Download or read book A Streamlined LCA Approach for Conducting a Cost and Residual Risk Based Evaluation of Automobile Recycling Alternatives in the U S Japan and Europe written by Rajive Dhingra and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Environmental Issues in Automotive Industry written by Paulina Golinska and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-09-03 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The automotive industry is one of the most environmental aware manufacturing sectors. Product take-back regulations influence design of the vehicles, production technologies but also the configuration of automotive reverse supply chains. The business practice comes every year closer to the closed loop supply chain concept which completely reuses, remanufactures and recycles all materials. The book covers the emerging environmental issues in automotive industry through the whole product life cycle. Its focus is placed on a multidisciplinary approach. It presents viewpoints of academic and industry personnel on the challenges for implementation of sustainable police in the automotive sector

Download or read book An Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization Approach for Automotive De manufacturing Systems written by Naif A. Alsaadi and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Automotive Recycling Industry currently faces the greatest challenges in terms of the efficient reuse and recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). While the automotive industry has integrated almost every breakthrough from multi-disciplinary fields of sciences and engineering, the technology and practices surrounding the proper disposal and recycling of ELVs remains a lagging indicator to automotive technology. However, despite the greater focus of business entities and researchers on the manufacturing of new vehicles, the responsibility surrounding the recycling and disposal of ELVs is equally important. The improper or ineffective strategies in the disposal of waste materials from ELVs can lead to grave environmental consequences. Furthermore, aside from their adverse effects on the environment, problems associated with improper waste disposal of ELV materials may also lead to various social and economic problems. One of the most notable barriers to effective and proper ELV processing is the high economic cost associated with their recycling and disposal. From the consumer's point of view, proper and effective disposal would require additional expenditure which could be otherwise added to the funds needed to purchase and acquire a new car. On the other hand, from a business perspective, automotive recycling companies seek to recycle and reuse ELVs while at the same time expect to profit from such a venture. This study aims to use the Integrated Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Optimization Approach for Automotive De-manufacturing Systems in order to arrive at a most efficient and effective method which can be adopted in order to streamline the ELV recycling and waste disposal process. It aims to investigate and analyze the insights and findings derived from existing research in relation to the current methods conventionally used in the disposal and recycling of ELVs. The factors are then aggregated and integrated in order to arrive at formulas and cost metrics which are needed for evaluating the efficacy of the entire ELV recycling network. Furthermore, this study would also investigate the problems currently faced by the Automotive Recycling Industry in general, and how these problems can be related to the objectives of the study. It is the aim of this study to arrange an effective method which policy-makers and business entities can use in order to find the optimum location for a processing facility which will help improve regional or even global ELV recycling processes as well as keep the overall cost associated with such processes at a minimum. The network model that was formulated in this study includes the various factors that are considered important in ELV de-manufacturing. The said optimized model was applied to resolve the problems faced by the automotive after market industry in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which resulted to reduced cost and greater efficiency.

Download or read book Recent Trends in Automobile Recycling An Energy and Economic Assessment written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent and anticipated trends in the material composition of domestic and imported automobiles and the increasing cost of landfilling the non-recyclable portion of automobiles (automobile shredder residue or ASR) pose questions about the future of automobile recycling. This report documents the findings of a study sponsored by the US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Analysis to examine the impacts of these and other relevant trends on the life-cycle energy consumption of automobiles and on the economic viability of the domestic automobile recycling industry. More specifically, the study (1) reviewed the status of the automobile recycling industry in the United States, including the current technologies used to process scrapped automobiles and the challenges facing the automobile recycling industry; (2) examined the current status and future trends of automobile recycling in Europe and Japan, with the objectives of identifying ''lessons learned'' and pinpointing differences between those areas and the United States; (3) developed estimates of the energy system impacts of the recycling status quo and projections of the probable energy impacts of alternative technical and institutional approaches to recycling; and (4) identified the key policy questions that will determine the future economic viability of automobile shredder facilities in the United States.

Download or read book Green Products by Design written by Gregory Eyring and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998-04 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Product design is an important environmental focal point, with design decisions directly and indirectly determining levels of resource use and the composition of waste streams. This report, addresses the importance of product design as a tool for reducing wastes and managing materials. It provides a conceptual overview of how designers might integrate environmental concerns with traditional design objectives, and how policymakers can best take advantage of such opportunities. Although the concept of "green" design is gathering momentum, technical, behavioral, and economic barriers need to be addressed. Illustrated.

