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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the environmental impacts of omega-3 fatty acid (n-3), high protein feed and biofuel production from algae to the impacts of the production of those products from fish.Methods: The functional unit was the production of one metric ton of omega-3 fatty acids from algae (fish) and the accompanying co-products of biofuel and high protein feed. This was a cradle to gate LCA. Four scenarios were used in this model. The algae multiproduct model (MPM) scenario was the baseline using only unit operations currently in use at the reference facility (Cellana LLC). A low-energy centrifuge replaced the existing conventional centrifuge (MPM (LE)) to reduce energy consumption. The MPM was improved in a different manner, employing membrane filtration prior to centrifugation (MPM (MF)). These three scenarios were compared to the conventional production of the same products from fish (conventional product model: CPM). This life cycle assessment investigated the following impacts: ozone depletion potential, global warming potential, smog formation potential, acidification potential, and eutrophication potential.Results and discussion: The environmental impacts of producing omega-3 fatty acids from algae were higher than producing omega-3 fatty acids from fish if membrane filtration was not used. Membrane filtration reduced most of the environmental impacts of the algae system by more than 50%. Fuel consumption was the only factor that caused the fish systems to change by greater than 10% from the baseline. Productivity, membrane filtration electricity, and annual operating days could each affect the environmental impacts of the algae system by greater than 10% from the baseline. Improvements to the algae system depend on improvements to cultivation and harvesting, with the impacts from processing being very small.Conclusions: This study presented results comparing the environmental impacts from a multiproduct system from algae and from fish. The results of this study can serve as a benchmark for the environmental impacts of an algal multiproduct biorefinery compared to the conventional production of those same products from fish. Areas of improvement have been identified for the algae production system for dewatering and cultivation. The amount of n-3 had little impact on the n-3 market but had a significant effect on the existing algal n-3 market. The amount of fuel and feed produced had a negligible effect on both markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current methodological approach for developing sustainable biofuel processes and supply chains is flawed. Life cycle principles are often retrospectively incorporated in the design phase resulting in incremental environmental improvement rather than selection of fuel pathways that minimize environmental impacts across the life cycle. Further, designing sustainable biofuel supply chains requires joint consideration of economic, environmental, and social factors that span multiple spatial and temporal scales. However, traditional life cycle assessment (LCA) ignores economic aspects and the role of ecological goods and services in supply chains, and hence is limited in its ability for guiding decisionmaking among alternatives--often resulting in sub-optimal solutions. Simultaneously incorporating economic and environment objectives in the design and optimization of emerging biofuel supply chains requires a radical new paradigm. This work discusses key research opportunities and challenges in the design of emerging biofuel supply chains and provides a high-level overview of the current "state of the art" in environmental sustainability assessment of biofuel production. Additionally, a bibliometric analysis of over 20,000 biofuel research articles from 2000-to-present is performed to identify active topical areas of research in the biofuel literature, quantify the relative strength of connections between various biofuels research domains, and determine any potential research gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A framework was developed for integrating indoor environmental quality (IEQ) into life cycle assessment (LCA). The framework includes three main impact types: 1) chemical-specific impacts directly comparable to conventional life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) human health categories, 2) non-chemical health impacts, and 3) productivity/performance impacts. The first part of the framework related to contaminant specific impacts was explored using a green university building as a case study, while the remaining categories will be the subject of future work. Results showed that including IEQ aspects in whole-building LCA revealed LCIA internal impacts in some categories comparable to external impacts. For human health respiratory effects, building-specific indoor impacts from the case study were 12% of global external impacts in conventional LCA. Building-specific indoor cancer toxicity impacts were greater than external impacts by an order of magnitude, and building-specific indoor noncancer toxicity impacts were lower than external impacts by an order of magnitude. Although internal impacts were greater than external impacts in one category – cancer toxicity, the source of the contamination in the other two categories – respiratory effects and noncancer toxicity – was related to intake of outdoor air. The findings of this study underscore the importance of filtration or other treatment of mechanically supplied outdoor or recirculated indoor air, as well as control of pollution from indoor sources such as building materials or cleaning products. These findings may support the use of green building rating systems which include acknowledgment of the aforementioned IEQ-related features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study analyzed the environmental impacts of the materials phase of a net-zero energy building. The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) is a three-story, 24,350 square foot educational, research, and administrative office in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. This net-zero energy building is designed to meet Living Building Challenge criteria. The largest environmental impacts from the production of building materials is from concrete, structural steel, photovoltaic (PV) panels, inverters, and gravel. Comparing the LCA results of the CSL to standard commercial structures reveals a 10% larger global warming potential and a nearly equal embodied energy per square feet, largely due to the CSL's PV system. As a net-zero energy building, the environmental impacts associated with the use phase are expected to be very low relative to standard structures. Future studies will incorporate the construction and use phases of the CSL for a more comprehensive life cycle perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As the demand for renewable energy increases, it becomes important to critically examine the environmental impacts of renewable energy production. Often, the approach has been trial and error in renewable energy with respect to its impact on the environment. Hydrokinetic Energy Extraction (HEE) has been seen as a potentially “benign” form of renewable hydropower. This paper provides a benchmark for initial measurement of HEE environmental impacts, since negative outcomes have been present with previously assumed “benign” renewable hydropower. A Gorlov system was used to represent a HEE system. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was utilized to compare the environmental impacts of HEE with small hydropower, coal, natural gas and nuclear power. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria air emissions were quantified and compared over the life cycle of the systems. Life cycle air emissions were used in combination with TRACI to compare the systems. The Gorlov system was found to have the lowest life cycle impact with a system lifetime comparison, and did compare closely with small hydropower. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Innovative, sustainable construction products are emerging in response to market demands. One potential product, insulating concrete forms (ICFs), offers possible advantages in energy and environmental performance when compared with traditional construction materials. Even though ICFs are in part derived from a petroleum-based product, the benefits in the use phase outweigh the impacts of the raw material extraction and manufacturing phase. This paper quantitatively measures ICFs' performance through a comparative life cycle assessment of wall sections comprised of ICF and traditional wood-frame. The life cycle stages included raw materials extraction and manufacturing, construction, use and end of life for a 2,450 square foot house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Results showed that even though building products such as ICFs are energy intensive to produce and thus have higher environmental impacts in the raw materials extraction and manufacturing phase, the use phase dominated in the life cycle. For the use phase, the home constructed of ICFs consumed 20 percent less energy when compared to a traditional wood-frame structure. The results of the impact assessment show that ICFs have higher impacts over wood homes in most impact categories. The high impacts arise from the raw materials extraction and manufacturing phase of ICFs. But there are a number of embedded unit processes such as disposal of solid waste and transport of natural gas that contribute to this high impact and identifying the top unit process and substance contributors to the impact category is not intuitive. Selecting different unit processes or impact assessment methods will yield dissimilar results and the tradeoffs associated with every building product should be considered after studying the entire life cycle in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive agricultural systems are largely responsible for the increase in global reactive nitrogen compounds, which are associated with significant environmental impacts. The nitrogen cycle in agricultural systems is complex and highly variable, which complicates characterization in environmental assessments. Appropriately representing nitrogen inputs into an ecosystem is essential to better understand and predict environmental impacts, such as the extent of seasonally occurring hypoxic zones. Many impacts associated with reactive nitrogen are directly related to annual nitrogen loads, and are not adequately represented by average values that deemphasize extreme years. To capture the inherent variability in agricultural systems, this paper employs Monte Carlo analysis (MCA) to model major nitrogen exports during crop production, focusing on corn-soybean rotations within the U.S. Corn Belt. This approach yields distributions of possible emission values and is the first step in incorporating variable nutrient fluxes into life cycle assessments (LCA) and environmental impact assessments. Monte Carlo simulations generate distributions of nitrate emissions showing that 80% of values range between 15 and 90 kg NO3- N/ha (mean 38.5 kg NO3 N/ha; median 35.7 kg NO3 N/ha) for corn fields and 5-60 kg NO3 N/ha (mean 20.8 kg NO3 N/ha; median 16.4 kg NO3 N/ha) for soybean fields. Data were also generated for grain and residue nitrogen, N2O, NOR, and NH3. Results indicate model distributions are in agreement with available measured emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the Workshop "Economic and Environmental Impacts of Bio-based Production," which was convened at the Hotel Allegro in Chicago, Illinois on June 8-9, 2004. The overall goal of the workshop was to continue to expand the dialogue on bio-based production in the research and business community, to address life cycle issues surrounding bio-based production, to interject economic and policy elements, and to seek a synthesis among these areas. This workshop is envisioned as complimentary to previous workshops and symposia on this topic which focused principally on the scientific and technical aspects.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Workshop on the Economic and Environmental Impacts of Biobased Production in the 2005 issue.

Abstract: This study examines three agriculture management practices with the aim of improving the environmental performance of corn-derived products such as bioethanol. Corn production is energy intensive and contributes to water quality degradation and global warming, thus affecting the environmental impact of corn-derived ethanol. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of three management strategies: tillage, fertilizer choices and the use of buffer strips to sequester nutrients. Detailed energy, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus inventories are compiled to represent corn production scenarios within the US Corn Belt. The LCA was developed using GREET 1.8 (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) and emission factors with statistical analyses to estimate energy consumption, associated air emissions, and aqueous nutrient runoff potentials. Results show that using manure fertilizers as opposed to synthetic fertilizers requires less energy, however the use of manure generates more CH4, N2O, CO2 and results in more variable concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus leaching from farmlands. No tillage emits less greenhouse gas emissions, sequesters more soil organic carbon and slightly reduces nutrient runoff compared with conventional tillage practices. Building buffer strips of certain widths is an efficient way to reduce N and P discharge to surrounding waters with minimal effect on the energy or global warming profile. Based on the results of the LCA studies, replacing conventional tillage with no till, and installing buffer strips can improve environmental performances of corn derived ethanol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] This study investigated a cradle-to-gate microalgal biodiesel and its co-products. [•] Ozone depletion, global warming, smog, acidification and eutrophication potentials were assessed. [•] The market opportunities for each co-product were examined. [•] The scenario with the least life-cycle environmental impacts has the highest net energy ratio. [•] The scenario also had the highest total income indicating their co-products market potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bio-based polymers have become feasible alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. However, the factors that influence the sustainability of bio-based polymers are often unclear. This paper reviews published life cycle assessments (LCAs) and commonly used LCA databases that quantify the environmental sustainability of bio-based polymers and summarizes the range of findings reported within the literature. LCA is discussed as a means for quantifying environmental impacts for a product from its cradle, or raw materials extraction, to the grave, or end of life. The results of LCAs from existing databases as well as peer-reviewed literature allow for the comparison of environmental impacts. This review compares standard database results for three bio-based polymers, polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS) with five common petroleum derived polymers. The literature showed that biopolymers, coming out of a relatively new industry, exhibit similar impacts compared to petroleum-based plastics. The studies reviewed herein focused mainly on global warming potential (GWP) and fossil resource depletion while largely ignoring other environmental impacts, some of which result in environmental tradeoffs. The studies reviewed also varied greatly in the scope of their assessment. Studies that included the end of life (EOL) reported much higher GWP results than those that limited the scope to resin or granule production. Including EOL in the LCA provides more comprehensive results for biopolymers, but simultaneously introduces greater amounts of uncertainty and variability. Little life-cycle data is available on the impacts of different manners of disposal, thus it will be critical for future sustainability assessments of biopolymers to include accurate end of life impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Service industries continue to be to be a driving force economically, both within the US and globally, yet their environmental impacts still tend to be overlooked. This article presents a hybrid life cycle assessment case study to assess and quantify the life cycle impacts of an engineering service firm. The data for the hybrid LCA of the firm''s activities and operations was collected for one fiscal year, from January 2009 to December 2009. Data collection methods include an energy audit, personnel survey, and assessment of waste management practices. The results of the case study show that the impacts of employee travel and transportation as well as the building premises are the major contributors to the environmental impact of a service industry (40% and 24% of GWP, respectively) and should be the areas targeted for improvements to reduce life-cycle impacts of similar service firms. The study also reveals that in order to make specific targeted reductions to a firm''s life-cycle impacts, more in depth evaluation of certain activities, such as workstation energy consumption, can be essential to identifying unnecessary wastes of resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many studies have compared corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol on a per unit basis and have generally concluded that cellulosic ethanol will result in fewer environmental consequences, including nitrate (NO3-) output. This study takes a system-wide approach in considering the NO3- output and the relative areal extent of hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) due to the introduction of additional crops for biofuel production. We stochastically estimate NO3- loading to the NGOM and use these results to approximate the areal extent of hypoxia for scenarios that meet the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007's biofuel goals for 2015 and 2022. Crops for ethanol include corn, corn stover, and switchgrass; all biodiesel is assumed to be from soybeans. Our results indicate that moving from corn to cellulosics for ethanol production may result in a 20-percent decrease (based on mean values) in NO3- output from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). This decrease will not meet the EPA target for hypoxic zone reduction. An aggressive nutrient management strategy will be needed to reach the 5000 km² areal extent of hypoxia in the NGOM goal set forth by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force even in the absence of biofuels, given current production to meet food, feed, and other industrial needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While hospitals, sustainable healthcare organizations, and recent peer-reviewed publications have assessed the sustainability of medical products and services, the healthcare industry lacks a framework to effectively inform environmental decision making and quantitatively assess the success of sustainability initiatives for medical products and services. Several recent publications have even expressed a need for better ways to quantify sustainable healthcare practices. To address these needs, this research compared the cradle-to-grave environmental and economic impacts of some of the most common recommendations from checklists: reusable versus disposable medical products, and changes to common medical services. Salient results and conclusions from recent studies focusing on the environmental and economic impacts of various reusable versus disposable medical products and different medical services were synthesized and prioritized. All relevant results related to environmental and economic impacts of reusable versus disposable medical products and the analyzed medical