Using GaBi 3 to perform life cycle assessment and life cycle engineering

Spatari, Sabrina; Betz, Michael; Florin, H.; Baitz, Martin; Faltenbacher, Michael

doi:10.1007/bf02977842

Cited by 56 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…3). ReCiPe LCIA midpoint metrics for natural rubber were taken from the Gabi version 9 [31] professional database, described in [41], as a result of insufficient data in the ecoinvent database. As the global population increases, demand for agricultural land for food production is expected to rise leading to rising competition for prime agricultural land [42].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-Based Polyisoprene Can Mitigate Climate Change and Deforestation in Expanding Rubber Production

2021

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Biomass is a promising renewable feedstock to produce polyisoprene for the rubber industry. Through metabolic engineering, sugars derived from pretreated and hydrolyzed cellulose and hemicellulose can be directly fermented to isoprene to produce rubber. Here we investigate the life cycle environmental impact of isoprene fermentation to produce bio-polyisoprene from agricultural residues (of Zea mays L.). Results show that the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of bio-polyisoprene (−4.59 kg CO2e kg−1) is significantly lower than that of natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and synthetic rubber (−0.79 and 2.41 kg CO2e kg−1, respectively), while supporting a circular biogenic carbon economy. We found the land use intensity of bio-polyisoprene to be 0.25 ha metric ton−1, which is 84% lower than that from rubber tree plantations. We compare the direct fermentation to isoprene results with indirect fermentation to isoprene through the intermediate, methyl butyl ether, where dehydration to isoprene is required. The direct fermentation of isoprene reduces reaction steps and unit operations, an expected outcome when employing process intensification, but our results show additional energy conservation and reduced contribution to climate change. Among the ReCiPe life cycle environmental impact metrics evaluated, air emission related impacts are high for bio-polyisoprene compared to those for natural and synthetic rubber. Those impacts can be reduced with air emission controls during production. All other metrics showed an improvement for bio-polyisoprene compared to natural and synthetic rubber.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-Based Polyisoprene Can Mitigate Climate Change and Deforestation in Expanding Rubber Production

2021

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“…GaBi is a fully integrated and ISO compatible LCA software jointly developed by the Institut her Kunststoffpruefing und Kunststofflrunde (IKP) at the University of Stuttgart and the German company PE International (now rebranded as thinkstep). Being first introduced in 1992, the software was an outcome of over 10 years of collaboration in the area of LCA between IKP and PE (Spatari et al , 2001). It allows convenient building of a process flow diagram to represent the production line of each concrete.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative process-based life-cycle assessment of bioconcrete and conventional concrete

Shahandashti

2017

JEDT

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Purpose Bioconcrete is widely believed to be environmentally beneficial over conventional concrete. However, the process of bioconcrete production involves several steps, such as waste recovery and treatment, that potentially present significant environmental impacts. Existing life-cycle assessments of bioconcrete are limited in the inventory and impact analysis; therefore, they do not consider all the steps involved in concrete production and the corresponding impacts. The purpose of this study is to extensively study the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of all the production stages of two most common bioconcrete types (i.e. sludge-based bioconcrete and cement kiln dust-rice husk ash (CKD-RHA) bioconcrete) as opposed to conventional concrete. Design/methodology/approach A cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment process model is implemented to systematically analyze and quantify the resources consumed and the environmental impacts caused by the production of bioconcrete as opposed to the production of conventional concrete. The impacts analyzed in this assessment include global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity, smog, fossil fuel use, human toxicity, particulate air and water consumption. Findings The results indicated that sludge-based bioconcrete had higher levels of global warming potential, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity, fossil fuel use, human toxicity and particulate air than both conventional concrete and CKD-RHA bioconcrete. Originality/value The contribution of this study to the state of knowledge is that it sheds light on the hidden impacts of bioconcrete. The contribution to the state of practice is that the results of this study inform the bioconcrete production designers about the production processes with the highest impact.

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“…The LCI for the installation, maintenance, and EOL for the four alternatives as well as transport distance are summarized in Tables S6-1 and S6-2 in Supporting Information S6. Inventory data for each material or process are modeled in GaBi v 8.1.0 (Thinkstep, 2017) using the Gabi professional database, earlier versions of which are described in Spatari, Betz, Florin, Baitz, and Faltenbacher (2001), for most of the materials and processes with exceptions noted in Table S6-3 in Supporting Information S6.…”

Section: Life Cycle Inventory Life Cycle Impact Assessment and Life Cycle Costmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and economic implications of stormwater management alternatives in rural development

Peterson

Awerbuch

Spatari

2021

J of Industrial Ecology

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Floodplain restoration as a means of stormwater management (SWM) can benefit communities and the environment but is uncommonly chosen due to limited familiarity in rural and urban planning. This study uses life cycle assessment and life cycle costing (LCC) to compare four SWM alternatives for a typical rural setting undergoing development. We evaluate a case study in Lancaster County, PA in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed which, through community stakeholder planning, undertook a novel SWM plan by restoring its historic floodplain. We evaluate the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) metrics, global warming (GW), eutrophication and acidification and cost for each alternative over a 100-year period of analysis including construction, maintenance, and end-of-life decommissioning. Assuming a 5% discount rate, and that soils do not require off-site hauling due to contamination, the cost and LCIA metrics for floodplain restoration are not significantly higher than the more conventional surface basin alternative.Although LCC is highly sensitive to the transport of soil off-site, more than doubling the costs for the underground stormwater infiltration basin (USIB) and increasing eightfold the cost for the floodplain restoration, contaminated soil removal is rarely needed on rural land. For USIB, LCIA metrics are sensitive to the choice of recycling versus incinerating plastic components, with recycling resulting in lower GW; and for the permeable pavement alternative, additional maintenance to extend its lifetime shows favorable cost and reduced GW. We conclude that in rural settings where soil is not contaminated, floodplain restoration offers environmental and social benefits for SWM that outweigh its costs.

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Using GaBi 3 to perform life cycle assessment and life cycle engineering

Cited by 56 publications

References 3 publications

Bio-Based Polyisoprene Can Mitigate Climate Change and Deforestation in Expanding Rubber Production

Bio-Based Polyisoprene Can Mitigate Climate Change and Deforestation in Expanding Rubber Production

Comparative process-based life-cycle assessment of bioconcrete and conventional concrete

Environmental and economic implications of stormwater management alternatives in rural development

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