Download or read book Product Design and Life Cycle Assessment written by Ireneusz Zbicinski and published by Baltic University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Life Cycle Assessment written by Battelle Memorial In and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1994-07-22 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life-Cycle Assessment presents a brief overview of the development of the life-cycle assessment process and develops guidelines and principles for implementation of a product life-cycle inventory analysis. The book describes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and improvement analysis-the three components of a product life-cycle assessment. It discusses the major stages in a life cycle, including raw materials acquisition, materials manufacture, final product fabrication, filling/packaging/distribution, and consumer use and disposal.

Download or read book Analysis of the Cost of Recycling Compliance for the Automobile Industry written by Delphine Dantec and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cars are one of the most recycled commercial products. Currently, approximately 75% of the total vehicle weight is recycled. The EU directives on End-of-life vehicles try to push the recycling process further: it fixed the percentage of recyclability (85%) and recoverability (95%) automotive companies have to reach for their new vehicles in 2015. Complying with these directives will imply a cost, which will be borne by one or several of the stakeholders of the automotive life cycle. This cost will not only depend on the type of the vehicle but also on where the vehicle will be recycled and which recycling processes will be used. The scope of this thesis is to study the recycling cost sensitivity to regional practices and to vehicle's type. A technical cost model has been developed to calculate the cost of applying the regulation. Based on the list of parts of a particular vehicle, this tool allows to determine which parts have to be removed to reach the recycling target and the cost associated with this removal. The model was run for a sample group of vehicles and for different regional inputs. The goal is to pinpoint the major recycling cost drivers and discuss how the total cost can be reduced. Finally, this work analyses the magnitude of exposure of a vehicle manufacturer in Europe.

Download or read book Metal Recycling written by and published by UN. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metal recycling is a complex business that is becoming increasingly difficult! Recycling started long ago, when people realized that it was more resource- and cost-efficient than just throwing away the resources and starting all over again. In this report, we discuss how to increase metal-recycling rates - and thus resource efficiency - from both quantity and quality viewpoints. The discussion is based on data about recycling input, and the technological infrastructure and worldwide economic realities of recycling. Decision-makers set increasingly ambitious targets for recycling, but far too much valuable metal today is lost because of the imperfect collection of end-of-life (EoL) products, improper practices, or structural deficiencies within the recycling chain, which hinder achieving our goals of high resource efficiency and resource security, and of better recycling rates.

Download or read book Waste Input Output Analysis written by Shinichiro Nakamura and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-02-08 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial ecology (IE) is a rapidly growing scienti?c discipline that is concerned with the sustainability of industrial systems under explicit consideration of its int- dependence with natural systems. In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing awareness about the applicability of Input-Output Analysis (IOA) to IE, in particular to LCA (life cycle assessment) and MFA (material ?ow analysis). This is witnessed in the growing number of papers at ISIE (International Society for Industrial Ec- ogy) conferences, which use IOA, and also by the installment of subject editors on IOA in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. It can be said that IE has become a major ?eld of application for IOA. The broadening of users of IOA from various backgrounds implies a need for a self-contained textbook on IOA that can meet the needs of students and practitioners without compromising on basic c- cepts and the latest developments. This book was written with the aim of ?lling this need, and is primarily addressed to students and practitioners of IE. As the title suggests, the core contents of the book have grown out of our research in IOA of waste management issues over the last decade. We have been fascinated by the versatile nature of IOA with regard to various technical issues of waste m- agement in particular, and to IE in general. For us (both economists by training), IOA has turned out to be extremely useful in establishing productive communi- tion with scientists and engineers interested in IE.

Download or read book Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management written by Rama Rao Karri and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-07-24 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management is a thorough guide to computational solutions for researchers working in solid waste and wastewater management operations. This book covers in-depth analysis of process variables, their effects on overall efficiencies, and optimal conditions and procedures to improve performance using soft computing techniques. These topics coupled with the systematic analyses described will help readers understand various techniques that can be effectively used to achieve the highest performance. In-depth case studies along with discussions on applications of various soft-computing techniques help readers control waste processes and come up with short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies. Waste management is an increasingly important field due to rapidly increasing levels of waste production around the world. Numerous potential solutions for reducing waste production are underway, including applications of machine learning and computational studies on waste management processes. This book details the diverse approaches and techniques in these fields, providing a single source of information researchers and industry practitioners. It is ideal for academics, researchers and engineers in waste management, environmental science, environmental engineering and computing, with relation to environmental science and waste management. - Provides a comprehensive reference on the implementation of soft computing techniques in waste management, drawing together current research and future implications - Includes detailed algorithms used, enabling authors to understand and appreciate potential applications - Presents relevant case studies in solid and wastewater management that show real-world applications of discussed technologies

