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1.	Lindahl, Niklas, 1981, et al. (author) Early stage techno-economic and environmental analysis of aluminium batteries 2023 In: Energy Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2753-1457. ; 2:3, s. 420-429 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract For any proper evaluation of next generation energy storage systems technological, economic, and environmental performance metrics should be considered. Here conceptual cells and systems are designed for different aluminium battery (AlB) concepts, including both active and passive materials. Despite the fact that all AlBs use high-capacity metal anodes and materials with low cost and environmental impact, their energy densities differ vastly and only a few concepts become competitive taking all aspects into account. Notably, AlBs with high-performance inorganic cathodes have the potential to exhibit superior technological and environmental performance, should they be more reversible and energy efficient, while at the system level costs become comparable or slightly higher than for both AlBs with organic cathodes and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Overall, with continued development, AlBs should be able to complement LIBs, especially in light of their significantly lower demand for scarce materials. Several aluminium battery concepts are evaluated at material, cell and system levels for technical, economic and environmental performance, which enables them to complement lithium-ion batteries in the future.
2.	Hörteborn, Axel, 1986, et al. (author) Economic incentives and technological limitations govern environmental impact of LNG feeder vessels 2023 In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 429 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract In the transition to sustainable shipping, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), is proposed to play a role, reducing emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. However, LNG is a fossil fuel and there is an ongoing discussion regarding the extent of methane slip from ships operating on LNG, challenging the assumptions of LNG as a sustainable solution. Here we show another aspect to consider in the environmental assessment of shipping; LNG feeder vessels may spend as much as 25% of their time at sea just running the ship to ensure the pressure in the tanks are not exceeded, i.e., run time not directly attributed to the shipment of gas from one port or ship, to another. In other words, the economic incentives are currently allowing for roughly 32% increase of the ships’ operational emissions and discharges and increased navigational risks. Most coastal areas are heavily affected by anthropogenic activities and e.g., in the Baltic Sea there is consensus among the HELCOM member states that the input of nutrient and hazardous substances must be reduced. Even if the LNG feeder vessels are currently few, the possibility to reduce their environmental impact by 32% should be an attractive opportunity for future policy measures and investigation of technological solutions of the problem.
3.	Akram, Asif, 1978, et al. (author) AEOLIX Living Labs Operational ImpactsAssessment 2019 Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract This document provides the AEOLIX impact assessment of living labs at the operational level. It is based on three main impacts namely business, environment, and socio-economic impacts. The three impacts are sub-divided further into sub-categories. The report collects data from twelve living labs involved in with AEOLIX. One of the main goals of AEOLIX was to reduce the costs for various logistics activities as implemented in twelve living labs. The expected benefits in the business area are from reducing the consumption of different resources, reducing the time used for various activities, and from increasing the productivity in certain areas. The economic or business benefits came along two dimensions: (i) in terms of time and (ii) in terms of money. In terms of time, AEOLIX facilitated reducing the time spent on various activities at the companies. In terms of money, AEOLIX helped to save the costs of specific logistics activities within the living lab. For the environmental aspect an overall value of 20% was set as target value for reduction in CO2 emission using AEOLIX. Only one of all living labs reached this target value, but there was anyhow a reduction found in all living labs. AEOLIX and its functions have also helped in reducing noise pollution at some of the living labs. In some cases, there was quite a considerable reduction. For the socio-economic aspects the job creation, SME empowerment, and the improved quality of life are addressed. This study has explored the impact of AEOLIX on job creation in terms of drivers’ and operators’ jobs. Since the AEOLIX implementation is still in its initial phases, respondents were unable to estimate how many jobs (drivers and/or operators) were created in the long run. SME Empowerment was measured as the increase in SMEs’ market share and the increase in direct collaboration between SMEs and large organizations. The results were meager both with regard to the market share and the extent of collaboration. The improved quality of life is measured in the way AEOLIX puts more focus on work, the less stress at work and a positive attitude towards people using it. The results reflect that AEOLIX has greatly helped employees to put more focus on work and to reduce stress levels. Managers consider this as a positive side of the return on investment (ROI) as the business processes are improved. AEOLIX impact on various socio-economic aspects is in principle positive but as this process is very slow to emerge it takes time to observe any changes in social aspects. Acceptance and trust on AEOLIX can be captured as a majority of the evaluation managers of the living labs found the AEOLIX functions (dashboard, connectivity engine and toolkit) useful to a great extent. The willingness to continue using AEOLIX functions and their usefulness are directly related to each other. This means that the more useful a function is, the more users are willing to continue using it. The AEOLIX platform, through various services and functions, has a positive impact on society in general and on workers in particular. Although this impact cannot be evaluated financially for the first year of the AEOLIX implementation, numerous studies show that a more satisfying and less stressful job, together with a more welcoming and stimulating environment, have an important economic impact in the long-term period. Therefore, the fact that AEOLIX has a positive impact on society will also prove to be an economic benefit for the different companies.
4.	André, Hampus, 1989 (author) Resource and Environmental Impacts of Resource-Efficiency Measures Applied to Electronic Products 2018 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract Natural resources such as ecosystems, land, water and metals underpin the functioning of economies and human well-being, and are becoming increasingly scarce due to growth in population and affluence. Metals are increasingly demanded for their specific properties as modern technology develops. The dependence on metals is of growing concern due to the environmental impacts related, for example, to energy use and local impacts from mining, as well as the scarcity risks posed by socio-economic, geological and geopolitical constraints. Thus, there is a clear need to use metals and other natural resources more efficiently. The vision of a circular economy has been proposed as a way to do this, for example by improving durability, reusing, repairing and recycling. Such so-called resource-efficiency (RE) measures are commonly assumed to be environmentally beneficial, although the evidence is not plentiful. It is plausible that focusing on recirculating products and materials could shift burdens to other environmental impacts or life cycle stages. It has therefore been argued that a life cycle-based approach, such as in life cycle assessment (LCA), is useful to critically assess the environmental implications of RE measures. LCA aims to quantify the environmental impacts of products over their entire life cycles - from cradle to grave - assessing a wide range of impacts such as toxicity, climate change and metal resource use. For metal resource use, however, there are a number of perspectives as to what constitutes the actual environmental problem. These perspectives are represented in a variety of life cycle impact assessment methods (LCIA) which have previously been shown to give diverging results. Electronic products are emblematic of metal resource use challenges since they deploy a broad spectrum of scarce metals. This thesis aims to provide knowledge on the potential for RE measures to reduce the environmental impacts of electronic products, by addressing the following research questions: (1) What resource-efficiency measures result in reduced potential environmental impacts and resource use – for what types of products and under what conditions? (2) How does extended use of electronic products through design for increased technical lifetime, reuse and repair affect environmental impacts, particularly metal resource use? (3) How does the application of different LCIA methods for metal resource use influence interpretations of resource-efficiency measures applied to electronic products? This thesis builds on three appended papers which are all based on comparative assessments of resource efficiency, studied as resource use and environmental impacts per function delivered, using LCA and material flow analysis. The results indicate that extended use of electronic products through increasing technical lifetimes, reusing and repairing, is generally resource-efficient. Exceptions may occur, however, if extended use is insufficient to motivate impacts from producing more durable products or spare parts. Use extension of electronic products leads to resource efficiency in two distinct ways: through the intended use extension and by increasingly steering material flows into recycling. Further resource efficiency could be realised by combining RE measures over the entire life cycles of products. With regards to metal resource use, the choice of LCIA method can influence the interpretation of the results of RE measures for electronic products. Therefore, it is advisable to use several complementary LCIA methods to minimise the risks of overlooking potentially important resources issues. Furthermore, better understanding and transparency of such issues is valuable in order to provide more comprehensive information to decision-makers.
5.	Böckin, Daniel, 1989 (author) Towards empirically grounded guidance for resource efficiency: Applying, developing and synthesising environmental assessments 2021 Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract Numerous solutions have been proposed to mitigate environmental damage, including resource efficiency and the vision of circular economy. Suggested solutions are often formulated as guidelines and heuristics like in the EU waste hierarchy, so-called R-hierarchies for resource efficiency and various guidelines for circular business models. However, these are often formulated on a conceptual basis without empirical support. Hence, it is often unclear in what contexts they are valid and how they can be interpreted for different types of products and applications. Systemic environmental assessments are necessary, and have been widely employed, to provide more solid empirical support for guidelines and for investigating the efficacy of suggested solutions. There is also a need for the results and learnings of those assessments to be easily understandable and usable for guiding decision-making towards reducing environmental impact within, say, product design and business management. The purpose of this dissertation is to 1) formulate empirically grounded guidelines for resource efficiency and 2) test existing guidelines and heuristics in specific cases. The first aim is addressed by synthesising assessments of resource efficiency measures in literature. This revealed in what circumstances each measure can yield environmental benefits, depending on product characteristics, as well as when there are possible trade-offs and limitations. Several product characteristics were identified as of key importance for the efficacy of measures, including whether products are durable or consumable, active or passive, used for their full technical lifetime, used frequently or not and finally the product’s complexity and pace of development. The second aim is addressed by carrying out a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) scrutinising the expectations of metal 3D printing for reducing automotive environmental impacts. The results showed that 3D printing can potentially reduce future life cycle impacts, by allowing redesign of components for lower weight and thus lower fuel consumption. However, this is only valid with low-fossil electricity for the printing process and developments towards printing with low-impact materials like low-alloy steel. The second aim is further addressed by testing the potential environmental benefits of alternative business models. The method business model LCA method (BM-LCA) was developed for this purpose, taking the business itself as the object of analysis. The method uses economic performance as the basis of comparison, thus allowing a business to calculate the environmental consequences of business decisions. BM-LCA was applied to an apparel company, comparing selling and renting jackets. The results show that renting enabled sustained economic performance while reducing environmental impacts. This depended, however, on the sustainability of the transport and energy systems, as well as on business model parameters like price and rental efficiency, and on customer habits. This dissertation shows that environmental assessments can be used to provide an empirical foundation for improved resource efficiency guidelines and to test the validity of heuristics Two key contributions and innovations are emphasised. The first is the formulation of empirically grounded guidelines based on key product characteristics. The second is the formulation and testing of BM-LCA, a method for assessing decoupling business from environmental impact.
