Assessment of the Environmental Impact of a Car Tire throughout Its Lifecycle Using the LCA Method

An Analysis of Changes in the Harmfulness of the Bottle Packaging Process Depending on the Type of Heat-Shrinkable Film

This article shows an analysis of selected stages of a machine's life cycle environmental impact in the specific case of machines that package bottles in thermo-shrinkable film. As part of this analysis, laboratory tests were carried out to compare the performance properties of polyethylene films (with and without recycled material). Then, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out within the specified system boundaries using the SimaPro program. Using the ReCiPe 2016 method, differences in the impact of the mass bottle packaging process on the categories human health, ecosystems and resources were determined depending on the shrink film used in the process. These tests showed that the tested batch of film with the addition of recyclates has similar functional properties to traditional ones and can therefore be used in the mass packaging process. The environmental analysis showed that changing the type of film to film with the addition of recyclates results in an almost 70% reduction in the potential negative impact of the process in terms of damage to health and ecosystems, and by 85% in terms of resources.

Materials and Products Development Based on a Novelty Approach to Quality and Life Cycle Assessment (QLCA)

The development of materials and the products made from them should respond to new challenges posed by market changes and also by climate change. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to develop a method that supports the sustainable development of materials and the products made from them based on an aggregated indicator of quality and environmental load in the life cycle (QLCA). The testing and illustration of the QLCA method included a passenger car tyre and nine prototypes. These prototypes were described using eight quality criteria: season, class, size of the load index, speed index, rolling, adhesion, and external noise. Then, customer expectations regarding the importance of the criteria and satisfaction with the indicators in the current and modified states were obtained. Based on the customer assessment, the quality indicators of the prototypes were assessed. This assessment was supported by the weighted sum model (WSM) and the entropy method. Then, life cycle assessment for the reference tyre was performed using the Ecoinvent database in the OpenLCA program. LCA indicators were modelled for other prototypes, taking into account quality changes. As a result of the verification of the method, an aggregated QLCA indicator was estimated, based on which it was possible to select the most favourable (qualitatively and environmentally) prototype out of nine. This was the P4 prototype (QLCA = 0.57). The next position in the ranking was taken by P7 (QLCA = 0.43). The QLCA method can be used to determine the direction of development of materials and products in terms of their sustainable development.

Impacts associated with the plastic polymers polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polybutadiene across their life cycle: A review

Polymers are the main building blocks of plastic, with the annual global production volume of fossil carbon-based polymers reaching over 457 million metric tons in 2019 and this figure is anticipated to triple by 2060. There is potential for environmental harm and adverse human health impacts associated with plastic, its constituent polymers and the chemicals therein, at all stages of the plastic life cycle, from extraction of raw materials, production and manufacturing, consumption, through to ultimate disposal and waste management. While there have been considerable research and policy efforts in identifying and mitigating the impacts associated with problematic plastic products such as single-use plastics and hazardous chemicals in plastics, with national and/or international regulations to phase out their use, plastic polymers are often overlooked. In this review, the polymer dimension of the current knowledge on environmental release, human exposure and health impacts of plastic is discussed across the plastic life cycle, including chemicals used in production and additives commonly used to achieve the properties needed for applications for which the polymers are generally used. This review focuses on polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polybutadiene, four common plastic polymers made from the hazardous monomers, bisphenol, styrene, vinyl chloride and 1,3-butadiene, respectively. Potential alternative polymers, chemicals, and products are considered. Our findings emphasise the need for a whole system approach to be undertaken for effective regulation of plastics whereby the impacts of plastics are assessed with respect to their constituent polymers, chemicals, and applications and across their entire life cycle.

