Life Cycle Analysis with Application to

Consumer Products and Pharmaceuticals

A three session introduction to performing and

interpreting a life cycle analysis

David Hitchcock, Mariano J. Savelski,

C. Stewart Slater
Rowan University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Glassboro, NJ 08028

September 2011

1
Three Sessions Overview
Session 1
Overview of Life Cycle Analysis
Session 2
How to use environmental assessment
software, SimaPro
Session 3
Modeling processes in SimaPro

2
Life Cycle Analysis General Concepts

SESSION 1

3
Overview
Defining LCI and LCA
The steps of performing a life cycle analysis
Defining the goal and scope of your project
What do you hope to achieve and what the
boundaries of the project are
The basics of process modeling
An introduction to environmental impact
assessment

4
LCI Life Cycle LCA- Life Cycle
Inventory Analysis
Summary of all the
emissions associated Summary of all the
with the product or emissions associated
energy used with the entire process
Based on 1kg of the Raw materials
manufacturing
product or 1 MJ of
Energy used
energy
Waste Treatment
Multiply the inventory
by the quantity used to
generate the LCA
LCA LCIi Q i
i
i= individual contributors
Q= quantity of i 5
Performing an LCA
There are four main phases in an LCA.
1. Defining the goal and scope
2. Inventory assessment
The methods for phases 1 and 2 have been
standardized as can be found in ISO 14040
ISO 14043. Standards are followed because
it is the most widely accepted method for
completing your project. Following the
standards gives your results more credibility.

Available for purchase from http://www.iso.org/

The International Standards Organization website 6
Performing an LCA
3. Impact assessment
A quantification of how the product or
process affects the environment e.g. CO2
emissions, heavy metals, and land occupation
4. Interpretation of Results

Phases 3 and 4 have not been standardized.

Make sure to use the same method for these
phases throughout the entire project to maintain
validity and credibility.
7
The Goal
Consider the following:
Why is this study being performed?
Do you want to know the overall environmental impact or just
one component of it such as CO2 emissions?
What is its application?
The results may be used for economic reasons such as a CO 2
tax
The results may be used as a basis for changing the process or
raw materials used to decrease the environmental impact
Who will see the results?
If the results are for the public, keep details such as specific
chemicals and processes hidden while still providing accurate
results

8
Defining the Scope
The scope is defined by:
The boundaries that you set for the process
Where your assessment starts and ends
The basis of comparison e.g. amount produced, amount required
for a specific purpose, or a specified amount such as 1kg of
product
Will you ignore the production of useful byproducts or consider
it?
What environmental impacts are considered and how they are
calculated
The data that will be required and quality of it
What data do you need that is missing and what assumptions can you
reasonably make?
How accurate do you want the missing data to be?

9
 Life Cycle Assessment
Material Material Manufacturing Use Waste
extraction processing management

Recycle Re-manufacture Re-use

Material Product
Raw Materials Use Disposal
Processing manufacturing

Cradle Gate Gate Grave

Where all raw Where everything Where everything The end of the
materials begin enters the plant exits the plant products life

The life cycle of a product includes many inputs. The raw materials and the energy
required for every process contribute to the emissions and cost associated with a product
An LCA can be performed over any boundary
10
Things to Consider for the System
Boundary
Where the analysis begins and ends
Inputs and outputs in the manufacturing/process sequence
Production and use of fuels, electricity, and heat
Manufacture, maintenance and decommissioning of
process equipment
Requirements to run the plant
Process waste disposal
Manufacture of useful byproducts
Distribution/transportation of product
Post production utilization
Recovery and recycling of used products

11
The Basis of an LCA
To examine the environmental impact
associated with a product you need to choose a
basis
1 kg of product is a typical basis for an LCA, but
many other bases can be used
This is necessary when comparing different
products or processes
Comparing products that serve the same purpose e.g.
alkaline and rechargeable batteries
Comparing different processes for making the same
product e.g. making fudge by hand or in a factory

12
 The Basis for Product Comparison
When comparing different products it is useful to define
the basis as the products utility
For example compare rechargeable NiMH and alkaline
batteries
Use the lifetime of 1 pack of rechargeable batteries as the basis

1 pack of Rechargeable 1 pack of Alkaline Batteries

Batteries
~500 recharges n/a
4 batteries ~60g 4 batteries ~60g
0.0162MJ to recharge n/a

500 packs of alkaline batteries have the same lifetime as 1

pack of rechargeable batteries
13
The Basis for Product Comparison contd.
This is the comparison using 750mAh, 1.2V NiMH batteries and a
comparable AAA alkaline battery
o It takes 0.0045 kWh to recharge four of these batteries, or 1 pack

o NiMH batteries cost $15.99 while Alkaline batteries cost $5.49

o The average U.S. electricity cost for 2011 was used (0.127$/kWh)

o It was assumed that the two types of batteries were produced using

very similar processes so the raw materials and waste are the same
o This is only a comparison of the production and energy

consumption of batteries
For this basis of comparison, the rechargeable batteries have a lower
environmental impact and overall cost to the consumer.

