Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'LCA sustainability'

In an attempt to meet its ambitious climate change targets, the UK government has decided to incentivise the uptake of bioenergy. However, the full economic costs and environmental impacts of this decision have not yet been quantified at a national level. This is the topic of this research which evaluates the life cycle environmental and economic sustainability of different options for electricity and heat generation using biomass available in the UK, notably waste wood, agricultural residues and wastes, straw, municipal solid waste (MSW), food waste, and energy crops. These results are then used to evaluate the environmental impacts and costs for the whole bioenergy sector in the UK.The results suggest that the environmentally and economically most sustainable electricity generating options are, in descending order: manure/agricultural residue anaerobic digestion (AD) combined heat and power (CHP), Miscanthus co-firing with coal, and chicken litter gasification CHP. The most sustainable heat-generating systems are manure/agricultural residue ADC CHP, waste wood gasification CHP, and chicken litter gasification CHP. However, the use of these technologies is limited by the availability of their respective feedstocks. The research finds that there is currently 30.4 million odt of biomass produced annually in the UK which could be used for electricity and heat generation and that potentially 77.8 million odt could be produced if greater amounts of energy crops are grown. Dry biomass makes up the largest proportion of available biomass, which itself largely consists of wood wastes and energy crops. Dry biomass can therefore make the largest contribution of electricity or heat to potential bioenergy sectors. The electricity-generating biotechnologies identified as those which would make the most sustainable use of wood wastes and energy crops are biomass power plants and co-firing plants. Heat would be most sustainably generated from these feedstocks using biomass gasification CHPs and biomass boilers. According to the results, it is more sustainable to use the UK’s current and potential biomass resources for generating electricity, rather than for producing heat. Electricity from biomass has higher potential for reducing the majority of environmental impacts compared to the current UK electricity grid. Despite this, some impacts are expected to increase, including eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, depletion of elements and acidification. Furthermore, the economic sustainability of most biomass options is often dependent on subsidies being available, mainly because of the high capital costs. It is recommended that the government look beyond climate change and consider full life cycle impacts when deciding which technologies to incentivise to avoid solving the one problem at the expense of others. It is also advised that subsidies be tied to the sustainability of the feedstock, incentivising the use of waste over energy crops (at least in the short term) and encouraging the displacement of coal and oil. Furthermore, the government should consider scaling the FIT and RHI subsidies smoothly with capacity and consider scaling ROC payments which are currently not linked to capacity at all. Improvements to the environmental sustainability of bioenergy could be gained by funding research into cleaning emissions from biomass combustion, enforcing strict regulation of ash disposal and digestate treatment, and encouraging the reuse and recycling of rare elements.

A significant number of existing buildings were built not complying with sustainability measurements. As a result, the internal environment is not healthy nor comfortable—a tremendous amount of energy is required in the construction and operation stages. Residential buildings, historical and modern, were used in the case study to improve their thermal performance using EPS and PIR insulation system, the maintenance plan methodology regarding both buildings explained in detail. The insulation thickness and the cost per mq were determined using the life cycle costing analysis—the environmental impact of the material evaluated through the life cycle assessment approach. The detailed investigation, post-investigation maintenance actions, and proactive maintenance plan are followed to design a proper maintenance plan for both buildings used in the case study. However, the differences in the pre-treatment procedures to install the insulation are included in the maintenance plan. The Life cycle costing method estimate the cost and the thickness of the insulation material, PIR insulation panel thickness 0.031 m cost 7.93 €/m2, while 8.99 €/m2 is the cost of the EPS panel thickness 0.037 m. based on the obtained thickness the environmental analysis reported that; , 1217.97 MJ and 1109.11 MJ of energy consumed by EPS and PIR insulation panel in the production stage .meanwhile, the CO2 emission about 131.25 kg from the PIR, which more the PES emission by three times.

The residential construction sector in the UK plays an important role in society’s wellbeing as it provides shelter, employment and promotes economic growth. However, the sector has been identified as a large contributor to climate change, resource depletion and is associated with different socio-economic issues such as fuel poverty and house affordability. The residential construction sector is growing quickly due to a high housing demand, as will the associated impacts unless significant changes are made. Several studies have assessed the environmental impacts of the residential construction sector, while the social and economic aspects of sustainability are often ignored but are equally important for sustainable development. This thesis presents a sustainability assessment framework capable of addressing the environmental, economic and social issues of the residential construction sector supply chain, using a life cycle approach in order to contribute toward an improved understanding of the current and future trends in the sector.The methodology developed has been applied to the residential construction sector in the UK and demonstrated through three case studies of conventional, passive and zero-carbon houses as well as a sustainability assessment at the sectoral level. The main stakeholders identified here are construction companies and workforce, home owners and occupiers, suppliers, local authorities and the government. The main sustainability issues are resource depletion, waste generation, environmental impacts such as global warming (GWP), ozone depletion, house price and affordability, contribution to GDP, provision of employment, health and safety, impact on local communities and business ethics. The assessment tools used to assess the environmental and economic sustainability are Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC), respectively. Social sustainability has been assessed using different social sustainability indicators applicable to the residential construction sector. LCA results indicate that zero-carbon houses have the lowest GWP of the three house types considered, being 71% lower than for the conventional house, compared to a 59% reduction for passive houses. However, passive houses have a better overall environmental performance as they have the lowest impacts for most environmental impact categories. LCC results, on the other hand, indicate that the total life cycle costs for zero-carbon houses are 21% higher than for conventional houses because of the additional cost of renewable technologies, while for passive houses costs are comparable to conventional houses. At a sectoral level, zero-carbon houses can achieve reductions of 13% of the sector’s annual GWP compared to conventional houses, however this will cost the residential construction sector an additional £3 billion per year. The construction of passive houses will cost an additional £1 billion per year compared to conventional houses but can help by reducing the sector’s annual GWP by 10%.This study shows that the current state of the housing sector is environmentally unsustainable and urgent changes must be made in the way houses are constructed and managed. However, the residential construction sector must overcome many socio-economic barriers before introducing low-carbon houses on a large scale.

Assessment of sustainability is an essential step in determining if action taken is sustainable. Early research in sustainability assessment was based on reconciling the three pillars (environmental, economic and social) using the weak sustainability model. Today there are numerous indicators (single and composite) for measuring impacts in the three systems (environmental, economic and social) using the strong sustainability model where current thinking emphasises the need for system thinking rather than the reductionist concept of pillars. Most existing indices/methods measure single aspects of sustainability and the more integrated indicators are aimed at national or global level assessments. A review of existing indicators, methods and models within the context of complex system sustainability showed that no single existing index, method or model was able to assess sustainability of complex systems since most fail to account for complex system characteristics such as system dynamics, interconnections and interdependencies of system components, system's ability to learn and remember, emergence of novel behaviours, co-evolution, etc. However, two analytical methods, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA), were found to have significant potential for addressing concerns regarding sustainability of complex systems as they were able to account for complex system characteristics. Thus LCA and RA were integrated in a new model to assess sustainability. The model is tested on case study product systems to illustrate applicability, potential issues and areas for improvement.

The concept of sustainability on the one hand and the extraction and processing of primary resources on the other, at first glance, appear to be in conflict, since the production processes deplete resources that are strictly considered finite. In addition, these processes inevitably disturb the environment. This is especially true in copper production considering this is a metal with a high global demand, currently mined at increasingly low grades. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an established method to assess the sustainability profile of products, processes and systems that has become important in recent years through the establishment of the ISO 14040 series of standards. Although LCA studies on mining and mineral processing systems, including copper, have been carried out since the mid- to late 1990s; these studies are limited to the ore extraction and mineral processing, not considering waste management, which is absent from all LCA based sustainability assessment of metal production systems reported in literature. In addition the low level of detail used in conventional LCA tools (not accounting for emissions at unit process level) lead to oversimplifications and underestimation of the true impacts. In this PhD research an LCA model has been developed to assess the impacts of copper mining and processing, considering the mine, mineral processing and waste disposal facilities life cycles as part of the copper production. The model is designed at unit process level and integrates the mining (open-pit and underground), mineral processing and waste management processes and accounts for emissions to the different environmental compartments (air, water, soil). The life cycle inventory (LCI) models developed are designed using specific activity data at component unit-process level together with emission factors from literature (US EPA, Australian NPI) and engineering calculations or models. The model developed uses mass balance/equilibrium calculations from intermediate products, resource consumption rates or activity levels to estimate life cycle estimates. The model functionality is illustrated using a true Chilean mine case study which was parameterised using mining, mineral processing and waste disposal facilities information for a baseline year when detailed operational data and key variables were recorded. The different LCA impact indicators estimated are carbon footprint (or global warming potential), water footprint, human toxicity, resource depletion and ecotoxicity (USEtox). Different Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, chosen from the most recent and widely used LCIA methods, are utilised to compare the different methods results. Extensive Sensitivity and Monte Carlo analysis is performed to assess the uncertainty of key parameters. The response of the LCA impact indicator scores to the variation of variables such as the copper ore grade, copper recovery efficiency, average stripping ratio, electricity grid mix, are evaluated and presented.

Packaging plays an important role in ensuring food safety and quality. The development antimicrobial packaging enables actively inhibiting/killing the spoilage microorganisms, and thus extending food product's shelf life. Generally, 50% shelf life extension is possible. The interest for using metallic nanoparticles in active packaging derives from its superior antimicrobial efficacy and no negative impact on the food sensory properties. In this thesis, the packaging material of concern is a PLA (Polylactic Acid) coated paper incorporating zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in the coating layer. The material was characterized and its antimicrobial activity was evaluated. The SEM images show that the nanoparticles were homogenously distributed across the surface thanks to its surface modification. Antimicrobial assay indicates that the active material was effective in inactivating E. coli and S. aureus. Furthermore, E. coli was found to be more susceptible to this type of agent, showing 3.14 log reduction for 0.5 wt% agent loading in the PLA coating layer. This result was compared across the publications using the same agent for treating both Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. The discrepancy between the results can be explained by the fact that ZnO nanoparticles have multiple action mechanisms, and different antimicrobial testing methods may activate part of the action mechanisms. On the other hand, recyclability is regarded as an important attribute for paper-based packaging material, as it enables to conserve the resources and reduce the environmental impacts. Accordingly, when it comes to the nano-enabled paper packaging material, recyclability should be maintained. In this case, a recyclability test was carried out in a lab-scale paper recycling line. The protocol was based on a method adapted from the ATICELCA MC501-13, which enabled to recover over 99% of the solids material. The mass balance result indicates that 86%-91% zinc oxide nanoparticles ended up in the rejected material stream, mostly embedded within the polymer coating; whereas 7%-16% nanoparticles ended up in the accepted material stream. Besides, the tensile strength of the recycled handsheets suggests that the nano-enabled coating had no negative impacts on the recovered fibre quality. Active packaging plays a positive role in reducing food losses. If food and packaging are considered as a whole system, its overall environmental impact can be justified by incorporating the food loss reduction due to the application of active packaging. The LCA calculation shows that a breakeven point can be easily achieved for the case of red meat products of high environmental impact.
El envase juega un papel importante asegurando la seguridad y calidad de los alimentos. El desarrollo de envases activos, especialmente envase antimicrobiano, permite inhibir o matar los microorganismos causantes del deterioro de los alimentos, alargando por tanto su vida útil. De forma general es posible extender la vida útil de los alimentos en un 50%. El interés por el uso de nanopartículas metálicas en el envasado activo se deriva de su gran efectividad antimicrobiana sin causar un efecto negativo en sus propiedades sensoriales. En la presente tesis, se ha desarrollado un papel recubierto de PLA (ácido poliláctico) con nanopartículas de óxido de zinc (ZnO NPs) incorporadas en la capa de recubrimiento. Se ha caracterizado el material y se ha evaluado su capacidad antimicrobiana. Las imágenes obtenidas mediante SEM muestran que las nanopartículas fueron distribuidas a lo largo de la superficie gracias a su modificación. Los ensayos de efectividad antimicrobiana indicaron una actividad del material frente a E. coli y a S. aureus. Además, E. coli resultó ser más susceptible a este agente activo incorporado al 0.5 % en peso en el recubrimiento de PLA, mostrando una reducción de 3.14 log. Este resultado fue comparado con publicaciones donde se emplearon los mismos agentes activos para frente a microorganismos Gram-positivos y Gram-negativos. Las discrepancias encontradas entre los resultados pueden deberse a que las nanopartículas de ZnO tienen múltiples mecanismos de acción, y los diferentes métodos de ensayo poder estimular parte de estos mecanismos. Por otra parte, el reciclado juega un importante papel en la conservación de los recursos y en la reducción de los impactos medioambientales. Por tanto, cuando se trata de un material de envase de papel con sustancias de tamaño nano, el reciclado debe tratarse adecuadamente. El ensayo de reciclabilidad fue llevado a cabo a escala laboratorio en una línea de reciclado de papel. El protocolo de ensayo se basó en el método adaptado de ATICELCA MC501-13, permitiendo una recuperación del 99% de material sólidos. Los resultados del balance de materia indicaron que el 86%-91% de las nanopartículas de óxido de zinc llegaron al flujo de material de rechazo, principalmente mezclado en el recubrimiento polimérico. Además, los resultados de tracción de las láminas recicladas sugieren que el recubrimiento con partículas nano no tiene un efecto negativo sobre la calidad de la fibra recuperada. El envase activo juega un papel positivo en la reducción de los residuos alimentarios. Como resultado del uso del envase activo, considerando el envase y el alimento como un todo, el impacto ambiental sobre este sistema completo puede ser compensado por la reducción de pérdidas de alimentos. El cálculo LCA muestra que el punto de equilibrio se puede conseguir fácilmente en el caso de productos de carne roja de elevado impacto ambiental.
L'envàs té un paper prou important en la seguretat i la qualitat del aliments. El desenvolupament dels envasos actius, especialment l'envàs antimicrobià, el qual permeteix l'inhibició o mort dels microorganismes que produeixen el deteriorament dels aliments i, per tant, allargant la seua vida útil. De manera general, es possible l'allargament de la vida útil dels aliments en un 50%. L'interès per la utilització de nanopartícules metàl·liques en l'envasat actiu es deriva de la seua gran efectivitat antimicrobiana sense produir un efecte negatiu en les seus propietats sensorials. En aquesta present tesis, s'ha desenvolupat un paper recobert de PLA (àcid polilàctic) amb nanopartícules d'òxid de zinc (ZnO NPs) incorporades a la capa de recobriment. S'ha caracteritzat el material i s'ha avaluat la seua capacitat antimicrobiana. Les imatges obtingudes per mitjà del SEM mostren que les nanopartícules foren distribuïdes en tota la superfície gràcies a la seua modificació. Els assajos d'efectivitat antimicrobiana varen indicar una activitat del material front a E.coli i a S. aureus. A més, E. coli va resultar ser més susceptible a aquest agent actiu incorporat al 0.5 % en pes en el recobriment de PLA, mostrant una reducció de 3.14 log. Aquest resultat va ser comparat amb publicacions on es van emprar els mateixos agents actius front a microorganismes Gram-positiu i Gram-negatiu. Les discrepàncies trobades entre els resultats poden deure's a que les nanopartícules de ZnO tenen diversos mecanismes d'acció, i els diferents mètodes d'assaig poder estimular part d'aquestes mecanismes. Per altra banda, el reciclatge també té un paper important en la conservació dels recursos i en la reducció dels impactes mediambientals. Per tant, quan es tracta d'un material d'envàs de paper amb substàncies de la grandària 'nano', el reciclatge ha de tractar-se adequadament. El assaig de reciclabilitat va ser dut a terme a escala de laboratori en una línia de reciclatge de paper. El protocol de l'assaig es va basar en el mètode adaptat d'ATICELCA MC501-13, permetent una recuperació del 99% del material sòlid. Els resultats del balanç de matèria van indicar que el 86-91% de les nanopartícules d'òxid de zinc varen arribar al fluix material de rebuig, principalment mesclat en el recobriment polimèric. A més, els resultats de tracció de les làmines reciclades suggereixen que el recobriment amb nanopartícules nano no tenen un efecte negatiu sobre la qualitat de la fibra recuperada. L'envàs actiu juga un paper positiu en la reducció dels residus alimentaris. Com a resultat de l'ús de l'envàs actiu, considerant l'envàs i l'aliment com un tot conjunt, l'impacte ambiental sobre aquest sistema complet pot ser compensat per la reducció de pèrdues d'aliments. El càlcul LCA mostra que el punt d'equilibri es pot aconseguir fàcilment en el cas de productes de carn roja d'elevat impacte ambiental.
Zhang, H. (2016). Sustainability assessment of active packaging incorporating nanomaterials [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/75348
TESIS

