LCA life Cycle Assessment

The tourism industry, affected by COVID-19, must reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study evaluated the environmental impact of three hotels in coastal and mountainous regions of Spain and Portugal using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Data was gathered via surveys in the Greentour tool. Results indicate that the 2-star hotel (focused on cultural-urban tourism) has the highest impacts in most categories, except for CC, FRD, and POF indicators. The 3-star hotel (beach tourism) contributes the most to CC and FRD indicators, while the hostel (nature-religious tourism) has the highest value in the POF indicator...

In the recent years, packaging made of conventional plastics has been increasingly replaced by materials believed to be more sustainable. However, perceived sustainability must align with scientific assessments, such as life cycle assessments (LCAs). This review analysed 53 peer-reviewed studies published in the time range 2019-2023, aiming at understanding the state of the art in LCA about the environmental impacts of packaging by focusing on the comparison between plastics and alternative materials. The literature showed that consumer perceptions often differ from LCA findings and revealed that, frequently, conventional plastics are not the least environmentally friendly choice...

In this paper, different emerging post-combustion technologies, i.e., monoethanolamine (MEA), aqueous ammonia, pressure swing adsorption (PSA), temperature swing adsorption (TSA), membrane and calcium looping, were applied to an ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant for carbon capture. A 'cradle-to-grave' life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to evaluate the technical performance and environmental impacts of the power plant with six emerging carbon capture technologies. Carbon capture significantly influences the impact categories directly associated with flue gas emission...

The transition towards Circular Economy (CE) is a promising approach to sustainable development that may cause significant social impacts. Despite the benefits of CE initiatives, key players such as informal recyclers face serious social issues such as poverty, lack of social security, and discrimination. Although evaluating social impacts remains a considerable challenge, Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) is recognized as a suitable methodology with a life cycle perspective. While most SLCA experiences are conducted in the formal sector, it is important to consider the informal sector, which plays a crucial role in developing countries...

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to evaluate product's life cycle environmental impact and identify the environmental weaknesses. However, it is difficult for existing LCA software to perform flexible LCA analysis based on the product life cycle characteristics and industry background. Meanwhile, under the existing LCA research model, product designers and manufacturers are usually not LCA evaluators, resulting in a certain time gap between the evaluation results and product improvement. Designers with less experience in green design often find it difficult to identify high environmental impact links in products at different life cycle stages and product levels, and updated products are challenging to meet various environmental restrictions...

The research conducts a life cycle assessment (LCA) on wastewater treatment (WWT) methods-membrane bioreactor (MBR), soil biotechnology (SBT), and bio-electrochemical constructed wetlands (BCW)-in comparison with the conventional activated sludge process (ASP). Employing SimaPro v9.5 with a cradle-to-gate system boundary, the analysis utilizes the IMPACT 2002 + method, employing per cubic meter of treated wastewater as the functional unit. The analysis shows that SBT exhibits the lowest environmental impacts among the considered WWT methods...

In China, aquatic supply chain network design does not include the green concept or the coordination of environmental and economic performance. Sea cucumber is an aquatic product of high economic value; however, studies on sea cucumber supply chain network optimization are lacking. This study is the first to design the sea cucumber supply chain and construct an optimization model. Considering the characteristics of the sea cucumber industry, LCA for Experts software and the CML-IA-Aug. 2016-world method were used to assess each aquaculture model's global warming potential (GWP), as the environmental performance indicator...

The textile industry is widely considered as one of the most pollutant-releasing sectors globally. As the world is moving toward sustainability, it is essential to thoroughly assess how a textile product affects the environment. The aim of this study is to investigate the environmental impact of textile manufacturing in Bangladesh using life cycle assessment (LCA) method. A cradle-to-gate LCA was conducted to produce 1000 units of cotton polo shirts following ISO 14040 standards. LCA was also conducted for each final product at every manufacturing stage of cotton polo shirt, including the production of 1000 kg of cotton fibers, 1000 kg of yarn, 1000 kg of grey fabrics, 1000 kg of dyed-finished fabrics, and finally, assembling of 1000 pieces of polo shirts...

Chocolate is a popular food for its unique flavor and taste, rich nutritional value, and the psychological values brought to people. The raw material production of chocolate, product manufacturing, sales and transportation have different degrees of environmental impact. This review explores the environmental hot spots in the life cycle of chocolate and puts forward corresponding suggestions for the improvement. By applying a systematic review method, this paper collected 25 articles on life cycle assessment (LCA) of the environmental impact of the chocolate industry...