1 pack of 500 packs of

Rechargeable Alkaline Difference (A-R)

Total Emissions, kg 4.62 2,210 1,650

Total Energy Required, MJ 88.4 28,300 28,200

Final Cost to Consumer, USD 19.69 2,745.00 2,725.31

14
The Basis for Process Comparison

When comparing processes it is useful to

define the basis as the process output
(product unit)
For example compare the environmental
impact associated with the production of 1
kg of fudge by two different production
routes

15
Useful Byproducts
You can either ignore these or consider them
in you analysis
If you choose to consider them:
Know how much is produced
Calculate or research the environmental impact
associated with the production of the byproducts
This is based on a process where your byproducts are
the desired product
Credit this impact to your process
Account for by subtracting from the final LCA

16
Environmental Impacts Considered
Provided for you Not provided for you
The project sponsor You have to chose the
or your client often environmental impact(s)
provides the Air emissions
environmental Water emissions
impacts to examine Soil emissions
Each category has
individual emissions
such as CO2, NOx,
VOCs, and heavy
metals
17
The Basics of an LCI
The LCI data may be provided to you by
your professor or sponsor
If this is not the case you can generate the
LCI (shown in sessions 2&3) or you can
research for the required data
http://www.cpm.chalmers.se/CPMdatabase/Start.asp
This site provides LCIs of many products and
processes
Specific literature such as The International
Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
18
LCI Tables
Below is one type of table used to summarize the LCIs of
compounds and manufacturing processes
Category Units Notes

Total Raw Materials Used Kg

Total Water Used Kg

Cumulative Energy Demand includes all energy
required for raw material production/
MJ- manufacture, in process energy, and waste
Total CED equivalent management energy.

Total Air Emissions Kg

CO2 Kg
CO Kg
Methane Kg
NOX These are examples of air pollutants that are
Kg commonly reported individually
NMVOC Kg
Particulates Kg
SO2 Kg

Total Water Emissions Kg

VOCs Kg A commonly reported water emission

Total Soil Emissions Kg

Total Emissions
Note: the table can beAirorganized
Kg
+ Water + Soil emissions
in any way, such
as individual pollutants or types of energy used 19
Jar of Peanut Butter Process Map
Material Product
Raw Materials Use Disposal
Processing manufacturing
Peanuts
Roasting/Grinding
Distribution
Sugar Center Waste
Mixing
Oil
Individual Retailer
Packaging

Jar
Glass Production

Polypropylene Lid
Production
Paper Carton
Printer Recycling
Ink
Box Carton
printing/ Packaging User Storage
Cardboard
forming and
Film consumption
Shrink
Wrapping 20
 A Closer Look
Each box in the manufacturing section of the
process map is simplified
Below is a general diagram of a
manufacturing process
Emissions Emissions Product Emissions

Raw Materials Raw Manufacturing Waste

Materials Waste Management
Manufacture Process

Energy Raw Energy

Materials Energy Raw
Materials

21
Lets Make Chocolate Fudge!
What are the required ingredients?
Milk, chocolate, sugar, corn syrup, salt, butter, additional flavors e.g. nuts, vanilla, mint
How is the fudge made?
Melt chocolate with milk
Mix the sugar, corn syrup, and salt
Boil the mixture
Mix in butter and flavoring
Allow to cool
Cream the fudge by aerating it
Allow to cool and form into desired shape
What materials are used for packaging?
Paper, cardboard, and ink
What about distribution and sales?
Distribution Center-> Retailer -> Consumer
Sold directly to the consumer
Waste and recycling of packaging

http://www.fudge-recipe.com/old-fashioned-fudge-
recipe.html
22
 Fudge Process Map
Material Product
Raw Materials Use Disposal
Processing manufacturing
Milk Distribution
Mixing/Melti
ng Center
Chocolate Waste
Mixing/Boilin
Sugar g Retailer
Cooling
Corn
Syrup Creaming
Salt

Butter Cooling/Shap User

ing Storage
Flavors and
Packaging consumpti
Carton
on
Recycli
Paper
ng
Cardboar Box
d printing/form
Ink ing

23
 Breakfast LCA
Calculate the LCA of an individual serving of breakfast
Given:
LCIs for each component
Milk, oat flakes, water, and boiling water (for oatmeal)
Component Amount
Milk 0.300 L (1 glass of milk)

Oat Flakes 0.040kg

Amounts needed
for one bowl
Water 0.237 L of oatmeal

Energy for Boiling Water 0.237 L of water boiled

24
Breakfast LCIs
LCIs of each breakfast component
Energy for
Boiling
Oat Flakes, Water, 1 L
Milk, 1 kg 1 kg Water, 1 L boiled
Raw Materials Used, kg 1.03E+00 1.51E+00 1.04E-03 3.85E-01
Water Used, kg 5.68E+01 8.43E+01 1.09E+00 1.60E+00
Total Emissions, kg 3.29E-01 4.80E-01 2.41E-04 1.16E-01
Air, kg 2.97E-01 4.73E-01 2.41E-04 1.16E-01
Water, kg 3.16E-02 6.06E-03 3.26E-07 1.01E-04
Soil, kg 3.35E-05 4.52E-05 1.01E-08 4.66E-06
CO2, kg 2.68E-01 4.64E-01 2.40E-04 1.16E-01
CED, MJ 3.90E+00 1.49E+00 3.26E-03 1.54E-00
r e w

( LCI
i
i Ri ) ( LCI i Ei ) Wi LCA
i i

Energy and waste are already included in these

LCIs so they do not need to be added to the LCA
The milk LCI can be traced back to the beginning
of a farm
25
Calculating the LCA
r e w

( LCI R ) ( LCI E ) W
i
i i
i
i i
i
i LCA

Raw Materials Process Energy Disposal

R = Amount of Raw Material used in manufacture of the chosen

basis of product
E = Energy used to produce the chosen basis of product
W = Waste emissions associated with producing the chosen basis
of product
r = number of raw materials
e = different type of energy used
w = number of waste streams that are sent to waste treatment

26
Breakfast LCA
Energy for
boiling
0.300 L 0.040 kg 0.237 L 0.237 L
Milk Oat Flakes Water Water Total
Raw Materials Used, kg 3.16E-01 6.02E-02 2.46E-04 9.13E-02 4.68E-01
Water Used, kg 1.74E+01 3.37E+00 2.59E-01 3.79E-01 2.14E+01
Total Emissions, kg 1.01E-01 1.92E-02 5.71E-05 2.75E-02 1.48E-01
Air, kg 9.12E-02 1.89E-02 5.70E-05 2.75E-02 1.38E-01
Water, kg 9.68E-03 2.42E-04 7.73E-08 2.40E-05 9.95E-03
Soil, kg 1.03E-05 1.81E-06 2.41E-09 1.10E-06 1.32E-05
CO2, kg 8.20E-02 1.86E-02 5.69E-05 2.74E-02 1.28E-01
CED, MJ 1.20E+00 5.94E-02 7.72E-04 3.65E-01 1.62E+00

27
Breakfast LCA
0.148 kg total emiss

Boiling Water; 2.75E-02

Water; 5.71E-05

Oat Flakes; 1.92E-02

Milk; 1.01E-01

Total Emissions contributed to breakfast by

each ingredient
28
Questions?

