Chalmers Conferences, LCM 2013

FRESHWATER ASSESSMENT IN LCA: A CASE STUDY OF SPECIFIC AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENT
Miriam Moreno Pastor, Olaf Hinrichsen, Volkmar Wagner, Marzia Traverso, Juliane Kluge, Stefan Brattig

Last modified: 2014-09-11

Abstract


An assessment of consumptive water use was implemented for a compact
vehicle supporting tube composed of aluminium from three different
sources: primary, secondary and aluminium produced from renewable
energy. The aim of the study was to show the possible potentials and limits
for a future water assessment of a whole vehicle. Primary manufacturing
data, as well as published studies modeled in the software GaBi 4.4 were
employed to draw up the life cycle inventory. Characterization factors based
on local scarcity were applied, in order to obtain midpoint indicators. The
results show the supporting tube composed of primary materials as the most
water intensive alternative. A further practical approach for a
comprehensive assessment of freshwater in automotive industry is under
development.

Keywords


water consumption; life cycle assessment; supply chain; water scarcity

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