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Product service systems (PSS) are an example of a novel business model billed as having the potential to significantly reduce the environmental burdens of production and consumption processes. However, despite widespread interest in PSS, consensus regarding their actual environmental impacts, particularly with regard to salient issues such as global warming, is lacking. Hence this paper explores existing research to investigate the state of the art regarding the climatic impacts of PSS, alongside the set of factors that influence climatic impacts. The paper comprises a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic literature, quantifying the extent to which different types of PSS have the capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple product categories. Our study shows that significant reductions in climatic emissions are possible, but PSS are in many cases associated with more modest reductions and, in some cases, increased emissions. Further, we observe no clear differences in climatic impacts according to the type of PSS model that is deployed. Rather, differences in climatic impact are influenced by factors such as production and design alongside use-phase impacts and contextual factors such as transportation and the energy mix. The study argues that further research is needed to establish a more robust baseline upon which to draw conclusions regarding the sources of climatic impacts, and outlines fruitful ways for companies to tackle the complexities of climatic emissions that are beyond their control. • In some cases, product service systems can reduce climatic impacts by up to 80%. • In other cases, climatic impacts increase compared to traditional product sales. • Climatic impacts are influenced by use intensity, transportation and production. • Other contextual factors such as the energy mix play a role. • More quantitative assessments are needed with less reliance on estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The battery electric vehicle (BEV) industry, commanding over half of the global market share in China, has garnered significant attention in response to escalating concerns about climate change. NCM (LiNi x Co y Mn z O 2) batteries, prized for their high energy density, are pivotal in this industry. However, their production relies on critical metals, posing environmental challenges. Recycling processes aim to address this issue by recovering critical metals from end-of-life batteries. The industry is updating from NCM 111 to NCM 811 batteries to enhance energy density and reduce costs, but the key factors influencing the material flows and environmental impacts remain uncertain. This paper aims to identify the key factors contributing to the potential differences in material flows and environmental impacts introduced by the NCM battery upgrading in China. Following the new energy vehicle sales projections in China until 2035, a dynamic material flow analysis was employed to calculate material demands, recovered amounts, and substitution rates for various upgrading scenarios. The study reveals that the majority of retired batteries until 2035 were sold between 2022 and 2029. Material substitution rates prove to be more sensitive to the upgrading scenario than the lifetime and growth rate of BEVs. Faster NCM 811 penetration results in over 2.5 times more saved cobalt demand compared to additional nickel demand. A life cycle assessment of NCM batteries reveals a 39% lower global warming impact for NCM 811 compared to NCM 111, highlighting environmental benefits from increased energy density and reduced cobalt consumption. The energy density improvement contributed 85%, while the alteration in material composition contributed 15% to the global warming reduction in NCM 811. Recycling emerges as a crucial strategy in mitigating environmental impacts across all categories, particularly addressing eutrophication, previously deemed challenging due to the difficulty in recovering Li 2 CO 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID–19 has disrupted human life considerably since the beginning of 2020. The transport sector is one of the most affected sector due to restrictions imposed to curb COVID–19 pandemic. This paper evaluates the environmental impacts of COVID–19 response scenarios using life cycle assessment approach. Six regions selected for the study are Australia, China, European Union (EU), India, United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America (USA). Data for vehicle population, vehicle kilometers travelled, fleet type, and fuel efficiency were used for 2015–2020. The environmental impacts were calculated for five scenarios; Baseline–2019, Business As Usual (BAU) and COVID–19 Response Scenario (CRS) for 2020 and 2030 namely, 2020–BAU, 2020–CRS, 2030–BAU, and 2030–CRS. The results indicate that COVID–19 occurrence and related response measures did not contribute to significant environment benefits in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and other pollutants in short term and long term. This implies that although immediate reductions in emissions were observed in many studies, the long term effects were minimal due to irregular policies and unmanaged demand. Further, to achieve environment benefits sustained measures should be implemented in long term with proper planning and supporting infrastructure. Although electric vehicle strategies will provide benefits; emphasis on vehicle production and fuel production technologies is also needed to achieve the emission reduction targets. The findings are relevant for policy makers while devising policies to achieve the targets. • Vehicle stock will grow significantly in 2030 for developing countries • China's 2030 transport sector GWP will be highest, 1772 MT CO 2 eq, surpassing USA • Only USA showed reductions for all pollutants in 2030 COVID-19 response scenario • All countries had similar trends for most pollutants at different life cycle stages • COVID–19 occurrence didn't contribute to significant benefits in short & long term [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental managers attempt to increasingly incorporate precautionary principles into decision making. The literature lacks Machine Learning -based approaches for forewarning lifecycle environmental impacts. This paper proposes a method to support electric vehicle design. The main innovation of the work lays in merging Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Machine Learning foundations to provide support and awareness to designers. The present approach overcomes the present literature because it provides a method for the design phase, is based on a well-established methodology (LCA) and provides quantitative results from little inputs. The approach exploits machine Learning Methods to develop models with the design features of a generic electric vehicle (such as vehicle mass and distance traveled) in six phases (Problem definition; Data collection; Data Preparation; Modeling; Model evaluation; Model interpretation). Differently from existing environmental analyses, all stages of the product life cycle have been considered in building the database; moreover, the model provides quantitative results. Regression models and supervised algorithms were used. The obtained model can be used by product engineers, as well as those not experts on LCA. Moreover, the model guarantees the database and hypothesis's uniqueness, ensuring the results coherence and comparability. The level of accuracy obtained in the case study (error or 17%) is comparable with studies handling full environmental analysis (that should be more accurate), and outstanding, as the present case is for the design phase. Future works will focus on additional significative indicators, similar electric vehicle design and integration with prospective LCA approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the aviation industry strives to minimise its environmental footprint, understanding the full life cycle impacts, including maintenance, becomes essential for sustainable development. This paper addresses the critical research gap in the environmental assessment of aircraft maintenance by conducting a comprehensive life cycle assessment based on an Airbus A320 aircraft. By combining a top-down check-level analysis and a detailed examination of the aircraft manufacturer's maintenance planning document, this study provides significant insights into the environmental implications of maintenance activities. The check-level analysis provides a general overview, while the analysis of the maintenance planning document delves into individual tasks, enabling the identification of components with the highest ecological impacts. This research emphasises the importance of including aircraft maintenance activities in life cycle assessment studies and provides valuable guidance for researchers, industry practitioners, and policy makers in prioritising sustainability measures and enhancing the environmental performance of aircraft throughout their life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete waste recycling has been considered an efficient way to reduce environmental impacts in the end-of-life treatment of construction waste materials compared to traditional landfilling. Developing advanced and sustainable technologies in recycling processes grows with significance for enhancing the performance of recycled products. However, there is still a lack of systematic analysis and comparison of the studies adopting life cycle assessment (LCA) to examine environmental potentials of varied concrete waste recycling processes. This paper identifies up-to-date enhancement techniques for recycling concrete waste and provides a comprehensive analysis of selected cases that evaluated environmental impacts of recycling processes with LCA approaches. A total of 22 representative case studies were compared systematically using the key parameters involved in four major steps of LCA framework. Critical issues were identified from previous research studies. It is of great importance to standardize the rules for determining system boundaries and functional units, validate foreground and background inventory databases, and improve the utilization of combined uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. A specialized LCA computational tool for concrete waste recycling is in high demand for industrial decision-makers and practitioners. The proposed system boundaries of advanced recycling technologies and conceptual framework of platform development highlight potential directions for future research. [Display omitted] • A systematic comparison from perspectives of the LCA framework has been adopted on the 22 case studies that involve detailed processes of concrete waste recycling. • Standardized rules for defining system boundaries and functional units are expected to be developed for enhancing the comparability and quality of LCA outcomes. • The availability, integrity, and authenticity of the LCI databases with primary datasets are of great importance in obtaining accurate results of the assessment. • A conceptual framework for constructing a semi-developed LCA computational tool specialized for concrete waste recycling is proposed and its feasibility should be investigated in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large quantities of post-use glass packages are produced globally, that so need to be treated as waste: this is cause of a global environmental concern. Therefore, efforts are required for optimisation and promotion of re-use and recycling practices with a waste valorisation-oriented approach in a circular economy context. In this context, the study was aimed at documenting environmental damages and improvements related to recycling glass cullet into sodium silicate in water solution on a lab-scale chemical process. Life Cycle Assessment was applied for this purpose according to the specialised International Standards. The study highlighted that the environmental hotspots of the process stay in the production of electricity and of sodium hydroxide as both required for the chemical reaction development. Those two input items contribute 81.94% and 14.33% of the total damage associated with the whole lab process, that is equal to nearly 36.5 μpt. A 64% environmental damage reduction could be obtained by sourcing the process electricity requirements by means of a photovoltaic plant. Furthermore, through a sensitivity analysis, the authors proved that the investigated sodium silicate is appreciably more environmentally sustainable than the virgin-origin counterpart, whose environmental profile was measured in nearly 43 μpt. The study can be considered as a proof that, already in the design phase on a lab-scale dimension, it is possible to identify recycling paths that may contribute to implementing