Metal requirements of low-carbon power generation

Industrial Ecolog

Life cycle assessment-based guidance for development of new energy technologies

The development of new environmentally sound technologies is seen as a key route towards achieving sustainability. Also technology is regarded as the most important factor in the scientific field of industrial ecology for reducing environmental impacts of anthropogenic action. Developing greener, cleaner and more efficient technologies (using fewer resources or using them more efficiently) has therefore increasingly become the focus of many research projects that include the need to assess the potential future environmental impacts of technologies in the early development stages. The aim of this thesis was to develop a forward-looking assessment method based on LCA that can be used to integrate early insights in potential environmental impacts in R&D, with a specific focus on new energy technologies. </p

Life cycle assessment-based guidance for development of new energy technologies

The development of new environmentally sound technologies is seen as a key route towards achieving sustainability. Also technology is regarded as the most important factor in the scientific field of industrial ecology for reducing environmental impacts of anthropogenic action. Developing greener, cleaner and more efficient technologies (using fewer resources or using them more efficiently) has therefore increasingly become the focus of many research projects that include the need to assess the potential future environmental impacts of technologies in the early development stages. The aim of this thesis was to develop a forward-looking assessment method based on LCA that can be used to integrate early insights in potential environmental impacts in R&D, with a specific focus on new energy technologies. Chapter 2, 3 and 4 of this thesis were carried out under the Bio Solar Cells project which was co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.Industrial Ecolog

Ex-ante LCA of Emerging Technologies

Industrial Ecolog

Upscaling methods used in ex ante life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: a review

Industrial Ecolog

No matter – how? Dealing with matter-less stressors in LCA: the case of noise in wind energy systems

The portfolio of impacts that are quantified in life cycle assessment (LCA) has grown to include rather different stressors than those that were the focus of early LCAs. Some of the newest life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models are still in an early phase of development and have not yet been included in any LCA study. This is the case for sound emissions and noise impacts, which have been only recently modeled. Sound emissions are matter-less, time dependent, and bound to the physical properties of waves. The way sound emissions and the relative noise impacts are modeled in LCA can show how new or existing matter-less impacts can be addressed. In this study, we analyze, through the example of sound emissions, the specific features of a matter-less impact that does not stem from the use of a kilogram of matter, nor is related to the emission of a kilogram of matter. We take as a case study the production of energy by means of wind turbines, contradicting the commonly held assumption that windmills have no emissions during use. We show how to account for sound emissions in the life cycle inventory phase of the life cycle of a wind turbine and then calculate the relative impacts using a noise LCIA model

A Life Cycle Assessment Case Study of Coal-Fired Electricity Generation with Humidity Swing Direct Air Capture of CO2 versus MEA-Based Postcombustion Capture

Industrial Ecolog

The promise of negative emissions

Industrial Ecolog