Recent developments in Life Cycle Assessment.
TL;DR: A review of recent developments of LCA methods, focusing on some areas where there has been an intense methodological development during the last years, and some of the emerging issues.
About: This article is published in Journal of Environmental Management.The article was published on 2009-10-01. It has received 2683 citations till now.
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TL;DR: The state of the art in preprocessing of End-of-life materials containing rare-earth elements (REEs) and the final recovery is discussed in detail in this article, where the relevance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for REE recycling is emphasized.
1,718 citations
Cites background from "Recent developments in Life Cycle A..."
...The relevance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for REE recycling is emphasized....
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...) can be studied with conventional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (so-called attributional LCA) (Rebitzer et al., 2004; Pennington et al., 2004; Finnveden et al., 2009)....
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...The environmental impact of the life cycle of the REEs used in specific products (lamps, magnets, metal hydride batteries,.) can be studied with conventional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (so-called attributional LCA) (Rebitzer et al., 2004; Pennington et al., 2004; Finnveden et al., 2009)....
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...Only a few LCA studies on specific applications of REEshavebeenpublished todate (Apisitpuvakul et al., 2008)....
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...LCA is a well developed and acknowledged methodology backed by obligatory ISO Standards 14040 and 14044....
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TL;DR: LCA is evolving into LCSA, which is a transdisciplinary integration framework of models rather than a model in itself, which works with a plethora of disciplinary models and guides selecting the proper ones, given a specific sustainability question.
Abstract: Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) has developed fast over the last three decades. Whereas LCA developed from merely energy analysis to a comprehensive environmental burden analysis in the 1970s, full-fledged life cycle impact assessment and life cycle costing models were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, and social-LCA and particularly consequential LCA gained ground in the first decade of the 21st century. Many of the more recent developments were initiated to broaden traditional environmental LCA to a more comprehensive Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA). Recently, a framework for LCSA was suggested linking life cycle sustainability questions to knowledge needed for addressing them, identifying available knowledge and related models, knowledge gaps, and defining research programs to fill these gaps. LCA is evolving into LCSA, which is a transdisciplinary integration framework of models rather than a model in itself. LCSA works with a plethora of disciplinary models and guides selecting t...
1,186 citations
TL;DR: The areas of energy, water and food policy have numerous interwoven concerns ranging from ensuring access to services, to environmental impacts to price volatility as mentioned in this paper, and these issues manifest in very di...
1,038 citations
Cites background from "Recent developments in Life Cycle A..."
...…et al. (2007), Cerutti et al. (2010), Chaurey and Kandpal (2010), Cherubini and Strømman (2011), Dismukes et al. (2009), El-Fadel et al. (2010), Finnveden et al. (2009), Fthenakis and Kim (2010), Grossmann (2003), Hertwich et al. (1997), Ito et al. (1997), Kaldellis et al. (2009), Lee and Koh…...
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TL;DR: Life Cycle Assessment constitutes a viable screening tool that can pinpoint environmental hotspots in complex value chains, but it is cautioned that completeness in scope comes at the price of simplifications and uncertainties.
Abstract: In the modern economy, international value chains--production, use, and disposal of goods--have global environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aims to track these impacts and assess them from a systems perspective, identifying strategies for improvement without burden shifting. We review recent developments in LCA, including existing and emerging applications aimed at supporting environmentally informed decisions in policy-making, product development and procurement, and consumer choices. LCA constitutes a viable screening tool that can pinpoint environmental hotspots in complex value chains, but we also caution that completeness in scope comes at the price of simplifications and uncertainties. Future advances of LCA in enhancing regional detail and accuracy as well as broadening the assessment to economic and social aspects will make it more relevant for producers and consumers alike.
888 citations
TL;DR: The role of catalysis in waste minimisation is discussed and illustrated with examples of green catalytic processes such as aerobic oxidations of alcohols, catalytic C-C bond formation and olefin metathesis as discussed by the authors.
798 citations
References
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Book•
01 Sep 1998TL;DR: The seven revolutions for sustainable capitalism: competition, competition, triple win revolution, values from me to we revolution, information and transparency, no hiding place revolution, lifecylces from conception to resurrection revolution, partnerships after the honeymoon revolution, time three scenarios revolution, corporate governance, stake in the future, sustainability transition, value shifts, value migrations the worlds of money and power, sustainability audit, how are you placed.
Abstract: Introduction - is capitalism sustainable? seven revolutions for sustainable capitalism revolution 1 - competition - going for the triple win revolution 2 - values - from me to we revolution 3 - information and transparency - no hiding place revolution 4 - lifecylces - from conception to resurrection revolution 5 - partnerships - after the honeymoon revolution 6 - time - three scenarios revolution 7 - corporate governance - stake in the future the sustainability transition - value shifts, value migrations the worlds of money and power the sustainability audit - how are you placed?
5,329 citations
TL;DR: Verification and validation of numerical models of natural systems is impossible because natural systems are never closed and because model results are always nonunique.
Abstract: Verification and validation of numerical models of natural systems is impossible. This is because natural systems are never closed and because model results are always nonunique. Models can be confirmed by the demonstration of agreement between observation and prediction, but confirmation is inherently partial. Complete confirmation is logically precluded by the fallacy of affirming the consequent and by incomplete access to natural phenomena. Models can only be evaluated in relative terms, and their predictive value is always open to question. The primary value of models is heuristic.
2,909 citations
"Recent developments in Life Cycle A..." refers background in this paper
...To Oreskes et al. (1994) and Heijungs (2001), the only possible validation is the piecemeal one: unit processes, steps in impact pathways, etc., each building block may be validated separately, and as long as the gluing together proceeds according to strict procedures and mathematical rules, we can…...
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Book•
01 Jan 1990TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a software tool for uncertainty analysis, called Analytica, for quantitative policy analysis, which can be used to perform probability assessment and propagation and analysis of uncertainty.
Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Recent milestones 3. An overview of quantitative policy analysis 4. The nature and sources of uncertainty 5. Probability distributions and statistical estimation 6. Human judgement about and with uncertainty 7. Performing probability assessment 8. The propagation and analysis of uncertainty 9. The graphic communication of uncertainty 10. Analytica: a software tool for uncertainty analysis 11. Large and complex models 12. The value of knowing how little you know Index.
2,666 citations
TL;DR: The matter became of increasing interest and importance because of the program sponsored by the Bureau of Air Commerce for the development of a small two-place airplane which, it was hoped, could be marketed at $700 assuming a quantity of ten thousand units could be released for construction.
Abstract: TH I S subject is one which can always be relied upon to start a discussion whenever it is raised in aircraft circles. Great differences of opinion will be voiced as to the relative importance of various factors, depending somewhat on whether the discussion is between persons in the (industry who are engaged in sales, engineering, design or factory work. The attitude of those outside the industry is usually quite supercilious with the intimation present that everyone engaged in the design, development, or construction of airplanes is a sort of prima donna. Therefore, because of the rather hazy information which seems to surround the subject, it appears in order to discuss the problems from several points of view in an effort to arrive at logical conclusions. The effect of quantity production on cost, particularly, requires study as in this respect more than in others, there exists a lack of appreciation of the variation which occurs. Recently the matter became of increasing interest and importance because of the program sponsored by the Bureau of Air Commerce for the development of a small two-place airplane which, it was hoped, could be marketed at $700 assuming a quantity of ten thousand units could be released for construction.
2,589 citations
"Recent developments in Life Cycle A..." refers background in this paper
...If a decision is made to invest in an emerging technology, this contributes to the development of the technology and is likely to contribute to reducing the manufacturing cost of the equipment (Wright, 1936)....
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