sustainable circular models of the economy. [Display omitted] • The paper investigates the recycling of post-use glass containers into sodium silicate. • Life Cycle Assessment was applied to a chemical process on the laboratory scale. • The functional unit was 41g sodium silicate. • Electricity consumption and sodium hydroxide production were the environmental hotspots. • Recycled sodium silicate was environmentally proven than the virgin counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two economic activities have been integrated in southern Brazil: olive cultivation and sheep farming. The favorable edaphoclimatic conditions in the southern region for cultivating olive trees and cultural preferences for the consumption of sheep meat make this integration a valuable strategy. Considering that every activity causes environmental impact and the exploitation of natural resources, new systems that promote sustainable development and the efficient use of these resources become necessary. This paper presents the first study of the carbon footprint of the life cycle of integrating of sheep and olive farming, with the objective to build an inventory based on primary data collected on olive and sheep farms in Brazil, determine the carbon footprint of the conventional and integrated system and estimate the potential for mitigating GHG emissions. The evaluation was performed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The study focuses on the detailed analysis of the processes and activities that are responsible for GHG emissions, including enteric methane emissions, methane emissions from manure management, emissions from nitrogen fertilizer use and limestone application and energy consumption. For this, two major scenarios were considered, the first centered around on the traditional olive cultivation and sheep farming systems individually, and the second involved their synergistic integration. The findings indicate that the conventional system is associated with a global warming impact of 6.8 kg CO 2 eq per liter olive oil and kg live weight. In contrast, the integrated system demonstrates a significant mitigation potential of 27.7%, resulting in a reduced global warming impact of 4.92 kg CO 2 eq. This advantage is a consequence of the synergy between the systems, as they now occupy the same area, which allows the sharing of agricultural activities and agrochemical inputs, in addition to optimizing nutrient recycling and complementing each other. Additionally, the results of a sensitivity analysis showed that enteric methane from sheep and the application of limestone to the soil are the most influential parameters on the carbon footprint, indicating that they are key parameters for the development of GHG mitigation strategies, some of which were discussed in the article. • First life cycle assessment of integration between olive and sheep farming in Brazil. • The inventory was constructed with primary data collected in situ. • The study assesses the carbon footprint of the olive and sheep farming system. • The results show environmental advantages of the integration of olive and sheep farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for sustainability and reduction of human impact on the planet has led to discussions about environmental efficiency in the manufacture and use of automotive vehicles. The advancement of environmental and government laws has encouraged the automotive industry to seek constant improvements in safety, fuel economy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve these goals, reducing the weight of vehicles has been considered a relevant strategy, with several research and development efforts in search of high-tech materials and innovative design. The assessment of the life cycle of vehicles, from the extraction of raw materials to the end of their useful life, is essential for estimating environmental impacts. In this context, this paper focuses on the life cycle analysis of vehicles with new generation steel structures (Body in White Solution) compared to current steels (Body in White Baseline), aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing of the thickness of the steel plates, maintaining the mechanical properties necessary to guarantee the safety of the vehicle. The methodology of this study was divided into the evaluation of Body in White (BIW) mass in current steels (Baseline) and in advanced high resistance steels (Solution); detailing the vehicular life cycle from the extraction of materials to its end of life; in the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions through simulation and in the comparison of vehicle emissions with BIW in current steels and in advanced high resistance steels. As a result, it was possible to observe that, in the comparison of the CO 2 footprint, modeled in the Eco Audit, there is a 15% reduction in emissions in the CO 2 footprint for the BIW solution, as well as a 7% reduction in the C eq total , in the on-site test and a saving of 260.40 L in fuel consumption, that is, the reduction in vehicle weight plays a significant role in reducing CO 2 emissions, providing a mitigation factor for global warming. [Display omitted] • There is a 15% reduction in emissions in the CO2 footprint for the BIW solution. • There is a 7% reduction in the Ceq total, in the on-site test. • Reduction in vehicle weight plays a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions. • Providing a mitigation factor for global warming. • There is a fuel economy of 260.4 L over the vehicle's life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient consumption of combustible solid wastes (CSWs) is still a serious global problem due to the environmental pollution and energy waste brought by conventional disposal methods. Utilizing typical high-temperature kilns, including sintering machines, coke ovens and blast furnaces, throughout the whole steelmaking chain to consume CSWs on a large scale is a promising approach, which is characterized by energy recovering and volume reduction. This review systematically summarizes the recent progress in the substitution of CSWs as renewable and recyclable alternative fuels, as well as addressing the limitations of these techniques and identifying opportunities for future research. Types, sources and resources of CSWs are introduced in this paper, which mainly include renewable biomass and recyclable carbon-rich wastes such as waste plastics, waste tires, and municipal sludge. The basic characteristics and utilization of typical CSWs are compared, and the combustion characteristics, application effects and enhancement technologies (pretreatment such as pre-dealkalization, pre-granulation and pre-melting, thermochemical conversion, optimization of fuel performance, sintering process parameters, and raw material structure) of different CSWs consumed in sintering machines, coking ovens and blast furnaces are discussed. For these high-temperature kilns, biomass is the most promising CSW, but its substitution ratio is still limited by combustion characteristics. Finally, a clear roadmap of specific next steps and priorities for research and development based on remaining challenges and suggestions on how to improve the fuel substitution ratio, establish processing center and develop life cycle model are put forward. • Utilizing metallurgical kilns to consume combustible solid wastes is perspective. • Biomass-based wastes have great potential to replace coal-based fuels for steelmaking. • Pretreating and process optimizing are important for efficient wastes utilization. • Full life circle analysis is necessary to evaluate the reasonable wastes utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2) and hydrogen (H 2) present substantial feedstock potential for advancing sustainability in the chemical industry. In this paper, a new integrated system is proposed consisting of four subsystems, including an ICT-OEC six-step Cu–Cl cycle, a CO 2 capture using monoethanolamine (MEA), an ammonia production unit, and a methanation unit. The simulation of these subsystems was carried out using Aspen Plus software. Based on literature indicating a 3-step Cu–Cl cycle producing 125 TPD of hydrogen, comparative simulations of a similar-capacity six-step Cu–Cl cycle were conducted for the current analysis. All related values correspond to it. Converting CO 2 into methane and nitrogen into ammonia holds great promise in reaching the net-zero target and fostering sustainability. A comprehensive cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) investigates the environmental impacts of ammonia and methane production using green hydrogen and CO 2. Significantly, the utilization of renewable energy sources such as nuclear, wind, and hydropower in the CO 2 refinery process generates a net negative Global Warming Potential (GWP). It was noted that the GWP value of the electrical grid could increase significantly, reaching up to 370,000 kg CO 2 eq., particularly when producing 23,277.2 kg/h of ammonia and 2141.71 kg/h of methane at a hydrogen consumption rate of 5211 kg/h (125 metric tons of H 2 per day). The significant environmental impact of the CO 2 refinery process is notably influenced by the choice of electrical grid mix as the energy source. However, in the case of photovoltaics as an energy source, the value of 0.517 kg sb eq, surpasses that of the electrical grid mix. However, nuclear energy emerges as a particularly low-GWP impact, with values of −4190 and −4140 CO 2 kg eq. for the 3-step and 6-step Cu–Cl cycles, respectively. The findings suggest that the CO 2 refinery process generates a carbon credit in both scenarios. Based on the findings of this study, policymakers have a basis for developing effective strategies to address and alleviate environmental impacts. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the energy and environmental crisis is increasingly prominent, and how to solve the global energy and environmental problems is one of the challenges facing the world today. China is a major producer and consumer of organosilicon, so it is necessary to explore the stage of high energy consumption and high pollution in the organosilicon industrial chain. In 2022, the proportion of submerged arc furnaces of 25000 kVA and higher in China reached 40%. Further expansion of these furnaces in the future is inevitable. However, research on the life cycle assessment of organosilicon manufactured using large-capacity submerged arc furnaces is still blank.Therefore,in this paper, the life cycle assessment method is used to evaluate the synthesis process of chemical grade silicon-organosilicon monomer prepared by large capacity (33000 kVA) submerged arc furnace, and the dominant process in various environmental impacts is defined.At the same time, the measures to improve the production process of organosilicon monomer were put forward. In the production process of 1000 kg organosilicon monomer, global warming potential (GWP) contributed the most (73.43%) to the comprehensive environmental impact, followed by chronic public health impact (HTI, 10.55%). Energy consumption (EN) accounted for 8.50%, while resource consumption (RU) accounted for 7.43%. The contributions of other environmental factors were relatively small (0.09%).The energy consumption and environmental pollution in the production of organosilicon monomer can be reduced by strictly controlling the quality of raw materials into the furnace, using heat pump technology in the distillation unit, and comprehensively utilizing the heat of reaction by-products and steam condensate. [Display omitted] • This study is the first one in China to conduct LCA for the preparation of chemical grade silicon-organosilicon monomer synthesis process in 33000 kVA submerged arc furnace. It provides the best improvement suggestions for reducing the environmental load of the product life cycle process and achieving cleaner production. • In response to the national development policy of large-scale submerged arc furnace, the dominant process of preparing organosilicon monomer based on 33000 kva submerged arc furnace in various environmental impacts was clarified. • The main technical improvement directions are: Strictly control the quality of raw materials for submerged arc furnace; Strictly control the sulfur content and nitrogen content of carbonaceous reductant, and adopt the most suitable flue gas treatment technology route; Smelt with large submerged arc furnace; Use heat pump technology for distillation unit; Optimize the monomer synthesis device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive Manufacturing has revolutionized manufacturing processes, offering design flexibility and advances in various applications. The integration of lattice structures into lightweight designs has attracted attention due to their ability to optimize properties such as stiffness, strength and