The Computational Structure Of Life Cycle Assessment

The Computational Structure of Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool for environmental decision-support in relation to products from the cradle to the grave. Until now, more emphasis has been put on the inclusion quantitative models and databases and on the design of guidebooks for applying LCA than on the integrative aspect of combining these models and data. This is a remarkable thing, since LCA in practice deals with thousands of quantitative data items that have to be combined in the correct manner. For this, one needs mathematical rules and algorithmic principles for carrying out an LCA. This book presents the first coherent treatment of the mathematical and algorithmic aspects of LCA. These computational aspects are presented in matrix form, so that a concise and elegant formulation is achieved. This form, moreover, provides a platform for further extension of analysis using perturbation theory, structural theory and economic input-output analysis.

Global Life Cycle Impact Assessments of Material Shifts

Planet Earth is under stress from various environmental factors, increasing the importance of being able to estimate the environmental costs associated with dynamic material shifts. Such shifts are occurring in the electronics industry and the most famous recent example is the introduction of lead-free solders. "Global Life Cycle Impact Assessments of Material Shifts" describes the environmental implications of this shift to lead-free solders and conductive adhesives using the standardized methodology of environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA). As the product systems involved are rather small for interconnection materials it is possible – using uncertainty analysis and consequential LCA – to arrive at robust conclusions, even in the difficult holistic field of environmental cost accounting. The lead-free shift has many implications, such as the export of electronics waste, resource consumption, recycling issues, and technology development.

The Computational Structure of Life Cycle Assessment