Machine Learning in the Analysis of the Mechanical Shredding Process of Polymer Recyclates

Artificial intelligence methods and techniques creatively support the processes of developing and improving methods for selecting shredders for the processing of polymer materials. This allows to optimize the fulfillment of selection criteria, which may include not only indicators related to shredding efficiency and recyclate quality but also energy consumption. The aim of this paper is to select methods of analysis based on artificial intelligence (AI) with independent rule extraction, i.e., data-based methods (machine learning-ML). This study took into account real data sets (feature matrix 1982 rows × 40 columns) describing the shredding process, including energy consumption used to optimize the parameters for the energy efficiency of the shredder. Each of the 1982 records in a .csv file (feature vector) has 40 numbers divided by commas. The data were divided into a learning set (70% of the data), a testing set (20% of the data), and a validation set (10% of the data). Cross-validation showed that the best model was LbfgsLogisticRegressionOva (0.9333). This promotes the development of the basis for an intelligent shredding methodology with a high level of innovation in the processing and recycling of polymer materials within the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

Where the rubber meets the road: Emerging environmental impacts of tire wear particles and their chemical cocktails

About 3 billion new tires are produced each year and about 800 million tires become waste annually. Global dependence upon tires produced from natural rubber and petroleum-based compounds represents a persistent and complex environmental problem with only partial and often-times, ineffective solutions. Tire emissions may be in the form of whole tires, tire particles, and chemical compounds, each of which is transported through various atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic routes in the natural and built environments. Production and use of tires generates multiple heavy metals, plastics, PAH's, and other compounds that can be toxic alone or as chemical cocktails. Used tires require storage space, are energy intensive to recycle, and generally have few post-wear uses that are not also potential sources of pollutants (e.g., crumb rubber, pavements, burning). Tire particles emitted during use are a major component of microplastics in urban runoff and a source of unique and highly potent toxic substances. Thus, tires represent a ubiquitous and complex pollutant that requires a comprehensive examination to develop effective management and remediation. We approach the issue of tire pollution holistically by examining the life cycle of tires across production, emissions, recycling, and disposal. In this paper, we synthesize recent research and data about the environmental and human health risks associated with the production, use, and disposal of tires and discuss gaps in our knowledge about fate and transport, as well as the toxicology of tire particles and chemical leachates. We examine potential management and remediation approaches for addressing exposure risks across the life cycle of tires. We consider tires as pollutants across three levels: tires in their whole state, as particulates, and as a mixture of chemical cocktails. Finally, we discuss information gaps in our understanding of tires as a pollutant and outline key questions to improve our knowledge and ability to manage and remediate tire pollution.

Using the LCA Method to Develop the Production of Pigment for Processing Plastics

In recent years, the chemical industry has been developing more and more dynamically, which results in the introduction of many new chemical substances to the market. However, some of them do not meet the accepted standards and may be toxic to humans and the environment. This problem largely concerns polymer materials, which are currently widely used in many areas of the economy. This is indirectly related to the coloring of these materials during processing. Therefore, it became necessary to introduce modern research procedures that enable the quantitative and qualitative determination of the impact of coloring agents in the processing of plastics, in order to include their negative impact on humans and the natural environment. The LCA methodology was used in this work, with ReCiPe 2016 used as the test method. Among the analyzed technological operations, the highest negative impact on the environment was characterized by the process related to heating the tested material (2.08 × 10-1 Pt). Among the materials, polyethylene terephthalate was distinguished by the greatest harmful effect on human health (2.91 × 10-1 Pt) and the quality (2.35 × 10-2 Pt) of the environment. The use of recycling processes would reduce the negative impact on human health (about -3.71 Pt), the ecosystem (about -0.14 Pt), and resources (about -0.27 Pt).

Influence of Die Land Length on the Maximum Extrusion Force and Dry Ice Pellets Density in Ram Extrusion Process

The management of waste materials, particularly non-biodegradable substances such as plastics and composites, is an increasingly pressing issue. Energy efficiency in industrial processes is crucial throughout their life cycle, including the handling of materials such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), which has a significant environmental impact. This study focuses on the conversion of solid CO₂ into pellets using ram extrusion, a widely used technique. The length of the die land (DL) in this process plays a critical role in determining the maximum extrusion force and the density of dry ice pellets. However, the influence of DL length on the characteristics of dry ice snow, known as compressed carbon dioxide (CCD), remains understudied. To address this research gap, the authors conducted experimental trials using a customized ram extrusion setup, varying the DL length while keeping the other parameters constant. The results demonstrate a substantial correlation between DL length and both the maximum extrusion force and dry ice pellets density. Increasing the DL length leads to a decreased extrusion force and optimized pellet density. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing the ram extrusion process of dry ice pellets and improving waste management, energy efficiency, and product quality in industries utilizing this technique.

