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LA LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT APPLICATA AL SETTORE AGROALIMENTARE: IL CASO STUDIO DI TRE PRODOTTI SICILIANI
No full textIl settore agro – alimentare rappresenta uno dei settori economici più significativi a livello
europeo in termini di impatti ambientali e di consumo di risorse. Esso è responsabile di
circa il 5,3% del consumo finale di energia delle industrie europee, di circa l’1,8% del
consumo di acqua, e di circa il 20-30% degli impatti ambientali (Tukker et al., 2006). La
quantità di energia necessaria per coltivare, trasformare, confezionare e distribuire i prodotti
ai consumatori ha rappresentato, nel 2013, una quota pari al 26% del consumo di energia
finale europeo, di cui circa un terzo è causato dalla coltivazione e dall’allevamento del bestiame.
Inoltre, nel 2010, le emissioni di gas a effetto serra connesse al settore sono state pari
a circa 10 GtCO2eq, rappresentando un quinto delle emissioni globali (Monforti-Ferrario
et al., 2015).
Pertanto, quello agro – alimentare è stato identificato come uno dei settori prioritari a
livello europeo su cui intervenire per l’attuazione di strategie di produzione e consumo
sostenibili (European Commission, 2008) e di economia circolare. L’Unione Europea ha
individuato delle possibili azioni per la riduzione degli impatti energetico – ambientali del
settore, alcune delle quali di seguito elencate:
• Applicazione di metodologie di analisi delle prestazioni dei prodotti alimentari lungo
il loro intero ciclo di vita, con particolare riferimento alla metodologia Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA).
• Diffusione di strumenti di comunicazione ai consumatori degli elementi di preferibilità
ambientale dei prodotti alimentari, attraverso dei sistemi di etichettatura.
• Valorizzazione dei prodotti provenienti dalla “filiera corta”, favorendo i mercati locali
e riducendo, quindi, la distanza fra consumatore finale e produttore e limitando il numero
delle intermediazioni.
• Promozione del consumo di prodotti ortofrutticoli stagionali, che oltre ad avere in
media proprietà organolettiche migliori sono caratterizzati da minori impatti legati al
trasporto o alla gestione di serre o di frigoriferi
Energy and environmental life cycle assessment of an institutional catering service: An Italian case study
Full text linkFood production is recognised as one of the major drivers for global environmental pressure. In the last years,
changes in consumption models result in an increasing population consuming food out of home that pose the
catering service sector at the centre of the European Union policies aimed at improving the environmental sustainability
of the food sector. In this framework, better technical knowledge on the environmental impacts of
catering service is essential in order to identify potential actions towards amore sustainable food sector. This article
presents an environmental assessment of a school catering service operating in Italy and delivering approximately
2,518,128 meals per year. Starting from primary data on the amount of each food consumed in the
catering service examined, we perform an environmental analysis of an equivalent meal ready to be consumed
in the schools canteens by using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology consistent with ISO 14040 standard.
The system boundaries include food and tableware production, food transport, food storage and cooking and
waste treatment. Due to a lack of primary data tableware production, food storage, cooking andwaste treatment
are modelled using literature data or models.
The results of the analysis show that the food production phase is relevant to almost all assessed impact categories
(contribution higher than 65%). The exception is represented by photochemical oxidation impact categories
inwhich the larger impact is linked to the transportation phase. The environmental impacts associated to the tableware
production, food storage and cooking are relevant to global warming and global energy requirement
(contributions higher than 7%).
