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The ISO 14000 series of standards will include guidelines for product life-cycle assessment (LCA) that are intended to be applicable to all products, regardless of materials, production system, or end use. Practice in LCA, however, has lagged far behind theory. Existing methods are at best marginally applicable to high-technology manufactured products such as automobiles that can contain thousands of components made from hundreds of raw materials. Optimization of the environmental performance of such production systems cannot be reduced to simple measures of energy and material use. This paper identifies technical issues relevant to the development operational LCA methodologies for high-technology products and proposes a hierarchical approach that is consistent with the general principles of ISO 14000 but is tailored to the needs of LCA users within high-technology industries.

As a means of effectively incorporating the concept of “life cycle” for reducing the environmental impact of the automobile, we carried out a life cycle inventory study on a part-by-part basis. The targets of our study are the fuel tanks that are made of different materials and manufacturing processes. One is made of steel, and the other is made of plastic, both perform identical functions. Our evaluation study encompasses the period from the manufacturing of the main materials until the disposal of the tanks. The evaluation items consist of the amount of energy consumed and the emissions (of CO2, NOx, SOx, and PM) that are released into the atmosphere. The results show that the plastic tank poses a greater burden in terms of the amount of energy consumed and the CO2 and NOx emitted.

As the pool of existing non-renewable natural resources continues to shrink, it will be necessary for government and industrial leaders to achieve a workable strategy for the intelligent allocation of scarce resources. In this paper, a method of quantifying the environmental and resource impacts of product redesign is proposed. This new method utilizes Input Output Analysis coupled with the Markovian decision making into a single matrix-based tool. The benefit of a fully developed tool would be the ability to make informed pre-production decisions leading to optimum product and process designs with minimal environmental impact. This paper illustrates this technique with an example based upon real industry data and extrapolated effects.

The market acceptance of vehicles with compression ignition engines is dictated by many factors. The most important are: driving properties, total life cycle costs, noise emission, pollution emissions, availability of the fuel, service possibility, and country specific regulations. The availability of the suitable high tech components is also a dominating factor. The influencing factors depend also on the vehicle concept and vehicle application. The author describes the influencing factors for most vehicle applications: 1.) Ships 2.) Locomotives 3.) Heavy duty trucks 4.) Medium duty trucks 5.) Light duty trucks 6.) Utility vehicles 7.) Passenger cars The development trends for the future will very much depend on fuel availability, international harmonization of regulations, certification procedures, fuel taxation and standards for all world markets. According to the presented data, the author describes the present situation and presents his view for the future development.

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has been suggested as an effective means of providing strategic environmental information to enable more informed decision making. The process of how to conduct an LCIA has been the center of controversy as evidenced during the development of the draft international standard life cycle assessment principles and framework document (ISO 14040). For the past decade, successful methods have been employed in the field of human health and ecological risk assessment to predict chemical-related environmental impacts. This paper investigates areas of commonality between LCIA and risk assessment, and presents a conceptual framework suggesting how better integration of risk assessment might be achieved in the automotive industry's goal of reducing car fluff quantity and toxicity.

The European car manufacturers have combined their efforts and experience in the field of Life Cycle Assessment in a EUCAR working group. An overview on work program and status of project phase 1 and 2 is given. In particular, the efforts regarding end-of-life vehicle scenarios and key ‘in-use-phase’ parameters are addressed, e.g. real drive cycles and weight impacts on fuel consumption. In the field of impact assessment, available methodological approaches are evaluated from an automotive industries' point of view, targeting for a common position and prioritization.

The Institute for Polymer Testing and Polymer Science (IKP) is an independent institute of the University of Stuttgart. For approximately 8 years work is done on the field of Life Cycle Engineering. The first couple of years knowledge about the production of materials was collected within plenty industrial cooperation. Parallel to this a methodology for the Life Cycle Engineering approach and a software system (GaBi 1.0-2.0) were developed. Based on these information, projects for balancing single parts like bumpers, fender, air intake manifolds and oil filters followed by projects handling more complex parts or processes like several body in white, headlights, fuel tanks, green tire or coating processes were done to establish the methodology of Life Cycle Engineering as a tool for decision makers and weak point analysis. Parallel to this a methodology for an Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) for the system automobile was developed in cooperation with the Volkswagen AG in 1993.

A comprehensive total cost life cycle assessment should include estimates of liability costs to provide the best picture of the financial viability of investments, such as product or process changes and pollution prevention projects. Potential liability costs are by nature difficult to estimate and include a prediction (or probability estimate) of risk. Occupational safety liabilities resulting from injuries to workers have been evaluated for specific automotive industrial processes by worker occupations using an incidence and severity-of-incidence type approach. Potential safety risks to workers at varying levels of risk from low to high were determined, and the estimated economic costs resulting from those risks have been developed. These occupational safety liability cost estimates can be used for total cost accounting in life cycle management.

A comprehensive total life cycle cost assessment should include estimates of liability costs to provide the best picture of the financial viability of investments, such as product or process changes and pollution prevention projects. Potential liability costs are by nature difficult to estimate and include a prediction (or probability estimate) of risk. Occupational health liabilities resulting from illnesses to workers due to chemical exposure in specific automotive industrial processes have been evaluated using an incidence rate approach. Potential health risks to workers at varying levels of risk from low to high were determined, and the estimated economic costs resulting from those risks have been developed. These occupational health liability cost estimates can be used for total cost accounting in life cycle management.