6.	Englund, Oskar, 1982, et al. (author) Large-scale deployment of grass in crop rotations as a multifunctional climate mitigation strategy 2023 In: GCB Bioenergy. - : Wiley. - 1757-1707 .- 1757-1693. ; 15:2, s. 166-184 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract The agriculture sector can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequestering carbon in vegetation and soils, and providing biomass to substitute for fossil fuels and other GHG-intensive products. The sector also needs to address water, soil, and biodiversity impacts caused by historic and current practices. Emerging EU policies create incentives for cultivation of perennial plants that provide biomass along with environmental benefits. One such option, common in northern Europe, is to include grass in rotations with annual crops to provide biomass while remediating soil organic carbon (SOC) losses and other environmental impacts. Here, we apply a spatially explicit model on >81,000 sub-watersheds in EU27 + UK (Europe) to explore the effects of widespread deployment of such systems. Based on current accumulated SOC losses in individual sub-watersheds, the model identifies and quantifies suitable areas for increased grass cultivation and corresponding biomass- and protein supply, SOC sequestration, and reductions in nitrogen emissions to water as well as wind and water erosion. The model also provides information about possible flood mitigation. The results indicate a substantial climate mitigation potential, with combined annual GHG savings from soil-carbon sequestration and displacement of natural gas with biogas from grass-based biorefineries, equivalent to 13%–48% of current GHG emissions from agriculture in Europe. The environmental co-benefits are also notable, in some cases exceeding the estimated mitigation needs. Yield increases for annual crops in modified rotations mitigate the displacement effect of increasing grass cultivation. If the grass is used as feedstock in lieu of annual crops, the displacement effect can even be negative, that is, a reduced need for annual crop production elsewhere. Incentivizing widespread deployment will require supportive policy measures as well as new uses of grass biomass, for example, as feedstock for green biorefineries producing protein concentrate, biofuels, and other bio-based products.
7.	Hansson, Julia, 1978, et al. (author) COSTS FOR REDUCING GHG EMISSIONS FROM ROAD AND AIR TRANSPORT WITH BIOFUELS AND ELECTROFUELS 2023 In: European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Proceedings. - : ETA-Florence Renewable Energies. - 2282-5819. ; , s. 368-372 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract The potential future role of different biofuels, hydrogen, and so-called electrofuels/power-to-X (produced by electricity, water, and carbon dioxide, CO2) in different transportation sectors remains uncertain. The CO2 abatement cost, i.e., the cost for reducing a certain amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is central from a societal and business perspective, the latter specifically in the case of an emission reduction obligation system (like in Germany and Sweden). The abatement cost of a specific fuel value chain depends on the production cost and the GHG reduction provided by the fuel. This paper analyses the CO2 abatement costs for different types of biofuels, biomass-based jet fuels and electrofuels for road transport and aviation, relevant for the Swedish and EU context. Since most assessed alternative fuel pathways achieve substantial GHG emission reduction compared to fossil fuels, the fuel production cost is, in general, more important to achieve a low CO2 abatement cost. The estimated CO2 abatement cost ranges from -0.37 to 4.03 SEK/kgCO2 equivalent. Fuels based on waste feedstock, have a relatively low CO2 abatement cost. Fuel pathways based on electricity or electricity and biomass have relatively high CO2 abatement cost. The CO2 abatement cost for lignocellulosic based pathways generally ends up in between.
8.	Johansson, Viktor, 1991, et al. (author) Value of wind power – Implications from specific power 2017 In: Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-5442. ; 126, s. 352-360 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract This paper investigates the marginal system value of increasing the penetration level of wind power, and how this value is dependent upon the specific power (the ratio of the rated power to the swept area). The marginal system value measures the economic value of increasing the wind power capacity. Green-field power system scenarios, with minimised dispatch and investment costs, are modelled for Year 2050 for four regions in Europe that have different conditions for renewable electricity generation. The results show a high marginal system value of wind turbines at low penetration levels in all four regions and for the three specific powers investigated. The cost-optimal wind power penetration levels are up to 40% in low-wind-speed regions, and up to 80% in high-wind–speed regions. The results also show that both favourable solar conditions and access to hydropower benefit the marginal system value of wind turbines. Furthermore, the profile value, which measures how valuable a wind turbine generation profile is to the electricity system, increases in line with a reduction in the specific power for wind power penetration levels of >10%. The profile value shows that the specific power becomes more important as the wind power penetration level increases. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd
9.	Mani, Mahesh, et al. (author) Simulation and analysis for sustainable product development 2013 In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 18:5, s. 1129-1136 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Simulation plays a critical role in the design of products, materials, and manufacturing processes. However, there are gaps in the simulation tools used by industry to provide reliable results from which effective decisions can be made about environmental impacts at different stages of product life cycle. A holistic and systems approach to predicting impacts via sustainable manufacturing planning and simulation (SMPS) is presented in an effort to incorporate sustainability aspects across a product life cycle. Methods Increasingly, simulation is replacing physical tests to ensure product reliability and quality, thereby facilitating steady reductions in design and manufacturing cycles. For SMPS, we propose to extend an earlier framework developed in the Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications (SIMA) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. SMPS framework has four phases, viz. design product, engineer manufacturing, engineer production system, and produce products. Each phase has its inputs, outputs, phase level activities, and sustainability-related data, metrics and tools.Results and discussion An automotive manufacturing scenario that highlights the potential of utilizing SMPS framework to facilitate decision making across different phases of product life cycle is presented. Various research opportunities are discussed for the SMPS framework and corresponding information models. The SMPS framework built on the SIMA model has potential in aiding sustainable product development.
10.	Nordelöf, Anders, 1975, et al. (author) Less or different environmental impact? 2013 In: Systems Perspectives on Electromobility 2013. - 9789198097313 ; , s. 60-75 Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract Electric and hybrid drivetrains are currently regarded as a promising technology forvehicle propulsion. They can reduce greenhouse and other exhaust gas emissionsfrom road transport. Electric drivetrains are more efficient than conventional internalcombustion engines fuelled by petrol or diesel (Chapter 5), and fully electrifiedvehicles does not give any tailpipe emissions. In addition, electric drivetrains canalso assist in decoupling the transport sector from its heavy reliance on fossilfuels. On the other hand, electric vehicles will require that more electricity isproduced and this can be done from several different energy sources with diverseenvironmental impacts. Furthermore, electric drivetrains require new advancedcomponents (Chapter 3) that result in additional, or at least different, environmentalimpacts compared to conventional vehicles.The trade-off between the benefits when operating of the vehicle and possiblenegative impacts from the production and from energy supply can be analysedusing life cycle assessment (LCA). However, LCA studies come in many shapesand diverging arguments on the utility of technology are based on them. Someadvocate the technology (using for example the well-to-wheels approach to guidegovernment promotion policies on different types of drivetrains and alternative fuel options)1 and others claim that the prospective for electric cars to reduce theenvironmental impacts of mobility is “substantially overrated”2 or that there will be“significant increases in human toxicity“.3This chapter provides an overview of the life cycle impacts of electric vehicles,with general conclusions and examples of results. We review existing researchand sort studies found in literature into categories by asking what we can learnfrom different LCA approaches. More specifically, which answers do we get fromwell-to-wheels (WTW) studies in comparison to complete LCA studies, and whatdifference does it make if a study includes a narrow or broad set of environmentalimpacts. We conclude by summarising these learnings and discuss implicationsfor a set of stakeholders identified in the area of vehicle electrification, such aspolicy makers and various branches of industry.
11.	Odenberger, Mikael, 1977, et al. (author) Prospects for CCS in the EU energy roadmap to 2050 2013 In: Energy Procedia. - : Elsevier BV. - 1876-6102. ; 37, s. 7573-7581 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract The aim of this paper is to estimate the prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the European electricity supply system taking into account possible forthcoming policy based on the recent EU Energy Roadmap communication, which suggests a 93 to 99% reduction in CO2 emissions relative 1990 levels from the electricity sector by the year 2050. Furthermore, the effect of whether or not onshore storage will be accepted is investigated. The work is based on techno-economic modeling of the European electricity generation sector under different assumptions (scenarios) of the future with respect to electricity demand and fuel prices. The results indicate that the contribution from CCS on a member state level depends on local conditions, e.g., access to local fuels like lignite, and whether or not onshore storage will be allowed. Excluding on-shore storage in aquifers, the modeling results give that CCS is centralized around the North Sea. Natural gas fired conventional power plants is likely to be a serious competitor to coal CCS in the short to medium term providing large emission reduction opportunities by fuel shifting from existing coal power plants to new high efficient gas fired combined cycles. Such development can be a barrier for early deployment of CCS, and hence, result in a delay in commercialization of CCS. The scenarios presented in the Energy Roadmap prescribe power systems almost without net CO2 emissions by 2050, which implies that CCS technologies by the year 2050 must be of a zero-emission type. The modeling presented here indicates in general a large increase in technologies with low CO2 emissions, renewables as well as a significant contribution from CCS technologies, where CCS in the investigated scenarios have the potential to contribute as much as 25-35% of total electricity generation at around year 2050.