Fossil fuels are not sustainable due to their worldwide depletion and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Transportation biofuels produced from microalgae are sustainable if GHG emissions are lower than fossil fuels and the sources for materials used during production are sustainable. Four areas were evaluated to address these concerns. First, a study of peer reviewed life-cycle analyses (LCAs) was performed. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine which processing choices during cultivation have the most impacts. Data from nine authors was converted to similar units, and a new LCA was performed to evaluate the impacts. Overall GHG emissions per kg of algae cultivation ranged from 0.1 - 4.4 kg CO₂ eq. / kg algae, with the most of the emissions coming from fertilizer contributions. The second topic evaluated was the GHG emissions from experimental dewatering technologies. The five experimental technology emissions, for acoustic harvesting, membrane filtration, flocculation, electrocoagulation and flocculation plus belt filtration, were compared to a modeled dissolved air flotation technology and a fossil fuel source. For a functional unit of one MJ of renewable diesel (RD), membrane filtration had the lowest GHG emissions at 40.8 g CO₂(eq)/MJ RD. Dissolved air flotation was the highest scenario at 51.9 g CO₂(eq)/MJ RD. All technologies were lower than gasoline at 90.7 g CO₂(eq)/MJ gasoline. The third topic evaluated was the GHG emissions from the materials used for plant construction. A LCA was performed for the infrastructure materials and compared to results from the fuel-cycle. Plastic from pond liners had the largest contribution to GHG emissions for the baseline case. Increasing productivity and lipid content both decreased infrastructure emissions. The final topic evaluated was the sustainability of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium used for microalgae growth. Results show that the surplus of world fertilizers cannot sustain large scale algae production in the United States. Technology choices that can recycle nutrients lower the overall requirement. Alternative sources of nutrients, like concentrated animal feeding operations, can provide enough nutrients for large scale production of algae.

Allt fler organisationer väljer att jobba med hållbar utveckling, på grund av att det kan ses som en konkurrenskraft. Att arbeta med hållbar utveckling kan innefatta att utföra hållbarhetsutvärderingar, vilket kan göras genom metoden LCSA analys. Syftet med det här arbetet är att utvärdera och analysera ett producerande företags nuvarande klimatpåverkan sett till koldioxidekvivalentutsläpp från intern materialhantering som sker med dieseltruckar. Vidare syftar även arbetet till att visa hur en hållbarhetsutvärdering kan utföras för att påvisa ekologisk, ekonomisk samt social påverkan. I arbetet utförs en hållbarhetsutvärdering av trucksystem, för att identifiera det teoretiskt bästa alternativet, i jämförelse med ett fallföretags nuläge. Den metod som används för hållbarhetsutvärderingen är LCSA analys. Utöver resultatet från hållbarhetsutvärderingen tas även hänsyn till gränssnittet mellan teoretiskt och praktiskt bästa trucksystemalternativ.  Fallföretaget Volvo GTO i Skövde, har i dagsläget 18 dieseldrivna motviktstruckar, vilka har olika kapacitet och varierande arbetsuppgifter. Det nuvarande drivmedlet för samtliga truckar är Diesel Mk1. Fallföretagets flöden i dagsläget ställer generellt höga krav på truckarnas tekniska kapacitet gällande exempelvis åkhastighet, körning i uppförslutning, dragkraft samt lyft- och sänkhastighet. De 18 dieseltruckarna bidrog under år 2017 med ett klimatpåverkande utsläpp om cirka 237 ton koldioxidekvivalenter, sett till hela livscykeln för Diesel Mk1 samt truckflottans totala drifttider.  Gällande hållbarhetsutvärderingen LCSA analys, utförs den på trucksystem drivna av Diesel Mk1, HVO-Diesel, blybatterier samt litiumjonbatterier inom kapaciteterna 3,5, 5 och 8 ton. Analysen tar hänsyn till de tre pelarna inom hållbar utveckling.  Vidare tas hänsyn till trucksystemens tekniska specifikationer, vilket jämförs mot den nuvarande dieseltruckflottan. Generellt kan en lägre teknisk prestanda ses hos de eldrivna trucksystemen, vilket kan påverka möjligheten att implementera de hos fallföretaget. Teoretiskt lägst ekologisk och social påverkan kan ses hos de litiumjonbatteridrivna trucksystemen, lägst påverkan inom den ekonomiska pelaren har blybatteridrift. Ställt mot fallföretagets nuvarande flöden och behov, rekommenderar författarna HVO-Dieseldrivna trucksystem, då de har samma tekniska kapacitet samt lägre ekologisk och social påverkan. Avgränsningar har gjorts för analyserna i rapporten, gällande processgränser och påverkande faktorer. För framtida hållbarhetsutvärderingar rekommenderar författarna att större processgränser och fler påverkande faktorer tas hänsyn till, för att identifiera samtlig påverkan inom pelarna. I rapporten återfinns exempel på påverkan utanför valda processgränser, såsom utsläpp som påverkar över tid och exploatering. Under arbetets gång har informationsgap uppmärksammats inom olika områden. När det gäller forskning kring hållbarhetsutvärderingar saknas beprövade metoder. Därför efterfrågas enklare analysmetoder inom hållbar utveckling. Gap i forskning angående truckteori är något som också uppmärksammats.
The amount of organizations that choose to work with sustainability is increasing due to the potential competitiveness it causes. Working with sustainability may include sustainability evaluations, which can be done through the LCSA analysis method. The purpose of this report is to evaluate and analyze a manufacturing company's current climate impact due to carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from diesel-powered forklifts within internal material handling. Further, the report aims to illustrate how a sustainability evaluation can be conducted to identify ecological, economic and social impact. In the report, a sustainability evaluation of forklift systems is performed to identify the theoretically best alternative, compared to a case company's current situation. The method used for the sustainability evaluation is LCSA analysis. In addition to the results of the sustainability evaluation, the interface between theoretically and practically best forklift system alternatives is considered.  The case company Volvo GTO in Skövde, currently have 18 diesel-powered forklifts, which have different capacities and functions. The current fuel for all forklifts is Diesel Mk1. The flows today generally set high demands on the forklifts technical capacity, for example on, travel speed, climbing ability, traction force and lifting and lowering speed. In the year 2017, the 18 diesel-powered forklifts contributed with a climate impact of approximately 237 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, considering the entire life cycle of Diesel Mk1 and the forklift fleets total run time.  Regarding the sustainability evaluation LCSA analysis, it is performed on forklift systems powered by Diesel Mk1, HVO-Diesel, lead acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries within the capacities 3.5, 5 and 8-tonne. The analysis considers the three pillars of sustainability. Further, the technical specifications of the forklift systems are considered and compared with the current diesel-powered fleet. Generally, a lower technical capacity can be seen in the electric forklift systems, which may affect the ability to implement those at the case company. Theoretically lowest ecological and social impact can be seen within the lithium-ion battery-powered forklift systems, the lowest impact on the economic pillar is seen in the lead acid battery systems. Based on the case company's current flows and demands, the authors recommend HVO-Diesel-powered forklift systems, as they have the same technical capabilities as well as lower ecological and social impacts. Limitations has been set for the reports analyzes, regarding process boundaries and impact indicators. For future sustainability evaluations, the authors recommend that wider process boundaries and more impact indicators are applied to identify the total impact within the pillars of sustainability. The report comprehends examples of impact beyond selected process boundaries, such as emissions affecting over time or exploitation. During the progress of this report, information gaps have been discovered in different areas. Regarding research of sustainability evaluations, proven methods are lacking. Therefore, established methods for evaluation are desired. A gap in research of forklift theory has also been noted.

Bioplastics (BPs) can be defined as plastics made of biomass such as corn and sugarcane. These substances have been increasingly spotlighted as means to saving fossil fuels, reducing CO2 emission and plastic wastes. Biodegradability of BPs has been widely publicized in society and the demand for packaging is rapidly increasing among retailers and the food industry at large. However, there is little consensus on actual impacts of BPs production. This thesis therefore aims to identify current strengths and weaknesses and future threats and opportunities and leverage points for the bioplastics industry in a move towards sustainability?” The Strategic Life Cycle Management (SLCM) and Templates for Sustainable Product Development (TSPD) approaches were used to reveal current ecological and social impacts in relation to Sustainability Principles from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. Various sustainability challenges and opportunities were identified. Most threats were in agricultural production and in the disposal of products. Compelling measures for the BP industry include: having a consensus in BPs applications based on strategic sustainable development, universal labelling and recycling systems for BPs, government strategic policies to encourage research into new technologies in improving biodegradability and energy efficiency in manufacturing.

The food industry has an essential role in society and in the global economy. Nowadays, modernlifestyle demands convenience, which is driving the development of the food sector. This isparticularly evident with convenience food, especially ready-made meals, industrially preparedfood, which only requires a short preparation time at home by consumers, but has very complexand diverse supply chains and is associated with a range of sustainability issues. Therefore, theaim of this research is to evaluate the environmental, economic and social sustainability in theready-made meals sector with the focus on the UK market. A life cycle approach has been used forthese purposes, using life cycle assessment (LCA) as the tool for the environmental analysis, lifecycle costing (LCC) for the economic aspects and social sustainability indicators (SI) for the socialissues. Different types of ready-made meal from different cuisines have been considered, includingthe British, Italian, Chinese and Indian. The highest environmental impacts are found for the Italian and Indian cuisines, while Chinesemeals are environmentally most sustainable, followed by the British. At the sectoral level, theresults suggest that from ‘cradle to retailer’ the British ready-made meal sector contributes 4.45 Mtof CO2 eq. annually, which represents ~4% of the GHG emissions of the food and drink sector and~1% of the UK GHG emissions. Of this, 3.16 Mt of CO2 eq. is emitted by chilled and 1.28 Mt of CO2eq. by the frozen ready-made meals. The total life cycle costs at the sectoral level from ‘cradle tograve’ are estimated at £2.1 bn, with the chilled ready-made meals market contributing £1.42 bnand the frozen £676 million. The life cycle costs from ‘cradle to retailer’ are £1.02 bn, with the valueadded of £958 million. The common environmental and cost hotspot for all the meals studied is rawmaterials. In particular, the meat, fish and seafood are the greatest contributors. For theenvironmental impacts, the manufacturing and distribution stages are also important, while theconsumption stage is the largest contributor to the costs. The major social aspects are the foodrelated health issues and food security, in particular food affordability. In the supply chainagriculture, wholesale and retailers show high risk for indicators such as wages and employmentwhile the manufacturing presents high risk in fatal injuries. The study also shows that consumer choices play an important role for the economic andenvironmental impacts; therefore, educational programmes and better communicational strategiesshould be implemented by the industry, the government and consumers groups. Moreover, toensure a sustainable development of the ready-made meals sector, future policies and industrialinitiatives should consider a life cycle approach including relevant economic, environmental andsocial aspects.

The aim of this research is to explore the sustainability of the existing residential buildings and to analyse how sustainability can be assessed if sustainable materials and technologies would be used. The main objectives are concentrated in providing a general knowledge of sustainability and to examine how much sustainable the residential buildings are. To analyze the various technologies and materials that can be used in order to reduce the climate-altering emissions, to improve energy efficiency, to reduce costs and to improve the living conditions. Providing knowledge and tools for the sustainable re-design of existing buildings, which will be addressed to environmental, technical, economic and social feasibility of proposed measures, and to energy control. For the analysis, different case studies in different countries will be studied and then a life-cycle approach will be applied to a theoretical residential building, and all the relevant impact categories for the selected type of buildings will be taken into account. In order to analyze the sustainability of the building, a qualitative research will be done using literature sources, international database, journal articles, technical and official reports from the government or group researchers patented and SimaPro software. Materials and dimensions will be defined and will be studied the integrated energy performance, CO2 emissions, global warming, acoustic comfort, thermal comfort, indoor environmental quality for existing residential building structures. All these steps will be taken in order to allow an LCA analysis of the materials of the residential buildings and to define when can be considered that the system has actually been sustained.