Performance of Manufactured and Recycled Steel Fibres in Restraining Concrete Plastic Shrinkage Cracks

Early-age plastic shrinkage cracks can reduce the durability of concrete slabs by creating direct paths for the ingress of aggressive agents and thus accelerating degradation due to environmental attack, in particular, in hot and windy environments. The elimination of such cracks is essential for durable and sustainable concrete structures. This paper parametrically investigates the effect of manufactured steel fibres (MSF) and recycled tyre steel fibres (RTSF) on restraining plastic shrinkage and micro cracks at different dosages (10, 20, and 30 kg/m³). The plastic shrinkage tests were carried out in a specially designed chamber, according to ASTM C1579. Various environmental conditions are examined, and their impact on compressive strength and crack potential is assessed. A digital image analysis technique is used to measure length, width, and the area of the crack on the exposed surface to gain additional insights into crack behaviour. The results show a slight early-age (one-day) increase in compressive strength for the concrete exposed to the various environmental conditions, mostly as a result of higher temperatures. Through the use of the crack reduction ratio (CRR), both RTSF and MSF are shown to be successful in controlling plastic shrinkage and micro cracks, with the RTSF being superior due to the fact that they are better distributed in the concrete volume. The addition of 30 kg/m³ of RTSF was effective in preventing crack development in most environments or restraining cracks in extremely harsh environments. The adoption of these results will lead to more sustainable concrete slabs in the harsher environmental conditions created by climate change.

Numerical Simulation of Dry Ice Compaction Process: Comparison of the Mohr-Coulomb Model with the Experimental Results

How to reduce consumption of energy in manufacturing has become a topical issue nowadays. Certain manufacturing processes are known for being highly energy-intensive and compression of materials belongs to this group. This article presents the simulation of the process of compression of dry ice snow with the use of the Mohr-Coulomb model. Two simulation variants were considered in this research. In the first one, constant input parameters were used and in the second one, the input parameters were variable, depending on the changing density of the compressed material. The experimental data were compared with the predicted values to find that the model using constant input parameters was inferior as regards to the goodness of fit. On the other hand, the model with variable input parameters was less accurate in predicting the maximum compression force acting in the process. The last section of this article deals with simulations performed with the Drucker-Prager Cap and modified Cam-Clay models. Finally, it was concluded that the Mohr-Coulomb model yields a more accurate representation of the compression process while requiring less information on the variation of the material parameters.

Recent trends in industrial and academic developments of green tyre technology

Growing natural calamities as a consequence of global warming are one of the most pondering subjects today. The exponential growth of environmental pollution due to unscientific human exploitation of natural resources is considered the prime reason for the harsh responses of nature. Researchers from various fields of industry and academia are working hard to develop and implement products/technologies that are environmentally friendly or less harmful to the ecosystem. Material researchers, specifically those working in the automobile sector are also not behind in search of green products from eco-friendly raw materials and production methods. The automobile industry is collectively responsible for around 40% of global pollution in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Out of which around 20-30% is originating from tyre production and its end-use. In this view, tyre production from eco-friendly raw materials and technologies that have minimum hazardousness to the environment is a hot research topic today. A few products in the market with "green" tags and many are in the pipeline for the recent future. This review summarises a detailed discussion of the emerging green technologies for tyre production and depicted comprehensive data from the available literature. The paper has been drafted from a well-balanced academic and industrial point of view since the researchers from both sectors are working in harmony for a better future for green tyre technology.

