Life Cycle Assessment

LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

Table of Contents :      

Define Life Cycle Assessment. History of LCA. Why do we do LCA? Components of LCA. Life Cycle Inventory. Summary.

The LCA Concept Life Cycle Assessment 

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Is an objective process designed to assess systematically the total environmental impact of a particular processes, product and material from “cradle to grave” from raw material extraction to final product disposal. (Australia Packaging Council, Ecobalance UK) Is an objective process to evaluate burdens associated with the product, process, or activity by identifying the energy and materials used and waste released to the environment, and to evaluate and implement opportunities to affect environmental improvements. (SETAC)

History of LCA : 

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1960 – Scientist concerned the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, developed it as an approached to understanding the impacts of energy consumption. 1969 - first multi criteria study for Cocacola with objectives to determine which type of beverage container had the lowest releases to the environment and made the fewest demands for raw materials and energy. The study shows that plastic bottle was the first choice contrary to expectations. This leads the scientific community to go standardization. 1970 – The U.S. EPA refined the approach and it is known as Resource and Environmental Profile Analysis (REPA). 1984 - Publication of EMPA – Packaging material ecological report; 1991 - Publication of SETAC report (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry); 1996 - Standard Life Cycle Assessment (France); 1997 – 2000: ISO 14040, 41, 42, 43, series of standards defining different stages of LCA methodology. 1999 – 2001: ISO 14020, 25, 48, 49, series concerning communication, environmental declaration and working methods.

Reference – Ecobalance, UK; www.umich.edu

Why Do Life Cycle Assessment :    

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Minimize the magnitude of pollution; Conserve non-renewable resources; Conserve ecological system; Develop and Utilize Cleaner technologies; Maximize recycling of materials and waste; Apply the most appropriate pollution prevention and/or abatement technologies.

Components of LCA : 

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Life Cycle Inventory – Determine the emissions (air emissions,

waterborne effluents, solid waste, and other environmental releases) that occur and the raw materials and energy that are used during the life cycle of the product, process or activity. Life Cycle Impact Assessment –Assess what the impact of these emissions and raw material depletions are. The impact assessment should include both ecological and human health impacts, as well as social, cultural and economic impacts. Typical impacts are resource depletion, greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, acidification, nitrification, water pollution, solid pollution, loss of use, etc. Life Cycle Improvement Analysis – Interprets the results of the impact assessment in order to suggest improvement, reduce or mitigate the environmental impact throughout the whole cycle of a product, process or activity. This analysis may include both quantitative and qualitative measures of improvement, such as changes in product design, raw material usage, industrial processes, consumer use and waste management. When LCA is conducted to compare products, this step may consist of recommending the most environmentally desirable product.

Reference – www.utexas.edu, www.umich.edu

Life Cycle Inventory : Inputs

Processes RM acquisition Manufacture and assembly Distribution and transport Consumer use and disposal

Reference – www.utexas.edu, www.umich.edu

Output

Raw Material Acquisition : Inputs

Process

Energy Water Infrastructure & Capital Equipment

Output Water effluents

Raw Material Acquisition

Usable Mat’l Solid waste

Reference – www.utexas.edu, www.umich.edu

Manufacturing and Assembly: Inputs

Process

Output Water effluents

RM Acquisition

Production and Assembly

Ancillary Mat’l production Fuel producing industries Cus. Recycling

Reference – www.utexas.edu, www.umich.edu

Air emission Solid waste Usable product Co product

Life Cycle Inventory : Inputs Energy

Raw Materials Water

Processes

Output

RM acquisition

Water effluents

Manufacture and assembly

Air emissions

Distribution and transport Consumer use and disposal

Solid waste Usable Product Other envi ronmetal releases

Reference – www.utexas.edu, www.umich.edu

Summary : 1.

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LCA is a tool for assessing and minimizing the impact of human activities. Life Cycle Stages of a product include raw material acquisition, use and disposal. LCA techniques have been adopted in industry and the public sector to serve a variety of purpose - product development, improvement or comparison; Ecolabels (environmental labeling program), environmental choice (Canada), White swan (Nordic countries), Ecomark (Japan), Blue angel (Germany), Green seal (USA) Choices made during the planning phase (statement of objectives, definition of the product, choice of parameters, strategy of data collection, etc) of the LCA have a profound impact on the results obtained.