•Review of recent studies centered on BIM-based LCA.•Focus on the way that BIM can contribute to simplify input and optimize output.•Most of reviewed papers are focused on CO2 emission ...calculation.•Study evidences the need to establish guidelines to assist in BIM-LCA integration.
Current environmental problems arising from the building sector require tools to help reduce resource consumption and environmental impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely used tool to quantify the environmental impacts of the building sector. The literature recognizes the need to simplify the method application, especially to reduce and optimize data acquisition. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is defined as a virtual 3D building model which integrates with a database of their building elements. Several studies recognize that the integration of BIM and LCA can simplify data acquisition of the building as well as provide both tools with feedback. This paper reviews recent studies centered on BIM-based LCA, and also carries out a methodological analysis of their integration, focusing on the way that BIM can contribute to simplifying data input, and optimize output data and results during the LCA application in buildings. The results show the viability to develop methods based on BIM models for organizing building information used to estimate environmental and energy consumption impacts based on LCA, including: templates and plug-ins for BIM software, and the integration of automated processes combining different data and software. Reviewed papers are simplified LCA applications, mostly focused on CO2 emission calculation during the early stages of design. Finally, methodological challenges and recommendations for BIM and LCA tools are propose.
CO2 conversion covers a wide range of possible application areas from fuels to bulk and commodity chemicals and even to specialty products with biological activity such as pharmaceuticals. In the ...present review, we discuss selected examples in these areas in a combined analysis of the state-of-the-art of synthetic methodologies and processes with their life cycle assessment. Thereby, we attempted to assess the potential to reduce the environmental footprint in these application fields relative to the current petrochemical value chain. This analysis and discussion differs significantly from a viewpoint on CO2 utilization as a measure for global CO2 mitigation. Whereas the latter focuses on reducing the end-of-pipe problem “CO2 emissions” from todays’ industries, the approach taken here tries to identify opportunities by exploiting a novel feedstock that avoids the utilization of fossil resource in transition toward more sustainable future production. Thus, the motivation to develop CO2-based chemistry does not depend primarily on the absolute amount of CO2 emissions that can be remediated by a single technology. Rather, CO2-based chemistry is stimulated by the significance of the relative improvement in carbon balance and other critical factors defining the environmental impact of chemical production in all relevant sectors in accord with the principles of green chemistry.
•The main differences are the extent of the refurbishment and the system boundaries.•The reference of the expected service life needs to be established to facilitate comparison.•Process Analysis is ...the most used LCI method, instead of Input–Output or Hybrid.•Most refurbishment LCAs focus on building energy retrofits: increasing insulation.•The environmental impacts of structure or finishing reparations were not studied.
This review organises and summarises the recent contributions related to the environmental evaluation of building refurbishment and renovation using the lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodology. This paper classifies the recent contributions in this field and selects the primary methodology options. The review shows that most LCAs focus on energy refurbishment, comparing the environmental impacts before and after refurbishment. In contrast, almost none of the LCAs study the environmental impact of building system reparations, such as structure or finishing. The more frequently studied life cycle stages are those related to the manufacturing and use phases. Similarly, the most considered impact categories are the global warming potential and embodied energy. The main barriers found for disseminations are discussed: system boundaries interpretation of EN 15978, functional unit, LCI methods, operational stage and the end-of-life stage definition.
•An approach is proposed for structures under progressive and sudden deterioration.•The proposed approach is based on the renewal theory of renewal-reward processes.•The lifetime resilience losses ...are proposed to consider resilience to lifetime hazards.•Multi-objective optimization is used for life-cycle management.•The optimization considers intervention costs, failure risks and resilience losses.
Civil infrastructure during its service life is subject to progressive deterioration due to aggressive environments and sudden deterioration due to natural and/or manmade hazards. This paper presents a general approach to perform life-cycle management considering both types of deterioration. As an important aspect of life-cycle asset management under hazards, the present study introduces a novel concept, referred to as lifetime resilience. The lifetime resilience of a deteriorating structure is characterized by its cumulative losses to lifetime hazards. By modeling lifetime hazards and life-cycle performance as renewal-reward processes, the proposed approach resorts to the renewal theory to formulate analytical expressions of expected values of lifetime intervention costs, lifetime failure risks, and lifetime resilience losses. Owing to the efficiency in evaluating these expressions, a generic life-cycle management framework is proposed using multi-objective optimization. This proposed framework is applicable to a wide range of civil infrastructure systems under various types of hazards. The proposed approach is illustrated by using a numerical example.
Purpose
Life cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) is being developed as a holistic tool to evaluate environmental, economic and social impacts of products or services throughout their life cycle. ...This study responds to the need expressed by the scientific community to develop and test LCSA methodology, by assessing the sustainability of a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant based on HYSOL technology (an innovative configuration delivering improved efficiency and power dispatchability).
