88099 - Study And Procedures Of Environmental Impact And Certification

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide the basic knowledge for the assessment of the environmental sustainability of materials, products and production processes through the analysis of the life cycle LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). The bases are laid for the use of the LCA instrument to support research and development, with the possibility of simulating different technological scenarios on the trend of energy consumption related to the materials, products and processes used. Moreover, the LCA evaluation would allow to identify the solutions compatible with the technologies available in the company and then proceed with the planning phase of any changes, at the same time as an economic feasibility study. The course provides the knowledge to use the LCA technique as a basic approach for ecological labeling and for an environmentally friendly design.

Course contents

Introduction to the course: introduction of the concept of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment - development of the LCA methodology, characteristics and potential - description of the four phases that characterize it as definition of the objective and field of application, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation of results. Structure of the LCA analysis: general definitions. First phase of the LCA analysis: definition of goals and objectives, definition of the system, functional unit, system boundaries, quality and reliability of the collected data. Energy analysis: methodology - renewable, exhaustible and inexhaustible energy - definition of energy load - investment energy - direct and indirect energy - feedstock energy, energy supplied by workers and expenditure for workers, cumulative energy - energy content of materials - energy to produce fuels. Second phase of the LCA analysis: introduction to inventory analysis, information gathering, data processing - allocation - "end of life" management - process analysis - inventory results. Third phase of the LCA analysis: analysis of impacts - general aspects and definitions - normalization of results. Fourth phase of the LCA analysis: interpretation of the results and improvement. Life Cycle Design: eco-friendly design - eco-efficiency - selection of materials - functions, objectives and design constraints. Characteristics of the software used for the LCA analysis: schematic representation of the life cycle system - creation of the tables - flow charts - databases - presentation of the results - energy measurement units and conversions. Regulations: International standards and regulations of reference (ISO standards) - ecological labeling (ecolabel) - environmental product declaration (EPD, Environmental Product Declaration) - Carbon Footprint (calculation of CO2 emissions). LCA case studies: presentation of LCA assessments on real cases of industrial research

Readings/Bibliography

Lesson notes and material provided by the teacher.

- Gina luca Baldo, Massimo Marino, Stefano Rossi – Analisi del Ciclo di Vita LCA – Edizioni Ambiente

Teaching methods

Theoretical lectures in the classroom.

Assessment methods

The verification of learning takes place through a final written test of about 1 hour, during which the use of supporting material such as books, notes, computer supports is not allowed. The written test will contain a series of multiple-choice and open questions and aims to ascertain and verify the skills and knowledge acquired in the context of the topics covered in the entire course program.

Teaching tools

Lecture notes and selected and updated bibliographic material provided by the teacher during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Manuela Siracusa