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Nutrient depletion in Tanzanian sisal production has led to yield decreases over time. We use nutrient mass balances embedded within a life cycle assessment to quantify the extent of nutrient depletion for different production systems, and then used circular economy principles to identify potential cosubstrates from within the Tanzanian economy to anaerobically digest with sisal wastes. The biogas produced was then used to generate bioelectricity and the digestate residual can be used as a fertilizer to address the nutrient depletion. Life cycle assessment was used in a gate-to-gate assessment of the anaerobic digestion options with different cosubstrates. If no current beneficial use of the cosubstrate was assumed, then beef manure and marine fish processing waste were the best cosubstrates. If agricultural wastes were assumed to have a current beneficial use as fertilizer, then marine fish processing waste and human urine were the best cosubstrates. The largest reduction in environmental impacts resulted from bioelectricity replacing electricity from fossil fuels in the national electricity grid and improved onsite waste management practices. There is significant potential to revitalize Tanzanian sisal production by applying circular economy principles to sisal waste management to address soil nutrient depletion and co-produce bioenergy.
Tracey Colley; Judith Valerian; Michael Hauschild; Stig Olsen; Morten Birkved. Addressing Nutrient Depletion in Tanzanian Sisal Fiber Production Using Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy Principles, with Bioenergy Co-Production. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8881 .
AMA StyleTracey Colley, Judith Valerian, Michael Hauschild, Stig Olsen, Morten Birkved. Addressing Nutrient Depletion in Tanzanian Sisal Fiber Production Using Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy Principles, with Bioenergy Co-Production. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):8881.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTracey Colley; Judith Valerian; Michael Hauschild; Stig Olsen; Morten Birkved. 2021. "Addressing Nutrient Depletion in Tanzanian Sisal Fiber Production Using Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy Principles, with Bioenergy Co-Production." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8881.
A framework, SecµPlast, to include secondary microplastic (MP) formation due to photooxidation into current Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) from cradle-to-grave of products. The framework details how to incorporate secondary MP formation into the plastic's life cycle as related to the plastic's use phase, and location specific waste treatment and how to connect the impacts with current life cycle impact assessment methodologies (LCIA). Plastics, now ubiquitous in the environment are a potential source of emerging pollution and have been shown to have negative effects of various species. Thus, the framework consist of 1) a degradation module, which accounts for micro- and nano- plastic formation with dynamic degradation of microparticles, 2) an emissions module accounts for the potential of the plastic particles to be emitted to air, and 3) an impacts module which connects the various emissions to existing LCIA methods. The framework allows for quantification of secondary microplastic in an LCA context and for further characterization of the impacts at endpoints in terms of human health, and allows for a high level of regionalization, both in terms of input data and characterization of impact damages. SecµPlast was tested on a case study of mulch film which showed that the per kg contribution to particulate matter (PM) and other impacts is low. The impacts vary largely depending on the degradation rate and ranged from 9.24×10−6 to 0.00043 kg PM equivalents per kg of mulch film, depending on either a slow or fast degradation rate, respectively. The impact came mostly from the littered fraction, which was estimated to be 10% of the products weight after the use phase, in Europe. The degradation rates due to UV degradation were low, 0.034 µg/year for a slow degradation rate, compared to values derived from the literature, 0.345 µg/year for a fast degradation rate during littering, that included other sources of degradation, such as abrasion. However, when these impacts are scaled up to the European consumption of plastics and monetized, it is evident that even small increases of PM are costly for society and could potentially amount to millions of dollars per year in human health damages. Further research efforts should focus on filling data gaps, such as microplastic losses during production, recycling and potentially incineration, as well as degradation kinetics including other degradation factors such as freeze/thawing, wet/drying in combination with UV degradation.
Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Allan Gross; Morten Birkved. The impacts of plastic products on air pollution - A simulation study for advanced life cycle inventories of plastics covering secondary microplastic production. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2021, 28, 848 -865.
AMA StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega, Allan Gross, Morten Birkved. The impacts of plastic products on air pollution - A simulation study for advanced life cycle inventories of plastics covering secondary microplastic production. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2021; 28 ():848-865.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega; Allan Gross; Morten Birkved. 2021. "The impacts of plastic products on air pollution - A simulation study for advanced life cycle inventories of plastics covering secondary microplastic production." Sustainable Production and Consumption 28, no. : 848-865.
