•LCA of pilot industrial Hermetia production and processing.•Attributional LCA: insect biomass impact is comparable to other sources.•Consequential LCA: insect biomass impact is lower on non-utilized ...side-streams.•Avoidance of non-utilized side-streams treatment reduced environmental impacts.•Insect industry should improve feed conversion and energy use.
The lack of protein sources in several parts of the world is triggering the search for locally produced and sustainable alternatives. Insect production is recognized as a potential solution. This study is a life cycle assessment (LCA) of food industry side streams transformation via Hermetia illucens into intermediate products applicable for feed and food purposes. It relies on attributional modelling for the estimation of the most impacting stages of insect production and on consequential modelling for the estimation of potential benefits or risks for the agri-food system. The consequential LCA included effects on the market, associated with upstream increase in feed (increase in commercial feed production) or downstream availability of insect product (substitution of fertilizer, protein concentrate for feed or chicken meat). Attributional and consequential LCAs are followed by sensitivity analyses, which identify the most promising directions towards sustainable insect production and estimate the magnitude of impact reductions if those directions are pursued by the industry. Analyses of the existing pilot process largely correspond with other findings in the literature, indicating fresh insect biomass is almost twice more sustainable than fresh chicken meat. Produced at pilot scale, protein concentrate (insect meal) while being competitive against animal-derived (whey, egg protein, fishmeal) and microalgae, has higher environmental impacts than plant-based meals. Further scenarios illustrate strategies for more sustainable use of environmental resources providing guidance for producers and funding agencies to direct the industry to an impact profile that is lower, than many existing protein sources.
Food consumption is amongst the main drivers of environmental impacts. On one hand, there is the need to fulfil a fundamental human need for nutrition, and on the other hand this poses critical ...threats to the environment. In order to assess the environmental impact of food consumption, a lifecycle assessment (LCA)-based approach has been applied to a basket of products, selected as being representative of EU consumption. A basket of food products was identified as representative of the average food and beverage consumption in Europe, reflecting the relative importance of the products in terms of mass and economic value. The products in the basket are: pork, beef, poultry, milk, cheese, butter, bread, sugar, sunflower oil, olive oil, potatoes, oranges, apples, mineral water, roasted coffee, beer and pre-prepared meals. For each product in the basket, a highly disaggregated inventory model was developed based on a modular approach, and built using statistical data. The environmental impact of the average food consumption of European citizens was assessed using the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) methodology. The overall results indicate that, for most of the impact categories, the consumed foods with the highest environmental burden are meat products (beef, pork and poultry) and dairy products (cheese, milk and butter). The agricultural phase is the lifecycle stage that has the highest impact of all the foods in the basket, due to the contribution of agronomic and zootechnical activities. Food processing and logistics are the next most important phases in terms of environmental impacts, due to their energy intensity and the related emissions to the atmosphere that occur through the production of heat, steam and electricity and during transport. Regarding the end-of-life phase, human excretion and wastewater treatments pose environmental burdens related to eutrophying substances whose environmental impacts are greater than those of the agriculture, transports and processing phases. Moreover, food losses which occur throughout the whole lifecycle, in terms of agricultural/industrial and domestic food waste, have also to be taken into consideration, since they can amount to up to 60% of the initial weight of the food products. The results of the study go beyond the mere assessment of the potential impacts associated with food consumption, as the overall approach may serve as a baseline for testing eco-innovation scenarios for impact reduction as well as for setting targets.
•Identification of the 17 most representative products (Basket of products) of European food consumption.•Environmental impacts of the basket of products are assessed through a Life Cycle Assessment from cradel to grave.•Meat and dairy products present the highest contribution of the overall impact of the basket.•Agriculture is the most impacting life cycle stage for almost all the products.
The transition to a net-zero economy with increased electrification of transport and heating poses electricity supply challenges during the winter months, particularly in PV-dominated systems. This ...study explores comprehensively various strategies and their combinations to address potential winter electricity deficits in Switzerland. Our innovative modelling integrates three sectors (electricity, heat, and transport), neighbouring countries, and environmental life cycle considerations. Among potential strategies to mitigate Swiss winter electricity deficit, electricity imports from neighbouring countries are taken as the benchmark policy strategy. Our analysis reveals that only gas-fired power plants and alpine PV, if applied in isolation, are technology options that alleviate the Swiss winter deficit and reduce cost at the same time. Increasing other single power technologies individually, or importing hydrogen, alleviate the deficit, too, but they inflate energy system costs by 18%–34% compared to relying on electricity imports. Despite the strategies for mitigating the winter deficit assessed being substantially different, our study found no significant environmental concerns regarding local land requirements or critical raw material needs. However, each strategy might imply the need for certain fuel imports and can have a profound impact on determining cost-optimal heating strategies for buildings. With an additional 1.4 GW of gas-fired power plant fuelled by domestic bio-methane, 4 GW of alpine PV, 2.2 GW of wind turbines, and no cost increase compared to its current roadmap, Switzerland could have a fully renewable energy system with a reduced winter deficit and no fuel imports.