29
Using SimaPro 7.2 multiuser

SESSION 2

30
Overview
What is SimaPro
How to use the program
Generating an LCI
Modeling your own process
Some specific components of SimaPro
are explained along the way

31
SimaPro
SimaPro is a detailed environmental
analysis tool
Used for a product or process
Products and processes are called processes in this program
Quantification of the raw material, energy use, and emissions to
the air, water, and soil
Characterization of environmental impacts
The databases contain many common products and processes,
but not everything
Products and processes not already in the databases need to be evaluated differently
as discussed later
A free trial of the Software is available at
http://www.pre.nl/content/download-simapro-7

32
What SimaPro Contains
Databases
Inventory of the data in SimaPro
Substances, processes, units, conversion factors,
environmental impact categories, projects, libraries
Projects (what you will be working on)
The data used in a specific project
Library
Data available for use in all projects
General data
Data such as substances and units

33
Starting SimaPro
For use in Rowan Hall
Start->All Programs->SimaPro 7.2
Multiuser->SimaPro 7.2 Multiuser

34
This is the opening screen of SimaPro
Click to proceed
35
You will then be presented with this screen where you
can select the server that you will use
For the first time, there will be no servers
You will need to add the server(s) you wish to use.

36
1. Click

2. In the new window that

appears click

3. In this window enter the

server name
Our server is specter
4. Click
37
5. Click

6. Make sure that

Professional is
highlighted as
shown to the left
This is the most
current version
7. Click
38
8. Wait for the database to finish
loading

9. Select a user
Select Expert, user ##, or
Manager whenever possible
Expert can view and edit all expert,
practioner, and visitor projects
Manager and user## can view and
edit all projects in the database
Practioner can only open projects on
that level and default tutorials, but
can create projects
Visitor can only open default tutorials
and cannot create projects

10. The Password is the username

Ex. The password for Expert is
expert
39
11. The Project selection window will appear
From here you can select an existing project or
create your own
12. To open and existing project click
To create a new project click

40
13. When creating a
new project this
screen will display
Enter the name of
your project
Use a concise and
descriptive name like
Slater LCA Tutorial
14. Click

41
 The top bar

This is a screen similar to what you

should see after following the previous
The steps
far left This is the main screen of SimaPro (the
bar
LCA explorer screen) where you are able
to do everything SimaPro is capable of
Note that this is the processes tab of the
LCA explorer

42
Project Management
Create a new project
Open an existing project
Close the current project
Save the current item being edited
Print the current item
Cut the selection
Copy the selection
Paste the selection
Find an item within SimaPro

43
Editing tools
Inserts a new line for input
Deletes the currently selected input line
Used when creating a process in SimaPro
Expression tools
In SimaPro the user can input mathematical
expressions instead of numbers
Displays the expressions entered and their results
Updates all expressions (This is automatically done
by default)

44
Analysis Shortcut tools
The analysis options are discussed in detail later
Performs a network analysis
Performs a impact assessment analysis
Compares the selected processes using an impact
analysis
SimaPro tools
Shows the LCA explorer window
This button allows you to view the data from all
of the projects
This button is only available for the manager and
user## users because they can view all processes
It does not allow you to edit processes from other
projects, only view and analyze them
45
The far left bar provides links to
use for navigating the program
Wizards
This provides some pre-loaded
tutorials and an LCA-wizard that you
can use when creating a new LCA
model
Goal and Scope
Description allows you to define
and view a description of the current
project
Libraries displays the list of
libraries and allows you to select
which libraries are used in the project

46
Inventory
Processes is the window that was shown
earlier where you can navigate through the
processes available in your project
Product stages allows you to define what
processes are included in the different stages
of your process (assembly, life cycle,
disposal, disassembly, and reuse)
Waste types displays a list of the different
types of waste management available in
SimaPro
These are labels that tell SimaPro how to treat the
waste produced by a process
Parameters allows the user to define
variables, both independent and dependant,
for use in the LCA model
These can be used in expressions for process
inputs/outputs
47
Impact assessment
Methods displays a list of the
available impact assessment
methods
You can create your own methods
tailored to your requirements
Calculation setups displays a
list of the available calculation
methods
You can create a setup to display the
results that you choose in a specific
format so that all repeat calculations
are presented the same way

48
Interpretation
Interpretation allows the user
to input an interpretation of the
data
Document Links provides
links to the documentation that
corresponds to the selected
libraries

49
General Data
Literature references displays a
list of the literature cited by the
libraries in use
Substances displays a list of the
available substances
Units displays a list of the units
used in SimaPro
Quantities displays the units
sorted by what physical quantities
they represent
Images displays all of the images
used by the selected libraries
including images of processes
50
The Libraries
Consist of critically reviewed data used
by researchers
Contains the LCI data for products and
processes
Our version of SimaPro does not allow
users to edit these

51
Click on the Libraries tab
This is the Libraries tab of
SimaPro
The checked boxes indicate
that the library is active and
its contents are available for
use
These are all of the libraries
available at Rowan
Now returning to the
processes tab

