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Dr. Michela Gallo
Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, I-16145 Italy

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Journal article
Published: 12 August 2021 in Sustainability
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Carbon-neutral design is pivotal for achieving the future energy performance targets of buildings. This paper shows research projects that promote the environmental sustainability of university campuses at the international level. GHG accounting methods and operational strategies adopted by the University of Genoa (UNIGE), Italy, and the Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, USA, are compared, with both universities striving to make buildings and campus facilities benchmarked and carbon neutral in the near future. Our comparative research includes analyzing campus buildings at both universities and their attempts to design, retrofit, and transform these buildings into carbon neutral buildings. Two case studies were discussed: the Smart Energy Building (SEB) in the Savona Campus of the UNIGE, and the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture (PCA) Building of the FIU. The SEB’s construction reduced emissions by about 86 tCO2/y, whereas the PCA’s retrofitting reduced GHG emissions by 30%. Other operational strategies, including energy efficiency and energy generation, allowed the UNIGE to reduce their overall Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions by 25% from 2013 to 2016. Globally, FIU Scope 1 + 2 GHG emissions per person were found to result in more than three times the UNIGE’s emissions, and 2.4 times if evaluated per square meter. The results were compared with GHG emissions and operational strategies from other universities.

ACS Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Thomas Spiegelhalter; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9023 .

AMA Style

Adriana Del Borghi, Thomas Spiegelhalter, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9023.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Thomas Spiegelhalter; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2021. "Carbon-Neutral-Campus Building: Design Versus Retrofitting of Two University Zero Energy Buildings in Europe and in the United States." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9023.

Journal article
Published: 27 April 2021 in Sustainability
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Urban greening provides a wide range of ecosystem services to address the main challenges of urban areas, e.g., carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and shade, thermal insulation, and pollution control. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of a vertical greening system (VGS) built in 2014 in Italy, for which extensive monitoring activities were implemented. The life-cycle assessment methodology was applied to quantify the water–energy–climate nexus of the VGS for 1 m2 of the building’s wall surface. Six different scenarios were modelled according to three different end-of-life scenarios and two different useful lifetime scenarios (10 and 25 years). The environmental impact of global-warming potential and generated energy consumption during the use phase in the VGS scenarios were reduced by 56% in relation to the baseline scenario (wall without VGS), and showed improved environmental performance throughout the complete life cycle. However, the water-scarcity index (WSI) of the VGS scenarios increased by 42%. This study confirms that the installation of VGSs offers a relevant environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption; however, increased water consumption in the use phase may limit the large-scale application of VGSs.

ACS Style

Katia Perini; Fabio Magrassi; Andrea Giachetta; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4886 .

AMA Style

Katia Perini, Fabio Magrassi, Andrea Giachetta, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo, Adriana Del Borghi. Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4886.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Katia Perini; Fabio Magrassi; Andrea Giachetta; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi. 2021. "Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4886.

Sustainability of food p and p systems
Published: 04 September 2020 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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Purpose Environmental impact evaluation in the food sector is a key topic, due to both stricter legislations and higher consumer awareness towards sustainable choices. The case of chocolate is a remarkable example, owing to the increasing demand and the complex production process from cocoa beans to final bars. The present study aims at assessing the environmental impacts related to three chocolate types (dark, milk and white) through life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Methods Consistent with food Product Category Rules (PCRs) and previous LCA literature, the study follows a cradle to grave approach. Among different raw material productions, it focuses above all on cocoa farming assuming three possible producer countries (i.e. Ghana, Ecuador and Indonesia), so that the influence of specific weather conditions and soil properties is underlined. Since the manufacturing step is supposed in the North Italian factory, different transport distances are also taken into account. Moreover, the work focuses on the possible use of several packaging materials and following disposal issues. In view of the open discussion about the most suitable functional unit in food sector, mass and energy amount approaches are compared. Results and discussion Along chocolate supply chain, different phases are evaluated according to LCA methodology. Among analyzed producer countries: Indonesia monoculture case results to be the most impacting situation, due to an intensive use of agrochemicals; pesticides give a wide contribution in Ecuador, whereas Ghana is penalized by the highest water consumption. The transport of beans to manufacturing plant influences mostly the GWP, owing to long travelled distances. Considering the whole production process, cocoa derivatives and milk powder are the main contributors to every impact category. From packaging point of view, the best solution is the use of a single polypropylene layer. A sensitivity analysis is performed to check the validity of different allocation procedures: both mass and energy content allocations lead to similar results. Conclusions Through LCA methodology, the life cycle of dark, milk and white chocolate is compared. The study assesses different potential environmental impacts, assuming mass and energy content as possible functional units and references for allocation procedures. For all combinations of functional units and allocation rules, dark chocolate globally presents the best environmental performance, whereas the other two types have similar environmental impacts.

