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- Ahlgren, Serina, et al.
(författare)
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Review of methodological choices in LCA of biorefinery systems - key issues and recommendations
- 2015
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Ingår i: Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. - : Wiley. - 1932-1031 .- 1932-104X. ; 9:5, s. 606-619
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current trend in biomass conversion technologies is toward more efficient utilization of biomass feedstock in multiproduct biorefineries. Many life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies of biorefinery systems have been performed but differ in how they use the LCA methodology. Based on a review of existing LCA standards and guidelines, this paper provides recommendations on how to handle key methodological issues when performing LCA studies of biorefinery systems. Six key issues were identified: (i) goal definition, (ii) functional unit, (iii) allocation of biorefinery outputs, (iv) allocation of biomass feedstock, (v) land use, and (vi) biogenic carbon and timing of emissions. Many of the standards and guidelines reviewed here provide only general methodological recommendations. Some make more specific methodological recommendations, but these often differ between standards. In this paper we present some clarifications (e.g. examples of research questions and suitable functional units) and methodological recommendations (e.g. on allocation).
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Martin, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle sustainability evaluations of bio-based value chains: Reviewing the indicators from a Swedish perspective
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 10:2
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Policymakers worldwide are promoting the use of bio-based products as part of sustainable development. Nonetheless, there are concerns that the bio-based economy may undermine the sustainability of the transition, e.g., from the overexploitation of biomass resources and indirect impacts of land use. Adequate assessment methods with a broad systems perspective are thus required in order to ensure a transition to a sustainable, bio-based economy. We review the scientifically published life cycle studies of bio-based products in order to investigate the extent to which they include important sustainability indicators. To define which indicators are important, we refer to established frameworks for sustainability assessment, and include an Open Space workshop with academics and industrial experts. The results suggest that there is a discrepancy between the indicators that we found to be important, and the indicators that are frequently included in the studies. This indicates a need for the development and dissemination of improved methods in order to model several important environmental impacts, such as: water depletion, indirect land use change, and impacts on ecosystem quality and biological diversity. The small number of published social life cycle assessments (SLCAs) and life cycle sustainability assessments (LCSAs) indicate that these are still immature tools; as such, there is a need for improved methods and more case studies.
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| 4. |
- Ylmen, Peter
(författare)
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Managing Uncertainty in Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Studies of Building Design
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to mitigate global warming and address other pertinent environmental issues, it is important to reduce the environmental impact from the building stock. Emissions can be large for both operational energy consumption and production of materials. It is therefore important to find building design solutions that consider production, operation and maintenance in order to minimise the climate impact of a building during its entire lifetime. At the same time, the production of buildings has to be cost-efficient. In the design of buildings, both environmental impact and cost must be evaluated in order to make well-supported decisions. There are many uncertainties in the design phase of buildings. This study explored the uncertainties that occur when a life cycle perspective is adopted in building design decisions and developed an approach to manage them. Addressed issues were secondary effects of design changes, material data gaps and how subjective choices and parameter uncertainties can be managed in conjunction. This was done by developing the Effect and Consequences Evaluation (ECE) method and the Decision Choices Procedure (DCP), which were combined into a general approach. The presented approach will provide a structured means to set up system boundaries and manage uncertainties when life cycle studies are used as decision support for optimising building design. Several case studies were carried out to penetrate specific issues, and the final approach was demonstrated with a case study of selecting optimal insulation thickness when designing the building envelope. The results can be used to support decisions on where and how to effectively make improvements when subjective choices and parameter uncertainties are considered in the study. This will facilitate decisions on different building design solutions so that the option with the lowest total environmental impact and a reasonable cost can be chosen.
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