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Environments
Special Issues
Balancing Energy and Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective
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Balancing Energy and Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2024) | Viewed by 5116

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tamíris Da Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, D18 DH50 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: life cycle assessment; environmental analysis; bioenergy production; biomass feedstock; food residues; waste valorisation
Prof. Dr. Nick Holden

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, D18 DH50 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: life cycle assessment; sustainability of food systems; livestock production; dairy processing; agricultural waste valorization; resource depletion; carbon footprint; water quality; soil quality and social impacts
Dr. Daniele Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
VITO – EnergyVille, Unit Smart Energy and Built Environment (SEB), Thor Park 8310, 3600 Genk, Belgium
Interests: life cycle assessment; life cycle sustainability assessment; energy systems; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mateus Guimarães da Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environmental Modeling & Monitoring Laboratory (LAMMAM), Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Caçapava do Sul, RS, Brazil
Interests: life cycle assessment; carbon footprint; GHG inventory; biofuel; biomass feedstock; coal mining

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world stands at a crossroads where our choices profoundly impact the planet's future. Climate change, driven by human activities, has led to more frequent and severe weather events, disrupted ecosystems, and rising sea levels. Simultaneously, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and pollution are undermining the Earth's natural resilience. Amid these challenges, the quest for sustainable energy sources and practices has emerged as a linchpin in our efforts to mitigate and adapt to these environmental crises. In this context, this special issue aspires to delve deep into the confluence of energy and environmental sustainability, offering a fresh perspective through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) prism. By adopting the life cycle perspective, we can unearth hidden trade-offs, uncover sustainable alternatives, and chart a course toward a more resilient and ecologically harmonious future.

We warmly invite researchers, academics, and practitioners from a wide spectrum of fields, encompassing qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and modeling approaches to engage in a dialogue that transcends disciplinary boundaries. We invite you to share your expertise, findings, and innovative ideas in this special issue, where your work will reach a global audience of researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals.

The Special Issue will seek papers that examine applications, impact, and implications of multi-disciplinary approaches that explore the dynamic relationship between energy and environmental sustainability, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Renewable Energy Technologies
  • Solar and Wind energy
  • Hydrogen systems
  • Waste-to-Energy
  • Bioenergy and Biomass
  • Bioenergy Feedstocks
  • Thermochemical conversion
  • Biofuels for Transportation
  • Energy Efficiency Measures
  • Energy Storage Systems and Batteries
  • Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
  • Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
  • Socioeconomic Aspects in the LCA of Energy Systems
  • Policy and Regulation

Together, we can illuminate pathways toward cleaner energy production, resource-efficient consumption, and a regenerative relationship with our environment.

Dr. Tamíris Da Costa
Prof. Dr. Nick Holden
Dr. Daniele Costa
Prof. Dr. Mateus Guimarães da Silva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable energy
  • life cycle assessment
  • environmental impact
  • carbon footprint
  • climate change
  • resource efficiency
  • circular economy
  • case studies
  • modeling approaches
  • cleaner production