Download or read book Assessing the Life Cycle Benefits of Recycled Material in Road Construction written by Eleanor Frances Bloom and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is interest in determining and validating the environmental and economic benefits of incorporating recycled materials into road construction using life cycle assessments (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tools. However, the process of collecting the necessary data for LCAs and LCCAs from departments of transportations (DOTs) and road construction contractors is not well defined. This thesis provides a study of real-time data collection to compare with the results of pre-construction estimated LCA data. The goal of this comparison is to determine a data collection precedent for environmental analyses of future transportation projects. Additionally, two prominent LCA tools were used in conducting the assessment and the results were compared to validate the predicted impacts. The primary body of this thesis focuses on a specific, project-based LCA and LCCA of the reconstruction and expansion of a 2.4-km (1.5-mi) stretch of the eastbound Beltline Highway in Madison, Wisconsin. Recycled materials used in this reconstruction include: fly ash, slag, recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Fly ash and slag were used as a partial replacement of cement in the ready-mix concrete. RAP was used in both hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement as well as a base course material. RAS was substituted for binder and aggregate material in some HMA mix designs. RCA, both recycled onsite and imported, was substituted for base and subbase material. Two data collection methodologies were employed to gather the necessary inputs for the LCA of the reconstruction: 1) material quantities estimated from designs and specifications as planned prior to construction (referred as Planned), and 2) material quantities explicitly tracked and collected while construction was on-going (referred as Constructed). In the Planned data collection methodology, quantities were calculated using plan drawings and average mix designs. In the Constructed data collection methodology, key site-specific Wisconsin DOT (WisDOT) and contractor files were accessed for material quantity information. Two prominent tools were used to conduct the LCAs with the objective of validating impact results. The Pavement Life-cycle Assessment Tool for Environmental and Economic Effects (PaLATE) is an open-source LCA and LCCA program specifically developed for highway construction. Environmental outputs include energy and water consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and more. The second LCA tool, SimaPro, is a professional LCA software used to collect, analyze, and monitor the sustainability performance data of products and services. Some of the SimaPro impact categories used in this analysis include fossil fuel depletion, global warming, energy demand, and CO2 emissions. When comparing the LCAs of two or more products, a relative ranking of alternatives can be analyzed as well as the absolute impacts. For this study, the design of the actual roadway that incorporated recycled material (referred to as Recycled) was compared to a hypothetical design comprised of no recycled material (referred to as Virgin). In the Virgin design, recycled material quantities were replaced with equivalent virgin materials. This method demonstrates the impact reductions from the use of recycled material. To validate the LCA results, impacts predicted by PaLATE versus SimaPro were compared, with the primary focus on the common impact categories of energy and CO2 emissions. Results show that the material quantities obtained from the two data collection methods are within one order of magnitude for all categories, demonstrating general agreement regardless of Constructed or Planned data. Generally, the Constructed data predicts slightly greater (1.2x to 2.2x) material use as compared to the Planned data. Impact reductions were seen in all PaLATE categories from the use of recycled materials, regardless of data collection methodology. However, most impact categories saw greater reductions using the Planned data as compared to the Constructed data. The greater reductions are due to a greater ratio of recycled to virgin material use in the quantities found by using the Planned data collection method. A comparison of absolute impact predictions, rather than reductions, revealed that the Planned data quantities saw lower impacts than the Constructed data. The Constructed data quantities have greater absolute impacts because this collection methodology found that more materials were used overall than as predicted by the Planned data collection method. Similar results are seen for the SimaPro analysis, but in different environmental impact categories. Overall, the Planned and Constructed data produced relatively comparable results. In the particularly relevant categories of energy and CO2 emissions, the two data sets' results had a difference of only 7-8% according to the PaLATE analysis. In SimaPro’s global warming and fossil fuel depletion categories, the Constructed data results predicted a 5-6% difference from the Planned data impacts reductions. When validating the impacts across PaLATE and SimaPro, the predictions from both tools for energy and CO2 emissions appear to have minor variability (within 10%). The trends explored in this thesis indicate that the data collection methodology and resulting LCA inputs have a greater influence in environmental impact predictions as compared to the analysis tools, particularly for energy and CO2 emissions. Additionally, an LCCA was conducted using a simple cost-savings based on material unit prices. To calculate the savings, the cost for a recycled material was compared to the cost for an equivalent virgin material (e.g. fly ash vs. cement). Planned data lifetime savings for the project were estimated at approximately $209,800, while the Constructed data predicted a lifetime savings of $267,000. In general, the Constructed data quantities resulted in more cost savings because more recycled materials quantities were found by this collection methodology. The grand total savings differ by approximately $57,000. While this may seem like a small number compared to typical DOT budgets, it becomes significant when considering the savings are for only 3 lane-miles. This stresses why explicit tracking may be important to accurately determine cost reductions from recycled material use. Based on the LCAs and LCCA, similar economic and environmental impacts and reductions were predicted using the two data collection methodologies. However, the Constructed data collection was able to capture more accurate material quantities, as well as a greater variety of material types and mix designs. Although this in-depth tracking of material may have resulted in more accurate life cycle impact predictions, the Planned data quantities resulted in similar enough impacts to suggest that this methodology could be an acceptable method for estimating future LCA inputs. Additionally, based on comparable impact assessment parameters, the two LCA software tools provided similar results in terms of energy use and CO2 emissions. Therefore, DOTs should attempt to focus future efforts on material tracking for the purpose of LCAs and LCCAs when these issues are critical. Additional studies are included in Appendix A and B. Appendix A discusses a case study conducted prior to the analysis included in the main thesis. For the Appendix A study, data was collected post-construction from designs and plans, i.e. data was not explicitly tracked. The assumptions and concerns generated by this first case study prompted the data collection methodology research question posed by the main thesis. Appendix B includes a report on the development of an environmental impact tool used to assess the sustainable management of pavements in poor condition. For this impact tool, different rehabilitation and management methods are analyzed for economic and environmental costs. The environmental impact of each management strategy was calculated using LCAs, and the results were incorporated in a more in-depth evaluation tool. This paper demonstrates an application of road-related LCAs that differs from the two case studies.

