Lecture

Content

Slides and Video

Lecture 1:

Lecturer: Mikkel Thrane

This lecture provides an introduction to life cycle thinking and life cycle assessment tool (LCA). Special attention is given to environmental problems, how they are handled in LCA and what LCA can be used for.

Topics: Environmental problems, towards cleaner products, reasons for using LCA, the IPAT equation, factor 4-10, overview of LCA methodology, ISO standards, popular LCA PC tools and databases.

Readings:

Wenzel H, Hauschild M, and Alting L (1997): Environmental Assessment of Products – Volume 1: Methodology, tools and case studies in product development. Chapman and Hall, London. (Pages: 3-20 The state of the environment/Society’s environmental focus)

Thrane M and Schmidt J (2006): Life Cycle Assessment, LCA. Chapter 12 in Tools for Sustainable Development, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University (section 1 and 2)

Exercise:

Introduction to SimaPro and its basic functions

Slides:

Lecture1

Video 2005:

LCA1part1

LCA1part2

LCA1part3

LCA1part4

Lecture 2:

Lecturer: Mikkel Thrane

The second lecture presents the ISO standards on LCA, and describes the main content and procedural aspects of carrying out an LCA.

Topics:  ISO standards on LCA. LCA methodology: goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation.

Readings:

Thrane M and Schmidt J (2006): Life Cycle Assessment, LCA. Chapter 12 in Tools for Sustainable Development, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University (section 3 to 7)

Schmidt J and  Thrane M (2006): LCA case study of pickled herring. Chapter 13 in Tools for Sustainable Development, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University

Exercise:

LCA study of pickled herring, functional unit, entering of data in SimaPro according to the article: Schmidt, J and M. Thrane, 2005: 13 LCA case study of pickled herring.

Slides:

Lecture2

Video 2005:

LCA2part1

LCA2part2

LCA2part3

LCA2part4

Lecture 3:

Lecturer: Jannick H Schmidt

The third lecture elaborates on one of the major challenges of LCA, namely the system delimitation, where the scope in terms of affected processes and products are identified. This lecture will also deal with a related core challenge – co-product allocation, which has been the centre of much debate in the LCA community.

Topics: Temporal-, geographical- and technological scope, system boundaries, cut-off criteria, co-product allocation. The difference between consequential and traditional/attributional LCA.

Readings:

Schmidt J H and Weidema B P (2006): Shift in the marginal vegetable oil. In prep. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  Ecomed Publishers

Extensive: Ekvall T and Weidema B P (2004): System Boundaries and Input data in Consequential Life Cycle Inventory Analysis. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 9 (3) 161-171.

Exercise:

Continued from the second lecture (the herring case)

Slides:

Lecture3

Video 2005:

LCA3part1

LCA3part2

LCA3part3

LCA3part4

Lecture 4:

Lecturer: Jannick H Schmidt

This lecture elaborates on the third phase of LCA – the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). LCIA is a core element of LCA where the collected data (exchanges) are “translated” into potential environmental impacts. Focus will be the methodological approaches and calculation procedures in the Danish EDIP method.

Topics: Environmental impact chains, calculations for selected impact categories and the Danish EDIP method (methodology, advantages/disadvantages, calculations for selected impact categories, normalization and weighting.)

Readings:

Wenzel H, Hauschild M and Alting L (1997): Environmental Assessment of Products – Volume 1: Methodology, tools and case studies in product development. Chapman and Hall, London. (Pages: 242-256)

Extensive: ISO 14040 (2006): International standard 14040 - Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework, International Standard Organization, Geneve.

Very extensive (read only if your 7th semester project falls within the area of LCA): ISO 14044 (2006): International Standard Organization, Geneve

Exercise:

Continued from the second lecture (the herring case)

Slides:

Lecture4

Video 2005:

LCA4part1

LCA4part2

LCA4part3

Lecture 5:

Lecturer: Mikkel Thrane

The fifth lecture discusses challenges for LCA in relation to normalization, weighting and handling of many different impact categories. This lecture will also focus on future development of the LCA tool and the use of LCA in different countries, and sectors worldwide.

Topics: Critics of the LCA method (practical problems, LCA as decision support, limitation in EDIP, limitations in SimaPro or other LCA software tools, future developments of LCA and LCA in different countries and sectors.

Readings:

Weidema B P (2000): LCA developments for promoting sustainability. Invited Keynote Lecture for 2^nd National Conference on LCA, Melbourne, Australia

Hauschild M Z (2005): Assessing Environmental Impacts in a Life -Cycle Perspective. Environmental  Science & Technology, February 15, American Chemical Society.

Exercise:

Examination - multiple choice

Slides:

Lecture5

Video:

LCA5part1

LCA5part2