A Method for Uncertainty Managementin Life Cycle Assessment Studies –A Tiered-Hybrid Case Study of an Irish Construction Project

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantifies the potential environmental impact of a product system throughout its life cycle from raw material extraction, production, manufacture, use and maintenance through to final disposal. The results from LCA studies are often used to support decision-making processes andpolicy development. LCA is conducted in four iterative steps, beingGoal and Scope definition, Life Cycle InventoryAnalysis (LCI), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), andInterpretation. The guidelines for each step are provided in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. Uncertainty arises in all steps of an LCA,yet the propagation and reporting of these uncertainties is not mandatory for ISO compliance and is often not donein LCA case studies. There have been significant research efforts to improve uncertainty classification and quantification in LCA, particularly focusing on the LCI step. However, astructured uncertainty management method forall steps in anLCA is still needed. The intent of this research is to improve uncertainty reportingin LCA case studies through the development and demonstration of a structured uncertainty management methodthat can readily be integrated into the international standardsfor LCA. The case study chosen to demonstrate the uncertainty management method was a construction project in Ireland, focusing on climate change.For this case study, the data and uncertainties for the LCI step were compiled in Excel. The uncertainties werepropagated,and the potential impact was calculatedusing an open source software for statistical programming, RStudio. Code was also written in RStudio to identify and rank the input uncertainties that contributedthe most to the totaloutput uncertainty. Thes

The effects of lithium sulfur battery ageing on second-life possibilities and environmental life cycle assessment studies

The development of Li-ion batteries has enabled the re-entry of electric vehicles into the market. As car manufacturers strive to reach higher practical specific energies (550 Wh/kg) than what is achievable for Li-ion batteries, new alternatives for battery chemistry are being considered. Li-Sulfur batteries are of interest due to their ability to achieve the desired practical specific energy. The research presented in this paper focuses on the development of the Li-Sulfur technology for use in electric vehicles. The paper presents the methodology and results for endurance tests conducted on in-house manufactured Li-S cells under various accelerated ageing conditions. The Li-S cells were found to reach 80% state of health after 300–500 cycles. The results of these tests were used as the basis for discussing the second life options for Li-S batteries, as well as environmental Life Cycle Assessment results of a 50 kWh Li-S batteryPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Practical Experience with Woody Biomass in a Down-Draft Gasifier

Gasification is the cleanest method of obtaining energy from fossil fuels, but with increasing awareness of depleting fossil fuel reserves attention has shifted towards renewable sources of energy. Any carbonaceous material can be gasified to generate high-value end-products from otherwise potentially low-value materials. Gasification can also generate energy from purpose-grown bioenergy crops, and Ireland has an ideal climate to produce woody biomass for energy generation. This update outlines some preliminary results from an investigation into the most suitable woody feedstock for small-scale localised gasification to produce a synthetic gas suitable for use in internal combustion engines. Argentinean- and German-standard wood pellets and Irish-grown willow chips were gasified in a down-draft gasifier. Operation of the gasifier led to the observation that the willow chips bridged within the feedstock hopper which prevented completion of gasification. Implementing a stirring bar in the feedstock hopper prevented bridging and gasification was then successful. Collection of the gas produced during gasification of willow chip was unsuccessful, however gas composition analysis indicates pellets which meet the German-standard are more suitable than Argentinean-standard pellets for use in a down-draft gasifier; work is underway to determine the composition of willow-derived synthetic gas to determine the most suitable feedstock for decentralised gasification by rural communities in Ireland as part of smart farming systems.Not applicable13/05/13 RBThere is a botanical term in the keyword field. R

Comparing options for deriving chemical ecotoxicity hazard values for the European Union Environmental Footprint, Part II

