Life
Cycle
Assessment
(LCA)


Class
Notes,
Activity

Adam
Kiefer





General
Overview:
A
life
cycle
assessment
(Life
Cycle
Analysis,
LCA)
is
an
evaluation

of
a
consumer
product’s
environmental
impact
over
the
entire
life
of
the
product.

This
means
that
we
are
not
concerned
about
the
waste
generated
by
one
application

of
a
product,
rather
we
are
concerned
with
the
production,
use,
and
fate
of
a

product.






Part
I:
Powerpoint
Presentation
/
Intro
to
the
LCA

NOTE:
You
are
free
to
use
the
.ppt
slides
provided
with
this
case
study.
The
instructor

may
be
better
off
coming
up
with
their
own
presentation
using
some
or
all
of
the
slides

provided.
Using
the
powerpoint
presentation
associated
with
this
activity,
students

will
be
introduced
to
the
general
concepts
of
a
qualitative
pictorial
life
cycle
analysis

of
a
variety
of
items,
including
an
automobile
and
EtOH
based
biofuels.
The
key

thing
to
remember
is
that
LCAs
are
very
detailed,
and
often
contain
a
lot
of
math.

Students
should
walk
away
from
this
exercise
with
a
purely
qualitative

understanding
of
the
LCA.
Similarly,
students
should
recognize
the
complexities
of

manufacturing,
use
and
disposal.






Part
II:
The
Toothbrush,
Construction
of
the
LCA.

Goal:
To
reinforce
the
students
understanding
of
how
even
a
simple
item
plays
a

complex
role
in
consuming
non‐renewable
resources.





Lesson
Plan:
Pass
around
a
few
identical
toothbrushes
in
its
original
packaging,

including
the
price.
While
students
are
laughing
at
you
because
you
have
assumed

they
have
never
seen
a
toothbrush
before,
you
should
encourage
them
to
notice
the

fine
details
of
the
toothbrush
that
they
perhaps
had
not
noticed
before.
Also,
on
the

board,
write
up
the
three
major
stages
of
the
life
cycle:
Manufacture,
Use,
and

Disposal.
Write
each
of
these
3‐5
ft.
apart
on
the
board
in
an
oval.
If
you
don’t
leave

enough
space
early
on,
this
project
will
become
illegible:

















After
everyone
has
seen
the
toothbrush,
tell
students
that
the
class
has
been
hired
to

do
a
qualitative
life
cycle
analysis
to
determine
the
environmental
impact
of
the

toothbrush
on
American
society.
Start
off
with
the
easiest
component
of
the
LCA,

use.
Ask
students
what
input
does
the
average
person
use
to
operate
a
toothbrush.

(Water,
toothpaste,
etc.).
What
are
the
byproducts
of
the
usage
of
a
toothbrush?
You

can
make
this
answer
as
simple
or
complex
as
you
want.
I
always
include

wastewater.
I
will
include
biological
waste
(saliva,
bacteria,
virus)
as
well
as

chemical
waste
(fluoride,
artificial
coloring).

Creating
a
flow
chart
allows
students

to
see
the
process
as
it
“occurs”.
Also
Show
the
direct
connection
(fossil
fuels)

between
Manufacture,
Use
and
Disposal/Recycling/Reuse.
At
this
point,
your
flow

chart
should
look
something
like
this:



Water, Toothpaste

Transport Use Transport

Manufacture Disposal / Recycling / Reuse
(Gasoline) (Gasoline)

Wastewater

Biological Chemical 



Explain
to
students
that
an
LCA
is
a
living
thing,
and
we
will
be
able
to
come
back
to

the
“use”
category
later.
Now
concentrate
on
Disposal/Recycling/Reuse.
Disposal
is

relatively
easy.
We
take
the
toothbrush
and
throw
it
in
the
trash.
Students
often

realize
that
the
toothbrush
goes
to
a
dump
and
takes
up
space
for
a
very
long
time.
A

few
exceptional
students
may
recognize
that
eventually
the
toothbrush
will

decompose
to
CO2
(
a
greenhouse
gas)
after
hundreds
of
years,
but
I
wouldn’t
count

on
it.
There
is
a
difference
between
reuse
and
recycling.
Recycling
is
where
the

product
has
a
series
of
operations
performed
on
it,
so
that
it
can
be
reused
either
for

its
original
intention
(
a
toothbrush)
or
a
new
process
(a
soda/pop
bottle).
In
this

case
suggest
to
the
student
that
you
could
bleach
or
boil
the
toothbrush
to
sterilize

it,
thus
recycling
it
for
use
as
a
toothbrush.
Recycling
regenerates
the
“cycle”
by

directly
reconnecting
“Disposal/Recycling/Reuse”
with
“Use”.
Reusing
(in
this
case)

indicates
that
the
object
is
used
as
is
for
an
alternative
purpose.
A
toothbrush
can
be

used
as
a
cleaning
utensil.
Your
diagram
should
look
like
this:

 (Landfill waste, CO2)
Recycle (clean)
Water, Toothpaste
Disposal
(FF energy for
garbage trucks)
Transport Use Transport Disposal / Recycling / Reuse
Manufacture (Gasoline)
(Gasoline)

Reuse

Wastewater
Cleaning implement

Biological Chemical 



Aside:
Students
often
have
trouble
distinguishing
between
reusing
and
recycling.

