Life Cycle Assessment

1
Chapter 6

• Life Cycle Assessment

2
LCA

• Life-cycle analysis (LCA) is a sophisticated way
  of 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 home, and disposing of it.
  Disposal options include incineration, burial in
  a landfill, or recycling.

3
What is LCA?

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for
  assessing the potential environmental aspects
  associated with a product (or service), by
• compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and
  outputs,
• evaluating the potential environmental impacts
  associated with those inputs and outputs,
• interpreting the results of the inventory and
  impact phases in relation to the objectives of
  the study.

(from the ISO Committee Draft 14040.3 draft on
LCA, October 1995)
4
Life Cycle Assessment Stages
Inputs
Outputs
Life-Cycle Stages
Atmospheric emissions
Raw Materials Acquisition
Waterborne wastes
Manufacturing
Solid wastes
Raw materials
Use/Reuse/Maintenance
Coproducts
Energy
Recycle/Waste Management
Other releases
5
Motivations for Implementing LCA
6
LCA and the Regulatory Process

• LCA is voluntary in the U.S. At present
• its use is limited, but expanding
• LCA is mandatory in some European countries
• used as the basis of packaging recovery and
  recycling targets

7
Life Cycle Assessment

• The life-cycle stages. This is the physical
  sequence of unit processes across the life-cycle.
• Analysis of multiple environmental and resource
  issues (i.e. inputs and outputs). LCA is not
  just a single-issue tool it spreads
  consideration to tradeoffs across many
  environmental concerns.
• Assessment. LCA extends beyond quantitative
  analysis to a point where an evaluation or
  judgement is made. At its simplest, this may be a
  statement of what's better or what's worse.

8
What is Life Cycle Assessment?

• from ISO 14040.2 Draft Life Cycle Assessment -
  Principles and Guidelines
• Life Cycle Assessment
• A systematic set of procedures for compiling and
  examining the inputs and outputs of materials and
  energy and the associated environmental impacts
  directly attributable to the functioning of a
  product or service system throughout its life
  cycle.

9
What is Life Cycle

• Life Cycle
• Consecutive and inter-linked stages of a product
  or service system, from the extraction of natural
  resources to the final disposal.

from ISO 14040.2 Draft Life Cycle Assessment -
Principles and Guidelines
10
SETAC Definition of LCA

• Life-cycle assessment is an objective process
  to evaluate the environmental burdens associated
  with a product, process, or activity by
  identifying and quantifying energy and material
  usage and environmental releases, to assess the
  impacts of those energy and material uses and
  releases to the environment, and to evaluate and
  implement opportunities to effect environmental
  improvements. The assessment includes the entire
  life-cycle of the product, process or activity,
  encompassing extracting and processing raw
  materials manufacturing, transportation, and
  distribution use/re-use/maintenance recycling
  and final disposal."

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry
11
ISO14040 LCA Definition

• LCA is a technique for assessing the
  environmental aspects and potential impacts
  associated with a product by
• compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and
  outputs of a system
• evaluating the potential environmental impacts
  associated with those inputs and outputs
• interpreting the results of the inventory and
  impact phases in relation to the objectives of
  the study.

12
3 Steps of LCA

• Life-cycle inventories
• involve quantifying energy and raw materials use
  and the emissions associated with a product,
  process or activity
• Life-cycle impact analysis
• assess the impacts of the environmental loadings
  identified in the life-cycle inventory

13
3 Steps of LCA (cont.)

• Life-cycle improvement analysis
• used to identify opportunities to reduce the
  environmental impacts identified in the impact
  analysis through modification of the inventory.

14
Components of LCA
15
Steps in the LCA of a Product
16
Inventory Analysis

• define purpose
• define system boundaries
• geographic scope
• types of data used
• data collection and synthesis procedures
• data quality measures
• computational model construction
• presentation of results

17
Conceptual Framework forLCA Impact Analysis
18
LCA Characterization Methods

• loading
• equivalency
• inherent chemical properties
• generic exposure and effects
• site-specific exposure and effects

19
Impacts of Solvent Substitutionin Printing
20
Streamlining LCA Methods

• Limiting or eliminating life-cycle stages
  (usually upstream or downstream stages from the
  main manufacturing stage)
• Focusing on specific environmental impacts or
  issues
• Eliminating specific inventory parameters
• Limiting or eliminating impact assessment
• Using qualitative as well as quantitative data
• Using surrogate process data
• Establishing criteria to be used as show
  stoppers or knockouts
• Limiting the constituents studied to those
  meeting a threshold quantity (for example, ignore
  raw materials comprising less than 20 by weight
  of the LCI total mass)

21
When Should LCA be Done?
22
Benefits Of LCA

• companies can claim one product is better than
  another on the basis of LCA
• LCA inventory process helps to narrow in on the
  area where the biggest reductions in
  environmental emissions can be made
• can be used to reduce production costs

23
Drawbacks of LCA

• Using LCA to compare products is like comparing
  apples to oranges.
• For example, which is worse a product that
  pollutes the air by consuming energy from
  coal-fired power plants or one that disrupts
  ecosystems by consuming energy from massive
  hydroelectric dam projects? Both types of
  pollution should be minimized if possible.

24
Drawbacks (cont.)

• Comparison between heavy energy demand and heavy
  water use which imposes greater environmental
  burden?
• How can the use of non-renewable mineral
  resources like oil or gas (the ingredients of
  plastics) be compared with the production of
  softwoods for paper?
• How should the combined impacts of the
  landfilling of wastes (air and groundwater
  pollution, transport impacts etc) be compared
  with those produced by the burning of wastes for
  energy production (predominantly emissions to
  air)?

25
Drawbacks (cont.)

• LCAs may give different and sometimes
  contradictory conclusions about similar products.
• Recycling adds more complexity to LCA.

26
Who Does LCA?

• Conducted by an industry sector to enable it to
  identify areas where improvements can be made, in
  environmental terms.
• LCA may be intended to provide environmental data
  for the public or for government.
• Companies use LCA for marketing and advertising,
  to support claims that their products are
  'environmentally friendly' or even
  'environmentally superior' to those of their
  rivals.

27
LCA for a Womans Polyester Blouse
28
Eco-Labeling

• widely used in Europe to help consumers
  distinguish environmentally friendly products
  from others
• Germany - Blue Angel
• Netherlands - Dutch Ecolabel
• EU developing unified European program
• also addressed in ISO 14000
• only recently being used in the U.S.
• Green Seal
• can be very misleading if not done properly