Life cycle assessment (LCA) is internationally accepted as a core topic in the field of environmental management in various industries for obtaining a complete picture of the environmental impacts of products or processes. In contrast to other types of environmental management tools or sustainability assessment methods, LCA methodologies take a holistic approach to include all relevant processes starting from the extraction of natural resources to various manufacturing stages that lead to the final product. Following an evidence-approach, LCA is underpinned by quantitative methodologies to study real-world problems and uncover "hidden" impacts beyond the conventional boundary of a single-stage manufacturing system, to develop sustainable strategies that consider regional or global production chains. This book offers multi-disciplinary perspectives of new LCA developments and applications, spanning from data variability to ecosystem services, plus the evaluation of the net greenhouse gas from Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) methods and waste management. Perspectives of green chemistry principles via LCA, combined with life cycle atom economy approaches are explored. Industrial symbiosis concepts, LCA as an Entrepreneurial Tool for Business Management and Green Innovations, and blockchain-enabled LCA are also presented.
Author(s): Hsien Hui Khoo, Reginald B. H. Tan
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 317
City: Singapore
Contents
Preface
About the Editors
Chapter 1 Life Cycle Assessment Methodology: Ongoing Developments and Outlook
1. Introduction
2. Life Cycle Assessment Framework: A Revisit to ISO 14040 Series
2.1. Goal and scope definition phase
2.1.1. System boundary settings
2.2. Inventory analysis phase
2.2.1. Data quality requirements
2.3. Life cycle impact assessment phase
2.4. Results interpretation phase
3. Emerging Life Cycle Assessment Applications
3.1. CO2 reduction technologies
3.2. Greening of chemical and pharmaceutical industries
3.3. Other areas of development
4. Outlook: Future-Oriented Life Cycle Assessment Concepts
4.1. Risk assessment and life cycle assessment
4.2. Dynamic life cycle assessment
4.3. Blockchain-enabled life cycle assessment
5. Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 2 Life Cycle Inventory Data Variability: Case of Tetrahydrofuran Manufacture
1. Background: Life Cycle Assessment Data Requirements
2. Case Study: Life Cycle Assessment of Tetrahydrofuran Manufacture
2.1. Life cycle assessment system boundary
2.2. Life cycle inventory data
2.2.1. Steps 1−3: example for route (i) Reppe
2.2.2. Energy estimations and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions
3. Results and Discussion
4. Concluding Remarks: Data Sources and Uncertainties
References
Chapter 3 Feasibility of CO2 Capture and Utilization: From the LCA Perspective
1. Introduction
1.1. CO2 conversion processes
2. Life Cycle Assessment Approach
2.1. Life cycle assessment goal and scope: preliminary assessment of CO2RR
2.1.1. Small-scale setup: 1 kg ethylene output
2.1.2. Large-scale model: 1,000-ton ethylene output
3. Results and Discussion
4. Further Discussion: Life Cycle Assessment Modeling for CCU Applications
5. Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4 Life Cycle Assessment Strategies for Carbon Capture and Utilization Processes
1. Background
2. Carbon Capture and Utilization System
2.1. CO2 capture technologies
2.2. CO2 utilization opportunities
2.2.1. Direct utilization of CO2
2.2.2. Enhanced oil recovery
2.2.3. CO2 to value-added products (chemicals and fuels)
2.2.4. CO2 to minerals
3. Life Cycle Assessment for Carbon Capture Utilization Systems: Case Study Examples
3.1. System boundary concepts for Carbon Capture Utilization
3.1.1. Comparison of polymers from CO2 vs. petrochemical polymers
3.1.2. Inclusion of co-products in life cycle assessment of carbon capture utilization
3.1.3. Comparison of global warming potential impacts of CO2-based and fossil-based methanol
3.2. Data-related issues for life cycle assessment of carbon capture utilization
3.3. Insights obtained from life cycle assessment results
3.4. Unconventional aspects in the assessment of environmental impacts
3.4.1. Time-dependent global warming impacts
3.4.2. Indirect effects in life cycle assessment
4. Life Cycle Assessment for Carbon Capture Utilization Systems: Sample Results
4.1. Life cycle assessment of CO2 capture processes
4.2. Life cycle assessment of CO2-based polyol production process
4.3. Comparative life cycle assessment results for various CO2 utilization pathways
5. Conclusion and Future Perspectives
References
Chapter 5 Green Principles in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Manufacturing as Seen through the Lens of Life Cycle Assessment
1. Introduction
1.1. Case study example: clopidogrel’s API manufacture
2. Green Chemistry Principle Applications
2.1. Principle 2: Atom economy evaluation of dimethyl sulfate production
2.2. Principles 3/12: less hazardous synthesis of sodium cyanide/accident prevention by use of safer chemicals
2.3. Principle 5: Use of benign solvent
2.4. Principle 7: Use of renewable feedstocks
3. Results and Discussion
4. Concluding Remarks and Suggestions
References
Chapter 6 Life Cycle-Atom Economy and Life Cycle Assessment as a Hybrid Sustainability Assessment Tool
1. Introduction
2. AE and LC-AE Methodology
3. Tetrahydrofuran
3.1. Production Route 1: Reppe process
3.2. Production Route 2: Butadiene acetoxylation process
4. Methyltetrahydrofuran
4.1. Production Route 3: Synthesis from furfural
4.2. Production Route 4: Cyclization and hydrogenation of levulinic acid
5. N,N-Dimethylformamide
5.1. Production Route 5: Direct carbonylation of dimethylamine with cata
