| 1. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle assessment of a two-seater all-electric aircraft
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 29:2, s. 240-254
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Aviation is an important contributor to climate change and other environmental problems. Electrification is one option for reducing the environmental impacts of aviation. The aim of this study is to provide the first life cycle assessment (LCA) results representing an existing commercial, two-seater, all-electric aircraft. Methods: An attributional cradle-to-grave LCA was conducted with a functional unit of 1 h flight time. Data and records from an aircraft manufacturer informed much of the study. Detailed modelling of important aircraft components is provided, including the battery, motor, inverter, instrument panel and seats. Impact results are compared to those from a similar but fossil fuel–based two-seater aircraft. A wide range of impact categories was considered, while the focus was on global warming, resource depletion, particulate matter, acidification and ozone formation. Results and discussion: The main contributors to almost all impact categories are the airframe, the lithium-ion battery and emissions (in the use phase). The airframe has a major impact as it contains energy-intensive, carbon fibre–reinforced composites, the impact of which can be reduced by recycling. The battery dominates mineral resource depletion categories and contributes notably to emission-based categories. Producing batteries using non-fossil energy or shifting to less resource-intensive, next-generation batteries would reduce their impact. Use-phase impacts can be reduced by sourcing non-fossil electricity. Despite the need for multiple battery pack replacements, the comparison with the fossil fuel option (based on equal lifetimes) still showed the electric aircraft contributing less to global warming, even in a high-carbon electricity scenario. By contrast, when it concerned mineral resources, the electric aircraft had greater impact than the fossil fuel based one. Conclusions: A sufficiently long lifetime is key to bringing the all-electric aircraft’s environmental impacts (such as global warming) below those of fossil fuel–based aircraft. The high burden of the airframe and batteries can then be outweighed by the benefit of more efficient and emission-free electric propulsion. However, this comes with a trade-off in terms of increased mineral resource use.
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| 2. |
- Srinivasa Raghavan, Seshadri, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Metal requirements for road-based electromobility transitions in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research investigated the metal requirements for electrifying Swedish cars and heavy-duty trucks and refueling infrastructure. We assessed vehicle and infrastructure metal use given four cornerstone scenarios: battery electric vehicles and chargers, conductive and inductive electric road systems, and fuel-cell vehicles, besides an internal combustion engine scenario. Twenty-seven metals were evaluated. To our knowledge, this study presents a first attempt to develop a detailed inventory of prevailing and prospective charging infrastructures. Our study estimated total metal requirement at 7400–9600 kt and infrastructure share at 6%–25% (200–2400 kt). Infrastructure requires about 15% of gold, 30%–40% of silver and copper, and 40%–60% of molybdenum. Results revealed that the following metal flows contribute the most to long-term resource scarcities: rhodium in fossil-fueled vehicles; gold in electric vehicles; palladium and gold in conductive and copper and palladium in inductive electric road systems; as well as platinum in fuel cells.
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| 3. |
- Wickerts, Sanna, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Prospective Life-Cycle Modeling of Quantum Dot Nanoparticles for Use in Photon Upconversion Devices
- 2021
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Ingår i: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2168-0485. ; 9:14, s. 5187-5195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantum dot nanoparticles (NPs) can be used in several applications, for example, photon upconversion devices that increase the electricity output of solar modules. In order to facilitate life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of such applications, this study provides ready-to-use LCA unit process data for four NPs suitable for photon upconversion applications: cadmium selenide, cadmium sulfide, lead selenide, and lead sulfide. The data is provided for two prospective scenarios: one optimistic and one pessimistic. An impact assessment is conducted in order to assess the NPs’ climate change performance, where solvent-related processes such as steam production for recycling and hazardous waste treatment are shown to be hotspots. To show the applicability of the data, a prospective assessment of a solar module with an upconversion layer is conducted to investigate whether it is preferable from a climate perspective to install more solar modules or equip existing ones with upconversion devices, leading to more electricity produced in both cases. The assessment shows that solar modules need to become 0.05–2 percentage points more efficient per gram of NPs applied, depending on the scenario, in order for the upconversion layer to be preferable.