ACS Style

F. R. Bianchi; L. Moreschi; M. Gallo; E. Vesce; A. Del Borghi. Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 26, 807 -821.

AMA Style

F. R. Bianchi, L. Moreschi, M. Gallo, E. Vesce, A. Del Borghi. Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 26 (4):807-821.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F. R. Bianchi; L. Moreschi; M. Gallo; E. Vesce; A. Del Borghi. 2020. "Environmental analysis along the supply chain of dark, milk and white chocolate: a life cycle comparison." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 4: 807-821.

Journal article
Published: 26 August 2020 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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Purpose The packaging system plays an essential role in the logistic chain and takes into account the rise in packaging demand and consumption. A study on sustainability was carried out through a comparative life cycle assessment in order to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of plastic, corrugated board and wood (solid, MDF and particleboard) crates used for food delivery. Single-use and multi-use systems were considered and compared. Methods According to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the whole life cycle of crates was divided into four primary phases: raw materials acquisition, crate manufacturing, transport (including the reuse, if applicable) and final disposal. The functional unit used for this study was 1 crate with an external dimension of 400 × 600 × 240 mm and with an inner volume of 50 l. The comparison focused on the critical parameters expected to have a higher influence on the results, such as the distances for delivery and the number of reuses for multi-use crates. All input data came from sector studies, literature and Ecoinvent database. The results were evaluated according to 8 impact categories. Two sensitivity analyses were performed. Results and discussion The most relevant impacts are linked to transport, electricity and raw materials contributions. Cumulative energy demand results show that the renewable energy resources in the case of plastic crates are about 3% while for the other type of crates exceed the 30% reaching the 77.5% in the case of solid wood crate. The environmental impacts result lower for multi-use plastic crate due to its possibility of being reused during its lifetime, avoiding the high impacts of the manufacturing. The best option among the single-use systems is the solid wood crate. The final results of the sensitivity analysis applied to the transport distances show that the impacts related to solid wood are more stable than plastic. Concerning the end-of-life scenarios, a significant decreasing (around 14.7%) in the global warming potential can be reached increasing the crates recycling till 100%. Conclusions and recommendations The best crate materials are plastic crates if a recovery system is planned; otherwise, the best choice is the wood crate. It is preferable to use raw material, such as solid wood than processed material, such as particle board, MDF and corrugated board. In performing this type of analysis, it is important to have accurate data, preferentially primary data, in particular for plastic crates as evidenced by the sensitivity analysis.

ACS Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Sara Parodi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 26, 753 -766.

AMA Style

Adriana Del Borghi, Sara Parodi, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 26 (4):753-766.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Sara Parodi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2020. "Sustainable packaging: an evaluation of crates for food through a life cycle approach." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 4: 753-766.

Journal article
Published: 24 August 2020 in Sustainability
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This study shows the benefits of using the environmental product declarations (EPDs), based on ISO 14025:2013, for the configuration and conceptualization of new building materials. Using a quantitative evaluation on these phases of design, it allows one to create materials with lower impacts, in comparison with the existing ones. In this paper, it is proposed to evaluate the potentiality of this tool in the development of a panel from pineapple by-products from agroindustry, used as a thermal insulator. The issue of environmental sustainability was pursued, employing the assessment of the environmental impacts according to characterization methods defined by the International EPD® System. By comparing the possible compositions of the materials under development, with certified environmental declarations of commercial materials, it is possible to identify and select optimal compositions decreasing up to 98.28% of impacts in acidification potential or up to 99.38% for photochemical oxidation—with respect to traditional materials—already at the design stage, where the changes on the composition or the facilities decision have fewer complications.