Although there is great opportunity, the bioeconomy is not a silver bullet in the quest to solve various environmental problems. This assessment tests the no agricultural waste concept, an agricultural system where all residues are utilized within a value chain, to elucidate whether the concept does indeed improve environmental performance across various regions, and if so, explores how various biorefinery concepts might be organized into various value chains to attain environmental benefits. In order to valorize this, the study illustrates how to do a step-wise assessment in order to design biorefinery set-ups based on their feedstock compatibility and region of implementation. The results show that no agricultural waste systems do not always result in environmental benefits, especially when environmental impacts are measured via a holistic interpretation of environmental damages, namely monetizing environmental damages. Furthermore, disagreement is shown when comparing environmental impacts interpreted via a single impact category, here global warming potential (GWP) and monetized environmental damages (MED). The performance of the various biorefineries was highly affected by the degree of decarbonization present in the energy grid of each region. While energy intensive biorefineries are able to provide benefit in terms of global warming savings, tradeoffs are observed where impacts are shifted to other areas of environmental impact. Despite these tradeoffs, across multiple regions, there is great potential for large-scale implementation of biorefineries as a tool for ameliorating environmental damages.
Anna Ekman Nilsson; Joshua Sohn; Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. Testing the no agricultural waste concept – an environmental comparison of biorefinery value chains in various regions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2021, 174, 105702 .
AMA StyleAnna Ekman Nilsson, Joshua Sohn, Giovanna Croxatto Vega, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen. Testing the no agricultural waste concept – an environmental comparison of biorefinery value chains in various regions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2021; 174 ():105702.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna Ekman Nilsson; Joshua Sohn; Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. 2021. "Testing the no agricultural waste concept – an environmental comparison of biorefinery value chains in various regions." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 174, no. : 105702.
Because of the near doubling of clothing purchased and the shift toward fast fashion in recent decades, clothing induces increasingly significant global environmental impacts throughout its entire life cycle. To measure the environmental impacts of clothing across the major life cycle phases of production, purchase, transportation, usage, and disposal, we apply life cycle assessment (LCA) to detailed survey data on jeans and t-shirt consumption by 4,591 consumers across four countries: Germany, Poland, Sweden, and the United States. The results reveal that, except for jeans in the United States, the production phase is consistently responsible for the largest share of the environmental impacts associated with clothing. Nevertheless, the use phase, which includes washing and drying, also induces sizable environmental impacts, especially when laundering is frequent and, as in Poland and the United States, the associated electricity consumption comes from carbon-intensive energy sources. Taken together, our results suggest that future efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of clothing must comprehensively address the production, acquisition, and use of clothing through not only technological and efficiency improvements but changes in both purchasing and usage behavior.
Joshua Sohn; Kristian S. Nielsen; Morten Birkved; Tina Joanes; Wencke Gwozdz. The environmental impacts of clothing: Evidence from United States and three European countries. Sustainable Production and Consumption 2021, 27, 2153 -2164.
AMA StyleJoshua Sohn, Kristian S. Nielsen, Morten Birkved, Tina Joanes, Wencke Gwozdz. The environmental impacts of clothing: Evidence from United States and three European countries. Sustainable Production and Consumption. 2021; 27 ():2153-2164.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJoshua Sohn; Kristian S. Nielsen; Morten Birkved; Tina Joanes; Wencke Gwozdz. 2021. "The environmental impacts of clothing: Evidence from United States and three European countries." Sustainable Production and Consumption 27, no. : 2153-2164.
Transitioning to a circular built environment can reduce the environmental impacts, resource consumption and waste generation emanating from buildings. However, there are many options to design circular building components, and limited knowledge on which options lead to the best environmental performance. Few guidelines exist and they build on conventional environmental performance assessments that focus on single life cycles, whereas the circular economy (CE) focuses on a sequence of multiple use- and life cycles. In this article, environmental design guidelines for circular building components were developed in five steps. First, examples of circular variants of a building structure were synthesized. Second, the environmental performance of these variants was compared with a business-as-usual variant through Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) respectively. Circular parameters of these variants were tested using a scenario-specific approach. Third, from 24 LCAs and MFAs, a scorecard, rules-of-thumb and nine environmental design guidelines for designing circular building components were developed that provide guidance on which circular pathways and variants lead to the best environmental performance. For components with a long functional–technical lifespan, the following are promoted: resource efficiency, longer use through adaptable design, low-impact biomaterials and facilitating multiple cycles after and of use. Fourth, the design guidelines were evaluated by 49 experts from academia, industry and government in seven expert sessions. Further research is needed to validate the generalizability of the design guidelines. However, this research makes an important step in supporting the development of circular building components and, subsequently, the transition to a circular built environment.