The scenario analysis of potential actions aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of the catering service
shows that, to obtain amore sustainable food sector, strategiesmust be implemented along the entire food supply
chain and considering a wide range of environmental impact categories
LA LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT APPLICATA AL SETTORE AGROALIMENTARE: IL CASO STUDIO DI TRE PRODOTTI SICILIANI
No full textLife Cycle Assessment of repurposed electric vehicle batteries: an adapted method based on modelling energy flows
Full text linkAfter 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 in second-use applications, in this article an adapted LCA is proposed based on the comparison of different scenarios from a life-cycle perspective. The key issues for the selected life-cycle stages and the aspects and parameters to be assessed in the analysis are identified and discussed for each stage, including manufacturing, repurposing, reusing and recycling. The proposed method is applied to a specific case study concerning the use of repurposed batteries to increase photovoltaic (PV) self-consumption in a given dwelling. Primary data on the dwelling's energy requirements and PV production were used to properly assess the energy flows in this specific repurposed scenario: both the literature search performed and the results obtained highlighted the relevance of modelling the system energy using real data, combining the characteristics of both the battery and its application. The LCA results confirmed that the environmental benefits of adopting repurposed batteries to increase PV self-consumption in a house occur under specific conditions and that the benefits are more or less considerable depending on the impact category assessed. Higher environmental benefits refer to impact categories dominated by the manufacturing and repurposing stages. Some of the most relevant parameters (e.g. residual capacity and allocation factor) were tested in a sensitivity analysis. The method can be used in other repurposing application cases if parameters for these cases can be determined by experimental tests, modelling or extracting data from the literature
Energy and environmental benefits of circular economy strategies: The case study of reusing used batteries from electric vehicles
No full textAccording to recent literature and technical analyses, used batteries from electric vehicles can still be used, before the final treatment at the end-of-life, in stationary applications that are usually less stressing than the automotive ones. In this framework, a circular economy inspired pathway is emerging between the building and the transportation sector, generally called “second life” of batteries. Used batteries from electric vehicles can be re-used in residential buildings together with renewable electricity generation technologies to improve the matching between the highly variable electricity generation from renewables and the electricity demand in buildings. This study aims to contribute to the assessment of the environmental sustainability of using battery storage systems for stationary applications made of used batteries in substitution of new batteries in a life cycle perspective. The analysis is performed considering an expanded circular system that includes both the functions provided in buildings (provide the electricity required in a residential building for a specific time frame) and in the transportation sector (provide electricity needed for driving until the battery capacity reached about 80% of the rated capacity). The study shows that reusing used batteries as stationary storage systems in residential buildings can enhance the overall environmental sustainability of the two systems considered. In particular, the environmental impacts decrease of a percentage ranging from around -4% (in cumulative energy demand) to -17% (in abiotic depletion potential). The examined strategy can contribute to initiate the transition towards a circular and low-carbon economy
Environmental assessment of a waste-to-energy practice: The pyrolysis of agro-industrial biomass residues
Full text linkThe bio-wastes pyrolysis is a waste to energy strategy that converts bio-wastes into valuable products (bio-char, bio-oil) with wide use in the agri-food sector. However, limited efforts are paid to the inves- tigation of its environmental sustainability: in this context, the study contributes the need towards the assessment of a wide range of environmental impacts for the pyrolysis process of different types of bio- wastes under different operating conditions. The study estimates the potential environmental impacts related to bio-char production from the pyrolysis of several different agro-industrial residues and dif- ferent temperatures and identifies the process “hot spots”. The analysis is carried out through the life cycle assessment methodology. The functional unit for the analysis is 1 MJ of thermal energy potentially released during the complete combustion of bio-char obtained from the pyrolysis process. The study highlights that, under the examined conditions, the type of biomass affects the environmental impacts of the pyrolysis process more than the peak pyrolysis temperature. Among the biomasses tested, bio-char obtained from orange peels has the lower environmental impacts, with an average percentage difference of about 16% compared to bio-char obtained from olive tree trimmings that has the worst en- vironmental performance. For each biomass, the impacts associated to bio-char obtained with different operational temperatures have percentage differences in general lower than 5%. A contribution analysis shows that the electricity consumed during the operational phase is responsible for the largest impacts in all the examined impact categories, followed by bio-wastes transportation. In detail, the contribution of the electricity to the total impact ranges from minimum values of about 44% (for cumulative energy demand) up to 91% (for terrestrial eutrophication), while transportation contributions range from a min- imum of about 4% (for terrestrial and marine eutrophication) to 36% for mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion. Therefore, the use of more energy efficient processes and technologies and the diffusion of distributed pyrolysis systems near farms can significantly improve the environmental performance of the system examined
Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture.
No full textSustainable agriculture is strongly promoted by Agenda 2030 and peri-urban agriculture is considered strategic for agri-food sustainability. Although, innovative farming practices are being implemented, the analysis of their impacts often does not reach the required depth. Within the EU project ‘UIA-OpenAgri - New Skills for new Jobs in Peri-urban Agriculture’, a regeneration process of a peri-urban area in Milan (Italy) was started, through the development of an innovative food hub. 28 innovative foodchains are assessed by a Life Cycle Assessment approach based on primary data collected from the involved start-ups. Non-Renewable Cumulative Energy Demand and the Global Warming Potential indicators are assessed and coupled with the productive land indicator. To effectively support involved operators in planning sustainable agriculture practices, the results are presented with GIS maps and insights for improving economic sustainability of involved start-ups are presented.
