Life-cycle Environmental Inventory of Passenger Transportation Modes in the United States

Life-cycle Environmental Inventory of Passenger Transportation Modes in the United States PDF Author: Mikhail Vin Chester
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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Development of the Urban Passenger Transportation Life Cycle Inventory for Comparison Across Modes Model (TransportLifeCAMM)

Development of the Urban Passenger Transportation Life Cycle Inventory for Comparison Across Modes Model (TransportLifeCAMM) PDF Author: Alma Angelica Hernandez Ruiz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Choice of transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Against the backdrop of the increasingly complex urban passenger transportation challenges associated with megacities during the 21st century, and the effort to find the most sustainable modes of transportation for them, the spreadsheet-based model TransportLifeCAMM was developed. This model allows users in the US and Mexico to compare life cycle environmental impacts from automobile, bus, and/or subway. While other models to estimate environmental burdens from transportation exist, few of them consider emissions or energy consumption over the entire life cycle of the vehicle and the fuel (including vehicle manufacture, fuel production, maintenance, and end-of-life disposal). Furthermore, even fewer of the available models consider the infrastructure contribution to the transportation mode, and none to the level of granularity offered by TransportLifeCAMM. If the goal is to discover which is the most sustainable transportation mode, all life cycle phases for the vehicle, energy and infrastructure subsystems should be considered. The overall goal of this study was thus to develop a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) spreadsheet model that compares environmental impacts of three transportation modes - subway, bus, and automobile - and their associated infrastructure, over their entire life cycle. Specific objectives were:1. To develop a spreadsheet model for comparing life cycle impact of three transportation modes (subway, diesel bus in a Bus Rapid Transit context, and automobile), using traditional comparison criteria, 2. To apply the model to Mexico City as a case study,3. To add an exergetic life cycle assessment to the spreadsheet model, and apply it to the case study of Mexico City as well,4. To identify a range of impacts for the case study due to sensitivity in model inputs. The main contribution of this study was the development of a robust LCA-based methodology to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of three transportation modes, applicable to any major city in North America. Furthermore, this methodology provided the basis and framework for TransportLifeCAMM, a freely-available, spreadsheet-based model. Since running Simapro or any other LCA software is time-consuming and complex, and requires considerable training and time to collect input data for hundreds of parameters, the user-friendly TransportLifeCAMM, based on Simapro output, allows anyone with basic spreadsheet knowledge to estimate emissions, with only a few readily-available input parameters. TransportLifeCAMM provides the measurement and analysis of environmental impacts for greenhouse gases (GHG), criteria air pollutants (CAP), cumulative energy demand and cumulative exergy demand throughout the life-cycle of each vehicle, and in units of grams of impact/passenger-kilometer. Additionally, it must be noted that no other scientific analysis or environmental/transportation study in Mexico City had been performed within an LCA framework previously to this work. Moreover, few other transportation LCA studies include the system's infrastructure, and none to the level of granularity provided by TransportLifeCAMM. Further contributions of this research are that no LCA study has been performed across these three transportation modes in any city, and that no other LCA-based model offers an exergy analysis for transportation modes.For the LCA simulations, the Simapro version 8.3.2 software was used, and the NIST's BEES+ method was used to conduct the main environmental impact assessment portion of the LCAs, which was supplemented by the Cumulative Energy Demand and Cumulative Exergy Demand methods for all three transportation modes. Data sources included published scientific papers and journals, governmental reports and statistics, both for the United States and for Mexico, theses and dissertations, environmental product declarations, technical specifications from the vehicles' manufacturers, transit authority reports, public information requests, USLCI database records for the onroad vehicles, as well as Ecoinvent and other databases contained in Simapro, trade journals, engineering reference books and textbooks, industry websites, technical and operational manuals, particularly for the bus and the subway, and as of yet unpublished data from the 2017 Origin-Destination survey in Mexico City. Regarding the results of the LCAs applied to the case study of Mexico City, for the diesel bus (in the BRT system), it was found that the vehicle (bus) subsystem was the greatest contributor to the inventory for all criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases. Furthermore, it was also always the greatest contributor to the impacts, when evaluated by all impact assessment methods (BEES+, Traci, Impact 2002+, CED and CExD). For the private car, the vehicle subsystem was also the greatest contributor to both the inventory and the impacts. As expected, the car was the most environmentally burdensome system. Results also ratified previous claims of the importance of including the infrastructure for a true LCA-oriented perspective of the system under study. The main conclusion for the subway system is the acceptance of the initial hypothesis, and the rejection of the null hypothesis: the subway does represent the least environmentally burdensome transportation alternative, among the three modes studied herein. Moreover, for the subway, it was confirmed how dependent its environmental profile (i.e., its final output) is to the composition of the electricity mix. Additionally, it was found that emissions from the subway are almost entirely dependent on the electricity used for its operation, with much less significant contributions from the infrastructure subsystem than for the onroad modes. In a three-way sensitivity analysis among the three transportation modes that evaluated both environmental impacts (with the BEES+ method), the Cumulative Energy Demand and the Cumulative Exergy Demand, it was confirmed that the heavy metro or subway has the least environmental impact and energy consumption, in a per passenger-kilometer basis. This is mostly the result of an increased ridership, with the subway's trains ability to transport a number of passengers, over their lifetime, that is at least two orders of magnitude above that of buses and cars. One of the findings of this research is that the increased lifetime performance, i.e., the greater number of kilometers travelled by each vehicle (car, bus, train) over their respective lifetimes, is also one of the factors that contributes to the subway's lesser environmental impact over the other two transportation modes analyzed herein. In a two-way sensitivity analysis between the two mass transit modes, the bus and the subway, the low ridership case for the subway (918 passengers) was compared against both cases of "peak" buses for the BRT: the articulated bus carrying 160 passengers, and the bi-articulated bus with 240 passengers. Results showed that while the subway maintained its environmental advantage, in impacts measured in a per passenger-kilometer basis, over the articulated bus, it did not do so when compared to the bi-articulated bus, which performed marginally better than the subway. This result confirms the sensitivity of this methodology and of all transportation modes to ridership, and suggests that when planning a public transportation option, it behooves policy makers to strive to have the best available data on ridership, so as to make the best possible decision regarding on which transportation mode to invest, or to encourage.