12.	Pizarro, Amalia, et al. (author) What is the future potential for imports of combustible municipal waste to countries with extensive district heating networks? A case study of Denmark 2015 In: Proceedings of Sardinia 2015 Fifteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. ; 9788862650212 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract In Europe, landfilling is the most widely used method for managing municipal solid waste. By contrast, the northern European waste market is characterized by high capacities from energy recovery plants, mostly incineration in cogeneration facilities. In Denmark, there is an overcapacity of incineration plants and this study aims to analyse if import of waste is beneficial during an interim period to divert landfilling or if it might be profitable to invest in overcapacity in the long-term in those countries where heat from incineration can be recovered. The energy and waste management system are described through linking of mathematical models, taking a holistic approach. In the short-term it pays off to import waste, avoiding landfilling; however, in the longer-term, benefits from waste trading will depend on the price of heat markets.
13.	Santén, Vendela, 1978 (author) Exploring logistics actions enabling environmentally sustainable freight transport 2013 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract To curb unsustainable freight transport trends; such as transport growth, larger dependency on road transport and generally an increased share of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, actions needs to be taken among actors in the logistics system. The purpose of this thesis is to explore logistics actions that enable environmentally sustainable freight transport. This explorative research, based primarily on empirical data from interviews, focus groups, and a case study, adopts the perspectives of different actors in the logistics system: transport buyers, freight forwarders, transport operators, and authorities. The thesis identifies a wide range of actions in the logistics system to potentially enable environmentally sustainable freight transport. The perception from actors regarding what actions are important to adopt indicate that more knowledge among actors regarding how transport and traffic work can be reduced and how different actions affect each other are needed; especially how transport buyers acting affect the transport operations performed by freight forwarders and transport operators. By exploring what hinders environmentally sustainable freight transport in the interface between transport buyers and providers, it can be concluded that closer co-operation can provide better internal conditions for actors and new business solutions. Open dialogue, information sharing, and proactivity among both transport buyers and transport providers are essential. Furthermore, in order to increase load factor in practice, actions can be taken by transport buyers in the area of packaging, loading, and booking efficiency. More flexible time requirements will potentially increase the load factor. Gaining positive environmental effects from these changes is dependent on the freight forwarder’s actions in terms of consolidating with other transport buyers’ goods, route planning, and the positioning of vehicles. Since improvements in one actor’s system may not necessarily yield positive effects at a higher system level, it is important to also have a holistic view when aiming for environmentally sustainable freight transport. This thesis contributes with knowledge about how logistics actors can work toward environmentally sustainable freight transportation by providing insight for managers of transport buying and transport providing companies by exemplifying the interactions between actors and actions and their potential effects.
14.	Sotnikov, Artem, 1985, et al. (author) Simulations of a solar-assisted block-heating system 2017 In: ISES Solar World Congress 2017 - IEA SHC International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry 2017, Proceedings. - Freiburg, Germany : International Solar Energy Society. Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract Two types of simulation software TRNSYS and Polysun are studied to check their suitability for solar district heating system planning. A reference case, a part of the Vallda Heberg district heating system is modelled in both tools and results are compared with available measured data and with each other. Models are successfully calibrated. TRNSYS and Polysun models have deviations in main key figures compared to the reference case less than 2% and less than 8% respectively. A sensitivity analysis of key parameters shows that the two tools give similar results.
15.	Adl-Zarrabi, Bijan, 1959, et al. (author) Sustainability Assessment of Infrastructure Elements with Integrated Energy Harvesting Technologies 2016 In: Energy and Environment. - : Wiley. - 9781119307761 ; , s. 221-234 Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract The possibility of integrating energy harvesting devices into the bridge/tunnel structures along Coastal Highway Route E39 has been investigated in a feasibility study by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). The main advantage of integrating energy conversion devices in a structural element is the reduction of costs compared to stand-alone devices. The construction could be used as a foundation, a mooring point and provide a dry environment for electrical devices. Easy access to the production site could also reduce the cost for installation, operation and maintenance. Two important challenges related to harvesting renewable energy by infrastructure elements, without concerning about the energy source, are to store it or feed the energy to the grid. In the second case, tailoring generation to demand is of critical importance. Tasks such as supply and demand management, for instance, peak hour management, what kind of storage should be used - electrical or thermal - need be solved. Furthermore, integrating energy production devices in a structure might cause negative environmental impacts and affect the life expectancy and maintenance costs of such structures. The potential environmental impacts associated with renewable technologies are the consequences for bird life or marine fauna at the fjord crossing locations, as well as noise and visual impact. Thus, a sustainability assessment should be performed in order to quantify the ecological, economical and societal impacts of the suggested alternatives.
16.	Agrawal, Munmun, et al. (author) Global market trends of tantalum and recycling methods from Waste Tantalum Capacitors: A review 2021 In: Sustainable Materials and Technologies. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-9937. ; 29 Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract The rapid digitalization of the world, technological up-gradation, and shorten life cycle of electronic gadgets leading to the generation of an enormous amount of waste tantalum capacitors (WTCs) rich in tantalum every year. The need of the hour is to develop an effective way to recycle tantalum from these waste scraps considering the scarcity of tantalum, environmental impacts, resource and energy utilization, and lower recycling rates. In this paper, various existing methods of recovery of metallic tantalum from WTCs have been extensively reviewed. Processes have been examined in light of recovery efficiency, purity of the resultant product, process complexity, and limitations. The bottleneck in the recovery of tantalum from WTCs is the presence of tightly covered mold resin over the surface of the tantalum anode. Various researchers have recovered Ta with varying degrees of success. Pyrolysis, followed by chloride metallurgy, has been proven to be an effective technology on account of its high removal rate, resource and energy utilization, and lesser environmental impacts. This article also explores the global scenario of tantalum. Overall this review provides a foundation to understand the potential barrier and various opportunities associated with the recovery of tantalum from WTCs.
17.	Ahlgren, Serina, et al. (author) Review of methodological choices in LCA of biorefinery systems - key issues and recommendations 2015 In: Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. - : Wiley. - 1932-1031 .- 1932-104X. ; 9:5, s. 606-619 Research review (peer-reviewed)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).
18.	Andreasi Bassi, Susanna, et al. (author) A life cycle assessment framework for large-scale changes in material circularity 2021 In: Waste Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0956-053X .- 1879-2456. ; 135, s. 360-371 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Increasing material circularity is high on the agenda of the European Union in order to decouple environmental impacts and economic growth. While life cycle assessment (LCA) is useful for quantifying the associated environmental impacts, consistent LCA modeling of the large-scale changes arising from policy targets addressing material circularity (i.e., recycled content and recycling rate) is challenging. In response to this, we propose an assessment framework addressing key steps in LCA, namely, goal definition, functional unit, baseline versus alternative scenario definition, and modeling of system responses. Regulatory and economic aspects (e.g., trends in consumption patterns, market responses, market saturation, and legislative side-policies affecting waste management) are emphasized as critical for the identification of potential system responses and for supporting regulatory interventions required to reach the intended environmental benefits. The framework is recommended for LCA studies focusing on system-wide consequences where allocation between product life cycles is not relevant; however, the framework can be adapted to include allocation. The application of the framework was illustrated by an example of implementing a policy target for 2025 of 70% recycled content in PET trays in EU27+1. It was demonstrated that neglecting large-scale market responses and saturation lead to an overestimation of the environmental benefits from the policy target and that supplementary initiatives are required to achieve the full benefits at system level.
19.	Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author) Using industrial default values for prospective modeling of new materials production – the case of photon upconversion materials for solar modules 2021 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract Several approaches to upscaling of materials production processes in the context of prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) have been proposed. Often, such approaches are bottom-up, departing from laboratory-scale descriptions of production processes and from that creating a model of future large-scale production. While such approaches make use of the material-specific knowledge available at the time of the assessment, they often neglect emergent aspects that may be present at factory level. An alternative, more top-down approach is to use industrial default values, i.e. average or typical values of inputs and outputs reflecting materials production today. Since production facilities normally do not change drastically over at least 10 years, such values might be relevant in prospective LCAs, at least given modest time horizons. Such default values can also be modified based on assumptions about future changes, such as increased energy recovery or novel solvent recovery processes. We applied previously derived industrial default values for fine chemical production when modeling the production of two materials with potential use in photon upconversion applications: lead sulfide (PbS) and lead selenide (PbSe) nanoparticles. Photon upconversion means that two low-energy photons are converted into one higher-energy photon utilizable by a solar module. While we used some material-specific values, such as synthesis-specific yields, most auxiliary input and output values (e.g. solvents, inert gas, heat, electricity and emissions) instead represent factory-scale values for current fine chemical production. Considering the availability of both best- and worst-case default values, it was possible to derive ranges for the likely future environmental impacts of the two materials. We conclude that the approach is feasible, but the availability of more up-to-date industrial default values would make it even more relevant in prospective LCAs.
