terminology iso international organization for standardization establish and provide standards...

Terminology

ISO International Organization for Standardization http://www.iso.org Establish and provide Standards for products and services Quality, safety, reliability etc Standards make an enormous and positive contribution

CEE8207 Summer2013 L#8 1

http://www.iso.org/

System Interaction

2CEE8207 Summer2013 L#8

Today’s Topic – Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Overall Review

Definition & History Need of LCA LCA Process Advantages/Disadvantages

LCA & Transportation Application Example


LCA Definition Remember that …

A life cycle of a product (a.k.a. “cradle to grave”) begins with raw materials production and extends to manufacture, use, transport, and disposition

Life Cycle Assessment A concept and methodology to evaluate the .

effects of a product or activity holistically, by analyzing the whole of a particular product, process, or activ-ity (U.S. EPA, 1993)

studies analyze the . throughout a product's life cycle (e.g., cradle-to-grave) from raw material acquisition through production, use and disposal (ISO)


LCA Definition LCA is “a technique for assessing the environmental

aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or system by”: Setting goals and scope of study Compiling an of inputs / outputs Evaluating potential impacts of those of the inventory and impact assessment in

context of study objectives Suggesting for future benefit

→ LCA process


LCA … LCA is not a cure-all for our environmental

problems LCA is a way of structuring/organizing the relevant

parts of the life cycle LCA is a tool to track performance

& . General categories of Env. Impact

Resource Use Human Health Ecological consequences


Raw MaterialAcquisition

Ma terialProcessing

Manufacture& Assembly

Use &Service

Re tirement& Recovery

TreatmentDisposal

open-loop recycle

reuse

remanufacture

closed-loop recycle

M, E

W W W W W

M, E M, E M, E M, EM, E

W

M, E = Material and Energy inputs to process and distributionW = Waste (gas, liquid, or solid) output from product, process, or distribution

Material flow of product component


History of LCA Initial LCA work was focused on energy 1969 - first multi-criteria study for Coca-Cola

Choice between glass vs plastic for container Choice between internal vs external container production End of life options (recycling or one-way) Result: plastic bottle was best, contrary to expectations. Study was never published, questions of validity Led to calls by scientific community for a standardization

process 1997-2000

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040 doc. First international LCA ‘standard’


Standards

Why do we need standards? Help ensure .

accurate data, clear process and assumptions etc

Continuously methodology Ensure that is completed in a certain way


ISO standards: make the development, manufacturing and supply of products

and services . facilitate trade between countries and make it fairer provide governments with a technical base for ,

. . and conform-ity assessment

share technological advances and good management practice disseminate . safeguard consumers, and users in general, of products and

services make life simpler by providing to common problems


Standards

So for the product → ISO But what about Transportation?

Guidelines Policy Strategy Etc…


Today’s Topic – Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Overall Review Definition & History Need of LCA LCA Process Advantages/Disadvantages



Green Engineering Industry is looking for ways

to green their products and manufacturing processes.

Individuals and Families are looking to green their homes and lifestyles.

How can you tell if something really is green??

What is currently happening to achieve this goal?

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

www.scienceinthebox.com


Why LCA? In “meeting needs of present without compromising our ability

to meet future needs” → obstacles Corporate and social pressures Governmental/regulatory barriers Uncertain objectives/goals Lack of tools to measure our progress

Sometimes our intuitions not a sufficient framework for analysis Product or project development and improvement Strategic planning Public policy making Marketing and eco-declarations


Sustainability & LCA What is sustainability?

Environmental Aspects Economic Aspects Social Aspects

Sustainable Assessment = LCA + Life Cycle Costing + Social LCA = LCA + LCC + SLCA

The LCA output is eco-profile Compiled measurements of environmental issues’ indicators

Climate change Water resources etc


Life Cycle Cost(ing)

Economic assessment of all money flows that are caused by the existence of the product (Fabrycky & Mize 1991)

A tool for evaluating the overall long-term economic efficiency of a system, product, or service

Methodologies → Yes Standards → No


SLCA Impacts connected with the conduct of the companies

performing process/manufacturing products (Dreyer 2006) A tool for the inclusion these social aspects into the Env.

LCA Limitations

Perception of social problems is variable Disagreement about how to measure the social

impacts (quantitative and/or qualitative)


Phases of an LCA

Direct applications:

• Product development and improvement

• Strategic planning• Public policy making• Marketing• Other

Goal and ScopeDefinition

InventoryAnalysis

ImpactAssessment

Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework


Phases of an LCA





InventoryAnalysis

ImpactAssessment

Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment FrameworkDefine •Purpose•Audience•Scope•metrics


Step I – Goal Def. and Scoping

Defines the evaluation basis What are we trying to accomplish and why?

Purpose

What is to be included and excluded? Scope and boundary

Method of including LCA results into the decision-making process

For who?


