Increasing demand for lithium driven by e-mobility spurs the expansion of lithium projects and exploration of lower-grade resources. This article combines process simulation (HSC Chemistry) and life cycle assessment tools to develop life cycle inventories considering declining ore grades scenarios for battery-grade Li2CO3 production from pivotal sources and regions (Salar de Atacama - brine and Greenbushes - spodumene). Depending on the ore grades, climate change results range from 5,0 to 25,0 kgCO2eq/kg Li2CO3 for brine and from 17,1 to 22,3 kgCO2eq/kg Li2CO3 for spodumene. Water consumption for brine varies from 0,2 to 7,7 m3/kg Li2CO3, depending on flow accounting, while for spodumene, it ranges from 0,2 to 0,5 m3/kg Li2CO3. The research shows that decreasing ore grade can lead to a fivefold increase in the carbon footprint for brine-based production and a 1.3-fold increase for spodumene. This underscores the importance of decarbonizing energy provision for lithium production to guarantee a sustainable battery supply chain. This research offers insights into using process simulation to enhance existing LCA studies in the raw materials industry and further develop inventory datasets, considering variations such as deposit ore grades.

Nowadays the screens collected by the official e-waste schemes in France are mostly comprised of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). Nevertheless, Flat Panel Display (FPD) collection should increase in the following years. Among other differences in material compositions, FPD screens have higher plastic content. In order to keep complying with the recycling targets for screens, as well as to increase the recycling performance per material, it is necessary to improve plastics recycling. The goal of this study is to quantify the plastic flows in screens generated, collected and recycled in France and to identify the current scenario of plastic recycling. The presence of flame retardants and additives in the plastics, the variety of polymer types, as well as the high volumes of black plastics are among the main challenges in plastics sorting and recycling. From the economic outlook, it is necessary to develop the market that uses secondary raw materials to ensure the profitability of the WEEE chain.

The Landes de Gascogne forest, located in southwestern France, spans nearly 10,000 km2 and consists largely of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). This forest in unique to Europe because it is almost entirely created and managed by man for specific industries. On the basis of a material flow analysis, we assessed the upstream supply chain of maritime pine from 2013 to 2019, using a cradle-to-gate approach. The assessment is based on data provided by Alliance Forêts Bois, an important stakeholder of the region and leader in the production of forest resources in France. For various reasons, the harvest totals decreased 10% in the last years. We identified a clear orientation to specific industries—in 2019, 45% was used as pulpwood. This is due to the overall design of the current territory, species of tree, and market values of the pulp and paper industry. The current design provides a limited supply of old growth trees, which produce high-quality logs for construction-based products, and are also more resistant to climate variability. A future shift or balance in raw material flows could be a crucial step in protecting the long-term economic viability of the region. This article aims to contribute to new attempts in providing comprehensive views of stocks and flows in the French forest-wood supply chain.

Currently, in the European Union (EU), e-waste chain performance is assessed by technical indicators that aim to ensure system compliance with collection and recovery targets set by the WEEE Directive. This study proposes indicators to improve WEEE flow monitoring beyond the current overall weight-based approach, including complementary flows and treatment performance. A case study focused on the screen category in France is presented. In 2017, the collection rate of cathode-ray tube screens (CRT) was 68%, while for flat panel display (FPD) generated only 14% was collected. CRT screens have less precious and critical materials than FDP. Thus, elements like cobalt and gold highly concentrated in FPD, have a collection rate two to four times lower than elements such as copper (37%) which represents a high proportion in CRTs. Recycling is the main treatment in France. Nevertheless, the recycling rate per element varies significantly due to the low collection, and also the lack of technology and/or secondary raw materials market. The elements with higher recycling rates are base metals such as copper (28%), followed by precious metals like silver (23%), and gold (13%). Except for palladium, the recycling rate of the critical raw materials targeted in the study ranged from 6% (cobalt) to 0% (e.g. neodymium and indium). The results stress the need for indicators to support the development of WEEE chain from waste management to secondary (critical) raw materials suppliers.

Purpose Scientific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature provides some examples of LCA teaching in higher education, but not a structured overview of LCA teaching contents and related competencies. Hence this paper aims at assessing and highlighting trends in LCA learning outcomes, teaching approaches and developed content used to equip graduates for their future professional practices in sustainability. Methods Based on a literature review on teaching LCA in higher education and a collaborative consensus building approach through expert group panel discussions, an overview of LCA learning and competency levels with related teaching contents and corresponding workload is developed. The levels are built on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning. Results and discussion The paper frames five LCA learning and competency levels that differ in terms of study program integration, workload, cognitive domain categories, learning outcomes, and envisioned professional skills. It furthermore provides insights into teaching approaches and content, including software use, related to these levels. Conclusions and recommendations This paper encourages and supports higher educational bodies to implement a minimum of ‘life cycle literacy’ into students’ curriculum across various domains by increasing the availability, visibility and quality of their teaching on life cycle thinking and LCA.

Efficiency indicators have been frequently used to assess end-of-life chain performance, mostly. In terms of the percentage of mass sent to re-use, recycling, and/or energy recovery facilities. While legislation gives a standard definition for recycling and recovery rates, stakeholders sometimes redefine them to better fit their own scopes and objectives. Therefore, to accurately interpret the results of an efficiency indicator, during a decision-making process, it's necessary to fully understand the scope definition used to calculate it. This work discusses the influence of scope definition when establishing performance rates. It does this by introducing further alternative scope definitions and comparing them to those defined by legislation and stakeholders. As a case study, the proposed complementary scopes are applied to the recycling chain of flat panel displays in France.

