QXU6008

LIFE CYCLE
ANALYSIS
Dr Maria Romero-Gonzalez
([email protected])
Dr Charles Oseghale
([email protected])
 Types of LCA

• Complete LCA: rigorous, requires detailed Expensive, requires specialist view,

information of composition, quantity, origin, takes time, requires large databases,
processing, transportation, disposal and recycling data may not be available
from cradle-to-grave or C2C
Limited, performed using
• Streamlined LCA: reduces system boundary to a commercial software that may be
particular process, phase or component for limited and results in a narrow view
changing only one aspect of product/process

• Fast-track LCA: based on adding ‘single indicator’ Cheap, easy to compare if a

scores for material or process. Makes visible all representative ‘single indicator’ can
elements of system and their impacts for quickly be used. Depends on what
finding the critical elements to change environmental aspect is assessed.
 Identify product or service to assess

Steps to
Set out boundaries – system boundary
perform a Life
cycle Draw up a system bill of material (SBO)

assessment Identify and quantify energy and resources input and

outputs

Think which product Complete a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

YOU want to perform

Identify mid point indicators
an LCA? What do you
know about the
Translate mid point indicators into damage, prevention or
product? end point indicators

Outline damage to resource availability (RA), damage to

ecosystem diversity (ED) and damage to human health
(DALY HH)
Boundaries
Cradle-to-Grave:
• Definition: This includes all stages of a product's life cycle, from raw material extraction (cradle) to its final
disposal (grave).
• Inclusions: Extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life treatment or disposal.

Cradle-to-Gate:
• Definition: This boundary considers the life cycle from raw material extraction (cradle) to the factory gate (end of
manufacturing).
• Exclusions: It excludes the use phase and end-of-life considerations.

Cradle-to-Cradle:
• Definition: This concept, developed by McDonough and Braungart, envisions a closed-loop system where
products are designed to be continually recycled or reused without generating waste.
• Inclusions: All life cycle stages are considered, with an emphasis on recyclability and reusability.

Gate-to-Gate:
• Definition: This boundary focuses only on a specific stage or process within the product's life cycle, usually the
manufacturing stage.
• Inclusions: Excludes raw material extraction, distribution, use, and end-of-life stages.
BILL OF MATERIALS
Example - Product hierarchy
Laptop Parent
(end item)

Processor Keyboard Monitor

Quantity: 1 Quantity: 1 Quantity: 1
Lead Time: 3 weeks Lead Time: 2 weeks Lead Time: 2 weeks
Children

Casing Keys
Quantity: 1 Quantity: 104
Lead Time: 2 days Lead Time: 1 week

Raw Materials
The BOM provides information about:
 Relationship between items at different levels
 Quantity of each item
 Lead Time of each item 11
 • A bill of material can be created in
System Bill of tabular or flow chart form.
• Consider the manufacture of bicycles
Materials - a demand for 100 bicycles (FU).

SYSTEM BILL • “Mountain-bike” as complicated products

(identify all parts)
OF MATERIALS

Figure 3: Mountain bike parts

Basic SBOM (Flow Chart)

Mountain bike parts

 Outline the framework for
performing the life cycle analysis of
a material or product

LEARNING Present advantages and

OUTCOMES disadvantages of different
approaches

Use a streamlined LCA approach

for analysing a product
 Typical life cycle for a material
used in products:
1. Ore (natural rocks containing
metals) and feedstock are
mined and processed to yield
a material.
2. This is manufactured into a
product that is used and, at
the end of its life, discarded,
recycled, or reused.
3. Energy and materials are
consumed in each phase,
generating waste heat and
solid, liquid, and gaseous
emissions.

FIGURE 3.2 – ASHBY – MATERIAL LIFE CYCLE

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LCA – PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ORGANIZATION (ISO) 14044:2006)

 Goal and scope of LCA

 Life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) phase
 Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase
 Life cycle interpretation phase
 Reporting and critical review of the LCA
 Limitations
 Relationship between LCA phases
 Conditions for use of value choices and optional elements
 Goals and scope: why is the assessment required?
What will be assessed? Which parts of the LCA?

Inventory compilation: what resources are consumed?

A MORE What emissions are created?
PRACTICAL
APPROACH
Impact assessment: what do the resource
consumption and emissions do to the environment?

Interpretation: What do the results mean? What can

be improved?
LCA – PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ORGANIZATION (ISO) 14044:2006)
LCA – PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ORGANIZATION (ISO) 14044:2006)
LCA – PRINCIPLES AND FRAMEWORK (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ORGANIZATION (ISO) 14044:2006)
 SOME LCA DEFINITIONS (ISO 14044:2006)
 Product system: collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows performing one or
more defined functions and which models the life cycle of a product. LCA models the life cycle
products as their product systems.
 Elementary flow: material or energy entering or leaving the system from the environment without
transformation.
 Energy flow: input or output from a unit process or product system, quantified in energy units
 Feedstock energy: heat of combustion of a raw material input that is not used as an energy source to
a product system.
 Functional unit: quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit.
 Reference flow: measure of the outputs from processes in a given product system to fulfill the
function expressed by the functional unit.
 System boundary: boundary based on a set of criteria specifying which unit processes are part of the
system under study.

