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Abstract: Diplomsko delo obravnava problematiko vplivov izdelkov na okolje v vseh fazah njihovega življenjskega cikla. Osrednji predmet raziskave so litij-ionske baterije, ki imajo ključno vlogo pri razvoju električne mobilnosti in prenosne elektronike, vendar hkrati predstavljajo pomembne okoljske izzive. V nalogi so analizirani vplivi posameznih faz življenjskega cikla baterij od pridobivanja surovin in proizvodnje do uporabe ter končne obdelave ali recikliranja. Posebna pozornost je namenjena porabi naravnih virov, emisijam toplogrednih plinov, nastanku odpadkov in možnostim ponovne uporabe materialov. Cilj naloge je razviti metodološki pristop za oceno in zmanjšanje okoljskih vplivov izdelkov z uporabo ocene življenjskega cikla. Pri tem se upoštevajo mednarodni standardi SIST EN ISO 14040:2006 in SIST EN ISO 14044:2006. Rezultati naloge vključujejo podrobno oceno vplivov litij-ionskih baterij v vseh fazah življenjskega cikla in priporočila za njihovo zmanjšanje, kar lahko prispeva k trajnostnemu razvoju izdelkov.
Keywords: LCA, življenjski cikel, razvoj izdelka, vpliv na okolje, litij-ionske baterije
Published in DKUM: 07.10.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 9
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Abstract: Japanese knotweed is an invasive alien plant species with characteristic rapid expansion in Europe and North America and resistance to extermination. It displaces autochthonous biodiversity and causes major damage to infrastructure, thus causing global ecological and economic damage. The Japanese knotweed plant is usually eradicated using various chemical, biological, or mechanical techniques, which at a large scale include heavy equipment, usually followed by incineration. Therefore, excavation is preferred to eradication techniques, and as a biomass waste recovery method due to the extraction of high-value biocompounds. This is supported by the fact that the Japanese knotweed possesses various bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on human health. Its rhizome bark extract produces strong and stable antioxidant activity over time, as well as apoptotic, antibacterial, and other beneficial activities. In this work, an environmental impact assessment, including greenhouse gas footprint, acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity for extraction route of the Japanese knotweed rhizome bark, is performed. A comparative case study between the lab-based and proposed pilot-scale production of active added-value extract was evaluated. The results show the pilot-scale production exhibits lower environmental burdens, mainly due to greater electricity requirements for the lab-scale alternative.
Keywords: Japanese knotweed rhizome bark extract, invasive alien plant species, bioactive compounds, lab-scale, pilot-scale, life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental burden assessment
Published in DKUM: 19.03.2024; Views: 236; Downloads: 27
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Abstract: The seafood processing industry generates substantial amounts of waste, particularly from the shells of crustaceans. These shells currently hold limited to no value within the food sector, and the current methods of disposal can have negative impact on the natural bioecology. However, these shells still contain valuable compounds such as polymers, minerals, and polyphenols, which could be further utilized. Extracting these compounds using a biorefinery approach, which emphasizes sustainability, could be a viable solution. This master thesis aims to assess the environmental implications, using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, of a shrimp shell biorefinery process, to produce valuable products, like proteins, chitin, astaxanthin and calcium carbonate. The laboratory-scale biorefinery process was initially upscaled to both pilot and industrial scales, based on equipment design. Also, a comparison between the calculated power demand of units and the power demand of units, derived from Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, was also done. For the laboratory, pilot and industrial sized process, the energy consumption was determined combined with the environmental impact assessment, such as global warming, eutrophication, acidification, ecotoxicity potentials and other. The functional unit was the production of 1 kg of chitin, where the capacity of the laboratory process was linearly scaled up. The evaluation of energy consumption revealed significant disparities among the different scales. Specifically, the upscaled laboratory process exhibited significantly higher energy consumption per kg of chitin (5,882.1 kWh) in comparison to the pilot (62.3 kWh) and industrial (21.1 kWh) scales. This outcome underscores the inadequacies of employing a linear scale-up in environmental analysis. Notably, centrifugation dominated electrical energy consumption at the laboratory-scale and industrial-scale, while refrigeration took over this role at the pilot-scale process. Related to impact assessment it was found that both pilot- and industrial-scale processes demonstrated lower overall environmental impacts, compared to the laboratory-scale process in all evaluated categories. Acidification, photochemical oxidation, eutrophication and global warming potential exhibited the most significant variations, with reductions ranging up to 97 %, while ozone layer depletion displayed only a 17 % decrease. Importantly, all three scales also exhibited some positive effects (unburdening the environment) due to the use of shrimp shell materials, with particularly noticeable improvements in the category of terrestrial ecotoxicity.
Keywords: Shrimp shells, Biorefinery, Process design, Life cycle assessment (LCA), Circular bioeconomy, Process Scale-up
Published in DKUM: 04.10.2023; Views: 473; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: Ogroženost okolja in globalne podnebne spremembe so med največjimi izzivi sodobnega časa. Človeške dejavnosti, kot so izgorevanje fosilnih goriv, krčenje gozdov in intenzivno kmetijstvo, povzročajo povečanje toplogrednih plinov v ozračju, ki zadržujejo toploto in spreminjajo naravno ravnovesje. Posledice so vidne v porastu povprečne temperature zraka in oceanov, taljenju ledenikov in polarnega ledu, dvigu morske gladine, pogostejših in ekstremnejših vremenskih dogodkih ter izgubi biotske raznovrstnosti. Nujno je treba ukrepati na vseh ravneh, od lokalne do globalne, da bi zmanjšali emisije toplogrednih plinov, prilagodili se spremenjenim razmeram in ohranili naravne vire za prihodnje generacije. Analiza življenjskega cikla (LCA) je metodologija za ocenjevanje okoljskih vplivov, povezanih z vsemi fazami življenjskega cikla izdelka, procesa ali storitve. V tej študiji s pomočjo LCA-analize primerjamo proizvodnjo petih različnih izolacijskih materialov v gradbeništvu: škrobnega aerogela, silikatnega aerogela, kamene volne, steklene volne ter poliuretanske pene. Cilj analize je ugotoviti, kateri material ima najnižji okoljski odtis glede na različne kategorije vpliva. Na podlagi rezultatov lahko sklepamo, da sta škrobni in silikatni aerogel bolj trajnostni izbiri za izolacijske materiale v gradbeništvu kot kamena volna, steklena volna ali poliuretanska pena. Vendar pa je treba upoštevati tudi druge dejavnike, kot so stroški, razpoložljivost, zmogljivost in trajnost materialov pri konkretnih aplikacijah.
Keywords: izolacijski materiali, aerogeli, LCA
Published in DKUM: 19.06.2023; Views: 528; Downloads: 94
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Abstract: V uvodnem delu magistrske naloge smo predstavili leseno in opečnato gradnjo. V prehodu na glavni del smo podrobneje opisali še LCA analizo. Glavni del magistrske naloge predstavlja ocena življenjega cikla lesene in opečnate hiše, povzete po hiši 114 podjetja Rihter. Z uporabo različnih stenskih in stropnih sistemov bomo dokazali, da je lesena montažnja gradnja okolju bolj prijazna.
Keywords: LCA, montažna lesena gradnja, zidana opečna gradnja, ocena življenjskega cikla
Published in DKUM: 19.07.2021; Views: 1103; Downloads: 165
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