Efficiency indicators have been frequently used to assess end-of-life chain performance. While legislations give a standard definition, sometimes stakeholders redefine them to fit their own scopes and objectives. It is therefore necessary to fully understand the indicators calculation scope in order to accurately interpret the results during a decision-making process. This work discusses the influence of scope definition when establishing performance rates using the French e-waste chain and recycling rate as an example. Complementary recycling rates to the one established by WEEE Directive are proposed.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo discutir a estimativa de incertezas em ACV, utilizando-se três procedimentos de cálculo, a partir de dados de inventários da produção de blocos cerâmicos de uma fábrica localizada no Estado de São Paulo (berço ao portão). O primeiro procedimento para a estimativa de incertezas consistiu na atribuição de modelos probabilísticos e seus parâmetros aos valores obtidos na fábrica. As distribuições de probabilidade foram selecionadas dentre as disponíveis no Simapro (versão 8.1.1.16). O segundo procedimento consistiu na aplicação das diretrizes do Ecoinvent versão 3.1 relativas a incertezas, adotando-se valores padronizados de incerteza básica e incertezas adicionais da matriz Pedigree, com distribuição lognormal. O terceiro procedimento consistiu em uma mescla dos procedimentos prévios: adotou-se o primeiro procedimento para o cálculo da incerteza básica e a matriz Pedigree para a atribuição da incerteza adicional. Os ICVs foram inseridos com as suas respectivas incertezas no Simapro e foram feitas simulações de Monte Carlo com parâmetros equivalentes para as três situações. Realizaram-se também análises de variância (ANOVA) para verificar a distribuição das incertezas entre o processo principal e os processos à montante. Observou-se que os procedimentos 1 e 2 são passíveis de adoção em estudos de ACV, a depender da disponibilidade de recursos e do nível de detalhamento do estudo em questão, sendo que o primeiro procedimento, que envolve o cálculo direto das incertezas associadas, tem potencial de agregar maior confiabilidade ao estudo de ACV, enquanto o segundo requer menor esforço para a estimativa de incertezas. Ambas as abordagens melhoram a qualidade do resultado final a ser comunicado em relação à divulgação de um valor determinístico único.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver o inventário de ciclo de vida para madeira empregada na estrutura de telhado de edificações populares do estado de São Paulo, com base na adaptação de inventários existentes na base de dados ecoinvent (versão 3.1) para a realidade da produção madeireira no Brasil. Considerou-se como sistema de produto a produção de 1m3 de madeira serrada de cambará proveniente de manejo florestal sustentável na Amazônia, desde a extração das toras até a peça de madeira serrada estocada em São Paulo. As informações nacionais foram obtidas da literatura. A despeito das semelhanças entre o sistema de produto da base ecoinvent e a realidade nacional na extração das toras na floresta, há diferenças referentes ao transporte até a serraria, ao desdobro das toras e à geração e destinação de resíduos: no Brasil, todas as etapas são executadas próximas à região de exploração, resultando em alterações no modelo de transporte, máquinas empregadas e resíduos gerados. Além disso, os valores de consumo de diesel e eletricidade apresentaram ordens de grandeza diferentes dos ICVs de referência. Com base nessa análise, conclui-se que a estrutura de dados dos ICVs existentes na base ecoinvent auxilia a construção de inventários nacionais e que a adaptação dos inventários é imprescindível para a realização de estudos de avaliação do ciclo de vida condizentes com as condições do Brasil. Entretanto, considerando as diferenças observadas, é recomendada a apuração dos índices de consumo nacionais por meio de verificação e coleta de dados in-loco.

In France is estimated a generation of about 17 and 23 kg per year of WEEE per inhabitant. However, in 2014, the return rate for household WEEE reached only 38% of the total market input. The French regulation targets higher collection rates for the next years: 45% between 2016 and 2019, and 65% after 2019 of the total market input. The aim of this work was to quantify the real environmental benefits of improving the collection and treatment of WEEE in France by the life cycle assessment methodology. A mobile phone charger was selected as a case study, and three scenarios were assessed based on the actual collection rate and the future collection and recycling targets. For most impact categories, mainly due to the intensification on energy consumption and transport activities related to the recycling processes, the growth in collection rate leads to higher environmental impacts. However, when comparing the impact of end-of-life with the production of virgin materials, the benefits of increasing collection rates and recycling are evident.

os estudos de ACV aplicados a produtos têxteis utilizando dados

A remediação de áreas contaminadas é a aplicação de técnica(s) visando à remoção, redução ou contenção de contaminantes. Os processos de remediação podem acarretar em impactos ambientais associados ao uso de recursos, emissões e transformação da área. Este artigo apresenta o levantamento do estado da arte referente ao uso da ACV aplicada a tecnologias de remediação, bem como o contexto de remediação de áreas contaminadas no Brasil. A pesquisa foi conduzida baseada em uma revisão bibliográfica sistemática. Os critérios envolveram o estabelecimento de palavras-chave para a busca de informações, a definição dos meios e plataformas de busca (bases de dados), das informações a serem extraídas dos estudos, bem como classificação e sistematização. O levantamento de dados procedeu-se até o mês de dezembro de 2011. Trinta e sete estudos foram localizados, entre 1997 e 2011. Destes trinta artigos indexados em periódicos científicos internacionais e sete de outros fontes. A unidade funcional e o escopo temporal variaram dependendo do cenário da contaminação e dos critérios técnicos estabelecidos para a remediação. Para a avaliação do impacto do ciclo de vida a maior parte dos estudos utilizou metodologias de impacto de ponto médio, sendo que a categoria de impacto de maior incidência foi o potencial de aquecimento global, dentre os de ponto médio. A aplicação da ACV nos estudos de casos pesquisados foi considerada um método que permitiu mapear os impactos ambientais associados às tecnologias de remediação, apesar de limitações quanto aos inventários e complexidade dos processos.

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and Ecologic (a French compliance scheme).