scholarly journals Three eco-tool comparison with the example of the environmental performance of domestic solar flat plate hot water systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-181
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Huge Amount ◽  
Product Lca ◽  
Lca Practitioners ◽  
Standards And Guidelines

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a procedure used as an analytical tool for the evaluation of the environmental impact caused by a material, a manufacturing process or product. For an end product, LCA requires both the identification and quantification of materials and energy used in all stages of the product’s life, together with their environmental impact. It requires therefore a huge amount of data about materials, components, manufacturing processes, energy consumption and the relevant environmental impacts. For this reason, a number of software and databases have been developed, in order to facilitate LCA users. These are the so-called Eco-Tools, used in an effort to minimize the environmental impact of a product from the materials and the energy used for production. In this paper, LCA is conducted for solar thermosyphonic systems, with the aid of three commercially available Eco-Tools, usually used by LCA practitioners, namely: Eco-It, GEMIS and SimaPro, and the results are compared. Although all three tools claim accordance with the international standards and guidelines, differences do exist. A typical solar thermosyphonic system (DSHWS) with a 4 m2 collector area and a capacity of 150 dm3 that covers the hot water needs of a three person family in Thessaloniki is used as case study. The results of the three tools are compared for each component of the solar system as well as for each material used and for the conventional energy substituted by the system.

Environmental Impact of an Industrial Kitchen: A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Dai ◽  
A. S. Fleischer ◽  
A. P. Wemhoff ◽  
R. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Cold Storage ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Energy Flow ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Food Labels ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Environmental Impact Categories ◽  
Tomato Soup

The large number of industrial kitchens and their energy-intense characteristics provides opportunities for pollution prevention. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a proper tool not only for unitizing the environmental impact of the complex system of an industrial kitchen, but also for making environmental food labels for the foods produced in the same industrial kitchen. In this study, a gate-to-gate LCA of 11 types of food was conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of a typical industrial kitchen, Villanova University’s Donahue Hall. First, material and energy flow data, including cold storage, food preparation, food display, lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and dish washing were collected. This data, along with standard data on energy generation and transmission, were used in the LCA. The results show that global warming, fossil fuel depletion and ecotoxicity are the main environmental impact categories. Furthermore, HVAC, cold storage and cooking are the three largest contributors of environmental burden. Using the metrics developed, tuna salad, tomato soup and pasta are the most environmental friendly foods of the 11 sampled food types, while pizza and cheese quesadillas have the worst environmental performance. Energy saving measures for HVAC, cold storage and cooking are proposed.

scholarly journals A Three Methods Proactive Improvement Model for Buildings Construction Processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4335
Author(s):  
Abdul-Aziz Banawi ◽  
Alia Besné ◽  
David Fonseca ◽  
Jose Ferrandiz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Process Performance ◽  
Measuring Process ◽  
Lean Principles ◽  
One Step ◽  
Overall Performance

This paper proposes a proactive model to improve the overall performance of construction processes. The main advantage is that potential waste and associate impacts could be identified in the early stages of a project before the construction phase. To accomplish that, the model combines three methods; Lean-to identify waste, Green to assess environmental impact, and Six-Sigma to measure and improve process performance (LG6). The LG6 model helps in evaluating processes one step at a time, identifying consumed resources, analyzing the environmental performance of all steps as well as highlighting generated impacts, applying improving alternatives if needed, and measuring process performance for evaluation. The functionality of LG6 is illustrated through a case study of woodpiles installation. In this case study, the LG6 model identified four steps out of eight that are considered potential waste or (non-value-added steps) according to the Lean principles. As a result, the LG6 model helped in reducing impact by 9% and expenses by 1%. The LG6 model can help to improve the performance of construction processes and reduces unnecessary waste.

Environmental impact of screenhouse and open-field cultivation using a life cycle analysis: the case study of green bean production

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 63-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Romero-Gámez ◽  
E.M. Suárez-Rey ◽  
A. Antón ◽  
N. Castilla ◽  
T. Soriano
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Green Bean

Checklist-Based Assessment Methodology for Sustainable Design

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kishita ◽  
Bi Hong Low ◽  
Shinichi Fukushige ◽  
Yasushi Umeda ◽  
Atsushi Suzuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Support Design ◽  
Cycle Simulation ◽  
Simulation Results

The manufacturing industry is faced with a challenge to create products with less environmental impact targeting a sustainable society. To cope with this challenge, sustainable design or ecodesign plays one of the most important roles. Manufacturers often use ecodesign checklists that are intended for obtaining eco-labels, such as Eco Mark in Japan, in order to support design improvements of products in terms of environmental consciousness. Eco-label checklists are, however, insufficient to support designing products rationally because the relationships between individual requirements of checklists and environmental impact are undetermined. This paper proposes a method for supporting assessment for ecodesign by developing a weighted checklist from a conventional eco-label checklist. This weighted checklist assesses the environmental performance of a product based on the potential environmental improvement of each requirement, derived by life cycle simulation. Results of a case study involving a digital duplicator indicate that the proposed method successfully clarifies the requirements that should be improved in the present product. When the design improvements are applied, the assessment of the product’s CO2 emissions shows an improvement by 8%.