energy absorption. This paper explores the trade-off between mass reduction and productivity while evaluating the environmental sustainability of lattice structures manufactured with Laser-based powder bed fusion for metals Using Life Cycle Assessment, two design variants for an automotive component are compared: a topologically optimized version with a solid bulk section, and a second design with lattice structures for additional weight reduction. Experimental measurements and a detailed analysis of the laser strategy were performed to build the Life Cycle Assessment inventory. The integration of lattice structures allowed a weight reduction of 6 %, but resulted in a significant decrease in productivity and a higher environmental impact. Surprisingly, lattice geometries, often perceived as green solutions, can have negative sustainability implications due to longer manufacturing times and impact of auxiliary equipment. Successful implementation of environmentally sustainable designs requires a balance between mass reduction and productivity while addressing potential environmental consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing deterioration of freshwater bodies has prompted the development of legislation for priority substances (PSs) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). In parallel, advanced treatment processes have been investigated to remove these contaminants from wastewaters and the assessment of the potential impacts of some of these processes has been performed throughout their life cycle. In this paper, a comparative life cycle assessment of the solar heterogeneous photocatalysis treatment of secondary urban wastewater using a carbon-based composite (consisting of graphene oxide and titanium dioxide, GO-TiO 2) or commercially available titanium dioxide material (TiO 2 –P25) as photocatalysts is conducted. It was found that the solar/GO-TiO 2 treatment, which implements GO-TiO 2 synthesized by the liquid phase deposition method, has higher potential impacts than the solar/TiO 2 option in all categories assessed under the present conditions due to the high potential impacts of the GO-TiO 2 synthesis method (i.e. , using ammonium hexafluorotitanate and boric acid as precursors to obtain TiO 2 in the composite). A composite prepared with TiO 2 –P25 and GO via a mechanical process seems to be a better solution to reduce all potential environmental impacts, but the resulting photocatalytic activity should also be considered before reaching a decision. [Display omitted] • Using GO-TiO 2 instead of TiO 2 –P25 increases all potential environmental impacts. • (NH 4) 2 TiF 6 and H 3 BO 3 use in GO-TiO 2 synthesis is highly impactful. • Alternatives for the source of TiO 2 in the GO-TiO 2 composite are needed. • Synthesizing GO-TiO 2 by other methods may be a more interesting option. • The impact of GO synthesis is not relevant in comparison to TiO 2 addition to the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2050, food production's environmental impacts are projected to double without intervention. Crucial changes in dietary habits are needed, and seafood can be pivotal. The focus in calculating burdens using life cycle assessment (LCA) indicators has shifted towards exploring interconnections within the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus. Addressing this evolution, this manuscript has applied an innovative methodology to calculate a WEF nexus index (WEFni). This index seamlessly integrates both environmental and nutritional profiles across diverse case studies involving fisheries, aquaculture, and processing production systems in the European Atlantic area. The results showed that when it comes to fishing, purse seine fishing obtained the highest score (99%). For the aquaculture activities, seafood (>73%) obtained better results than fish farming. About processing treatments, freezing (>79%) has lower environmental loads than canning. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was carried out according to a caloric- and edible-based functional unit as well as the modification of the weighting factors assigned to each footprint, in which important variations were reported in the WEFni of most case studies. Consequently, although the methodological guidelines supporting the WEFni have great potential to serve as an ecolabeling tool, certain aspects need to be re-evaluated. On the other hand, it could be interesting to include the potential biodiversity loss, as well as other socioeconomic indicators, with the purpose of considering a more sustainability criteria. Finally, the contribution of this paper to the food industry literature is of paramount importance, as it represents a first step towards holistic assessments and easy-to-understand ecolabelling processes that can promote sustainable production and consumption. • A joint analysis of environmental burdens and nutritional profiles was carried out. • The functional unit and weighting factors were modified in a sensitivity analysis. • WEFni revealed: purse seine high score, shellfish outperformed fish farming, and freezing had lower burdens. • The procedure followed has potential applicability to other products. • Further indicators are needed if a holistic analysis of sustainability is to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels continue to be a significant barrier in the fight against global climate change. Carbon taxes are an energy policy tool for substantially carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions reduction. This paper proposes a new strategy to promote the use of renewable energy by enterprises in industrial parks against the backdrop of a carbon tax. Using an evolutionary game model based on life cycle assessment (LCA), this study investigates the impact of dynamic carbon tax mechanisms, fines, and subsidies on the energy choices of industrial park enterprises. This paper's primary contribution is the incorporation of LCA into the evolutionary game model, which facilitates accurate calculation of the carbon tax parameter value. According to the study's findings, the carbon tax rate increases the propensity of enterprises to acquire a high percentage of renewable energy. While there is a negative relationship between fines and the propensity of enterprises to adopt a low proportion of renewable energy, an increase in subsidies decreases the proportion of enterprises that purchase a high proportion of renewable energy. This paper concludes by providing a theoretical foundation for policymakers to construct precise carbon tax schemes and promote renewable energy consumption among industrial park enterprises while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions. [Display omitted] • Carbon tax & energy decisions: life cycle assessment & evolutionary game theory. • Life cycle assessment for enterprise carbon taxes under multiple energy options. • Carbon tax mechanisms, fines, and subsidies influence enterprises energy decisions. • Excessive subsidies discourage renewable energy use, but fines can. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a product has reached the end of its useful life, different strategies can be used to extend its lifespan. In additive manufacturing, two of these strategies are additive repair and refurbishment, which aim to recover or improve a product's properties and functionality. However, it is important to consider the potential negative ecological impacts of these end-of-life strategies and how they can be implemented in an environmentally sustainable way. To address this, a generic model based on life cycle impact assessments is developed to evaluate different demonstrators. Starting from technical process chains via the integration of process- and product-specific data, different demonstrators are evaluated and compared based on a model. This paper explores previous research on additive repair and remanufacturing processes and their ecological assessment. An assessment framework for MAR/R (metal additive repair/refurbishment) is presented, with a subsequent life cycle assessment (LCA) of four demonstrators. Proceeding from these results, recommendations for action are discussed for users as well as further scientific research. A result of this multi-case study is that environmental hotspots within the process chain are primarily material-dependent so the amount of metallic powder has a significant influence on the overall ecological impact. The paper concludes with recommendations for efficient use of additive repair and refurbishment. (207 words) • Innovative use of metal additive manufacturing allow new end-of-life potentials. • Material flow networks represent environmental dependencies in process chains. • Metal repair and refurbishment allow products entering another product life cycle. • Holistic evaluation in a multi-case study enables to develop expert knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low price and excellent flexibility of plastic straws make them very popular, yet their short lifespan and improper disposal after use result in major resource waste and environmental burdens. To this end, paper straws and polylactic acid (PLA) straw alternatives have emerged on the market. Aiming to present a comparative sustainability study of drinking straws, this article provides a life cycle assessment of drinking straws made of polypropylene (PP), paper, and polylactic acid (PLA) based on Chinese context, as well as a scenario analysis of the availability of low-carbon electricity (LCE) and its recycling capacity (RC). The functional unit was set as a straw suitable for 500 ml milk tea cups, and the system boundary is from cradle to grave, including raw material preparation process, straw production process, usage process, waste process, transportation and recovery process. The comparative analysis revealed that the plastic straw alternative would not be superior in all indicators, but would lead to environmental problem-shifting, which will provide a basis for decision making and avoid bias caused by subjective choices. Scenario analysis shows that the synergistic effect of LCE and RC can minimize the environmental burden for paper straw, especially in terms of Primary Energy Demand (PED) which reduced by 27.9% with 100% RC and 50% LCE, and this is mainly due to RC. The findings of this work can offer theoretical justification, data references, and fresh perspectives for environmental evaluation of straws. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, surplus crude glycerol has been generated in large amounts as a waste product of biodiesel production, leading to bottlenecks in the supply chain of the biodiesel industry. This waste glycerol represents an important potential renewable feedstock and platform chemical; however, its purification is often needed for further processing. Advancements towards glycerol purification are being made using sustainable purification techniques aimed at improving the biodiesel industry's environmental footprint. Many studies focussing on various techniques to purify glycerol can be found in the literature; however, very few studies to evaluate the environmental impacts of the purification processes have been reported. This paper provides a critical investigation on the cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of three different processes for purifying crude glycerol, namely, physicochemical treatment and membrane purification (PMP) processes, vacuum distillation purification (VDP) processes and ion exchange purification (IEP) processes having a functional unit (FU) of 1000 kg of purified glycerol. These purification processes were modelled using Aspen plus software v12.1 in combination with Super Pro Designer v13. CCaLC2 (Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle of Industrial Activities) was used to measure the environmental impacts associated with each process. By following the ISO 14044:2006 methodology and utilising the CCaLC2 tool, seven different types of potential environmental impacts have been investigated, which include carbon footprint, water footprint, acidification, eutrophication, ozone layer depletion, photochemical smog and human toxicity. Sensitivity analysis of the LCA was carried out using the response surface method (RSM) to determine the most effective parameter within the LCA. The total carbon footprint of the PMP, VDP and IEP processes are 3466.82, 1745.72 and 2239.71 kg CO 2 eq. FU−1 respectively. The LCA study determined that waste generated as a result of crude glycerol impurities from the three processes had one of the highest environmental impacts on the overall process. For the PMP and IEP processes, the raw materials used in the physicochemical treatment also contribute significantly to the carbon footprint and other environmental impacts. Lastly, aspects concerning the environmental impacts from the PMP glycerol purification process have been addressed by analysing the raw materials from different sources accompanied by altered waste disposal methods (i.e. the incineration of generated wastes as opposed to landfilling) in an attempt to reduce the overall environmental impacts. For the PMP process, which has the highest carbon footprint, usage of differently sourced raw materials and altered waste disposal treatments resulted in 39% reduction in total carbon footprint and 54% reduction in the total ozone layer depletion. Sensitivity analysis of the LCA shows that the glycerol content within the crude glycerol was the most significant parameter. [Display omitted] • First comparative LCA study on crude glycerol purification processes is presented. • Raw materials and waste generated were the leading causes of environmental burdens. • Membrane separation had the highest environmental impacts followed by ion exchange. • Differently sourced raw materials and altered waste disposal methods reduced the carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The road construction industry is exploring the use of environmental product declarations (EPDs) as a communication tool and their implementation in green public procurement (GPP). Currently, several product category rules (PCRs) specific to asphalt mixtures exist worldwide. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to assess the similarities and differences between these PCRs to avoid comparing EPDs derived from inconsistent methodological frameworks. This research revealed similarities in requirements for data quality, exclusion of inputs and outputs, and allocation procedures. However, it also showed major differences in the use of system boundaries, reference service life (RSL), functional unit (FU), and end-of-life (EOL) modelling. A quantitative evaluation of the variability of the PCRs showed that an RSL in its current form only provides information about the expected performance but does not alter environmental impacts in the final EPDs. Therefore, it is advised to recalculate the results into impacts per year. Furthermore, it was found that applying a cut-off for a rejuvenator and SBS influences the total GWP impact in module A1 by +25% and −30%, respectively. Finally, if an EPD uses a cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-cradle scope, relocating the EOW does not affect the total impact but only triggers a shift of impacts between the EOL and material modules (it can increase the total GWP impact by 25% if the focus is A1-A3). The overall conclusion is that selecting a specific PCR for asphalt mixtures influences the underlying methodological framework and that harmonisation of the PCRs is consequently recommended. • PCRs do not cite the CEN/ISO sustainability assessment frameworks for civil works. • System boundaries should be selected on a product-vs project-specific level. • RSLs without impacts per year do not take durability into account in EPDs. • The EOW state of RAP is in most cases modelled inconsistently within the same PCR. • EPDs using a different PCR cannot be compared, harmonisation of PCRs is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling waste refrigerator plastics can effectively reduce waste accumulation and carbon emissions. This study firstly applied the combination of electrostatic separation and magnetic separation in the waste refrigerators production line to recycle High-impact polystyrene (PS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastics. A cradle-to-gate LCA study of recycling plastic from waste refrigerators was conducted. A carbon emission accounting system for the life cycle of waste plastic recycling was established, each emission unit was identified, the environment impact was analyzed. The results show that disposing waste polyurethane (PU) has the great impacts on eco-toxicity, and the use of high-power machines and Kraft paper packaging has great impacts on resources. The greenhouse gas emission generated during the life cycle is 8.53 kg·CO 2 eq/kWh. The greenhouse gas emission by recycling1kg ABS and HIPS was 2.59 kg·CO 2 eq/kWh and 1.84 kg·CO 2 eq/kWh, which is 84.35% and 61.61% less than producing virgin ABS and HIPS plastic from petrochemical industry. From 2016 to 2030, recycling waste refrigerators can reduce the total of 6452.06 kt waste plastics and greenhouse gas emissions by 370,350 tons. This study provides a scientific basis for exploring waste plastic recycling strategies and promoting green transition of the plastic industry. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a comprehensive solution for dry municipal solid waste (MSW) management with describes the scenario of the gasification process. For this purpose, the potential of implementing the MSW gasification process in Southeast Asia (Iran) with three agents of air, steam, and air-steam is investigated. In order to manage the MSW gasification process as accurately as possible in the study area, a thermodynamic, exergy, economic, environmental, carbon footprint, water footprint, ecological emergy, and risk assessment for the three mentioned gasification agents were carried out in the most populated cities of Iran. In the capital of Iran (Tehran) with the largest population and as a result of largest MSW production, the potential of the gasification process has been investigated at different times (10 consecutive years and 12 months of a year). Finally, by combining artificial neural networks and genetic programming, comprehensive relationships have been established to predict the thermodynamic conditions of gasification with an air-steam agent. The general results of the survey indicate that gasification with air agents has good potential for most regions. The use of the steam agent has created worse economic, environmental, and risk conditions than the other two agents. Investigating the potential of the gasification process in Tehran shows that this city has a good potential to implement this process compared to other cities in Iran, and the most suitable location for establishing the gasification process is the 4th region of this city. [Display omitted] • Potential of municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification for all Iranian cities. • Comparison of using air, steam, and air-steam agents for MSW gasification. • The payback period of air agent MSW gasification is lower than other agents. • Machine Learning used for prediction of the behavior of MSW gasification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food loss and waste become the sever problem in the modern society. This paper studies the carbon emissions related to different circulation forms of lychee，which is a typical perishable fruit in China. First, we construct a kinetic model of lychee by using the Arrhenius equation. And then, we propose a carbon emission measurement with the unit effective carbon emission and the comprehensive carbon emission utility by using life cycle assessment. With this measurement, we measure the rate of loss and life cycle carbon emissions of four lychee's circulation scenarios, including: cold chain, room temperature, cold chain broken at the beginning and cold chain broken at the end. The results show that with the traditional carbon emission measurement, the carbon emissions generated by the cold chain circulation scenario are the highest in total carbon emissions under the four scenarios. But using the unit effective carbon emissions measurement, the total carbon emissions under the cold chain circulation situation is 34.84 % less than those of the room temperature circulation. Under the cold chain circulation scenario, the unit effective carbon emission and comprehensive carbon emission utility are 0.38 kgCO 2 /kg and 85.33 %, respectively. Improving the rate of cold chain circulation can improve the comprehensive carbon emission utility and achieve land-saving. Comparing with the cold chain circulation rate in China in today, when it increases to 95 %, the comprehensive carbon emission utility of lychee supply chain increases to 81.65 %, and the required land is reduced by 54.84 %. • The unit effective carbon emission and the comprehensive carbon emission utility are proposed. • A kinetic model of lychee is developed to measure the loss rate of lychee. • A life-cycle carbon emissions model is developed to estimate lychee carbon emissions with different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has implemented the coal-to-clean-energy shift policy in rural areas of northern China to improve air quality, optimize energy structure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a significant increase in natural gas and electricity consumption. The policies shifts can reduce CO 2 emissions, but methane emissions from switching processes may contribute to short-term climate impacts. The climate impact during the policy transition is still unclear. Thus, this paper developed a lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions framework for coal-to-clean-energy policies in rural northern China. The GHG emissions for heating and cooking, the two most energy intensive activities, were calculated. Four scenarios were designed based on energy types and equipment. Uncertainties in estimating lifecycle GHG emissions under different scenarios were analyzed. The technology warming potential values were calculated for the conversion of scenarios. Besides, the environmental benefits of natural gas versus electricity under emission reduction targets were compared. According to our findings, the total GHG emissions reduction of coal-to-clean-energy shift policies in rural northern China under global warming potential on a 100-year scale (GWP 100) is 1.83 million metric ton CO 2 equivalent (MMT CO 2 eq) in 2018. Since the climate benefits of policy shifts are driven by chosen technical routes, replacing coal with natural gas should be prioritized; heating with natural gas boilers can maximize GHG emissions reduction and climate benefits. By 2038, the climate benefits of electricity will be far superior to those of natural gas, based on emission reduction targets and electrical mix. There are numerous opportunities to reduce GHG emissions in China's energy sector, and there is a need for the energy industry to obtain better emissions data as well as to increase efforts to reduce GHG emissions. [Display omitted] • The coal-to-clean-energy policy in rural areas has a positive climate benefit. • Priority should be given to replacing coal with natural gas in policy execution. • Heating and cooking with electricity will maximize climate benefits from 2038. • Climate impact caused by CH 4 emission during the energy lifecycle can't be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the published research pertaining to the use of superheated steam for carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite reclamation. Superheated steam has been used for this purpose for around a decade and was initially investigated to prevent the degradation of reclaimed fibres, which occurs during the oxidative char removal step of most pyrolysis-based reclamation techniques. The review evaluates the various methodologies employed with particular focus on the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the reclaimed fibres, and the environmental impact of using superheated steam for carbon fibre reclamation as determined by life cycle assessment. Superheated steam studies report recovering carbon fibres with retained tensile moduli of around 90%–100% and tensile strengths of 65%–100% when compared to virgin carbon fibres, however, when optimised it is shown that carbon fibres can be recovered with no loss in stiffness and strength. Most studies are still at laboratory- or pilot-scale, however, several companies are collaborating with researchers to investigate the potential of this reclamation method on a larger scale. Early analysis on the energy use of carbon fibre reclamation using superheated steam shows that energy savings of 25% could be made by recycling CFRP waste using superheated steam and using the recovered carbon fibres to displace virgin carbon fibres rather than landfilling and incinerating this waste. • Review of the developments pertaining to superheated steam use for carbon fibre reinforced polymer reclamation. • Superheated steam reclaimed carbon fibres retain tensile strengths of 65%–100% and tensile moduli of around 90%–100%. • Review of the life cycle assessment of superheated steam-based carbon fibre reinforced polymer reclamation. • Examples of superheated steam reclamation processes entering the pilot-plant/industrial phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Chemical Process Industry (CPI) only hydrogen production from steam methane reforming produces more greenhouse gas emissions than light olefins production. Various solutions have been proposed to reduce the CO2 emissions from