1. Environmental Health Management (EN481)
Numfon Eaktasang, Ph.D.
Thammasat University

2. ISO Series

3. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout a product’s life (cradle-to-grave) from raw material acquisition through production, use and disposal.
Environmental impacts: resource, human health, ecological, global warming, ozone depletion, etc. .

4. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

5. Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal and Scope
Inventory Analysis
Impact Assessment
Interpretation
Direct Applications:
Product development
and improvement
Strategic planning
Public policy making
Marketing
Others

7. I. Goal and Scope Functional unit
A functional unit is a measure of the performance of the functional outputs of the product system.
Quantity
Durability
Quality

8. Functional Unit Polystyrene 1 cup/day 365 cup/year Stainless
Lifetime = 4 yrs
Ceramic
1/2 cup/year
Lifetime = 2 yrs

9. II. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) Analysis
Input
Raw Materials
Material A xxx kg
Material B xxx kg
Material C xxx kg
Chemicals
Chemical D xxx kg
Chemical E xxx kg
Resources
Resource F xxx kg
Water xxx m3
Energy
Electricity xxx KW-hr
Fuel
-natural gas xxx m3
-oil xxx L
Process
Products
Product ton
By-products/Co-products
Co-product xxx ton
By-product xxx ton
Solid Waste
Solid waste xxx ton
Air Emission
Air pollutants (CO2, CH4, HFC, PFC,
N2O, SF6, NOx, SOx, dust) xxx kg
Water pollution
Water pollutants (BOD, COD) xxx mg/L
Output

10. Example: LCA
Inputs
Outputs

11. III. Life Cycle Impact Assessment
ISO 14040
Mandatory
Optional
Classification
Characterization
Normalization
Weighting
Grouping

12. III. Life Cycle Impact Assessment
General impacts
Global warming
Ozone depletion
Acidification
Salinity
Aridity
Biodiversity
Specific impacts
Biological and physical losses
Ecological toxicity
Human toxicity
SMOG

14. Classification

15. Characterization
Calculating the potential contribution to environmental impacts (numerical indicator results), representing the magnitude of potential impacts
The contribution of each burden to any impact category is assessed by multiplying with a relevant equivalence factors or characterization factors.
Environmental impact
Air pollutant
Unit
Global warming
CO2, CH4, N2O, CO
g CO2-equivalent
Ozone depletion
CFC11, CO
g CFC11-equivalent
Acidification
SO2, NxO
g SO2-equivalent

16. Global Warming Potential
Inventory List
Characterization factors (GWP)
Global Warming Potential (g CO2-eq.)
CO2
0.15 g 1
0.15 x = 0.15
CH4
0.005 g 23
0.005 x = 0.115
N2O
0.14 g
270
0.14 x = 37.8
CFCl3 g
13000
x = 6.5
GWP =

17. Normalization

18. Normalization

19. Weighting

20. Weighting

21. IV. Life Cycle Interpretation

22. IV. Life Cycle Interpretation

23. LCA Software Simapro ---> PRé Consultants, Netherlands
CMLCA ---> CML, Netherlands
Umberto ---> Ifu Hamburg GmbH, Germany
GaBi ---> PE Europe, Germany
EcoLab ---> Nordic Port, Sweden
LCAiT ---> CIT Ekologik, Sweden
WWLCAW ---> IMI, Sweden
JEMAI ---> Jemai, Japan
TEAM ---> Ecobilan, France

24. LCA Framework

25. Advantages LCA Industrial sector
Optional to improve the efficiency of product
Eco-design
Strategic plan
Green market
Government
Guideline for green label standard
Develop green label
Policy
Regulations
Customer
Product information
Environmental concern
NGO
Environmental trend

26. Eco-label

29. Case Study: Domestic Coffee Maker

30. Step 1: Goal Definition & Scope
Establish purpose & goal
Define decision criteria, function & functional unit
Define system boundaries
Life cycle stages
Time
Place
Determine required data quality

31. Step 1: Coffee Maker Purpose of LCA?
Determine how to improve the environmental performance of a coffee maker
Decision criteria?
Total energy consumed, equivalent CO2 produced, eco-indicator 99 score
Function of coffee maker? Functional units?
Cups of coffee poured, Time coffee is warmed
System boundaries?
Five years of use, production, use & end-of-life stages

32. Difficulties & Limitations of Step 1
How do you compare different products that provide similar functions or services?
How do you compare similar products that provide multiple functions or services?
How do you define more abstract functional units such as entertainment from toys or higher self-esteem?
Where do you stop drawing the bounds to your system?

33. Step 2: Inventory Analysis
Make process tree or flow chart classifying events in a product’s life cycle
Determine all mass and energy inputs and outputs
Collect relevant data
Make assumptions for missing data
Establish (correct) material and energy balances for each stage and event

34. Step 2: Inventory Analysis
Input/output diagram for single stage or unit operation
Source: EPA Life-Cycle Design Guidance Manual, EPA Report no. EPA/600/R-92/226, p. 104.

35. Step 2: Coffee Maker
Understand the product components & materials first
Rested (bottom) View
Top (internal) View
Bottom (internal) View
Good View
Heater View
Source:

36. Step 2: Coffee Maker
Simplified process tree for coffee maker

37. Step 2: Coffee Maker Lifecycle inventory for coffee maker
White boxes are not included in assessment/inventory

38. Difficulties & Limitations of Step 2
Finding data is hard and usually very time-consuming
Published data on material loads exists, but is often inconsistent and/or not directly applicable
Obtained data is usually discrete, static and linear (makes many simplifying assumptions)
Mistakes are easily made in quantification
Mass and energy balances may not be correct
Results can be generalized improperly

39. Step 3: Impact Analysis Define impact categories
Determine which loads affect different impact categories
Assign indicators to impact categories
Weigh importance of each category
Environmental Impact
Environmental Load
greenhouse effect
ozone layer depletion
eutrophication
depletion of abiotic resources
(summer) smog
acidification
copper
CO2
CFC
SO2
NOx
phosphorous
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
heavy metals
PCB
pesticides
styrene
eco-toxicity
depletion of biotic resources
human toxicity
odour
Scalar Indicator

40. Step 3: Paper or Plastic?
Which is better?...

41. Step 3: Coffee Maker

42. Difficulties & Limitations of Step 3
Subjective
Impact categories chosen
Indicators chosen for impact categories
How metrics / load affect impact indicators
Weightings used for impact categories
Where are the impacts occurring?
U.S., Europe, Brazil?
Is there damage already in the area being impacted?
How much can that area take before it breaks down? Or can it handle it without any problems?
How are managers and engineers supposed to know the effects of every load on the different impacts?

43. Step 4: Improvement Analysis
Identify areas & opportunities for improvement
Evaluate with original goal definition
Target lifecycle areas/processes/events with large impacts
Large amounts w/ low hazard
Small amounts w/ high hazard
Ask yourself:
What are the resources required and risks involved?

44. Step 4: Coffee Maker
How to improve coffee maker? Where should we focus?

45. General Comments Domestic coffee maker is simple product
How would it be different from a commercial coffee maker (Starbucks)?
It is fairly representative of appliances - main impact is use phase
What other products is their main impact the use phase?
Which products is their main impact the production or disposal phase?

46. Summary
Focus should be on the product’s lifecycle, not the product itself
Presented the main steps of LCA (ISO )
Presented the limitations & difficulties of each step of LCA
LCA has variations limitations

47. Thank you!!