Evaluation of the environmental impact of the urban energy lifecycle based on lifecycle assessment
Energy resources have environmental impact through their entire lifecycle. The evaluation of the environmental impacts of the energy lifecycle can contribute to decision making regarding energy management. In this paper, the lifecycle assessment (LCA) method is introduced to calculate the environmen...
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Published in | Frontiers of earth science Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 123 - 130 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Heidelberg
Springer-Verlag
01.03.2014
Higher Education Press Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Energy resources have environmental impact through their entire lifecycle. The evaluation of the environmental impacts of the energy lifecycle can contribute to decision making regarding energy management. In this paper, the lifecycle assessment (LCA) method is introduced to calculate the environmental impact loads of different types of energy resources (including coal, oil, natural gas, and electricity) used in urban regions. The scope of LCA includes the production, transportation, and consumption processes. The pollutant emission inventory is listed, and the environmental impact loads are acquired through the calculation of environmental impact potentials, normalization, and weighted assessment. The evaluation method is applied to Beijing, China, revealing that photochemical oxidant formation and acidification are the primary impact factors in the lifecycle of all energy resources and that the total environmental impact load increased steadily from 132.69 million person equivalents (PE) in 1996 to 208.97 million PE in 2010. Among the energy types, coal contributes most to the environmental impact, while the impacts caused by oil, natural gas, and electricity have been growing. The evaluation of the environmental impact of the urban energy lifecycle is useful for regulating energy structures and reducing pollution, which could help achieve sustainable energetic and environmental development. |
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Bibliography: | Energy resources have environmental impact through their entire lifecycle. The evaluation of the environmental impacts of the energy lifecycle can contribute to decision making regarding energy manage- ment. In this paper, the lifecycle assessment (LCA) method is introduced to calculate the environmental impact loads of different types of energy resources (including coal, oil, natural gas, and electricity) used in urban regions. The scope of LCA includes the production, transportation, and consumption processes. The pollutant emission inventory is listed, and the environmental impact loads are acquired through the calculation of environmental impact potentials, normalization, and weighted assessment. The evaluation method is applied to Beijing, China, revealing that photochemical oxidant formation and acidification are the primary impact factors in the lifecycle of all energy resources and that the total environmental impact load increased steadily from 132.69 million person equivalents (PE) in 1996 to 208.97 million PE in 2010. Among the energy types, coal contributes most to the environmental impact, while the impacts caused by oil, natural gas, and electricity have been growing. The evaluation of the environmental impact of the urban energy lifecycle is useful for regulating energy structures and reducing pollution, which could help achieve sustainable energetic and environmental development. 11-5982/P environmental impact, urban energy lifecycle, lifecycte assessment (LCA), Beijing http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11707-013-0384-9 Beijing environmental impact urban energy lifecycle Document received on :2013-01-14 Document accepted on :2013-03-10 lifecycle assessment (LCA) ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2095-0195 2095-0209 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11707-013-0384-9 |