No abstract

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are identified as critical raw materials for the European Union economy. REEs are not currently produced in the EU, while there are several sources not properly addressed. Within the ENVIREE project tailings from New Kankberg (Sweden) and Covas (Portugal) were identified as rich in REEs and chosen for recovery processing. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to evaluate the environmental impact of REEs recovery. The aim of this study is the detailed analysis of several scenarios with different electricity production schemes of REE recovery. The study discusses the share of energy use in the overall impact on the environment, taking into account diversification in the electricity production structure among EU countries. The energy use is a significant contributor to the overall environmental impact of studied cases. Its share in the total environmental burden is reaching up to 47%. The results show that applying the average electricity scheme production for Europe may lead to biased LCA results. For the accurate LCA results the local production schemes of energy for certain countries should be chosen.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to identify and assess the potential environmental impacts caused by mixed municipal solid waste management system based on mechanical-biological treatment technology in Rybnik, Poland. The study is based on life cycle assessment methodology, with application of EASETECH model. The system elements that were taken under consideration are the collection and transportation of MSW (municipal solid waste); MBT plant (mechanical and biological treatment), transportation between system elements, landfilling with LFG (landfill gas) collection system and gas combustion in flare. The adopted functional unit is 1 Mg of mixed municipal waste generated in Rybnk.