52
Here you can navigate through the processes
1. Find the type of process you want and click the
2. Continue to navigate through the subcategories by
clicking each sequential
3. Scroll though the list of processes to find the one that
you want

53
Alternatively you can view
all processes at once by
having this box checked

To find a process from here

you need to know what the
process is called

1. Sort the processes by name

by clicking here
2. Click any process name
3. Type the first few letters of
your desired process e.g.
meth
4. Scroll around to find your
specific process e.g.
Methanol, at plant/GLO U
5. You can similarly find the
processes from a specific
project

54
 Viewing a Process
You can double click a process name, for
example, Methanol, at plant/GLO U, to
view all of the inputs for that process and
known outputs
You can also view its attributes
o Date of creation, who created it, comments from the
creator, inputs, outputs, and basis are the most useful
attributes

GLO indicates global production values

U indicates that this is a unit process 55
Double click here

56
Process information and the amount produced

The inputs from

nature

The inputs from the

technosphere
(manufacturing
processes and
resources)

The inputs from the

technosphere
(manufacturing heat
and electricity

Direct emissions to
the environment

57
From this input screen you can see that the methanol is produced from natural
gas and a catalyst of various metals
There is also cooling water and deionized water
There is an electricity input that indicates that some electrical equipment is used
in production 58
These are the emissions that are associated with only the process for methanol
production, not raw materials
This particular process only has water and airborne emissions
After generating the LCI, you will see the total life cycle emissions including raw
materials extraction and processing 59
The process name

Contact information
about the reference
source

The Comments
provide
information about
how the data was
generated and
assumptions that
were made

60
Country Codes
Most process names are followed by a
country code
Methanol, at plant/GLO U
The following slides show what each
country code is

61
62
63
System (S) vs. Unit (U) Processes
Many processes have two versions
E.g. Methanol, at plant/GLO U and Methanol, at
plant/GLO S
Both processes will give the same results
System processes use the LCI as the input
Unit processes use the products and processes
used to make the product as the input
E.g. the chemicals and raw materials used such as
natural gas and water
Presents data in a more manageable and easy to
understand format

64
Generating an LCI
Processes in SimaPro
Find the process that you wish to use
Right click and select analyze
Shown on the next slide
You could click analyze in the top bar too.
Other processes
Research (Kirk Othmer, journal articles, patents, etc.)
Gather data from the manufacturer
Create your own process using these data
Explained in session 3

65
1. Right click the
process name
to bring up the
context menu
2. Then select
Analyze

66
 Double click here
to choose the
impact
assessment
method

This screen will appear after clicking Analyze

67
Select one of these
methods by double
clicking the name
Always use the same
method throughout the
project
Each method calculates
environmental impact
differently
IMPACT 2002+ is the
most current and accurate
Use this if you are
unsure which to choose
Includes non-
renewable energy
calculation

68
Impact Assessment
Evaluation of the magnitude and
significance of potential environmental
impacts
This is not standardized
No absolute scale for impact assessment has
been defined
Use the same method for all impact
assessments performed for your project

69
Impact Categories

Impact 2002+ Both Ecoindicator 99

Non-carcinogens
Aquatic
ecotoxicity
Carcinogens
Terrestrial Fossil Fuels
Land Use/Occupation
ecotoxicity Climate Change
Minerals
Terrestrial acid Ecotoxocity
Ozone Layer
Aquatic Acidification /
Radiation
acidification Eutrophication
Respiratory Organics /
Aquatic
Inorganics
eutrophication
Non-renewable
energy

70
Eco-indicator and Impact 2002+

Eco-Indicator Impact 2002+

Displays long term

effects Displays immediate
effects
71
 Typical Units for Impact Assessment
Immediate effect on environment (Midpoint)
Climate Change (sometimes Kg CO2 Each greenhouse gas is equated to kg of CO2
calculated as a long term effect)
Ozone Depletion Kg CFC-11 Each chemical is equated to kg of CFC-11
Human Toxicity Kg 1,4-DB (1,4 dichlorobenzene) The damage of each chemical equated to kg 1,4-DB
regardless of how it is contacted with
Ecotoxicity Kg 1,4-DB (1,4 dichlorobenzene)
Acidification Kg SO2 Each acidifying chemical is equated to kg of SO2
Eutrophication Kg N Each chemical is equated to kg of N
Respiratory Inorganics Kg PM10 The damage associated with particles where D>10 m
Ionizing Radiation Bq C-14 All radioactive energy is equated to BQ for a C-14
nucleus
Nonrenewable energy MJ Primary Nonrenewable energy is measured in the MJ of primary
energy extracted by a process
Long term effect on environment (Endpoint)
Human Health DALYs Disability Adjusted Life Years, the total years of healthy
life lost
Ecosystem Quality PDFm2years Potentially Disappeared Fractions of a square meter over
a year
PAFm2years Potentially Affected Fractions of a square meter over a
year

Resources MJ Primary MJ of energy

MJ Surplus MJ of energy required to mine/refine harder to
reach/lower quality ores 72
Now Click Calculate to
analyze the
environmental impact

73
1. This loading bar
will pop up
2. Then you will
see a chart
similar to this

74
 This bar allows you to navigate the
different data analysis options

This is where
This shows a you will find
network You are We are
the LCI data
analysis here going here
next

These are the different

categories of
75
environmental impact
This shows all of the You can also show the
impact categories on long term impact
one bar to show the categories by un-
relative magnitude of checking the Per
each one. Notice The impact category box
most impact is on non-
renewable energy, and
the smallest impact is
on aquatic acidification
and eutrophication
The global warming
band starts at 30 Pt
and ends at 97.6 Pt so
the impact is 67.6 Pt.