Studying type wet blue tannery process for estimating environmental performance using the Life Cycle Analysis methodology: A Case Study in Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Padilla-Rizo ◽  
María Maldonado-Santoyo ◽  
Celso Moises Bautista-Rodríguez ◽  
Luz Elena Mora-Maldonado ◽  
Jorge Elias Soto-Maldonado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Analysis Methodology

Examining the Viability of Corporate Recycling Initiatives and Their Overall Environmental Impact: The Case of Nike Grind and the Reuse-A-Shoe Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Alexander Curtis ◽  
Amanda Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Closed Loop System ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives

The Reuse-A-Shoe program and Nike Grind are sustainability initiatives run by Nike to improve their environmental performance through the recycling of worn out shoes and surplus manufacturing materials into various surface materials. However, the positive environmental benefits associated with recycling may be offset by the negative impacts caused by the extensive logistics associated with these programs. This case study provides an overview and breakdown of both Nike and its recycling programs. It addresses the positive and negative environmental impacts of these programs, such as reduced waste to landfill and increased greenhouse gas emissions from increased transportation. The analysis concludes that these programs have limited potential in achieving any significant positive environmental impact and that Nike should investigate alternative models focusing more on biodegradable materials or a closed-loop system where materials are upcycled rather than downcycled, and where both material use and greenhouse gas emissions are considered.

scholarly journals Environmental Performance of Thermosyphonic Domestic Solar Hot Water Systems under Different Climatic Conditions: A Case Study for Greece

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-195
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Solar Systems ◽  
Domestic Use ◽  
System Characteristics ◽  
Of Greece

Undoubtedly, sun is the cleanest energy source. Specific systems are needed however for the collection and transformation of solar energy and the manufacturing processes of such systems, as well as the production of the raw materials required, are associated with impacts to the environment. As a result, the life cycle environmental impact of solar systems depends on the type and the size of the systems. System characteristics and also the climate of the installation area, affect the substituted conventional energy (solar coverage). In this paper, the net environmental gain of flat plate thermosyphonic solar systems for domestic use is determined, accounting for the household size (different collector sizes) and the installation area (different solar coverage and transportation distance) for the major cities of Greece. Calculations are based on the “Eco-Indicator ‘99” methodology and database and it is proved that substituting electricity with solar energy is always environmentally beneficial for systems installed in all major cities of Greece.

scholarly journals Environmental performance assessment (EPA): a case study in a graphic company

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Girotto Rebelato ◽  
Luciana Maria Saran ◽  
Thiago Pereira Paulino ◽  
Andréia Marize Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Industrial Effluent ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Environmental Performance Assessment ◽  
Graphic Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case report involving environmental performance analysis of a big Brazilian graphic company. Design/methodology/approach An “environmental performance indicator” (Iepa) was developed, which is calculated taking into consideration the weighting of potential environmental impact of each residue/sub-product generated, the relative spatial dispersion which each residue/sub-product can reach and adequacy evaluation of final allocation accomplished by the company for each residue/sub-product. Findings Despite the evidence that the corporations emit gases generated by the burning of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere, the result obtained is favorable to enterprise, largely, due to the adequate allocation given to industrial effluent, which is the waste with the largest share on Iepa (50.2 percent). Industrial effluent is collected by a company licensed by Environmental Sanitation Company of the state of São Paulo, which is an environmentally adequate practice. The result of Iepa=90.8 percent is explained by the large amount of CO2 emitted by the operations into the atmosphere throughout the year. Practical implications The method used can be applied to measure the environmental impact generated by any business of a graphic service sector. Originality/value The authors observed, in the specialized literature, a small number of works dealing with the environmental management of graphic sector companies, as well as methodologies for assessing the environmental performance of companies through environmental performance indicators. The originality of the work is in the developed method, which takes into account: the potential impact of each residue/sub-product generated; the amount of each residue/sub-product generated in a given time period; the dispersion that each residue/sub-product can attain; and the evaluation of eventual allocation of each residue/sub-product.

Excellent environmental performance of beet sugar production in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
pp. 161-165
Author(s):  
Bertram de Crom ◽  
Jasper Scholten ◽  
Janjoris van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Cane Sugar ◽  
Sugar Production ◽  
Beet Sugar ◽  
Glucose Syrup

To get more insight in the environmental performance of the Suiker Unie beet sugar, Blonk Consultants performed a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on beet sugar, cane sugar and glucose syrup. The system boundaries of the sugar life cycle are set from cradle to regional storage at the Dutch market. For this study 8 different scenarios were evaluated. The first scenario is the actual sugar production at Suiker Unie. Scenario 2 until 7 are different cane sugar scenarios (different countries of origin, surplus electricity production and pre-harvest burning of leaves are considered). Scenario 8 concerns the glucose syrup scenario. An important factor in the environmental impact of 1kg of sugar is the sugar yield per ha. Total sugar yield per ha differs from 9t/ha sugar for sugarcane to 15t/ha sugar for sugar beet (in 2017). Main conclusion is that the production of beet sugar at Suiker Unie has in general a lower impact on climate change, fine particulate matter, land use and water consumption, compared to cane sugar production (in Brazil and India) and glucose syrup. The impact of cane sugar production on climate change and water consumption is highly dependent on the country of origin, especially when land use change is taken into account. The environmental impact of sugar production is highly dependent on the co-production of bioenergy, both for beet and cane sugar.

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