The study shows that the impacts related to the practices implemented (i.e. organic agriculture, including intercropping, agroforestry, ancient grains, etc.) decrease by an average of 55% in energy consumption and 65% on Global Warming Potential if compared to conventional ones. Then, these practices can provide a positive contribution to the Agenda 2030 goal of ensuring sustainable farm production practices
Selecting Insulating Materials for Building Envelope: A Life Cycle Approach
Full text linkThis paper aims at assessing the embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of two building envelopes, designed for a two floors semi-detached house located in the Central Italy.
The analysis is performed by applying the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, following a from cradle-to-gate approach.
Fixtures (windows and doors), external and internal opaque walls, roof and floors (including interstorey floors) make the building envelopes. Their stratigraphy allows for achieving the thermal transmittance values established in the Italian Decree on energy performance of buildings. The two examined envelopes differ only for the insulation material: extruded expanded polystyrene (XPS) or cellulose fibers.
The results shows that the envelope using cellulose fibers has better performance than that using XPS: it allows for reducing the embodied energy and the GHGs of about 13% and 9.3%, respectively.
A dominance analysis allows to identify the envelope components responsible of the higher impacts and the contribution of the insulating material to the impacts.
The study is part of the Italian research “Analysis of the energy impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of technologies and components for the energy efficiency of buildings from a life cycle perspective” funded by the Three-year Research Plan within the National Electricity System 2019-2021
Life Cycle Assessment of repurposed electric vehicle batteries: an adapted method based on modelling energy flows
No full textAfter 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 in second-use applications, in this article an adapted LCA is proposed based on the comparison of different scenarios from a life-cycle perspective. The key issues for the selected life-cycle stages and the aspects and parameters to be assessed in the analysis are identified and discussed for each stage, including manufacturing, repurposing, reusing and recycling.
The proposed method is applied to a specific case study concerning the use of repurposed batteries to increase photovoltaic (PV) self-consumption in a given dwelling. Primary data on the dwelling’s energy requirements and PV production were used to properly assess the energy flows in this specific repurposed scenario: both the literature search performed and the results obtained highlighted the relevance of modelling the system energy using real data, combining the characteristics of both the battery and its application. The LCA results confirmed that the environmental benefits of adopting repurposed batteries to increase PV self-consumption in a house occur under specific conditions and that the benefits are more or less considerable depending on the impact category assessed. Higher environmental benefits refer to impact categories dominated by the manufacturing and repurposing stages. Some of the most relevant parameters (e.g. residual capacity and allocation factor) were tested in a sensitivity analysis. The method can be used in other repurposing application cases if parameters for these cases can be determined by experimental tests, modelling or extracting data from the literature
Life Cycle Assessment della pirolisi di biomasse residuali dal settore agro-alimentare
No full textL’applicazione della metodologia Life cycle Assessment (LCA) per la valutazione degli impatti energetici e ambientali connessi ai processi di valorizzazione energetica di varie tipologie di biomasse residuali e l’identificazione degli hot-spot dei suddetti processi, rappresenta oggi una attività imprescindibile nella valutazione della reale convenienza energetico ambientale dell’utilizzo delle biomasse ai fini energetici.
Il lavoro svolto nell’ambito del Progetto Biocheaper ha comportato l’applicazione della LCA a diversi processi di valorizzazione delle biomasse residuali. Nello specifico la LCA è stata applicata:
1. ad un processo di pirolisi di biomasse residuali di origine agro-industriale;
2. ad sistema energetico costituito da un reattore di gassificazione/combustione alimentato con biomasse residuali di origine forestale, da uno scambiatore di calore fumi/aria per il recupero dell’energia termica dei fumi di combustione in uscita dal gassificatore e da una turbina a gas a combustione esterna per la cogenerazione di energia elettrica e termica.
3. Ad un processo di cogenerazione di una miscela di diesel e syngas, prodotto da gassificazione di biomassa residuale di origine forestale.
Nel presente capitolo viene riportata l’applicazione della metodologia LCA ad un processo di pirolisi di biomasse residuali di origine agro-industriale
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