Leonora Malabi Eberhardt; Anne van Stijn; Liv Kristensen Stranddorf; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. Environmental Design Guidelines for Circular Building Components: The Case of the Circular Building Structure. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5621 .
AMA StyleLeonora Malabi Eberhardt, Anne van Stijn, Liv Kristensen Stranddorf, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdottir. Environmental Design Guidelines for Circular Building Components: The Case of the Circular Building Structure. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5621.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeonora Malabi Eberhardt; Anne van Stijn; Liv Kristensen Stranddorf; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2021. "Environmental Design Guidelines for Circular Building Components: The Case of the Circular Building Structure." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5621.
The building sector is responsible for extensive resource consumption and waste generation, resulting in high pressure on the environment. A way to potentially mitigate this is by including environmental considerations during building design through the concept known as eco-design. Despite the multiple available approaches of eco-design, the latter is not easily achieved in the building sector. The objective of this paper is to identify and discuss what barriers are currently hindering the implementation of eco-design in the building sector and by which measures building designers can include environmental considerations in their design process. Through a systematic literature review, several barriers to implementation were identified, the main ones being lack of suitable legislation, lack of knowledge amongst building designers, and lack of suitable tools for designers to use. Furthermore, two specific tools were identified that allow the inclusion of environmental consideration in building design, along with nine design strategies providing qualitative guidance on how to potentially minimize energy and material consumption, as well as waste generation. This paper contributes a holistic overview of the major barriers to and existing tools and method for the eco-design of buildings, and provides guidance for both future research and practice.
Kikki Ipsen; Massimo Pizzol; Morten Birkved; Ben Amor. How Lack of Knowledge and Tools Hinders the Eco-Design of Buildings—A Systematic Review. Urban Science 2021, 5, 20 .
AMA StyleKikki Ipsen, Massimo Pizzol, Morten Birkved, Ben Amor. How Lack of Knowledge and Tools Hinders the Eco-Design of Buildings—A Systematic Review. Urban Science. 2021; 5 (1):20.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKikki Ipsen; Massimo Pizzol; Morten Birkved; Ben Amor. 2021. "How Lack of Knowledge and Tools Hinders the Eco-Design of Buildings—A Systematic Review." Urban Science 5, no. 1: 20.
To determine the environmental and economic performance of emerging processes for the valorization of red wine pomace, a techno-economic assessment (TEA) and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are combined at an early design stage. A case study of two polyphenol extraction methods at laboratory scale, solvent extraction (SE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), were first analyzed via a carbon footprint (CFP). Subsequently, the laboratory scale design was improved and translated into industrial scale and a TEA was performed on the industrial scale designs. Finally, LCA was applied again with all impact indicators and the information gathered from both the TEA and LCA was combined into concise decision support, using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). SE performs better than PLE, due to a lower solvent to DW ratio and a less expensive processing setup in both environmental and economic terms. The CFP of at laboratory scale aided in showing potential environmental hotspots and highlighted the need to reduce solvent use. The MCDA showed a shift in decision support depending on how strongly economic or environmental benefits are valued and eases the interpretation of the 19 different indicators derived from the TEA-LCA results. Both SE and PLE with a solvent to dry weight (DW) ratio of 5 and 10, respectively, perform competitively while SE with a solvent to DW ratio of 10 outperforms PLE with a solvent to DW ratio of 25. The case study illustrated how early design calculations (CFP), and combined LCA and TEA may be combined to improve process design.
Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Joshua Sohn; Juliën Voogt; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen; Anna Ekman Nilsson. Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2021, 167, 105318 .
AMA StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega, Joshua Sohn, Juliën Voogt, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen, Anna Ekman Nilsson. Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2021; 167 ():105318.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega; Joshua Sohn; Juliën Voogt; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen; Anna Ekman Nilsson. 2021. "Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 167, no. : 105318.
Leonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Anne Van Stijn; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. Towards circular life cycle assessment for the built environment: A comparison of allocation approaches. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2020, 588, 1 .
AMA StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt, Anne Van Stijn, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdottir. Towards circular life cycle assessment for the built environment: A comparison of allocation approaches. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2020; 588 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Anne Van Stijn; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2020. "Towards circular life cycle assessment for the built environment: A comparison of allocation approaches." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 588, no. : 1.
