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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 July 2020) | Viewed by 31641

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Guillermo San Miguel

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII), Universidad Politécnica of Madrid, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Interests: Environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA); social life cycle assessment (SLCA); life cycle costing (LCC); life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA); input/output; carbon footprint; renewable energies; bioenergy

Dr. Sergio Alvarez

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Guest Editor

Department of Land Morphology and Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Universidad Politécnica of Madrid, Profesor Aranguren 3, 28050 Madrid, Spain
Interests: Input-Output analysis; life cycle assessment; hybrid analysis; carbon footprint; environmental footprint

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to the Energies Special Issue on “Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems”.

We are currently at the epicenter of a revolution in the energy sector that is going to have profound implications in our everyday lives. In theory, this should result in the creation of a more sustainable system where energy will be more plentiful and readily available, cheaper, and also greener. The effective deployment of this new energy model requires the development of advanced technologies and strategies capable of reducing the existing dependence on fossil fuels, increasing the contribution of locally available renewables and improving efficiency throughout the value chain of the energy systems involved, including extraction of energy resources, transformation, transference/transport, storage, and use. The real consequences of these transformations cannot be readily envisaged due to inherent uncertainties in the definition of the new systems and the complex interdependences generated between the sustainability elements involved (environment, economy, society). Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology widely accepted to evaluate the sustainability of complex systems, like the ones that should emerge in future energy models. This Special Issue on “LCA of Energy Systems” is intended to bring together key and inspiring research on the development and application of life-cycle-based methodology to evaluate the technologies, strategies, and policies that will shape the future energy system. These include environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA), etc. The practical use of these tools to evaluate the sustainability of goods and services in the fields of energy, transport, food, construction, waste management, and consumer goods are welcome. The use of advanced methodological approaches to life-cycle-based assessment such as consequential evaluation, dynamic LCA, development of product category rules, interpretation of LCA results for decision making, and aggregation of sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental, and social) into life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) will also be of interest.

Prof. Dr. Guillermo San Miguel
Assist. Prof. Dr. Sergio Alvarez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA)
social life cycle assessment (SLCA)
life cycle costing (LCC)
life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA)
environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA)
carbon footprint
renewable energies
bioenergy

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2371 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecological Scarcity Based Impact Assessment for a Decentralised Renewable Energy System

by Hendrik Lambrecht, Steffen Lewerenz, Heidi Hottenroth, Ingela Tietze and Tobias Viere

Energies 2020, 13(21), 5655; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215655 - 29 Oct 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2363

Abstract

Increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity and heat generation is the cornerstone of a climate-friendly energy transition. However, as renewable technologies rely on diverse natural resources, the design of decarbonized energy systems inevitably leads to environmental trade-offs. This paper presents the case study of a comprehensive impact assessment for different future development scenarios of a decentralized renewable energy system in Germany. It applies an adapted ecological scarcity method (ESM) that improves decision-support by ranking the investigated scenarios and revealing their main environmental shortcomings: increased mineral resource use and pollutant emissions due to required technical infrastructure and a substantial increase in land use due to biomass combustion. Concerning the case study, the paper suggests extending the set of considered options, e.g., towards including imported wind energy. More generally, the findings underline the need for a comprehensive environmental assessment of renewable energy systems that integrate electricity supply with heating, cooling, and mobility. On a methodical level, the ESM turns out to be a transparent and well adaptable method to analyze environmental trade-offs from renewable energy supply. It currently suffers from missing quantitative targets that are democratically sufficiently legitimized. At the same time, it can provide a sound basis for an informed discussion on such targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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16 pages, 2585 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Environmental Sustainability of a Stirling Cycle-Based Heat Pump Using LCA

by Umara Khan, Ron Zevenhoven and Tor-Martin Tveit

Energies 2020, 13(17), 4469; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174469 - 31 Aug 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3944

Abstract

Heat pumps are increasingly seen as efficient and cost-effective heating systems also in industrial applications. They can drastically reduce the carbon footprint of heating by utilizing waste heat and renewable electricity. Recent research on Stirling cycle-based very high temperature heat pumps is motivated by their promising role in addressing global environmental and energy-related challenges. Evaluating the environmental footprint of a heat pump is not easy, and the impacts of Stirling cycle-based heat pumps, with a relatively high temperature lift have received little attention. In this work, the environmental footprint of a Stirling cycle-based very high temperature heat pump is evaluated using a “cradle to grave” LCA approach. The results for 15 years of use (including manufacturing phase, operation phase, and decommissioning) of a 500-kW heat output rate system are compared with those of natural gas- and oil-fired boilers. It is found that, for the Stirling cycle-based HP, the global warming potential after of 15 years of use is nearly −5000 kg CO₂ equivalent. The Stirling cycle-based HP offers an environmental impact reduction of at least 10% up to over 40% in the categories climate change, photochemical ozone formation, and ozone depletion when compared to gas- and oil-fired boilers, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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24 pages, 5138 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental and Comparative Assessment of Integrated Gasification Gas Cycle with CaO Looping and CO₂ Adsorption by Activated Carbon: A Case Study of the Czech Republic

by Kristína Zakuciová, Ana Carvalho, Jiří Štefanica, Monika Vitvarová, Lukáš Pilař and Vladimír Kočí