Download or read book Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia and the Pacific Islands written by Agamuthu Pariatamby and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solid waste management issues, technologies and challenges are dynamic. More so, in developing and transitory nations in Asia. This book, written by Asian experts in solid waste management, explores the current situation in Asian countries including Pacific Islands. There are not many technical books of this kind, especially dedicated to this region of the world. The chapters form a comprehensive, coherent investigation in municipal solid waste (MSW) management, including, definitions used, generation, sustainable waste management system, legal framework and impacts on global warming. Several case studies from Asian nations are included to exemplify the real situation experienced. Discussions on MSW policy in these countries and their impacts on waste management and minimization (if any) are indeed an eye-opener. Undoubtedly, this book would be a pioneer in revealing the latest situation in the Asian region, which includes two of the world’s most dynamic nations in the economic growth. It is greatly envisaged to form an excellent source of reference in MSW management in Asia and Pacific Islands. This book will bridge the wide gap in available information between the developed and transitory/developing nations.

Download or read book Promoting Sustainable Building Materials and the Implications on the Use of Wood in Buildings written by Helen Goodland and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study provides an overview of the current policy and regulatory environment regarding sustainable construction materials in the building sector in Europe and North America, and, where applicable, offers a commentary on the effectiveness of such regimes in driving the adoption of wood products. The study's objective has been to conduct a broad survey across a range of policies, initiatives and programmes in order to document the current circumstances as a starting point for further discussions, technical meetings and policy debates with a view to enhance the use of wood in buildings through policy advice to member states.

Download or read book Practical Handbook of Material Flow Analysis written by Paul H. Brunner and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first-ever book on this subject establishes a rigid, transparent and useful methodology for investigating the material metabolism of anthropogenic systems. Using Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the main sources, flows, stocks, and emissions of man-made and natural materials can be determined. By demonstrating the application of MFA, this book reveals how resources can be conserved and the environment protected within complex systems. The fourteen case studies presented exemplify the potential for MFA to contribute to sustainable materials management. Exercises throughout the book deepen comprehension and expertise. The authors have had success in applying MFA to various fields, and now promote the use of MFA so that future engineers and planners have a common method for solving resource-oriented problems.

Download or read book Assessment and Decision Making for Sustainable Transport written by European Conference of Ministers of Transport and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2004-03-10 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report makes recommendations for good practice bringing the results of economic appraisals and environmental assessments before decision makers in the transport sector on the basis of reviews of recent experience in infrastructure planning and policy development in seven countries.

Download or read book Life Cycle Impact Assessment written by Michael Z. Hauschild and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.