More definitions are outlined in the full document. A copy of the ISO 14044:2006 can be found in QMplus
Figure 3.3 – Ashby. LCA system boundaries with the flows of resources and emissions across them. System boundary A
encloses a single phase of the lifecycle. System boundary B encloses the direct inputs and emissions of the entire life. It does
not make sense to place the system boundary at C, which has no well-defined edge.

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EXAMPLE OF INVENTORY –
WASHING MACHINE

 Streamlined life cycle of washing

machine – start of inventory for
outlining process
 Resources and emissions are clearly
identified in each step of cycle
 Inventory analysis is performed by
functional unit – for emissions, this
may be simplified as CO2

Figure 3.4 the principal resource emissions associated with the lifecycle of aCopyright © 2013
washing machine. Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.
CHALLENGES OF DATA INTERPRETATION

 Results from LCA always have

uncertainty attached to it due to the
difficulty in data input
 Assessment of impacts depend on
values of each emission in each
impact category, which have great
uncertainty in estimation
 Difficult to implement after design has
been manufactured but useful for
assessing how to improve design Figure 3.5 - Ashby. LCA of production of Al drink cans. The
output shows resource consumption, emission inventory, and
impact assessment (data in part from Boustead, 2007).
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 ECO-INDICATORS AS DESIGN TOOLS

• Assess and quantify the environmental impact of products,

processes, or systems.

• Provide a structured way to evaluate the sustainability and

ecological performance of various design options.

• Allow making informed decisions in design and manufacturing

processes that minimize negative environmental effects.

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ECO-INDICATORS AS DESIGN TOOLS: AN EXAMPLE OF AN
ESTIMATION PROCESS

Figure 3.6 – Ashby. Steps in calculating an eco-indicator. Difficulties

arise in steps 3 and 4: there is no agreement on how to choose the
weight factors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.
ECO-AUDIT
• LCA is an end-of-life assessment tool
• An eco-audit tool is a design tool

Figure 3.7 - Ashby

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 STREAMLINED LCA
Two ways to present SLCA
Matrix - Table Target plot
Simplified LCA approach
considering a reduced qualitative
analysis

A value between 0 (poor) and 4

(excellent) is assigned to each
matrix element based on
experience, surveys or protocols

The results gives the

Environmentally Responsible
Product Rating as the sum of the
matrix elements

𝑅𝑒𝑟𝑝 = ෍ ෍ 𝑀𝑖𝑗 Figure 3.8 - Ashby an example of a streamlined LCA matrix and a target
𝑖 𝑗 plot displaying the rankings in each element of the matrix. In this
example the use phase gets poor ratings.
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STREAMLINED L.C.A
 STREAMLINED
LCA FOR CARS
 Energy efficiency, carbon
efficiency and material efficiency
were chosen as eco-criteria
 The function – private transport –
must be achieved with the
minimum use of material, energy
resources and carbon emissions
 Assessment is to end of life
 The matrix shows the ranking for
each category based on data
 The target plot gives a visual
representation of how good the
cars in 1990s are compared to
1950s cars
FIGURE 3.9 - ASHBY
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CLASS EXAMPLE 1

 Choose one product from the list below and list the resources and
emissions associated with each phase of its life using the template in the
next slide.

 Which phase of life would you expect to be the most energy intensive for
the selected product?
 Coffee maker

 An LPG-patio heater

 Air conditioner

 Hand-held hair dryer

 Electrical lights (lamps)

CLASS EXAMPLE 1

Use this template for listing

the principal resources and
emissions associated with the
life of your chosen product.

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 CLASS EXAMPLE 2

 Using the product you selected in

example 1, attempt to fill out the
simplified streamlined LCA matrix
and target plot.
 Use the filled example in the
figure (below) as a guide to fill in
your answers

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Figure 3.14 – Ashby Rational approaches to the eco-design of products start with an analysis of the phase of life
to be targeted. Its results guide redesign and materials selection to minimize environmental impact. The disposal
phase, shown here as part of the overall strategy, is not included in the current version of the tool.

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a tool to analyse the interaction
of materials with the environment, through quantifying its
use of energy, resources and production of emissions

The ISO 14044 is the most up to date international

standard for designing and conducting an LCA

SUMMARY
There are several ways to approach LCAs, the main
disadvantage is its requirement at the end of life of a
product, which leaves little opportunity for improvement

Eco-audits and streamlined LCA can be used during

product design for introducing improvements during
initial product conceptualisation