| 1. |
- Diener, Derek, 1977, et al.
(author)
-
Product-service-systems for heavy-duty vehicles - An accessible solution to material efficiency improvements?
- 2015
-
In: Procedia CIRP. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 2212-8271. ; , s. 269-274
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has investigated transitions of individual firms to PSS business. It has identified barriers and enablers and specified organizational capabilities needed. However, the transition to PSS has seldom been approached from a product-chain perspective. In addition, previous research has indicated the need for more assessments of environmental gains related to PSSs. This study aims at contributing to these perceived knowledge gaps by means of a case study. Questions posed include: Does the study's case company and one of its suppliers have the capabilities needed to adopt a PSS business model? and Could a PSS really contribute to material efficiency in their product-chain? © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
|
|
| 2. |
- Xiros, Charilaos, 1973, et al.
(author)
-
Toward a sustainable biorefinery using high-gravity technology
- 2017
-
In: Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. - : Wiley. - 1932-1031 .- 1932-104X. ; 11:1, s. 15-27
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The realization of process solutions for a sustainable bioeconomy depends on the efficient processing of biomass. High-gravity technology is one important alternative to realizing such solutions. The aims of this work were to expand the knowledge-base on lignocellulosic bioconversion processes at high solids content, to advance the current technologies for production of second-generation liquid biofuels, to evaluate the environmental impact of the proposed process by using life cycle assessment (LCA), and to develop and present a technically, economically, and environmentally sound process at high gravity, i.e., a process operating at the highest possible concentrations of raw material. The results and opinions presented here are the result of a Nordic collaborative study within the framework of the HG Biofuels project. Processes with bioethanol or biobutanol as target products were studied using wheat straw and spruce as interesting Nordic raw materials. During the project, the main scientific, economic, and technical challenges of such a process were identified. Integrated solutions to these challenges were proposed and tested experimentally, using wheat straw and spruce wood at a dry matter content of 30% (w/w) as model substrates. The LCA performed revealed the environmental impact of each of the process steps, highlighting the importance of the enzyme dose used for the hydrolysis of the plant biomass, as well as the importance of the fermentation yield.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- André, Hampus, 1989, et al.
(author)
-
Circular Economy as a Means to Efficient Use of Scarce Metals
- 2016
-
In: 2016 Electronics Goes Green 2016+, EGG 2016. - 9781509052080
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Scarce metals are increasingly used in modern technology, but significant quantities are lost for further functionaluse in recycling. This study investigates if other measures for a more resource-efficient and “circular economy”(CE) can increase efficiency of scarce metal use. Three CE alternatives, inspired by real business solutions forproviding lighting, notebooks and smartphones are compared with respective conventional alternatives, using materialflow analysis. Scarce metal efficiency gains are primarily realized by extending the use phase of products orcomponents. However, the extension must be sufficient in order not to be cancelled out by any additional scarcemetals that enable the extension. Furthermore, losses of scarce metals occur whenever components are replaced.Therefore, CE alternatives may not necessarily improve efficiency of scarce metals use. Advances to functionallyrecycle scarce metals and designs that enable components and products to be kept in functional use for longer areneeded.
|
|
| 5. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
A crustal scarcity indicator for long-term global elemental resource assessment in LCA
- 2020
-
In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:9, s. 1805-1817
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: How to assess impacts of mineral resources is much discussed in life cycle assessment (LCA). We see a need for, and a lack of, a mineral resource impact assessment method that captures the perspective of long-term global scarcity of elements. Method: A midpoint-level mineral resource impact assessment method matching this perspective is proposed, called the crustal scarcity indicator (CSI), with characterization factors called crustal scarcity potentials (CSPs) measured as kg silicon equivalents per kg element. They are based on crustal concentrations, which have been suggested to correlate with several important resource metrics (reserves, reserve base, reserves plus cumulative production, and ore deposits), thereby constituting proxies for long-term global elemental scarcity. Results and discussion: Ready-to-use CSPs are provided for 76 elements, through which the CSI can be calculated by multiplying with the respective masses of elements extracted from Earth’s crust for a certain product. As follows from their crustal concentrations, the three platinum-group metals iridium, osmium, and rhodium have the highest CSPs, whereas silicon, aluminum, and iron have the lowest CSPs. Conclusion: An evaluation of the CSPs and the characterization factors of four other mineral resource impact assessment methods in LCA (the abiotic depletion, the surplus ore, the cumulative exergy demand, and the EPS methods) were conducted. It showed that the CSPs are temporally reliable, calculated in a consistent way, and have a high coverage of elements in comparison. Furthermore, a quantitative comparison with the characterization factors of the four other methods showed that the CSPs reflect long-term global elemental scarcity comparatively well while requiring a minimum of assumptions and input parameters. Recommendations: We recommend using the CSI for assessments of long-term global elemental scarcity in LCA. Since the CSI is at the midpoint level, it can be complemented by other mineral resource impact assessment methods (both existing and to be developed) to provide a more comprehensive view of mineral resource impacts in an LCA.
|
|
| 6. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Environmental Assessment of Emerging Technologies: Recommendations for Prospective LCA
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 22:6, s. 1286-1294
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The challenge of assessing emerging technologies with life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly discussed in the LCA field. In this article, we propose a definition of prospective LCA: An LCA is prospective when the (emerging) technology studied is in an early phase of development (e.g., small-scale production), but the technology is modeled at a future, more-developed phase (e.g., large-scale production). Methodological choices in prospective LCA must be adapted to reflect this goal of assessing environmental impacts of emerging technologies, which deviates from the typical goals of conventional LCA studies. The aim of the article is to provide a number of recommendations for how to conduct such prospective assessments in a relevant manner. The recommendations are based on a detailed review of selected prospective LCA case studies, mainly from the areas of nanomaterials, biomaterials, and energy technologies. We find that it is important to include technology alternatives that are relevant for the future in prospective LCA studies. Predictive scenarios and scenario ranges are two general approaches to prospective inventory modeling of both foreground and background systems. Many different data sources are available for prospective modeling of the foreground system: scientific articles; patents; expert interviews; unpublished experimental data; and process modeling. However, we caution against temporal mismatches between foreground and background systems, and recommend that foreground and background system impacts be reported separately in order to increase the usefulness of the results in other prospective studies.
|
|
| 7. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(author)
-
Det specifika med miljösystemanalysen
- 1999
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Sammanfattning av diskussion om vad forskning i ämnet miljösystemanalys innebär och innefattar.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(author)
-
LCA i ett nötskal
- 2014
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)
|
|
| 10. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(author)
-
Switching the focus from product function to business profit: Introducing Business Model LCA (BM-LCA)
- 2022
-
In: Proceedings of LCM 2021. - : EDP Sciences. ; 349
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent years have seen much interest in business models as vehicles towards sustainability, cf. [1]. Conventional LCA, however, fails to properly capture the environmental impacts of a business model. Here, we introduce the background and the principles of Business Model LCA, a new LCA methodology for the assessment of environmental performance of business models. Methodological innovations are based on an understanding of the difference and relatedness between product and business. The key innovation is that BM-LCA centres its analysis on the ’business model’ instead of the ’product function’ as in conventional LCA. This requires the functional unit to represent the business (e.g., as ‘profit per time unit’) and the need to couple the monetary flows of the business to the material and energy flows of the product system via a set of ’coupling’ equations. BM-LCA contributes to environmental business analysis and could open up a new avenue of research where LCA and business analysts collaborate on business model innovation for sustainability.
|
|