20.	Baldi, Francesco, et al. (author) The cost of innovative and sustainable future ship energy systems 2019 In: ECOS 2019 - Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems. ; , s. 239-250 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract The latest guidelines approved by the environmental protection committee of the international maritime organization (IMO) will require the shipping sector to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% before 2050 and achieve a complete decarbonization by the end of the century. This will require a major change in the way ships are built and operated today. In this paper, we aim at understanding what types of ship energy systems and fuels will be preferable and what will be the costs to achieve the environmental goals set by IMO for shipping. To do this, we approach the question as an MILP problem, with increasingly stringent constraints on the total GHG emissions and with the objective of minimizing the total cost of ownership. We apply this analysis to three ship types (a containership, a tanker, and a passenger ferry) and we determine what type of choice for the ship’s energy systems will be the most optimal, for each ship type. The results show that the most cost-effective pathway towards the elimination of GHG emissions is composed of a first phase with LNG as fuel and with an increasing use of carbon capture and storage, while the full decarbonisation of the shipping sector will require switching to hydrogen as fuel. These results depend only marginally on the type of ship investigated and on the type of regulation enforced. While the costs required to achieve up to 75% GHG emission reduction are relatively similar to the baseline case (50-70% higher), moving towards a full decarbonisation will require a cost increase ranging between 280% and 340% higher than the business as usual.
21.	Brynolf, Selma, 1984, et al. (author) Sustainable fuels for shipping 2022 In: Sustainable Energy Systems on Ships: Novel Technologies for Low Carbon Shipping. ; , s. 403-428 Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract The International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims to reduce the total annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 and to phase them out as soon as possible. Decarbonized shipping represents a considerable challenge since the GHG emissions are estimated to increase by 2050 in several scenarios [1]. Decarbonization of shipping is important and urgent, but at the same time it is also important to make sure that other environmental impacts and sustainability concerns will not increase as a result. It is important to have a wide systems perspective when searching for solutions so that a sustainable shipping industry can be reached considering environmental, social, and economic dimensions and following the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter starts by defining fuel, energy carriers, and primary energy sources in Section 9.2 followed by a description of the main primary energy sources that can be used to produce sustainable shipping fuels in Section 9.3 and potential energy carriers for ships in Section 9.4. Section 9.5 describes some of the pros and cons of different future fuels for shipping against technical, environmental, economic, and other criteria. Final reflections on how to choose future fuels are presented in Section 9.6.
22.	Böckin, Daniel, 1989 (author) Learning from assessments of resource efficiency measures and their impact on resource use and the environment - Based on a case of additive manufacturing and a review of assessment studies 2018 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract Resource efficiency measures have the potential to reduce the environmental and resource impacts of the current linear economy by decreasing the physical flows of material and energy associated with producing and using products and services. In order to investigate this potential, there is a need for assessments from a systems perspective, which for example enables the identification of possible trade-offs between different measures and aspects of resource efficiency depending on the product characteristics. The research was carried out in two parts, firstly by synthesising the learnings from a large number of assessment studies. The analysis was built on typologies formulated for mapping resource efficiency measures and product characteristics to the environmental and resource outcomes of the measures in each case. This resulted in a number of findings detailing under which conditions that resource efficiency measures yield environmental and resource benefits, as well as when there are possible trade-offs and limitations. Furthermore, some product characteristics were identified that are key in determining when resource efficiency measures are effective, namely whether products are durable, consumable, complex or whether they have significant impacts from extraction and material production or from their use. Products with significant impacts from the use-phase are called active products and give rise to trade-offs that are discussed in detail, specifically regarding under which conditions there are environmental and resource benefits from extended use or from reducing use-phase impacts. The second part of the research was a life cycle assessment of one such active product, namely 3D-printed truck engines. The aim was to investigate the resource efficiency potential of this emerging technology. Results showed that 3D-printing could lead to net improvements in life cycle impacts, by allowing redesigns of components for lower weight and thus lower fuel consumption. However, the conclusions were only valid under certain conditions, such ascareful material choice and a low-fossil electricity mix for the printing process, without which 3D-printing resulted in environmental deterioration compared to conventional manufacturing. Some results could be generalised to other applications and industries, for example the importance of a low-fossil electricity mix for 3D-printing, which is valid for any application of 3D-printing. In conclusion, useful knowledge on resource efficiency measures was produced both by synthesising many assessment studies and carrying out a single assessment study, especially on the topics of active products and additive manufacturing.
23.	Calvin, Katherine, et al. (author) Bioenergy for climate change mitigation: Scale and sustainability 2021 In: GCB Bioenergy. - : Wiley. - 1757-1707 .- 1757-1693. ; 13:9, s. 1346-1371 Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract Many global climate change mitigation pathways presented in IPCC assessment reports rely heavily on the deployment of bioenergy, often used in conjunction with carbon capture and storage. We review the literature on bioenergy use for climate change mitigation, including studies that use top-down integrated assessment models or bottom-up modelling, and studies that do not rely on modelling. We summarize the state of knowledge concerning potential co-benefits and adverse side effects of bioenergy systems and discuss limitations of modelling studies used to analyse consequences of bioenergy expansion. The implications of bioenergy supply on mitigation and other sustainability criteria are context dependent and influenced by feedstock, management regime, climatic region, scale of deployment and how bioenergy alters energy systems and land use. Depending on previous land use, widespread deployment of monoculture plantations may contribute to mitigation but can cause negative impacts across a range of other sustainability criteria. Strategic integration of new biomass supply systems into existing agriculture and forest landscapes may result in less mitigation but can contribute positively to other sustainability objectives. There is considerable variation in evaluations of how sustainability challenges evolve as the scale of bioenergy deployment increases, due to limitations of existing models, and uncertainty over the future context with respect to the many variables that influence alternative uses of biomass and land. Integrative policies, coordinated institutions and improved governance mechanisms to enhance co-benefits and minimize adverse side effects can reduce the risks of large-scale deployment of bioenergy. Further, conservation and efficiency measures for energy, land and biomass can support greater flexibility in achieving climate change mitigation and adaptation.
24.	Chordia, Mudit, 1985 (author) Taking stock of large-scale lithium-ion battery production using life cycle assessment 2022 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract Battery electric vehicles are being increasingly favored as an alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). This is mainly due to their lower environmental impact when compared to ICEVs over the vehicle’s lifetime. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies focusing specifically on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have identified battery cell production as an environmental hotspot in the BEV’s life cycle. However, lack of primary or industrial data, different technical scopes, and varying data quality, limit a thorough understanding of the environmental impacts of cell production. Further, with scaling-up of battery production (to meet the rising demand for BEVs), the source and level of impacts are expected to change. In response, the main aim of this thesis is to explore and understand the implications of upscaling in battery production. An example of such a change is provided at the mining sites where raw materials for lithium used in batteries are extracted and produced. As mining continues, over time, the ore grades at these sites decline. Thus, this thesis also aims to investigate the effect of declining ore grades on the overall impacts from cell production. A sub-goal is to understand the relevance of background data in LCA studies and its effect on overall results. The technical scope of this thesis is the production of a graphite-NMC:811 21700 type cylindrical cell. To assess the environmental impacts of upscaling, production in a small-scale facility is compared to production in a large-scale facility. Next, the impact of declining ore grades on overall cell production is estimated by analyzing the data from multiple mining sites for lithium, with varying ore grades and different types of sources – spodumene and brine. To assess the effect of background database on overall results, the LCA model for cell production was coupled with different versions of the Ecoinvent background database. Lastly, a physics-based model platform, developed in cross-disciplinary collaboration, is proposed with the objective of filling data gaps in LCA of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The model platform will help link the cell design aspects such as power or energy optimization to changes in the individual cell production processes. Further, the model platform will help expand the technical scope to broadened set of cell geometries and chemistries, and increase the precision in use phase modeling as well. The results show that the upscaling leads to a reduction in environmental impacts from cell production. This is due to higher energy and material efficiency of cell production at large scale. Further, when low-carbon intensive sources are used, then the impacts from cell production shift almost entirely to the raw material extraction and production phase. In the context of declining ore grades, the type of source and grade of lithium account for 5-15% of the global warming impacts from cell production. This implies that future environmental impacts from LIB production could increase, due to increased chemical and energy inputs, in response to declining ore grades at mining sites. The changes in the background data have a significant bearing on the overall results. These are due to evolving technical systems and an improved representation of these systems in terms of data quality and geo-spatial representativeness. Lastly, preliminary results from the physics-based model platform show that accounting for variations in cell design can further add variability in results.
25.	Cowie, A. L., et al. (author) Applying a science-based systems perspective to dispel misconceptions about climate effects of forest bioenergy 2021 In: Global Change Biology Bioenergy. - : John Wiley and Sons Inc. - 1757-1693 .- 1757-1707. ; 13:8, s. 1210-1231 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract The scientific literature contains contrasting findings about the climate effects of forest bioenergy, partly due to the wide diversity of bioenergy systems and associated contexts, but also due to differences in assessment methods. The climate effects of bioenergy must be accurately assessed to inform policy-making, but the complexity of bioenergy systems and associated land, industry and energy systems raises challenges for assessment. We examine misconceptions about climate effects of forest bioenergy and discuss important considerations in assessing these effects and devising measures to incentivize sustainable bioenergy as a component of climate policy. The temporal and spatial system boundary and the reference (counterfactual) scenarios are key methodology choices that strongly influence results. Focussing on carbon balances of individual forest stands and comparing emissions at the point of combustion neglect system-level interactions that influence the climate effects of forest bioenergy. We highlight the need for a systems approach, in assessing options and developing policy for forest bioenergy that: (1) considers the whole life cycle of bioenergy systems, including effects of the associated forest management and harvesting on landscape carbon balances; (2) identifies how forest bioenergy can best be deployed to support energy system transformation required to achieve climate goals; and (3) incentivizes those forest bioenergy systems that augment the mitigation value of the forest sector as a whole. Emphasis on short-term emissions reduction targets can lead to decisions that make medium- to long-term climate goals more difficult to achieve. The most important climate change mitigation measure is the transformation of energy, industry and transport systems so that fossil carbon remains underground. Narrow perspectives obscure the significant role that bioenergy can play by displacing fossil fuels now, and supporting energy system transition. Greater transparency and consistency is needed in greenhouse gas reporting and accounting related to bioenergy.
