scholarly journals Using Life Cycle Assessment to Determine the Environmental Impacts Caused by Solar Photovoltaic Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Anushka Pal ◽  
Jeff Kilby
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv Systems ◽  
Silicon Ingot ◽  
Pv Panel

The paper presents research that investigated the Life Cycle Assessment of multi-crystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels, by considering environmental impacts of the entire life cycle for any solar PVsystems. The overall manufacturing process of a solar PV panel ranging from silica extraction, crystalline silicon ingot growth, wavering to module fabrication and packing of the solar PV panel. The results from this research showed that the module assembly and cell processing of the manufacturing process contributed towards the main environmental impacts of the life cycle of solar PV systems.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of a Buoy-Rope-Drum Wave Energy Converter

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zhai ◽  
Linsen Zhu ◽  
Shizhou Lu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Wave Energy Converter ◽  
Capacity Factor ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Energy Converter ◽  
Pv Systems

This study presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study for a buoy-rope-drum (BRD) wave energy converter (WEC), so as to understand the environmental performance of the BRD WEC by eco-labeling its life cycle stages and processes. The BRD WEC was developed by a research group at Shandong University (Weihai). The WEC consists of three main functional modules including buoy, generator and mooring modules. The designed rated power capacity is 10 kW. The LCA modeling is based on data collected from actual design, prototype manufacturing, installation and onsite sea test. Life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis and life cycle impact analysis (LCIA) were conducted. The analyses show that the most significant environmental impact contributor is identified to be the manufacturing stage of the BRD WEC due to consumption of energy and materials. Potential improvement approaches are proposed in the discussion. The LCI and LCIA assessment results are then benchmarked with results from reported LCA studies of other WECs, tidal energy converters, as well as offshore wind and solar PV systems. This study presents the energy and carbon intensities and paybacks with 387 kJ/kWh, 89 gCO2/kWh, 26 months and 23 months respectively. The results show that the energy and carbon intensities of the BRD WEC are slightly larger than, however comparable, in comparison with the referenced WECs, tidal, offshore wind and solar PV systems. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by varying the capacity factor from 20–50%. The energy and carbon intensities could reach as much as 968 kJ/kWh and 222 gCO2/kWh respectively while the capacity factor decreasing to 20%. Limitations for this study and scope of future work are discussed in the conclusion.

scholarly journals Environmental impacts of III–V/silicon photovoltaics: life cycle assessment and guidance for sustainable manufacturing

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 4280-4290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos F. Blanco ◽  
Stefano Cucurachi ◽  
Frank Dimroth ◽  
Jeroen B. Guinée ◽  
Willie J. G. M. Peijnenburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Photovoltaic Cells ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Silicon Photovoltaics

By requiring less materials, multijunction III–V/silicon photovoltaic cells may further reduce the life cycle environmental impacts of solar PV.

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Silicon Solar Photovoltaic Modules

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Lunardi ◽  
J. Alvarez-Gaitan ◽  
J. Bilbao ◽  
Richard Corkish
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Real Process ◽  
Pv Modules ◽  
Almost All

The cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) waste reached 250,000 metric tonnes by the end of 2016 and is expected to increase considerably in the future. Hence, adequate end-of-life (EoL) management for PV modules must be developed. Today, most of the EoL modules go to landfill, mainly because recycling processes for PV modules are not yet economically feasible and regulation in most countries is not yet well established. Nevertheless, several methods for recycling PV modules are under development. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology that quantifies the environmental impacts of a process or a product. An attributional LCA was undertaken to compare landfill, incineration, reuse and recycling (mechanical, thermal and chemical routes) of EoL crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar modules, based on a combination of real process data and assumptions. The results show that recovery of materials from solar modules results in lower environmental impacts compared to other EoL scenarios, considering our assumptions. The impacts could be even lower with the adoption of more complex processes that can reclaim more materials. Although recycling processes can achieve good recycling rates and recover almost all materials from solar modules, attention must be paid to the use of toxic substances during the chemical routes of recycling and to the distance to recycling centres due to the impacts of transportation.

scholarly journals Enhancement of energy transfer efficiency for photovoltaic (PV) systems by cooling the panel surfaces