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| 4. |
- Adrianto, Lugas Raka, et al.
(författare)
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How can LCA include prospective elements to assess emerging technologies and system transitions? The 76th LCA Discussion Forum on Life Cycle Assessment, 19 November 2020
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 26:8, s. 1541-1544
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper summarizes the 76th LCA Discussion Forum end its main findings. Main issues when addressing emerging technologies identified were: the lack of primary data, the need for (shared) future background scenarios and (guidlines for) a common methodology. The following recommendations have been derived by the organizers: 1) Specific foreground inventories are always tailor-made, but consistency can be improved through lists of mandatory considerations. 2) Continue sharing (future) technology data and proxy processes, that can be readily replicated to new studies and assist in developing inventories. 3) Streamline and unify the process of including scenarios for background systems. New approaches may provide first important solutions to efficiently include consistent future scenarios in prospective LCA.
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| 5. |
- Aggarwal, Rahul, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of data selection on aquatic ecotoxicity characterization factors for selected persistent and mobile substances
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - Göteborg : IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 29:2, s. 344-354
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: This paper addresses the lack of ecotoxicity characterization factors (CFs) for persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals in life cycle assessment. The specific aims are (1) to provide CFs for 64 selected chemicals and benchmark them against the USEtox database, (2) to propose an ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy, and (3) to analyze the influence of ecotoxicity data sources and data harmonization strategies. Methods: Sixty-four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), triazines, and triazoles were selected. An ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy was developed to ensure data consistency. A screening strategy for including transformation products was also developed. Existing CFs in the USEtox organic substances database (version 2.01) were identified, and new CFs were calculated based on available data sources. The USEtox model (version 2.13) was used for calculations, and the collected ecotoxicity data from different sources were varied to test their influence. Results and discussion: The ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy excluded a considerable amount of incompatible data. To the list of 64 chemicals, 3 transformation products were added. Out of the 67 chemicals, experimental ecotoxicity data were available for 47, leading to the use of in silico tools and average values to fill data gaps for 20 chemicals. CFs for 67 chemicals could thus be provided. Comparing CFs calculated based on experimental and estimated ecotoxicity data reveals that the estimated data leads to considerably different CF values. Conclusions: The paper provides strategies for ecotoxicity data harmonization and the inclusion of transformation products. The limited availability of experimental ecotoxicity data and differing results of the applied estimation methods highlight the need for further development of estimation methods. In addition, further development in including transformation products is recommended, which is particularly relevant for PM chemicals.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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A crustal scarcity indicator for long-term global elemental resource assessment in LCA
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:9, s. 1805-1817
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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.
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| 8. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Blood cobalt? Life cycle human health impacts of a lithium-ion battery
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lithium-ion batteries have become the dominating technology for rechargeable batteries. However, they are associated with several social sustainability concerns. In particular, these concerns have been expressed for lithium-ion batteries that contain cobalt in the cathode, such as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries. Cobalt has been on the European Union’s list of critical raw materials since its first appearance in 2011. While not counted among the conflict minerals, the extraction and refining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for 70% of the global supply. Reports from this extraction include harsh working conditions, high presence of child laborers and forced evictions, particularly for the 20% share of the extraction conducted at small scale. In this work, the life-cycle health impacts of an NMC battery are quantified using the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) indicator. Health impacts from emissions are included, as well as health impacts from occupational accidents during small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC and other processes. Two scenarios for occupational fatalities in small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC were tested: one expert estimate at 2000 fatalities/years and one at only 65 fatalities/year based on reports in media. The results show that given 2000 fatalities/year, cobalt extraction and refining account for 18% of the total health impacts. However, the nickel in the cathode accounts for 30% and the copper used as a current collector for the anode accounts for 20%. Consequently, the results from this study show that while cobalt contributes notably to the health impacts of an NMC battery, nickel and copper are also important to consider for reducing health impacts. The main recommendations are to reduce emissions from nickel and copper extraction, to increase the share of recycled metals in lithium-ion batteries and to improve the occupational safety in small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC.
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