LBP-GaBi Ganzheitliche Bilanzierung Gabi LCM 2007 Zurich - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Gabi – LCM 2007 Zurich

LBP-GaBi – Ganzheitliche Bilanzierung

www.LBPGaBi.uni-stuttgart.de

Linking Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Analysis for describing the Life Cycle Benefit of materials 3rd International Conference on Life Cycle Management August, 27th to 29th Zurich 2007

Robert Ilg

www.LBPGaBi.uni-stuttgart.de

www.LBPGaBi.uni-stuttgart.de

Life Cycle Thinking Approaches for End-of-Life (EoL) allocation applied in practice

How to take into account the life cycle benefit of materials, e.g. in LCA?

Variety of End-of-Life allocation approaches available / applied in practice:

• System boundary expansion by crediting
• Cut-off approach
• Closed loop approach
• Value-correction
• Open loop approach
• Recycling potential
• Cascade approach
• Stock flow approach
• …

Material Production Material Production Manufacturing Manufacturing Use Use End of Life End of Life Credit for secondary product Credit for secondary product

Example: System boundary expansion by crediting

Majority of these end-of-life methods have in common: Allocation of environmental burden over all product life cycles of the material according to specific rules

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Life Cycle Thinking Recycling rate – Definition in the context of product LCA

How to take into account the life cycle benefit of materials, e.g. in LCA?

n applicatio product per n applicatio product per n applicatio product per

initially introduced material

• f

Amount recycled material

• f

Amount Rate Recycling =

• One of the key parameters to apply these end-of-life approaches is the recycling rate
• Recycling rate to be considered in the context of product LCA studies is defined as:
• Recycling rate can also be determined as:

yield process Recycling * rate collection Life

• f

End Rate Recycling

n applicatio product per n apllicatio product per

=

End-of-life collection rate definition: application-specific ratio of material collected compared to the material available for recycling

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Material Flow Analysis Definition

How to address material flows ?

• Addresses material and energy flows into, throughout and out of a system
• Appropriate tool to outline the economy- or sector-wide material flows

Data basis within MFA is seen providing more precise and application-oriented data on end of life collection rates

Source: WRI, Matthews et al., 2000

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Recycling Rate … as decisive parameter for EoL considerations

*Source: Iron, Steel and Aluminium in the UK:Material Flows and their Economic Dimensions; Joint Working Paper, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford Policy Studies Institute, London, 2004

• Sector specific recycling rate addresses product application in LCA
• Economy/region wide consideration of MFA

Differences of system boundary and reference system definition The recycling rate to be considered within the EoL approaches of product related environmental assessments – due to the functional unit approach – is defined as follows: “Ratio of the amount of material recycled compared to the material introduced in the system initially.“

*Definition A: Recycling Rate Definition B: Recycling Rate

(Selection of) Available definitions of the recycling rate:

n applicatio product per n applicatio product per n applicatio product per

initially introduced material

• f

Amount recycled material

• f

Amount Rate Recycling =

*

country the in scrap consumer post /

• pre
• f

arising Yearly Exports Imports

• n

consumptio scrap consumer

• /post
• pre

country Yearly Rate Recycling

scrap scrap +

=

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials Example – EUROFER IPP Project

The 2 sub-goals of the EUROFER IPP project are:

• Collection and compilation of

MFA data for the main steel sectors in Europe To produce precise and acceptable results to describe and visualise the European steel flows

• Calculation of precise data on

EoL collection rates by focussing on the sector- specific recycling rates

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials EUROFER IPP Project - Visualisation of European Steel Flows

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials Application specific end of life collection rates

What data is needed for calculating sector specific end of life collection rates?

• Sector- or even application-specific focus requested in LCA
• Definition of end of life collection rate for steel – in a specific country, within a specific

steel application sector (in this case: automotive sector)

sector automotive in sector automotive in sector e Automotiv Country,

initially introduced Steel collected Steel rate Collection Life

• f

End =

• Data to be provided for calculating the end of life collection rate:
• statistical data on current and historic data of steel,
• distinction between different steel application sectors,
• lifetime of end products containing steel,
• stock, import and export of steel in various end products,
• scrap generated and in use (pre-consumer and post-consumer scrap)

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials Data availability

What data is needed for calculating sector specific end of life collection rates?

• The statistical data on current and historic data of steel comprises information on:
• Domestic crude steel production of a country
• Domestic production, consumption, import and export of iron and steel intermediate

products introduced to the different steel application sectors

• Amount of steel introduced to the different steel application sectors via import/export of

end products

• Sector specific steel scrap arising
• Distinction between different steel application sectors
• Split up of crude steel or steel intermediate product information into different steel

application sectors, e.g. automotive, construction, consumer goods, packaging, machinery and others

• Lifetime of end products containing steel
• Time period, steel is stored within different steel application sectors before available for

next life cycle

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials Data availability

What data is needed for calculating sector specific end of life collection rates?

• Stock, import and export of steel in various end products
• Accounting for the import and export of steel contained within different end products

into or from a country

• stock of steel in various end products of the different steel application sectors
• Scrap generated and in use (pre-consumer and post-consumer scrap)
• Detailed and sector-specific information on scrap arising
• Scrap generated within the manufacturing step (pre-consumer scrap) of end

products as well as at products’ end-of-life (post-consumer scrap) per steel application sector

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Describing the Life Cycle Benefit of Materials Data availability

What is the challenge about calculating sector specific recycling rates?

• Data gaps
• Sector specific scrap arising
• Product life time / Time of material storage on the market
• Steel introduced to the market via imported (final – new and used) goods and

exported (final – new and used) goods leaving the market

• Steel content of products / product groups
• Variety of data sources (and therefore inconsistencies)
• Mix / Interrelation of time periods due to product life time consideration

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Conclusion / Outlook Using MFA to describe the Life Cycle Benefit of materials

• Different characteristic of available approaches, such as MFA, LCA, etc. due to

differences in reference system, system boundaries, degree of detail, etc.

• But, on the other hand overlapping in principle approach and methodological

characteristic, e.g. analysis of material / energy flows related to a reference system

• Combination and interlinking of methodological approaches strengthens the

individual approach and broadens the overall applicability

• Need for consistent and complete data basis
• Further effort / work to be undertaken to intensify the networking of expert teams,

linking of available databases and harmonising methodological settings as well as definitions/wording.

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Contact

Dipl.-Ing. Robert Ilg

Universität Stuttgart Lehrstuhl für Bauphysik (LBP) Abteilung Ganzheitliche Bilanzierung (GaBi) Hauptstrasse 113 70771 Echterdingen Germany E-Mail: robert.ilg@LBP.uni-stuttgart.de Tel.: +49 (0)711 489999-22 Fax: +49 (0)711 489999-11 http://www.LBPGaBi.uni-stuttgart.de http://www.gabi-software.de