Comparative Ecological Based Life Cycle Assessment of Multi- Crystalline PV Technology and Coal Electric Power

Multicrystalline (multi-Si) photovoltaic (PV) technology is increasingly common throughout Australia and the developed world, as renewable energy technologies become viable electrical generation alternatives to coal and nuclear power. We have examined the cradle-to-grave life cycle of a 3kWp multi-Si PV system within Australia. The highest contribution of environmental impacts results from the usage of fossil fuel energy resources and their emissions at the pre-production and manufacturing stages. We analyze the impacts of multi-Si technology on ecosystem goods and services (EGS) and compared it with impacts resulting from coal power electricity. For 3kWp multi-Si system, coal, crude oil and iron ore were the critical resources consumed from the lithosphere while the public supply of water was consumed from the hydrosphere. For coal power electricity, coal and water were the resources most consumed from both the lithosphere and hydrosphere. However the resource consumption from coal power electricity is significantly larger than that of multi-Si PV. Coal power electricity is also responsible for much greater energy and exergy consumption compared to multi-Si PV. The main ecosystem disturbances resulting from the lifecycle of a 3kWp multi-Si unit affect supporting and regulating services though these disturbances are considerably lower than the services impacted from coal power electricity. The study concludes that similar analysis performed on another PV technology would provide a greater understanding to the Eco-LCA results for multi-Si PV technology, particularly with relation to exergy analysis

Value Chain Analysis of Palm Oil Biodiesel through a Hybrid (ISO-Eco) Life Cycle Assessment Approach

This study assesses the life-cycle impacts of palm oil biodiesel value chain in order to provide insights toward holistic sustainability awareness on the current development of bio-based energy policy. The assessment methodology was performed under a hybrid approach combining ISO-14040 Life Cycle Assessment (ISO-LCA) technique and Ecologically-based Life Cycle Assessment (Eco-LCA) methodology. The scope of this study covers all stages in palm oil biodiesel value chain or is often referred to as “cradle-to-grave” analysis. The functional unit to which all inputs and outputs were calculated is the production of 1 ton of biodiesel. For the analysis, life cycle inventory data were collected from professional databases and from scholarly articles addressing global palm oil supply chains. The inventory analysis yields a linked flow associating the land used, fresh fruit bunch (FFB), crude palm oil (CPO), per functional unit of 1 kg of palm oil biodiesel (POB). The linked flow obtained in the inventory analysis were then normalized and characterized following the characterization model formulated inISO-LCA guidelines. The aggregation of ecological inputs was classified based on the mass and energy associated to each unit process in the value chain, which are cultivation, extraction, conversion, and utilization. It is noted that compared to other unit processes, cultivation is the most crucial unit process within the whole palm oil biodiesel value chain. This study serves as a big picture about the current state of palm oil biodiesel value chain, which will be beneficial for further improving oversight of the policy making and service toward sustainable development.

The necessity for end-of-life photovoltaic technology waste management policy: a systematic review

Photovoltaic (PV) technologies in the energy industry are crucial for transitioning to a decarbonized era that relies on renewable energy sources. This systematic review aimed to identify the potential environmental impacts associated with the entire life cycle of PV technologies. To accomplish this, the review analysed literature from the last five years focused on life cycle assessment and evaluating PV technologies' environmental impacts/toxicity. In total, 72 final articles were collected and analysed, considering the year of publication, research methodology, and geographical context. Although there is substantial knowledge regarding potential impacts associated with end-of-life (EoL) PV technologies, only a limited number of regions have specific regulations regarding PV waste. With the incorporation of circular economy principles, targeted strategies for EoL treatments can be developed and implemented, leading to a substantial reduction in the environmental impacts caused by EoL PV modules, where this aspect represents a critical concern within the context of PV technologies. Therefore, this study emphasises the need to integrate life cycle assessment, circular economy, and systems thinking to achieve more sustainable development when utilizing PV technologies so that the diffusion of PV technologies helps decarbonization transitions without creating major unintended environmental problems in waste systems

SME adaptive capacity in response to environmental requirements: understanding it as a complex adaptive system

