Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of the hull of a high-speed craft

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M:

Cai

2018

Seaborne transport plays an important role in global transportation, and ships' emissions are worth considering. By applying life cycle assessment method, the environmental impacts of ships could be evaluated. Life cycle assessment is an effective tool as this method provides a holistic perspective of a product or a service in its life cycle. In an attempt to clarify emissions released from the cradle-to-gate life cycle of ships, especially from processes in shipbuilding which were not considered adequately from some previous studies, this study conducts life cycle assessment method to assess the environmental impacts of a Panamax bulk carrier from raw material extraction to shipbuilding phase. In order to clarify life cycle emissions, some helpful mathematical formulas are also established. Ten environmental categories of CML 2001 life cycle impact assessment methodology that are relevant to the marine context are chosen for evaluating the environmental impacts. To obtain emission inventory and impact assessment results, a life cycle assessment software-GaBihas been used. The results show that material extraction and production phase accounts for more than 85% carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, while shipbuilding phase is responsible for 99.91% volatile organic compounds, 36.08% non-methane organic compounds, and 26.76% particulate matter emissions. In relation to environmental indicators, material consumption is much more significant than other processes and accounts for more than 86% of values of 10 environmental categories. This study is useful as it provides necessary information for life cycle assessment in the shipping industry in the future.

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10. TETP (Terrestrial Ecotoxicity Potential) (kg dichlorobenzene equivalent): FAETP, MAETP, TETP, and HTP refer to the impacts of toxic chemical substances, which affect freshwater, marine aquatic, terrestrial ecosystem, and the environment, respectively 46.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of ships: A case study of Panamax bulk carrier

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M:

Cai

2018

“…29 Regarding commercial LCA software applications, GaBi and SimaPro were ultizied in some studies. 4,[26][27][28][31][32][33] Several latest LCA-ship studies were carried out by researchers from UK and Italia. For instance, the authors 33 combined the LCA method with Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Energy Efficiency Operation Index (EEOI) and pointed out that LCA could be a complementary utility in shipping energy efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating environmental impacts of an oil tanker using life cycle assessment method

Quang

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M:

Hai

2021

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered a holistic approach in evaluating the environmental impacts of a product in its life cycle. Recently, LCA method has been applied in the shipping and shipbuilding sectors. In order to provide a comprehensive LCA research in the field of naval architecture, this study uses LCA method to assess the environmental performance of a Panamax oil tanker in its whole life cycle. The ship’s life cycle including transportation activities is divided into five phases: raw material extraction & production, shipbuilding, operation, maintenance, and ship’s end of life. CML 2001 is chosen as the life cycle impact assessment methodology. GaBi software is used to obtain the life cycle emission inventory and environmental impacts. The results show the contributions of each life cycle phase to the total life cycle. Detailed emissions and environmental impacts of the ship are also analyzed. Due to huge amount of fuel consumed in ship operation, this phase dominates the emissions and environmental impact, compared with other phases. This study gives to the LCA practitioners a cradle-to-grave LCA example that could be useful for future researches in the field of shipping and shipbuilding sectors.

“…16 In a life cycle approach, hull material reuse could reduce carbon dioxide emissions in comparison with Business as Usual. 17 In yacht industry, the LCA method was also applied in the studies composed by Pommier et al, 18 Burman et al 19 and Cucinotta et al 20 Several researchers have used the LCA method to conduct the emission analysis in ship operation and end of life. The environmental impacts of alternative fuels have been comparatively assessed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-cycle assessment of ships: The effects of fuel consumption reduction and light displacement tonnage

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M:

Cai

2019

Life-cycle assessment has been widely applied in many industry sectors for years and there are some applications of this method in the shipping sector. Fuel consumption and material consumption are considered as crucial factors in the life cycle of ship. This study uses the life-cycle assessment method to show the effects of fuel consumption reduction and light displacement tonnage on the environmental performance of ships. This is done by comparing the environmental impacts of 25 investigated scenarios with different fuel consumption and light displacement tonnage. CML2001 methodology is used to evaluate the impact assessment and the results are calculated using GaBi software. The results show that fuel consumption reduction could cut down the environmental impacts. However, some scenarios are not environmentally beneficial due to the increase in light displacement tonnage. The effects of fuel consumption and light displacement tonnage on 12 CML2001 environmental indicators are different. It is recommended that the life-cycle assessment method should be used to fully assess the environmental impacts of ships before applying any techniques in order to achieve the environmental benefits.