•Comparison of technology options to reduce Switzerland’s winter electricity deficit.•Gas turbines, alpine PV and their combination with wind turbines are cost-efficient.•Materials demand and land use for each option are not a concern for feasibility.•Trade-offs arise: fuel imports, social acceptance, use of unproven technologies.
Growing consciousness regarding the environmental impacts of additive manufacturing (AM) processes has led to research focusing on quantifying their environmental impacts using Life Cycle Assessment ...(LCA) methodology. The main objective of this paper is to review the state of the art of the existing LCA studies of AM processes. In this paper, a systematic literature review is carried out where a total of 77 papers focusing on LCA, including social-Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), are analyzed. Accordingly, the application of LCA methodology to different AM technologies was studied and different research themes such as the goal and scope of LCA studies, life cycle inventory data for different AM technologies, AM part quality and mechanical properties, the environmental, economic, and social performances of various AM technologies, and factors affecting AM´s sustainability potential were analyzed. Based on the critical analysis of the existing research, five major shortcomings of the existing research are realized: (i) some AM technologies are under studied; (ii) more focus only on the environmental sustainability dimension of AM, neglecting its economic and social dimensions; (iii) exclusion of AM pat quality and its mechanical performance from the sustainability assessment; (iv) not enough focus on the life cycle stages after product manufacture by AM; (v) effect of different product variables on AM´s sustainability not studied extensively. Lastly, based on these shortcomings realized, the following research directions for future works are suggested: (i) inclusion of new AM materials and technologies; (ii) transition to a triple-bottom-line sustainability assessment considering environmental, economic, and social dimensions of AM; (iii) extending the scope of LCA studies to post-manufacture stages of AM products; (iv) development of predictive environmental impact and cost models; (v) integration of quality and mechanical characterization with sustainability assessment of AM technologies.
•Presents state-of-the-art research in the Life Cycle Assessment of AM technologies.•Reviews life cycle inventories across the different stages of AM products´ life cycles.•Compares the environmental, economic, and social impacts of AM and conventional manufacturing (CM) technologies.•Discusses the different factors affecting the sustainability of AM and CM technologies.•Determines the shortcomings of the existing research and provides guidelines for future research.
•Review and analysis of parametric LCA methods at the early design stage.•Egyptian building code requirements, focusing on energy efficiency, construction methods, and residential building ...materials.•Configuring a method for implementing an LCA aligned with Egyptian constraints.•A suggested framework of a national LCA prototype tool that uses generative design for early design decision support for residential building exterior walls in Egypt.
The life cycle assessment (LCA) has proven to be a reliable methodology for achieving sustainable development. The number of studies and attempts of integration at the building design stage is increasing. This study is aimed at developing a framework for a national LCA tool that considers Egyptian constraints and strikes a balance between embodied and operational impacts to serve as a decision-support tool for early design. This is achieved by first reviewing and analyzing LCA integration methods during the early design stages, emphasizing parametric methods. Second, studying the situation of LCA and energy efficiency in Egypt through publications, building codes, and residential building construction specifications. As a result of these steps, a suggested implementation method based on the generative design was developed as a tool framework that mainly focuses on residential building exterior walls as the first step of the national LCA tool to aid the design process and promote sustainable development. In addition to being the first initiative for a national LCA tool, the novelty of this work is the method of integration compared to other parametric LCA, which aims at optimizing both embodied and operational impact with respect to the Egyptian conditions while offering multiple solutions.
•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.
Biogas production is seen as one of the key measures in circular economy providing several benefits for the environment. In practice, however, these benefits may not be achieved if the production is ...not implemented and managed in ways that reduce gaseous emissions. Thus, this study aimed at highlighting how different management practices impact the climate during the life cycle of biogas production in comparison to management without biogas production (reference). Advanced, more emission-reducing practices resulted in 97–107% and conventional practices in 57–75% less emissions when biogas was utilized as transport fuel. If biogas was utilized in CHP (combined heat and power production), the emission reductions were 67–74% and 13–30%, respectively. This reflects the fact that inefficient practices can lead to minimal emission reduction without achieving the desired climate benefit in comparison to the reference. On the European level, this may also mean that the emission reduction demands of RED II (Renewable Energy Directive) regulation are not met. Therefore, when supporting biogas production with public funds, assurance of using emission-reducing practices should be made a prerequisite.