26.	Dal Pozzo, Alessandro, et al. (author) Editorial : Early-stage quantitative sustainability assessment 2023 In: Frontiers in Sustainability. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2673-4524. ; 4 Journal article (other academic/artistic)
27.	D'Angelo, Sebastiano C., et al. (author) Techno-Economic Analysis of a Glycerol Biorefinery 2018 In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2168-0485. ; 6:12, s. 16563-16572 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, which is experiencing a steep growth in market size. Because the most common biodiesel production technology is based on the transesterification of triglycerides, a burgeoning amount of glycerol byproduct is obtained. In order to address this economic and ecologic drawback, several chemocatalytic technologies have been developed to exploit this compound to feed the market with added-value products. Lactic acid, acrylic acid, allyl alcohol, propanediols, and glycerol carbonate have emerged as the most relevant candidates for this purpose. In previous studies, an environmental and economic assessment of a glycerol biorefinery built on these valorization pathways has been performed, taking into account only the operating costs in relation to the economic aspects. This study evaluates for the first time the investment required by these glycerol valorization processes, based on the Guthrie, Taylor, and Aspen capital cost estimation methods, and then assesses the potential of a heat-integrated glycerol biorefinery. Glycerol carbonate stands out as the dominant product to maximize the profitability with respect to the glycerol utilized, while 1,2-propanediol and allyl alcohol are determined as target compounds to be included in the glycerol biorefinery product mix if further reductions of the environmental impact are sought after. This early stage techno-economic analysis provides a sounder basis toward the practical realization of an integrated facility sustainably upgrading waste streams from the processing of renewables into commodities, thus promoting the concept of circular economy.
28.	de Klijn-Chevalerias, M., et al. (author) The Dutch approach for assessing and reducing environmental impacts of building materials 2017 In: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-1323. ; 111, s. 147-159 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Buildings are one of the largest consumers of energy and materials, and hence they are also one of the largest contributors to negative environmental impacts. Traditionally, energy consumed by buildings during their operation phase was the most significant in their lifecycles and far exceeded the embodied energy. However, in contemporary low-energy buildings, the embodied energy is proportionally higher because of the prevalent use of energy-intensive materials. To determine the embodied energy and environmental impacts of building materials, the Dutch have developed an assessment method, which has also been adapted by BREEAM-NL. This paper offers an overview of the Dutch approach for assessing the environmental impacts of building materials and demonstrates its practical application. The use of the Dutch Assessment Method to identify, and quantify materials-related design improvements has been demonstrated through an exemplifying case study. It has been identified that the environmental impact of a building is largely influenced by the material choices made at the early design stage of the project.
29.	Earon, Robert, et al. (author) Groundwater Resources Potential in Hard Rock Terrain : A Multivariate Approach 2014 In: Ground Water. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0017-467X .- 1745-6584. Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Groundwater resources are limited and difficult to predict in crystalline bedrock due to heterogeneity and anisotropy in rock fracture systems. Municipal-level governments often lack the resources for traditional hydrogeological tests when planning for sustainable use of water resources. A new methodology for assessing groundwater resources potential (GRP) based on geological and topographical factors using principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was developed and tested. ANOVA results demonstrated statistically significant differences in classed variable groups as well as in classed GRP scores with regard to hydrogeological indicators, such as specific capacity (SC) and transmissivity. Results of PCA were used to govern the weight of the variables used in the prediction maps. GRP scores were able to identify 79% of wells in a verification dataset, which had SC values less than the total dataset median. GRP values showed statistically significant correlations using both parametric (using transformed datasets) and non-parametric methods. The method shows promise for municipal or regional level planning in crystalline terrains with high levels of heterogeneity and anisotropy as a hydrogeologically and statistically based tool to assist in assessing groundwater resources. The methodology is executed in a geographic information systems environment, and uses often readily available data, such as geological maps, feature maps and topography, and thus does not require expensive and time-consuming aquifer tests.
30.	Ebrahimi, Babak, 1987, et al. (author) Regionalized environmental impacts of construction machinery 2020 In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:8, s. 1472-1485 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Purpose: This study aims to establish a regionalized environmental impact assessment of construction machinery equipped with diesel engines certified by the European emission standard Stage V, and operated in cold climatic zones in Europe. Method: The study quantifies potential environmental impacts associated with construction machinery over the entire lifecycle, from extraction of materials to the end-of-life. For the operation phase, a meso-level emission accounting method is applied to quantify tailpipe emissions for certain subcategories of construction machinery. This is achieved by determining the operational efficiency of each machine in terms of effective hours. The quantified emission data are then adjusted based on engine deterioration models to estimate the rate of increase in emissions throughout the lifetime of each machine. Finally, the CML impact assessment method is applied to inventory data to quantify potential environmental impacts. Results: The study shows that tailpipe emissions, which largely depend on an engine’s fuel consumption, had the largest contribution to environmental impacts in most impact categories. At the same time, there was a positive correlation between the operation weight and the impacts of the machinery. Also, machinery with similar operation weight had relatively similar impact patterns due to similar driving factors and dependencies. In addition, network, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses were performed to quantify the source of impacts and validate the robustness of the study. Results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the responsiveness of the studied systems is very sensitive to changes in the amount of fuel consumption. In addition, the uncertainty results showed that the domain of uncertainty increased as the operation weight subcategory of machinery increased. Conclusion: This study extends previous work on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of construction machinery, and the methodology developed provides a basis for future extension and improvement in this field. The use of effective hours as the unit of operational efficiency helps to resolve uncertainties linked to lifetime and annual operation hours. Also, the obtained results can be of use for decision support and for assessing the impacts of transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuel types.
31.	Ekvall, Tomas, 1963, et al. (author) Incentives for recycling and incineration in LCA: Polymers in Product Environmental Footprints 2021 Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract For material recycling to occur, waste material from a product life cycle must be made available for recycling and then used in the production of a new product. When recycling is beneficial for the environment, the LCA results should give incentives to collection for recycling and also to the use of recycled material in new products. However, most established methods for modelling recycling in LCA risk giving little or even wrong incentives. Many methods, such as the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF) in a Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), assign some of the environmental benefits of recycling to the product that uses recycled materials. This means that the incentive to send used products for recycling will be lower. If energy recovery also provides an environmental benefit, because the energy recovered substitutes energy supplied with a greater environmental impact, the LCA results may indicate that the waste should instead be sent to incineration – even when recycling is the environmentally preferable option for the society. This study aims to increase the knowledge on the extent to which PEF results, and LCA results in general, risk giving incorrect incentives for energy recovery from plastic waste. Our calculations focus on the climate impact of the recycling and incineration of LDPE waste generated in Sweden. Since this is a pilot study, we use easily available input data only. We estimate the net climate benefit through simple substitution, where recycled material is assumed to replace virgin material and where energy recovered from LDPE waste is assumed to replace average Swedish district heat and electricity. We then apply the CFF to find whether a PEF would give the same indications. Our results show no risk of a PEF or LCA giving incorrect climate incentives for incineration of fossil LDPE. However, an LCA can wrongly indicate that renewable LDPE should be incinerated rather than recycled. Our results indicate this can happen in a PEF when the heat and electricity substituted by incineration has 40-200% more climate impact than the Swedish average district heat and electricity. Our study also aims to increase knowledge about the extent to which correct incentives can be obtained through a more thorough analysis of incineration with energy recovery – specifically, through: 1. a deeper understanding of Factor B, which in the CFF can be used to assign part of the burdens and benefits of energy recovery to the energy instead of the product investigated, but which in the PEF guidelines by default is set to 0, or 2. a broader systems perspective that accounts for the effects of energy recovery on waste imports and thus waste management in other countries. We estimate Factor B based on the observation that waste incineration can be described as a process with multiple jointly determining functions. Waste treatment and energy recovery both contribute to driving investments in incineration. This, in turn, defines the volume of waste incinerated, the quantity of energy recovered, and the quantity of energy substituted. We propose that expected revenues from gate fees and energy are an appropriate basis for calculating Factor B. Up-to-date estimates of the expected revenues in the relevant region should ideally be used for the calculations. Lacking such data,we suggest the value B=0.6 can be used in the CFF when modelling waste incineration in Sweden. Our PEF calculations with Factor B=0.6 indicate such a PEF will identify the environmentally best option for plastic waste management in almost all cases. However, this is at least in part luck: Factor B will vary over time and between locations, and other parts of the CFF varies between materials. To account for the broader systems perspective, we develop two scenarios based on different assumptions on whether change in Swedish waste imports affects the incineration or landfilling in other European countries. The scenarios bring a large uncertainty into the results. This uncertainty is real in the sense that it is difficult to know how a change in Swedish waste imports in the end will affect waste management in other countries. The uncertainty still makes it difficult to draw conclusions on whether renewable LDPE should be recycled or incinerated. Our suggestions for Factor B and European scenarios both make the CFF more balanced and consistent: it now recognizes that not only recycling but alsoenergy recovery depends on more than the flow of waste from the life cycle investigated. However, neither Factor B nor the broader systems perspective amends the fact that LCA tends to focus on one product at a time. This might not be enough to guide a development that requires coordinated or concerted actions between actors in different life cycles – such as increased recycling or energy recovery. Assessing decisions in one product life cycle at a time might in this context be compared to independently assessing the action of clapping one hand. This will most probably not result in an applaud. Besides a more thorough assessment of energy recovery, we also discuss the option to give correct incentives for recycling from LCA by assigning the full environmental benefit of recycling to the product that generates waste for recycling but also to the product where the recycled material is used. We find that this 100/100 approach can give negative LCA results for products produced from recycled material and recycled to a high degree after recycling, because the benefits of recycling are counted twice. The LCA results would indicate that you save material resources by producing and recycling such products without ever using them. The 100/100 approach also lacks additivity, does not model foreseeable consequences, and does not assign a well-defined environmental value to the recovered secondary material. To guide concerted actions, like recycling or energy recovery, it seems systems analysis should ideally assess the necessary actions in combination. Many situations require the environmental impacts to be estimated for a specific product or a specific action. In some cases, however, the LCA results can be calculated and presented with, for example, the following introduction: “When the material is sent to recycling, you will, together with the recycler and the actor using the recycled material, jointly achieve this net environmental benefit: …” Such joint assessment of supply and demand for secondary materials means the allocation problem is avoided. It is also consistent with the recommendation in the old SETAC “Code of Practice” to assess life cycles with recycling by studying the inputs and outputs from the total linked system.
