AQA GCSE Chemistry Trilogy: Life Cycle Assessments

Life Cycle Assessments:

Key Points:

• An assessment of a product’s environmental impact over its lifetime
• Shows the total environmental cost by looking at:
  • Obtaining of raw materials
  • Manufacturing and packaging
  • Product use
  • Product disposal

Measurements included in an LCA:

• CO2 produced
• Water used
• Waste produced
• Pollution
• Resources used

Obtaining of Raw Materials:

• May cause damage to the environment
• Can emit pollutants during extraction
• Processing uses large amounts of energy

Manufacturing and Packaging:

• Large amounts of energy are required
• Can emit pollutants
• Manufacturing waste needs to be considered
  • e.g. waste that is converted to useful chemicals

Product Use:

• Fuels burnt by the product can release pollutants
• Chemical fertilisers can leach the soil, causing eutrophication
  • Eutrophication - when excess nutrients are leaked into the soil, affecting ecosystems due to the number of organisms within a species becoming unbalanced
• The duration and frequency of the product need to be considered
  • Long usage time can result in less waste

Product Disposal:

• Methods of disposal need to be considered
• Landfill can be used for non-biodegradable products, which can cause land or water pollution
• Transportation of waste requires energy, which can in turn contribute to global warming by producing pollution
• Incineration of waste contributes to air pollution