Nanotechnology has enormous potential to transform a wide variety of sectors, e.g., energy, electronics, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. At the same time, there are concerns about the health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology and uncertainties about the fate and toxicity of nanomaterials. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a quantitative framework for evaluating the cumulative environmental impacts associated with all stages of a material or process, has emerged as a decision-support tool for analyzing the environmental burdens of nanotechnology. The objective of this research was to combine laboratory techniques with LCA modeling to reduce the life cycle impacts of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) production. The LCA studies were focused on three aspects of AuNP synthesis: 1) the use of bio-based ("green") reducing agents; 2) the potential for recycling gold from nanomaterial waste; and, 3) the reduction of the life cycle impacts of AuNP production by conducting the synthesis at reduced temperature. The LCA models developed for AuNPs can inform future nanotechnology-focused LCA studies. Comparative LCA showed that in some cases, the environmental impacts associated with green synthesis methods may be worse than those of conventional synthesis approaches. The main driver of the environmental burdens associated with AuNP synthesis is the large embodied energy of gold, and so-called green synthesis methods do not offset those impacts. In addition, the reaction yield, which is seldom reported in the literature for green synthesis of nanomaterials, was found to greatly influence the life cycle impacts of AuNP synthesis. Gold from nanomaterial waste was successfully recovered by using host-guest inclusion complex formation facilitated by alpha-cyclodextrin. This recycling approach involved room temperature conditions and did not require the toxic cyanide or mercury commonly used in the selective recovery of gold. A major advantage offered by this approach for selective gold recovery over conventional approaches is that the recovery does not involve the use of toxic cyanide or mercury. To reduce the energy footprint of citrate-reduced AuNP synthesis, the synthesis was conducted at room temperature. LCA models showed significant reduction in the energy footprint. The findings of this research can inform future LCAs of other nanomaterials.
Ph. D.

Construction and operation of built environment including various types of buildings (such as commercial, residential, institutional) and urban infrastructures are facing challenges because of accelerated pace of resource depletion, waste generation, high energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change impacts. Several new practices and efforts are underway to develop technical basis to assess the environmental and associated socio-economic impacts due to the design, construction, operation, and disposal of the built environment, and achieve sustainable development goals. In recent years, sustainability assessment or appraisal of a built environment has gained increasing focus and led to integrate sustainable development goals and guidelines in day-to-day decision-making. However, developing a pragmatic sustainability appraisal tool for built environment systems is a key challenge facing planners, policy makers, asset managers, and engineering professionals worldwide. This research developed a comprehensive framework, based on the integration of emergy synthesis and life cycle assessment (LCA), for sustainability appraisal of built environment systems. The main objective of Emergy-based Life Cycle Assessment (Em-LCA) framework is to support decision-making for asset management by quantifying sustainability performance principles (environmental protection, and socio-economic development) throughout the life cycle of the built environment systems. The developed Em-LCA framework is applied to selected built environment systems (i.e., linear infrastructure and building systems) using cradle-to grave approach (i.e., from design and project planning to the end-of-life). The Em-LCA framework is implemented to classify life cycle inflows/outflows (e.g., matter, energy/waste, and emission) of the selected built environment systems and to deliver a quantitative characterization of the associated impacts (e.g., natural resources depletion, wastes generation, GHG and toxic emissions, and life cycle costs). Further, the results of Em-LCA are integrated for different sustainability performance indicators to estimate the overall environmental and socio-economic impacts. To address the uncertainty issues, fuzzy-based uncertainty modeling has been used to validate the reliability of the Em-LCA results. The results of this research clearly prove that, Em-LCA offers a realistic and pragmatic sustainability assessment framework that will overcome several challenges of existing sustainability assessment and traditional asset management frameworks by providing quantitative and transparent results to facilitate informed decision-making.

[EN] Currently, there is a trend towards sustainability, especially in developed countries, where the concerns of society about environmental degradation and social problems have increased. Following this trend, the construction sector is one of the most influential sectors due to its high economic, environmental, and social impacts. At the same time, there is an increase in the demand for transport, which drives a need to develop and maintain the necessary infrastructure for this purpose. Taking all these factors into account, bridges become a key structure and therefore assessment of sustainability throughout their whole life-cycle is essential. The main objective of this thesis is to propose a methodology that allows assessment of the sustainability of a bridge under uncertain initial conditions (subjectivity of the decision-maker or variability of initial parameters) and optimization of the design to obtain a robust optimal bridge. To this end, an extensive bibliographic review of all the works that perform assessments of the sustainability of bridges through the valuation of criteria related to their main pillars (economic, environmental, or social) has been carried out. In this review, it has been observed that the most comprehensive way to evaluate the environmental and social pillars is through the use of life-cycle impact assessment methods. These methods allow sustainability assessment to be performed for the whole life-cycle of the bridge. This process provides valuable information to decision-makers for the assessment and selection of the most sustainable bridge. However, the decision-makers' subjective assessments of the relative importance of the criteria influence the final assessment of sustainability. For this reason, it is necessary to create a methodology that reduces the associated uncertainty and seeks robust solutions according to the opinion of decision-makers. In addition, for bridges, the design and decision-making are conditioned by the initially defined parameters. This leads to solutions that may be sensitive to small changes in these initial conditions. A robust optimal design makes it possible to obtain optimal solutions and structurally stable designs under variations of the initial conditions as well as sustainable designs that are not influenced by the preferences of the stakeholders who are part of the decision-making process. Thus, obtaining a robust optimal design becomes a probabilistic optimization process that has a high computational cost. For this reason, the use of metamodels has been integrated into the proposed methodology. Specifically, Latin hypercube sampling is used for the definition of the initial sample and a kriging model is used for the definition of the mathematical approximation. In this way, kriging-based heuristic optimization reduces the computational cost by more than 90% with respect to conventional heuristic optimization while obtaining very similar results. This thesis provides, first of all, an extensive bibliographic review of both the criteria used for the assessment of sustainability of bridges and the different methods of life-cycle impact assessment to obtain a complete profile of the environmental and social pillars. Subsequently, a methodology is defined for the full assessment of sustainability, using life-cycle impact assessment methods. Likewise, an approach is proposed that makes it possible to obtain structures with little influence from the structural parameters, as well as from the preferences of the different decision-makers regarding the sustainability criteria. The methodology provided in this thesis is applicable to any other type of structure.
[ES] Actualmente existe una tendencia hacia la sostenibilidad, especialmente en los países desarrollados donde la preocupación de la sociedad por el deterioro ambiental y los problemas sociales ha aumentado. Siguiendo esta tendencia, el sector de la construcción es uno de los sectores que mayor influencia tiene debido a su alto impacto económico, ambiental y social. Al mismo tiempo, existe un incremento en la demanda de transporte que provoca la necesidad de desarrollo y mantenimiento de las infraestructuras necesarias para tal fin. Con todo esto, los puentes se convierten en una estructura clave, y por tanto, la valoración de la sostenibilidad a lo largo de toda su vida es esencial. El objetivo principal de esta tesis es proponer una metodología que permita valorar la sostenibilidad de un puente bajo condiciones iniciales inciertas (subjetividad del decisor o variabilidad de parámetros iniciales) y optimizar el diseño para obtener puentes óptimos robustos. Para ello, se ha realizado una extensa revisión bibliográfica de todos los trabajos en los que se realiza un análisis de la sostenibilidad mediante la valoración de criterios relacionados con sus pilares principales (económico, medio ambiental o social). En esta revisión, se ha observado que la forma más completa de valorar los pilares medioambientales y sociales es mediante el uso de métodos de análisis de ciclo de vida. Estos métodos permiten llevar a cabo la valoración de la sostenibilidad durante todas las etapas de la vida de los puentes. Todo este procedimiento proporciona información muy valiosa a los decisores para la valoración y selección del puente más sostenible. No obstante, las valoraciones subjetivas de los decisores sobre la importancia de los criterios influyen en la evaluación final de la sostenibilidad. Por esta razón, es necesario crear una metodología que reduzca la incertidumbre asociada y busque soluciones robustas frente a las opiniones de los agentes implicados en la toma de decisiones. Además, el diseño y toma de decisiones en puentes está condicionado por los parámetros inicialmente definidos. Esto conduce a soluciones que pueden ser sensibles frente a pequeños cambios en dichas condiciones iniciales. El diseño óptimo robusto permite obtener diseños óptimos y estructuralmente estables frente a variaciones de las condiciones iniciales, y también diseños sostenibles y poco influenciables por las preferencias de los decisores que forman parte del proceso de toma de decisión. Así pues, el diseño óptimo robusto se convierte en un proceso de optimización probabilística que requiere un gran coste computacional. Por este motivo, el uso de metamodelos se ha integrado en la metodología propuesta. En concreto, se ha utilizado hipercubo latino para la definición de la muestra inicial y los modelos kriging para la definción de la aproximación matemática. De esta forma, la optimización heurística basada en kriging ha permitido reducir más de un 90% el coste computacional respecto a la optimización heurística conveniconal obteniendo resultados muy similares. Esta tesis proporciona en primer lugar, una amplia revisión bibliográfica, tanto de los criterios utilizados para la valoración de la sostenibilidad en puentes como de los diferentes métodos de análisis de ciclo de vida para obtener un perfil completo de los pilares ambientales y sociales. Posteriormente, se define una metodología para la valoración completa de la sostenibilidad, usando métodos de análisis de ciclo de vida. Asimismo, se propone un enfoque que permite obtener estructuras poco influenciables por los parámetros estructurales, así como por las preferencias de los diferentes decisores frente a los criterios sostenibles. La metodología proporcionada en esta tesis es aplicable a cualquier otro tipo de estructura.
[CA] Actualment existeix una tendència cap a la sostenibilitat, especialment en els països desenrotllats on la preocupació de la societat pel deteriori ambiental i els problemes socials ha augmentat. Seguint aquesta tendència, el sector de la construcció és un dels sectors que major influència té a causa del seu alt impacte econòmic, ambiental i social. Al mateix temps, existeix un increment en la demanda de transport que provoca la necessitat de desenrotll i manteniment de les infraestructures necessàries per a tal fi. En tot açò, els ponts es converteixen en una estructura clau, i per tant, la valoració de la sostenibilitat al llarg de tota la seua vida és essencial. L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi doctoral és proposar una metodologia que permeta valorar la sostenibilitat d'un pont baix condicions inicials incertes (subjectivitat del decisor o variabilitat dels paràmetres inicials) i optimitzar el disseny per a obtenir ponts òptims robusts. Per a això, s'ha realitzat una extensa revisió bibliogràfica de tots els treballs en els quals es realitza un anàlisis de la sostenibilitat mitjançant la valoració de criteris relacionats amb els seus pilars principals (econòmic, ambiental o social). En aquesta revisió s'ha observat que la forma més completa de valorar els pilars ambientals i socials és mitjançant l'ús de mètodes d'anàlisis de cicle de vida. Aquests mètodes permeten realitzar la valoració de la sostenibilitat al llarg de totes les etapes de la vida dels ponts. Tot aquest procediment proporciona informació molt valuosa als decisors per a la valoració i selecció del pont més sostenible. No obstant això, les valoracions subjectives dels decisors sobre la importància dels criteris influeixen en l'avaluació final de la sostenibilitat. Per aquesta raó, és necessari crear una metodologia que reduïsca la incertesa associada i busque solucions robustes enfront de les opinions dels agents implicats en la presa de decisions. A més, el disseny i la presa de decisions en ponts està condicionat pels paràmetres inicialment definits. Açò condueix a solucions que poden ser sensibles front a menuts canvis en les dites condicions inicials. El disseny òptim robust permet obtenir dissenys òptims i estructuralment estables front a variacions de les condicions inicials, i també dissenys sostenibles i poc influenciables per les preferències dels decisors que formen part del procés de presa de decisió. D'aquesta manera, el disseny òptim robust es converteix en un procés d'optimització probabilística que requereix un gran cost computacional. Per aquest motiu, l'ús de metamodels s'ha integrat en la metodologia proposta. En concret, s'ha utilitzat l'hipercub llatí per a la definició de la mostra inicial i els models kriging per a la definició de l'aproximació matemàtica. D'aquesta forma, l'optimització heurística basada en kriging ha permés reduir més d'un 90% el cost computacional respecte a l'optimització heurística convencional obtenint resultats molt similars. Aquesta tesi doctoral proporciona en primer lloc, una ampla revisió bibliogràfica, tant dels criteris utilitzats per a la valoració de la sostenibilitat en ponts com dels diferents mètodes d'anàlisis de cicle de vida per a obtenir un perfil complet dels pilars ambientals i socials. Posteriorment, es defineix una metodologia per a la valoració completa de la sostenibilitat, utilitzant mètodes d'anàlisis de cicle de vida. Així mateix, es proposa un enfocament que permet obtenir estructures poc influenciables pels paràmetres estructurals, així com per les preferències dels diferents decisors enfront dels criteris sostenibles. La metodologia proporcionada en aquesta tesi doctoral és aplicable a qualsevol altre tipus d'estructura. Nº de páginas:
I would like to acknowledge the economic support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, formerly called Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. This thesis has been possible thanks to the FPI fellowship and the financially support of BRIDLIFE (Research Project BIA2014-56574-R) and DIMALIFE (Project BIA2017-85098-R).
Penadés Plà, V. (2020). Life-cycle sustainability design of post-tensioned box-girder bridge obtained by metamodel-assisted optimization and decision-making under uncertainty [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/147480
TESIS

This thesis presents a new metric-based Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) method for assessing the sustainability performance of metallic automotive components. The unique feature of this research work include the development and use of a metrics-based product sustainability index (ProdSI) methodology by considering the total life-cycle approach and the triple bottom line (TBL) with the 6R methodology. It has been shown that the manufactured product’s sustainability performance can be comprehensively assessed using this new methodology. The major focus of this research is the integration of the 6R activities (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture). Four life-cycle stages of the product, with various end-of-life (EOL) product scenarios, are modeled and analyzed. These scenarios include: reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling the products at EOL. Furthermore, a new mathematical model is developed and presented to determine the optimum percentage mix for various product EOL strategic options. By using the 6R methodology, the overall product sustainability was significantly improved. This improvement was quantitatively assessed by computing the ProdSI score. Ultimately, this research shows that a closed-loop material flow can be achieved.