Energies 2020, 13(16), 4188; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13164188 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1890

Abstract

The Czech Republic is gradually shifting toward a low-carbon economy. The transition process requires measures that will help to contain energy production and help to reduce emissions from the coal industry. Viable measures are seen in carbon capture technologies (CCTs). The main focus is on the environmental and economic comparison of two innovative CCTs that are integrated in the operational Czech energy units. The assessed scenarios are (1) the scenario of pre-combustion CO₂ capture integrated into the gasification combined cycle (IGCC-CaL) and (2) the scenario of post-combustion capture by adsorption of CO₂ by activated carbon (PCC-A). An environmental assessment is performed through a life-cycle assessment method and compares the systems in the phase of characterization, normalization, and relative contribution of the processes to the environmental categories. Economic assessment compares CCT via capture and avoided costs of CO₂ and their correlation with CO₂ allowance market trend. The paper concludes with the selection of the most suitable CCT in the conditions of the Czech Republic by combining the scores of environmental and economic parameters. While the specific case of IGCC-CaL shows improvement in the environmental assessment, the economic analysis resulted in favor of PCC-A. The lower environmental–economic combination score results in the selection of IGCC-CaL as the more viable option in comparison with PCC-A in the current Czech energy and economic conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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19 pages, 1263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Complete Data Inventory of a Geothermal Power Plant for Robust Cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment Results

by Lorenzo Tosti, Nicola Ferrara, Riccardo Basosi and Maria Laura Parisi

Energies 2020, 13(11), 2839; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112839 - 03 Jun 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4373

Abstract

Technologies to produce electric energy from renewable geothermal source are gaining increasing attention, due to their ability to provide a stable output suitable for baseload production. Performing life cycle assessment (LCA) of geothermal systems has become essential to evaluate their environmental performance. However, so far, no documented nor reliable information has been made available for developing robust LCA studies. This work provides a comprehensive inventory of the Italian Bagnore geothermal power plants system. The inventory is based exclusively on primary data, accounting for every life cycle stage of the system. Data quality was assessed by means of a pedigree matrix. The calculated LCA results showed, with an overall low level of uncertainty (2–3%), that the commissioning and operational phases accounted for more than 95% of the environmental profile. Direct emissions to atmosphere were shown to be the major environmental impact, particularly those released during the operational phase (84%). The environmental performances comparison with the average Italian electricity mix showed that the balance is always in favor of geothermal energy production, except in the climate change impact category. The overall outcome confirms the importance, for flash technology employing fluid with a high concentration of gas content, of using good quality primary data to obtain robust results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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24 pages, 3305 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Combining Biomass Gasification and Solid Oxid Fuel Cell for Heat and Power Generation: An Early-Stage Life Cycle Assessment

by Christian Moretti, Blanca Corona, Viola Rühlin, Thomas Götz, Martin Junginger, Thomas Brunner, Ingwald Obernberger and Li Shen

Energies 2020, 13(11), 2773; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112773 - 01 Jun 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3444

Abstract

Biomass-fueled combined heat and power systems (CHPs) can potentially offer environmental benefits compared to conventional separate production technologies. This study presents the first environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of a novel high-efficiency bio-based power (HBP) technology, which combines biomass gasification with a 199 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to produce heat and electricity. The aim is to identify the main sources of environmental impacts and to assess the potential environmental performance compared to benchmark technologies. The use of various biomass fuels and alternative allocation methods were scrutinized. The LCA results reveal that most of the environmental impacts of the energy supplied with the HBP technology are caused by the production of the biomass fuel. This contribution is higher for pelletized than for chipped biomass. Overall, HBP technology shows better environmental performance than heat from natural gas and electricity from the German/European grid. When comparing the HBP technology with the biomass-fueled ORC technology, the former offers significant benefits in terms of particulate matter (about 22 times lower), photochemical ozone formation (11 times lower), acidification (8 times lower) and terrestrial eutrophication (about 26 times lower). The environmental performance was not affected by the allocation parameter (exergy or economic) used. However, the tested substitution approaches showed to be inadequate to model multiple environmental impacts of CHP plants under the investigated context and goal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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20 pages, 6426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of the Spanish Electricity: Past, Present and Future Projections

by Guillermo San Miguel and María Cerrato

Energies 2020, 13(8), 1896; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13081896 - 13 Apr 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2231