The EU Commission published in 2013 a recommendation on the use of a common method to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organizations. In November 2013, started a four years pilot exercise with industries, NGOs, and academia to assess the effectiveness of the method on 25 product categories. One of the impact categories in the environmental footprint pilot program, freshwater ecotoxicity, was identified for improvement by, among other points, increasing the number of chemicals for which an aquatic toxicity indicator is available. For this work, we used ecotoxicity data (54,353 test data points) extracted from the REACH ecotoxicity database and compared multiple approaches to calculate final substance toxicity indicator (e.g. hazard values): the USEtox® approach, using only acute EC50 equivalent data, and using only chronic NOEC equivalent data. The species sensitivity distribution at 10, 20 and 50% potential affected fraction (PAF) of species were evaluated. Using REACH ecotoxicity database, 3845, 4853 and 5560 hazard values could be calculated for the USEtox® model, following an acute only and chronic only approaches, respectively. The USEtox® approach provides hazard values similar to the ones based on acute EC50 data only. While there is a large amount of variability in the ratios, the data support acuteEC50eq to Chronic NOECeq ratios (calculated as geometric mean) of 10.64, 10.90 and 4.21 for fish, crustacean and algae respectively. Comparison of the calculated hazard values with the criteria used by the EU chemical classification, labelling and packaging regulation (CLP) shows the USEtox® method underestimates the number of compounds categorized as very toxic to aquatic life and/or having long lasting effects. In contrast, use of the chronic NOEC data shows a good agreement with CLP. The selection procedure applied on the original REACH database led to the exclusion of 83% of the available ecotoxicity data (not meeting minimum quality requirements) and to a final database where > 98% of the chemicals have only three of less ecotoxicity valuesJRC.D.1-Bio-econom

The effects of lithium sulfur battery ageing on second-life possibilities and environmental life cycle assessment studies

The development of Li-ion batteries has enabled the re-entry of electric vehicles into the market. As car manufacturers strive to reach higher practical specific energies (550 Wh/kg) than what is achievable for Li-ion batteries, new alternatives for battery chemistry are being considered. Li-Sulfur batteries are of interest due to their ability to achieve the desired practical specific energy. The research presented in this paper focuses on the development of the Li-Sulfur technology for use in electric vehicles. The paper presents the methodology and results for endurance tests conducted on in-house manufactured Li-S cells under various accelerated ageing conditions. The Li-S cells were found to reach 80% state of health after 300–500 cycles. The results of these tests were used as the basis for discussing the second life options for Li-S batteries, as well as environmental Life Cycle Assessment results of a 50 kWh Li-S batteryPeer Reviewe