Food systems are considered one of the most important anthropogenic activities contributing to climate change. On the other hand, climate change influences the conditions for growth with more frequent droughts and heatwaves. This contradiction poses a significant challenge to future food systems, which need not only become more sustainable, but also increase its production to feed a growing population, as stated in both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Swedish action plan on food. This has given rise to alternative ways of producing food, such as urban farming and, in particular vertical hydroponic farming, where food is grown indoors in a controlled environment with artificial lighting and with a minimum use of water and without pesticides. In this study, a vertical hydroponic farm located in Stockholm, Sweden, is examined using life cycle assessment in terms of environmental sustainability. The farm, located in a basement space, works together with the building in a symbiotic network, where the farm provides the building with excess heat from the lighting, and in turn obtains carbon dioxide from an office floor. The findings from the study show that electricity is a major contributor to the environmental performance of the farm, along with the infrastructure employed. The impacts of water use in the farm, is very low, along with the impacts associated with the delivery of the crops; illustrating the advantages of producing food locally. By substituting the synthetic fertilizers employed to biofertilizers, and by substituting the plastic bag material to renewable material, reductions in greenhouse gases are possible. The symbiotic development between the farm and the building is shown very beneficial to the farm, highlighting the importance of synergies between actors in urban areas.
Livsmedelsindustrin anses vara en av de största antropogena drivkrafterna bakom klimatförändringarna. Å andra sidan så förändrar klimatförändringar i sig förutsättningarna för hållbar odling, med mer frekventa torrperioder, extrem värme och extrem nederbörd. Denna konträra situation ställer stora krav på framtidens livsmedelsindustri, som dessutom måste producera mer mat för att mätta en ökande befolkning; ett åtagande som står angivet både i FN:s globala mål och i den svenska Livsmedelsstrategin. Många forskare menar att dagens livsmedelsindustri inte kommer klara denna omställning, och att alternativa metoder för att producera mat behövs. Urban odling har föreslagits som en del av lösningen, och i synnerhet vertikal hydroponisk odling där grödor växer inomhus i en kontrollerad miljö med artificiell belysning, låg vattenanvändning och utan bekämpningsmedel. Den här studien undersökte en vertikal hydroponisk odling i Stockholm, och bedömde dess miljömässiga hållbarhet med hjälp av en livscykelanalys. Odlingen, som sker i en källarlokal, samarbetar med den omslutande byggnaden i en urban symbios, där odlingen förser byggnaden med spillvärme från belysningen, och får i sin tur koldioxid från en kontorslokal. Enligt resultat från studien bidrar elektriciteten till den största miljöpåverkan, men även infrastruktur har stor påverkan. Vattenanvändningen i odlingen är däremot väldigt låg, och miljöpåverkan från leveransen av varorna är mycket låg, vilket belyser fördelarna med att odla mat lokalt. Odlingen kan bland annat minska sin miljöpåverkan genom att byta ut det nuvarande konstgödslet till biogödsel och genom att byta ut plastpåsarnas material till förnybar plast. Symbiosen mellan odlingen och byggnaden visade sig vara väldigt gynnsam, vilket vidare belyser vikten av samspel mellan olika aktörer i den urbana miljön.

By-products and mortalities from aquaculture have often posed significant challenges to the industry because of their low value resulting in high costs and environmental impact from their disposal. However increasing interest is being expressed in their utilisation to add value to the aquaculture industry and provide synergies with industries which had previously been in competition with aquaculture. Current and prospective processing by-product and farm mortality utilisation strategies were reviewed along with regulations and standards which aim to control their use and protect against human and animal health hazards. The role of aquaculture and fishery by-products in the supply of fishmeal was investigated and it was found that both sectors had the potential to contribute to increasing global supply. There were significant quantities of processing by-products identified which could be directed to fishmeal manufacture but there were also significant amounts of fish production which were not being processed in some regions and could also add to supplies. Processing by-products from aquaculture species often exceed 50% of the production by mass and therefore their efficient utilisation is of significant importance to the overall performance of the value chain. Their utilisation strategies are diverse and in some circumstances offer the possibility to add significant value. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly being used to inform decision makers and consumers about the environmental performance of goods and services to make choices on best practices and informative decisions on purchasing choices. Current methodology in LCA was critiqued and developed to be used for identifying disproportionate impacts from by-product industries and comparative assessment of the eco-efficiency of value chains from Thai shrimp, Vietnamese Pangasius catfish and Scottish salmon aquaculture. New LCA methodology was developed assessing the eco-efficiency of co-products as a whole and in relation to a tonne of edible yield. Measuring the impact of the by-product industry in relation to their edible yield gave different results to measuring their eco-efficiency between the three study species. It was found that the Thai shrimp value chain was the most eco-efficient when by-products were directed to chitosan and hydrolysate manufacture, but production of the salmon was the least impacting between the species in terms of edible yield. Pangasius was the most environmentally impacting of the three species value chains using both methods. It was also found that the upstream impacts of fish and shrimp production, especially feed manufacture, contributed most to the environmental impact in most circumstances, using both economic and mass allocation. Although the methodology produced interesting results, there were some drawbacks and the data sets also had several gaps which led to some assumptions, which could have skewed the results and interpretation. The cause of mortality for five aquaculture species in five countries and their subsequent utilisation was investigated. It was found that extensive systems were more prone to mortality than intensive systems in many cases. There was a wide range of strategies for mortality utilisation. In countries where by-product industries existed, farmers were often able to sell some of their mortality losses but in other areas, disposal could create health and biosecurity hazards. In conclusion, it was found that both by-products and aquaculture mortalities could be utilised effectively and that the additional impact from their use was low in proportion to the rest of the value chain.

This thesis proposes a framework to design and analyze sustainability within complex urban transportation systems. Urban transit systems have large variability in temporal and spatial resolution, and are common in lifecycle analyses and sustainability studies. Unlike analyses with smaller scope or broader resolution, these systems are composed of numerous interacting layers, each intricate enough to be a complete system on its own. In addition, detailed interaction with the system environment is often not accounted for in lifecycle studies, despite its strong potential effects on the problem domain. To manage such complexity, this thesis suggests a methodology that focuses on integrating existing modeling constructs in a transparent manner, and capturing structural and functional relationships for efficient model reuse. The Systems Modeling Language (OMG SysML ) is used to formally implement the modeling framework. To demonstrate the method, it is applied to a large scale multi-modal transportation network. Analysis of key network parameters such as emissions output, well-to-wheel energy use, and system capacity are presented in a case study of the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Results of the case study highlight several areas that differ from more traditional lifecycle analysis research. External influences such as regional electricity generation are found to have extremely large effects on environmental impact of a regional mobility system. The model is used to evaluate various future scenarios and finds that existing policy measures for curbing energy use and emissions are insufficient for reducing impact in a growing urban region.

More than ever, the residential building sector is concerned with improving the social, economic
and environmental indicators of sustainability. In order to overcome the increasing concern of today's
resource depletion, environmental considerations and to address sustainability indicators, a practical
life cycle method has been proposed to decision making integrating environmental and socioeconomical
aspects to analyse the impact of sustainability within the residential building sector using
two practical life cycle methods. One method is the Material and Energy Analysis (MEA) which is
suggested as an appropriate tool to provide a systematic picture of the direct and physical flows of the
use of natural resources and the other is the environmental management tool of Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) as a complement to evaluate environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the
system.
Furthermore, the method provides sustainability information that facility an adequate decision
making towards sustainable development at macro and micro levels. Sustainability assessment at
macro level is determined by exogenous variables that can influence the development of a country.
Meanwhile sustainable at the micro level is made within the limits of the whole building life cycle,
starting from the construction, use (operation and maintenance) and finishing with the end-of-life
phase. To illustrate it, a case study has been carried out based on the application to two buildings, one
located in Barcelona, Spain and one situated in Pamplona, Colombia. Then, the main objective of this
thesis is to propose a practical life cycle method including environmental and socio-economical
aspects to evaluate indicators that explicitly measure the residential building sector's impacts. This
thesis has also provided initiatives for residential dwellings to reduce environmental impacts and assist
stakeholders in improving customer patterns during the dwelling life cycle.
The findings of this thesis state that the appropriate combination of building materials,
improvement in behaviours and patterns of cultural consumption, and the application of government
codes would enhance decision-making in the residential building sector towards sustainability. The
difference in consumption in Colombia and Spanish dwellings is not only due to the variation in results
for bio-climatic differences but also because of the consumption habits in each country. The
importance of consumption habits of citizens and the need to decouple socio-economic development
from energy consumption are sought for achieving sustainability from a life cycle perspective. There is
a crucial necessity to provide satisfaction to basic needs and comfort requirements of population with
reasonable and sustainable energy consumption.
Therefore, there is no doubt that applying environmental managements tools as Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) and Material and Energy Analysis (MEA) to the full building life cycle can be very
important for reducing environmental loads and thereby improving sustainability indicators. Then, any
improvement in building sustainability is oriented generally to building materials, energy use and waste
management in all phases of the building life cycle, having always in mind that building has to be
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accessible from an economical and social part of view. The type of standard dwelling varies
substantially depending on the geographic location where it is built. Climate, technological, cultural,
socio-economical differences clearly define the standard of a building in any context and in any region.
This leads to important differences in the LCA results and it means that any extrapolation of existing
European LCA data to the case of a developing country would imply important errors. However, the
function is always the same, to provide protection and housing for its habitants.
Hoy en día, el sector residencial busca mejorar los indicadores de sostenibilidad en los aspectos
sociales, económicos y ambientales. Con el fin de considerar la creciente preocupación del
agotamiento de los recursos naturales y buscar reducir las emisiones adversa al medio ambiente, un
método practico basado en el ciclo de vida se ha propuesto para la evaluación socio-económica y
evaluación del impacto ambiental en sector residencial utilizando dos métodos. El primero es el
Análisis de Materiales y de Energía (AME) que proporciona una visión sistemática de los flujos
directos e indirectos de la utilización de los recursos naturales y el segundo método es el Análisis del
Ciclo de Vida (ACV) como complemento para evaluar los impactos ambientales en todo el ciclo de
vida del sistema.
Adicionalmente, el método proporciona información de sostenibilidad permitiendo la adecuada
toma de decisiones hacia el desarrollo sostenible en los niveles macro y micro. Evaluación de la
Sostenibilidad en el nivel macro está determinado por variables exógenas que influyen en el
desarrollo de un país. Mientras tanto, sostenibilidad en el nivel micro hace referencia dentro de los
límites de todo el ciclo de vida de una vivienda, comenzando por la fase de construcción, uso
(operación y mantenimiento) y terminando con la fase final. Para ilustrarlo, un caso de estudio ha sido
llevado a cabo en la aplicación de dos edificios, uno situado en Barcelona, España y otro situado en
Pamplona, Colombia. Por consiguiente, el objetivo principal de esta tesis es proponer un método que
tenga en cuenta los aspectos medio-ambientales y socio-económicos que tiendan a mejorar la
sostenibilidad y que explícitamente midan los impactos del sector de residencial. Esta tesis también propone iniciativas de mejora en las viviendas residenciales que conlleven a reducir los impactos ambientales y asistir a los agentes involucrados del sector.
Las conclusiones de esta tesis soportan que la combinación adecuada de materiales de
construcción, el buen comportamiento en los patrones de consumo, y la aplicación de códigos y leyes mejoraran los aspectos sostenibles en el sector de la construcción. La diferencia en el consumo en las viviendas de Colombia y en las Españolas no sólo se debe a la variación de las diferencias bioclimáticas,sino también por los hábitos de consumo en cada país. Se puede observar la importancia de los hábitos de consumo de los ciudadanos y la necesidad de disociar el desarrollo socioeconómico del consumo de energía. Existe una necesidad fundamental de dar satisfacción a las necesidades básicas y requerimientos de confort de la población con un consumo energético razonable y sostenible.Por lo tanto, no hay duda de que la aplicación de herramientas medioambientales como el análisis del ciclo de vida (ACV) y análisis de materiales y energía (AME) es muy importante para minimizar el impacto ambiental y buscar mejorar los indicadores de sostenibilidad. Queda implícito entonces que cualquier mejora en la sostenibilidad está orientado generalmente a la selección apropiada de materiales de construcción, el uso eficiente de energía y la correcta gestión de residuos en todas las fases del ciclo de vida del edificio, teniendo siempre en cuenta que el edificio tiene que ser accesible desde una parte económica y social. El tipo de vivienda estándar varía sustancialmente dependiendo de la ubicación geográfica donde se construya. Aspectos como el clima, la tecnología, la cultura y las diferencias socio-económicas definen claramente el nivel de un edificio en cualquier contexto y en cualquier región. Esto da lugar a importantes diferencias en los resultados del ACV y significa que cualquier extrapolación de datos europeos existentes del ACV para el caso de un paísen desarrollo implicaría errores importantes. Sin embargo, la función es siempre la misma,proporcionar protección y vivienda para sus habitantes