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

30 pages, 2848 KiB  
Review
Life Cycle Assessment in Renewable Energy: Solar and Wind Perspectives
by Francisco Portillo, Alfredo Alcayde, Rosa Maria Garcia, Manuel Fernandez-Ros, Jose Antonio Gazquez and Nuria Novas
Environments 2024, 11(7), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070147 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 742
Abstract
The growing urgency for sustainable energy solutions necessitates a deeper understanding of the environmental impacts of renewable technologies. This article aims to synthesize and analyze Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) in this domain, providing a comprehensive perspective. We systematically categorized 2923 articles into four [...] Read more.
The growing urgency for sustainable energy solutions necessitates a deeper understanding of the environmental impacts of renewable technologies. This article aims to synthesize and analyze Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) in this domain, providing a comprehensive perspective. We systematically categorized 2923 articles into four sectors: (1) photovoltaic systems, (2) wind energy systems, (3) solar thermal systems, and (4) materials for auxiliary industry supporting these systems. A comparative analysis was conducted to identify methodological consistencies and disparities across these sectors. The findings reveal diverse methodological approaches and a range of environmental impacts, highlighting the complexities in assessing renewable energy systems. The article underscores the significance of material selection in photovoltaic, solar, and wind systems, providing a critical overview of the current state of LCA research in renewable energy and stressing the need for standardized methodologies. It also identifies gaps in recent research, offering insights for future studies focused on integrating environmental, economic, and social considerations in renewable energy assessments. Integrating environmental assessments provides a robust framework for making informed decisions on sustainable technologies. The findings are critical for projects that balance technological needs with sustainability goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Energy and Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective)
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33 pages, 1075 KiB  
Review
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Waste to Energy Systems in the Developing World: A Review
by Oluwaseun Nubi, Richard Murphy and Stephen Morse
Environments 2024, 11(6), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11060123 - 11 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1907
Abstract
The global move towards a circular economy, as well as that of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has necessitated the search for several sustainable solutions in various sectors. Given this, the provision of sustainable waste management and electricity systems constitute [...] Read more.
The global move towards a circular economy, as well as that of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has necessitated the search for several sustainable solutions in various sectors. Given this, the provision of sustainable waste management and electricity systems constitute a significant part of the SDGs, and the waste-to-energy (WtE) concept has recently become a key topic given that it can potentially help reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation, as well as minimizing the need to dispose of waste in landfill. However, to date, the sustainability assessments of WtE generation technologies have been limited in scope concerning the three-dimensional sustainability framework (economic, environmental, and social). Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) has been proposed as a potential approach that could comprehensively address these three pillars of sustainability simultaneously based on life cycle thinking. LCSA, as a holistic method, could also potentially deal with the complexity associated with decision-making by allowing for the consideration of a full range of possible sustainability consequences. LCSA is an analytical tool that integrates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Social Life Cycle Assessment (sLCA) methodologies, which already exist and continue to be developed. Individually, these life-cycle approaches tend to be used to point out particular ‘hotspots’ in product or service systems, and hence focus on direct impacts in a given sustainability domain, neglecting the indirect ones. LCSA aims for a more holistic sustainability perspective and seeks to address the associated challenge of integrating these three pillars of sustainability into an overall and more comprehensive sustainability assessment. This need for harmonization within the LCSA methodology is a major challenge in its operationalization. In recent years there has been steady progress towards developing and applying LCSA, including for WtE. The aim of this paper is to review the most recent trends and perspectives in developing countries, especially regarding how LCSA could help inform decision-making. The paper also analyses the LCSA literature to set out the theoretical and practical challenges behind integrating the three methods (LCA, LCC, and sLCA). The review was conducted via a search of keywords such as LCSA, waste, and energy in the Web of Science databases, resulting in the selection of 187 publications written in English. Of those, 13 articles operationalized LCSA in specific waste and WtE related case studies. The review provides a review of the application of LCSA for researchers, technological experts, and policymakers through published findings and identifies perspectives on new research. These include uncertainty, subjectivity in weighting, double-counting, the low maturity of sLCA, and the integration of the interconnection between the three dimensions (environmental, economic, and social dimensions) of LCSA results in decision-making. In addition, gaps (such as the integration of the interconnection between the three dimensions) that need to be addressed via further research are highlighted to allow for a better understanding of methodological trade-offs that come from using the LCSA analytical approach to assess the sustainability of WtE generation technologies, especially in developing countries. It is hoped that this study will be a positive contribution to environmental and energy policy decisions in developing countries faced with the dual problems of waste management and electricity supply along with their sustainable development goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Energy and Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective)
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24 pages, 1545 KiB  
Review
Critical Review of Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Production Pathways
by Manfredi Picciotto Maniscalco, Sonia Longo, Maurizio Cellura, Gabriele Miccichè and Marco Ferraro
Environments 2024, 11(6), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11060108 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1647
Abstract
In light of growing concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, the global situation demands immediate action to transition towards sustainable energy solutions. In this sense, hydrogen could play a fundamental role in the energy transition, offering [...] Read more.
In light of growing concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, the global situation demands immediate action to transition towards sustainable energy solutions. In this sense, hydrogen could play a fundamental role in the energy transition, offering a potential clean and versatile energy carrier. This paper reviews the recent results of Life Cycle Assessment studies of different hydrogen production pathways, which are trying to define the routes that can guarantee the least environmental burdens. Steam methane reforming was considered as the benchmark for Global Warming Potential, with an average emission of 11 kgCO2eq/kgH2. Hydrogen produced from water electrolysis powered by renewable energy (green H2) or nuclear energy (pink H2) showed the average lowest impacts, with mean values of 2.02 kgCO2eq/kgH2 and 0.41 kgCO2eq/kgH2, respectively. The use of grid electricity to power the electrolyzer (yellow H2) raised the mean carbon footprint up to 17.2 kgCO2eq/kgH2, with a peak of 41.4 kgCO2eq/kgH2 in the case of countries with low renewable energy production. Waste pyrolysis and/or gasification presented average emissions three times higher than steam methane reforming, while the recourse to residual biomass and biowaste significantly lowered greenhouse gas emissions. The acidification potential presents comparable results for all the technologies studied, except for biomass gasification which showed significantly higher and more scattered values. Regarding the abiotic depletion potential (mineral), the main issue is the lack of an established recycling strategy, especially for electrolysis technologies that hamper the inclusion of the End of Life stage in LCA computation. Whenever data were available, hotspots for each hydrogen production process were identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Energy and Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective)
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