Life cycle assessment study on the public transport bus fleet electrification in the context of sustainable urban development strategy

In this paper, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was applied to investigate the environmental impact of the electrification of the urban bus fleet. Public bus transport in large urban agglomerations is one of the main sources of pollution. To reduce the generation of pollution, electrification of the bus fleet is considered as one of the potential solutions. The authors developed three models of buses with different power units: diesel bus, diesel hybrid bus, and electric bus. The impacts of model buses were analysed at the stage of their production and operation in the city, as well as the impact of diesel fuel and electricity production. Furthermore, a case study was conducted based on the example of the Polish city of Krakow, demonstrating three possible scenarios for the electrification of the urban bus fleet. Moreover, an analysis of the environmental impact of the current and future Polish national energy production system until 2040 was carried out. Using the IMPACT 2002+ Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method, the results were reported in four damage endpoint categories: human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resources. It was shown that increasing the share of electric buses in urban fleets can be highly beneficial in all four categories if the electricity used to power the electric buses is produced from enough low- and zero-emission energy sources. In addition, the level of environmental burden generated by the different phases of the life cycle of the bus was characterised. Overall, the advantages and possible problems of urban bus fleet electrification were highlighted, and recommendations for future sustainable development strategies were suggested. Thus, this study can be useful as an algorithm to support decision-making related to the electrification of city bus fleets.

Internalization, reduced growth, and behavioral effects following exposure to micro and nano tire particles in two estuarine indicator species

Synthetic rubber emissions from automobile tires are common in aquatic ecosystems. To assess potential impacts on exposed organisms, early life stages of the estuarine indicator species Inland Silverside (Menidia beryllina) and mysid shrimp (Americamysis bahia) were exposed to three tire particle (TP) concentrations at micro and nano size fractions (0.0038, 0.0378 and 3.778 mg/L in mass concentrations for micro size particles), and separately to leachate, across a 5-25 PSU salinity gradient. Following exposure, M. beryllina and A. bahia had significantly altered swimming behaviors, such as increased freezing, changes in positioning, and total distance moved, which could lead to an increased risk of predation and foraging challenges in the wild. Growth for both A. bahia and M. beryllina was reduced in a concentration-dependent manner when exposed to micro-TP, whereas M. beryllina also demonstrated reduced growth when exposed to nano-TP (except lowest concentration). TP internalization was dependent on the exposure salinity in both taxa. The presence of adverse effects in M. beryllina and A. bahia indicate that even at current environmental levels of tire-related pollution, which are expected to continue to increase, aquatic ecosystems may be experiencing negative impacts.

Effectiveness of selected issues related to used tyre management in Poland

This paper discusses interactions between the generation, collection and recovery of used tyres while considering an indicator of their mass accumulation per area in Poland. Notably, this study aimed to assess selected issues related to used tyre management efficiency from 2008 to 2018 based on European Union and national regulations. Within 11 years, over 5 million Mg of used tyres was introduced into the domestic market-exceeding the amount required for 50 million registered vehicles. It was demonstrated that a significant tyre waste management process involved the recovery of 47% of all tyres, which was almost entirely correlated with the total volume of tyres. Only the growth trend for generated tyres was considered significant, and the rarely used indicator of the accumulation of used tyres per area exhibited an uneven accumulation of used tyres, with the highest amount being 48.06 Mg km^-2 in a region with a small area but a significant volume of waste tyres. Therefore, the management of used tyres requires action in the country to optimally increase this form of waste collection while consolidating the development, gathering and processing infrastructure in the context of further minimising environmental pressure and increasing the efficiency of their use by considering the 4R principle.

Integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle costing for the eco-design of rubber products

Rubber hoses are a category of rubber products that are widely and intensively employed in construction sites for concrete conveying. There has been lack of study to investigate the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of the rubber hoses as an industrial product. In this study, we analyze four types of rubber hoses with the inner layer made of different rubber composites to resist abrasion, i.e., Baseline, S-I, S-II and S-III. Tests of the wear resistance are carried out in the laboratory and S-III shows high abrasion resisting performance with the concrete conveying volume up to 20,000 m³ during the service life. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) models are established for evaluating the four types of rubber hoses. A target function is developed to integrate LCA and LCC by converting the LCA results to the environmental costs. It is found that S-III can save 13% total cost comparing to Baseline. The production stage is the largest contributor to the environmental single score, while the use stage is the largest contributor to the life cycle cost. Sensitivity analyses are conducted and the results of this study are validated with the previous studies. The integrated method of LCA and LCC developed in this study paves a way for the eco-design of industrial rubber hoses and is potentially applicable to other rubber products.

Specification of Environmental Consequences of the Life Cycle of Selected Post-Production Waste of Wind Power Plants Blades

Wind power plants during generation of electricity emit almost no detrimental substances into the milieu. Nonetheless, the procedure of extraction of raw materials, production of elements and post-use management carry many negative environmental consequences. Wind power plant blades are mainly made of polymer materials, which cause a number of problems during post-use management. Controlling the system and the environment means such a transformation of their inputs in time that will ensure the achievement of the goal of this system or the state of the environment. Transformations of control of system and environment inputs, for example, blades production, are describing various models which in the research methodology, like LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), LCM (Life Cycle Management), LCI (Life Cycle Inventory), etc. require meticulous grouping and weighing of life cycle variables of polymer materials. The research hypothesis was assuming, in this paper, that the individual post-production waste of wind power plant blades is characterized by a different potential impact on the environment. For this reason, the aim of this publication is to conduct an ecological and energy life cycle analysis, evaluation, steering towards minimization and development (positive progress) of selected polymer waste produced during the manufacture of wind power plant blades. The analyzes were based on the LCA method. The subject of the research was eight types of waste (fiberglass mat, roving fabric, resin discs, distribution hoses, spiral hoses with resin, vacuum bag film, infusion materials residues and surplus mater), which are most often produced during the production of blades. Eco-indicator 99 and CED (Cumulative Energy Demand) were used as the computation procedures. The influence of the analyzed objects on human health, ecosystem quality and resources was appraised. Amidst the considered wastes, the highest level of depreciating impact on the milieu was found in the life cycle of resin discs (made of epoxy resin). The application of recycling processes would decrease the depreciating environmental influence in the context of the total life cycle of all analyzed waste. Based on the outcome of the analyzes, recommendations were proposed for the environmentally friendly post-use management of wind power plant blades, that can be used to develop new blade manufacturing techniques that better fit in with sustainable development and the closed-cycle economy.

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Refrigerator Modelled with Application of Various Electricity Mixes and Technologies

Improving national electricity mixes and increasing a share of renewable energy covered by credible and reliable tracking systems are vital topics, also in a context of life cycle assessment. There are many publications devoted to the relevance of energy in the life cycle of products, but only few LCA examples applying residual mixes have been found in the literature. The paper presents the results of an LCA study for a refrigerator calculated with using different electricity mixes and technologies. The life cycle was divided into eight stages and the electricity consumption was modelled as renewable energy, national residual mix, or national supplier mix. Electricity mixes for three different countries were selected and used. The study aimed to answer the following questions: “what are the most relevant elements in the life cycle of the analysed refrigerator?”, “do the elements change if various electricity mixes are applied?”, and “what differences are there in the environmental impact of electricity generation modelled as residual and supplier mixes?”. From the life cycle perspective, not only may differences in national electricity systems between countries turn out to be important, but equally significant may be the choice between different types of mixes for a certain country.

Life Cycle Assessment of Two Alternative Plastics for Bottle Production

The article characterizes selected issues related to the method of performing environmental impact analyses. Particular attention was paid to the need for identifying environmental effects associated with the process of shaping beverage bottles. This study concerns the analysis of selected stages of the machine’s life cycle environmental impact in the specific case of the blow molding machine used in the production of bottles. Life cycle assessment analysis was performed using the SimaPro 8.4.0 software (The Dutch Company Pre Consultants). The CML 2 and ReCiPe2016 methods were chosen to interpret the lists of chemical emissions. Impact categories specific to the CML 2 model are: abiotic depletion, acidification, eutrophication, global warming, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and photochemical oxidation. Among all the considered impact categories, marine aquatic ecotoxicity was characterized by the highest level of potential harmful effects occurring during the bottle production process. A new aspect of the research is to provide updated and more detailed geographic data on Polish bottle production.