ACS Style

Diego Arellano-Vazquez; Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Gustavo Islas Valverde; Miguel Mayorga Rojas; Lorena Romero-Salazar; Juan Arteaga-Arcos. Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6864 .

AMA Style

Diego Arellano-Vazquez, Luca Moreschi, Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Gustavo Islas Valverde, Miguel Mayorga Rojas, Lorena Romero-Salazar, Juan Arteaga-Arcos. Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):6864.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Diego Arellano-Vazquez; Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Gustavo Islas Valverde; Miguel Mayorga Rojas; Lorena Romero-Salazar; Juan Arteaga-Arcos. 2020. "Use of EPD System for Designing New Building Materials: The Case Study of a Bio-Based Thermal Insulation Panel from the Pineapple Industry By-Product." Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6864.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2020 in Resources
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Waste management under emergency conditions requires proper handling. The sudden closure of a strategic final disposal site can result in serious environmental and health hazards which need to be addressed. Furthermore, this situation requires the identification of new sites to be used for waste disposal. This study analysed the case-study of Genoa, Northern Italy, following the closure of the Scarpino landfill previously dedicated to the disposal of waste generated in this municipality. A multi-objective tool was developed and applied from long-term planning to day-to-day scheduling. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the basis of collected waste volumes, in order to study the utilization and actual rate of fulfilling of the plants according to the leading objective function. Considering all of the objective functions, the emissions optimization shows better behaviour in terms of simultaneous global accomplishment of each function. In this context, the introduction of a decision support system for waste management shows its usefulness in setting and effectively pursuing long-term targets in term of total costs, emissions generated by waste transport, and exploitation of single plants from a sustainability perspective.

ACS Style

Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Michela Gallo. Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System. Resources 2020, 9, 82 .

AMA Style

Luca Moreschi, Adriana Del Borghi, Angela Celeste Taramasso, Michela Gallo. Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System. Resources. 2020; 9 (7):82.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Luca Moreschi; Adriana Del Borghi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Michela Gallo. 2020. "Waste Management under Emergency Conditions: Life-Cycle Multicriteria Analysis as Decision Support System." Resources 9, no. 7: 82.

Journal article
Published: 14 April 2020 in Resources
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Sustainability and waste management on board are key issues that need to be addressed by the maritime sector also in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). With the aim of evaluating waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective, the study examines a combined system for the optimisation of ship waste management and assesses its possible use for energy purposes. Different systems are analysed in relation to their GHG emission reduction potential regardless of routes and ports of destination. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was carried out on waste management alternatives in order to preliminary identify their potential in terms of GHG emissions reduction, cost, environmental sustainability, methodological coherence, feasibility and replicability. Following this analysis, two case studies of particular interest were identified: (1) the thermo-chemical treatment of waste oils and sludge to obtain fuel oils; (2) the installation of a waste-to-energy plant and subsequent energy recovery on board. UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) methodologies were applied to these two case studies to calculate GHG emission reduction resulting from their implementation. The obtained results are presented with the aim of supporting sustainable waste management strategies on board in a circular carbon economy perspective.

ACS Style

Michela Gallo; Luca Moreschi; Michela Mazzoccoli; Veronica Marotta; Adriana Del Borghi. Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective. Resources 2020, 9, 41 .

AMA Style

Michela Gallo, Luca Moreschi, Michela Mazzoccoli, Veronica Marotta, Adriana Del Borghi. Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective. Resources. 2020; 9 (4):41.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michela Gallo; Luca Moreschi; Michela Mazzoccoli; Veronica Marotta; Adriana Del Borghi. 2020. "Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective." Resources 9, no. 4: 41.

