Regionalized LCA-based optimization of building energy supply: method and case study for a Swiss municipality.

This paper presents a regionalized LCA-based multiobjective optimization model of building energy demand and supply for the case of a Swiss municipality for the minimization of greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter formation. The results show that the environmental improvement potential is very large: in the optimal case, greenhouse gas emissions from energy supply could be reduced by more than 75% and particulate emissions by over 50% in the municipality. This scenario supposes a drastic shift of heat supply systems from a fossil fuel dominated portfolio to a portfolio consisting of mainly heat pump and woodchip incineration systems.

An LCA model for waste incineration enhanced with new technologies for metal recovery and application to the case of Switzerland.

A process model of municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) and new technologies for metal recovery from combustion residues was developed. The environmental impact is modeled as a function of waste composition as well as waste treatment and material recovery technologies. The model includes combustion with a grate incinerator, several flue gas treatment technologies, electricity and steam production from waste heat recovery, metal recovery from slag and fly ash, and landfilling of residues and can be tailored to specific plants and sites (software tools can be downloaded free of charge).

Effects of consumptive water use on biodiversity in wetlands of international importance.

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that harbor a large diversity of species. Wetlands are among the most threatened ecosystems on our planet, due to human influences such as conversion and drainage. We assessed impacts from water consumption on the species richness of waterbirds, nonresidential birds, water-dependent mammals, reptiles and amphibians in wetlands, considering a larger number of taxa than previous life cycle impact assessment methods.

Housing and mobility demands of individual households and their life cycle assessment.

Household consumption, apart from governmental consumption, is the main driver of worldwide economy. Attached to each household purchase are economic activities along the preceding supply chain, with the associated resource use and emissions. A method to capture and assess all these resource uses and emissions is life cycle assessment.

Persistence of engineered nanoparticles in a municipal solid-waste incineration plant.

More than 100 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are incinerated worldwide every year. However, little is known about the fate of nanomaterials during incineration, even though the presence of engineered nanoparticles in waste is expected to grow. Here, we show that cerium oxide nanoparticles introduced into a full-scale waste incineration plant bind loosely to solid residues from the combustion process and can be efficiently removed from flue gas using current filter technology.

Probabilistic and technology-specific modeling of emissions from municipal solid-waste incineration.

The European legislation increasingly directs waste streams which cannot be recycled toward thermal treatment. Models are therefore needed that help to quantify emissions of waste incineration and thus reveal potential risks and mitigation needs. This study presents a probabilistic model which computes emissions as a function of waste composition and technological layout of grate incineration plants and their pollution-control equipment.