olefins production. It is not clear which solution is best, particularly when you consider other sustainability factors. In this paper we report the results of our cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of three highly promising solutions: a so-called low-emission steam cracking furnace, the electrically driven RotoDynamic reactor (RDR), and a blue hydrogen-fired furnace. Life cycle inventory data is obtained from a first principles model for steam cracking, validated with industrial data, and combined with data obtained from process simulation. Our study shows that if the electrical supply is grey then the RDR-based cracking process has a 41% higher impact on climate change than the reference base case, a conventional plant with state-of-the-art furnaces. The low-emission furnace is only 7.2% higher. When using a mixed electrical grid, like Belgium's, the climate change impact for the RDR is 1.5% higher and the low emission furnace is 6.6% lower. With a grid that uses fully renewable power generation the RDR solution is an impressive 27% lower than the base case and the low-emission furnace 17% lower. We also analysed the impact of firing the furnaces with blue hydrogen from (a) a conventional steam-methane reformer and (b) an innovative gas-heated reformer: both (a) and (b) using carbon capture and storage (CCS). The climate change impact is reduced by 8% and 18% respectively compared to the base case. Since the blue hydrogen solution uses very little electricity, the climate change impact is insensitive to the method of electrical power generation. • Prospective LCA of 3 promising steam cracking concepts has been performed. • RotoDynamic reactor results in 27% lower carbon footprint if powered by a "green" grid. • Low-emission furnace has a 16% lower carbon footprint in a "green" grid. • Low-emission furnace is preferable if the case of "grey" or mixed grid. • "Blue" hydrogen combustion allows a reduction of carbon footprint up to 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating renewable electricity and green hydrogen with CO 2 utilization to produce chemicals has drawn much attention due to its low carbon emission characteristics. The goal of this paper is to investigate the environmental sustainability of producing a steady hourly output of methanol by utilizing electricity and hydrogen produced via renewable energy resources, and CO 2 captured from a coal-fired power plant located in Inner Mongolia, China. Six renewable energy-based electricity and hydrogen systems are considered based on photovoltaic, wind turbines and combinations thereof, including battery and grid technologies. The environmental impact indicators of these system are compared comprehensively through life cycle assessment approach, including not only global warming potential but also fossil fuel depletion, water & soil & air pollution indices and human health index. The results indicate that the most environmentally friendly system is Case B2 which uses photovoltaic to produce hydrogen and electricity, with battery for energy storage and excess electricity sold back to grid. It shows apparently the best sustainability performance in global warming potential, which is 0.105 kg CO 2 -eq per kg methanol. In general, the proposed six systems outperform conventional methanol production systems in terms of global warming potential and abiotic depletion potential, with reductions ranging from 74% to 92% and 51.1%–73.8% respectively, but they have high levels in other environmental sustainability indicators such as human toxicity, eutrophication potential, and ozone layer depletion potential due to the photovoltaic electricity generation unit. The findings highlight that it is essential to consider a comprehensive range of environmental sustainability indicators when developing renewable energy-based methanol systems on a large scale. [Display omitted] • Component capacity of the integrated system is optimized. • Comprehensive life cycle environmental impact assessment is conducted. • GWP of proposed route is 74 %–92% lower than fossil-based route. • PV manufacturing is critical in most environmental impact indicators. • HTP, ODP and EP indicators of proposed route are much high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking process is an environmentally friendly, energy saving, and low-carbon route to produce steel, but its further development is restricted by extensive electricity consumption in China. In this paper, the EAF steelmaking processes driven by solar energy system (EAF-SES) was developed, which supplies electricity for the whole process, and reduce the dependence on traditional energy sources. Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of EAF steelmaking processes integrated with traditional energy system (EAF-TES) and EAF-SES was conducted according to the data of 1536 heats based on the function unit of 1000 kg of molten steel (MS). EAF-SES and EAF-TES were studied and compared from perspectives of life cycle carbon footprint (LCCF), production cost (PC), raw materials cost (RMC), solar energy price (SEP), and carbon tax (CT). The results indicated that EAF-SES enjoyed lower LCCF but higher PC than EAF-TES. The LCCF of EAF-SES was 220 kg lower than that of EAF-TES. Besides, compared to the PC of 478 $ per ton of MS in EAF-TES, the PC in EAF-SES increased by 9.13%. While the electricity price was lower than 0.041 $/kWh or CT higher than 217 $/t CO 2 , respectively, EAF-SES had both significant advantages of economic and environmental benefits. Vigorously employing clean energy power generation, cutting down hot metal supply, and adopting full scrap melting mode in EAF steelmaking processes achieve better environmental performance. This research is expected to supply a technical idea for energy conservation, emission reduction, and cleaner production in future iron and steel industry. [Display omitted] • EAF steelmaking process integrated with solar energy system (EAF-SES) was developed. • Comparative life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of EAF-SES was conducted. • Life cycle inventories of 1536 heats in EAF steelmaking process in China were converged. • Some methods of energy conservation and emission reduction in EAF steelmaking process were brought out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of environmental transition, the environmental impact of composite parts manufacturing has to be improved as well as the impact of each step of the life cycle. However, a lack of data makes this improvement difficult as few studies have focused on the environmental impact of the manufacturing process of composite parts by giving detailed inventory data and an associated environmental assessment. Thus, this paper aims to propose a comprehensive gate-to-gate environmental analysis of a manufacturing process used in the aerospace industry: the thermo-stamping of carbon fibre reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (C/PPS) composite parts. A methodology based on the life cycle assessment framework is used to quantify and analyse the environmental impact of thermo-stamping parts. First, a complete description of the manufacturing process is proposed to define the studied system boundaries. The manufacturing process is divided into unit processes representing each step of production. Linked to this description, a balance of all the consumptions and waste of materials and energy (inventory flows) is established for each unit process. As a result of the study, each inventory flow is then modelled as a function of the process parameters using data collected from laboratory-scale experimental measurements, databases, and literature. These inventory data models allow computing inventory data of different manufacturing scenarios and C/PPS composite parts. Furthermore, the gate-to-gate environmental assessment of a case study part is presented using the models developed in this paper. C/PPS over-consumption and energy consumed during heating and stamping were identified as unit processes and inventory flows contributing most to the environmental impact of part manufacturing. [Display omitted] • Complete and detailed inventory analysis of the C/PPS thermo-stamping process. • Inventory flow modelling as a function of the process parameters. • Environmental assessment of manufacturing a case study part. • Identification of primary causes of environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pavement life cycle assessments (LCAs) enable decision-makers to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction strategies. This paper explores the viability of deep reinforcement learning (DRL), a framework that enables agents to learn optimal actions within a given situation, to identify environmentally benign pavement management strategies. More specifically, this study utilizes proximal-policy optimization (PPO), a subtype of DRL algorithms, to identify a management strategy that minimizes the expected global warming impact of a pavement facility over its lifecycle. Through an urban Interstate case study, this paper shows that the proposed PPO algorithm identifies management strategies that are anticipated to reduce the expected global warming impact of a pavement facility over its planning horizon by 16 percent relative to traditional practice. Furthermore, the PPO algorithm is able to identify this management strategy in only 25 learning iterations, which is in stark comparison to Q -learning, a common reinforcement learning algorithm, that requires 70,000 learning iterations. The results of this work highlight the viability of DRL to integrate within complex LCA models to determine environmentally sustainable pavement management strategies. • Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) supports the identification of environmentally benign pavement management strategies. • Probabilistic LCA integrates DRL to minimize a pavement's global warming impact. • Proximal policy optimization (PPO) converges to a near-optimal management strategy. • PPO identifies a management strategy where expected GWP is 16% lower than traditional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The road maintenance has great influence on traffic operation and environment in many aspects from the perspective of life cycle assessment (LCA). To clarify this problem, LCA of road network infrastructure maintenance phase while considering traffic operation and environmental impact is researched in this paper. Firstly, the evaluation objective, quantification method and evaluation content for LCA are determined. Then, a list of factors related to road network infrastructure maintenance cost is categorized as fixed and variable costs. The relationship between evaluation results and maintenance scale is established. Quantitative models are established for the evaluation of maintenance management and traffic operations in the maintenance phase of road network infrastructure. Besides, the impact of maintenance activity on maintenance management and traffic operations is explored. The effects of different maintenance durations and traffic control types on traffic condition are investigated. It is found that there is a significant scale economy effect in maintenance costs, which provides a calculation basis for optimizing maintenance strategies. This research improves the analysis method for the LCA of road network infrastructure maintenance phase while considering traffic operation and environmental impact, which provides an important reference and guidance for the efficient and low-carbon operation of road network infrastructure. [Display omitted] • Traffic operation and environmental impact are considered in LCA of road maintenance. • Impact of maintenance activity on maintenance management and traffic operations is explored. • Significant scale economy effect in maintenance costs is found. • It is meaningful to efficient and low-carbon operation of road network infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism places pressures on the environment through the services provided (accommodation, food, leisure activities, and transport), meanwhile it is particularly vulnerable to global warming as climate is a crucial component of destinations' attractiveness. As a result, research focusing on the impacts of tourism has increased significantly. Practitioners consult a plethora of frameworks and publications to environmentally assess tourism but none of the existing guidelines provides specific recommendations making difficult to obtain reliable results that can be properly replicated and compared. This paper discusses the use of Footprint family indicators in tourism through a review of studies that measure the Water, Carbon, and Ecological Footprint of tourists. Results show a lack of specific data, and an absence of consensus about the system boundaries and methodologies used for calculation. Food