Review article
Published: 30 October 2019 in Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health
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The increase in world population and the resulting demand for food, water and energy are exerting increasing pressure on soil, water resources and ecosystems. Identification of approaches to reduce the related cross-sectoral environmental impacts for the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is, therefore, crucial. The purpose of the review is to discuss the circular economy approaches devoted to understand the interdependencies among these three sectors. In particular, the review focuses on the importance of the application of life cycle thinking and life cycle assessment (LCA) for understanding the interconnections in the nexus along the whole supply chains. Moreover, researches related to water and energy use in the agri-food sector are presented, addressing food waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective.

ACS Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 2019, 13, 23 -28.

AMA Style

Adriana Del Borghi, Luca Moreschi, Michela Gallo. Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 2019; 13 ():23-28.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Luca Moreschi; Michela Gallo. 2019. "Circular economy approach to reduce water–energy–food nexus." Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 13, no. : 23-28.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2017 in ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
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ACS Style

Michela Gallo; Veronica Marotta; Fabio Magrassi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Adriana Del Borghi. University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach. ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2017, 235 -252.

AMA Style

Michela Gallo, Veronica Marotta, Fabio Magrassi, Angela Celeste Taramasso, Adriana Del Borghi. University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach. ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. 2017; (1):235-252.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michela Gallo; Veronica Marotta; Fabio Magrassi; Angela Celeste Taramasso; Adriana Del Borghi. 2017. "University campus waste prevention and reduction: A circular-economy approach." ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT , no. 1: 235-252.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2016 in Applied Energy
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. Besides the “flexibility mechanisms” defined by the Kyoto Protocol to lower the overall costs of achieving their emissions targets, The Voluntary Green House Gases (GHG) reduction projects can have a lead role in GHG reduction in “non Emissions Trading System ETS sectors”. Nowadays, the voluntary market is characterised by critical aspects, such as fragmentation, lack of accounting, monitoring and validation rules that have led to the low spread of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by local authorities in the European Union despite their high potentiality.\ud \ud The aim of this paper is to test the applicability of voluntary emission reduction projects in the public sector following a homogeneous and consistent pattern. A research has been performed at local level on 143 voluntary emission reduction projects implemented by Public Administrations in Northern and Central Italy in renewable energy, energy efficiency and transport sectors. The applicable standards and methodologies have been checked and the case studies have been analysed though a three-step process: Preliminary additionality assessment; Projects selection; Validation of the selected project. The assessment shows that energy efficiency projects, once overcoming additionality issues, are the most promising for public entities while renewable energy and transport projects resulted to be mainly affected by double counting problems and lack of reliable methodologie

ACS Style

Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi; Carlo Strazza; Lara Parodi; Livia Arcioni; Stefania Proietti. Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy. Applied Energy 2016, 179, 1269 -1282.

AMA Style

Michela Gallo, Adriana Del Borghi, Carlo Strazza, Lara Parodi, Livia Arcioni, Stefania Proietti. Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy. Applied Energy. 2016; 179 ():1269-1282.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Michela Gallo; Adriana Del Borghi; Carlo Strazza; Lara Parodi; Livia Arcioni; Stefania Proietti. 2016. "Opportunities and criticisms of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by Public Administrations: Analysis of 143 case studies implemented in Italy." Applied Energy 179, no. : 1269-1282.

Article
Published: 24 June 2016 in Energies
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Energy efficiency measures in buildings can provide for a significant reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A sustainable design and planning of technologies for energy production should be based on economic and environmental criteria. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts over the whole cycle of life of production plants. Optimization models can support decisions that minimize costs and negative impacts. In this work, a multi-objective decision problem is formalized that takes into account LCA calculations and that minimizes costs and GHG emissions for general buildings. A decision support system (DSS) is applied to a real case study in the Northern Italy, highlighting the advantage provided by the installation of renewable energy. Moreover, a comparison among different optimal and non optimal solution was carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DSS.

ACS Style

Fabio Magrassi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Carlo Strazza; Michela Robba. Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS). Energies 2016, 9, 490 .

AMA Style

Fabio Magrassi, Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Carlo Strazza, Michela Robba. Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS). Energies. 2016; 9 (7):490.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fabio Magrassi; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Carlo Strazza; Michela Robba. 2016. "Optimal Planning of Sustainable Buildings: Integration of Life Cycle Assessment and Optimization in a Decision Support System (DSS)." Energies 9, no. 7: 490.