Les chaines d’approvisionnement contemporaines sont source de problèmes environnementaux, mais aussi d’impacts pour les communautés des abords des activités de production, consommateurs, ou encore travailleurs. Pour évaluer ces impacts, l’analyse sociale du cycle de vie (ACV-S) est développée depuis quinze ans en complément de l’ACV-E, qui traite, elle, des impacts environnementaux le long du cycle de vie des produits. Cette thèse vise à répondre à certains des défis méthodologiques pour sa conception et son application, par une évaluation de produits de systèmes alimentaires alternatifs belges (SAA), et à ces deux questions: i) que devrait évaluer l’ACV-S et ii) comment intégrer les chaines de causes à effet dans l’analyse, comme en ACV-E. Sur base de trois états de l’art (des cadres d’ACV-S, des études incluant les chaines de cause à effet, et des évaluations de produits alimentaires), nous développons et mettons en œuvre des propositions qui plaident pour i) une approche participative pour définir les critères; ii) une évaluation d’impact pour comprendre les pratiques des entreprises plutôt que leur simple rapportage, à travers l’articulation des indicateurs sur la base de théories existantes, comme l’approche de Global Commodity Chain: celle-ci place la gouvernance des chaines et la répartition de la valeur ajoutée entre les acteurs comme des facteurs explicatifs potentiels des problèmes socio-économiques présents dans les chaines; iii) une approche ‘imbriquée’ de la durabilité (ou ‘nested’), qui implique la considération des aspects économiques et de gouvernance des chaines, à côté des aspects managériaux et ‘sociaux’, et leur mise en relation. Nous cherchons ainsi à contribuer à faire de l’ACV-S un outil analytique qui vise l’amélioration des principaux problèmes dans les chaines d’approvisionnement, en analysant leurs causes profondes. Nos évaluations de produits de SAA, y. c. circuits courts et commerce équitable ‘Nord-Nord’, révèlent des rémunérations trop faibles et des conditions d’emploi précaires dans les fermes, rejetant ainsi notre hypothèse d’une durabilité plus élevée de ces produits, par rapport aux chaines dominantes. Ces faibles performances résulteraient d’une reproduction des mécanismes utilisés par les chaines dominantes (rapports de force déséquilibrés, faible engagement entre les acteurs, prix inéquitables). Ceci tendrait à confirmer notre autre hypothèse selon laquelle la gouvernance des chaines et les modalités de transaction impactent les conditions socioéconomiques des travailleurs au sein de ces chaines, d’où l’intérêt de considérer ces aspects en ACV-S. Aussi, d’autres éléments semblent jouer: la règlementation du travail en vigueur, qui encouragerait les contrats précaires, ou le contexte de marché qui influencerait fortement les prix pratiqués dans les SAA, d’où l’importance de se pencher sur les chaines dominantes pour améliorer la durabilité des produits alimentaires dans leur ensemble. Notre recherche confirme l’applicabilité et la pertinence de nos propositions, qui mériteraient d’autres applications pour une validation et des développements méthodologiques supplémentaires.
Today’s supply chains entail numerous and serious issues, concerning the environment but also regarding people, including communities’ surrounding production activities, final consumers and workers. In order to assess those latter social and socio-economic impacts on people, Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) is a tool being currently developed to complement E-LCA, which assesses potential environmental impacts along the life cycle of products and services. This PhD aims to address some of the outstanding methodological challenges faced by S-LCA, with the support of an application on products from Belgian alternative food network (AFNs). The thesis focuses on three related main questions: i) what should S-LCA assess (topics, level of assessment, i.e. company’s practices, impacts on people, other) and ii) how to include impact pathways or cause-effect chains in the analysis, as it is done in E-LCA; iii) how should the assessment be carried out, so that it goes beyond a mere reporting? On the basis of three distinct states-of-the-art (on S-LCA frameworks, studies considering impact pathways and S-LCA studies in the food sector), we put forward and apply specific methodological proposals that argue for i) the use of a participatory approach to select assessment criteria; ii) the use of an impact assessment approach that allows to understand company’s practices rather than their mere reporting, through an articulation of assessment criteria and indicators based on existing theories, including in social sciences. In this regard, the Global commodity chain approach that identify chain governance and value distribution among chain actors as potential stressors or root causes of social and socio-economic problems in supply chains, seems particularly relevant; iii) the use of a nested approach to sustainability in which also economic and governance aspects are taken into account, in addition to managerial and “social” aspects of supply chains, which are usually included. With this work we aim to contribute for S-LCA to become an analytical tool contributing the improvement of main problems in supply chains, e.g. income, employment and working conditions, by analyzing their root causes. Our assessments of products traded under various alternative chains, including short food chains and a local Fair trade chain, reveal low income and poor employment conditions on farms. This rejects our assumption of better social sustainability performances of AFN products, when compared to those of mainstream chains. Those poor performances would originate in the mechanisms used (e.g. unbalanced power relations, low commitment between VCAs, unfair prices), which are similar in mainstream chains. This would tend to confirm our assumption that chain governance and transaction modalities (i.e. business practices of chain actors) impact on socioeconomic conditions of workers in supply chains (or for the social sustainability of products), this is why we think it is of interest to consider those aspects in S-LCA. Also, other, more contextual, elements seem to come into play, such as labor regulations in force, that would encourage the use of non-standard forms of employment, and broader market context that influences AFNs quite strongly, including on prices. This is why it seems also important to work on mainstream food chains to improve overall product sustainability. Our research confirms the applicability and relevance of our methodological proposals, however further applications could be useful for further validation and methodological developments.
Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Since last few decades, the increased pressure from the environmental issues of natural resource depletion, global warming and air pollution have posed a great challenge worldwide. Among all the industrial fields, bridge infrastructures and their belonged construction sector contribute to a wide range of energy and raw materials consumptions, which is responsible for the most significant pollutions. However, current bridges are mainly designed by the criterion of economic, technique, and safety standards, while their correlated environmental burdens have unfortunately rarely been considered. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method has been verified as a systematic tool, which enables the fully assessment and complete comparison for the environmental impact among different bridge options through a life cycle manner. The study presented in this thesis is focused on railway bridges, as the LCA implementation is under great expectations to set a new design criterion, to optimize the structural design towards the environmental sustainability, and to assist the decision-making among design proposals. This thesis consists of two parts: an extended summary and three appended papers. Part one gives an overview introduction that serves as a supplementary description for this research work. It outlines the background theory, current development status, the LCA implementation into the railway bridges, as well as the developed excel-based LCA tool. Part two, includes three appended papers which provides a more detailed theoretical review of the current literatures and knowledge associated with bridge LCA, by highlighting the great challenging issues. A systematic flowchart is presented both in Paper I and Paper II for how to model and assess the bridge life cycle, together by coping with the structural components and associated emissions. This flowchart is further illustrated on a case study of the Banafjäl Bridge in Sweden, which has been extensively analyzed by two LCA methods: CML 2001 method and streamlined quantitative approach. The obtained results can be contributed as an analytical reference for other similar bridges. Based on the theoretical review and analytical results from case studies, it has been found that the environmental profile of a bridge is dominated by the selected structural type, which affects the life cycle scenarios holistically and thus further influences the environmental performance. However, the environmental profile of the structure is though very case specific; one cannot draw a general conclusion for a certain type of bridge without performing the LCA study. The case study has found that the impact of material manufacture phase is mostly identified significant among the whole life cycle. The availability of the inventory data and project information are appeared as the major problem in the bridge LCA study. Moreover, lack of standardized guideline, criteria and input information is another key issue. A criterion is needed to illustrate what are the qualified limits of a bridge to fulfill the environmental requirements. Therefore, the development of LCA for railway bridges still needs further collaborative efforts from government, industry and research institutes.
QC 20120227

Assessing the sustainability of nanomanufacturing products and processes has been difficult to achieve using conventional approaches mainly due to an inadequate inventory, large process-to-process variation, and a dearth of relevant toxicology data for nanomaterials. Since these issues are long term in nature, it is required to create hybrid methodologies that can work towards filling the existing gaps. Merging thermodynamic techniques such as the exergy analysis with environmental assessments can help make better, more informed choices while providing an opportunity for process improvement by enabling to correctly quantify efficiency loss through the waste stream, and by locating the exact areas for improvement. A preliminary technique that utilizes environmental assessment feedback during the process design along with an exergy analysis is presented. As a test case, an environmental assessment aided by an exergy analysis was carried out on the electrospinning process for producing polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers. The areas of greatest concern, both from an environmental as well as a thermodynamic point of view, have been found to be the high energy consumption and the complete loss of solvent during the process of electrospinning. Interestingly, exergy consumption is significantly higher for fibers with a smaller (

This thesis aims to assess potential environmental impacts of media and communication and to contribute to the development of methods for sustainability assessment. Although the main focus is on printed and electronic media products and environmental impacts, a broader sector analysis is also included and social aspects are discussed. The thesis provides a review of different environmental assessment tools in order to better understand their relationships and the appropriateness of different tools in different situations. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to assess printed and electronic versions of newspapers, books and invoices. Results of the screening LCAs of newspapers and books indicate that when comparing printed and electronic versions there are benefits and drawbacks for both. For news and books read on e-reading devices with energy efficient e-ink screens, the main environmental impacts in the studies stemmed from the production of the device and partly from disposal, with the latter having the potential to reduce some environmental impacts through recycling of materials. However, there are data gaps regarding the production of the e-reading devices, most notably for the e-ink screen and the waste management of obsolete e-reading devices. Existing data on internet energy use are uncertain. The potential impacts from a hypothetical total change from paper invoices to electronic invoices in Sweden were assessed through a screening consequential LCA regarding greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative energy demand. The results indicate that emissions and energy demand could decrease as a result of a change. The screening LCAs performed indicate that users’ practices could substantially influence the environmental impacts. Key factors which can influence results and comparisons of printed and electronic media products are total use of electronic devices, total use of printed media, amount and type of paper, energy use of electronic devices, potential printing of electronic media, electricity mix, and the system boundaries set for the assessments. To get a wider perspective, a sector study of the ICT sector and media sector concerning global greenhouse gas emissions and operational electricity use was performed. It was estimated that the contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 was roughly 1-2 % for each sector. To assess media and communication products from a sustainability perspective, social aspects should also be covered. The author participated in an international project group on social aspects and LCA, one outcome from which was guidelines for social LCA (S-LCA). In addition to providing guidance for S-LCA, another important role of the guidelines is to facilitate discussions, criticism and proposals for improvement and development of the methodology being developed. The LCA and sector studies in this thesis are limited to direct and to some extent indirect environmental impacts. Further studies of the environmental impacts of more long-term changes in practices and potential structural changes, as well as potential social impacts, could provide important additional insights. This could increase the possibility of facilitating sustainable practices related to ICT and media.
QC 20100610

The thesis project takes part in the search for a new and more sustainable building construction method. Specifically it aims to study the production of cross-fibres wood panels, the so-called CLT (Cross Laminated Timber). These panels constitute a recent constructive method that brings back to life the use of an ancient material, wood, which is also one of the most renewable materials. This panel constitution leads to an increase in resistance and isotropy without comparison with the raw material from which it is obtained. It is presented as one of the most sustainable constructive techniques used nowadays. The objective of the study is to verify this affirmation. The thesis project aims at comparing two CLT production processes delivered by factories in two different geographical areas. The first one, settled in Concepcion, Chile, and the second one, settled in the Trento province, Italy. An analysis of the various production phases of the production of CLT panels was carried out and the data collected were processed in order to determine the use of primary resources, energy dispensing and CO2 emissions. The values to be calculated are the sustainability indexes described in the ISO 14000 series; beyond this, it is intended to broaden the survey from a methodological point of view by searching for specific parameters that can be more suitable to characterize the product CLT as for as the effects on the environment are concerned. The main objectives are: archiving a broad-based sustainability relationship for the production of a CLT panel in line with the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Then researching an estimate of the environmental cost of producing a CLT panel that would result comparable, thus enabling the buyer to participate knowingly in choosing to reduce the environmental damage. Lastly, the ultimate objective was obtaining a product certification evaluation through the EPD green label prescriptions.

Currently, many researchers are looking at efficient ways to reduce energy and carbon emissions of construction materials used in buildings over their life due to its significant environmental impact. Along with operational energy, embodied energies and its associated carbon are substantial contributors in the overall sustainability assessment. The calculation of materials’ embodied energy and carbon emissions during the construction stage is a major assessment factor that needs to be considered to measure the environmental impact of materials used in the construction of buildings, which would provide designers with the ability to lower the environmental impact of buildings at the early design stage. Overall, it is rather complicated to compute embodied energy and carbon emissions due to the various factors involved. The tools and methodologies, listed in the literature, are rather imperfect as they tend to overgeneralize. The equipment used, fuel needed, and electricity required for each type of construction material varies from one location to another and thus embodied energy used, and carbon produced will differ for each construction project. Moreover, the method used in manufacturing, transporting and putting in place these materials will have significant influence on their environmental impact. This anomaly has made it difficult to calculate or even benchmark the usage of such factors. This thesis proposes an integrated model aimed at calculating embodied energies, embodied carbon and associated costs generated by construction materials based on such variability. This thesis presents a systematic approach that uses an efficient method of calculation to provide new insight for the selection of construction materials and equipment required to place them for buildings. Such assessment will aid in reducing the environmental impact of construction. The proposed model will be developed in a BIM environment. The quantification of materials’ energy is determined over the three main stages of their lifecycle: manufacturing, transporting, and placing. The proposed model will use multiple databases to calculate the energy used by manufacturing, transporting, and placing construction materials. By identifying the machinery required, an accurate calculation is achieved through geospatial data analysis. The proposed model can automatically calculate the distances between the material suppliers and construction sites to increase the accuracy of its outcome. Based on such variables, the proposed model provides designers with a list of equipment as to minimize the embodied energy and carbon produced by materials used in constructing buildings. Additionally, the proposed model has the ability to calculate the environmental cost impact of using specific building materials. Overall, this thesis aims to help researchers and the construction industry in reducing the environmental impact of construction activities through the selection of materials and the determination of machines required to achieve that goal.