Methods
The methodology proposed consists of three stages: goal and scope definition, modelling and application of tools, and interpretation of results. The goal of the case study was to investigate to what extent may the HYSOL technology improve the sustainability of power generation in the Spanish electricity sector. To this purpose, several sustainability sub-questions were framed and different analysis tools were applied as follows: attributional and consequential life cycle assessment, life cycle cost (LCC) analysis and multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO), and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) in combination with social risk assessment (with the Social Hotspots Database). Visual diagrams representing the sustainability of the analysed scenarios were also produced to facilitate the interpretation of results and decision making.
Results and discussion
The results obtained in the three sustainability dimensions were integrated using a “questions and answers” layout, each answer describing a specific element of sustainability. The HYSOL technology was investigated considering two different operation modes: HYSOL BIO with biomethane as hybridization fuel and HYSOL NG with natural gas. The results indicated that the deployment of HYSOL technology would produce a reduction in the climate change impact of the electricity sector for both operation modes. The LCC analysis indicated economic benefits per MWh for a HYSOL NG power plant, but losses for a HYSOL BIO power plant. The MRIO analysis indicated an increase in goods and services generation, and value added for the HYSOL technology affecting primarily Spain and to a lower extent other foreign economies. The social analysis indicated that both alternatives would provide a slight increase of social welfare Spain.
Conclusions
The methodological approach described in this investigation provided flexibility in the selection of objectives and analysis tools, which helped to quantify the sustainability effect of the system at a micro and meso level in the three sustainability dimensions. The results indicated that the innovation of HYSOL power plants is well aimed to improve the sustainability of CSP technology and the Spanish electricity sector.
Purpose
Gold mining is one of the most generative economic activities in many developing countries. Gold mining operations are generally recognized not only as being too energy and material ...intensive, but also as a source of pollution, social insecurity, and instability. Faced with this challenge and the challenge of integrating gold mining into the framework of sustainable development, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) seems to be an option, the most comprehensive assessment method to facilitate decision-making. LCSA is a tool based on life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and social life cycle assessment (SLCA). This study, as a systematic review, analyzes whether and how LCA is applied in the gold mining sector.
Methods
A systematic review was conducted for the LCSA studies published between 1st January 2010 and 20th May 2022 in the gold mining sector. And the resulting studies were reviewed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) as a guideline.
Results and discussion
Review of the studies resulted in the selection of 16 publications in the gold mining sector. The content results showed that 94% of the publications, i.e., 15 out of 16 applied LCA and 6% of the publications, i.e., 1 out of 16 applied SLCA. However, the results showed that no publications were found not only on LCC but also on studies integrating LCA, LCC, and SLCA together. There were discrepancies between the selected studies in the definition of system boundaries and the selection of indicators, and diversity between studies in the choice of impact assessment methods and data quality. It was also noted that other methodological approaches were combined with the LCA approach.
Conclusion
This work reveals the absence of LCSA and LCC studies and the scarcity of SLCA studies in the gold mining sector. Therefore, further studies in this sector should be encouraged, particularly on LCC and SLCA, which could focus on integrating the LCA, LCC, and SLCA approaches together (LCSA), defining the boundaries of the system and harmonizing impact assessment methods and indicators constituting the major challenges of applying LCSA in the gold mining sector.
•Considers design options for nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) in temperate oceanic climates.•Life cycle cost and environmental analysis are used to appraise design options.•Key to achieving NZEB ...is high thermal resistivity and air tightness of building envelopes.•Efficient heating systems with low impact on the natural environment should be used.•That is, those utilising renewable technologies for heat, as well as for electricity.
There are numerous strategies available to design and construct a low energy or nearly zero energy building (NZEB). However, the design strategy for a building depends on a high number of factors including location, climate, cost, available resources, etc. For instance, for countries like Ireland, which have a temperate oceanic climate, a key to achieving NZEB is a high thermal and air tightness performance of the building envelope, installing highly efficient space and water heating systems, and utilising renewable technologies for energy and heat generation. The challenge is to find the best combination of design strategies that would tackle the energy performance problems of a particular building. For example, is it better to design a super-insulated building with minimum heating requirements, or provide less insulation but install a large amount of renewable energy sources?
This paper presents the outcomes of a number of case study buildings in Ireland, which focus on the life cycle cost and environmental analysis (using energy and global warming potential as indicators) of NZEBs using various heat sources, such as a gas boiler, biomass boiler, a domestic gas fired combined heat and power unit, heat pump and renewable technology. With the de-carbonisation and increased efficiency of the electricity grid, the low global warming potential (GWP) emissions of biomass fuels and the depletion of fossil fuels, future buildings should be (i) designed and constructed to be super-insulated with high air-tightness performance resulting in minimum heating requirements and (ii) operate with heating systems that have low impact on the natural environment, such as a biomass boiler or heat pump.