Brazil stands as one of the world's leading producers of animal protein, ranking sixth in global egg production. However, estimated growth in production demand, along with environmental impacts, represents a potential threat to the sustainability of the food system. Methods for assessing and quantifying the environmental impacts generated by Brazilian egg production remain scarce, lacking current reports on comparative effects or guiding standards. The objective of this study was to conduct a life cycle assessment from cradle to farm gate, adhering to ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, for the battery cage egg production systems and associated products in Brazil, with the aim of supporting and promoting sustainability improvements in the Brazilian egg industry...

This study evaluated the environmental and economic impacts of substituting synthetic media with greywater for cultivating microalgae in the biofuel production process. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic assessment (TEA) were employed to compare the impacts of two scenarios - one containing bold's basal (BB) media and another containing greywater as growth mediums for microalgae cultivation. Scenarios 1 and 2 mitigated 1.74 and 2.14 kg CO2 per kg of biofuel production, respectively. Substituting BB media with greywater resulted in a 16...

At the end of the 1950s, studies began to create high-yield cultivars with the aim of increasing the supply of basic foods in the world, this action was called "green evolution". It was associated with the increase in the use of inputs to increase production levels, leading agriculture to a possible increase in environmental impacts and "harmful habits" of management. To characterize the historical damage of this action, it is necessary to use methods that generate universal results, capable of representing the world...

To meet the growing demand for vegetable production and promote sustainable agriculture, it is imperative to implement effective input management and adopt eco-friendly farming practices. This study aims to compare the environmental impacts of conventional and organic tomato cultivation in the northern plains of India. This study utilizes SimaPro 9.1.1 software for a comprehensive cradle-to-farm gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), assessing production stages, identifying key environmental factors, and incorporating ReCiPe Midpoint and Endpoint methods with one-hectare as a functional unit...

Wastewater reclaim in industrial parks can effectively reduce the dependence on external water resources, few literatures evaluated the reclaim system from perspectives of economy, technology, and environmental impact. It is very popular across China that a constructed wetland is linked with a wastewater plant and then discharged the tailwater into surface waters. Based on current situation, pilot experiment, and other available techniques, six scenarios for wastewater reclaim system were designed for Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park...

A prospective life cycle assessment was performed for global ammonia production across 26 regions from 2020 to 2050. The analysis was based on the IEA Ammonia Roadmap and IMAGE electricity scenarios model for three climate scenarios related to a mean surface temperature increase of 3.5 °C, 2.0 °C, and 1.5 °C by 2100. Combining these models with a global perspective and new life cycle inventories improves ammonia's robustness, quality, and applicability in prospective life cycle assessments...

With the paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery, more wastewater-derived products are emerging from different recovery pathways. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the potential environmental impacts of these products through life cycle assessment (LCA). This study aims to compile life cycle inventories of wastewater-derived products from the perspective of the product end users (e.g., agricultural sector, packaging industry), and to explore the challenges of their compilation...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the environmental impact of the non-invasive Magnetic Resonance image-guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (MR-HIFU) treatment of uterine fibroids, we aimed to perform a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, as a full LCA was not feasible at this time, we evaluated the CO2 (carbon dioxide) emission from the MRI scanner, MR-HIFU device, and the medication used, and analyzed solid waste produced during treatment. METHODS: Our functional unit was one uterine fibroid MR-HIFU treatment...

The construction and maintenance of road pavements entail detrimental impacts on the consumption of resources and damage to the natural environment but also make up an opportunity for the large-scale application of circular economy principles and innovative waste valorisation paths. The present study focuses on developing a comprehensive procedure to evaluate the technical and environmental sustainability of replacing high percentage of limestone aggregates with artificial aggregates from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) into hot or cold recycled asphalt mixtures for asphalt pavements...

Sustainable packaging is a crucial focus in the context of circular economy efforts. This study evaluates the circularity of two secondary packaging systems used in Spanish fresh food produces: Reusable Plastic Crates and Single-use Cardboard Boxes. A Mass Flow Analysis was performed to assess the material flows in the production and use phases of both systems and two circular indicators were applied: the Material Circularity Indicator and Product Circular Indicator. While most previous studies for single-use packaging use these indicators at the product level, this study applies a system approach since the Reusable Plastic Crates can be reused 100 times...

BACKGROUND: Healthcare activities significantly contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Blood transfusions require complex, interlinked processes to collect, manufacture, and supply. Their contribution to healthcare emissions and avenues for mitigation is unknown. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions across England where 1.36 million units are transfused annually. We defined the process flow with seven categories: donation, transportation, manufacturing, testing, stockholding, hospital transfusion, and disposal...