Ecosystem Services in Life Cycle Assessment while Encouraging Techno‐Ecological Synergies

Liu, Xinyu; Bakshi, Bhavik R.

doi:10.1111/jiec.12755

Cited by 42 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Comparison of the internal and external flow matrix of the formal process (CHP plant) for the FU (Flows/MWh) model (a) vs. the scaled CHP to 1 year (b) for the flows-EFs nexus (Adapted from Morales-Mora et al [3]). These different amounts of energy and material supply generate different environmental effects [33] that can be observed on the supply side and the sink side. When the FU (micro timescale) is used, there is only interest in the viability (technical and economic) of the CHP plant Table 4 (a), and less attention is paid to the changes in the feasibility assessment of the ecological resources.…”

Section: Requirement Of Sink Capacity (Size and Quality Of The Ecologmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, Karabulut et al [32] highlighted the importance of integrating ecosystem services into the LCA by proposing a synthesis matrix to relate the ecosystem-water-food-land-energy (EWFLE) nexus, emphasizing the need to achieve food security. Liu and Bakshi [33] developed an approach for techno-ecological synergy in LCA (TES-LCA) by expanding the steps in conventional LCA on ecosystem services at multiple spatial scales. This approach uses an environmental sustainability criterion based on the demand of flows given by the product system (PS) that does not exceed the supply flow by the ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Integrated Approach to Determining the Capacity of Ecosystems to Supply Ecosystem Services into Life Cycle Assessment for a Carbon Capture System

Morales-Mora¹,

Bravo²,

Baril³

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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In the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, it is not possible to carry out an integrated sustainability analysis because the quantification of the biophysical capacity of the ecosystems to supply ecosystem services is not taken into account. This paper considers a methodological proposal connecting the flow demand of a process or system product from the technosphere and the feasibility of the ecosystem to supply based on the sink capacity. The ecosystem metabolism as an analytical framework and data from a case study of an LCA of combined heat and power (CHP) plant with and without post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) technology in Mexico were applied. Three scenarios, including water and energy depletion and climate change impact, are presented to show the types of results obtained when the process effect of operation is scaled to one year. The impact of the water–energy–carbon nexus over the natural infrastructure or ecological fund in LCA is analyzed. Further, the feasibility of the biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) from this result for Mexico is discussed. On the supply side, in the three different scenarios, the CHP plant requires between 323.4 and 516 ha to supply the required oil as stock flow and 46–134 ha to supply the required freshwater. On the sink side, 52–5,096,511 ha is necessary to sequester the total CO2 emissions. Overall, the CHP plant generates 1.9–28.8 MW/ha of electricity to fulfill its function. The CHP with PCC is the option with fewer ecosystem services required.

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Section: Requirement Of Sink Capacity (Size and Quality Of The Ecologmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Integrated Approach to Determining the Capacity of Ecosystems to Supply Ecosystem Services into Life Cycle Assessment for a Carbon Capture System

Morales-Mora¹,

Bravo²,

Baril³

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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“…Metrics such as the water scarcity index depicted in Figure 2 account for the supply and demand of Water. Approaches for including the capacity of ecosystems in LCA are also being developed, 46,47 and need to be incorporated in methods for the design of water sustainable processes and supply chains. Furthermore, these larger‐scale approaches need to be integrated with process models to incorporate engineering knowledge, and with economic models to account for human behavior and the effect of markets.…”

Section: Research Problems and Opportunities For Future Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meeting the challenge of water sustainability: The role of process systems engineering

et al. 2020

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This white paper is the result of discussions during the FIPSE‐4 conference (http://fi-in-pse.org) in June 2018. It aims to highlight open problems and provide directions for future research in the area of water with emphasis on its agricultural usages. Some of the open problems discussed are: (a) the use of ecosystems as unit operations to understand their role in providing freshwater and in cleaning polluted water; (b) consideration of interactions and independencies between flows of water and other resources, such as food, energy, materials, ecosystem services, and environmental emissions; (c) challenges in modeling, sensing, and closed‐loop control in precision irrigation. In particular, the development of agro‐hydrological models that balance computing speed versus solution details and accuracy: (d) The use of state and parameter estimation approaches, through field measurements, to obtain soil moisture levels accurately; and (e) decision support systems to administer water and nutrient needs for optimum yields of agricultural products.

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“…Regarding the ethical dimension, several methods are available in the literature, which guide downscaling the global boundaries in proportion to past environmental impacts, population, mass, economic value, and relative contribution to human well‐being (e.g., Liu and Bakshi ; Ryberg et al. ).…”

Section: A Review Of Studies On Absolute Environmental Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Absolute Sustainability‐Based Life Cycle Assessment (ASLCA): A Benchmarking Approach to Operate Agri‐food Systems within the 2°C Global Carbon Budget

Chandrakumar

McLaren

Jayamaha

et al. 2018

J of Industrial Ecology

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Given the increasing environmental impacts associated with global agri-food systems, operating and developing these systems within the so-called absolute environmental boundaries has become crucial, and hence the absolute environmental sustainability concept is particularly relevant. This study introduces an approach called absolute sustainability-based life cycle assessment (ASLCA) that informs the climate impacts of an agri-food system (on any economic level) in absolute terms. First, a global carbon budget was calculated that is sufficient to limit global warming to below 2°C. Next, a share of the carbon budget available to the global agri-food sector was estimated, and then it was shared between agri-food systems on multiple economic levels using four alternative methods. Third, the climate impacts of those systems were calculated using life cycle assessment methodology and were benchmarked against those carbon budget shares. This approach was used to assess a number of New Zealand agri-food systems (agri-food sector, horticulture industries and products) to investigate how these systems operated relative to their carbon budget shares. The results showed that, in 2013, the New Zealand agri-food systems were within their carbon budget shares for one of the four methods, and illustrated the scale of change required for agri-food systems to perform within their carbon budget shares. This method can potentially be extended to consider other environmental impacts with global boundaries; however, further development of the ASLCA is necessary to account for other environmental impacts whose boundaries are only meaningful when defined at a regional or local level. Keywords:absolute environmental sustainability agri-food carbon budget climate change industrial ecology life cycle assessment Supporting information is linked to this article on the JIE website

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Ecosystem Services in Life Cycle Assessment while Encouraging Techno‐Ecological Synergies

Cited by 42 publications

References 57 publications

An Integrated Approach to Determining the Capacity of Ecosystems to Supply Ecosystem Services into Life Cycle Assessment for a Carbon Capture System

An Integrated Approach to Determining the Capacity of Ecosystems to Supply Ecosystem Services into Life Cycle Assessment for a Carbon Capture System

Meeting the challenge of water sustainability: The role of process systems engineering

Absolute Sustainability‐Based Life Cycle Assessment (ASLCA): A Benchmarking Approach to Operate Agri‐food Systems within the 2°C Global Carbon Budget

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