Life Cycle Management (LCM) is a method for incorporating costs which have historically been considered indirect or overhead costs into a traditional cost analysis. It is a comparative, decision making tool, which combines the systems based thought process and environmental focus of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with the cost evaluation process used in Activity Based Cost (ABC) accounting. However, unlike LCA, this type of analysis may be performed in a matter of weeks rather than months because the boundaries are drawn around the manufacturing facility and the disposal of the material or end product. This paper describes the stepwise approach used in performing a LCM study and also presents a case study of three engine oil filters.

Since paint sludge, one of the industrial wastes, is tacky and generated in a large volume in mass production vehicle painting shops, handling and disposal are very difficult. We have this time succeeded in recycling this sludge as lightweight filler of vinyl chloride plastisol for coating underfloor (popularly called as under-body coating material) through thermal setting, crushing and pulverization after making it completely detackified and dewatered with centrifuging.

The presentation evaluates the feasibility for life-cycle impact assessment to yield accurate, useful results for sound decision-making. The evaluation raises feasibility issues based on (1) inherent scale issues, e.g., spatial and temporal discontinuities, between LCA and most environmental processes; (2) disparities between LCA threshold and dose-response assumptions and actual environmental processes; (3) extensive use of value-based subjective judgment and opinion to create environmental categories, equivalency models, and scores; and (4) the current lack of systems to indicate whether real and relevant differences are identified. All of these issues limit or constrain the decisions that can be made solely from LCA.

The purpose of the workshop “How to Perform a Life Cycle Inventory” is to provide a practical tutorial for professionals who might do their own LCI or partial LCI. This tutorial uses the LCI methodological steps to describe the specific steps necessary to actually carry out the LCI. A case study of alternative antifreeze (engine coolant) product systems (ethylene glycol- and propylene glycol-based) is used as the basis for the workshop and involves the attendees as “hands-on” participants in the LCI.

The recent efforts in formulating a standard life cycle assessment (LCA) have focused on three issues. The first one is to define what are the impact categories we should look at when we assess a product life cycle. Another issue is that if there are scientific sound approaches to quantify and valuate the impact. Thirdly, can we develop a streamlined life cycle assessment? The Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model (NRDAM) was developed by the U.S. Department of Interior and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assess the natural resource damage resulting from release of hazardous material into the aquatic environment. This paper presents the quantification and economic valuation algorithms used in NRDAM to propose a similar approach in developing a streamlined LCA for a regional application.

Whether propelled by a concern for the environment, increasingly stiff legislation, or higher disposal costs, companies are trying to reduce the environmental impacts of their products. At the same time, designers are forced to balance the need to get a product out the door with the desire to improve the product's functionality. Candidate designs are often so constrained that addressing environmental goals proves impossible. In this paper, we discuss the improvement of recyclability for vehicle assemblies through a process of planned design changes over multiple revisions of the product. Specifically, we present the results of a case study describing the creation of a strategy for focusing the recyclability improvement effort to a generic instrument panel (I/P). The possible improvement in recyclability is examined as well as the impact on other design characteristics as the limiting factors for the instrument panel are chosen.

Legal producer responsibility for end-of-life vehicles will be introduced in Sweden 1998. In an ongoing 1-year project the conditions tor a producer-dismantler network are developed, aiming at increased recovery. About 5000 cars of 5 makes are treated by 30 dismantlers. Producers (manufacturers and importers) not actively involved participate in an information feedback program. The producer-initiated project develops interaction with existing expertise and experience of management of sometimes conflicting interests. Urgent questions are cost-effectiveness, recovery methods and markets, dismantling instructions, and monitoring methods. The project is expected to expand into a national network of producer-contracted dismantlers, with possibilities for even further expansion.

The first example concerns the use of agricultural fuels and, in particular, the use of the so-called “biodiesel” in lieu of diesel fuel. The overall environmental impact of this product has been evaluated by examining all quantifiable effects. From an examination of the results, it can concluded that biodiesel is less detrimental than diesel fuel where the greenhouse effect, energy and non renewable raw materials and biodegradability are concerned. On the other hand, where all other aspects are concerned, its effects are equivalent or even more adverse. The second example deals with the evaluation of the impact on the environment of substances meant to replace CFC's both as expanding agents for polyurethane foams and as cooling fluids in air conditioning systems. The use of such subtonics has become necessary to prevent a further reduction in the ozone layer present in the stratosphere.

The first LCA study conducted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association was carried out to calculate energy consumption and CO2 emissions for average passenger cars in Japan. Five stages including mining and producing material, parts and automobile production, operation, maintenance, and disposal and recycling; and inter-stage transportation was included in the scope of evaluation. Energy consumption and CO2 emissions was evaluated and the influence of the average running speed during operation and the influence of part changes were examined.

How does a company determine if a new product or process has less or more impact on the environment? Or do we just assume that because it has recycled content it has less impact on the environment? A life cycle assessment can be used to better understand the impacts and the trade-offs. The authors have prepared an analysis in which large volume, currently valueless material is recovered and recycled by chemical depolymerization. A careful selection of boundaries will reduce the amount of data needed to perform a meaningful life cycle assessment; however, it may also introduce new questions regarding the allocation of burdens. This paper will present the difficulties experienced in understanding the proper way to view burden allocation for a closed-loop system with limited boundaries.

For many automotive components, Remanufacturing can be the optimum solution to Total Life Cycle Planning. The ultimate result of Remanufacturing is the rebirth of the original product -- thereby completing the product life cycle by providing a new beginning. Not only are the raw materials preserved, but the functionality as well, by manifesting once again the original intent and purpose of the product. Proactive, upfront planning in the design stages of the original product -- “Design for Remanufacturability” -- can significantly contribute to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of this transformation, thereby enhancing the product life cycle. While providing a solution for life cycle planning, Remanufacturing facilitates environmental conservation and reduces overall life cycle support costs.