production and transportation are the main drivers of environmental burdens. The Footprint indicators help to understand the trade-offs between environmental effects which can be used to prioritize sustainability efforts in the tourism industry. Additionally, this study presents a critical analysis of the influence on the trip's Footprint of the services provided to different rated tourism experiences (high, medium, and low rated) and offers a reflective comparison on the pressure exerted by visitors and the local population. • Tourism Footprint studies lack trustworthy datasets due to gaps in specific data. • Lack of consensus on boundaries in tourism Footprint studies hinders result comparison. • Tourism Footprint studies generally ignore end-of-life environmental impacts. • High-rated vacations impose the highest environmental burdens. • Tourists exert more pressure on natural resources and ecosystems than residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid population growth and urbanisation have accelerated waste generation, and effective waste management has become a major challenge worldwide. With advances in technology and management methods, waste management strategies have begun embracing digitalisation, leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, cloud/edge computing, machine learning, 5G communication, and blockchain technologies. Amongst them, the blockchain technology has the structural features of achieving information security and integrity without central guarantees. Blockchain also meets the data record/storage needs of waste management and the design of new mechanisms for effective waste management. These benefits make blockchain an attractive technology in the field of waste management, with researchers and practitioners alike investigating its broad applications to support sustainable waste management. However, this emerging technology has not yet been widely accepted by potential users. To further champion the application of blockchain technology, this review paper provides a systematic overview of the various pathways in which the technology has been applied in the waste management industry and further discusses its related challenges and opportunities via considering the promising prospect of combining blockchain technology with IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and life cycle assessment (LCA). This review also provides insights for interpreting some emerging applications of blockchain in the field of waste management and clarifying the research paths in the context of blockchain, digitalised waste management, and circular economy. [Display omitted] • Impacts of blockchain technology on waste management have been substantial. • Recent development from blockchain's functional perspectives was surveyed. • There is a long way towards blockchain-based sustainable waste management. • Relevant challenges and opportunities in blockchain applications were discussed. • Outlooks in digitalised waste management and circular economy were clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle indicators are essential for supporting decisions to decarbonize the construction sector. However, the use of such indicators remains limited in the construction industry, particularly in developing countries, partly because of their complexity, high cost, and fragmented life cycle assessment (LCA) tools. Therefore, we have developed the Information System for Environmental Performance in Construction (Sidac) to change this scenario. The system applies a streamlined LCA approach for assessing the cradle-to-gate embodied energy and CO 2 emissions of construction products. This online system includes all functionalities to consistently calculate, verify, communicate, and benchmark life cycle indicators. Based on primary data, the system is intended to facilitate the calculation and disclosure of life cycle indicators for construction products. This paper presents the principles and primary functionalities of this system. The first version of the system database contains generic data for 86 Brazilian construction products and 40 basic inputs, including electricity and fuels, and it is ready to receive manufacturer-specific data. By addressing barriers to assessing life cycle indicators of construction products, Sidac represents an important step towards the mainstream consideration of these indicators in the Brazilian construction value chain. This system can aid public policy in promoting low-carbon construction by providing a centralized and reliable environmental performance information system. Moreover, the development of Sidac is aligned with the trend of increasing digitalization and simplification of LCA. This system can serve as a model for developing similar simplified tools to accelerate the adoption of life cycle thinking in other countries and sectors. [Display omitted] • Reducing construction embodied carbon requires life cycle indicators of products. • Life cycle assessment complexity renders assessment of these indicators difficult. • Sidac focuses on calculating the embodied energy and carbon of products. • The system allows to calculate, verify, and communicate life cycle indicators. • Sidac can mainstream environmental performance declaration in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) are widely used for identifying opportunities for redesigning engineered parts from a sustainability perspective. However, the data representations and results visualizations used in LCAs remain disconnected from those used for engineering design; this makes it challenging to apply results from LCAs towards redesign decision-making. To address this gap, this paper presents a novel voxel-based approach for mapping process-based life cycle inventory data (and consequently LCA results) to three-dimensional CAD models. The proposed approach can be flexibly applied at different resolutions, i.e., part-level, feature-level, and individual voxel-level based on the granularity of information available. Furthermore, it enables volumetric visualization of LCA results directly on the three-dimensional model of the part. A real-world case study on mapping and visualizing LCA results of a shaft and rotor sub-assembly manufacturing process is used for demonstrating the merits and limitations of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textile and fashion industry is becoming increasingly active in measuring its environmental performance. As far as wool is concerned, there is quite abundant literature on environmental impacts available. However, previous studies very rarely distinguish between the different co-products of the wool transformation, and often attribute the same impact to fibers produced from worsted processing (longer and more expensive fibers) and woollen processing (shorter and cheaper fibers). This study firstly provides a detailed mapping of processes and products involved in the wool production chain, from sheep grazing to yarn production, with particular attention to the shorter fibers, which have been mostly neglected in previous literature. Secondly, this study uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to analyze the environmental impacts of the different intermediate co-products. In particular, when multi-output processes occur, impacts are distributed proportionally to their relative economic value, using therefore an economic allocation. This approach enabled the calculation of environmental impacts of fibers used both in the worsted and woollen processing. It results that shorter fibers generally have lower impacts than longer fibers used for the production of fine yarns. Specifically, most short fibers have an impact on climate change ranging from 25 to 30 kg CO 2 eq/kg, while, longer fibers have an impact of 78–97 kg CO 2 eq/kg. The physiological variation in the ratio between worsted and woolen co-products of multi-output processes appears to have little effect on the final impact results. Finally, since the grazing phase is highly variable, impacts on climate change of the analyzed intermediate products have been re-calculated using, for the greasy wool, the lowest and highest values of impact found in literature. Impacts of the analyzed products vary sensibly according to the value considered for the greasy wool, but the relationship between them is rather stable. This paper contributes with detailed information and easily replicable data which could be used as a basis for the environmental assessment of wool garments and for improving the sustainability in the wool sector. • A map of the integrated processes of the wool production chain is provided. • Environmental impacts of wool co-products are calculated with Life Cycle Assessment. • Economic allocation is used to assess multi-output processes of wool transformation. • GWP impact of most short wool fibers ranges from 25 to 30 kg CO 2 eq/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor was introduced as sustainable technology to treat waste such as tires. However, uncertainty arises when defining the most sustainable gasification process conditions. In this paper, eight experimental conditions were analyzed. The experiments were carried out at 700 and 850 °C with different equivalence ratios (ER) while using air as a gasifying agent. At 850 °C the effect of steam addition was also studied. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was assessed to the product gas and its energy content by the following environmental impacts: Climate Change (CC), Ozone Depletion (OD), and Particulate Matter (PM). LCA methodology revealed that optimal gasification conditions provide 74, 69 and 66% environmental impact reductions in CC, PM, and OD, respectively by comparing the best and the worst-case scenarios. The combination of high temperature, low ER, and steam addition offered the most environmentally sustainable process, achieving 8.3·10−2 kg CO 2 eq/MJ in CC, 1.3·10−8 kg CFC-11 eq /MJ in OD and 4.9·10−5 kg PM2.5 eq /MJ in PM. Despite the great savings in environmental impacts, additional efforts are still needed to reduce the energy consumption of the preheating system to ensure the product gas is levelled to conventional natural gas. • Life Cycle Assessment for waste tires gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed. • Experiments at 700 °C and 850 °C and equivalence ratios between 0.13 and 0.33 • Assessed Impacts: Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, and Particulate Matter. • 0.24 kg CO 2 /MJ, 2.9·10−8 kg CFC11/MJ, and 9.3·10−5 kg PM2.5/MJ can be saved. • Omitting preheating improves the environmental impact by 70–100%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement production is responsible for substantial anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, and various solid wastes have been explored as replacements for cement clinker to produce composite cements in lowering the carbon footprint. The composite cements are claimed to be more environmentally friendly than ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in most Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies but overlooking the environmental burden from upstream material and strength degradation after replacing the cement may cause significant inequities between LCA models. This paper aims to present a comprehensive LCA, starting from sole OPC through binary and ternary, and followed by a high-volume replacement of OPC with alternative materials, known as quaternary composite cements. The latter incorporated coal gangue, limestone, and ground granulated blast furnace slag as cement replacements. The uncertainty caused by the variation of calcination temperature and kaolinite content of coal gangue were assessed by Monte-Carlo analysis. Results show that ternary composite cement is more recommended in comparison to binary composite cement, considering the very minimal emissions from limestone production, and a calcination temperature of 600 °C is the most recommended owing to the wider selection kaolinite content range of CG. The quaternary composite cement was determined to achieve the most satisfying performance from both mechanical and global warming potential perspectives. However, after considering the environmental burdens of upstream processes as allocation, additional attention should be paid to the deterioration of other environmental impacts, such as freshwater quality and human carcinogenic toxicity. [Display omitted] • Kaolinite content and calcination temperature were considered. • Mass and economic allocation method were compared. • Strength loss at high cement replacement level has strong bias on LCA results. • Ternary composite cements performs better both mechanically and environmentally. • Deterioration of ecosystem and human health should be noticed with allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, ecosystem damages limit sustainable