5.2. Production Route 6: Two-step process involving carbonylation of methanol to methyl formate
6. Dimethyl Sulfoxide
6.1. Production Route 7: Oxidation of dimethyl sulfide
7. Results and Discussion
7.1. AE and LC-AE summarized results
7.2. Life Cycle Assessment
8. Conclusion
References
Chapter 7 Gate-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Solid Waste Conversion of Black Aluminum Dross to γ-Alumina as Catalyst Support for Biofuel Production
1. Introduction
2. Case Study
2.1. Process descriptions
2.1.1. Water washing
2.1.2. Leaching process
2.1.3. Precipitation and post-treatment
2.1.4. Calcination process
3. Life Cycle Assessment
3.1. Goal and scope of the study
3.2. Life cycle inventory
3.3. Life cycle impact assessment
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Interpretation of life cycle assessment results
4.2. Sensitivity analysis
4.2.1. Acid leaching efficiency
4.2.2. Electricity (natural gas) source replacement
4.3. Further discussions: Limitations and assumptions of the life cycle assessment model
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 8 Environmental and Cost Assessment of Spent Methanol via Life Cycle Assessment
1. Introduction
1.1. Solvent recovery
1.2. Solvent-to-energy (steam co-generation)
1.3. External disposal via incineration (without energy recovery)
2. LCA System
3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Sensitivity analysis
3.1.1. Cost of methanol
3.1.2. Cost of utility (Steam)
3.1.3. Disposal fee
4. Further Discussions
5. Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 9 Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Methodology
1. Introduction
2. Life Cycle Costing: Fundamental Assumptions
3. Environmental Costs: Fundamental Assumptions
4. Environmental Life Cycle Costing: Implementation of Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Combined
5. Conclusion
References
Chapter 10 Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Leap Forward in Sustainable Strategy with Blockchain-Enabled LCA
1. Introduction
2. Background and Related Work
2.1. Sustainability and sustainable development
2.2. Strategizing sustainability with blockchain technology
2.3. Life cycle assessment
2.4. Blockchain technology
3. Blockchain-Enabled LCA for Sustainability Strategy and SDGs
4. Conclusion and Future Research
References
Chapter 11 Life Cycle Assessment Used for Assisting Decision-Making Toward Sustainable Businesses
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Influences of Life Cycle Assessment on Key Business Aspects Contributing to More Sustainable Businesses
3.1. Research and development and innovation
3.2. Product development
3.3. Operations management
3.4. Economy
3.5. Marketing and environmental labeling
3.6. Corporate social responsibility
3.7. Strategic planning
3.8. Reverse logistics
3.9. Supply chain management
3.10. Legislation and policy
4. Challenges, Opportunities, and Managerial Implications
5. Concluding Remarks
Acknowledgments
References
Chapter 12 Intertwining Ecosystem Services with Life Cycle Assessment: Recommendation for Paradigm Shift
1. Introduction
2. State of the Art
3. Deepening into the ES-LCA Modeling Paradigm
4. Nature-Based Solutions for Intertwining LCA and ES
5. Use of Life Cycle Thinking in Urban Ecosystem Services Assessments for Remote Impacts on Demand
6. Conclusion and Outlook
References
Chapter 13 Advancements in Methods for Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Symbiosis
1. Introduction
2. Characteristics of Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Symbiosis
3. Timeline of Methodological Advancements in Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Symbiosis Networks
3.1. Models and computational methods
3.2. Allocation methods
4. Conclusion
References
Chapter 14 An Integrated Techno-Sustainability Assessment: Methodological Guidelines
1. Introduction
2. Assessment’s Goal and Scope
3. Indicator Selection
4. Sustainability Analysis
4.1. Process flows and mass and energy balance
4.2. Indicator measurements
4.2.1. Environmental assessment
4.2.2. Economic assessment
4.2.3. Social assessment
5. Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis
6. Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
6.1. Multi-criteria decision-making
6.2. Accounting for time-varying impacts
7. Conclusion
References
Chapter 15 LCA Applications for Materials Recovery from Waste-to-Energy Technologies: Concepts from the Three Pillars of Sustainability
1. Introduction
1.1. International considerations of waste and residues
1.2. General waste-to-energy facility operations
1.3. Value recovery from waste-to-energy systems
2. Examples of Waste-to-Energy Case Studies
3. Emerging Developments in Life Cycle Assessment of Waste-to-Energy Systems
3.1. Stakeholder and social impacts
3.1.1. Advances in quantifying social impacts
3.1.2. Equity, justice, and stakeholder voice
3.1.3. Avoided impacts from replacement technologies
3.2. Uncertainties/opportunities for model improvement
3.3. Advancements in waste-to-energy and life cycle assessment tools
4. Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 16 A Life Cycle Approach for Assessing the Impacts of Land-Use Systems on the Economy and Environment: Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity
1. Introduction
2. Sustainability of Land Use: A Systems Approach
3. Consequential Life Cycle Framework and Methodology for the Integrated Economic and Environmental Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land-Use Systems
4. Integrated Assessment of Land-Use Strategies in the UK
4.1. Strategies for current cropland
4.1.1. Land-use strategy A: Diversion
4.1.2. Land-use strategy B: Extensification
4.1.3. Land-use strategy C: Intensification
4.2. Strategies for land expansion onto set-aside and permanent grassland
5. Discussion and Conclusion
References
Index
