Search results for " life cycle"
showing 10 items of 158 documents
Life Cycle Energy and Environmental Assessment of the Thermal Insulation Improvement in Residential Buildings
2021
The refurbishment of the building stock is a key strategy towards the achievement of the climate and energy goals of the European Union. This study aims at evaluating the energy and environmental impacts associated with retrofitting a residential apartment to improve its vertical envelope thermal insulation. Two insulation materials, stone wool and cellulose fibers, are compared. The life cycle assessment methodology is applied assuming 1 m2 of retrofitted vertical envelope as functional unit. Moreover, to estimate the net energy and environmental benefits achievable in the retrofitted scenario compared with the non-retrofitted one, a second analysis is performed in which the system boundar…
Economic and Environmental Assessment of Biomass Power Plants in Southern Italy
2022
In 2019, Europe adopted the New Green Deal as a strategic plan to become a competitive, resource-efficient, and driven economy by reducing its gas emissions and carbon footprint. Due the COVID-19 pandemic, this strategic plan was recently updated to expedite the green transition of European industries. Therefore, the present paper deals with the problem of deciding an appropriate size for a biomass plant that directly produces electric energy by means of two different conversion processes: combustion and gasification. After an initial estimation of the energy potential in western Sicily, GIS data of biomass growth were used to identify the appropriate size for the power plants under investi…
Towards Integrated Computer Aided Systems and Software Engineering Tool for Information Systems Design
1996
The paper starts with a brief overview of the current situation in the world of CASE tools for information systems. Then there follows the outline of the basic ideas and principles of integrated CASE tool GRADE. The most outstanding characteristics of GRADE are that the tool is based on a unified specification language GRAPES and that it supports all information system development phases including analysis, requirements specification, design and implementation.
Environmental performance of building materials: life cycle assessment of a typical Sicilian marble
2009
Background, aim, and scope: The building sector is strategically important for achieving sustainability. Therefore, the improvement of energy and environmental performances are relevant targets because precious building materials such as marble have a significant impact on the environment. The aim of this paper is an analysis of a typical Sicilian marble (Perlato di Sicilia) to evaluate its energy and environmental performance. Marble plays an important role in the economy of Italy and has a global market share of 58% in terms of exports. For the main production areas of marble, relevant environmental performance data are missing except for one region (Tuscany-Massa e Carrara province). Per…
Life Cycle Assessment of repurposed electric vehicle batteries: an adapted method based on modelling energy flows
2018
Abstract After their first use in electric vehicles (EVs), the residual capacity of traction batteries can make them valuable in other applications. Although reusing EV batteries remains an undeveloped market, second-use applications of EV batteries are in line with circular economy principles and the waste management hierarchy. Although substantial environmental benefits are expected from reusing traction batteries, further efforts are needed in data collection, modelling the life-cycle stages and calculating impact indicators to propose a harmonized and adapted life-cycle assessment (LCA) method. To properly assess the environmental benefits and drawbacks of using repurposed EV batteries …
Un possibile approccio "Social LCA" per le coperture a verde
2010
Ecological and economic indicators for the evaluation of almond (Prunus dulcis l.) orchard renewal in sicily
2020
Globally, almond production is experiencing a growing trend thanks to a strong interest in the health, gastronomic, and industrial properties that are linked to the fruits and their derivatives. After a constant and marked decline in the second half of the last century, the Mediterranean Basin is thoroughly reassessing this crop, which provides significant results with a modern orchard management. The opportunity determined by the transition from traditional to modern systems have increased the interest in evaluating the different environmental impacts of the two cultivation models that still coexist today. In this work, through the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and an econ…
Review on Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic Panels
2020
The photovoltaic (PV) sector has undergone both major expansion and evolution over the last decades, and currently, the technologies already marketed or still in the laboratory/research phase are numerous and very different. Likewise, in order to assess the energy and environmental impacts of these devices, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies related to these systems are always increasing. The objective of this paper is to summarize and update the current literature of LCA applied to different types of grid-connected PV, as well as to critically analyze the results related to energy and environmental impacts generated during the life cycle of PV technologies, from 1st generation (traditiona…
Organisational Drivers and Challenges in Circular Economy Implementation : An Issue Life Cycle Approach
2022
Business is a significant cause of various global sustainability challenges addressed by the Circular Economy (CE), making companies instrumental in the transition from a linear economic model to a circular one. While drivers and challenges in corporate CE implementation have been researched on an organisational level, a more detailed understanding is needed regarding their contextual nature and interplay with the evolution of CE implementation in a company. Utilising issue life cycle theory, this study contributes to the literature on CE implementation in business by displaying differences in corporate CE implementation drivers and challenges, relating to the time since starting, and the …
Andricus cydoniae Giraud, 1859 Junior Synonym of Cynips coni-fica Hartig, 1843, as Experimentally Demonstrated (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini)
2022
We demonstrated the life cycle closure of Cynips conifica Hartig, 1843 (presently Andricus conificus), previously supposed on the basis of molecular data, and the identity of the sexual generation, through laboratory experiments. As a consequence, Andricus cydoniae Giraud, 1859 became a junior synonym of A. conificus (Hartig, 1843). We provide illustrations and a diagnosis for adults and galls, observations on biology, and information on distribution. Moreover, as sexual galls of A. conificus cannot be distinguished from those of Andricus multiplicatus, a detailed comparison between sexual galls and adults of these two species is reported.