76
This shows all of the
long term impact
categories on one bar
to show the relative
magnitude of each one.
Notice how resources
are impacted the most
by methanol

77
 Data Analysis Options
SimaPro provides a few options for
presenting the results
Network
Impact Assessment (the bar charts you just saw)
Inventory
Process Contributions
Each option is useful for a specific purpose
To navigate between them, use the tabs at
the top of the screen

View this next 78

Network Analysis Screen

79
Network
Shows the inputs for the process and gives a visual
representation of each inputs contribution to the
overall impact of the process
Useful for evaluating a process to reduce its environmental
impact
You can change what the network analysis shows by
selecting different options from the menus shown
below

Represented Quantity Units

You can also choose to show either the cumulative

contribution of all feeding processes to the total
impact or the percentage contribution by clicking one
of these two buttons. By deselecting both, you will
see the contribution by only that process
80
Network Choosing the Impact Shown
1. You can choose to
show an inventory
item or any of the
impact categories by
choosing from this
drop down list
(well show an
inventory item)
2. Double click here
3. Find your desired
impact by
navigating through
the categories on the
left then the impacts
on the right
Alphabetically
listed
4. Double click your
desired impact
81
Network Choosing cut off levels
You can choose to show more or less
processes by cutting off processes that
contribute less than a certain percentage

Use the arrows or type in your desired cut

off percentage here

82
System Processes
The system process will
display aggregate
results in one box
There is no way to tell
where in the production
The diagram display the impact on
of methanol most of the global warming in kg CO2 -eq
emissions are coming Quantity produced/consumed
from Process/Product name
The bottom box is a
legend for all boxes
shown in a network Quantity of current
inventory/impact
analysis
83
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

0.669
Unit Processes
The Overall environmental impact is
16.4 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at
7.7 MJ
Natural gas, burned in
the same as it was in the system
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U process
0.141 0.517 This shows the flow of the process
and how each part of the process
0.45 m3 The diagram contributes to the overall impact
Natural gas, at long-distance
Pipeline /RER U displays the The arrows direction indicates the flow
impact on direction
0.129 global warming
in kg CO2 -eq Notice that the top two boxes do not
0.154 m3
Natural gas, production RU, at
add to the amount in the top box.
long-distance pipeline/RER U
This diagram has a cut off of 10%, so
0.0851 many of the processes are not included
which account for the remainder
84
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

0.669
Unit Processes Process Stages
16.4 MJ 7.7 MJ Stage 1: These products and processes are
Natural gas, high pressure, at Natural gas, burned in
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U
directly used to form the product or process
being analyzed
0.141 0.517

Stage 2: These products and processes are

0.45 m3 The diagram
Natural gas, at long-distance
Pipeline /RER U displays the directly used to form the products or
impact on processes in stage 1
0.129 global warming
in kg CO2 -eq
0.154 m3 Stage 3: These products and processes are
Natural gas, production RU, at
long-distance pipeline/RER U directly used to form the products or
0.0851
processes in stage 3

Stage 4: etc
85
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U
Unit Processes None Selected
0.669

16.4 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at
7.7 MJ
Natural gas, burned in
Each of the boxes displays the impact of only
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U the process or product that is represented in
the box
Change Change

0.45 m3
Natural gas, at long-distance
The diagram
Pipeline /RER U displays the
impact on
Change global warming
in kg CO2 -eq
0.154 m3
Natural gas, production RU, at
long-distance pipeline/RER U

Change

86
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

Unit Processes Summation Selected

0.669

16.4 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at
7.7 MJ
Natural gas, burned in
Each of the boxes displays the cumulative
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U impact of all of its contributing processes.
0.141 0.517

0.45 m3
Natural gas, at long-distance
The diagram
Pipeline /RER U displays the
impact on
0.129 global warming
in kg CO2 -eq
0.154 m3
Natural gas, production RU, at
long-distance pipeline/RER U

0.0851

87
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

Unit Processes Percentage Selected

100%

16.4 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at
7.7 MJ
Natural gas, burned in
Each of the boxes displays the cumulative impact
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U of all of its contributing processes as a
percentage of the total for the overall process
Change Change

0.45 m3
Natural gas, at long-distance
The diagram
Pipeline /RER U displays the
impact on
Change global warming
in kg CO2 -eq
0.154 m3
Natural gas, production RU, at
long-distance pipeline/RER U

Change

88
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

A
0.669
Unit Processes product flow
Notice how natural gas
from box B flows to box
16.4 MJ 7.7 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at Natural gas, burned in
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U

0.141
B 0.517
C C and box A
To see this in more detail,
The diagram
displays the
right click on the box and
impact on select Display flow of
global warming
in kg CO2 -eq

89
 1 kg
Methanol, at plant/GLO U

16.4
Unit Processes product flow
Now you see the flow of Natural
16.4 MJ
Natural gas, high pressure, at
7.7 MJ
Natural gas, burned in
gas, high pressure, at consumer
/RER U in the whole process
Consumer /RER U Industrial furnace low-NOx
>100kW /RER U

16.4 7.72 This shows that 16.4 MJ of this

natural gas is used overall in the
The diagram displays methanol process
MJ of Natural gas, 7.72 MJ of this natural gas are burned in
high pressure, at a low-NOx industrial furnace >100kW
consumer /RER U
This analysis can be performed on
any part of the process you are
viewing to see the flow of that
component

90
Impact Assessment
The graph shows the
relative impact for
each component
Useful for
determining the main
contributors to each
impact category
The table will show
the absolute impact
for each component
To generate the table
click the show table
button
This gives you
absolute values for
each category
91
Inventory
This is the
comprehensive list
of the
environmental
impact that this
process has a.k.a.
the LCI
From this screen
you can create
charts from the data
This can also be
exported to Excel
for easier handling
Make sure that the
default units box is
checked first
92
Charts from the inventory
1. Click on the Indicator box
here
2. Select Characterization
This allows you to view
the data in the impact
categories without any
weighting
Any choice other than
inventory can display
charts
3. Click on the Category box
4. Choose your desired impact
category e.g. Global
warming
93
Charts from the inventory