The Development of Efficient Contaminated Polymer Materials Shredding in Recycling Processes

Recently, a dynamic increase in the number of polymer elements ending their life cycle has been observed. There are three main ways of dealing with polymer waste: reuse in an unchanged form, recycling (both material and energy), and disposal (mainly in the form of landfilling or incineration). The legislation of European countries promotes in particular two forms of waste management: reuse and recycling. Recycling processes are used to recover materials and energy especially from contaminated waste, which are structurally changed by other materials, friction, temperature, machine, process, etc. The recycling of polymers, especially of multi-plastic structural elements, requires the use of special technological installations and a series of preparatory operations, including crushing and separating. Due to the universality and necessity of materials processing in recycling engineering, in particular size reduction, the aim of this study is to organize and systematize knowledge about shredding in the recycling process of end-of-life polymeric materials. This could help properly design these processes in the context of sustainable development and circular economy. Firstly, an overview of the possibilities of end-of-life plastics management was made, and the meaning of shredding in the end-of-life pathways was described. Then, the development of comminution in recycling processes was presented, with special emphasis given to quasi-cutting as the dominant mode of comminution of polymeric materials. The phenomenon of quasi-cutting, as well as factors related to the material, the operation of the shredding machine, and the technological process affecting it were described. Research conducted on quasi-cutting as a phenomenon when cutting single material samples and quasi-cutting as a machine process was characterized. Then, issues regarding recycling potentials in the context of shredding were systematized. Considerations included the areas of material, technical, energy, human, and control potentials. Presented bases and models can be used to support the innovation of creative activities, i.e., environmentally friendly actions, that produce specific positive environmental results in the mechanical processing of recycled and reused materials. The literature survey indicates the need to explore the environmental aspect of the shredding process in recycling and connect the shredding process variables with environmental consequences. This will help to design and control the processes to get the lowest possible environmental burdens.

Manufacturing and Recycling Impact on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Wind Power Plant Part 1/2

Wind power plants are considered as an ecologically-clean source of energy. However, manufacturing processes cannot be treated that way. Manufacturing processes consume huge amounts of electrical and thermal energy and significant amount of materials, e.g., steel, polymers, oils, and lubricants. All of the above could be potentially harmful for environment. There are not many works and publications regarding life-cycle analysis of wind power plants. This study’s objective is to use LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) to the manufacturing and utilization of a specific drag force-driven wind turbine. The discussed innovative wind turbine is of the type that assures safety for prosumer application. Drag force-driven turbines become more heavy than other types of lift driven turbines, but at the same time, their characteristic provides opportunity to use easily recyclable materials instead of materials like plastics or composites. The wider look through LCA tools, may change the perspective of view at that type of wind turbines. Analyzed turbine has capacity of 15 kW and is located in Poland. LCA was carried out using Eco-indicator 99 method in eleven impact categories. Among all of the turbine components, the highest negative impact was noted in the case of the tower. The wind turbine under consideration is characterized by high recycling potential. According to the presented research, recycling provides around 30% reduction of the environmental impact.

Manufacturing and Recycling Impact on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Wind Power Plant Part 2/2

The process of conversion of wind kinetic energy into electricity in innovative wind power plant emits practically no harmful substances into the environment. However, the production stage of its components requires a lot of energy and materials. The biggest problem during production planning process of an innovative wind power plant is selection of materials and technologies and, consequently, the waste generated at this stage. Therefore, the aim of this publication was to conduct an environmental analysis of the life cycle of elements of a wind turbine by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The object of the research was a wind power plant divided into five sets of components (tower, turbine structure, rotors, generators, and instrumentation), made mainly of steel and small amounts of polymer materials. Eco-indicator 99 was used as an analytical procedure. The impact of the subjects of analysis on human health, ecosystem quality and resources was assessed. Among the analyzed components, the highest level of negative impact on the environment was characterized by the life cycle of the wind turbine tower. The application of recycling processes is reducing the negative impact on the environment in the perspective of the entire life cycle of all studied elements of the wind power plant construction.