Transitioning the built environment to a circular economy (CE) is vital to achieve sustainability goals but requires metrics. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can analyse the environmental performance of CE. However, conventional LCA methods assess individual products and single life cycles whereas circular assessment requires a systems perspective as buildings, components and materials potentially have multiple use and life cycles. How should benefits and burdens be allocated between life cycles? This study compares four different LCA allocation approaches: (a) the EN 15804/15978 cut-off approach, (b) the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF), (c) the 50:50 approach, and (d) the linearly degressive (LD) approach. The environmental impacts of four ‘circular building components’ is calculated: (1) a concrete column and (2) a timber column both designed for direct reuse, (3) a recyclable roof felt and (4) a window with a reusable frame. Notable differences in impact distributions between the allocation approaches were found, thus incentivising different CE principles. The LD approach was found to be promising for open and closed-loop systems within a closed loop supply chain (such as the ones assessed here). A CE LD approach was developed to enhance the LD approach’s applicability, to closer align it with the CE concept, and to create an incentive for CE in the industry.
Leonora Malabi Eberhardt; Anne Van Stijn; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. Development of a Life Cycle Assessment Allocation Approach for Circular Economy in the Built Environment. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9579 .
AMA StyleLeonora Malabi Eberhardt, Anne Van Stijn, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdottir. Development of a Life Cycle Assessment Allocation Approach for Circular Economy in the Built Environment. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9579.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeonora Malabi Eberhardt; Anne Van Stijn; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2020. "Development of a Life Cycle Assessment Allocation Approach for Circular Economy in the Built Environment." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9579.
Circular Economy (CE) can help reduce the building industry’s immense environmental impact. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can facilitate CE decision-making by identifying the largest environmental impact reduction opportunities throughout a building’s life cycle, but it does not suffice in a design situation. Thus, aggregated LCA knowledge is needed. However, existing building LCAs lack transparency, coherence and a closer coupling with the building context. Performing in-depth systematic LCA on four Danish case-study buildings (a school, an office, a residential building and a hospital), this study identifies where the largest embodied greenhouse gas emissions (EG) exist. The study also identifies which building design and construction strategies should be in focus in transitioning the building sector to a CE. The LCA generalisations found that all the buildings exhibited considerable EG originating from production and replacement of floors and ceilings, outer walls, inner walls and roofs. Thus, to come closer to meeting climate goals, a combination of different strategies going across and beyond the life cycles of buildings, components and materials is needed. These strategies include reusing existing buildings, components and materials; avoiding, substituting or reducing the use of EG-intensive and short-lived materials; and enabling future reuse, recycling and/or energy recovery options for materials. Differences between the buildings were also found. Thus, it is suggested to combine generalised learnings with LCA of buildings on a case-to-case basis, and to focus on optimising EG-intensive components and materials based on their different use-contexts and interconnectedness rather than on optimising the entire building.
Leonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Julie Rønholt; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. Circular Economy potential within the building stock - Mapping the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of four Danish examples. Journal of Building Engineering 2020, 33, 101845 .
AMA StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt, Julie Rønholt, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdottir. Circular Economy potential within the building stock - Mapping the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of four Danish examples. Journal of Building Engineering. 2020; 33 ():101845.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Julie Rønholt; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2020. "Circular Economy potential within the building stock - Mapping the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of four Danish examples." Journal of Building Engineering 33, no. : 101845.
To determine the environmental and economic performance of emerging processes for the valorization of red wine pomace, a techno-economic assessment (TEA) and a life cycle assessment (LCA) are combined at an early design stage. A case study of two polyphenol extraction methods at laboratory scale, solvent extraction (SE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), were first analyzed via a carbon footprint (CFP). Subsequently, the laboratory scale design was improved and translated into industrial scale and a TEA was performed on the industrial scale designs. Finally, LCA was applied again with all impact indicators and the information gathered from both the TEA and LCA was combined into concise decision support, using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). SE performs better than PLE, due to a lower solvent to DW ratio and a less expensive processing setup in both environmental and economic terms. The CFP of at laboratory scale aided in showing potential environmental hotspots and highlighted the need to reduce solvent use. The MCDA showed a shift in decision support depending on how strongly economic or environmental benefits are valued and eases the interpretation of the 19 different indicators derived from the TEA-LCA results. Both SE and PLE with a solvent to dry weight (DW) ratio of 5 and 10, respectively, perform competitively while SE with a solvent to DW ratio of 10 outperforms PLE with a solvent to DW ratio of 25. The case study illustrated how early design calculations (CFP), and combined LCA and TEA may be combined to improve process design.
Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Joshua Sohn; Juliën Voogt; Anna Ekman Nilsson; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace. Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X 2020, 100045 .
AMA StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega, Joshua Sohn, Juliën Voogt, Anna Ekman Nilsson, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen. Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace. Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X. 2020; ():100045.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega; Joshua Sohn; Juliën Voogt; Anna Ekman Nilsson; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. 2020. "Insights from combining techno-economic and life cycle assessment – a case study of polyphenol extraction from red wine pomace." Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X , no. : 100045.