32.	Ekvall, Tomas, 1963, et al. (author) Modelling incineration for more accurate comparisons to recycling in PEF and LCA 2021 In: Waste Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0956-053X .- 1879-2456. ; 136, s. 153-161 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract When recycling is beneficial for the environment, results from a life cycle assessment (LCA) should give incentives to collection for recycling and also to the use of recycled material in new products. Many approaches for modeling recycling in LCA assign part of the environmental benefits of recycling to the product where the recycled material is used. For example, the Circular Footprint Formula in the framework for Product Environmental Footprints (PEF) assigns less than 45% of the benefits of recycling to a polymer product sent to recycling. Our calculations indicate that this creates an incorrect climate incentive for incineration of renewable LDPE, when the recovered energy substitutes energy sources with 100–300% more climate impact than the Swedish average district heat and electricity. The risk of incorrect incentives can be reduced through allocating part of the net benefits of energy recovery to the life cycle where the energy is used; we propose this part can be 60% for Sweden, but probably less in countries without a district-heating network. Alternatively, the LCA can include the alternative treatment of waste that is displaced at the incinerator by waste from the investigated product. These solutions both make the LCA more balanced and consistent. The allocation factor 0.6 at incineration almost eliminates the risk of incorrect incentives in a PEF of renewable polymers. However, the focus of LCA on one product at a time might still make it insufficient to guide recycling, which requires concerted actions between actors in different life cycles.
33.	Engström, Rebecka Ericsdotter, 1984- (author) Exploring cross-resource impacts of urban sustainability measures : an urban climate-land-energy-water nexus analysis 2022 Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract In an increasingly urban world, cities' global resource uses grow. Two fundamental resources for making cities liveable are water and energy. These resources are also closely interlinked – systems that convert and deliver energy to cities require water, and urban water systems use energy. In addition, these two resource systems affect and are affected by land use and climate change. This ‘nexus’ between climate, land use, energy and water (CLEW) systems has been extensively studied in the past decade, mainly with a focus on national and transboundary CLEW systems. This doctoral thesis develops the CLEW nexus research from an urban perspective.Two quantitative analyses examine how different types of sustainability measures in cities affect intended and unintended CLEW systems. First, the CLEW impacts of a set of sustainability measures in New York City are assessed - from water conservation to emission reductions. Results show that every measure affects (to varying degrees) all studied sustainability dimensions - water, energy and climate - and that the impacts can be quantified through a reference-resource-to-service-system (RRSS).The second quantitative study focuses on how CLEW impacts from a city's sustainability efforts spread beyond local and international borders. It investigates how global water and land use are affected in alternative scenarios to achieve climate neutrality in 2030 in the town of Oskarshamn, Sweden, using an energy systems simulation model. The study finds that both the magnitude and the geographical distribution of land and water requirements vary between scenarios. A strategy to achieve climate neutrality that invests in electrification leads to increased national water use, while a strategy that relies on biofuels has a greater impact on water and land use internationally. When results are translated to interactions between the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), they reveal that SDG synergies and trade-offs are 'strategy-dependent': different options for achieving SDGs on energy, sustainable cities and climate action have varying consequences for the advancement of SDGs on sustainable water, food production and biodiversity.To shed light on how data challenges affect quantitative urban nexus studies, uncertainty assessments of selected thesis’ results are conducted and complemented with a thematic analysis of a set of recently published urban nexus papers. Together, they indicate that analytical choices, uncertainties in results and - as a consequence - research foci are influenced by data limitations in both this thesis and in other urban nexus studies.Lastly, the finding from the Oskarshamn analysis – that SDG interactions are strategy-dependent – is deliberated with experts within sustainability sciences and SDG interaction research. From this, a research agenda is proposed with measures to make SDG 'spillovers' visible in local level decision-making.Taken together, the thesis contributes to filling several knowledge gaps on how urban sustainability measures within the CLEW systems interact within and beyond city limits, and proposes analytical approaches to quantify these interactions. It further points out how current data challenges constrain quantitative urban nexus analyses and highlights research needs to improve data management as well as other key efforts to enable consideration of nexus interactions, including SDG 'spillovers', in cities' sustainability work.
34.	Eriksson, Mattias, et al. (author) Food waste reduction in supermarkets - Net costs and benefits of reduced storage temperature 2016 In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449. ; 107, s. 73-81 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Food waste is a major problem and therefore measures are needed to reduce it. Since expired best-before date is a frequently cited cause of food waste in supermarkets, prolonging shelf life could reduce food waste. Longer shelf life could be achieved in different ways, e.g. reduced storage temperature. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the extent to which longer shelf life actually leads to reduced food waste, and whether the benefits of reduced waste exceed the increased energy costs of maintaining reduced storage temperature. Therefore this study calculated the net effect of reducing food waste in supermarkets by reducing the storage temperature through simulating the relationships between food waste reduction, longer shelf life, reduced storage temperature and increased energy costs.A case study was performed using three years of data on cheese, dairy, deli and meat product waste in six Swedish supermarkets, together with published data on microbiological growth at different temperatures and on the energy requirement for cold storage at different temperatures. Food waste was found to be reduced with lower storage temperature for all food products tested. This measure gave increasing net savings in terms of money and greenhouse gas emissions for meat products with decreasing storage temperature. Deli products had net savings close to zero, while for dairy and cheese products there were net losses, since the costs of reducing storage temperature exceeded the potential savings. Therefore, reducing storage temperature has the potential to reduce waste, but at a total net cost. However, a net benefit can be achieved if the measure is only introduced for products with high relative waste, low turnover and high value per unit mass. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
35.	Gebremeskel, Dawit, et al. (author) Long-term electricity supply modelling in the context of developing countries: The OSeMOSYS-LEAP soft-linking approach for Ethiopia 2023 In: Energy Strategy Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-467X. ; 45 Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract Long-term power supply modelling is particularly important for developing countries in providing sustainable solutions to electricity problems. This study presents the first detailed and complete model of the Ethiopian electricity system while considering the unique features (dominance of traditional energy, informal economy, urban-rural divide, low electrification, supply shortage, etc.) and context of developing countries that is developed by soft-linking the OSeMOSYS (Open-Source energy Modelling System) and LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System) modelling frameworks. Better system representation and design of plausible scenarios that explore the potential pathways of the future power supply and demand evolution until 2050 is done by performing sensitivity analysis. Sector wise and technological representation of supply and end-uses at a disaggregated level, assessment of centralized grid-based means and decentralized off-grid methods for improving electricity access are the main methodological contributions. Five policy scenarios are employed to explore different possible futures and balance the long-term electricity needs and resources. The improved efficiency scenario reduces the installed capacity by 9 GW which translates into approximately 11% total discounted cost saving (USD $ 4 billion). This economic benefit has made the efficiency scenario the most desirable compared to the other scenarios. Attributed to lower investment costs and abundant resource availability, the results show that renewable technologies are more competitive and favourable.
36.	Haraldsson, Joakim, 1990-, et al. (author) Impact analysis of energy efficiency measures in the electrolysis process in primary aluminium production 2019 In: WEENTECH Proceedings in Energy. ; , s. 177-184 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract The Paris Agreement includes the goals of ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels’ and ‘making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions’. Industrial energy efficiency will play an important role in meeting those goals as well as becoming a competitive advantage due to reduced costs for companies. The aluminium industry is energy intensive and uses fossil fuels both for energy purposes and as reaction material. Additionally, the aluminium industry uses significant amounts of electricity. The electrolysis process in the primary production of aluminium is the most energy- and carbon-intensive process within the aluminium industry. The aim of this paper is to study the effects on primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs when three energy efficiency measures are implemented in the electrolysis process. The effects on the primary energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs are calculated by multiplying the savings in final energy use by a primary energy factor, emissions factor and price of electricity, respectively. The results showed significant savings in primary energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and cost from the implementation of the three measures. These results only indicate the size of the potential savings and a site-specific investigation needs to be conducted for each plant. This paper is a part of a research project conducted in close cooperation with the Swedish aluminium industry.
37.	Heeren, Niko, et al. (author) Towards a 2000 Watt society assessing building-specific saving potentials of the Swiss residential building stock 2011 In: World Sustainable Building Conference 2011, October 18-21, 2011, Helsinki, Finland. Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract Switzerland declared the notion of the 2000 Watt society as their leitmotif towards a sustainable development in terms of energy. This implies that worldwide, no more than 17520 kWh of total primary energy and 1 ton CO2-eq. are to be consumed per capita and year for all services. Thus, in order to meet the targets of the 2000-Watt society, it is necessary to reduce primary energy demand by 44% and greenhouse gas emissions by 77%. The building stock model, described in this paper, assisted the government of Zurich to identify the necessary steps in order to achieve the goals with regard to the city‟s residential, school, and office buildings. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of energy demand reduction in residential buildings on the way towards the goals of a 2000-Watt society.In order to illustrate the mechanisms within the building stock and to identify the effects of construction activity, the model works with different scenarios. Specific measures were isolated and analysed individually. All three measures act directly on the building stock; each have comparable reduction potential in terms of primary energy demand (ca. 15%) and greenhouse gas emissions (ca. 40%). In order to further cut back greenhouse gas emissions, measures to reduce carbon intensity of fuels and electricity need to be considered.