In a world with limited resources and serious environmental, social and economical impacts, a more sustainable life style is everyday more important. Therefore, the general objective of this work is to develop a methodological procedure for eco-efficiency and sustainability assessment of industrial processes with multi-scale technology at design level. The methodology developed follows the ISO 14040 series for environmental LCA standard. To integrate the three pillars of sustainability the analytical hierarchical process was used. The results are represented in a triple bottom line framework. The methodology was applied to the case study "production of perfume-containing microcapsules" and different scenarios were assessed and compared. Several sustainability indicators were chosen to analyze the impacts. The results showed that this methodology can be used as a decision making tool for sustainability reporting. It can be applied to any process choosing in each case the corresponding set of inventory data and sustainability impact indicators.
En un mundo con recursos limitados y graves impactos ambientales, sociales y económicos, un estilo de vida más sostenible es cada día más importante. Debido a esto, el objetivo general de este trabajo es desarrollar un procedimiento metodológico para evaluar eco-eficiencia y sostenibilidad de procesos industriales con tecnología multi-escala a nivel de diseño. La metodología desarrollada sigue la serie ISO 14040 para el medio ambiente. Se utilizó el proceso analítico jerárquico para integrar los tres pilares de sostenibilidad. Los resultados se presentan en un balance triple. La metodología se aplicó al caso de estudio "producción de micro-cápsulas que contienen perfume" y se analizaron y compararon diferentes escenarios. Se seleccionaron diversos indicadores de sostenibilidad para analizar los impactos. Los resultados demostraron que esta metodología puede ser utilizada como herramienta de toma de decisiones y que puede aplicarse a cualquier proceso seleccionando, en cada caso, los datos del inventario y los indicadores.

The mobile cooling and climate control industry provides a range of diverse solutions concerning the maintenance of temperature for comfortable living and safe transportation of goods over long distances. One of the major focuses of the industry is the transport sector for which products like cooling boxes and mobile air conditioners are exclusively designed for commercial and leisure purposes. However, the associated emissions released due to their use and the impact they have in the wake of the global climate crisis has led the industry to initiate activities and set targets to address this issue. This study aims to draw sustainable strategy recommendations to the mobile cooling and climate control industry by conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of four products and a materiality assessment for a company manufacturing cooling boxes and mobile air conditioners, therefore accelerating the industry’s transition towards sustainability. The objectives are to identify potential material and process-related environmental hotspots over the life cycle of the products and carry out a materiality assessment that identifies topics of materiality for the company, this to outline strategies based on the results of both the LCA and the materiality assessment to improve the company’s sustainability in its operations. The results of the LCA highlighted the role of the use phase as one of the main contributors to the environmental impact from the use of cooling boxes and mobile air conditioners, while the manufacturing of the products and the end-of-life phase are shown to contribute also to the overall impact. Furthermore, different sensitivity scenarios revealed the potential that different materials, the use of batteries and the implementation of a take-back system have to decrease the environmental impacts of the products. From the materiality assessment fourteen material topics were identified to have significance and priority to the company. Based on these results, a total of nine strategies addressing the sustainability of the company and its products were outlined. Across the assessment, three key focus aspects were observed which can facilitate the sustainability transition of the company and industry: energy both in products and operations, collaboration with stakeholders, and circular economy principles and product innovation. Efforts within these areas can potentially improve the industry’s ability to tackle pressures from climate change and the increasing future demand. This study also exemplifies the potential benefits of a synergy between LCA and materiality assessment. It was observed that aiding the materiality assessment with the LCA results provides more tangibility to the results and decreases the subjectivity from the assessment in order to set future sustainability targets.
Mobilkylnings- och klimatkontrollsindustrin erbjuder många lösningar till temperaturhållning för bekvämt boende och säker transport av gods. Ett viktigt fokus för industrin är transportsektorn där produkter som kylboxar och mobil luftkonditionering specialkonstruerad för kommersiell och rekreationell användning. Växthusgasutsläppen från produkterna under användning har mot bakgrund av den globala klimatkrisen fått industrin att sätta mål och starta ett arbete för att minska utsläppen. Den här studien avser att ge hållbara strategier och rekommendationer till mobilkylnings- och klimatkontrollsindustrin genom att genomföra livscykelanalys (LCA) av fyra produkter och en materialanalys till ett företag som tillverkar kylboxar och mobila luftkonditioneringar för att driva industrins övergång till hållbarhet. Målen är att identifiera material- och processrelaterade miljöbelastningar över hela livscykeln av produkterna och genomföra en materialitetstsanalys för att identifiera materialitetsämnen. Utifrån LCA och materialitetsanalysen går att göra strategier att förbättra företagets hållbarhetsarbete. Resultat från LCAn visade vikten av användningsfasen som stod för den största miljöpåverkan från kylboxar or mobil luftkonditionering. Tillverkning och end-of-life hade också påverkan. Känslighetsanalyser visade också den potential materialval, batterianvändning och retursystem har att minska miljöpåverkan från produkter. Fjorton materialitetsämnen utpekades från materialitetsanalysen som viktiga för företaget. Dessa hanteras genom nio strategier som togs fram. Genom analys var tre övergripande fokusområden identifierade som kan underlätta företagets och industris hållbarhetsövergång. De är: energianvändning i både produkterna och företagets arbete, samarbeten med stakeholders samt cirkulär ekonomi och produktinnovation. Ansträngningar inom dessa områden kam förbättra industris förmåga att tackla trycket från klimatkrisen och ökad framtida efterfrågan. Studien visar också på synergin mellan LCA och materialitetsanalys. Att använda resultat från LCA i materialitetsanalysen gav tydligare resultat och minskar subjektiviteten vilket ger bättre förutsättningar när hållbarhetsmål ska sättas.

Livscykelanalys (LCA) är ett verktyg för att analysera potentiell miljöpåverkan från en produkts livscykel. I studien undersöks vilka som är de mest betydande processerna och de mest utmär- kande potentiella miljöpåverkanskategorierna i livscykeln för Kinnarps kontorsstol 6110, samt vilka potentiella förbättringsåtgärder som kan utföras för förbättrad miljöprestanda. Analysen syftar även till att ge rekommendationer hur verktyget LCA kan implementeras i Kinnarps håll- barhetsarbete. Programvaran SimaPro från PRé, data från Ecoinvent och företagsspecifika uppgifter används i analysen. De huvudsakliga resultaten visar att störst miljöpåverkan åter- finns inom kategorierna ekotoxicitet, övergödning och naturlig landtransformation. Stolsmekanismen är den komponent på kontorsstolen som får störst genomslag i analysen till följd av sin stora massa och sitt höga stålinnehåll. Även ullklädseln får stort genomslag, vilket beror på produktionen av råull. I verkligheten bör denna påverkan vara större eftersom pro- duktionen av tyg från råull inte varit möjlig att inkludera. Vilket material som väljs för olika komponenter visar sig ha stor betydelse för livscykeln och LCA kan användas redan i konstrukt- ionsfasen för att rådgöra vilka val som ger lägst påverkan. En fördel med att bygga upp kompetens internt inom Kinnarps är att ökad kunskap om såväl metodiken LCA som produkt- sortimentet erhålls. Om Kinnarps väljer att implementera verktyget inom företaget har det även fördelar ur ett marknadsföringsperspektiv eftersom de då kan uppvisa detaljkännedom om sina produkters miljöprestanda.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool to analyze potential environmental impacts of a product's lifecycle. The aim of the study is to determine the most important processes and the most signif- icant potential environmental impact categories in the lifecycle of Kinnarps’ office chair 6110, and what potential improvements that can be made. The analysis also gives advice whether the tool LCA can be implemented in Kinnarps’ work with sustainability issues. The software SimaPro from PRé, data from Ecoinvent and company-specific data were used in the analysis. The main results show that the greatest impact can be found in the categories of ecotoxicity, eutrophica- tion and natural land transformation. As a result of its large mass and its high steel content the chair mechanism is the component in the office chair with the greatest impact. The wool uphol- stery fabric also has a major impact, which solely depends on the production of greasy wool. The impact is most likely larger in reality, since there is a lack of data regarding wool fabrics. What type of material that is chosen for different components turns out to be of great importance. LCA can be used as early as in the design phase to consult what material that gives the lowest impact. One advantage of establishing expertise in LCA within the company is that competence about LCA, as well as the product system, remains within Kinnarps. If Kinnarps choose to implement the tool within the company, there are also marketing benefits since they may present detailed knowledge of the environmental performance of their products.

This work assesses the environmental impact of a municipal solid waste incinerator with energy recovery in Forlì-Cesena province (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy). The methodology used is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). As the plant already applies the best technologies available in waste treatment, this study focuses on the fate of the residues (bottom and fly ash) produced during combustion. Nine scenarios are made, based on different ash treatment disposing/recycling techniques. The functional unit is the amount of waste incinerated in 2011. Boundaries are set from waste arrival in the plant to the disposal/recovery of the residues produced, with energy recovery. Only the operative period is considered. Software used is GaBi 4 and the LCIA method used is CML2001. The impact categories analyzed are: abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, global warming, human toxicity, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, terrestrial ecotoxicity and primary energy demand. Most of the data are taken from Herambiente. When primary data are not available, data from Ecoinvent and GaBi databases or literature data are used. The whole incineration process is sustainable, due to the relevant avoided impact given by co-generator. As far as regards bottom ash treatment, the most influential process is the impact savings from iron recovery. Bottom ash recycling in road construction or as building material are both valid alternatives, even if the first option faces legislative limits in Italy. Regarding fly ash inertization, the adding of cement and Ferrox treatment results the most feasible alternatives. However, this inertized fly ash can maintain its hazardous nature. The only method to ensure the stability of an inertized fly ash is to couple two different stabilization treatments. Ash stabilization technologies shall improve with the same rate of the flexibility of the national legislation about incineration residues recycling.

Under de senaste decennierna har textilindustrin bevittnat en ökad medvetenhet gällandehållbarhet. Redan 2010 nämner Karl-Johan Persson, före detta VD för H&M, att hållbarhet är en naturlig del av att göra affärer i en globaliserad värld (H&M 2010). Trots att detta uttalades redan för ett decennium sedan, kan det än idag ifrågasättas ifall textilindustrin verkligen har utvecklat någon realistisk lösning. Allt fler så kallade "hållbara affärsmodeller “tillkommer inom modebranschen, men tyvärr kan ordet "hållbarhet" ibland användas som ett generellt container begrepp utan att betona de faktiska aspekterna som hållbarhet inkluderar(Van Weele 2014). Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka svenskaproduktutvecklande företag och analysera dess bakomliggande motiv, implementeringsprocesser och genererade effekter som kan ses vid användning avhållbarhetsaktiviteterna återvinning (recycle), återanvändning (reuse) och Life CycleAssessment (LCA). Följaktligen ämnar studien till att skapa en djupare förståelse för länken mellan företags existerande affärsmodell och valda hållbarhetsaktiviter. För att besvara studiens forskningsfrågor har en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi tillämpats, där studiens empiriska information samlats in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med svenskaproduktutvecklande företag. Avsikten är således att forma sammanhängande tolkningar av studiens insamlade data för att därigenom skapa ett resultat som kan användas praktiskt i vidare studier och aktiviteter inom området. Studiens resultatet tyder på att företagens motiv kan kategoriseras inom de tre fundamentenligt modellen Triple Bottom Line; (1) ekonomiskt, (2) socialt och (3) miljömässigt. Ytterligare kategorisering sågs för (4) motiv avseende varumärke. Vidare kan det konstaterasatt olika hållbarhetsaktiviteter kräver olika implementeringar, samt att inga stora åtgärder i dagsläget har skett inom företagens befintliga affärsmodeller under implementering. Följaktligen, efter implementering av vald hållbarhetsaktivitet, har ekonomiska, sociala, miljömässiga samt effekter avseende varumärket uppstått. Vidare visar studien att hållbarhetsaktiviteter eventuellt bör implementeras och prioriteras olika utifrån verksambransch. Det är därmed av rekommendation för praktiker inom arbets- och sportbranschen att fokusera på LCA, då studiens empiri har konstaterat att återvinning och återanvändning inte är lämplig för dessa produktkategorier. Det kan även rekommenderas att modebranschen prioriterar återanvändning före återvinning. Dels på grund av att återvunna plagg ofta har en kortare livscykel beroende på sämre kvalitet, men även på grund av att det är en meravancerad hållbarhetsaktivitet i jämförelse med återanvändning. Slutligen kan denna studiedra kopplingen att det blir betydligt viktigare att utföra en LCA på produkter som ej kan återanvändas eller återvinnas.
In recent decades, the textile industry has witnessed an increased awareness of sustainability. Already in 2010, Karl-Johan Persson, former CEO of H&M, mentioned that sustainability is a natural part of doing business in a globalized world (H&M 2010). Although this was stated a decade ago, it can still be questioned today if the textile industry has really developed any realistic solution. More and more so-called "sustainable business models" are emerging within the industry, but unfortunately the word "sustainability" can sometimes be used as a general container concept without emphasizing the actual aspects that sustainability includes(Van Weele 2014). The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate Swedish product development companies and analyze its underlying motives, implementation processes and generated effects that can be seen when using the sustainability activities recycling, reuse and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Accordingly, the study aims to create a deeper understanding of the link between existing business models and selected sustainability activities, which is required in previous research. To answer the study's research questions, a qualitative research strategy was applied, in which the study's empirical information was collected through various semi-structured interviews with Swedish product development companies. The intention is therefore to try to implement coherent interpretations of the study's collected data, in order to obtain a result that can be practically used in further studies and activities in the field. According to the study's results, the companies' motives can be categorized into the three foundations according to the Triple Bottom Line model; (1) economically, (2) socially and(3) environmentally. Further categorization was seen for (4) trademark motifs. Furthermore, it can be noted that different sustainability activities require different implementations, and that no major measures have been taken within the companies' existing business models during implementation. After implementation of a chosen sustainability activity, economic, social, and environmental effects regarding the brand have arisen. Finally, the study considers that sustainability activities should be implemented and prioritized differently based on industry. It is therefore a recommendation for practitioners in the work and sports industry to focus on LCA, as the study's empirical findings have found that recycling and reuse are not suitable for these product categories. Furthermore, it is recommended that the fashion industry prioritize reuse before recycling. Partly because recycled garments often have a shorter life cycle due to poorer quality, but also because it is a more advanced sustainability activity compared to reuse. As a result, this study can draw the link that it becomes significantly more important to perform a LCA on products that cannot be reused or recycled. The thesis will be given in Swedish.