The considerable environmental impacts, resource consumption and waste generation emanating from buildings are a cause of great concern and political attention. Interest in the circular economy (CE) concept of slowing, narrowing and closing material loops through CE strategies (reuse, repair, refurbish, recycle and recover) has grown in recent years to facilitate minimising these unresolved issues emanating from the building industry. Although CE initiatives are proliferating within the industry, wide-scale adoption of CE is still lacking, and the current development and implementation of CE building design and construction strategies is fragmented. Through a systematic literature review (SLR), this study assesses which design and construction strategies are being linked to the concept of CE for new buildings, and their level of application and readiness in a building context. On this basis, the study offers insight into how this field of research is developing and provides directions for future research. From the SLR, a taxonomy is presented that groups the strategies together into 16 overarching building design and construction strategies. An important gap preventing a greater CE uptake within the industry was found to include the lack of knowledge about the environmental performance and related benefits of the various building design and construction strategies. Thus, it is suggested that conveying more comprehensive and uniform adoption of CE in the building industry requires the development of a new design typology to facilitate CE-oriented decision-making in a building context and that prioritises the strategies according to their potential in terms of minimising building-related environmental impacts.
Leonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. Building design and construction strategies for a circular economy. Architectural Engineering and Design Management 2020, 1 -21.
AMA StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdottir. Building design and construction strategies for a circular economy. Architectural Engineering and Design Management. 2020; ():1-21.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLeonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2020. "Building design and construction strategies for a circular economy." Architectural Engineering and Design Management , no. : 1-21.
An efficient use of biomass resources is a key element of the bioeconomy. Ideally, options leading to the highest environmental and economic gains can be singled out for any given region. In this study, to achieve this goal of singling out an ideal technology for a given region, biotechnologies are assessed by a combination of techno-economic assessment (TEA) and territorial metabolism life cycle assessment (TM-LCA). Three technology variations for anaerobic digestion (AD) were assessed at two different scales (200 kW and 1 MW) and for two different regions. First, sustainable feedstock availability for two European regions was quantified. Then, the environmental impact and economic potential of each technology when scaled up to the regional level, considering all of the region’s unique sustainably available feedstock, was investigated. Multiple criteria decision analysis and internalized damage monetization were used to generate single scores for the assessments. Preference for the technology scenario producing the most energy was shown for all regions and scales, while producing bioplastic was less preferable since the value of the produced bioplastic plastic was not great enough to offset the resultant reduction in energy production. Assessing alternatives in a regional context provided valuable information about the influence of different types of feedstock on environmental performance.
Giovanna Croxatto Vega; Juliën Voogt; Joshua Sohn; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. Assessing New Biotechnologies by Combining TEA and TM-LCA for an Efficient Use of Biomass Resources. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3676 .
AMA StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega, Juliën Voogt, Joshua Sohn, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen. Assessing New Biotechnologies by Combining TEA and TM-LCA for an Efficient Use of Biomass Resources. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (9):3676.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiovanna Croxatto Vega; Juliën Voogt; Joshua Sohn; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. 2020. "Assessing New Biotechnologies by Combining TEA and TM-LCA for an Efficient Use of Biomass Resources." Sustainability 12, no. 9: 3676.
This study presents the environmental life cycle assessment of four low carbon design strategies applied in Danish, architectural practice. The subject of analysis is a set of five buildings erected within the same constrictions in terms of floor area, energy performance and construction costs. The tested design strategies were: use of recycled materials, design for extended durability of components, adaptable design, and design for reduction of operational energy demand. The results of the five buildings are compared with a reference building (i.e. a typical, Danish single-family dwelling). Results show that the recycling/upcycling strategy is the most effective in reducing the embodied carbon. The use of structural wood in the same design furthermore points to the use of wood as a viable low-carbon strategy. In combination, these two strategies result in an approximate 40% saving of life cycle embodied carbon compared to the reference. Using durable materials yields up to 30% lower embodied carbon compared to the reference, whereas a design for adaptability results in 17% lower embodied carbon. However, these results are sensitive to the scenarios made for the service lives of materials and the implemented disassembly solutions. In a life cycle carbon perspective, the emissions from energy use prove to be of importance, although depending on the modelling approaches of the energy mix. With the shrinking, global carbon budgets in mind, there is justified reason to holistically optimize the design of new buildings by integrating various design aspects addressing the whole life cycle of the building.
Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdóttir. Low- carbon design strategies for new residential buildings – lessons from architectural practice. Architectural Engineering and Design Management 2020, 16, 374 -390.
AMA StyleFreja Nygaard Rasmussen, Morten Birkved, Harpa Birgisdóttir. Low- carbon design strategies for new residential buildings – lessons from architectural practice. Architectural Engineering and Design Management. 2020; 16 (5):374-390.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFreja Nygaard Rasmussen; Morten Birkved; Harpa Birgisdóttir. 2020. "Low- carbon design strategies for new residential buildings – lessons from architectural practice." Architectural Engineering and Design Management 16, no. 5: 374-390.
Despite advances in the data, models, and methods underpinning environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), it remains challenging for practitioners to effectively communicate and interpret results. These shortcomings can bias decisions and hinder public acceptance for planning supported by LCA. This paper introduces a method for interpreting LCA results, the Argumentation Corrected Context Weighting-LCA (ArgCW-LCA), to overcome these barriers. ArgCW-LCA incorporates stakeholder preferences, corrects unjustified disagreements, and allows for the inclusion of non-environmental impacts (e.g., economic, social, etc.) using a novel weighting scheme and the application of multi-criteria decision analysis to provide transparent and context-relevant decision support. We illustrate the utility of the method through two case studies: a hypothetical decision regarding energy production and a real-world decision regarding polyphenol extraction technologies. In each case, we surveyed a relevant stakeholder group on their environmental views and fed their responses into the model to provide decision support that is relevant to their perspective. We found marked differences between results using ArgCW-LCA and results from a conventional analysis using an equal-weighting scheme, as well as differentiation between stakeholder preference groups, indicating the importance of applying the perspective of the particular stakeholder group. For instance, there was a rank reversal of alternatives when comparing between an equal weighting approach for all environmental and economic dimensions and ArgCW-LCA. ArgCW-LCA provides opportunity for both public and private sector incorporation of LCA, such as in developing enlightened stakeholder value measures. This is achieved through enabling the LCA practition to provide public and private actors’ interpreted LCA results in a manner that incorporates educated stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, the method encourages stakeholder multiplicity through participatory design and policymaking that can enhance public backing of actions that can make society more sustainable.
Joshua Sohn; Pierre Bisquert; Patrice Buche; Abdelraouf Hecham; Pradip P. Kalbar; Ben Goldstein; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. Argumentation Corrected Context Weighting-Life Cycle Assessment: A Practical Method of Including Stakeholder Perspectives in Multi-Criteria Decision Support for LCA. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2170 .
AMA StyleJoshua Sohn, Pierre Bisquert, Patrice Buche, Abdelraouf Hecham, Pradip P. Kalbar, Ben Goldstein, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen. Argumentation Corrected Context Weighting-Life Cycle Assessment: A Practical Method of Including Stakeholder Perspectives in Multi-Criteria Decision Support for LCA. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (6):2170.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJoshua Sohn; Pierre Bisquert; Patrice Buche; Abdelraouf Hecham; Pradip P. Kalbar; Ben Goldstein; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen. 2020. "Argumentation Corrected Context Weighting-Life Cycle Assessment: A Practical Method of Including Stakeholder Perspectives in Multi-Criteria Decision Support for LCA." Sustainability 12, no. 6: 2170.
Management of the negative environmental impact of pesticides used in paddy fields requires the quantification of the emissions reaching relevant environmental compartments and the determination of the factors that influence such emissions. The present study is the first to develop a simulation model for estimating the fractions emitted to the air (fair), surface water (fsw), and the fractions that leach vertically (fvl) of pesticides applied in paddy fields for life cycle assessments (LCA). The emission quantification methods are based on the properties of the active ingredients of the pesticides and management aspects such as formulations (granular or liquid) and the water-holding period following application. The emission fractions of 37 pesticides used commonly in Japan were estimated using the presented model. A sensitivity analysis was conducted by adjusting parameters applied in the model to reveal their influence on the emission fractions. The parameters influencing fair included the formulation applied, while the water-holding period and waterproofing of the levee influenced fsw regardless of the formulation adopted, suggesting that local management could effectively reduce emissions to surface water. In addition, soil organic carbon content influenced fvl greatly, suggesting considerable regional variation in the emission factor. The developed model is expected to greatly improve the realism of impact assessment of pesticide in LCAs for paddy rice cultivation, considering it fills a gap in the fate model used in LCAs to estimate pesticide emissions to air, surface water, and soil in paddy fields.
