Industrial Ecology

Recommended Prerequisites

NA

Teaching Methods

Classroom interaction:

- Presentation and solving (by students individually or in small groups, or by the teacher) of exercises and of cases that illustrate the practical relevance of the themes. When opportune, the related research activities of the teacher are mentioned.

- Development of an LCA project (group 2-3 students) with the support of appropriate software (e.g. Simapro and the Ecoinvent database).

- A presentation and discussion of the proposed study and the main results

Learning Outcomes

O1. Understand the concept of Industrial Ecology (IE) and the goals and limitations of the main IE tools. O2, Introduction to: Eco-park; Industrial Symbiosis. Material Flow Analysis. Environmental Economic models.

O3. Understand the relevance and aim of performing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies.

O4. Perform a Literature Review of LCA studies. Select and interpret LCA and related studies (EPDs, Climate declarations, Carbon footprint) based on life cycle thinking.

O5. Prepare and present a proposal for an LCA study.

O6. Implement a LCA study. Define the goal and scope (and select an appropriate functional unit). Collect data and build up the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) based on different data collection strategies. Model a LC and implement in a software). Perform scenario analysis. Analyze and interpret LCIA results.

O7. Evaluate data quality and uncertainty.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Industrial Ecology and Sustainability. Environmental management: Historical perspective. Case study: "The example of interdependence and evolution of the Kalundborg eco-industrial park". Introduction to IE tools: Material/Substance Flow Analysis (MFA/SFA) and ACV.

2. LCA: Methodology and applications. Main Phases. Multifunctionality: sub-division, system expansion and allocation methods. Data quality and uncertainty. Monte Carlo analysis, scenario and sensitivity analysis.

3. Extensions to the classic format of LCA. Input-output LCA. Life Cycle Management. Integrated environmental and economic optimization: “Life Cycle Activity Analysis”.

4. Preparation of a LCA proposal and implementation of a LCA study. Developing a life cycle model and implementing the LCA study using software.

Head Lecturer(s)

Fausto Miguel Cereja Seixas Freire

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Group presentations and individual exercises: 15.0%
Frequency: 25.0%
Research work: 60.0%

Bibliography

Brunner, P and Rechberger, H (2003) Practical Handbook of Material Flow Analysis. Lewis Publishers.

 

Ferrão, P. (2009) Ecologia Industrial. Princípios e ferramentas. Instituto Superior Técnico (ed)

 

Freire, Fausto (2010). Industrial Ecology: course Guidelines. FCTUC. Universidade de Coimbra.

 

Graedel, T. and Allenby, B. (1995) Industrial Ecology. Prentice Hall.

 

Graedel, T. and Allenby, B. (2010) Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering. Prentice Hall

 

Guinée, J. et al. (2001) Life cycle assessment: an operational guide to the ISO standards, Centre of Env. Science, Univ. of Leiden, Kluwer

 

Wrisberg, N., Udo de Haes, H., Triebswetter, U., Eder, P., and Clift, R. (2002) Analytical Tools for Environmental Design and Management in a Systems Perspective. The Combined Use of Analytical Tools  Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

 

Heijungs, R. and Suh, S. (2002) The computational structure of life cycle assessment . Kluwer Academic Publishers.