Step I – Goal Def. and Scoping

What is the function & functional unit? Where are the boundaries? What data do you need? What assumptions are you making? Are there any limitations?


Life-cycle – identify the boundaries


Source: http://www.stanford.edu/~mlepechCEE8207 Summer2013 L#8 27

Source: http://www.stanford.edu/~mlepechCEE8207 Summer2013 L#8 28

Phases of an LCA





InventoryAnalysis

ImpactAssessment

Interpretation


Identify System •Input•Output•relationship


Step II – Life Cycle Inventory

of all life-cycle processes have to be determined in terms of material and energy

a classifying the events in a product’s life-cycle which are to be considered in the LCA, plus their interrelations

start collecting the relevant data for each event: the emissions from each process and the resources (back to raw materials) used.

Establish (correct) material and energy balance(s) for each process stage and event.


Step II – Life Cycle Inventory (cont’)



The inventory phase usually takes a great deal of time and effort and mistakes are easily made.

There exists published data on impacts of different materials such as plastics, aluminum, steel, paper, etc. However, the data is often inconsistent and not directly

applicable due to different goals and scope. It is expected that both the quantity and quality of data

will improve in the future.



Time-sensitive Geographical Technology Representativeness Consistency Reproducibility

Never Forget . . . . . . .

Precision:The consistent reproducibility

of a measurement

Completeness:Covers all the areas outlined

in the scope

Source: http://www.stanford.edu/~mlepech

Data Collection


Phases of an LCA





InventoryAnalysis

ImpactAssessment

Interpretation


Characterize•Resource Depletion•Human Health•Ecosystem Impacts


Step III – Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCI)

Evaluation of and environmental impacts of the environmental resources and releases iden-tified during LCI

Should address Ecological and human health effects Resource depletion

The impact assessment focuses on characterizing the . . .of environmental impact more specifi-cally

different ways to assess and weigh the environmental effects Research area


Phases of an LCA





InventoryAnalysis

ImpactAssessment

Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment FrameworkIdentify areas of Improvement and Inform decision making regarding:

• Materials Selection• Design • Policy• Strategy• etc


Step IV – Life Cycle Interpretation

Systematic technique to information

To better inform decision-makers By providing a particular type of information With a life cycle perspective of Env. and human health

ISO’s Life Cycle Interpretation Goal Analyze results, reach conclusions, explain limitations, and

provide based on the findings of the preceding phases

Provide readily understandable, complete, and consistent presentation of the results of LCA in accordance with the goal and scope of the study


Step IV – Life Cycle Interpretation

Identification of the significant issues Evaluation which considers

Conclusions, recommendations, and reporting


LCA Benefits Develop a of the environmental consequences

of a given product/alternative Analyze the environmental trade-offs associated with one or more

specific product/processes to help gain for a planned action

Quantify environmental release to air, water, and land in relation to each life cycle stage

Assist in identifying significant shifts in environmental impacts Perform throughout product design Compare the health and ecological impacts Identify the impacts of a specific product or process Identify impacts to one/more specific environmental areas of concerns


LCA Limitations Resource and time intensive Highly on dataset

Data availability Data gathering method

LCA does not address Economic aspects Social aspects

LCA does not determine Most cost-effective product/alternative Best product/alternative


Recommendations Important to weigh

Time necessary to conduct the study Required financial resources (B/C analysis)

Integration with LCC SLCA

To be used as one component of a more comprehensive decision process assessing the trade-offs with cost and performance Life Cycle Management


Application Alternative Analysis Transportation Planning Captures the impact beyond Traffic Operation

Manufacture Recycle/Reuse or disposal stage


Life-Cycle Env. Assessment of CA High Speed Rail San Diego – Sacramento (over 500 miles) Comparison

Sedan Bus BART Commuter Rail Light Rail High Speed Rail Midsize Aircraft


Light Rail An electric railway with a 'light

volume' traffic capacity May use shared or exclusive

right-of-way high or low platform loading Multi-car trains or single cars

Heavy Rail an electric railway with the

capacity to handle a ‘heavy volume’ of traffic

Separate right-of-way


Commuter Rail primarily operates between

a city center and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 10 miles

sharing track or right-of-way with intercity or freight trains

having scheduled services


Study

Wide range of ridership Analysis on Capital payback period Consider energy source far beyond where travel

occurs

Car Manufacturing Requires Electricity

Burn Fossil Fuel SO2

Human Health


Life Cycle Energy Consumption


Life Cycle Sulfur Dioxide


Study Findings

Preferable mode depends on ridership Payback period depends on mode and rider-

ship Building High Speed Rail

Co-investment in clean electricity Energy and Emission Policy


terminology iso international organization for standardization establish and provide standards...

Documents

products life cycle

lca inventory

lca definitionremember

lca definitionlca

particular product

role of standards

environmental aspects

epa report