Longlong Tang; Kiyotada Hayashi; Keiya Inao; Morten Birkved; Sander Bruun; Kazunori Kohyama; Motoko Shimura. Developing a management-oriented simulation model of pesticide emissions for use in the life cycle assessment of paddy rice cultivation. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 716, 137034 .
AMA StyleLonglong Tang, Kiyotada Hayashi, Keiya Inao, Morten Birkved, Sander Bruun, Kazunori Kohyama, Motoko Shimura. Developing a management-oriented simulation model of pesticide emissions for use in the life cycle assessment of paddy rice cultivation. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 716 ():137034.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLonglong Tang; Kiyotada Hayashi; Keiya Inao; Morten Birkved; Sander Bruun; Kazunori Kohyama; Motoko Shimura. 2020. "Developing a management-oriented simulation model of pesticide emissions for use in the life cycle assessment of paddy rice cultivation." Science of The Total Environment 716, no. : 137034.
The purpose of this study is to investigate absolute environmental sustainability in the built environment, by assessing whether contemporary environmentally optimized approaches to building design, with their associated consumption of resources and subsequent emissions, can be considered within the carrying capacity of Earth Systems. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for six dwellings to quantify their environmental footprints. Two methods for absolute environmental sustainability assessment were applied to the resulting life cycle inventories; one where the normalisation step applied normalisation factors reflecting carrying capacities of the Earth System and one where characterisation of elementary flows applied characterisation factors based on the Planetary Boundaries. For the assessment of environmental impact of each house in an absolute perspective, different sharing principles were applied to determine the share of the safe operating space that a single-family stand-alone dwelling should be assigned. The study finds that the approaches tested in two of the dwellings, namely reducing the energy consumption and recycling and reusing materials have the greatest potential to reach an absolute sustainable level of impact. The conclusions drawn are found to be dependent of the applied sharing principle used to assign a share of the safe operating space. Nevertheless, as the results indicate that in our current society absolute sustainability for buildings still appear to be out of reach, even with the best attempts at sustainable building design. It is clear that to achieve e.g. lower energy consumption and a cleaner energy mix, action is needed by consumers and politicians alike.
Camilla Ernst Andersen; Pernille Ohms; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir; Morten Birkved; Michael Hauschild; Morten Ryberg. Assessment of absolute environmental sustainability in the built environment. Building and Environment 2019, 171, 106633 .
AMA StyleCamilla Ernst Andersen, Pernille Ohms, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Harpa Birgisdóttir, Morten Birkved, Michael Hauschild, Morten Ryberg. Assessment of absolute environmental sustainability in the built environment. Building and Environment. 2019; 171 ():106633.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCamilla Ernst Andersen; Pernille Ohms; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir; Morten Birkved; Michael Hauschild; Morten Ryberg. 2019. "Assessment of absolute environmental sustainability in the built environment." Building and Environment 171, no. : 106633.
Regenerative agriculture is being used by a small numbers of innovative farmers in Australia and elsewhere, and uses a range of holistic methods that works with the land and climate, such as short duration time controlled grazing with long rest periods for the paddock and higher proportions of above ground biomass, to improve soil health and farm profitability. This paper uses a delta life cycle assessment focusing only on the differences between regenerative and conventional production systems to assess the potential impact of regenerative agriculture on a full range of midpoint impact categories and end point areas of protection for an extensive sheep system in Australia. It assesses the potential improvement to the water, carbon and biodiversity footprints of sheep production, and finds that regenerative agriculture has the potential to improve environmental performance compared to current industrial agricultural practices. In particular, there seems to be considerable potential to offset a significant proportion of the on‐farm climate change impacts through a combination of biosequestration in soils and above ground biomass and using harvested biomass to offset fossil fuel use. The assessment highlights the need for additional data to confirm the findings and the potential contribution that regenerative agriculture can make to sustainability of ruminant livestock production. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Tracey A. Colley; Stig I. Olsen; Morten Birkved; Michael Z. Hauschild. Delta Life Cycle Assessment of Regenerative Agriculture in a Sheep Farming System. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 2019, 16, 282 -290.
AMA StyleTracey A. Colley, Stig I. Olsen, Morten Birkved, Michael Z. Hauschild. Delta Life Cycle Assessment of Regenerative Agriculture in a Sheep Farming System. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 2019; 16 (2):282-290.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTracey A. Colley; Stig I. Olsen; Morten Birkved; Michael Z. Hauschild. 2019. "Delta Life Cycle Assessment of Regenerative Agriculture in a Sheep Farming System." Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 16, no. 2: 282-290.