The pressure on Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies to adapt their production and management to meet global industrial environmental standards is enormous. These pressures come from both the international supply chain and the government’s environmental legislation. Yet, an effective way to help SMEs adapt to these challenges in emerging economies is not reported. Little is available about environmental adaptation process at SMEs in developing countries. This paper attempts to address this gap in knowledge. It uses the theory of Complex Adaptive Systems to understand the complex nature of environmental adaptation at SMEs, and more importantly, it outlines an agenda for further research to identify key success factors for the environmental adaptation process at SMEs based on the key components of such a system

A Circularity-based Planning Approach for Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management: A Case Study of Malaysia

In recent years, Malaysia has faced an intense demand for infrastructure development and the construction industry has become an integral part of transforming the country into a developed nation. Large numbers of development works are perturbing and they are subject to the improper management of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes. Lacking in methods for managing C&D wastes throughout the construction cycle has jeopardized the effort to preserve the environment. Circular economy (CE) was used as a basis to improve the C&D waste management system in Malaysia. We have developed a circularity-based planning approach to managing the wastes with an idea to maximize the resources. We collected the feedback from the construction actors in Malaysia to identify the suitable 3R principles of reduce, reuse and recycle and waste minimization strategies to be adopted throughout the construction cycle. Based on the feedbacks, we introduced a circularity-oriented framework of C&D waste management that could be applied throughout the construction cycle. Then, we tested the effectiveness of the framework by conducting a simulation process using system dynamics modelling. The results revealed that the waste generation could be significantly reduced – that indirectly mitigate the environmental impacts

Models for evaluating energy, environmental and sustainability performance of biofuels value chain

Sustainable production of biofuels requires lots of feedstocks, developing robust technologies and industrial ecology-oriented biorefineries under the overarching principles of sustainability. Majority of existing methods for impacts analysis of biofuels have not considered the triple dimensions of sustainability. A critical challenge for any chain of biofuel traders is to develop and implement an integrated set of performance measures that can direct its efforts towards restructuring existing supply chains. This research aims to develop OR/MS based metrics that are integrative and consider the multi-expectations of various stakeholders to allow efficient supply chains'participation into sustainable development at various levels

Sustainable development of bioenergy sector: An integrated methodological framework

Climate change and sustainable development are interrelated issues, which are of vital importance to government policy and corporate decision makers. The sustainability evaluation of a biomass-based technology with consideration of stakeholder interests can provide a foundation for implementing energy and environmental policies. This study aims to develop an integrated and structured methodological framework for analysing biofuel systems in pursuit of sustainable large scale production. The integrated assessment framework can assist to formulate integrative and transparent policies for sustainable biomass certification. The proposed framework uses first the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to aid in extracting knowledge and judgments from stakeholders. AHP determines the critical criteria and indicators representing conflicting stakeholders' interests which can be incorporated in creating a dynamic system model for landscape-scale bioenergy modelling and assessment. An integrated AHP and system dynamics approach is currently being applied to assess the sustainable development of forest bioenergy sector in Maine, USA

An approach to selection of sustainable product improvement alternatives with data uncertainty

This paper presents a theoretical framework on the integration of simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methodologies for the purpose of strategic selection of product improvement alternatives with consideration to data uncertainty. The research focus is on how manufacturing companies can be assisted in design of products so that quality, environmental and cost (QEC) requirements of stakeholders in the life cycle stages of the product system are addressed at an early stage where data imprecision is common. The consideration of these three design requirements leads to a multi-attribute decision situation with regard to the selection of an optimal product system improvement concept. The main objective is to develop a decision-oriented life cycle approach that integrates QEC parameters at an early stage of product development. A conceptual approach was developed which includes: (1) identification and documentation of QEC requirements' information using streamlined LCA, LCC and QFD; (2) generation of alternative concepts for product improvements and construction of sustainable concept comparison matrix where fuzzy terms were adopted to describe relationships and importance; (3) fuzzy linguistic decision support system was developed and applied to evaluate and select the optimal sustainable product improvement alternative under data uncertainty; (4) sensitivity and statistical analyses. Ranking of alternative sustainable options with respect to environment, cost and quality was reported