LCA as a Tool for the Environmental Management of Car Tire Manufacturing

Car tire manufacturing can be the cause of numerous environmental hazards. Harmful emissions from the production process are an acute danger to human health as well as the environment. To mitigate these unwanted consequences, manufacturers employ the eco-balance analysis at the product designing and development stage, when formulating general development strategies, and increasingly when investigating the entire product lifecycle management process. Since the negative effects of products are considered in a broader range of implications, it has become necessary to extend the traditional scope of analytical interest onto the production, use, and end-of-life stages. This work investigates the manufacturing of passenger car tires executed with traditional and modern manufacturing technologies. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of tires reported in this study involved three LCA methods: Eco-Indicator 99, Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and the scientific assessment methods developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Warming Potential (IPCC). LCA as a tool for environmental analysis can be carried out for the entire life cycle or its individual phases. The implementation of the work made it possible to demonstrate that as a result of the identification of the main sources of negative impacts, it is possible to propose ways to minimize these impacts in the car tire manufacturing process. The results indicate that the most damaging impact is the depletion of natural resources, which play a key role in the production process of car tires.

Control the System and Environment of Post-Production Wind Turbine Blade Waste Using Life Cycle Models. Part 1. Environmental Transformation Models

Controlling the system—the environment of power plants is called such a transformation—their material, energy and information inputs in time, which will ensure that the purpose of the operation of this system or the state of the environment, is achieved. The transformations of systems and environmental inputs and their goals describe the different models, e.g., LCA model groups and methods. When converting wind kinetic energy into electricity, wind power plants emit literally no harmful substances into the environment. However, the production and postuse management stages of their components require large amounts of energy and materials. The biggest controlling problem during postuse management is wind power plant blades, followed by waste generated during their production. Therefore, this publication is aimed at carrying out an ecological, technical and energetical transformation analysis of selected postproduction waste of wind power plant blades based on the LCA models and methods. The research object of control was eight different types of postproduction waste (fiberglass mat, roving fabric, resin discs, distribution hoses, spiral hoses with resin, vacuum bag film, infusion materials residues, surplus mater), mainly made of polymer materials, making it difficult for postuse management and dangerous for the environment. Three groups of models and methods were used: Eco-indicator 99, IPCC and CED. The impact of analysis objects on human health, ecosystem quality and resources was controlled and assessed. Of all the tested waste, the life cycle of resin discs made of epoxy resin was characterized by the highest level of harmful technology impact on the environment and the highest energy consumption. Postuse control and management in the form of recycling would reduce the negative impact on the environment of the tested waste (in the perspective of their entire life cycle). Based on the results obtained, guidelines and models for the proecological postuse control of postproduction polymer waste of wind power plants blades were proposed.

Managing the Uncertainty and Accuracy of Life Cycle Assessment Results for the Process of Beverage Bottle Moulding

Using environmentally friendly materials in the technological process of bottle production fits perfectly into the idea of sustainable development. The use of natural raw materials as well as conscious energy consumption are strategic aspects that should be considered in order to improve the effectiveness of the bottle moulding process. This paper presents a new and structured approach to the analysis of uncertainty and sensitivity in life cycle assessment, one developed in order to support the design process of environmentally friendly food packaging materials. With regard to this "probabilistic" approach to life cycle assessment, results are expressed as ranges of environmental impacts, and alternative solutions are developed while offering the concept of input uncertainty and the effect thereof on the final result. This approach includes: (1) the evaluation of the quality of inputs (represented by the origin matrix); (2) the reliability of results and (3) the uncertainty of results (the Monte Carlo method). The use of the methodology is illustrated based on an experiment conducted with real data from the technological process of bottle production. The results provide insight into the uncertainty of life cycle assessment indicators regarding global warming, acidification and the use of arable fields and farmland.