38.	Hermansson, Frida, 1988 (author) Assessing the future environmental impact of lignin-based and recycled carbon fibres in composites using life cycle assessment 2020 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are composite materials that are gaining attention for their lightweighting and strengthening properties in a wide range of applications. However, using them instead of conventional materials (such as steel or other composites) does not automatically lead to a decrease in life cycle climate impact or energy use. This is the result of the energy-intensive production of the carbon fibres. Two routes that could mitigate this problem are: 1) the use of lignin for carbon fibre production and 2) the use of recycled carbon fibres. This thesis assesses how these two routes could decrease the environmental impact of carbon fibres in composites, and how challenges connected to assessing these emerging technologies can be handled using life cycle assessment (LCA). The two routes were assessed by conducting a meta-analysis of earlier LCAs of CFRPs and lignin production and three different LCA case studies. Results show that both using lignin as a raw material and using recycled carbon fibres have good potential to decrease the environmental impact of CFRPs, making them more environmentally competitive than other materials. It was found that the transition from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to lignin as a raw material has good potential to decrease the environmental impact of future carbon fibres. However, the extent of this potential depends on both internal factors, such as process development, and external factors, such as the development of the lignin market and the future energy supply system.
39.	Hermansson, Frida, 1988, et al. (author) Environmental Challenges and Opportunities of Lignin 2019 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract Lignin is the most abundant bio-polymer on Earth, gluing the cellulose and hemicellulose fibers together in the tree stem and providing stiffness. Lignin is presently mostly available in side streams of biorefineries and pulp mills (e.g. in the black liquor of the Kraft pulp mill). It is almost always combusted for internal energy use at the plant due to its present low market value. Though lignin can be extracted and valorized, for example via acidification followed by precipitation and membrane filtration or by solvent extraction, this is seldom done today. Nevertheless, lignin is gradually being considered an interesting raw material for various products and applications, ranging from biofuels to carbon fibers. However, in environmental life cycle assessments of lignin-based products, the environmental impacts of lignin production typically have not been accounted for with the rational that lignin is a waste that needs to be taken care off.This argument will no longer be valid when lignin extraction processes are further developed and various markets for lignin open up. Conducting a life cycle assessment of lignin production is complicated. As lignin is a product of a multi-output process, there will be inherent challenges regarding the choice of system expansion or how to allocate environmental impacts to this product and to other products. Allocation based on economic values is particularly challenging as the market price of lignin and of other products from the process is the basis for allocating impacts, and the future market development for lignin is still rather unexplored and uncertain. The same challenge can be applied to system expansion, as what is being substituted could change in the future. The aim of the presented study is to provide guidance on how to better assess lignin production in life cycle assessments. The cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of 1 kg of lignin from a Kraft pulp mill is assessed. Different allocation methods as well system expansion by substitution will be applied to the multi-output process to assess and illustrate what influence these will have on the final environmental impacts of the lignin.
40.	Hermansson, Frida, 1988, et al. (author) Life cycle assessment of lignin-based carbon fibres 2018 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract As vehicle manufacturers attempt to decrease the weight of their products, and consequently the fuel consumption during the use phase, carbon fibre reinforced polymers, CFRPs, are becoming more common. However, as the carbon fibre production route has proven to be very energy intensive, CFRP may not perform as well as conventional materials such as steel when using an environmental life cycle perspective. Carbon fibres are usually made from polyacrylonitrile, PAN, a fossil-based polymer. Research has shown that a possible route to reduce the environmental impact from carbon fibres is to replace PAN with a bio-based alternative, such as lignin. Lignin is a main by-product of many biorefinery processes that use ligno-cellulosic material as feedstock. A switch to lignin instead of PAN could reduce the environmental impact of the carbon fibres, decrease the dependence on oil as well as reduce the cost of the carbon fibres. This paper, which is a part of Frida Hermansson PhD-project will include findings from the life cycle assessment of lignin-based carbon fibres as well as discuss how different allocation methods will have effect on the final results. The production of lignin-based carbon fibres was assessed using life cycle assessment. The functional unit was 1 kg of carbon fibres at the factory gate. Results show that replacing PAN with lignin as a precursor fibre material could decrease the energy consumption as well as climate impact. However, as lignin is bio-based, land use will increase. The impact results for the lignin-based carbon fibres largely depend on how much of the environmental impact is allocated to lignin for a given biorefinery process. Lignin’s relatively low price in combination with its large quantity leads to the economic allocation method being the most favourable. Lignin has long been considered a waste product, but as the demand for lignin increases so should the price. This means that the type of allocation applied will have significant influence on the environmental impacts of lignin-based carbon fibres.
41.	Hermansson, Frida, 1988, et al. (author) Prospective screening life cycle assessment of a sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitor 2024 Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract Hybrid supercapacitors combine batteries' energy density with capacitors' power density. They can extend the lifetime of an electrical vehicle battery by reducing the number and depth of the charge/discharge cycles and by enhancing the battery’s power capacity. Traditionally, hybrid supercapacitors contain lithium, a geochemically scarce metal. To mitigate a future lithium shortage, measures could be taken to substitute lithium with more abundant materials. One option is sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitors. In this report, we assess the climate and mineral resource scarcity impacts of manufacturing a sodium hybrid supercapacitor by means of life cycle assessment. The goal is to identify hotspots to aid researchers, developers, and potential manufacturers in making environmentally benign design choices. The considered sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitor is not yet produced at large scale but only in laboratories. To address this, we scale up the production process to an industrial scale using frameworks available in the literature. Results show that the activated carbon electrode is responsible for most of the environmental impact due to the use of nitric acid in processing the activated carbon. If nitric acid could be replaced, recycled, or reduced, this would lower the environmental impact considerably. Additionally, we provide guidance on how to scale up the mass of the sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitor to meet the requirement of a vehicle. This upscaling also means that the results can be used in screening assessments by vehicle developers interested in how the sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitor could influence the environmental impact of their vehicle.
42.	Jakob, Martin, et al. (author) Graue Energie und Graue Treibhausgasemissionen der Neubau- und Erneuerungstätigkeit im Gebäudepark in der Stadt Zürich bis 2050 2014 Reports (other academic/artistic)
43.	Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al. (author) Environmental sustainability of high voltage motors: do better efficiency and repair lead to improved environmental impact? 2022 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract Various circular economy (CE) strategies, for instance lifetime extension by repair or reuse, have been suggested to improve products’ environmental performance. The literature emphasises the need to better understand the consequences of those CE strategies with assessment tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA). From previous assessments, Böckin et al. (2020) identifies energy use reduction and use extension by maintenance, repair or remanufacturing as relevant CE strategies for durable and active products. However, this conclusion is based on assessments of small- and medium-size electronic products, leaving out more durable and more energy consuming bigger products. In this study, the implementation of two CE strategies, energy use reduction and use extension by repair, is explored for high voltage (HV) motors delivering 135GWh per year over at least 20 years. Electric motors are prominent active products, representing 50% of the electricity consumption in Europe. Even in small numbers, HV motors represent a significant share of this consumption due to their more intensive use and high output power. Two main HV motor technologies exist: induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), which are more energy efficient. Both are often used until failure, which frequently occurs in stator windings but could be repaired by rewinding at the expense of a slight decrease in efficiency. This study aims to compare the life-cycle environmental impact of the two motor technologies and to explore their lifetime extension by repair in comparison to their replacement. For each motor technology, a cradle-to-grave LCA is performed for global warming and mineral and metal resource depletion impact categories. The IM has an efficiency of 97.3%, the SM an efficiency of 98.3% and both are run 20 years. Results show that the impact of electricity consumption during use is dominant. Besides, the SM has a lower environmental impact than the IM. In term of resource depletion, SM manufacturing is more impactful but lower energy losses during use compensate for the difference. Repair is modelled with the production of a new stator winding and a decrease in efficiency of 0.7%. Three scenarios are compared. The IM is initially used for 20 years, and an additional 10 years of use is provided by either 1) replacing with an IM with the same efficiency, 2) replacing with the SM, or 3) repair by rewinding. LCA results show that the additional energy losses after repair in scenario 3 offset the gain from avoiding the production of a new motor compared to scenarios 1 and 2. This study shows that the long lifetime and high energy requirements of HV motors lead the energy efficiency to be an essential factor for the life-cycle environmental performance. Choosing and maintaining high energy efficiency is key in this situation, especially for lifetime extension strategies to be beneficial for the product environmental performance. Reference: Böckin et al. (2020), How product characteristics can guide measures for resource efficiency. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 154, 104582.
44.	Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al. (author) Is repair of energy using products environmentally beneficial? The case of high voltage electric motors 2023 In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 196 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Repair is advocated as a circular strategy to improve the environmental performance of products. Whether this holds for very long-lived and energy intensive products has not been addressed. This study compares environmental impacts of two high voltage motors of different energy efficiency and assesses their use extension by repair with life cycle assessment (LCA). Due to high energy use, long lifetime and intensive use, the use phase dominates all environmental impacts, even resource depletion. Therefore, a higher energy efficiency is more beneficial than extending the use by repair, and if the energy efficiency is slightly reduced, the repair is not beneficial. Therefore, product requirements and users and manufacturers of such products should ensure designs with high energy efficiency rather than making the product repairable. Finally, the results highlight the importance of including resource use from electricity production and transmission in LCA of the use extension of energy using products.
