LCA/LCI Examples 2.83/2.813

Mining

Manufacturing

Use Phase End of Life

T. Gutowski

Examples

1.  Plug-in Hybrid Cars

2.  Light weighting Conventional ICE

3.  Alternative PV Technologies

4.  Paper Vs Plastics

5.  Paper Vs Silicon

6.  Travel Vs Teleconferencing

Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles: Implications for Policy

Constantine Samaras, and Kyle Meisterling Environ. Sci. Technol., 2008, 42 (9), 3170-3176

• DOI: 10.1021/es702178s • Publication Date (Web): 05 April 2008 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on January 21, 2009

Conventional Vehicle

Hybrid Electric Vehicle

http://www.hybridcars.com/plug-in-hybrid-cars Accessed Feb 27, 2011

GM VOLT plug-in hybrid

On-line Quote Feb 26, 2011

Samaras, and Meisterling, 2008

GM Volt

Samaras, and Meisterling, 2008

Toyota plug-in hybrid concept car

“Eco-Audit” Ec

o - A

udit:

Li

ght w

eigh

t IC

E Ve

hicl

e

Ashby 2009

Light-weighting ICE

Ashby 2009

8.67 -6.10 2.57

Savings of About 30%

Vehicle Wt Vs MJ/km

Ashby 2009

Samaras, and Meisterling, 2008

GM Volt Light weight

Vehicle ~189 CO2 eq/km

Alternative PV Technologies

Fthenakis,ES&T 2008 US grid EU grid Si grid

Fthenakis,ES&T 2008

Fthenakis, ES&T 2008

Where do the heavy metals come from?

Fthenakis, ES&T 2008

Energy Payback

Time to breakeven = tB = Em/e

Energy Return on Energy Investment =

EROI = etL/Em

Em

e

t = 0 1 2 3 4 5… tL

Paper or Plastic?

Graedel 1995

Paper or Silicon?

Toffel, M.W., and A. Horvath. Environmental implications of wireless technologies: News delivery and business meetings. Environmental Science & Technology 38(2004):2961-2970.

Reading the New York Times

•  weighs about 236 kg/yr

•  about 2.6 people read it

•  paper production •  printing •  delivery •  half to land fill •  half to recycle

•  PDA mfg? •  Uses Williams result

12MB/32MB •  energy usage •  telecommunications

infrastructure

Newspaper Vs PDA

•  New York Times

•  270 kg CO2

•  8730 liters H2O

•  900 g NOx

•  1,400 g SOx

•  PDA

•  5 kg CO2

•  232 liters H2O

•  4 g NOx

•  4 g SOx

Travel Vs Cell phones

•  Berkeley – Chicago •  auto, air, train •  average not marginal

values •  lodging excluded •  mfg excluded

•  mfg included I/O for $100 phone, 3 year life

•  includes infrastructure •  2 hour call

Travel Vs Cell phones

Substitutes and Compliments

•  Substitutes: replacement or elimination •  Compliments: stimulation or generation •  do emails substitute for letters (paper)? •  do telecommunications substitute for

travel? •  What were the first words of Alexander

Graham Bell over the telephone? •  “Mr Watson, come here; I want you”

ref Mokhtarian (2002) JIE, 6, 2, 43-57

Where do major impacts occur?

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LCI Examples

Life Stage Products with major impact in stage

Extraction and Refining

Paper Products: i.e. paper Vs plastics, paper Vs silicon…

Mfg Microelectronics, Nano-technology

Use Use fossil fuels, plug into grid

End of Life Diapers, short life products

LCA Summary

1.  Uses of LCA •  Comparing, improving, EROI, alternative scenarios

2.  New Developments of LCA •  International I/O, physical units, ELSA, “Attributional” vs “Consequencal”

3.  Limits to LCA •  Accuracy, boundaries, perspective