Does ex ante application enhance the usefulness of LCA? A case study on an emerging technology for metal recovery from e-waste

Abstract

Purpose A large proportion of the environmental impacts of a technology is determined by decisions made at the early development stages. Therefore, effective approaches to grasp the potential environmental performance of a technology early in development are needed. This paper reflects on the usefulness of ex ante application of LCA using a case study on the appraisal of the potential environmental impacts of a lab-scale novel process for bioleaching of e-waste for metal recovery. Methods The LCA framework was applied at an early stage to the novel bioleaching process to embed it in a life cycle context, linking it to upstream and downstream flows. Then, a short-term future scaled-up scenario was defined using a proxy technology and estimated data. Environmental hotspots of this scenario were identified, and its environmental impacts were compared with those of a current industrial pyrometallurgical technique, involving an integrated smelter refinery. Results and discussion LCA displays potential environmental hotspots related to energy and material inputs for the bioleaching process and solvents for copper recovery, despite uncertainties. Comparison with an existing integrated smelter refinery technology returned an inferior environmental performance. These results could not be considered accurate given the early-stage application, yet they served as valuable preliminary information. The uncertainties also prompted further enquiry about the chosen product system boundary, the role of the emerging technology and the comparability of the technologies. Conclusions The ex ante application of life cycle assessment on an emerging technology brings a systematic rigour and discipline to an ambiguous situation at the start of technological development. Applying the LCA framework broadens the scope of the research, introducing a systems approach and long-term view. Environmental aspects and alternative perspectives on the novel technology are also brought into the research domain. The approach creates new knowledge on the novel technology's potential development, and developmental challenges are given definition at an early stage. The LCA outcomes should not be regarded as a final result but have a signalling purpose as a contribution to technological development. Though imprecise with much conjecture involved, such an approach gives a valid mock-up of a plausible future providing useful provisional insights to be built upon. Applying ex ante LCA and an exploratory scenario to an emerging technology is of great service as a developmental design tool and can be further refined in later development stages.

Life cycle assessment of 3D printing geo‐polymer concrete: An ex‐ante study

“…The early application of LCA can help gain an insight into the environmental performances and potential challenges at an early stage (Cucurachi et al., ). It can be used as an environmental screening tool to assess research proposals or design concepts in the research and industry, thus contributing directly to the improvement of the design or the technology, thus fostering the transition to a circular economy (Villares, Işıldar, van der Giesen, & Guinée, ).…”

“…To operationalize the ex‐ante LCA methodology, we follow the guidelines of Villares et al. (). The authors propose a cumulative research approach under the ISO technical framework for LCA (ISO 2006).…”

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: Evaluation techniques at different stages of market and technical maturity

“…The literature on LCA of emerging technologies includes many case studies, variously using terms such as prospective (Mendoza Beltran et al., ; Cooper & Gutowski, ; Raugei & Winfield, ; Sathre et al., ; Wender & Seager, ), early stage (Cramer, ; Hetherington et al., ; Hung, Ellingsen, & Majeau‐Bettez, ), ex ante (Hesser, ; Villares, Işıldar, Van der Giesen, & Guinée, ; Zhou et al., ), anticipatory (Gifford, Chester, Hristovski, & Westerhoff, ; Kendall & Yuan, ; Mattick, Landis, Allenby, & Genovese, ; Ravikumar, Seager, Cucurachi, Prado, & Mutel, ; Tsang, Philippot, Aymonier, & Sonnemann, ; Wender et al., ; Wender, Foley, Guston, Seager, & Wiek, ), explorative (Steubing, Mutel, Suter, & Hellweg, ), and scenario‐based (Arvidsson et al., ) LCA. The diversity of terms mirrors the wide range of available methods and disparate language employed across the LCA community.…”

Life cycle assessment and cost evaluation of emerging technologies at early stages: The case of continuous flow synthesis of Rufinamide

“…This is regulated by the International Standard Organization (ISO, 14040 and 14044); it enables the qualification and quantification of environmental impacts and identifies improvement options throughout the life cycle of a product, process or activity. In this article, LCA is applied in an “anticipatory” fashion at the early stages of the development of the CF synthesis of Rufinamide.…”