Ateneo - UPO

Notions of methodology and technical regulations for the evaluation of sustainability of products and processes are discussed. The student learns the basic elements of the calculation programs for measuring the life cycle sustainability; he individually uses the calculation programs in the computer lab by applying the concepts to simple and complete case studies.

Lecture notes prepared by the teacher and “Life Cycle Assessmenet, Theory and Practice”, M.Z. Hauschild, R.K. Rosenbaum, S.I. Olsen (Springer International Publishing AG, 2018).

The purpose of the teaching is that participants acquire knowledge and understand the regulatory, methodological and application framework for conducting sustainability assessments of processes and products.
After an overview of the Life Cycle Thinking approach and the application context, the LCA methodology is introduced and described from a regulatory point of view (ISO14040 / ILCD), as a reference for the design and optimization of products and processes and for the measurement of achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Case studies and applications in specific sectors of chemistry and environmental and industrial engineering are illustrated.

No prior knowledge is required.

Lectures and computer-aided exercises.

The teacher is available for explanation and further study of the topics of the lectures.

Written exam with closed-ended questions and exercises on fundamentals of the course. Every question/exercise will have the same value. Wrong answer not penalizing. Evaluation based on 30/30. Exam duration: 2 hours. Results sent by electronic means.

History, origins, and application fields of LCA. Life cycle thinking and Life cycle management (LCM). The ISO 14040 standard and the ILCD guidelines of the European Commission. Structure of an LCA analysis. Phase 1: "Goal and scope definition". Phase 2: "Inventory Analysis (LCI)". Elements of energy analysis. Transport systems in LCA analysis. End-of-life management of products and waste disposal. IT tools and databases to support the LCA. Phase 3: “Impact Analysis (LCIA)”. From impact to environmental effect. Classification, characterization, normalization and weighing. Phase 4: “Interpretation of the results of an LCA study and improvement phase”.
Operational guide for the creation of an LCA model: Characteristics and use of application software to support LCA analysis; Development of an LCA calculation model; Guided application to a case study.
Presentation of specific case studies from the chemical and environmental and industrial engineering sectors.

Learn the fundamentals of LCA methodology and of relative international standards. Apply the fundamentals to conduct a simple LCA analysis, even by using the IT resources available at University of Eastern Piedmont.