services were also correlated with existing sustainable checklists. The results showed that reusable products were less expensive their single-use disposable alternatives. The dental bur also required the least amount of water for its associated cleaning processes, had the lowest total embodied energy, and had the lowest associated greenhouse gas emissions. These outcomes were likely due to the fact the burs were, by far, the smallest examined product. Based on the results derived from the study, healthcare checklists should be updated to include: optimizing the reusability of medical products; reduce products utilized in custom packs; and evaluating energy recovery potential of utilized products. The results of this study indicate that sustainable healthcare checklists be further validated with more environmental and economic life-cycle analyses related to medical products and services. The primary aim of this paper is to assist hospital employees and administrators with making more informed decisions about the sustainability of their products and services. The scientific value of this paper is underscored by a novel aggregation of life cycle assessment studies pertaining to medical devices and services in order to draw conclusions regarding the overall sustainability of those medical devices and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disposable materials contribute to healthcare's estimated production of 33 pounds of waste per patient bed per day or approximately 5.9 million tons of waste each year. The shift toward disposable materials was initially driven by a variety of factors including the potential for infection control, convenience, and cost. The current use of single-use disposables in healthcare, however, has become costly, wasteful, and to some extent, unnecessary. Disposable custom packs, a set of products prepackaged for a specific procedure to reduce time and error, are utilized in nearly every medical procedure performed in the US and internationally. This study analyzed 15 custom packs from geographically diverse hospitals using life cycle assessment and design for the environment. Polypropylene, the material used to make gowns and drapes, was the most prominent material by weight, followed by cotton. However, the life cycle assessment results show that cotton composed the largest portion of environmental impacts in every category. Finally, a new green custom pack was designed. By using tools and strategies such as life cycle assessment and design for the environment, healthcare institutions can make educated streamlining efforts for their disposable custom packs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The healthcare sector is a driver of economic growth in the U.S., with spending on healthcare in 2012 reaching $2.8 trillion, or 17% of the U.S. gross domestic product, but it is also a significant source of emissions that adversely impact environmental and public health. The current state of the healthcare industry offers significant opportunities for environmental efficiency improvements, potentially leading to reductions in costs, resource use, and waste without compromising patient care. However, limited research exists that can provide quantitative, sustainable solutions. The operating room is the most resource-intensive area of a hospital, and surgery is therefore an important focal point to understand healthcare-related emissions. Hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to quantify environmental emissions from four different surgical approaches (abdominal, vaginal, laparoscopic, and robotic) used in the second most common major procedure for women in the U.S., the hysterectomy. Data were collected from 62 cases of hysterectomy. Life cycle assessment results show that major sources of environmental emissions include the production of disposable materials and single-use surgical devices, energy used for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and anesthetic gases. By scientifically evaluating emissions, the healthcare industry can strategically optimize its transition to a more sustainable system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study introduces life cycle assessment as a tool to analyze one aspect of sustainability in healthcare: the birth of a baby. The process life cycle assessment case study presented evaluates two common procedures in a hospital, a cesarean section and a vaginal birth. This case study was conducted at Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which delivers over 10,000 infants per year. The results show that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), waste disposal, and the production of the disposable custom packs comprise a large percentage of the environmental impacts. Applying the life cycle assessment tool to medical procedures allows hospital decision makers to target and guide efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of healthcare procedures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study evaluates the efficacy of green design principles such as the "12 Principles of Green Chemistry," and the "12 Principles of Green Engineering" with respect to environmental impacts found using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. A case study of 12 polymers is presented, seven derived from petroleum, four derived from biological sources, and one derived from both. The environmental impacts of each polymer's production are assessed using LCA methodology standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Each polymer is also assessed for its adherence to green design principles using metrics generated specifically for this paper. Metrics include atom economy, mass from renewable sources, biodegradability, percent recycled, distance of furthest feedstock, price, life cycle health hazards and life cycle energy use. A decision matrix is used to generate single value metrics for each polymer evaluating either adherence to green design principles or life-cycle environmental impacts. Results from this study show a qualified positive correlation between adherence to green design principles and a reduction of the environmental impacts of production. The qualification results from a disparity between biopolymers and petroleum polymers. While biopolymers rank highly in terms of green design, they exhibit relatively large environmental impacts from production. Biopolymers rank 1, 2, 3, and 4 based on green design metrics; however they rank in the middle of the LCA rankings. Polyolefins rank 1, 2, and 3 in the LCA rankings, whereas complex polymers, such as PET, PVC, and PC place at the bottom of both ranking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]