Book chapter
Published: 01 January 2016 in Reference Module in Food Science
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ACS Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Fabio Magrassi. Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments. Reference Module in Food Science 2016, 1 .

AMA Style

Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo, Fabio Magrassi. Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments. Reference Module in Food Science. 2016; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo; Fabio Magrassi. 2016. "Glass Packaging Design and Life Cycle Assessment: Deep Review and Guideline for Future Developments." Reference Module in Food Science , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 04 March 2013 in Energies
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Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a very innovative and promising solution for greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction, i.e., capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) at its source and storing it indefinitely to avoid its release to the atmosphere. This paper investigates a set of key issues in the development of specific rules for the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to CCS. The following LCA-based information are addressed in this work: definition of service type, definition of functional unit, definition of system boundaries, choice of allocation rules, choice of selected Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) results or other selected parameters for description of environmental performance. From a communication perspective, the specific rules defined in this study have been developed coherently with the requirements of a type III environment label scheme, the International EPD® System, according to the ISO 14025 standard.

ACS Style

Carlo Strazza; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo. Development of Specific Rules for the Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Carbon Capture and Storage. Energies 2013, 6, 1250 -1265.

AMA Style

Carlo Strazza, Adriana Del Borghi, Michela Gallo. Development of Specific Rules for the Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Carbon Capture and Storage. Energies. 2013; 6 (3):1250-1265.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carlo Strazza; Adriana Del Borghi; Michela Gallo. 2013. "Development of Specific Rules for the Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Carbon Capture and Storage." Energies 6, no. 3: 1250-1265.

Journal article
Published: 19 May 2010 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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The objective of this paper is to describe the process of development of an appropriate methodology for a type III label that can be used by a trade association, namely “Sector Environmental Product Declaration” (EPD). The study starts from the definition of required data, data collection procedures, sample selection criteria etc. With this aim, the application of the scheme on a case study has been conducted, regarding the cement production in Italy. The methodology has been selected coherently with the requirements of the International EPD® system. The basis for the definition of the methodology of the study was the document Product Category Rules 2004:01 for the Product Group “Cement”. Since these rules were prepared before the introduction of the International EPD® system, the guidelines have been refined in order to suit the revised programme instructions, whose spectrum includes the innovative case of the Sector EPD. A pre-inventory analysis, aimed to the sample selection for the case study presented, has been conducted. The elements influencing the selection of plants and products were geographical position of plants and eventual company/group affiliation, plant productivity, process technology type, fuels and raw materials use and product typology. Seven plants have been identified. The environmental impacts are referred to the production of 1 ton of representative average cement. “Representative” is referred to the selection of the panel of typical cement plants, whilst “average” refers to data source. In particular, for every selected plant, the analysis has yielded the results related to an average cement, including all the typologies there produced; then, the average profile is derived. It can be remarked that the relative contribution of the different life cycle phases remains almost unchanged for every impact category. Apart from waste production, the distribution appears rather uniform. The amount of clinker results as the main potential source of variation for the impacts, as regards the different cement typologies. It can be concluded that a targeted analysis of the sample representativeness is required to support the robustness of the selection in view of the successive verification process. The incoming revision of the Product Category Rules, in order to extend the application spectrum to product-type declarations, will enable the compilation of the life cycle assessment results presented in this paper in a Sector EPD for the case study.

ACS Style

Carlo Strazza; Adriana Del Borghi; Gian Andrea Blengini; Michela Gallo. Definition of the methodology for a Sector EPD (Environmental Product Declaration): case study of the average Italian cement. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2010, 15, 540 -548.

AMA Style

Carlo Strazza, Adriana Del Borghi, Gian Andrea Blengini, Michela Gallo. Definition of the methodology for a Sector EPD (Environmental Product Declaration): case study of the average Italian cement. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2010; 15 (6):540-548.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carlo Strazza; Adriana Del Borghi; Gian Andrea Blengini; Michela Gallo. 2010. "Definition of the methodology for a Sector EPD (Environmental Product Declaration): case study of the average Italian cement." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 15, no. 6: 540-548.