LIFE CYCLE

ASSESSMENT

G R Krishna Chand Avatar

Kumar Gaurav

Noor Dhawan

L Vishnu Sharma

Jaskaran Singh

Introductory Video on LCA

What is LCA?

LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment. It is a technique

that tries to identify, measure and characterize different

potential environmental impacts associated to each one of

the stages of the life cycle of a product.

What LCA aims at?

LCA aims to understand the flows of matter and

energy involved in the product, material, manufacturing

process, packaging, etc. and find out what are the

environmentally critical points, and prevent or remove

them using other materials or systems.

TYPES OF LCA

VARIANTS OF LCA

1. Cradle-to-Grave

2. Cradle-to-Gate

3. Cradle-to-Cradle

4. Gate-to-Gate

5. Wheel-to-Wheel

6. Ecology-based

CRADLE-TO-GRAVE

Cradle-to-grave is the full Life Cycle Assessment from

resource extraction ('cradle') to use phase and disposal

phase ('grave').

CRADLE-TO-GATE

Cradle-to-gate is an assessment of a partial product life

cycle from resource extraction (cradle) to the factory

gate (i.e., before it is transported to the consumer)

CRADLE-TO-CRADLE

Cradle-to-cradle is a specific kind of cradle-to-grave

assessment, where the end-of-life disposal step for the

product is a recycling process. It is a method used to

minimize the environmental impact of products by

employing sustainable production, operation, and

disposal practices and aims to incorporate social

responsibility into product development.

GATE-TO-GATE

Gate-to-gate is a partial LCA looking at only

one value-added process in the entire

production chain.

WHEEL-TO-WHEEL

Well-to-wheel is the specific LCA used for transport

fuels and vehicles. The first stage, which incorporates the

feedstock or fuel production and processing and fuel

delivery or energy transmission, and is called the

"upstream" stage, while the stage that deals with vehicle

operation itself is sometimes called the "downstream"

stage.

ECOLOGY-BASED

Eco-LCA is a methodology that quantitatively takes

into account regulating and supporting services during

the life cycle of economic goods and products.

It was designed to provide a guide to wise

management of human activities by understanding the

direct and indirect impacts on ecological resources

and surrounding ecosystems.

WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH LCA?

1.Product or project development and improvement

2.Strategic planning

3.Public policy making

4.Marketing and eco-declarations

Processes involved in LCA

PHASES OF LCA STUDY

Phases of LCA study

a) Phase of goal and scope definition

b) Phase of inventory analysis

c) Phase of impact assessment

d) Phase of interpretation

Phase of goal and scope definition

This is a key step and the ISO standards require that

the goal and scope of an LCA be clearly defined and

consistent with the intended application. The goal and

scope document therefore includes technical details

that guide subsequent work:

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Steps involved in Goal and scope

definition:

• Product system to study

• The functions of the product system

• The functional unit

• The system limits

• Assumptions

• Limitations

• Data Requirements

Phase of inventory analysis

‘Inventory’ literally means listing of products.

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis involves

creating an inventory of flows from and to nature

for a product system. Inventory flows include

inputs of water, energy, and raw materials, and

releases to air, land, and water.

It also involves data collection and quantification

of needed input/output data.

Phase of impact assessment

Understand and assess the magnitude and

importance of potential environmental impacts.

Environmental impact is an alteration of the initial

characteristics of the environment caused by a project,

work or activity It is the set of consequences for human

health, welfare of the flora and fauna

and the future availability of natural resources

attributable to the input or output streams of a system.

STEPS INVOLVED

This process comprises of the following procedures:

• selection of impact categories, category indicators,

and characterization models;

• the classification stage, where the inventory

parameters are sorted and assigned to specific

impact categories; and

• impact measurement, where the categorized LCI

flows are characterized, using one of many possible

LCIA methodologies, into common equivalence

units that are then summed to provide an overall

impact category total.

Phase of interpretation

• Life Cycle Interpretation is a systematic

technique to identify, quantify, check, and

evaluate information from the results of

the life cycle inventory and/or the life

cycle impact assessment. The results

from the inventory analysis and impact

assessment are summarized during the

interpretation phase. The outcome of the

interpretation phase is a set of

conclusions and recommendations for the

study.

Interpreting ‘INTERPRETATION’

According to ISO 14040:2006, the interpretation

should include:

• identification of significant issues based on the

results of the LCI and LCIA phases of an LCA;

• evaluation of the study considering

completeness, sensitivity and consistency

checks; and

• conclusions, limitations and recommendations.

A short clip on LCA