1,720,964 research outputs found
Using environmental product declaration as source of data for life cycle assessment: A case study
No full textThe aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of using the environmental performance indicators retrievable from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) into a non-conventional Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) procedure for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), replacing inventory background data from secondary datasets. In standard methodology, when specific inventory data are not available for life cycle stages that do not constitute the core process of the investigated system, secondary data are gathered from globally acknowledged sources such as international LCI databases. Once EPDs are available for the specific products included in the analyzed system, through this approach characterized data are used in place of traditional input and output information, with higher quality level. The approach proposed here is compared with traditional practice by means of a real case study, i.e. the analysis of switching primary packaging material, from glass to plastic, of water bottles distributed onboard a cruise ship. The results show that the experimented alternative approach for life cycle inventory is consistent with the collection of input/output data from literature, supporting the same conclusions for decision making process. Through conventional data capture from secondary sources, reductions in weight of the bottle body, corresponding to manufacturing standards of the specific supplier in the analyzed study, are not taken into account. The use of primary characterized data is showed to avoid overestimations of potential environmental impacts for the various typologies of bottles, with different relative shares in relation to the format. In the implementation of such non-conventional pattern, the selection of the same set of characterization factors is a necessary condition for the reliability of the result
Life Cycle Assessment from food to food: A case study of circular economy from cruise ships to aquaculture
No full textIndustrial symbiosis principles, reprized in industrial ecology definition, are recently embraced by circular economy concept as the basis for characterization of cradle-to-cradle approach, with particular interest on global markets with growing environmental issues such as food sector. This paper investigates a potential innovative pattern of recycling food waste from cruise ships for use as feed in aquaculture, in terms of environmental sustainability. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment is used to evaluate the possible potential benefits of replacing conventional formulations of feed mix for salmon with food waste, generated and processed onboard a vessel where turbo-drying technology has been tested as a case study. A set of three indices, otherwise possible stand-alone indicators, is selected to measure global warming potential, non-renewable cumulative energy demand, and water scarcity index. The basis for comparison is represented by a typical commercial feed product for aquaculture in Norway and UK. A conventional feed formulation shows higher life cycle burdens for the whole set of indicators, with respect to the analysed case study. In particular, traditional feed product in UK shows the worst performance in terms of carbon footprint and non-renewable energy demand, whilst the Norwegian traditional mix is source of the highest impact for water scarcity. The investigation of supply chains results particularly relevant for highlighting that bottle-necks are not univocal for the different impact categories. For instance, when conventional mix in Norway is analysed from a water footprint perspective, crop-derived products result to be more influent than fish-derived ones, unlike for carbon and energy indicators
Analysis, comparisons and potential of a Hybrid Solar Power System through a life cycle approach
No full textThe sun is the most environmentally sound resource to produce clean and renewable energy, even though environmental score for solar technologies are representative only for the most common devices such as photovoltaic panels. Hybrid solar plants that combine solar power with another source of energies have never being compared with traditional solar technologies such as photovoltaic panels. The aim of this study is to analyze and compare the environmental score of a Solar Hybrid Combined Cycle with a traditional photovoltaic system and find out the potential and possible future development of the new technology. Thus the technologies analyzed are: a 100 kWp photovoltaic plant (PV) and a 100 kW hybrid solar-gas turbine systems (HSGT) that use as fuel a mix of solar radiation and natural gas. Using a life cycle approach, the potential environmental impact of the two solar power technologies is evaluated. The energy produced and expressed in kWh has been choosing as a functional unit. To better understand the potential of the new technology the heat produced by the plant has been accounted by substitution with a gas boiler, highlighting the potential of the HSGT technology. Despite that fact PV results as the best environmental sound technology between the two system under study while a Solar Hybrid Combined Cycle could become a better choice in a not so far future
Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments
No full textLCA-LCC optimization tool for selection of electricity generation technologies in residential buildings
No full textHybrid solar power system versus photovoltaic plant: A comparative analysis through a life cycle approach
No full textThe sun is considered to be one of the most environmentally sound sources of clean and renewable energy. Nevertheless, new hybrid solar plants - combining solar power with another source of energy - have never been compared to traditional solar technologies. Therefore, the aim of this work is to compare the potential environmental impact of a 100 kWp photovoltaic plant (PV) with a 100 kW hybrid solar-gas turbine system (SHGT) using a life cycle assessment methodology. To the best of our knowledge, this type of comparison is the first of its kind. The analysis is performed considering three different scenarios for the SHGT. Additionally, a deep sensitivity analysis is undertaken, focusing on those parameters that mostly influence the outcomes. The results highlight that, using the currently available technology, PV resulted to be the best environmental choice, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of 0.043 kg CO2eq/kWh. SHGT plant emissions resulted to be higher, equal to 0.236 kg CO2eq/kWh when running at nominal power 12 h/day, mainly due to the fuel contribution. However, improvements in receiver technology could make it possible to reach higher receiver outlet temperatures and consequently save fuel, reducing the overall environmental impact. Moreover, replacing the natural gas used as turbine running fuel with solar radiation leads to a reduction in GHG emissions, which become comparable to PV plant gases
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
