An LCA based indicator for evaluation of alternative energy routes

Politicians and policymakers are searching for alternatives for current energy conversion systems in order to reduce environmental pollution whilst preserving scarce natural resources. When defining new alternatives it is important to find out how environmentally friendly and sustainable these alter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied energy 2011-03, Vol.88 (3), p.630-635
Main Authors: Rubio Rodríguez, M.A., Ruyck, J. De, Díaz, P. Roque, Verma, V.K., Bram, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Alternative fuels
Applied sciences
biogas
case studies
Economic data
ELCA
electricity
Energy
Energy economics
Energy policy
Energy route
Energy sustainability
Energy system
Energy system Energy route Energy sustainability LCA ELCA
environmental impact
environmental pollution
Exact sciences and technology
exergy
fuel oils
gasoline
General, economic and professional studies
Indicators
LCA
life cycle assessment
methanol
Methodology. Modelling
Methyl alcohol
Natural energy
Natural resources
pollution
Power generation
Searching
Transport
wind
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Summary:Politicians and policymakers are searching for alternatives for current energy conversion systems in order to reduce environmental pollution whilst preserving scarce natural resources. When defining new alternatives it is important to find out how environmentally friendly and sustainable these alternatives are, and which of them will ensure a major improvement in environmental issue. To answer such questions the present work proposes a new type of indicator based on exergy life cycle data. Alternative energy routes towards different services and commodities are compared in terms of environmental impact and indirect natural resource costs. Two case studies are presented using data from the Ecoinvent database (v2.01 2007) to compare alternatives to petrol transport and fuel oil power generation. The alternative transport routes assessed were methanol and biogas fueled cars, and wind electricity in the case of power generation.
ISSN:0306-2619
1872-9118
DOI:10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.08.013