5. Now the Chart button will be available

6. Click the chart button
7. You can choose skip unused to remove
all components that have 0 contributions
8. You can also choose to exclude long-term
environmental effects

94
 This screen will appear after clicking the chart button
This is a bar chart showing how each of the components in the LCI
contribute to global warming
o Very few are visible because many of them contribute negligibly
to global warming
The first thing you should do to make this more readable is adjust
the cut-off
Increase it until you feel the chart is readable and informative
(0.1% for this example)
You could also select skip unused as shown before

95
 Now you can see multiple bars
and read the chart
You can add labels to each bar
by entering the chart options by
clicking here

96
97
 Now you can see the values for
each bar
You can also view a pie chart by
clicking the show pie chart
button

98
 Now go
back to the
inventory
by
selecting
inventory
This is the
resulting pie chart in this bar
Each chart can be
exported as an
image or copied as
an image. Both
options give an
un-editable image.

99
Process Contributions
This represents the
network data in a
tabular form
You can view the
amounts used or
the contributions
to an impact
category

100
Process Contributions
You can select what
is shown using the
drop down menu,
well show global
warming
1. Select
Characterization
2. Select Global
warming

101
Process Contributions
From here you can
see the total
contribution of the
process
You can also see the
contribution of each
individual process
used
You can also view
this as a chart
102
Click here to view this
as a pie chart.

103
104
Exporting the LCI to Excel
Click file at the top left then
select export
This will present you with
options for how to export the
inventory
You can choose from:
Excel file
Text file

105
Exporting the LCI to Excel
This screen will appear
Find the folder that you wish
to save the excel file in
Give it a descriptive name
Save the file as type Excel
files (*.XLS)
With an Excel file, you could
use your own template to
organize the data, or you could
use Excel to create charts and
tables from the data
106
Making sense of it all
Now you can open your Excel file (shown
on the next slide)
You will also want to open the LCA
manufacture template
At Rowan University, this is found in the
following location:
\\150.250.64.127\public\Pfizer\SimaPro Tutorial
This Excel file will take the file that SimaPro
created and put it into an easier to understand
format
107
This is the file that you just
created
You can see that there is a
large amount of data in this
file
659 substances are recorded
here

108
This is the manufacture template
Many of these cells contain functions designed
to organize the data in your file and gather it
together in an easy to understand table as
shown in the following slides

109
For the template to work, your data
must be in a specific format
The default units must have been used
as stated before
The total amounts need to be in column
E
This is typically the case, but make sure it is
If there is only one substance, you wont
need to worry about this
For multi-substance processes there is a total
column and a column for each component of
the process
Make sure that the total column is in column E of
the spreadsheet
110
In the SimaPro generated
Excel file
1. Select columns A E
2. Copy these columns

In the template
3. Select cell A1
4. Click paste
5. Scroll to Y12 to see the
output
111
6. Navigate to cell
Z34
This cell requires an
input from SimaPro
It is used to calculate
the CED for the
process
7. Return to SimaPro
8. Find the
nonrenewable
energy required in
SimaPro

112
6. Click the impact
assessment tab
7. Click the
characterisation
button
8. Find the Non-
renewable energy
9. Enter the non-
renewable energy
value from SimaPro

113
The Resulting Table
Notes about the table
Template Output Units Comments

Raw Materials Used 0.834 kg

Water Used 554 kg

Emissions 0.654 kg Total emissions i.e. Air + water + soil

Air 0.647 kg Total Air Emissions. Values from SimaPro in m3 are converted to kg.
Water 0.00639 kg Total Water Emissions. Values from SimaPro in m3 are converted to kg.
Soil 0.000127 kg Total Soil Emissions

CO2 0.640 kg
CO 0.000433 kg
CH4 0.00423 kg
NOX 0.000917 kg Individual values of specific air pollutants
NMVOC 0.000320 kg
Particulate 0.000120 kg
SO2 0.000636 kg

VOCs 1.72E-07 kg A contributor to the water emissions

114
Comparing Processes
You can select two or more processes to compare
1. Select one process as done before
2. Find a second process to compare
3. Hold the ctrl key on your keyboard while selecting
the second process
4. Repeat for as many processes as you please
5. Now select compare from the right click menu as
shown in the next slide
Methanol at plant and Methanol from synthetic
gas at plant will be compared for this example

115
Select compare
This gives you
many options
that are useful
for comparing
multiple
products or
processes

116
Making the Comparison

You will now see this screen (similar to the single process
comparison)
Choose an assessment method the same way as before
It is preferential to select an eco-indicator method because these methods
provide the most options for comparisons (choose E if youre unsure)
117
This bar is negative because the synthetic gas
manufacturing route uses CO2 as a raw material,
so it actually helps to reverse climate change

118
Comparing
In the previous chart you saw percentages
on the y-axis
The process with the highest impact in a
particular category is set as the 100%
reference value
You can only view the impact assessments
and the inventory as comparisons
The normalized impact assessment also
allows you to view a triangle chart

119
1. Click the normalisation tab
2. Make sure the boxes are both
unchecked and never is
selected in the skip
categories box
3. Click the button

120
This triangle shows the three
long term environmental
impacts from the eco-indicator
assessment methods
Each side of the triangle is one
impact on a scale of 0-100%
Each point in the triangle
represents a weighting scheme
How much you decide to weight
the total environmental impact
based on these three impacts e.g.
20% human health, 20% resources,
and 60% ecosystem quality
The legend at the top explains
what the colors mean

