Instant Insights: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Crops

Instant Insights: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Crops
Author: Seyyed Hassan Pishar-Komleh
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre:
ISBN: 9781801462150

This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on life cycle assessment (LCA) of crops. The first chapter discusses the application of LCA to agricultural systems and highlights key issues associated with its implementation, including delimitation of systems boundaries, defining the functional unit, handling coproduction, and the choosing of impact assessment methods. The second chapter explores the concepts of LCA and the coffee value chain. The chapter discusses how carbon footprint performances can be used to upgrade coffee value chains. The third chapter assesses the environmental impact of oil palm production during cultivation and as a result of land use change for new plantations. The chapter describes the principles and modelling steps of LCA, as well as the challenges ahead regarding further development and application. The fourth chapter reviews the core principles of LCA methodology, the state of the art of LCA for fruits and associated key challenges. The first complete LCA case study for export mango is also discussed. The final chapter assesses the environmental impact of banana production and highlights the importance of LCA in influencing the adoption of practices that can reduce or offset the carbon footprint of the banana value chain. What is an Instant Insight? An Instant Insight gives you immediate access to key research on a topic, allowing you to get right to the heart of a subject in an instant and empowering you to contribute to sustainable agriculture.

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment
Author: Ralph E Horne
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2009-03-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0643099204

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has developed in Australia over the last 20 years into a technique for systematically identifying the resource flows and environmental impacts associated with the provision of products and services. Interest in LCA has accelerated alongside growing demand to assess and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across different manufacturing and service sectors. Life Cycle Assessment focuses on the reflective practice of LCA, and provides critical insight into the technique and how it can be used as a problem-solving tool. It describes the distinctive strengths and limitations of LCA, with an emphasis on practice in Australia, as well as the application of LCA in waste management, the built environment, water and agriculture. Supported by examples and case studies, each chapter investigates contemporary challenges for environmental assessment and performance improvement in these key sectors. LCA methodologies are compared to the emerging climate change mitigation policy and practice techniques, and the uptake of ‘quick’ LCA and management tools are considered in the light of current and changing environmental agendas. The authors also debate the future prospects for LCA technique and applications.

Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization

Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-02-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309483360

In the quest to mitigate the buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, researchers and policymakers have increasingly turned their attention to techniques for capturing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, either from the locations where they are emitted or directly from the atmosphere. Once captured, these gases can be stored or put to use. While both carbon storage and carbon utilization have costs, utilization offers the opportunity to recover some of the cost and even generate economic value. While current carbon utilization projects operate at a relatively small scale, some estimates suggest the market for waste carbon-derived products could grow to hundreds of billions of dollars within a few decades, utilizing several thousand teragrams of waste carbon gases per year. Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams Utilization: Status and Research Needs assesses research and development needs relevant to understanding and improving the commercial viability of waste carbon utilization technologies and defines a research agenda to address key challenges. The report is intended to help inform decision making surrounding the development and deployment of waste carbon utilization technologies under a variety of circumstances, whether motivated by a goal to improve processes for making carbon-based products, to generate revenue, or to achieve environmental goals.

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA)

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA)
Author: Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2021-09-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811645620

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) that was developed about three decades ago demands a broadening of its scope to include lifecycle costing and social aspects of life cycle assessment as well, drawing on the three-pillar or ‘triple bottom line’ model of sustainability, which is the result of the development of the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). LCSA refers to the evaluation of all environmental, social and economic negative impacts and benefits in decision-making processes towards more sustainable products throughout their life cycle. Combination of environmental and social life cycle assessments along with life cycle costing leads to life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This book highlights various aspects of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA).

Life Cycle Assessment in the Agri-food Sector

Life Cycle Assessment in the Agri-food Sector
Author: Bruno Notarnicola
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2015-01-06
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319119400

The book presents an overview of the International practices and state-of-the-art of LCA studies in the agri-food sector, both in terms of adopted methodologies and application to particular products; the final purpose is to characterise and put order within the methodological issues connected to some important agri-food products (wine, olive oil, cereals and derived products, meat and fruit) and also defining practical guidelines for the implementation of LCAs in this particular sector. The first chapter entails an overview of the application of LCA to the food sector, the role of the different actors of the food supply chain and the methodological issues at a general level. The other chapters, each with a particular reference to the main foods of the five sectors under study, have a common structure which entails the review of LCA case studies of such agri-food products, the methodological issues, the ways with which they have been faced and the suggestion of practical guidelines.

Sustainability

Sustainability
Author: Tom Theis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 644
Release: 2018-01-23
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781680921533

With "Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation," first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowldege - including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities. As sustainability is a multi-disciplinary area of study, the text is the product of multiple authors drawn from the diverse faculty of the University of Illinois: each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field.