Transformers are electrical devices used in practice to increase or decrease voltages. Transformers are of various sizes and used mainly in power distribution. To provide cooling and insulation, transformer oils are used together with cellulose that acts as a solid insulation. The most common type of transformer oil is mineral oil and is a product derived from the refining of crude oil. Its low cost and good compatibility with cellulose are two factors that have led to its predominant position as the common transformer oil. There are also synthetic ester based transformer oils, and following an increased interest in environmentally friendly products, transformer oils made from natural esters such as sunflower, soybean and rapeseed. Mineral oil is not biodegradable and is deemed as hazardous waste. The ester based oils are biodegradable and promoted as a more environmentally friendly alternative to mineral oil. In this thesis, the possibility of re-refining used mineral transformer oil is assessed from a financial perspective in the form of a business case and an LCA study has been done to compare the environmental impacts between ester based transformer oils and mineral based transformer oil. The results from the LCA study showed that from a cradle-to-gate perspective, mineral oil has a lower environmental impact than ester-based transformer oils. The re-refining of used mineral transformer oil further reduces the environmental impact. The results from the business case showed that a small scale re-refining facility is financially feasible but highly dependent on the supply and demand of used transformer oil. It is recommended to pursue further studies before making any decision. There is lack of data regarding the re-refining market in Eastern Europe and the accuracy of the LCA study can be further improved by having emissions data from re-refining used mineral transformer oil.
Transformatorer är elektriska komponenter som tillämpas vid spänningsregleringar. Dessa transformatorer har olika storlekar och används i eldistribution. Transformatorolja tillsammans med cellulosa används som elektrisk isolering och kylning av transformatorer. Den vanligaste typen av transformatorolja är mineralolja och är en produkt som erhålls vid raffinering av råolja. Dess låga kostnad och goda kompatibilitet med cellulosa är två faktorer som har lett till dess dominerande ställning. Det finns också syntetisk esterbaserad transformatorolja och efter ett ökat intresse för miljövänliga produkter så tillverkas även transformatoroljor av naturliga estrar så som solros, soja och raps. Mineralolja är inte nedbrytbar och anses vara farligt avfall. De esterbaserade oljorna är nedbrytbara och anses vara ett mer miljövänligt alternativ till mineralolja. I denna rapport utvärderades möjligheten till att återraffinera använd mineralolja ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv i form av en affärsplan och en LCA-studie där esterbaserad olja och mineralolja har jämförts ur ett miljöperspektiv. Resultaten från LCA-studien visade att mineralolja från ett ”cradle-to-gate” perspektiv har en lägre miljöpåverkan än esterbaserade transformatoroljor. Återraffinering av använd mineralolja minskar dess miljöpåverkan ytterligare. Resultatet från affärsplanen visade att en småskalig återraffineringsanläggning är ekonomiskt hållbar men samtidigt väldigt beroende av utbud respektive efterfrågan på använd mineralolja. Det rekommenderas att göra en djupare analys innan man fattar ett beslut. Det finns brist på information med avseende på återraffineringsmarknaden i Östeuropa. Noggrannheten på LCA-studien kan förbättras ytterligare genom att emissionsdata från en återraffineringsanläggning är tillgänglig.

This thesis reports on the research undertaken to investigate the reduction of the environmental impacts of plastic packaging through the effective selection and application of biopolymers during the pack design process. The principle objective of this research is to develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of biopolymers as a packaging material and to develop a framework which enables biopolymers to be considered at each stage of the pack design process to enable their effective and appropriate selection and use.

Climate change is one of the biggest issues that the world faces today, and one of the biggest contributors to climate change are groceries. This paper aims at using digital artefacts to create a product or design that will encourage the user to shop more environmentally friendly. To achieve this, I have tried to identify the major hindrances today that grocery shoppers are faced with through the user centered method Contextual Inquiry.  I have then presented the results from the inquiry to students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology during workshops. During these workshops, the students have conceptualized ideas and designs for different solutions. Based on their results, I have created a prototype design that I call the SmartCart. This cart consists of a regular shopping cart with a screen similar to an iPad attached to the handlebars. This screen then delivers easily apprehensible information about different grocery products environmental impact in real time. The design has not been tested in a live environment, but initial testing indicates that a live application could give satisfying results in lowering the sales of grocery products with a high environmental impact, while the design also could simultaneously improve the shopping experience for the customers in the grocery store.

Achieving a sustainable production has become more important in the same phase as the environmental focus grows. Sustainable production means that you take into consideration the economical and environmental life cycle, that can be analyzed and measured with help from LCC (Life Cycle Cost) and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). The purpose of this study has been to increase the understanding for how LCC and LCA can be used in order to improve the economical and environmental sustainability within manufacturing processes. The goal has been to identify weaknesses and improvement potential in order to strengthen sustainability. There has also been a purpose to create a template with the purpose to promote other companies to identify which factors need to be improved. Data has been collected through structured interviews and other documents from the studied company. Results and conclusions present that the studied company’s production is economically and environmentally sustainable but there is room for improvement.  The improvement suggestions that the authors have come up with is following: - Reduce costs by improving the flow within the production - Shorten the distance of transportation by choosing local suppliers - Choosing more environmentally friendly transportation.
Att uppnå en hållbar produktion är någonting som blir viktigare och viktigare med de ökade miljökrav som ställs. Hållbar produktion innebär att man tar hänsyn till den ekonomiska och miljömässiga livscykeln, som kan analyseras och mätas med hjälp av LCC (Life Cycle Costs) och LCA (Life Cycle Assessment).  Syftet med denna studie har varit att ge en ökad förståelse för hur LCC och LCA kan användas för att förbättra den ekonomiska och miljömässiga hållbarheten inom produktioner. Målet med studien har varit att identifiera svagheter och förbättringspotential inom produktionsprocesser för att stärka hållbarheten. Det har även funnits ett syfte att skapa en mall med syfte att främja andra företag att identifiera vilka faktorer som behöver förbättras. Data har samlats in genom strukturerade intervjuer och annan dokumentation från det studerade fallföretaget. Resultat och slutsats presenterar att företagets produktion är ekonomiskt och miljömässigt hållbart men att förbättringspotential finns. De förbättringsförslag som författarna kom fram till var följande: - Reducera kostnader genom att förbättra flödet - Minska transportsträckan genom lokala leverantörer - Välja miljövänligare transport

Digital presentation som följd av Covid-19.

I Sverige står bostadssektorn för mer än en tredjedel av landets energianvändning. Byggnader måste minska sin energianvändning för att således kunna uppfylla framtida lagkrav om maximal tillåten energianvändning, men också för att minska påverkan till global uppvärmning. Ytterligare en problematik som råder, däribland i Sverige, är bostadsbrist. Kommunala bostadsbolag står inför utmaningen att kunna bygga bostäder snabbt, billigt och miljövänligt för att minska bostadsbristen i landet. Ett sätt att studera två av tre hållbarhetsaspekter vid val av framtida bostadsbyggande är att utföra en livscykelanalys (LCA) och livscykelkostnadsanalys (LCC) kring de tilltänkta husen. LCA:er indikerar vilken miljöpåverkan en produkt förorsakar under dess livslängd. LCC:er avser att studera vilka kostnader produkter ger upphov till under en given analysperiod. Det svenska kommunala bostadsbolaget Stångåstaden AB står inför utmaningen kring bostadsbrist och vill bygga hållbara bostäder. Bostadsbolaget har önskat en jämförande LCA och LCC av två verkliga flerbostadshus som de genom ramavtal kan upphandla, detta är utgångspunkten för denna studie. Den ena byggnaden har stomme av betong, den andra har stomme av trä. Husen är tänkta att placeras i utkanten av Linköping, Sverige. Studien har valt att analysera miljöpåverkan från husens olika livscykelfaser samt kostnader över analysperioden 50 år. Utöver detta studeras även vilka energieffektiviseringsåtgärder (EEÅ) till byggnaderna som är optimala att genomföra för att öka den termiska prestandan hos huskonstruktionerna. Från litteraturen finns det relativt få studier som kombinerar både LCA och LCC för vanligt förekommande hustyper i städer. I dess standardfall påvisade resultatet från LCA:n att huset med betongkonstruktion hade något lägre påverkan i sex av sju studerade miljöpåverkanskategorier, jämfört med flerbostadshuset i trä. Resultatet skilde sig lite åt då annan typ av indata användes. Vad gäller kostnader under husens livslängd var huset i trä ungefär 20 % dyrare jämfört med huset med betongkonstruktion. Trots annan typ av indata var träkonstruktionen dyrare än betongkonstruktionen. Med en kalkylränta på 7,5 % var det inte lönsamt att genomföra EEÅ för husen, med halverad kalkylränta blev det dock lönsamt att tilläggsisolera krypgrunden i huset med trästomme. Fler studier behöver utföras för att generalla slutsatser ska kunna dras kring vilket konstruktionsmaterial som är mest hållbart. Denna studie baseras på två specifika fall. Samma resultat kan eventuellt inte förväntas för andra byggnader med stomme i betong och trä.
The residential sector accounts for more than a third of the energy use in Sweden. To reduce the energy use of buildings is a necessity in order to meet future regulationof maximum allowable energy, but also important to reduce the impact on global warming. Another complexity arising in Sweden is the shortage of accommodation. Municipal housing corporations face the challenge of constructing residences fast, cheap and with concern of environmental effects in order to reduce the shortage of accommodation. One way of assessing two of the three aspects of sustainability when looking at future construction of residential buildings is to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA). An LCA can indicate what kind of environmental impact a product causes over its lifetime and the LCC allows for assessing what types of costs are associated with the product. For the municipal housing corporation Stångåstaden AB the shortage of accommodation is a reality and their mindset is sustainable construction of residences. This study was conducted upon request from Stångåstaden who wanted a comparative LCA and LCCA between two prefabricated multi-residential buildings that are available to them through a framework agreement. The first building has a concrete foundation and the second one is made of wood. The houses are planned to be placed at the outskirts of Linköping, Sweden. The focus of this study has been to comparatively assess the environmental impact from the different life cycle phases and the economic costs of the two buildings during a time period of 50 years. Moreover, the thesis also analyze the optimal retrofit strategy for the buildings in order to find the optimal (lowest) life cycle cost. Furthermore, the current literature has conveyed relatively few studies that combine both LCA and LCC methodology for house types that are common in most towns. The result from the LCA indicated that the house with concrete construction had a little less impact in six of the seven studied environmental impact categories compared to the house made of wood. The result differed slightly when the input data were changed. Regarding the LCCA the house made of wood was roughly 20 % more expensive than its concrete counterpart. Changing the input data revealed no difference in the result. With an interest rate of 7,5 % no retrofits were profitable for either building, however reducing the interest rate to half its original value made it cost optimal to increase the floor insulation for the house made of wood. More studies should be conducted to be able to draw general conclusions regarding which construction material that is the most sustainable. This thesis is based on two specific and real cases. The same result could possibly not be expected from other studies comparing buildings with concrete and wood construction.

There is growing interest in the assessment of products from a life cycle perspective. Product life cycles are often dominated by extensive chemical supply chains that lead up to the materials contained in the products and the overwhelming contribution that the production of these chemicals make to the overall life cycle due to their energy intensity. Hence, chemical engineers are uniquely positioned to carry out significant components of this assessment because of their skills in chemical process design and analysis. Furthermore, the complexity and extent of life cycle concerns creates opportunities for new process systems tools to be developed to support product design and analysis. The specific thesis objectives are threefold. The first is to develop a systematic methodology to optimize material selections for a product based on life cycle inventory (LCI) characteristics. The second is to use this methodology combined with sustainability assessment standards to assess whether these standards are congruent with life cycle assessment. The third is to develop an approach to design product sustainability assessment standards that are clear and consistent with life cycle principles. The overall contributions will be in the applied domain of life cycle assessment and its integration into standards setting, and in contributions to optimization tools and methods. The three objectives will be illustrated in the domain of carpet systems. Previous research has generated a substantial database of gate-to-gate (GTG) life cycle inventories for various chemicals that make up carpet, extending from the inputs to the final carpet mill back to the natural resources such as oil, natural gas and mined calcium carbonate. Carpet recycling is a promising alternative approach for reducing life cycle impacts and is being practiced at a growing scale in the U.S. This thesis uses the specific individual LCI gate-to-gate blocks for virgin materials and for important carpet recycling and general polymer recycling processes. A database for the GTG LCI will be used to construct a virtual chemical tree that automatically that represents the potential cradle-to-gate (CTG) use of resources. The alternatives for each possible route for the product will be generated, and optimization approaches will be applied to optimize the performance of the carpet system according to life cycle objectives. Sustainability assessment standards are currently being developed for a range of building products, such as carpet, resilient flooring, commercial textile coverings and office furniture. This activity has been stimulated through the considerable success of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED standard. The LEED Standard is points-based: the building design and construction earns points for having certain attributes or promoting certain activities. The points are totaled and then the building earns a rating based on the total being above a certain threshold. The second thesis objective is met through extending the LCI optimization methodology to represent point-based standards. A product can then be optimized to maximize the number of points it earns or to minimize its life cycle attributes. This approach can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an emerging carpet sustainability standard, NSF-140, in integrating LCI into the standard. The last objective, standard design, is approached through designing the tables that award points in the standard to be consistent with life cycle information. Certain minimum principles of consistency are articulated and then the designs shown to be consistent with these principles in the case that the life cycle impact assessment method maps the life cycle inventory to impact through a linear weighting.