121
Questions?

122
Modeling a Process in SimaPro

SESSION 3

123
Overview
How to create a process
Explained through a pharmaceutical example
What you could do with this information

124
Pharmaceuticals
Many organic chemicals and solvents are
used in the production of APIs (Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients)
Not all of them are in SimaPro
The solvent does not exist
The entries in SimaPro are manufactured using a
different method or energy source
These solvents need to be modeled
accurately before they can be used in an
LCA
125
 Aspirin
The API in Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid
This is used as an NSAID pain reliever and
fever reducer
Below are the chemicals used to produce 1 kg
Chemical/solvent SimaPro name Amount, kg
Acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, at plant/RER U 8.51
Toluene Toluene, liquid, at plant/RER U 6.67
Salicylic acid Unavailable 7.68

Below are the wastesAmount,

Chemical/solvent
produced
kg
Acetic anhydride 2.83
Acetic acid 3.33

Kamlet, J. (1956). Process for the manufacture of acetylsalicylic acid. Patent No. 2731492. US. 126
 Utilities and emissions
The energy requirement is unknown so
estimate by adding an organic chemicals
plant.
The plant is based on an average of two plants
with a total production of 50,000 tonnes
annually and a lifetime of 50 years.
4.0E-10 p plants required to produce 1 kg of an
organic compound

p is a unit that means a piece or a part of

something
127
Creating a Project
1. After you login to
SimaPro you will see
the projects window
2. Click the new button
3. Give your project an
easily identifiable name
(e.g. Rowan Pharma
Tutorial/your initials)
then click OK

128
Creating a Project
4. Ensure that all
of the libraries
are marked as
active in your
project.
5. Now you can go
to the processes
window by
clicking here
and get started
129
Creating a Process
You can either model an existing process or create a new one by
clicking new to make one from scratch or copy to make a process
based on an existing one

When creating a new process, name it accordingly

The name should be easily identified as the product or process you are modeling
Add all of the known inputs
You can add processes from SimaPro for substances and energy

130
You can name the process by double clicking the
Name box and typing the name i.e Aspirin
The next slides will demonstrate how to add inputs
You can add compounds, chemical plants, and energy
required for your product or process
You can also add known emissions from the
manufacturing process

131
Lets Make Aspirin!

1. Name the process by double clicking the

Name box and typing Aspirin
2. Enter 1 in the Amount box
You can change the units and quantity by
double clicking their respective boxes and
selecting an option from the drop down menu
For this case we are modeling 1 kg, so the
unit is kg and the quantity is Mass

132
Adding Ingredients

1. To add a process first double click the

appropriate input box
Inputs from technosphere are the materials that you
need for your process/product or fuels required
You can also add known emissions if your
manufacturing process generates emissions
We will be adding inputs from the technosphere
133
 Which Ingredients to Use?
Here you Here you can navigate the
can processes
navigate the
categories
Once you find yours double
click its name

We will use Acetic anhydride, at plant/RER because it is a general process for acetic
anhydride production
If you have more details about where the raw materials come from, you can view the
details of each option and choose the one that matches you specifications best 134
Deciding which process to use
1. To view the details
of a process/product
click View
2. The next slide
shows the resulting
screen

135
After reading the process description you can see that
this process is modeled after a generic production
mix of acetic anhydride in Europe.
Without any details for our acetic anhydride, a generic
production would be the best model for us to choose
136
Adding the Other Ingredients
Add the other ingredients in the same
manner
You can also add any energy requirements
and emissions in the same way
What emissions and energy should we add
ourselves? Doesnt SimaPro calculate this for
us?

137
Energy and Emissions
SimaPro is used to calculate the
emissions and energy, but you need to add
some of these yourself as well

Measured/calculated from process

Calculated by SimaPro

Emissions Emissions, By-products,

Waste
Raw Product
Raw materials
materials manufacturi
used
gathering ng process
and
Energy
manufacturi Energy
ng 138
Energy and Emissions
The emissions you enter into you product/process
outputs are only from the manufacturing process
Example: If the manufacturing process generates 2 kg
of SO2 gas. You should add this to the emissions from
your product/process
The energy you enter as an input is only the
energy required to perform the manufacturing
process
Example: If your pumps require a total of 15 MJ of
energy during the production of 1 kg of your product.
Include this in the inputs for your product/process

139
Salicylic Acid
Notice that salicylic acid is one of the
chemicals used in this process
Salicylic acid does not exist in SimaPro yet
We will make a new salicylic acid process
based on stoichiometric calculations and
some simple assumptions
This is a rough estimate
Patents and literature searches are better
sources of information

140
Salicylic Acid

Phenol A Sodium Phenolate Salicylic Acid

(ph) (Sph) (Sa)

This is known as the KolbeSchmitt reaction

For our purposes, we will assume the following:
Each step has a 95% yield
All unused products and reactants are used
somewhere else in the plant
Use a general organic chemical plant for energy

141
Stoichiometric Calculations
1 kmol Sa
1 kg Sa = 0.00724 kmol Sa
138.12 kg Sa
1 kmol Sph 1 kmol react.
0.00724 kmol Sa = 0.00762 kmol Sph
1 kmol Sa 0.95 kmol prod.
1 kmol H 2SO 4 98.079 kg H 2SO 4
0.00762 kmol Sph = 0.747 kg H 2SO 4
1 kmol Sph 1 kmol H 2SO 4
1 kmol CO 2 40.01 kg CO 2
0.00762 kmol Sph = 0.353 kg CO 2
1 kmol Sph 1 kmol CO 2

1 kmol NaOH 40 kg NaOH

0.00762 kmol Sph = 0.321 kg NaOH
1 kmol Sph 1 kmol NaOH

1 kmol ph 1 kmol react. 94.11 kg ph

0.00762 kmol Sph = 0.755 kg ph
1 kmol Sph 0.95 kmol prod. 1 kmol ph

4.0E-10 p Chemical Plant to account for

energy and utilities

142
Adding Inputs
Create a new process and name it Salicylic acid
Make the process a 1 kg basis
Add the inputs in the same manner as previously
shown
Some of the units may not be the same as your data
Remember that by double clicking the units you
can select a new one from the drop down menu

