Use of Life Cycle Assessment in view of Eco-Design for a glass wool process

Conference (2013, April 25)

MODELING OF A GLASS WOOL PROCESS IN VIEW OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (L.C.A.)

Poster (2012, November)

Taking into account the environmental aspects in the building sector has become unavoidable. In France, environmental and sanitary statements for building products (“Fiches de Déclarations ... [more ▼]

Taking into account the environmental aspects in the building sector has become unavoidable. In France, environmental and sanitary statements for building products (“Fiches de Déclarations Environnementales et Sanitaires” (FDE&S)) have been developed. The environmental part of the statement is based on Life Cycle Assessment. So, KnaufInsulation, glass wool producer for the French market, has started to evaluated the environmental impacts of it process in view of FDE&S realization. The process has been modeling in GaBi with industrial data. Adjustable parameters have been introduced to allow to study the environmental impacts of almost all the KnaufInsulation products. So the FDE&S can be easily done for the different products. This model is also used for eco-conception. The LCA results allow to show the life cycle leaks. More, in modifying the model, the impact of a change in the process on its environmental performances will be highlighted. So relevant improvement will be brought out. The model and the mains results as the eco-conception strategy will be presented. The interest of making a modeling based on the step and process of the life cycle of a product or a product range will be clearly understood. [less ▲]

Waste management evolution through years: evaluation of improvement using Life Cycle Assessment methodology

Conference (2012, September)

Waste is considered as a major concern of our century. New technologies and attempts to improve appeared through years. The goal of this study was to evaluate the improvement of waste management through ... [more ▼]

Waste is considered as a major concern of our century. New technologies and attempts to improve appeared through years. The goal of this study was to evaluate the improvement of waste management through the last forty years. Four steps of time and of technologies of waste treatment were evaluated in an environmental point of view using the life cycle assessment methodology. The first scenario is situated before 1970 with waste landfilling in an open dump without recuperation and valorization of gas. The second one considers the situation between 1990 and 2008 with a plant comprising grinding and sorting of waste to obtain refused derived fuel fraction (RDF) which was burnt in an incinerator, remaining waste being sent to sanitary landfill with recuperation and valorization of gas in electricity. The third one is the current one, in operation since 2009, with incineration of the whole of the residual municipal waste. The last scenario is about future considering the current installation and adding a biomethanation plant using the collected biodegradable fraction of household waste. This environmental evaluation was performed in accordance with the ISO standards 14040 and 14044 and the environmental impacts were calculated with the ReCiPe methodology. We modeled a specific plant situated in Liege using its technical and environmental reports to be as realistic as possible. Main result of this study is the improvement through years starting from the important environmental impact for the landfilling of waste in an open dump to an environmental gain for some categories with the current installation coupled with biomethanation. Global warming impact from the eighties was reduced by 9 in the years 1990-2008 and by 14 for the current scenario alone or coupled with a biomethanation plant. Some sensitivity analyses were used to evaluate the strength of assumptions with for example using a consequential LCA instead of an attributional one and modifying the electricity origin mix. An uncertainty analysis using Monte-Carlo method showed the robustness of our results. This study confirms the environmental improvement of technologies and emissions of waste management through years. [less ▲]

Environmental product declarations of mineral paving, a tool for sustainable product choices

Poster (2012, March 22)

This study performs the environmental product declarations for three Belgian mineral products, two granite and one sandstone paving. Both main goals of this work were to obtain Belgian environmental ... [more ▼]

This study performs the environmental product declarations for three Belgian mineral products, two granite and one sandstone paving. Both main goals of this work were to obtain Belgian environmental product declarations to strengthen existing databases and to get similar information for their Asian counterparts. Indeed, competition with China for bluestone products and with India for sandstone pavement is very important due to very competitive prices despite their foreign origin and possibly higher induced environmental impacts. [less ▲]

WEEE management using LCA methodology : the fridge case study

Poster (2011, November 03)

Environmental performance of waste management through years using Life Cycle Assessment

Conference (2011, November 03)

La fiche de déclaration environnementale de produits en pierre naturelle belge : un argument majeur contre la concurrence asiatique

Conference given outside the academic context (2011)

WEEE management using LCA methodology : the fridge case study

in SETAC Europe 17th LCA Case Studies Symposium : "Sustainable lifestyles", Budapest 28 February - 1 March 2011 (2011, March)

This study is based on WEEE life cycle assessment and more particularly on treatment and valorization of fridges and freezers. Two scenarios were envisaged: situation before fridge collect and the Belgian ... [more ▼]

This study is based on WEEE life cycle assessment and more particularly on treatment and valorization of fridges and freezers. Two scenarios were envisaged: situation before fridge collect and the Belgian current situation where all national fridges are treated in Liège. Results of this study prove the importance of collecting and valorizing fridges especially for old fridges containing refrigerant banned by the Montreal Protocol. Recovery and incineration of the pollutants permit to reduce climate change and ozone depletion impacts. [less ▲]

Evolution of municipal waste management in Belgium (Liège) for the last thirty years

in SETAC Europe 17th LCA Case Studies Symposium : "Sustainable lifestyles", Budapest 28 February - 1 March 2011 (2011)

Waste is considered as a major concern of our century. Management tools were provided to help municipalities to reduce their emissions and to find the best way to valorize their waste. Life cycle ... [more ▼]

Waste is considered as a major concern of our century. Management tools were provided to help municipalities to reduce their emissions and to find the best way to valorize their waste. Life cycle assessment methodology was used jointly by the University of Liège and by Intradel, inter-municipal of the region of Liège (Belgium) to evaluate the impact of their activities and their improvement through years. [less ▲]

Life cycle assessment as decision tool for sustainable choices in mineral materials field: environmental declarations of Belgian products and their foreign equivalents

in Martens, Per Nicolai (Ed.) Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry : Institute of Mining Engineering I, RWTH Aachen University, 14-17 June 2011 (2011)

Construction is a field which is concerned by environment. Tools as environmental product declarations are increasingly often used to compare several products and to take account of the environmental ... [more ▼]

Construction is a field which is concerned by environment. Tools as environmental product declarations are increasingly often used to compare several products and to take account of the environmental sphere in the choice. Environmental declarations of Belgian bluestone and sandstone products were realized in accordance with the ISO standards and following the standard NF P 01-010. The main goals of these studies were to obtain Belgian environmental product declarations to strengthen existing databases and to provide defences against Asian competition. Indeed, competition with China for bluestone products and with India for sandstone pavement is very important due the fact of the very competitive prices for foreign products. The impacts on climate change, resources and acidification of the sole transport were taken into account for foreign products and they are at less as important as these obtained for the whole life cycle of Belgian products. [less ▲]