Sustainable Development in Practice

Sustainable Development in Practice
Author: Adisa Azapagic
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2004-07-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780470856093

This groundbreaking text provides background theory on the concept of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic aspects) and presents a series of practical case studies on such topics as waste water management, air quality, solid waste management and renewable energy.

Exergy Analysis and Thermoeconomics of Buildings

Exergy Analysis and Thermoeconomics of Buildings
Author: Jose M Sala-Lizarraga
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Total Pages: 1116
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128176121

Quantifying exergy losses in the energy supply system of buildings reveals the potential for energy improvement, which cannot be discovered using conventional energy analysis. Thermoeconomics combines economic and thermodynamic analysis by applying the concept of cost (an economic concept) to exergy, as exergy is a thermodynamic property fit for this purpose, in that it combines the quantity of energy with its quality factor. Exergy Analysis and Thermoeconomics of Buildings applies exergy analysis methods and thermoeconomics to the built environment. The mechanisms of heat transfer throughout the envelope of buildings are analyzed from an exergy perspective and then to the building thermal installations, analyzing the different components, such as condensing boilers, absorption refrigerators, microcogeneration plants, etc., including solar installations and finally the thermal facilities as a whole. A detailed analysis of the cost formation process is presented, which has its physical roots firmly planted in the second law of thermodynamics. The basic principles and the rules of cost allocation, in energy units (exergy cost), in monetary units (exergoeconomic cost), and in CO2 emissions (exergoenvironmental cost), based on the so-called Exergy Cost Theory are presented and applied to thermal installations of buildings. Clear and rigorous in its exposition, Exergy Analysis and Thermoeconomics of Buildings discusses exergy analysis and thermoeconomics and the role they could play in the analysis and design of building components, either the envelope or the thermal facilities, as well as the diagnosis of thermal installations. This book moves progressively from introducing the basic concepts to applying them. Exergy Analysis and Thermoeconomics of Buildings provides examples of specific cases throughout this book. These cases include real data, so that the results obtained are useful to interpret the inefficiencies and losses that truly occur in actual installations; hence, the assessment of their effects encourages the manner to improve efficiency. - Applies exergy analysis methods for the installation of building thermal facilities equipment components, including pipes, valves, heat exchangers, boilers and heat pumps - Helps readers determine the operational costs of heating and cooling building systems - Includes exergy analysis methods that are devoted to absorption refrigerators, adsorption cooling systems, basic air conditioning processes, ventilation systems and solar systems, either thermal and PV - Discusses the direct application of exergy analysis concepts, including examples of buildings with typical heating, DHW and air conditioning installations

Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Lifecycle Inventory

Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Lifecycle Inventory
Author: P.R. White
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461523699

Life is often considered to be a journey. The lifecycle of waste can similarly be considered to be a journey from the cradle (when an item becomes valueless and, usually, is placed in the dustbin) to the grave (when value is restored by creating usable material or energy; or the waste is transformed into emissions to water or air, or into inert material placed in a landfill). This preface provides a route map for the journey the reader of this book will undertake. Who? Who are the intended readers of this book? Waste managers (whether in public service or private companies) will find a holistic approach for improving the environmental quality and the economic cost of managing waste. The book contains general principles based on cutting edge experience being developed across Europe. Detailed data and a computer model will enable operations managers to develop data-based improvements to their systems. Producers oj waste will be better able to understand how their actions can influence the operation of environmentally improved waste management systems. Designers oj products and packages will be better able to understand how their design criteria can improve the compatibility of their product or package with developing, environmentally improved waste management systems. Waste data specialists (whether in laboratories, consultancies or environ mental managers of waste facilities) will see how the scope, quantity and quality of their data can be improved to help their colleagues design more effective waste management systems.

Polyesters and Polyamides

Polyesters and Polyamides
Author: B L Deopura
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 631
Release: 2008-06-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1845694600

Polyesters and polyamides remain the most used group of synthetic fibres. This authoritative book reviews methods of their production, ways of improving their functionality and their wide range of applications.The first part of the book describes raw materials and manufacturing processes, including environmental issues. Part two considers ways of improving the functionality of polyester and polyamide fibres, including blending, weaving, coloration and other finishing techniques as well as new techniques such as nanotechnology. The final part of the book reviews the range of uses of these important fibres, from apparel and sportswear to automotive, medical and civil engineering applications.With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Polyesters and polyamides is a standard reference for all those using this important group of fibres. - Reviews the chemical and physical properties of each fibre and their manufacture - Analyses how the functionality of polyester and polyamides can be improved - Provides examples of how the fibres are used in applications