143
Inputs

144
Notes for Creating Processes
Be sure to get information from credible
sources
Make as few assumptions as possible
Do research to make good assumptions.
E.g. what type of electricity is likely to be used or
plant specifications
State your assumptions for future
reference by you or others

145
 Completing the inputs for Aspirin
Now that the salicylic acid process has
been created, add the remaining inputs
summarized below
Chemical/solvent/plant SimaPro name Amount, kg
Process Inputs
Acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, at plant/RER U 8.51
Toluene Toluene, liquid, at plant/RER U 6.67
Salicylic acid Salicylic acid 7.68
Chemical Plant Chemical plant, organics/RER/I S 4.0E-10
Useful By-products
Acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, at plant/RER U 2.83
Acetic acid Acetic acid, 98% in H2O, at 3.33
plant/RER S

146
Useful By-Products?
You may have noticed the Allocation input in
the processes you have viewed and created
Some processes have multiple products.
Desalination produces purified water and salt
This needs to be considered when modeling
such a process. You can do one of two things:
Avoid allocation
Divide impacts over the products
Use the same method for the entire project

147
Avoid Allocation
You can avoid allocation by expanding the system
boundaries
Generate an inventory for the other products that are produced
The inventory should be for a process where your by-product is the
desired product
Subtract those inventories from the overall inventory of the
process being modeled

Purifie
Sea water d
water

Purifie
d
water

148
Allocation
Determine the percent of the raw material
allocated to each product by one of two methods
The physical quantities produced
For the sea water use mass fractions
The socio-economic percentages of each product
For the sea water use the revenue generated from the given
mass of each product, or the market share of each product

Product Mass Income

Allocation Allocation*
Sea water
Water %96.5 %87.1
example
Salt %3.5 %12.9

* Based on market prices for sea salt and bottled water in a

supermarket 149
Our case
For our case, we will avoid allocation for
the acetic acid and acetic anhydride
This is used based on the assumption that
the two by-products will be sent
somewhere else in the plant to be used by
or sent to another plant so no waste
treatment has to be considered and we can
credit these to our process

150
Here is where you add the useful by-
products 151
Outputs - Impact Assessment

These are negative because they are credited to our process

152
Outputs - Impact Assessment Table

153
Lets Recycle
The acetic anhydride can be recycled
The acetic acid can react with ketene to
form acetic anhydride
After recycling, the mixture needs to be
charged with more salicylic acid
The output of acetylsalicylic acid is
greatly increased

Kamlet, J. (1956). Process for the manufacture of acetylsalicylic acid. Patent No. 2731492. US. 154
 Ketene H2C=C=O
Ketene is not available in the database
For our reaction there is a special case
ketene + acetic acid -> acetic anhydride
There is an acetic anhydride process we can modify
Acetic anhydride from ketene, at plant/RER U
Find this process then copy it
Click Copy

155
156
We can use this process, but we have to
make one change
We already have acetic acid so we can just
remove that from the inputs in this
process
157
1. Select Acetic acid
from the inputs
2. Right Click
3. Select Delete Line
4. Rename the Process
Acetic anhydride from
aspirin recycle
158
 Aspirin Process with Recycle Inputs
The inputs for this process are different than last
time
The aspirin yield compared to the previous process
is nearly 10 times as much
Create a new process and name it Aspirin with
recycle
Chemical/solvent/plant SimaPro name Amount, kg
Process Inputs
Acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, at plant/RER U 0.861
Toluene Toluene, liquid, at plant/RER U 0.674
Salicylic acid Salicylic acid 1.552
Chemical Plant Chemical plant, organics/RER/I S 4.0E-10
Acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride from aspirin 0.574
recycle
Kamlet, J. (1956). Process for the manufacture of acetylsalicylic acid. Patent No. 2731492. US. 159
Outputs - Impact Assessment

160
Outputs - Impact Assessment Table

161
Impact Assessment Comparison

162
Impact Assessment Table Comparison

163
 Inventory comparison
Amount Saved Percent
Without Recovery With Recovery Through Recovery Reduction
Raw Materials Used, kg 4.71E+01 9.43E+00 3.76E+01 80%
Water Used, kg 1.11E+05 2.58E+04 8.53E+04 77%
Total Emissions, kg 4.97E+01 1.03E+01 3.94E+01 79%
Total Air Emissions, kg 2.35E+00 5.58E-01 1.79E+00 76%
Total Water Emissions kg 1.36E-02 3.77E-03 9.87E-03 72%
Total Soil Emissions kg 4.89E+01 1.01E+01 3.88E+01 79%
CO2, kg 8.03E-02 1.85E-02 6.17E-02 77%
CO, kg 2.62E-01 4.86E-02 2.13E-01 81%
CH4, kg 8.34E-02 1.70E-02 6.65E-02 80%
NOX, kg 1.20E-01 2.66E-02 9.33E-02 78%
NMVOC, kg 3.18E-02 6.98E-03 2.48E-02 78%
Particulate, kg 1.82E-01 3.77E-02 1.45E-01 79%
SO2, kg 4.76E-05 1.37E-05 3.39E-05 71%
VOCs, kg 1.59E+03 3.03E+02 1.28E+03 81%
CED, MJ 4.71E+01 9.43E+00 3.76E+01 80%

164
Remarks
The solvent recovery resulted in a
considerable decrease in all emissions
If you have accurate data you can model a
process in SimaPro and also model
variations based on your own calculations
of solvent recovery or energy usage

165
Any Last Questions?

166