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (8(112)) ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Hasan Shakir Majdi ◽  
Mahmoud A. Mashkour ◽  
Laith Jaafer Habeeb ◽  
Ahmad H. Sabry
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Energy Transfer Efficiency ◽  
Transfer Efficiency ◽  
Bottom Surface ◽  
Thermal Coefficient ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv Systems ◽  
Pv Panel ◽  
Storage Batteries

The thermal coefficient of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is a value that is provided with its specification sheet and tells us precisely the drop in panel performance with rising temperature. In desert climates, the PV panel temperatures are known to reach above 70 degrees centigrade. Exploring effective methods of increasing energy transfer efficiency is the issue that attracts researchers nowadays, which also contributes to reducing the cost of using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with storage batteries. Temperature handling of solar PV modules is one of the techniques that improve the performance of such systems by cooling the bottom surface of the PV panels. This study initially reviews the effective methods of cooling the solar modules to select a proper, cost-effective, and easy to implement one. An active fan-based cooling method is considered in this research to make ventilation underneath the solar module. A portion of the output power at a prespecified high level of battery state-of-charge (SOC) is used to feed the fans. The developed comparator circuit is used to control the power ON/OFF of the fans. A Matlab-based simulation is employed to demonstrate the power rate improvements and that consumed by the fans. The results of simulations show that the presented approach can achieve significant improvements in the efficiency of PV systems that have storage batteries. The proposed method is demonstrated and evaluated for a 1.62 kW PV system. It is found from a simultaneous practical experiment on two identical PV panels of 180 W over a full day that the energy with the cooling system was 823.4 Wh, while that without cooling was 676 Wh. The adopted approach can play a role in enhancing energy sustainability.

scholarly journals Environmental Consequences of Closing the Textile Loop—Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Polyester Jacket

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2964
Author(s):  
Gregor Braun ◽  
Claudia Som ◽  
Mélanie Schmutz ◽  
Roland Hischier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Energy And Material Flows

The textile industry is recognized as being one of the most polluting industries. Thus, the European Union aims to transform the textile industry with its “European Green Deal” and “Circular Economy Action Plan”. Awareness regarding the environmental impact of textiles is increasing and initiatives are appearing to make more sustainable products with a strong wish to move towards a circular economy. One of these initiatives is wear2wearTM, a collaboration consisting of multiple companies aiming to close the loop for polyester textiles. However, designing a circular product system does not lead automatically to lower environmental impacts. Therefore, a Life Cycle Assessment study has been conducted in order to compare the environmental impacts of a circular with a linear workwear jacket. The results show that a thoughtful “circular economy system” design approach can result in significantly lower environmental impacts than linear product systems. The study illustrates at the same time the necessity for Life Cycle Assessment practitioners to go beyond a simple comparison of one product to another when it comes to circular economy. Such products require a wider system analysis approach that takes into account multiple loops, having interconnected energy and material flows through reuse, remanufacture, and various recycling practices.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Households in Santiago, Chile: Environmental Hotspots and Policy Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2525
Author(s):  
Camila López-Eccher ◽  
Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez ◽  
Iván Franchi-Arzola ◽  
Edmundo Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Freshwater Eutrophication

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of household life cycles in Santiago, Chile, by household income level. The assessment considered scenarios associated with environmental policies. The life cycle assessment was cradle-to-grave, and the functional unit considered all the materials and energy required to meet an inhabitant’s needs for one year (1 inh/year). Using SimaPro 9.1 software, the Recipe Midpoint (H) methodology was used. The impact categories selected were global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, mineral resource scarcity, and fossil resource scarcity. The inventory was carried out through the application of 300 household surveys and secondary information. The main environmental sources of households were determined to be food consumption, transport, and electricity. Food consumption is the main source, responsible for 33% of the environmental impacts on global warming, 69% on terrestrial acidification, and 29% on freshwater eutrophication. The second most crucial environmental hotspot is private transport, whose contribution to environmental impact increases as household income rises, while public transport impact increases in the opposite direction. In this sense, both positive and negative environmental effects can be generated by policies. Therefore, life-cycle environmental impacts, the synergy between policies, and households’ socio-economic characteristics must be considered in public policy planning and consumer decisions.

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