Durable goods last for years, decades, or even centuries. The environmental implications of the changing social, economic, and material conditions in which these goods are embedded can be overlooked by conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) that assumes a static world. To avoid this oversight, methods such as dynamic LCA (DLCA) are increasingly being used. Despite the growing use of DLCA, numerous questions remain, including how this dynamism is incorporated and what aspects of any given DLCA are dynamic. To answer these questions, we performed a review of 56 DLCAs, of which 44 propose a framework for DLCA covering all International Organization for Standardization phases of an LCA or that carry out a DLCA. Three types of LCA dynamism are identified and assessed for the reviewed literature: dynamic process inventory, dynamic systems, and dynamic characterization, while a further 2 types of LCA dynamism, dynamic scope and dynamic weighting, are proposed but not applied in the assessed literature. We found that the implementation of DLCA varies widely, and inventories accounting for dynamic characteristics are by far the most prevalent expression of DLCA. To reduce confusion surrounding the discussion of DLCA, we propose a definition of DLCA and its subtypes: full DLCA, partial DLCA, and prospective LCA. It is concluded that, among the current array of DLCA definitions, the implementation of partially dynamic LCA (PDLCA), which applies dynamism in only some parts of the LCA, is common and likely to continue. This is because PDLCA offers quantifiable marginal utility in terms of increased validity of the assessment, in relation to conventional LCA methods, but caution is needed in applying PDLCA because of potential for introducing bias into the LCA. To avoid this problem, we propose incorporating system dynamism as part of a sensitivity analysis, particularly in PDLCA that are limited by missing data. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:314–323. © 2019 SETAC
Joshua Sohn; Pradip Kalbar; Benjamin Goldstein; Morten Birkved. Defining Temporally Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment: A Review. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 2019, 16, 314 -323.
AMA StyleJoshua Sohn, Pradip Kalbar, Benjamin Goldstein, Morten Birkved. Defining Temporally Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment: A Review. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 2019; 16 (3):314-323.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJoshua Sohn; Pradip Kalbar; Benjamin Goldstein; Morten Birkved. 2019. "Defining Temporally Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment: A Review." Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 16, no. 3: 314-323.
The purpose of this study was to assess: what are the circular economy opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the meat processing sector to reduce their environmental impacts, using Life cycle assessment (LCA) as the analytical method to prevent burden shifting; whether current life cycle inventories and LCA studies adequately represent SMEs such as the study plant; and whether climate change is a suitable proxy for impacts. Life cycle inventory data from a SME meat processing site in regional Australia was used for benchmarking with existing industry data and for risk and opportunity identification along the supply chain. A LCA was conducted of the current operation and possible future energy supply scenarios involving the use of tallow, wastewater methane and biomass production, to identify the best performing option as part of a PhD project on SMEs and sustainability in agribusiness value chains. System expansion was used to handle all coproducts and byproducts. The area of land required to produce biomass was calculated and was compared to the catchment area for livestock, and an estimate was made of the non-arable land area required to produce biomass to offset all greenhouse emissions for the supply chain. Inventory data and LCA results for this SME were significantly different to previous LCAs. The system expansion resulted in large credits, particularly for edible offal. Climate change may not be a suitable proxy for other midpoint impact categories due to the difference in contributing processes. The best future energy appeared to be the biomass scenario, which involved using tallow for biodiesel production, capturing methane generated in the onsite wastewater treatment system for electricity generation, using tallow to generate the remaining electricity needs and using biomass for thermal energy production. Less than 0.5% of the non-arable land area required for producing the livestock for the plant was needed for biomass production, and if all supply chain emissions were offset using biomass, the land area required was 12% for life time grass fed beef. The potential for supply chain integration in the red meat sector appears promising, particularly in terms of offsets from biomethane use for electricity production, tallow use for biodiesel production and biomass production for thermal energy use. Life cycle assessment is a useful tool to screen circular economy options and identify the best future scenario, although a wide range of impact categories should be assessed as climate change may not be a suitable proxy.
Tracey Colley; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen; Michael Z. Hauschild. Using a gate-to-gate LCA to apply circular economy principles to a food processing SME. Journal of Cleaner Production 2019, 251, 119566 .
AMA StyleTracey Colley, Morten Birkved, Stig Irving Olsen, Michael Z. Hauschild. Using a gate-to-gate LCA to apply circular economy principles to a food processing SME. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019; 251 ():119566.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTracey Colley; Morten Birkved; Stig Irving Olsen; Michael Z. Hauschild. 2019. "Using a gate-to-gate LCA to apply circular economy principles to a food processing SME." Journal of Cleaner Production 251, no. : 119566.