Life-cycle Environmental Inventory of Passenger Transportation in the United States

Life-cycle Environmental Inventory of Passenger Transportation in the United States PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Life cycle costing
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Advances in Life Cycle Engineering for Sustainable Manufacturing Businesses

Advances in Life Cycle Engineering for Sustainable Manufacturing Businesses PDF Author: Shozo Takata
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1846289351
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
Life cycle engineering explores technologies for shifting industry from mass production and consumption paradigms to closed-loop manufacturing paradigms, in which required functions are provided with the minimum amount of production. This subject is discussed from various aspects: life cycle design, design for environment, reduce-reuse-recycle, life cycle assessment, and sustainable business models. This book collects papers from the 14th International CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference, the longest-running annual meeting in the field.

Environmental Life-cycle Assessment of Passenger Transportation

Environmental Life-cycle Assessment of Passenger Transportation PDF Author: Mikhail Chester
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Current Methods for Life Cycle Analyses of Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels in the United States

Current Methods for Life Cycle Analyses of Low-Carbon Transportation Fuels in the United States PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780309273930
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with petroleum accounting for 90 percent of transportation fuels. Policymakers encounter a range of questions as they consider low-carbon fuel standards to reduce emissions, including total emissions released from production to use of a fuel or the potential consequences of a policy. Life-cycle assessment is an essential tool for addressing these questions. This report provides researchers and practitioners with a toolkit for applying life-cycle assessment to estimate greenhouse gas emissions, including identification of the best approach to use for a stated policy goal, how to reduce uncertainty and variability through verification and certification, and the core assumptions that can be applied to various fuel types. Policymakers should still use a tailored approach for each fuel type, given that petroleum-based ground, air, and marine transportation fuels necessitate different considerations than alternative fuels including biofuels, hydrogen, and electricity. Ultimately, life-cycle assessments should clearly document what assumptions and methods are used to ensure transparency.

Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Process

Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Process PDF Author: PB Americas, Inc
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISBN: 0309129303
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
" TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-C09-RR-1: Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Framework identifies where and how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption fit into a conceptual decision-making framework, including key decision points.The report presents background information on the role of GHG emissions in the transportation sector, factors influencing the future of emissions, GHG emissions reduction strategies, as well as information on cost effectiveness and feasibility of these reduction strategies. It also presents case studies to illustrate different scales and institutional contexts for GHG analyses. " -- publisher's description

Indicators of the Environmental Impacts of Transportation

Indicators of the Environmental Impacts of Transportation PDF Author: Mark Corrales
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0756702062
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Presents quantitative nat. est. of the magnitude of transport's. impacts on the environ. It is the most comprehensive compilation of environmental and transport. data to date. Addresses all primary modes of transport. (highway, rail, aviation, and maritime transport) and all environ'l. media (air, water, and land resources), and covers the full "life-cycle" of transport., from construction of infrastructure and mfg. of vehicles to disposal of vehicles and parts. The impacts of transport. extend beyond the air quality impacts of vehicle travel. Presents a framework for developing various types of indicators and for categorizing transport. activities that affect the environ. Illustrated.

Sustainable Mass Transit

Sustainable Mass Transit PDF Author: Thomas Abdallah
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0443152721
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Sustainable Mass Transit: Challenges and Opportunities in Urban Public Transportation, Second Edition highlights the many sustainability solutions and alternatives to fossil fuel usage including renewable energy and efficiency in mass transit, as well as the conservation of materials, water, and air and the overall health of communities. This new edition will update the reader on developments in the field since 2017 and advancements in sustainability solutions. It explores how Environmental Management System frameworks improve environmental performance in the operations, maintenance, design, rehabilitation, and expansion of a mass transportation system. The book covers the numerous types of mass transit systems, looking closely at all their key functions, including operations, maintenance, development, design, building, and retrofitting. It explores the mitigation measures that reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts, including green infrastructure, materials conservation, ecological conservation, and more. It covers energy, greenhouse gas emissions, toxic pollution and other significant environmental impacts, recycling, and more. It also examines organizational best practices and environmental regulatory constraints and life cycle assessments, describing which sustainable elements can be added while rehabilitating or expanding a mass transportation infrastructure or ancillary facility. The book concludes with a look at forthcoming sustainable initiatives that will enhance mass transit systems. Contains case studies from around the world, including several new case studies from the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia Thoroughly updated with four new chapters on The Sustainable Mass Transit Revolution, Relevance of Mass Transit, Environmental Professionals in Transportation, and Reimagining Sustainable Mass Transit Includes a new companion website with assessment questions for educators, image files and video presentations Shows how teams from different fields, entities, agencies and cities can work together to solve complex sustainability challenges

Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Life Cycle Impact Assessment PDF Author: Michael Z. Hauschild
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401797447
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
This book offers a detailed presentation of the principles and practice of life cycle impact assessment. As a volume of the LCA compendium, the book is structured according to the LCIA framework developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)passing through the phases of definition or selection of impact categories, category indicators and characterisation models (Classification): calculation of category indicator results (Characterisation); calculating the magnitude of category indicator results relative to reference information (Normalisation); and converting indicator results of different impact categories by using numerical factors based on value-choices (Weighting). Chapter one offers a historical overview of the development of life cycle impact assessment and presents the boundary conditions and the general principles and constraints of characterisation modelling in LCA. The second chapter outlines the considerations underlying the selection of impact categories and the classification or assignment of inventory flows into these categories. Chapters three through thirteen exploreall the impact categories that are commonly included in LCIA, discussing the characteristics of each followed by a review of midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods, metrics, uncertainties and new developments, and a discussion of research needs. Chapter-length treatment is accorded to Climate Change; Stratospheric Ozone Depletion; Human Toxicity; Particulate Matter Formation; Photochemical Ozone Formation; Ecotoxicity; Acidification; Eutrophication; Land Use; Water Use; and Abiotic Resource Use. The final two chapters map out the optional LCIA steps of Normalisation and Weighting.