Due to the growing threat of climate change, we are challenged to find improved assessment practises to recognize solutions for sustainable urban development. The focus of the study is on the life ...cycle design of a district energy system for a new residential development in Finland. This study analyses LCC (life cycle costs) and carbon emissions (LCA (life cycle assessment)), i.e., the “viability” of different energy systems through a methodological life cycle framework. By combining LCC and LCA, a LCM (life cycle management) perspective is portrayed to support decision-making on a long-term basis. The comparable energy design options analysed are (1) district heating (reference design), (2) district heating with building integrated photovoltaic panels, (3) ground source heat pump, and (4) ground source heat pump with building-integrated photovoltaic panels. The results show that the design option with the highest initial investment (4) is in fact the most viable from a life cycle perspective. This study further strengthens the connection between cost savings and carbon emissions reduction in a life cycle context. Thus, by implementing LCC and LCA analysis in an early design phase, justified economic and environmental design decisions can be identified to develop more sustainable urban areas.
•Life cycle study (LCC and LCA) of a district energy system for a new residential development in Finland.•Four different energy systems (including renewable energy) are examined from a life cycle cost and carbon perspective.•Lower operational costs and carbon emissions achieved through higher initial investments from a life cycle perspective.•By performing an LCC and LCA analysis in an early design phase; justified sustainable design decisions can be recognized.
PURPOSE: Growing awareness of the environmental performance of construction products and buildings brings about the need for a suitable method to assess their environmental performance. Life cycle ...assessment (LCA) has become a widely recognised and accepted method to assess the burdens and impacts throughout the life cycle. This LCA-based information may be in the form of environmental product declarations (EPD) or product environmental footprints (PEF), based on reliable and verifiable information. All of these use LCA to quantify and report several environmental impact categories and may also provide additional information. To better understand on the one hand existing EPD programmes (EN 15804) for each country and on the other the recent developments in terms of EU reference document (e.g. PEF), the authors decided to write this review paper based on the outcomes of the EPD workshop that was held prior to SB13 Graz conference. METHODS: This paper presents the state of the art in LCA and an overview of the EPD programmes in five European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland) based on the workshop in the first part and a comprehensive description and comparison of the PEF method and EN 15804 in the second part. In the last part, a general conclusion will wrap up the findings and results will provide a further outlook on future activities. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The high number of EPD programmes underlines the fact that there is obviously a demand for assessments of the environmental performance of construction materials. In the comparison between and experiences of the different countries, it can be seen that more similarities than differences exist. A comparison between PEF and EPD shows differences, e.g. LCIA impact categories and recycling methodology. CONCLUSIONS: Independent of raising awareness of the construction material environmental performance, the existence of so many environmental claims calls for clarification and harmonisation. Additionally, construction materials being assessed in the voluntary approaches have to follow the harmonised approach following the principles of the European Construction Products Regulation (regulated) not to foster barriers of trade. The authors therefore highly appreciate the most recent activities of the sustainability of construction works (CEN/TC 350 committee http://portailgroupe.afnor.fr/public_espacenormalisation/CENTC350/index.html) currently working on these issues at the EU level. Finally, the LCA community is further encouraged to increase the background life cycle inventory data and life cycle inventory modelling as well as the meaningfulness of certain environmental impact categories, such as toxicity, land use, biodiversity and resource usage.
Purpose
Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to assess freshwater-related impacts according to a new water footprint framework formalized in the ISO 14046 standard. To date, no consensus-based ...approach exists for applying this standard and results are not always comparable when different scarcity or stress indicators are used for characterization of impacts. This paper presents the outcome of a 2-year consensus building process by the Water Use in Life Cycle Assessment (WULCA), a working group of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, on a water scarcity midpoint method for use in LCA and for water scarcity footprint assessments.
Methods
In the previous work, the question to be answered was identified and different expert workshops around the world led to three different proposals. After eliminating one proposal showing low relevance for the question to be answered, the remaining two were evaluated against four criteria: stakeholder acceptance, robustness with closed basins, main normative choice, and physical meaning.
Results and discussion
The recommended method, AWARE, is based on the quantification of the relative available water remaining per area once the demand of humans and aquatic ecosystems has been met, answering the question “What is the potential to deprive another user (human or ecosystem) when consuming water in this area?” The resulting characterization factor (CF) ranges between 0.1 and 100 and can be used to calculate water scarcity footprints as defined in the ISO standard.
Conclusions
After 8 years of development on water use impact assessment methods, and 2 years of consensus building, this method represents the state of the art of the current knowledge on how to assess potential impacts from water use in LCA, assessing both human and ecosystem users’ potential deprivation, at the midpoint level, and provides a consensus-based methodology for the calculation of a water scarcity footprint as per ISO 14046.
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