Adjusting LCA Allocation Methods for Cement Industry: A Production-Based Approach to Energy Conservation and Emission...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Industrial Ecology
• Sustainable Manufacturing

Background:

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is crucial for environmental strategies but faces reliability issues due to inconsistent allocation methods for solid waste.
• Allocation methods are influenced by regional, industry, and regulatory factors, leading to long-standing debate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of different allocation methods on LCA reliability using real cement plant data.
• To introduce novel concepts like active/passive environmental load and develop new allocation methods for Valorized Solid Waste (VSW) and Non-Valorized Solid Waste (NVSW).

Main Methods:

• Conducted parallel LCA case studies with diverse allocation methods on actual cement plant production data.
• Introduced concepts: driving force, active/passive environmental load, VSW, and NVSW.
• Developed and applied the Collaborative Disposal Allocation Method (CD method) for NVSW.

Main Results:

• The choice of allocation method critically influences the effectiveness of energy saving and emission reduction plans in LCA.
• The economic allocation method demonstrated high universality for VSW, capturing economic driving forces.
• The CD method applied to domestic waste collaborative disposal showed a 2.25% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) and a 45.39% reduction in respiratory inorganics (RIs).

Conclusions:

• Standardizing allocation methods is essential for enhancing the reliability of LCA reports.
• The proposed CD method offers a robust approach for allocating environmental loads of NVSW, aligning with the 'polluter pays principle'.