Browsing by Keyword "Life cycle assessment"
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Item Influence of climate change externalities on the sustainability-oriented prioritisation of prospective energy scenarios(2020-04-01) Iribarren, Diego; Martín-Gamboa, Mario; Navas-Anguita, Zaira; García-Gusano, Diego; Dufour, Javier; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; PLANIFICACIÓN ENERGÉTICAThe implementation of externalities in energy policies is a potential measure for sustainability-oriented energy planning. Furthermore, decisions on energy policies and plans should be based on the analysis of a number of potential energy scenarios, considering the evolution of key techno-economic and life-cycle sustainability indicators. The joint interpretation of these multiple criteria should drive the choice of appropriate decisions for energy planning. Within this context, this work proposes –for the first time– the combined use of Life Cycle Assessment, externalities calculation, Energy Systems Modelling and dynamic Data Envelopment Analysis to prioritise prospective energy scenarios. For demonstration and illustrative purposes, the application of this methodological framework to the case study of electricity production in Spain leads to quantitatively discriminate between 15 prospective energy scenarios by taking into account the life-cycle profile of the transformation path of the power generation system with time horizon 2050. When compared to the application of the framework without implementation of external costs, the internalisation of climate change externalities is found to affect the ranking of energy scenarios but still showing the rejection of those scenarios based on the lifetime extension of coal power plants, as well as the preference for those scenarios leading to a high penetration of renewable technologies.Item Multi-Criteria Selection of Additives in Porous Asphalt Mixtures Using Mechanical, Hydraulic, Economic, and Environmental Indicators(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2021-02-17) Gupta, Anik; Slebi-Acevedo, Carlos J.; Lizasoain-Arteaga, Esther; Rodriguez-Hernandez, Jorge; Castro-Fresno, DanielPorous asphalt (PA) mixtures are more environmentally friendly but have lower durability than dense-graded mixtures. Additives can be incorporated into PA mixtures to enhance their mechanical strength; however, they may compromise the hydraulic characteristics, increase the total cost of pavement, and negatively affect the environment. In this paper, PA mixtures were produced with 5 different types of additives including 4 fibers and 1 filler. Their performances were compared with the reference mixtures containing virgin bitumen and polymer-modified bitumen. The performance of all mixes was assessed using: mechanical, hydraulic, economic, and environmental indicators. Then, the Delphi method was applied to compute the relative weights for the parameters in multi-criteria decision-making methods. Evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS), technique for order of the preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) were employed to rank the additives. According to the results obtained, aramid pulp displayed comparable and, for some parameters such as abrasion resistance, even better performance than polymer-modified bitumen, whereas cellulose fiber demonstrated the best performance regarding sustainability, due to economic and environmental benefits.Item On the Use of Carbon Cables from Plastic Solvent Combinations of Polystyrene and Toluene in Carbon Nanotube Synthesis(2021-12-21) Orbaek White, Alvin; Hedayati, Ali; Yick, Tim; Gangoli, Varun Shenoy; Niu, Yubiao; Lethbridge, Sean; Tsampanakis, Ioannis; Swan, Gemma; Pointeaux, Léo; Crane, Abigail; Charles, Rhys; Sallah-Conteh, Jainaba; Anderson, Andrew O.; Davies, Matthew Lloyd; Corr, Stuart. J.; Palmer, Richard E.; Tecnalia Research & InnovationFor every three people on the planet, there are approximately two Tonnes (Te) of plastic waste. We show that carbon recovery from polystyrene (PS) plastic is enhanced by the coaddition of solvents to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by liquid injection chemical vapour deposition. Polystyrene was loaded up to 4 wt% in toluene and heated to 780 °C in the presence of a ferrocene catalyst and a hydrogen/argon carrier gas at a 1:19 ratio. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy were used to identify multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The PS addition in the range from 0 to 4 wt% showed improved quality and CNT homogeneity; Raman “Graphitic/Defective” (G/D) values increased from 1.9 to 2.3; mean CNT diameters increased from 43.0 to 49.2 nm; and maximum CNT yield increased from 11.37% to 14.31%. Since both the CNT diameters and the percentage yield increased following the addition of polystyrene, we conclude that carbon from PS contributes to the carbon within the MWCNTs. The electrical contact resistance of acid-washed Bucky papers produced from each loading ranged from 2.2 to 4.4 Ohm, with no direct correlation to PS loading. Due to this narrow range, materials with different loadings were mixed to create the six wires of an Ethernet cable and tested using iPerf3; the cable achieved up- and down- link speeds of ~99.5 Mbps, i.e., comparable to Cu wire with the same dimensions (~99.5 Mbps). The lifecycle assessment (LCA) of CNT wire production was compared to copper wire production for a use case in a Boeing 747-400 over the lifespan of the aircraft. Due to their lightweight nature, the CNT wires decreased the CO2 footprint by 21 kTonnes (kTe) over the aircraft’s lifespan.Item Prospective techno-economic and environmental assessment of a national hydrogen production mix for road