Sustainable Wind Power Plant Modernization

The production of energy in wind power plants is regarded as ecologically clean because there being no direct emissions of harmful substances during the conversion of wind energy into electricity. The production and operation of wind power plant components make use of the significant potential of materials such as steel, plastics, concrete, oils, and greases. Energy is also used, which is a source of potential negative environmental impacts. Servicing a wind farm power plant during its operational years, which lasts most often 25 years, followed by its disassembly, involves energy expenditures as well as the recovery of post-construction material potential. There is little research in the world literature on models and methodologies addressing analyses of the environmental and energy aspects of wind turbine modernization, whether in reference to turbines within their respective lifecycles or to those which have already completed them. The paper presents an attempt to solve the problems of wind turbine modernization in terms of balancing energy and material potentials. The aim of sustainable modernization is to overhaul: assemblies, components, and elements of wind power plants to extend selected phases as well as the lifecycle thereof while maintaining a high quality of power and energy; high energy, environmental, and economic efficiency; and low harmfulness to operators, operational functions, the environment, and other technical systems. The aim of the study is to develop a methodology to assess the efficiency of energy and environmental costs incurred during the 25-year lifecycle of a 2 MW wind power plant and of the very same power plant undergoing sustainable modernization to extend its lifecycle to 50 years. The analytical and research procedure conducted is a new model and methodological approach, one which is a valuable source of data for the sustainable lifecycle management of wind power plants in an economy focused on process efficiency and the sustainability of energy and material resources.

Eco-Energetical Life Cycle Assessment of Materials and Components of Photovoltaic Power Plant

During the conversion of solar radiation into electricity, photovoltaic installations do not emit harmful compounds into the environment. However, the stage of production and post-use management of their elements requires large amounts of energy and materials. Therefore, this publication was intended to conduct an eco-energy life cycle analysis of photovoltaic power plant materials and components based on the LCA method. The subject of the study was a 1 MW photovoltaic power plant, located in Poland. Eco-indicator 99, CED and IPCC were used as calculation procedures. Among the analyzed elements of the power plant, the highest level of negative impact on the environment was characterized by the life cycle of photovoltaic panels stored at the landfill after exploitation (the highest demand for energy, materials and CO2 emissions). Among the materials of the power plant distinguished by the highest harmful effect on health and the quality of the environment stands out: silver, nickel, copper, PA6, lead and cadmium. The use of recycling processes would reduce the negative impact on the environment in the context of the entire life cycle, for most materials and elements. Based on the results obtained, guidelines were proposed for the pro-environmental post-use management of materials and elements of photovoltaic power plants.

Application of LCA Method for Assessment of Environmental Impacts of a Polylactide (PLA) Bottle Shaping

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the consumption of single-use packaging. Their material diversity is a significant barrier to recycling, causing overloading of landfills. Increasing negative environmental aspects have highlighted the need to develop solutions to achieve a relatively high efficiency of the bottle shaping process with the lowest possible energy consumption. The aim of the project is to try to describe the impact of this process on the state, transformation and development of the natural environment. The work concerns current issues of the impact of packaging on the natural environment. The main goal was to conduct a life cycle analysis (LCA) of beverage bottles made of polylactide. The functional unit comprised a total of 1,000 pieces of PLA bottles with a capacity of 1 L. The boundary of the adopted system included the steps from the delivery of the preforms to the production plant to their correct formation in the process of forming beverage bottles. Further stages of the production process were excluded from the system, such as beverage bottling, labeling, and storage and distribution. Processes related to transport and storage of raw material were also excluded. The LCA analysis was performed using the program of the Dutch company Pre Consultants called SimaPro 8.4.0. The ReCiPe 2016 method was chosen for the interpretation of the quantity of emitted substances into the natural environment. The test results were presented graphically on bar charts and subjected to verification and interpretation.