45.	Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al. (author) Repair for high-voltage electric motors energy efficiency vs resource use? 2022 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract Electric motors in the industry represent 69% of the industrial electricity consumption in Europe. Even if few in number, high voltage (HV) motors represent a significant share of this consumption due to their more intensive use and high output power. Two main HV motor technologies exist: induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), of which the latter are more energy efficient. Improving energy efficiency as well as use extension by maintenance, repair or remanufacturing have been identified as relevant circular economy strategies for improving the environmental performance of such active and durable products. However, the assessments performed focus on small- and medium-size electronic products, leaving out bigger products that are more durable and more energy consuming such as HV motors. Those motors are often used until failure, which frequently occurs in stator windings, and which could be repaired by rewinding at the expense of a slight decrease in efficiency. However, other use extension strategies such as reuse and remanufacturing are hindered by the customization of HV motors to their specific use. Finding an appropriate set-up for a second use is difficult for such motors and it is therefore performed seldom. The aim of this study is to compare the life-cycle environmental impact of lifetime extension by repair for the two motor technologies in comparison to their replacement.
46.	Jerome, Adeline, 1994, et al. (author) When is repair environmentally beneficial? The case of high-voltage electric motors 2023 Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract Use extension by repair is a circular economy (CE) strategy that has been advocated to improve products’ environmental performance and resource efficiency. Previous studies have shown that this does not necessarily hold for energy-using products, for instance, when a more energy-efficient product is available for replacement. The requirements for use extension to be beneficial have been found to vary with the product and its use conditions. However, resource depletion is seldom discussed, and the case of very long-lived and energy-intensive products has not been addressed yet. An example of such an energy-intensive product is high-voltage (HV) electric motors, typically used for more than 20 years and in operation for 50 weeks a year full time. Electric motors represent 50% of the electricity consumption in Europe and despite being few, HV motors represent a significant share of this consumption. The two HV motor designs, induction motors (IM) and synchronous motors (SM), are often used until failure, commonly occurring in stator windings which could be repaired but with the risk of affecting energy efficiency. This work aims to provide recommendations on important aspects for use extension to be environmentally beneficial for long-lived and energy-intensive products. Cradle-to-grave LCAs are performed for global warming and mineral resource depletion to compare (1) the two motor designs and (2) each motor with and without use extension through repair. The motors are chosen to deliver the same output of 16 MW and the functional unit is set to one year of operation. The IM has an energy efficiency of 97.3%, the SM has an efficiency of 98.3% and both are run for 20 years. The additional use time and the efficiency reduction after the repair are left as varying parameters between 1 and 20 years and between 0 and 1% respectively. Results show that, due to high energy use and long lifetime, the impact of electricity use during motor use is dominant for both global warming and resource depletion. This dominance remains with different electricity mixes, including in a scenario with hydroelectricity only. For resource depletion, it is due to copper in transmission lines and resources for electricity production (e.g., uranium from nuclear energy production). The dominance of the use phase results in energy efficiency being key to the environmental performance of HV motors. The more efficient design, the SM, results in lower impacts than the IM in both impact categories. In terms of resource depletion, SM manufacturing is more impactful but lower energy losses during use compensate for the difference. Besides, additional energy losses from a small energy efficiency reduction offset the gain from the repair for both global warming and resource depletion. The gain from the use extension by repair is small compared to the benefit of choosing the more efficient design. Choosing and maintaining high energy efficiency is key for long-lived and energy-intensive products’ environmental performance due to their high energy requirements and long lifetime. Thus, efforts should be channelled on ensuring high energy efficiency by design and after repair. This is relevant for both policy-making and manufacturers or users when prioritising strategies for improving products’ environmental performance. Finally, as conclusions are similar for global warming and resource depletion, this work demonstrates the importance of including resource use from electricity production and transmission when exploring the use extension of energy-using products.
47.	Johansson, Björn, 1975, et al. (author) Evaluation and Calculation of Dynamics in Environmental Impact Assessment 2013 In: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 1868-4238 .- 1868-422X. - 9783642403514 ; 397:1, s. 135-141 Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract In ten years customers will select products not only based on price and quality but also with strong regard to the product value environmental footprint, including for example the energy consumed. Customers expect transparency in the product realization process, where most products are labeled with their environmental footprint. Vigorous companies see this new product value as an opportunity to be more competitive. In order to effectively label the envi-ronmental impact of a product, it is pertinent for companies to request the envi-ronmental footprint of each component from their suppliers. Hence, companies along the product lifecycle require a tool, not only to facilitate the computing of the environmental footprint, but also help reduce/balance the environmental impact during the lifecycle of the product. This paper proposes to develop a procedure that companies will use to evaluate, improve and externally advertise their product’s environmental footprint to customers.
48.	Johansson, Björn, 1975, et al. (author) Power Level Sampling of Metal Cutting Machines for Data Representation in Discrete Event Simulation 2015 In: International Journal of Production Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0020-7543 .- 1366-588X. ; 53:23, s. 7060-7070 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract An extension to the application area for discrete event simulation (DES) has been ongoing since the last decade and focused only on economic aspects to include ecologic sustainability. With this new focus, additional input parameters, such as electrical power consumption of machines, are needed. This paper aim at investigating how NC machine power consumption should be represented in simulation models of factories. The study includes data-sets from three different factories. One factory producing truck engine blocks, one producing brake disc parts for cars and one producing forklift components. The total number of data points analysed are more than 2,45,000, where of over 1,11,000 on busy state for 11 NC machines. The low variability between busy cycles indicates that statistical representations are not adding significant variability. Furthermore, results show that non-value-added activities cause a substantial amount of the total energy consumption, which can be reduced by optimising the production flow using dynamic simulations such as DES.
49.	Kanchiralla, Fayas Malik, 1989, et al. (author) Life-Cycle Assessment and Costing of Fuels and Propulsion Systems in Future Fossil-Free Shipping 2022 In: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 56:17, s. 12517-12531 Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract Future ships need to operate with low or possibly zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring low influence on other environmental impacts and that the operation is economically feasible.This study conducts a life-cycle evaluation of potential decarbonization solutions involving selected energy carriers (electrolytic hydrogen, electro-ammonia, electro-methanol, and electricity) in different propulsion system setups (engines, fuel cells, and carbon capture technologies) in terms of environmental impact and costs.The results of the study show that the assessed decarbonization options are promising measures to reduce maritime GHG emissions with low-carbon-intensive electricity.The same order of GHG reduction is shown to be possible independent of the propulsion system and energy carrier used onboard.However, the carbon abatement cost ranges from 300 to 550 €/tCO2eq, and there is a trade-off with environmental impacts such as human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects) and freshwater ecotoxicity mainly linked with the wind infrastructure used for electricity production.Electro-ammonia in fuel cells is indicated to be effective in terms of the carbon abatement cost followed by the so-called HyMethShip concept.The higher abatement cost of all options compared to current options indicates that major incentives and policy measures are required to promote the introduction of alternative fuel and propulsion systems.
50.	Kanchiralla, Fayas Malik, 1989 (author) Life cycle navigation through future energy carriers and propulsion options for the energy transition in shipping 2023 Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract The shipping industry's heavy reliance on fossil fuels has a detrimental effect on the global climate, human health, and the natural environment. The shipping sector now relies on the use of cheap and energy-dense heavy fuel oil and is perceived as ‘difficult-to-decarbonize’. Presently the shipping sector is adopting incremental emission reduction measures related to operational and technological energy efficiency solutions. However, to meet the global climate target, the transition from fossil-based marine fuels to renewable energy carriers is needed. Electro-fuels, which are produced from low-carbon electricity, or direct use of electricity with battery storage, are two pathways for energy transition included in this thesis. This thesis aims to assess the possible influence of the above two decarbonization paths based on energy demand, environmental performance, and economic performance across the whole life cycle of ships. The assessment is performed for hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and battery-electric on three case study vessels using prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) and life cycle costing (LCC). The pLCA is based on systems thinking used for the environmental assessment of emerging technologies that are in an early stage of development, and the LCC is used for the economic assessment of technologies over the life cycle based on the same systems thinking. To understand the environmental and economic tradeoffs for decision making an integrated assessment of pLCA and LCC is employed in the thesis. Considering the complexity and challenges of integration, a framework termed ‘integrated life cycle framework’ is developed for this thesis, allowing for consistent assessment to understand tradeoffs. This framework can be useful for other transport sectors. The study shows that there is a substantial potential for reducing the environmental impact of shipping through the studied pathways; however, this depends on the carbon intensity of the electricity used in fuel production. Technically, not all fuels are suitable for all vessels. Their suitability is primarily determined by the amount of fuel required for bunkering and the amount of space available onboard. Reduced climate impact comes at the expense of several other impact categories, such as human toxicity, water use, and resource use (minerals and metals). For the same type of fuel, fuel cells have greater impact reduction potential than engine options; however, engines are more cost competitive. Fuel price and utilization rate also influence cost competitiveness. The total life cycle cost of all the studied options is significantly higher than the conventional diesel option, and the critical parameter is the cost of the fuel. The cost of fuel is sensitive to the price of electricity. The carbon abatement cost estimated in this study shows that policies should be designed to imply at least a cost of 250–300 €/tCO2eq for emitting greenhouse gases to make the assessed fuel options cost competitive.

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