•Considering advanced emission reduction practices led to greater climate benefits.•Overlooking emission reduction practices jeopardizes climate benefits.•Without emission reduction practices, RED II targets may not be met.•Funding should be allocated to investments ensuring climate sustainable production.
Purpose
Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) applications have been growing during the last years. Most of the scientific articles published so far have addressed the applicability of S-LCA, focusing ...on selecting suitable indicators, and only recently, the developments in the area of impact pathway are increasing. However, a critical analysis of how to set an S-LCA study, in particular the goal and scope and inventory phase, is missing. This article critically analyses the most important elements affecting the goal and scope and inventory phase of S-LCA, with a focus on the automotive sector, with the ultimate goal of developing a structured approach to guide practitioners in the critical application of S-LCA.
Methods
The literature review covers 67 publications from 2006 to 2015, including all the case studies published so far, to the best knowledge of the authors, in several sectors and the automotive one. The reviewed works have been structured along the key elements affecting the goal and scope and inventory phases of the S-LCA.
Results and discussion
The methodological and practical issues affecting S-LCA have been organized into a conceptual map, in which all the elements are sequentially placed. This sequence is an orderly procedure consisting of several nodes representing crucial points where a decision needs to be taken or a further reflection is necessary. The case studies of the automotive sector and the corporate-related documents have been used also for the discussion of the conceptual map nodes to identify which aspects are already covered by the literature and which ones need further research.
Conclusions
Facing the inventory phase of S-LCA needs also to set specific elements of the goal and scope phase which are fundamental for approaching coherently the product system at hand and for supporting the selection of stakeholders, indicators, and data. Moreover, in order to foster S-LCA applications and make it a robust decision-support tool, the authors suggest to re-define its framework and approach according to the organizational perspective, as laid down in the recent Organisation Environmental Footprint and Organizational LCA. This implies that social aspects will be evaluated both in relation to the organization behavior and to the basket of products, thus reconciling the need to keep together the conduct-of-a-company perspective, typical of social evaluations, and the product-oriented approach, inherent to the life cycle and in particular to the functional unit concept.
Life cycle (LC) methodologies have attracted a great interest in agricultural sustainability assessments, even if, at the same time, they have sometimes been criticized for making unrealistic ...assumptions and subjective choices. To cope with these weaknesses, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and/or participatory methods can be used to balance and integrate different sustainability dimensions. The purpose of this study is to highlight how life cycle approaches were combined with MCDA and participatory methods to address agricultural sustainability in the published scientific literature. A systematic and critical review was developed, highlighting the following features: which multi-criterial and/or participatory methods have been associated with LC tools; how they have been integrated or complemented (methodological relationships); the intensity of the involvement of stakeholders (degree of participation); and which synergies have been achieved by combining the methods. The main typology of integration was represented by multi-criterial frameworks integrating LC evaluations. LC tools can provide MCDA studies with local and global information on how to reduce negative impacts and avoid burden shifts, while MCDA methods can help LC practitioners deal with subjective assumptions in an objective way, to take into consideration actors' values and to overcome trade-offs among the different dimensions of sustainability. Considerations concerning the further development of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) have been identified as well.
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•A literature review was completed on life cycle tools with multi-criteria methods•These tools were critically analyzed for agricultural sustainability assessment•Specific criteria and parameters were used to highlight methodological issues•Results show the main assets and synergies, advantages and disadvantages•Further efforts are necessary towards the development of new integrative tools
Tofu is one of the products made from soybeans that a sizable portion of people in a larger society consume. There are several ways to make tofu, from conventional to modern. The conventional tofu ...production process generates a lot of waste. Many of the researchers have explored numerous strategies to handle tofu waste in a way that minimizes its harmful influence on the environment. However, in many cases, the environmental impact is simply transferred from one process to another during the treatment of tofu waste. As a result, the whole tofu-making process requires an evaluation of the effects. Among these approaches is life cycle assessment (LCA). The study discovered that energy use was the primary factor leading to environmental impacts. Burning firewood for energy resulted in 55.61 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent. The emission value has been reduced to 32 kg CO₂ eq and 28 kg CO₂ eq, respectively, according to the findings of simulations by utilizing biogas and natural gas as fuels.
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