Search results for "Life cycle assessment"
showing 10 items of 172 documents
Life Cycle Assessment of organic and conventional apple supply chains in the North of Italy
2017
Abstract This paper compares the energy and environmental impacts of organic and conventional apples cultivated in the North of Italy, by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The authors examined the supply chain of apples, including the input of raw materials and energy sources, the farming step, the post-harvest processes and the distribution of apples to the final users. The paper develops two original contributions: 1) it enhances the limited number of studies on LCA applied to apples; 2) it compares organic and conventional apples produced in lands characterized by the same climatic conditions, to evaluate which of the two products is more competitive from an energy an…
Life-cycle optimization of building performance: a collection of case studies
2023
The building sector is one of the most impacting on the energy demand and on the environment in developed countries, together with industry and transports. The European Union introduced the topic of nearly zero-energy building (nZEB) and promoted a deep renovations in the existing building stock with the aim of reducing the energy consumption and environmental impacts of the building sector. The design of a nZEB, and in general of a low-energy building, involves different aspects like the economic cost, the comfort indoor, the energy consumption, the life cycle environmental impacts, the different points of view of policy makers, investors and inhabitants. Thus, the adoption of a multicrite…
Life Cycle Assessment della pirolisi di biomasse residuali dal settore agro – alimentare
2021
Il presente studio si propone di valutare gli impatti energetico - ambientali connessi al processo di pirolisi di rifiuti agro – alimentari attraverso l’applicazione della metodologia Life Cycle Assessment seguendo un approccio dalla culla al cancello. Il sistema analizzato consiste in un reattore di pirolisi al quarzo a letto fisso realizzato a scala di laboratorio. L’unità funzionale per l’analisi è 1 MJ di energia termica potenzialmente generata dalla combustione del bio-char prodotto dalla pirolisi di residui della potatura di olivi e dei residui della spremitura delle arance a tre diverse temperature (400 °C, 500 °C e 650 °C). Lo studio fornisce un ampio set di indicatori ambientali e …
A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy
2021
The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks …
Towards the Environmental Sustainability of the Construction Sector: Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Buildings Retrofit
2022
In the context of the need for carbon emissions reduction, the buildingsector, as one of the most energy intensive one, needs tools and approaches towards carbon neutrality and the increase of the buildings overall energy performances. The paper proposes an integrated approach towards the environmental performances analysis of a small neighborhood having as goal the achievement of the Positive Energy District target and the assessment of its environmental impacts. The methodology proposed includes building modeling and dynamic energy simulation using the Energy Plus engine and a simplified Life Cycle Assessment approach. Two scenarios are investigated: i) the existing neighborhood, ii) the …
Life Cycle Assessment applied to a new system for sea wave energy harvesting
2022
A new technology for wave energy harvesting is currently under development at the University of Palermo. The target is the exploitation of sea waves in the Mediterranean Sea, and small islands. The paper suggests an innovative technology for the wave energy harvesting in onshore areas. Indeed, the machine can be installed on existing infrastructures, like breakwaters of harbours. A small-scale prototype was already tested in laboratory. In this paper, a Life Cycle Assessment is performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of this technology, considering the potential energy production as functional unit.
Comparison of the environmental assessment of an identical office building with national methods
2019
The IEA EBC Annex 72 focuses on the assessment of the primary energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of buildings during production, construction, use (including repair and replacement) and end of life (dismantling), i.e. during the entire life cycle of buildings. In one of its activities, reference buildings (size, materialisation, operational energy demand, etc.) were defined on which the existing national assessment methods are applied using national (if available) databases and (national/regional) approaches. The ?be2226? office building in Lustenau, Austria was selected as one of the reference buildings. TU Graz established a BIM model and quantified the amou…
A Novel Lab‐Scale Fixed‐Bed Pyrolysis Reactor for Biofuel Production from Agro‐Waste: Experimental Set‐up and Preliminary Life Cycle Assessment Study
2020
The present study reports the features and set-up of a novel lab-scale fixed bed pyrolysis reactor for the production of solid and liquid bio-fuels from waste biomass. The fixed bed reactor is tested by carrying out pyrolysis experiments using two different waste biomasses. Olive tree trimmings (OT) and olive pulp (OP), olive cultivation and olive mill industries residues respectively, are pyrolyzed, under nitrogen atmosphere, between 200 and 650 °C for a residence time of 0.5 h. The OT and OP pyrolysis chars were characterized in terms of mass yields, high calorific values (HHVs), proximate and elemental analysis. Char mass yields, on a dry basis (d.b.), decreased from 91 to 23 wt% and fro…
From Buildings' End of Life to Aggregate Recycling under a Circular Economic Perspective: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Case Study
2021
The demolition of buildings, apart from being energy intensive and disruptive, inevitably produces construction and demolition waste (C&Dw). Unfortunately, even today, the majority of this waste ends up underexploited and not considered as valuable resources to be re-circulated into a closed/open loop process under the umbrella of circular economy (CE). Considering the amount of virgin aggregates needed in civil engineering applications, C&Dw can act as sustainable catalyst towards the preservation of natural resources and the shift towards a CE. This study completes current research by presenting a life cycle inventory compilation and life cycle assessment case study of two buildin…
A life cycle scenario analysis of different pavement technologies for urban roads.
2019
In the past, lowest price was the award criterion, given that structural capacity and safety were assured. In the last years, environmental, energy, and long-term impacts have been introduced (climate change, resource depletion, energy consumption, generated solid waste, discharged water, and emissions). Unfortunately, the introduction of new pavement technologies and materials (i.e., waste plastics) affects maintenance and rehabilitation processes and call for accurate and timeliness studies and criteria. Consequently, this paper presents an energy and environmental assessment of an Italian urban road and considers different material-related scenarios that fully comply with emerging techno…