Life Cycle Assessment Part 2 Flashcards
Wha are key features of greenhouse gases?
- Absorb infrared radiation
How can more violent weather events occur?
Higher temperatures and steeper thermal gradients drive currents leading to more violent storms, flooding, fires and desertification.
What would happen without the greenhouse effect?
Earth’s average temp would be around -18ºC
Where can CO2 come from?
- From animal metabolism
- From biomass
- From decomposition
- Industrialisation
How can CO2 be absorbed?
- Diffusion into water - phytoplankton
- Photosynthesis
What is CO2 equivalent?
Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure of how much a gas
contributes to global warming, relative to carbon dioxide.
What’s the formula for CO2e?
CO2e of F tonnes of gas = F x GWP
What does GWP stand for?
Global Warming Potential
What are key features to do with CO2 and material production?
- Have a range of carbon footprints
- Carbon footprint due to energy used in making an individual product
For every tonne of cement how much CO2 released?
We make 1/2 a tonne of CO2
What are some end of life options?
- Landfill → minimise landfill
- Combust e.g., car tires burnt in a kiln when cement is being made
- Down-cycle + recycle e.g., concrete crushed to use as aggregate
- Reengineer + reconditioning
- Reuse
What are some hazardous material categories?
- Highly flammable
- Corrosive
- Poisonous
- Air-polluting
- Water-polluting
- Landfill ban
What are the phases of an E-LCA?
- Goals and scope
- Inventory analysis
- Impact assessment
- Ares of protection
What do you do when defining goals and scope?
- To compare products/designs
- To identify the phase of life that is most damaging
- As part of a planning application.
What’s involved in the scope of E-LCA?
- Look at system A or system B and steer away from looking at system C
What is inventory?
The Inventory is a list of the resources and emissions associated with the system defined in Step 1.
What are the impact categories in the step 3 impact assessment?
- Climate change
- Resource depletion
- Ozone depletion
- Acid rain
- Poor air quality
- Freshwater shortage
- Human toxicity and eco-toxicity
What is involved in step of 4 E-LCA?
- Step back
- Examine results and conclude it
What is an Eco-audit?
Is a fast assessment of:
- Energy demand
- Water demand
- Carbon emissions over the life of a product to see which phase(s) dominate.
What is a matrix and target plot?
- Rows of environmental impact one wishes to consider
- An integer between zero (highest impact) and 4 (least impact) is assigned to each matrix element. The sum of the matrix elements is the Environmentally Responsible Product Rating
- depends on a particular set of parameters
What’s is included in the LCSA framework?
- Impact categories under individual assessments
- Pull them together in some way → so many variable impacts
Whats the 5 step method in assessing proposals for sustainable development?
- Unpack the proposal
- Identify stakeholders
- Research the facts
- Synthesis a judgement
5.Reflects on outcomes
What does researching the facts involve?
Environment, cost, materials, regulations, effects on society, obligations
What is involved in the synthesis of judgement?
Natural capital, social and human capital and manufactured and financial capital → impacts and make a synthesis
What is pulverised fuel?
Pulverised fuel is a method of combustion used in large industrial boilers. In this process, coal is ground into a fine powder and then burned, creating a significant amount of heat energy.
What are stakeholders?
A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization that has an interest or concern in something, such as a business or project.
What are key points about LCA?
- Life Cycle (Sustainability) Assessment is increasingly common and important
- The principles presented here apply to a wide range of products and processes.
- It is particularly important in civil engineering because construction is more impactful than any other sector.