Abstract

This paper provides an investigation into the sustainability of the electrical system in Spain. The analysis covers historic inventories of power generation, installed capacity and technology mix since 1990 and also contemplates four alternative projections for 2030 and 2050. The sustainability is evaluated using eight indicators that provide objective information about the environmental (climate change, fossil depletion, ozone layer depletion, terrestrial acidification, human toxicity and photochemical smog), economic (levelized cost of electricity) and socio-economic (direct employment) performance of the system. The results show an increase in the magnitude of the environmental impacts between 1990 and 2008, due to a growing power demand triggered by economic expansion. After 2008, the environmental performance improves due to the economic recession and the penetration of renewable energies. Overall, the cost of power generation remains rather stable as rising expenses generated by renewables are compensated by a progressive reduction in the cost of fossil technologies. Direct employment generation has been strongly stimulated by the upsurge in renewables that has taken place in Spain after 2008. Regarding future scenarios, the results evidence that the most ambitious projections in terms of renewable penetration perform best in terms of environmental performance, employment generation and reduced costs (€/MWh). The significance of these benefits was particularly clear in the 2050 scenario. In the long term, the scenario considering higher fossil fuel contributions (ST) performed worst in all sustainability indicators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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30 pages, 1085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Risk Assessment Model of Coalbed Methane Development Based on the Matter-Element Extension Method

by Wanqing Wang, Shuran Lyu, Yudong Zhang and Shuqi Ma

Energies 2019, 12(20), 3931; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12203931 - 16 Oct 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2119

Abstract

Coalbed methane development represents a complex system engineering operation that involves complex technology, many links, long cycles, and various risks. If risks are not controlled in a timely and effective manner, project operators may easily cause different levels of casualties, resource waste and property loss. To evaluate the risk status of coalbed methane development projects, this paper constructs a coalbed methane development risk assessment index system that consists of six first grade indexes and 45 second grade indexes. The weight of each index is calculated based on the structure entropy weight method. Then, a theoretical model for risk assessments of coalbed methane development is established based on the matter-element extension method. Finally, the model is applied to analyze a coalbed methane development project in the southern Qinshui Basin of China. The results show that the overall risk level of the coalbed methane development project is Grade II, indicating that the overall risk of the project is small, but the local risk of the project needs to be rectified in time. The assessment results are consistent with the actual operation of the project, indicating that the established risk assessment model has good applicability and effectiveness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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20 pages, 4133 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermodynamic-Based Exergy Analysis of Precious Metal Recovery out of Waste Printed Circuit Board through Black Copper Smelting Process

by Maryam Ghodrat, Bijan Samali, Muhammad Akbar Rhamdhani and Geoffrey Brooks

Energies 2019, 12(7), 1313; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12071313 - 05 Apr 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3836

Abstract

Exergy analysis is one of the useful decision-support tools in assessing the environmental impact related to waste emissions from fossil fuel. This paper proposes a thermodynamic-based design to estimate the exergy quantity and losses during the recycling of copper and other valuable metals out of electronic waste (e-waste) through a secondary copper recycling process. The losses related to recycling, as well as the quality losses linked to metal and oxide dust, can be used as an index of the resource loss and the effectiveness of the selected recycling route. Process-based results are presented for the emission exergy of the major equipment used, which are namely a reduction furnace, an oxidation furnace, and fire-refining, electrorefining, and precious metal-refining (PMR) processes for two scenarios (secondary copper recycling with 50% and 30% waste printed circuit boards in the feed). The results of the work reveal that increasing the percentage of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) in the feed will lead to an increase in the exergy emission of CO₂. The variation of the exergy loss for all of the process units involved in the e-waste treatment process illustrated that the oxidation stage is the key contributor to exergy loss, followed by reduction and fire refining. The results also suggest that a fundamental variation of the emission refining through a secondary copper recycling process is necessary for e-waste treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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17 pages, 1189 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emission Analysis for BEVs and PhEVs: A Case Study in China

by Siqin Xiong, Junping Ji and Xiaoming Ma

Energies 2019, 12(5), 834; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12050834 - 03 Mar 2019

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 6333

Abstract

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are seen as the most promising alternatives to internal combustion vehicles, as a means to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. To provide the basis for preferable decisions among these vehicle technologies, an environmental benefit evaluation should be conducted. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) are two most often applied batteries to power these vehicles. Given this context, this study aims to compare life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of BEVs and PHEVs, both of which are powered by LFP and NMC batteries. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses are conducted, concerning electricity generation mix, lifetime mileage, utility factor, and battery recycling. BEVs are found to be less emission-intensive than PHEVs given the existing and near-future electricity generation mix in China, and the energy consumption and GHG emissions of a BEV are about 3.04% (NMC) to 9.57% (LFP) and 15.95% (NMC) to 26.32% (LFP) lower, respectively, than those of a PHEV. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems)

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