmental affairs.
These data will then be adapted andor weighted to the functional unit, which is defined in the goal and scope, so that the whole life cycle of the product can be taken into account iii impact assessment in the life cycle impact assessment lcia, the product. Life cycle energy assessment methodology, tool and case. Lifecycle assessment lca also called life cycle analysis is a tool for examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the workplace or at home, and disposing of it. Steps of a life cycle assessment according to iso 14044. This activity asks students to begin to consider the life cycle energy and carbon dioxide emission costs of gasoline, corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol. Integrated lifecycle assessment of electricitysupply. Energy life cycle assessment for the production of. Institute of transportation studies, university of california at berkeley. Oct 29, 2019 life cycle assessment, also known as life cycle analysis, is used to assess environmental impacts associated with all stages of a products life. The national renewable energy laboratory nrel recently led the life cycle assessment.
Life cycle analysis is an invaluable tool for investigating the environmental pro. The center for sustainable landscapes csl is a threestory, 24,350 square foot educational, research, and administrative office in pittsburgh, pa, usa. The energy for the production of kilograms of unroasted coffee beans equates to about three months of the average monthly electricity use per household in the u. Kerr including contributions on process definition and data acquisition from. Lifecycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts. European platform on life cycle assessment established at the european commission.
A life cycle assessment lca is a technique to assess the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a projects life, from raw material extraction and construction to deployment, operation, and decommissioning. Life cycle assessment lca provides an ideal analytical tool for the assessment of the environmental impacts associated with the whole of the. Anlesd0710 life cycle assessment of cornbased butanol as a potential transportation fuel by m. Environmental life cycle assessment lca is a tool to identify the magnitude, type and location of the environmental impacts caused by all the stages of a production process, from the gathering of raw materials, to the disposal of the product at the end of its life. Life cycle impact assessment lcia phase of life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts for a product system throughout the life cycle of the product iso 14040. Several general steps are used to determine the overall environmental impact of a manufactured product. The modeling boundary for this study is from field to wheels. Life cycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts of led lighting products lightemitting diode led products for general illumination have the potential to save energy and improve lighting quality and performance in comparison to many conventional lighting technologies. This activity asks students to begin to consider the life cycle energy and carbon dioxide emission costs of. This means that the energy used throughout all the lifecycle stages.
Life cycle assessment is designed to identify environmental impacts that are caused by, and proportional to, the flows of products and materials the transportation of raw materials, parts, components and products related to an activity. Department of energy doe project to assess the life cycle environmental and resource costs in the manufacturing, transport, use, and. Whereas lca developed from merely energy analysis to a comprehensive environmental burden analysis in the 1970s, fullfledged life cycle impact assessment and life cycle costing models were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, and sociallca and particularly consequential lca gained ground in the first. Energy life cycle analysis of biodiesel farm energy. Life cycle assessment lca aims to quantify the environmental impacts that arise from material inputs and outputs, such as energy use or air emissions, over a. As these two subjects have grown in importance over the last few decades, interest in the life cycle assessment lca model has grown as well, as a potentially crucial tool in understanding and striving towards sustainability in energy systems. Life cycle assessment of a power tower concentrating solar.
Sep 15, 2020 a dataset containing life cycle information of a specified product or other reference e. The life cycle assessment lca allows to evaluate the interactions that a product or service has with the environment, considering its whole life cycle that includes the preproduction points extraction and production of raw materials, production, distribution, use including reuse and maintenance, recycling, and final disposal. Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of energy sources. Eu thematic strategies on the prevention and recycling of waste and the sustainable use of natural resources published. For example, it measures impact from raw material extraction to materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling. A materials life cycle assessment of a netzero energy. When selecting alternative fuels, it is important to consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. A life cycle energy analysis of building materials in the negev desert. A guide for business and policy makers to life cycle thinking. Aug, 2012 endof life the final stage of a life cycle is the endof life stage which reflects what happens to the lighting products when they have stopped working and are no longer required. The findings are presented in units of global warming potential per unit of electrical energy generated by that source. Importance of life cycle assessment of renewable energy sources.
The stages include the collection of the raw materials, processing those materials, manufacturing the product, distribution via various transportation techniques, use of the product as well as the. Life cycle assessment of energy systems and sustainable energy. Navigant consulting, life cycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts of led lighting products, part 1. Firstever global life cycle assessment of renewable energy. Life cycle assessment 8 carbon footprint of polestar 2. The assessment process includes identifying and quantifying energy and. Life cycle assessment and sustainability sustainability blog. The synopsis part of this thesis is available as a pdffile.
805 1270 176 292 581 38 184 1170 1351 788 187 313 857 776 243 1281 513 1244 301 568 1197 1417 82 48 902 1028 319