B9040 - CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to describe the priority actions according to the waste hierarchy fixed by European and Italian regulations. Principles of waste prevention, recycling and recovery of materials and energy will be learnt, in the light of the Best Available Techniques in this field. LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) approach will be introduced, allowing students to conceive the issue of environmental sustainability in waste treatments, within a systemic perspective. The presentation of significant case-studies will let the students to achieve professional skills in this field.

Course contents

Introduction to the regulatory framework, in particular at the European level, concerning circular economy and waste prevention and valorisation. Description of an integrated waste management system. Waste characterization through composition and physico-chemical analysis. Ecodesign and use of secondary materials, treatments and process performance. Waste sorting, material recycling (e.g., paper, glass, plastics, textiles, WEEE) and energy recovery. Organic fraction recovery: composting and anaerobic digestion processes. Disposal systems. Introduction to the environmental impact assessment, from a life cycle perspective. Description of Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Case studies of application of the circulary economy concept and assessment of relevant environmental impacts.

Readings/Bibliography

John Pichtel, "Waste Management Practices. Municipal, Hazardous, and Industrial" (Second Edition), CRC Press 2014.
S . Bhupatthi Rav (ed. by). "Sustainable Solid Waste Management", Apple Academic Press 2012.
O. Jolliet, M. Saadé-Sbeih, S. Shaked, A. Jolliet, P. Crettaz, "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment", CRC Press, 2016.
M. Z. Hauschild, R. K. Rosenbaum, S. Irving Olsen (Eds.), "Life Cycle Assessment. Theory and Practice", Springer, 2018.
ISO Standards 14040 and 14044

Teaching methods

The course will be held with theoretical lectures, exercises and presentation of case studies

Assessment methods

The exam consists in a presentation, followed by an oral discussion, considering a case study of resource/waste management, and/or of environmental assessment through LCA, reported in literature.
The study should be critically commented, giving personal remarks on the assumption and the interpretation made by the authors. It would be sent by e-mail to the teacher at least one week before the date of the exam.
The ability of performing a critical analysis of a research based on bibliographic sources found by the students will be verified, assessing the degree of investigation of the course contents.
The exam is aimed at verifying that the students have learnt how to go inside the problems of circular economy, waste prevention and treatment, to understand the environmental processes associated to waste management activities, to know how to take a thoughtful decision in the view of a higher environmental sustainability. Oral discussion could then concern some topics covered in the course, near the issue developed in the report prepared by the candidate.
The use of any additional equipment or adaptation relating to the exam is permitted only in the case of a prior agreement with the teacher, the interested student and the Service for students with specific learning disabilities of Unibo.
In order to sit for the examination, it is necessary to enter one's name in the list through AlmaEsami. Those who are not able to register themselves in time, must tell it to the teacher, who however have the faculty of admitting them to the exam.

Teaching tools

The course will be taught with the aid of computer support for the projection of text and images. The slides will be left available to the students, usually uploaded on the Unibo platform https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Fabrizio Passarini