Le sperimentazioni riguardanti la produzione di biodiesel da alghe sono state condotte solo in laboratorio o in impianti pilota e il processo produttivo non è ancora stato sviluppato su scala industriale. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro di tesi è stato quello di valutare la potenziale sostenibilità ambientale ed energetica della produzione industriale di biodiesel da microalghe nella realtà danese ipotizzando la coltivazione in fotobioreattori. La tesi ha analizzato le diverse tecnologie attualmente in sperimentazione cercando di metterne in evidenza punti di forza e punti di debolezza. La metodologia applicata in questa tesi per valutare la sostenibilità ambientale ed energetica dei processi analizzati è LCA strumento che permette di effettuare la valutazione sull’intero ciclo di vita di un prodotto o di un processo. L’unità funzionale scelta è 1 MJ di biodiesel. I confini del sistema analizzato comprendono: coltivazione, raccolta, essicazione, estrazione dell’olio, transesterificazione, digestione anaerobica della biomassa residuale e uso del glicerolo ottenuto come sottoprodotto della transesterificazione. Diverse categorie d’impatto sono state analizzate. In questo caso studio, sono stati ipotizzati 24 diversi scenari differenziati in base alle modalità di coltivazione, di raccolta della biomassa, di estrazione dell’olio algale. 1. la produzione di biodiesel da microalghe coltivate in fotobioreattori non appare ancora conveniente né dal punto di vista energetico né da quello ambientale. 2. l’uso di CO2 di scarto e di acque reflue per la coltivazione, fra l’altro non ancora tecnicamente realizzabili, migliorerebbero le prestazioni energetiche ed ambientali del biodiesel da microalghe 3. la valorizzazione di prodotti secondari svolge un ruolo importante nel processo e nel suo sviluppo su larga scala Si conclude ricordando che il progetto di tesi è stato svolto in collaborazione con la Danish Technical University of Denmark (DTU) svolgendo presso tale università un periodo di tirocinio per tesi di sei mesi

Sustainability is now a key concept in the infrastructure sector, and an increasing number of projects are being developed with this view. For this reason, sustainability in the construction must be pursued by analyzing the multiple impacts on economic, social and environmental levels during all processes of the life cycle of the infrastructure. It is necessary, therefore, that the decision-making process at the basis of the project design is informed by data on impacts determined by the choices that are made. This thesis work promotes the use of life cycle assessment data in the design phase of railways infrastructures, being part of the BIM for Rail-LCA project with the aim of defining a methodological framework for the assessment of the environmental footprint of railway infrastructures and developing specific inventories and datasets. The methodological framework identified is compliance with the ISO 14040-44 and to the EN 15804. Furthermore, the PCR Railways 2013, the PEF methodology and the PEFCR Guidance are identified as additional references to further specify some methodological aspects. The development of the inventories was carried out in accordance with the defined framework. For the development of the datasets, the ILCD format is used, considering the ILCD Entry level requirements as a reference for data quality. The development of the inventories and datasets was made possible by means of a data collection carried out with an analysis of the scientific literature and with a series of meetings held with the designers of the Italferr company. Using this information and data, it was possible to develop 8 different inventories and related LCIA, and 3 specific datasets for the trench, embankment and track structures. The data collection activities allowed a good level of information to be revealed and, also, several gaps were identified, which deserve further activities in terms of data and information collection and development.

The increasing role of sustainability will lead the mobility by road into a more efficient and interactive system between infrastructure, environment and vehicles. The expand of emobility based on Electric Vehicles has been restricted by numerous shortcomings such as their driving range, the battery size, the dependence on charging stations and the time required for its charging. One of the solutions to overcome these limitations is can be the construction of electrified roads. The study compares the most significant opportunities for eRoads as the solutions ofInductive Power Transfer (IPT), conductive track and pantograph in climate change aspect.This thesis is also intended to describe these systems, as they represent different ways for reach electrification of ordinary roads. IPT is a contactless solution which uses the well-known electromagnetic induction principle. Pantograph and conductive track are both conductive solutions. In the first case, it is an overhead solution and for the track, the energy is transferred to the vehicles from a continuous rail embedded in the pavement. The aim of the study is to develop an open and transparent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)framework for electrified roads that could be used for decision support. The main objective is to build a cradle-to-grave LCA model in SimaPro for an electrified highway asphalt road in Sweden.
A fenntarthatóság, fenntartható fejlődés világszerte egyre fontosabb szerephez jut,elősegítve ezáltal azt, hogy hagyományos útburkolatok helyett hatékonyabb, interaktív rendszerek kerüljenek kiépítésre. Ezek az „okos” utak összekapcsolják az infrastruktúrát, akörnyezetet és az embert, mint járművezetőt. Jelenleg, a már hagyományosnak mondható e-közlekedésnek – mely az elektromos autók használatán alapul – számos hátrányafigyelhető meg. Többek között a korlátozott vezetési távolság és akkumulátor méret,valamint a töltési lehetőségektől és töltésidőtől való függés. Ezek leküzdésének egyik módja lehet a villamosított utak építése és elterjedése. A tanulmány célja egy nyílt, átlátható és könnyen kezelhető életciklus-elemzés (LCA) keretrendszer kiépítése a villamosított utak számára, mint döntéstámogató rendszer ajövőbeli beruházásokhoz. Ez egy svédországi villamosított autópálya, SimaPro programbanlétesített életciklus-elemzés modell építésével kerül bemutatásra. A dolgozat a három legjelentősebb típusú rendszereket hasonlítja össze a klímaváltozást befolyásoló hatások tekintetében. Ezek az indukció elvén alapuló IPT, a vezető pálya és a pantográf megoldások. A tanulmány szintén hivatott bemutatni a rendszereket, minthogyezek merőben különböző elveken alapuló megoldásokkal érik el a hagyományos utakvillamosítását. Míg elektro-mágneses töltés elvén alapuló rendszer a kontakt nélküli megoldások közé tartozik, addig a másik két rendszer álladó fizikai kapcsolatot igényel a jármű és a töltési rendszer elemei között.

An ambitious and novel approach to engineering design and sustainability has been taken to explore the potential of drawing parallels between mechanical and biological systems for the possible development of sustainable engineering design metrics using a thermodynamic model. This approach looks to biology. Natural selection has given biological beings and processes high exergetic efficiencies, even while being only 30-40% energy efficient on the cell level. This energy inefficiency, resulting in a release of heat, can then be used to aid in driving other biochemical processes. The Gibbs free energy becomes more negative proportionally with an increase in temperature, resulting in a more favorable reaction. This effective use of waste heat from cell processes actually results in an increase in overall efficiency of an organism, around 50-60%. As in all systems the boundary defines the analysis. An exergy analysis was conducted on a residential dishwashing machine in several boundary configurations in order to develop an appropriate model. Exergy serves as a tool for identifying and quantifying losses in the system so that future works can be aimed at reducing irreversibilities. This model was then compared to data previously available regarding exergy within various processes of a biological cell. In future work, it is this comparison, which can be used to develop metrics for use early in the design stage to more efficiently use available and sustainable resources. There is a large difference between the two systems, with the dishwasher only having an effectiveness of 1.3%.

Biocomposites have gained increasing attention in recent years. The environmental impacts of common plastics have led researchers and industrials to develop alternatives to fully petro-sourced materials (Beigbeder et al., 2019). This paper presents the results obtained from the life cycle assessments conducted for polystyrene (PS) and biocomposite DuraSense® Pure S40 Impact D (DS40). The aim is for DS40 to serve as a more environmentally friendly option to fossil-based plastic in the manufacturing and recycling of hangers. By replacing 40% of the fossil-based PS with wood fibers, DS40 gains an advantage with regard to its environmental impact. Exercising an LCA on a product offers the opportunity to analyze its environmental impacts and sustainability performance based on a cradle to grave perspective. Thus, to determine which factors that could create an adverse effect in the multiple lifecycles of hangers when recycled, four potential environmental factors were used for modelling several scenarios: loss in quality, end-of-life, travel distance, and packaging. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) - kg CO2 equivalent/functional unit was calculated using the GaBi Envision LCA software for each scenario, which subsequently were compared between PS and DS40. After the modelling of multiple scenarios, this study concludes that a hanger recycling system can be a viable activity due to the improved environmental sustainability. However, to remain as the alternative with the lowest GWP, it is necessary to keep what could be detrimental throughout the lives of the hangers made with DS40 to remain out of the loop. Preventing that the incorrect EoL is chosen, abstaining from the use of PE film as packaging, creating products with competent mechanical properties to have good longevity, and reducing the wasted material in each conversion step, make altogether the replacement of PS with DS40 in the production of hangers a less polluting alternative. The result showed that except for travel distance, all other factors considered have the potential to affect the GWP account, and with this, showing that there is more to consider than just the raw materials needed in the manufacturing of goods.

Research has demonstrated that mining activities can cause serious impacts on the environment, as well as the surrounding communities, mainly due to the unsafe storage of mine tailings. This research focuses on the sustainability assessment of new technologies for the recovery of metals from mine residues. The assessment consists in the evaluation of the environmental, economic, and social impacts through the Life Cycle based methods: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA). The analyses are performed on the Mondo Minerals bioleaching project, which aim is to recover nickel and cobalt from the Sotkamo and Vuonos mine tailings. The LCA demonstrates that the project contributes to the avoided production of nickel and cobalt concentrates from new resources, hence reducing several environmental impacts. The LCC analysis shows that the company’s main costs are linked to the bioleaching process, caused by electricity consumption and the chemicals used. The SLCA analyses the impacts on three main stakeholder categories: workers, local community, and society. The results demonstrated that a fair salary (or the absence of it) impacts the workers the most, while the local community stakeholder category impacts are related to the access to material resources. The health and safety category is the most impacted category for the society stakeholder. The environmental and economic analyses demonstrate that the recovery of mine tailings may represents a good opportunity for mine companies both to reduce the environmental impacts linked to mine tailings and to increase the profitability. In particular, the project helps reduce the amounts of metals extracted from new resources and demonstrates that the use of the bioleaching technology for the extraction of metals can be economically profitable.

Durante los últimos años, la investigación y el desarrollo de tecnologías para la reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) en nuestro planeta ha incrementado. Varias soluciones se han propuesto, incluyendo la captura y secuestro de carbono (CCS en inglés). La aplicación de CCS se ha focalizado en las tecnologías de producción de energía a gran escala que utilizan combustibles fósiles. Recientemente, se ha trabajado en el uso de CCS en tecnologías de enriquecimiento de biogás. Esta práctica consiste en la eliminación del CO2 del biogás emitido por digestores anaeróbicos y vertederos con el fin de incrementar la concentración de CH4 en el biogás, generando así un potencial sustituto de gas natural. Dos innovadoras tecnologías en desarrollo almacén además el CO2 eliminado en una forma sólida, a través de un proceso llamado mineralización de carbono. Este proceso utiliza óxido cálcico de los residuos industriales para fijar el CO2 en forma de carbonato cálcico. Idealmente estas tecnologías innovadoras de enriquecimiento deberían mostrar mayores beneficios ambientales en comparación con las tecnologías convencionales ya que almacenan inmediatamente el CO2. La primera tecnología analizada es la regeneración de alcalino (AwR) que consiste en el uso de una solución alcalina para eliminar el CO2 y que es regenerada mediante su exposición a un residuo industrial rico en CaO. La segunda tecnología es enriquecimiento de biogás con cenizas (BABIU), basada en la interacción directa del biogás con las cenizas resultantes de incineradores de residuos municipales. Esta tesis pretende determinar si estas tecnologías innovadoras muestran beneficios ambientales respecto a las tecnologías convencionales de enriquecimiento de biogás, mediante la aplicación de herramientas de la ecología industrial. El análisis de ciclo de vida, el análisis de flujos materiales y el análisis de exergía son aplicadas para el análisis ambiental y de recursos. Asimismo, la viabilidad a largo plazo de las tecnologías es examinada desde el punto de vista económico y material. En general, los resultados indican que las tecnologías innovadoras no muestran un perfil ambiental notablemente mejor que las convencionales, especialmente para AwR donde el uso de la solución alcalina da lugar a un elevado impacto ambiental. Aún así, ambas tecnologías consiguen un significante ahorro de CO2 respecto a las tecnologías convencionales. Asimismo, dado que las dos tecnologías analizadas se encuentran en un período de prueba piloto, se identifican las potenciales mejoras para optimizar el perfil ambiental y económico, como incrementar la eficiencia de la regeneración de la solución alcalina en la tecnología AwR. El análisis económico realizado para AwR resaltó que reducir sus costes operacionales incrementaría la oportunidad de su implementación como negocio. Los resultados pueden ser usados tanto por promotores de estas innovadoras tecnologías para mejorar su viabilidad económica y ambiental a largo plazo, como por promotores y fabricantes de tecnologías similares, como aplicaciones de CCS o enriquecimiento de biogás.
Our world has been increasingly looking for solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of our planet. Various solutions have been proposed, including carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Focus for application of CCS has normally centered on large scale energy production that burns fossil fuel. Recently, developers have been working on applying CCS to biogas upgrading technology. This entails removing CO2 from biogas emitted from anaerobic digestors and landfills while also increasing the CH4 concentration to render the biogas suitable as natural gas substitute. Two novel technologies under review also stores the removed CO2 in a solid form, through a process called carbon mineralization. This process uses calcium oxides found in industrial waste to fix CO2 by forming calcium carbonate. Ideally these novel upgrading technologies should have more environmental benefit over conventional ones based on the fact that they immediately store CO2, while conventional ones do not. The first technology is called alkaline with regeneration (AwR) and consists of using an alkaline solution to strip the CO2. The alkaline solution is then regenerated by exposing it to a waste rich in CaO. The second is called bottom ash for biogas upgrading (BABIU) which relies on a direct gas-solid phase interaction with bottom ash from municipal solid waste incinerators. This thesis examines whether or not these two novel technologies have an environmental benefit over conventional upgrading technologies, based on industrial ecology tools. Life cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and exergy analysis were applied for the environmental and resource assessments. The thesis also examines the long term feasibility of applying these technologies, both from a material and economic point of view. Overall it was determined that the novel technologies generally do not have a better environmental performance over conventional technologies, especially AwR which was found to have a higher impact due to the use of the alkaline solution. Despite this, both novel technologies had significant CO2 savings over conventional technologies. As well since both novel processes are in the pilot plant stage it is possible to pinpoint what can be improved in order to increase the all around environmental benefit, for example by increasing the regeneration rate of the alkaline solution in AwR. The economic assessment was conducted on AwR and it was found that improving its operational costs would help create a business case for potential application. The results not only help the developers of the novel technologies to improve their long term environmental and economic viability but also can be used by developers and manufactures of similar technologies, such as other biogas upgrading or CCS technologies.