development, which is exacerbated by the scarcity and high demand for resources such as water, energy and food. Therefore, this paper presents a new integrated circular economy approach to optimize the generation, use, and distribution of resources in a given region that takes into account the environmental footprint while considering the net social benefit. Multiple objectives, such as nexus security and environmental damage, are prioritized in terms of three categories: human health, ecosystem quality and resource depletion. The optimization model includes the life cycle analysis for each technology or extraction source with the eco-indicator 99 methodology throughout the supply chain. The determinant variables identified were water availability, renewable energy production and local food production. The food sector is described as promoting the use of hydroponic technologies, animal carrying capacity, and aquaculture activities. An area of Mexico was considered as a case study, considering domestic, industrial, and agricultural activities. The analysis of the variables of interest was carried out using different groups, identifying 7 attractive optimal scenarios. A direct proportion is observed between the security of the water-energy-food nexus and the associated economic profits, while the life cycle assessment fluctuates with the use of services. The results show the satisfaction of the demand for water, energy, and food, highlighting the vulnerability of the food sector concerning the net objectives by including unconventional techniques to provide healthy diets. Food accounts for 76–94% of the total damage caused, where each type of food is analyzed according to the excess energy needed to obtain in the future, the change in biodiversity, and the disability-adjusted life years, having as a reference the main diseases that cause death in Mexico. [Display omitted] • Incorporating circular economy in optimizing the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem nexus. • Modeling the global environmental impact of the nexus through the eco-indicator 99. • The food sector shows vulnerability in decision-making based on the analyzed objectives. • The results of eco-indicator 99 depend on at least 76% of food production. • The damage to human health by food is identified as a main factor for Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, sustainability concerns gained traction in the scientific literature on cleaner production, as well as in industry and application. In this regard, the circular economy (CE) is intended to contribute to the current ecological transition, providing economic advantages and preserving global society for future generations. CE initiatives have been implemented in recent decades to offset the harmful environmental consequences of supply chain operations. Notably, CE strategies can be applied at different supply chain levels, in product design, manufacturing, transportation, consumption, and disposal. Using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, the present research examines a case study from the Italian egg industry, highlighting the environmental benefits and social implications of initiatives supporting CE (i.e. the use of recyclable and biodegradable packaging and the adoption of a short supply chain). The implementation of those CE strategies shows a 22% reduction in Kg CO 2 -eq emissions, proposing that circular concepts should be incorporated into sustainable supply chain management. Notably, this paper analyses the environmental implications of the intermediate phases of the egg industry supply chain. Both primary and secondary data have been collected. We collected primary data via direct interviews with companies' managers throughout all the study phases. As a result, despite various external issues affecting the company decisions, the paper shows that incorporating CE strategies may deliver demonstrable environmental benefits for the companies. In addition, other strategies that should be adopted in the long term have also been outlined. Finally, the implications that sustainable behaviours of the companies can entail have been examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the wine sector has received a particular attention in the last years. The inventory phase represents an important and sometimes critical issue for LCA analysts. This paper presents a systematic review of LCA studies (over the last 10 years) in the wine sector in order to analyze the aspects related to the inventory data by focusing on temporal, geographical and technological issues. Furthermore, the role of wine products classifications has been analyzed. The final goal was to highlight the best practices to support researchers approaching LCA in the wine sector while carrying out the inventory phase. The final number of reviewed papers was 37. Results showed an evident heterogeneity of data used in the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). In particular, it emerged that the temporal aspects were treated in 78% of cases, while the others did not mention the reference year of the data. The specific geographical location was indicated for 97% of the studies, but with various levels of detail (e.g., town, region); most of the collected studies refer to European wines with designation of origin whose productions can be an expression of larger or smaller areas. Moreover, many studies use secondary data, especially to assess electricity consumption, while the list and specifications of the pesticides and fertilizers used in the agricultural phase were reported only in a few cases. This study shows the need of specific international guidelines to orientate the LCA practitioners in the wine sector. In this direction, the best practice in wine LCA studies regards the detailing and contextualization of the inputs in all phases of wine production, from viticulture to the wine-making process, to distribution (e.g., detailing the typology of products, the inputs like fertilizers and pesticide, the production cycle). • Data collection for Life cycle Inventories in wine sector studies were analyzed. • The temporal, geographical, technological issues reveal extreme heterogeneity. • Detailing and contextualization represent a challenge in input/output collection. • The availability of secondary data for specific wines represents a critical issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have moved to the forefront of emerging thin-film solar cell research in just a decade, demonstrating the most promising efficiency records. These technological advancements however, were primarily tested at laboratory scale and there remains significant issues in relation to the scalability of the deposition methods utilised. Inkjet printing, initially used for printed electronics, has recently been applied to solar cell production and demonstrated promising potential for scaling up. Despite various studies that have assessed the technical feasibility of utilising inkjet printing, their environmental performance has not been investigated. This paper, for the first time, presents a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of inkjet printing-based PSCs, on a cradle-to-gate basis using GaBi LCA software. The results were compared with those of spin-coating, as the most widely studied deposition method, and demonstrated significant improvement in all impact categories. Global warming potential (GWP) and cumulative energy demand (CED) were used as proxies to compare results obtained in this paper with available studies in the literature. The comparison demonstrated that inkjet printing of PSCs had a GWP and CED of 7.54 kg CO 2 eq/m2 and 200.18 MJ/m2 while spin-coating had a reported median value of 74.5 kg CO 2 eq/m2 and 1204 MJ/m2 respectively. This suggests considerable environmental advantage for the inkjet method. The paper also assesses a novel green solvent-based precursor ink investigating the environmental benefits of eliminating the toxic and hazardous solvent materials commonly used in wet chemical deposition of perovskite layers. The green solvent-based precursor ink results demonstrated significant improvement over conventional solutions with up to six orders of magnitude lower impacts. The LCA results obtained in this paper contributes to forming a full assessment of the development of scalable deposition methods such as inkjet printing by highlighting their environmental hotspots and advantages. The paper also identifies potential opportunities for perovskite precursor ink material composition improvements for sustainable development of PSCs. This will assist in addressing their associated environmental concerns in relation to the use of high impact toxic solvents. [Display omitted] • The environmental performance of inkjet printed PSCs was analysed for the first time. • Comprehensive LCA models have been developed based on a Cradle to Gate approach. • Results were compared with spin-coating and alternative green solvent precursor inks. • Inkjet printing offers significant environmental benefits and scale up potentials. • The novel precursor ink demonstrated up to six orders of magnitude lower impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In machining processes, there are contradictions between high efficiency and environmentally-friendly machining. This indicated that there is a major potential for sustainable machining to both increase efficiency and protect ecological balance. For this, the employment of effective methods has become imperative to reduce resource use. In this way, the use of analysis and optimization tools to select the tool material, cutting parameters, cooling/lubrication conditions, etc., will be a benefit for minimizing waste without sacrificing efficiency. In the literature, researchers have used various methods to reveal the requirements of sustainability. However, reaching the concept of sustainable machining by using one more than technique confuses the readers. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to present and discuss the current methods, models and analyzes in a comprehensive review paper. In this context, this paper reviewed the previously published works, especially focusing on sustainability and energy consumption modeling methods in machining operations. At the end of the study, it was seen that LCA provides a systematic and quantitative view of the system and thus can act as a decision support tool. Moreover, it can give an idea to the manufacturers about the improvement of the process and the areas of innovation. However, the method has several disadvantages such as relatively expensive and specific software, obtaining inventory data, impractical to use, time-consuming and requires large amounts of data. Various mathematical models and algorithms have been developed to deal with the complex situations and offer a more practical use compared to LCA. However, it is difficult to state that clear results have been achieved thanks to these models. It was seen that in complex machining processes, only approximate results can be found with models, which leads to questioning the reliability of the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is a global and critical challenge and car manufacturers pledge to reduce their carbon footprint. It is mandatory to assess the carbon footprint of current and upcoming vehicles to achieve these self-set and quantified targets. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized and scientifically acknowledged method to quantify a product's or company's environmental impact. Due to the complexity of a vehicle's cradle-to-gate phase, automation of LCAs is a suitable simplification strategy by importing product information and automatically assign them to pre-defined life cycle inventory (LCI) models. The data acquisition is a recognized issue, but the LCI modelling is hardly discussed in the literature for automated LCAs even though it has a significant influence on their accuracy. This paper presents an approach to elaborate an LCI model construct that enables consistent and efficient automated LCA while maintaining defined accuracy and applicability in commercial LCA software. Such an LCI model construct and its derivation are presented in this paper for automotive aluminium components considering sheet components, casting components and extrusion profiles. It is mandatory for a precise calculation to take the most influencing parameters into consideration. Grid points for each of these parameters are elaborated dependent on the characteristic if the parameter is continuously or discretely variable. The resulting LCI model construct makes this most influencing parameters customizable in an automated LCA. A generic method for the design of such an LCI model construct based on the findings of the use case was derived in this paper. The application of this methodology is not limited for vehicle's LCAs and carbon footprint, but other complex products and impact categories to enable efficient, consistent, and accurate LCA results for complex products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of metal matrix composites generally requires higher energy and raw materials consumption, while generating more waste than conventional material processing. The possibility of reusing recycled aluminum as an alternative in the production of metal matrix composites has led to the interest in this research as it can contribute to aluminum waste and raw reduction as well as to environmental impact mitigation. This paper provides an in-depth investigation of a brand-new metal matrix composite that is produced by gravity casting. In turn, the process is based on recycled aluminum EN AW 6082 for the matrix that is reinforced with stainless steel AISI 304 woven wire mesh that is intended for industrial and commercial use. A detailed description of the production procedure is reviewed, as are the vales of toughness, yield and tensile strengths that were determined by standardized tensile and Charpy tests. Life Cycle Assessment and Finite Element Analysis were used to determine, respectively, the environmental impact and the residual stresses generated during the production of the specimens for the above mentioned tests. Five different opening and wire diameter configurations for the AISI 304 woven wires were studied in this work. In a comparison to recycled aluminum alloy EN AW 6082 without reinforcement, the best results were provided by the 2.177 mm × 0.6 mm configuration. These results were the following: (1) Yield, tensile strength and toughness showed an increase of 245.5%, 13.62% and 175.0% respectively. (2) Life Cycle Assessment increased 8.31% for the highest environmental impact obtained (Human Toxicity). (3) The Finite Element Analysis showed that the residual stresses increased in their compressive values in −10.83 MPa, −9.925 MPa and −3.84 MPa, respectively, for the stainless steel wires, aluminum matrix and wire/matrix interfaces. From the mechanical properties, the environmental impacts and the residual stresses that were obtained, one can conclude that this study has demonstrated a technically feasible practical approach to the use of the recycled aluminum alloy EN AW 6082 using AISI 304 stainless steel woven wires as materials in the metal matrix composites production. This could lead to a substantial reduction in the volume of aluminum used and, consequently, provide environmental and economic benefits. [Display omitted] • Optimal and sustainable design for a new MMC consisting of recycled aluminum alloy EN AW 6082 reinforced with stainlesssteel AISI 304 woven wires. • LCA combined with FEA and standardized tests were used to determine the optimal and sustainable design of the proposed MMC. • New MMC that is capable of revaluing aluminum waste with interesting mechanical properties. • The findings revealed that the 2.177 mm X 0.6 mm configuration achieve the best mechanical properties, whereas the residual stresses and environmental impact is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding additive manufacturing has been gaining momentum in the industry, particularly during the fourth industrial revolution, their widespread implementation as a disruptive production technology has brought impacts on the environment. Considering this issue, the research for this paper was built upon the discussion concerning life cycle assessment (LCA) adoption in implementing additive manufacturing (AM). The capability of LCA to achieve environmental goals is a vivid illustration of why it has given researchers and practitioners an extensive impetus. However, to actualize such an effective approach, it is necessary to identify and face the barriers impeding its implementation in AM. Thus, this research aims to identify, classify, and analyze the most critical barriers hindering LCA adoption in AM implementation. To do so, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, along with a comprehensive literature review and thorough interviews with the relevant experts, was used to achieve the research purposes. The results revealed twenty-two barriers within five classifications, where the lack of financial resources to conduct LCA study on AM is the most dominant barrier, followed by the lack of LCA expertise in the AM context and the lack of laws and directives for LCA application in AM, respectively. The findings would be useful to decision-makers to develop suitable mitigation strategies and make more informed decisions with individual and/or cluster concentrations. This study can be fruitfully exploited as a guiding reference since no article has hitherto discussed, identified, or analyzed barriers in the understudied area. • Barriers hindering LCA adoption in AM were identified and classified. • Hierarchical analysis of the barriers was performed using fuzzy AHP. • Examination of the outputs was drawn via the sensitivity analysis. • The most dominant classified barrier was the organizational barriers. • Lack of financial resources to conduct LCA study on AM was the main sub barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical issue that has dominated the field of Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) is their usefulness to climate change, their second life, and their recyclability. With recent developments in the discipline of circular economy, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of LIBs becomes important. There are numerous studies on LCA of LIBs and this paper investigates the existing LCA results to quantify the different parameters that could affect the decisions of a battery pack design engineer. Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP) are the two most discussed environmental impacts among the previously executed LCA studies. GWP gives information on the carbon footprint associated with the usage of LIB whereas the ADP is associated with the depletion of resources, both environmental factors important to consider for a sustainable design process. This study also takes into account the Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) component, which provides a designer with a sense of the amount of energy used over the course of a LIB's lifetime. The authors of this work suggest a design process model for a LIB pack design based on these considerations, which aids a design engineer in making the right choices. Consequently, this helps the designer to achieve more utility of raw materials, making sparing use of resources and find potentials to reduce waste in different life stages of a LIB pack. • State of Art - Life Cycle Assessment studies for Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs). • Quantifying relevant parameters for design decisions within battery pack engineering. • Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) component for energy used in whole lifetime. • Decision-based design process model for a battery pack design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fly ash (FA) and recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) have been extensively studied, aiming to improve the sustainability of concrete. The biomineralisation method has also been researched to enhance the performance of concrete. However, introducing FA and RCA may decrease the strength of concrete, and the biomineralisation method may create extra environmental impact (EI) due to the production of bacteria and corresponding chemical agents. It is hard to directly judge the influence of these methods on the sustainability of concrete. This paper proposes to explore the sustainability of concrete with FA, RCA, and biomineralisation methods by life cycle assessment. Six scenarios were established, and Six EI categories of the six scenarios were quantified. The quantified EI values considering their corresponding strength were obtained and compared. The results showed that: using FA decreased EI, using RCA showed a limited effect on decreasing EI, the biomineralisation method significantly decreased EI, and using the treated RCA increased EI due to its high consumption of chemical agents in the treating procedure. In summary, biomineralisation enhanced FA concrete performance is recommended to substitute traditional concrete widely after comprehensively comparing sustainability, workability, strength, and durability. Finding more sustainable calcium sources and nutrition can further improve its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico is the fifth largest producer of orange worldwide, and it is expected to increase its production in the following years. Environmental impacts of orange cultivation have been previously described in major orange-producing countries, except for Mexico. This paper aims to assess the environmental performance of orange production in Veracruz, Mexico's largest orange producer state, through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. A cradle-to-farm gate assessment was performed based on a functional unit of 1 ton of fresh orange. The system boundaries considered the environmental impacts of cultivation and harvesting of oranges, as well as impacts derived from the production of required inputs. Primary data was gathered from three municipalities within the Martinez and Tuxpan regions, and complemented using agricultural models to develop the life cycle inventory. Two farm categories were considered: the first based on the production system (conventional and organic), and the latter based on farm size (high and medium production); the obtained data was subsequently arranged into weighted averages. The environmental impacts were assessed using the CML-IA baseline impact methodology, plus the CED method and a water consumption quantification based on the life cycle inventories. Furthermore, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to identify trends between systems and detect impact hotspots. Results indicate that conventional orange production has a higher impact than organic production in most of the assessed impacts, especially on GWP, AP, EP, and HTP, mainly caused by production and use of fertilizers. The environmental impacts related to upstream processes are the major contributors to the environmental impacts of organic orange production. This paper's contribution lies in broadening the LCA literature for fruit products in developing countries, characterizing orange producers based on crop system and farm size, and proposing the PCA tool for the interpretation of LCA results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallized textiles are novel materials that can be used in high value added functional goods, such as Assistive Technologies (AT) products. Potential issue with innovative metallization of textiles is the toxicity and environmental impact of the substances used in the process. To investigate this issue, this paper utilizes an original methodology of linking the analysis of toxicity of chemicals used in the textile metallization with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the metallization process itself. This is done from the perspective of three relevant impact categories: global warming, toxicity and water use, for which, three methods were selected: IPCC et al., 2013 GWP 100a; USEtox 2 and Available WAter Remaining (AWARE). The LCA uses a mix of primary and secondary data and three cradle-to-gate scenarios were chosen for calculating results - first presenting just the metallization process itself, second taking into account alternative impregnation process and third including metallized surfaces - woven cotton and polyester. While the most toxic chemical identified was formaldehyde, the results of the LCA shows top processes contributing to global warming is the electricity consumption, the use of polyurethane with 0.996 kg CO 2 eq. and EDTA with a result of 0.816 kg CO 2 eq. The greatest impact on human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity comes from copper (II) chloride mostly used in the plating phase. Moreover polyurethane used in the impregnation phase leaves the largest water footprint of 0.984 m3. When taking into account the metallized surface scenario, the impact of cotton was high for global warming and water use and the impact of polyester was relatively low for all impact categories. The main conclusions of the research relate to the identification of cleaner production methods that could reduce the environmental footprint of the metallization of textiles. They include, among others: development of technology that can significantly increase resource productivity through selective metallization of conductive tracks; use of alternative formaldehyde-free and polyurethane-free chemicals; use of a closed loop system for water remaining in the technological process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]