transport(2019) Navas-Anguita, Zaira; García-Gusano, Diego; Dufour, Javier; Iribarren, Diego; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; PLANIFICACIÓN ENERGÉTICAFuel cell electric vehicles arise as an alternative to conventional vehicles in the road transport sector. They could contribute to decarbonising the transport system because they have no direct CO2 emissions during the use phase. In fact, the life-cycle environmental performance of hydrogen as a transportation fuel focuses on its production. In this sense, through the case study of Spain, this article prospectively assesses the techno-economic and environmental performance of a national hydrogen production mix by following a methodological framework based on energy systems modelling enriched with endogenous carbon footprint indicators. Taking into account the need for a hydrogen economy based on clean options, alternative scenarios characterised by carbon footprint restrictions with respect to a fossil-based scenario dominated by steam methane reforming are evaluated. In these scenarios, the steam reforming of natural gas still arises as the key hydrogen production technology in the short term, whereas water electrolysis is the main technology in the medium and long term. Furthermore, in scenarios with very restrictive carbon footprint limits, biomass gasification also appears as a key hydrogen production technology in the long term. In the alternative scenarios assessed, the functional substitution of hydrogen for conventional fossil fuels in the road transport sector could lead to high greenhouse gas emission savings, ranging from 36 to 58 Mt CO2 eq in 2050. Overall, these findings and the model structure and characterisation developed for the assessment of hydrogen energy scenarios are expected to be relevant not only to the specific case study of Spain but also to analysts and decision-makers in a large number of countries facing similar concerns.Item Reducing the carbon footprint of ICT products through material efficiency strategies: A life cycle analysis of smartphones: A life cycle analysis of smartphones(2021-04) Cordella, Mauro; Alfieri, Felice; Sanfelix, Javier; Tecnalia Research & InnovationWith the support of a life cycle assessment model, this study estimates the carbon footprint (CF) of smartphones and life cycle costs (LCC) for consumers in scenarios where different material efficiency strategies are implemented in Europe. Results show that a major contribution to the CF of smartphones is due to extraction and processing of materials and following manufacturing of parts: 10.7 kg CO2,eq/year, when assuming a biennial replacement cycle. Printed wiring board, display assembly, and integrated circuits make 75% of the impacts from materials. The CF is increased by assembly (+2.7 kg CO2,eq/year), distribution (+1.9 kg CO2,eq/year), and recharging of the device (+1.9 kg CO2,eq/year) and decreased by the end of life recycling (−0.8 kg CO2,eq/year). However, the CF of smartphones can dramatically increase when the energy consumed in communication services is counted (+26.4 kg CO2,eq/year). LCC can vary significantly (235–622 EUR/year). The service contract can in particular be a decisive cost factor (up to 61–85% of the LCC). It was calculated that the 1:1 displacement of new smartphones by used devices could decrease the CF by 52–79% (excluding communication services) and the LCC by 5–16%. An extension of the replacement cycle from 2 to 3 years could decrease the CF by 23–30% and the LCC by 4–10%, depending on whether repair operations are required. Measures for implementing such material efficiency strategies are presented and results can help inform decision‐makers about how to reduce impacts associated with smartphones.Item Thermodynamic, economic and environmental assessment of energy systems including the use of gas from manure fermentation in the context of the Spanish potential(2020-06-01) Skorek-Osikowska, Anna; Martin-Gamboa, Mario; Iribarren, Diego; García-Gusano, Diego; Dufour, Javier; Tecnalia Research & Innovation; PLANIFICACIÓN ENERGÉTICAOne of the prospective technologies that can be used for energy generation in distributed systems is based on biogas production, usually involving fermentation of various types of biomass and waste. This article aims to bring novelty on the analysis of this type of systems, joining together thermodynamic, economic and environmental aspects for a cross-cutting evaluation of the proposed solutions. The analysis is made for Spain, for which such a solution is very promising due to availability of the feedstock. A detailed simulation model of the proposed system in two different cases was built in Aspen Plus software and Visual Basic for Applications. Case 1 involves production of biogas in manure fermentation process, its upgrading (cleaning and removal of CO2 from the gas) and injection to the grid. Case 2 assumes combustion of the biogas in gas engine to produce electricity and heat that can be used locally and/or sold to the grid. Thermodynamic assessment of these two cases was made to determine the most important parameters and evaluation indices. The results served as input values for the economic analysis and environmental evaluation through Life Cycle Assessment of the energy systems. The results show that the analysed technologies have potential to produce high-value products based on low-quality biomass. Economic evaluation determined the break-even price of biomethane (Case 1) and electricity (Case 2), which for the nominal assumptions reach the values of 16.77 €/GJ and 28.92 €/GJ, respectively. In terms of environmental assessment the system with the use of biogas in gas engine presents around three times better environmental profile than Case 1 in the two categories evaluated, i.e., carbon and energy footprint.