Science goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Hand, K., Phillips, C., Murray, A., Garvin, J., Maize, E., Gibbs, R., Reeves, G., San Martin, A., Tan-Wang, G., Krajewski, J., Hurst, K., Crum, R., Kennedy, B., McElrath, T., Gallon, J., Sabahi, D., Thurman, S., Goldstein, B., Estabrook, P., Lee, S. W., Dooley, J. A., Brinckerhoff, W. B., Edgett, K. S., German, C. R., Hoehler, T. M., Hörst, S. M., Lunine, J. I., Paranicas, C., Nealson, K., Smith, D. E., Templeton, A. S., Russell, M. J., Schmidt, B., Christner, B., Ehlmann, B., Hayes, A., Rhoden, A., Willis, P., Yingst, R. A., Craft, K., Cameron, M. E., Nordheim, T., Pitesky, J., Scully, J., Hofgartner, J., Sell, S. W., Barltrop, K. J., Izraelevitz, J., Brandon, E. J., Seong, J., Jones, J.-P., Pasalic, J., Billings, K. J., Ruiz, J. P., Bugga, R. V., Graham, D., Arenas, L. A., Takeyama, D., Drummond, M., Aghazarian, H., Andersen, A. J., Andersen, K. B., Anderson, E. W., Babuscia, A., Backes, P. G., Bailey, E. S., Balentine, D., Ballard, C. G., Berisford, D. F., Bhandari, P., Blackwood, K., Bolotin, G. S., Bovre, E. A., Bowkett, J., Boykins, K. T., Bramble, M. S., Brice, T. M., Briggs, P., Brinkman, A. P., Brooks, S. M., Buffington, B. B., Burns, B., Cable, M. L., Campagnola, S., Cangahuala, L. A., Carr, G. A., Casani, J. R., Chahat, N. E., Chamberlain-Simon, B. K., Cheng, Y., Chien, S. A., Cook, B. T., Cooper, M., DiNicola, M., Clement, B., Dean, Z., Cullimore, E. A., Curtis, A. G., Croix, J-P. de la, Pasquale, P. Di, Dodd, E. M., Dubord, L. A., Edlund, J. A., Ellyin, R., Emanuel, B., Foster, J. T., Ganino, A. J., Garner, G. J., Gibson, M. T., Gildner, M., Glazebrook, K. J., Greco, M. E., Green, W. M., Hatch, S. J., Hetzel, M. M., Hoey, W. A., Hofmann, A. E., Ionasescu, R., Jain, A., Jasper, J. D., Johannesen, J. R., Johnson, G. K., Jun, I., Katake, A. B., Kim-Castet, S. Y., Kim, D. I., Kim, W., Klonicki, E. F., Kobeissi, B., Kobie, B. D., Kochocki, J., Kokorowski, M., Kosberg, J. A., Kriechbaum, K., Kulkarni, T. P., Lam, R. L., Landau, D. F., Lattimore, M. A., Laubach, S. L., Lawler, C. R., Lim, G., Lin, J. Y., Litwin, T. E., Lo, M. W., Logan, C. A., Maghasoudi, E., Mandrake, L., Marchetti, Y., Marteau, E., Maxwell, K. A., Namee, J. B. Mc, Mcintyre, O., Meacham, M., Melko, J. P., Mueller, J., Muliere, D. A., Mysore, A., Nash, J., Ono, H., Parker, J. M., Perkins, R. C., Petropoulos, A. E., Gaut, A., Gomez, M. Y. Piette, Casillas, R. P., Preudhomme, M., Pyrzak, G., Rapinchuk, J., Ratliff, J. M., Ray, T. L., Roberts, E. T., Roffo, K., Roth, D. C., Russino, J. A., Schmidt, T. M., Schoppers, M. J., Senent, J. S., Serricchio, F., Sheldon, D. J., Shiraishi, L. R., Shirvanian, J., Siegel, K. J., Singh, G., Sirota, A. R., Skulsky, E. D., Stehly, J. S., Strange, N. J., Stevens, S. U., Sunada, E. T., Tepsuporn, S. P., Tosi, L. P. C., Trawny, N., Uchenik, I., Verma, V., Volpe, R. A., Wagner, C. T., Wang, D., Willson, R. G., Wolff, J. L., Wong, A. T., Zimmer, A. K., Sukhatme, K. G., Bago, K. A., Chen, Y., Deardorff, A. M., Kuch, R. S., Lim, C., Syvertson, M. L., Arakaki, G. A., Avila, A., DeBruin, K. J., Frick, A., Harris, J. R., Heverly, M. C., Kawata, J. M., Kim, S.-K., Kipp, D. M., Murphy, J., Smith, M. W., Spaulding, M. D., Thakker, R., Warner, N. Z., Yahnker, C. R., Young, M. E., Magner, T., Adams, D., Bedini, P., Mehr, L., Sheldon, C., Vernon, S., Bailey, V., Briere, M., Butler, M., Davis, A., Ensor, S., Gannon, M., Haapala-Chalk, A., Hartka, T., Holdridge, M., Hong, A., Hunt, J., Iskow, J., Kahler, F., Murray, K., Napolillo, D., Norkus, M., Pfisterer, R., Porter, J., Roth, D., Schwartz, P., Wolfarth, L., Cardiff, E. H., Davis, A., Grob, E. W., Adam, J. R., Betts, E., Norwood, J., Heller, M. M., Voskuilen, T., Sakievich, P., Gray, L., Hansen, D. J., Irick, K. W., Hewson, J. C., Lamb, J., Stacy, S. C., Brotherton, C. M., Tappan, A. S., Benally, D., Thigpen, H., Ortiz, E., Sandoval, D., Ison, A. M., Warren, M., Stromberg, P. G., Thelen, P. M., Blasy, B., Nandy, P., Haddad, A. W., Trujillo, L. B., Wiseley, T. H., Bell, S. A., Teske, N. P., Post, C., Torres-Castro, L., Grosso, C. Wasiolek, M. Science goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(1), (2022): 22, https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ac4493.Europa is a premier target for advancing both planetary science and astrobiology, as well as for opening a new window into the burgeoning field of comparative oceanography. The potentially habitable subsurface ocean of Europa may harbor life, and the globally young and comparatively thin ice shell of Europa may contain biosignatures that are readily accessible to a surface lander. Europa's icy shell also offers the opportunity to study tectonics and geologic cycles across a range of mechanisms and compositions. Here we detail the goals and mission architecture of the Europa Lander mission concept, as developed from 2015 through 2020. The science was developed by the 2016 Europa Lander Science Definition Team (SDT), and the mission architecture was developed by the preproject engineering team, in close collaboration with the SDT. In 2017 and 2018, the mission concept passed its mission concept review and delta-mission concept review, respectively. Since that time, the preproject has been advancing the technologies, and developing the hardware and software, needed to retire risks associated with technology, science, cost, and schedule.K.P.H., C.B.P., E.M., and all authors affiliated with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory carried out this research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (grant No. 80NM0018D0004). J.I.L. was the David Baltimore Distinguished Visiting Scientist during the preparation of the SDT report. JPL/Caltech2021