Stress
that
reusing
is
often
the
result
of
no
external
influence
and
it
implies
that
the

product
remains
relatively
unchanged.
For
example,
a
tire
that
has
a
hole
in
it
can
be

reused
as
a
tire
swing,
or
cut
into
strips
and
made
into
the
soles
of
shoes.
This
is

considered
reusing.
Recycling
often
has
some
external
influence
on
it,
such
as

sterilization,
or
melting.
Carpet
can
be
recycled
by
chemically
breaking
it
down
into

its
starting
materials,
and
then
remaking
the
carpet
from
these
materials.
More
and

more
often
these
terms
are
being
used
interchangeably.




And
now
on
to
the
most
difficult
component
of
the
LCA,
manufacture.
Begin
by

asking
the
students
to
describe
what
components
make
up
the
toothbrush.
A

student
will
often
volunteer
the
word
plastic.
In
this
case,
ask
the
students
how

many
types
of
plastic
comprise
the
toothbrush.
Typically,
the
bristles
are
different

than
the
rubbery
handle,
the

hard
composite
stem,
and
the
clear
packaging
plastic.




Ask
the
students
if
they
believe
that
these
plastics
are
produced
where
the

toothbrushes
are
made.
If
not,
where
do
the
starting
materials
come
from

(petroleum).
At
this
point
students
should
realize
that
the
manufacturing

component
is
quite
extensive.
Questions
the
instructor
can
ask
to
spur
conversation:

1) Do
you
think
plastic
is
naturally
white,
blue
or
red,
or
are
dyes
required.

2) 2)
Lets
look
at
the
packaging
which
we
discard
prior
to
using
the
toothbrush.

What
is
it
made
from
(paper,
ink,
dyes
adhesives)

3) How
do
these
components
get
from
the
factory
to
the
toothbrush
factory


LCA
should
look
something
like
this:

 Crude Oil

Crude Oil Transport

(Gasoline)
Transport Refinery/Factory
(Gasoline)
Refinery/Factory Transport
(Gasoline)
Transport (Landfill waste, CO2)
(Gasoline) Plastics (Unique
entry for each Recycle (clean)
type) Water, Toothpaste
Adhesives Disposal
Transport
Transport (Gasoline) (FF energy for
(Gasoline) garbage trucks)
Transport Use Transport Disposal / Recycling / Reuse
Manufacture (Gasoline)
Transport (Gasoline)
(Gasoline)
Reuse
Transport
Paper (Gasoline)
(Packaging) Wastewater
Dyes, Pigments, ink
(Unique entry for Cleaning implement
Transport each type)
(Gasoline)
Biological Chemical
Mill Chemicals
Transport
(Gasoline) Refinery/Factory
Forest
Transport
(Gasoline)
Crude Oil 





What
happens
if
the
price
of
crude
oil
increases?
Remember,
this
is
a
crude
outline…

your
students
may
come
up
with
things
that
I’ve
not
even
thought
of.



Student
Activity:



Break
students
into
groups
of
~4
students.
Give
each
group
$3.00
(either
real
or

imaginary)
and
tell
them
to
purchase
an
item
from
the
student
union
/
bookstore.

The
item
may
not
have
moving
parts
or
be
mechanical…
keep
it
as
simple
as

possible.
A
quick
word
of
advice/warning:
students
love
to
purchase
food.
Food

LCAs
can
be
quite
extensive,
but
offer
students
a
chance
to
figure
out
where
each

ingredient
comes
from
(the
field
or
the
factory).
I
like
allowing
the
students
to

purchase
their
own
item,
but
logistically
it
might
be
easiest
to
bring
in
a
number
of

inexpensive
items.
In
class
give
the
students
~
5
minutes
to
sketch
out
an
LCA
for

the
item.
This
should
give
you
enough
time
to
determine
if
they
are
on
the
correct

path.




On
a
piece
of
posterboard
or
a
.ppt
presentation,
have
students
present
to
the
class
a

2‐4
minute
presentation
laying
out
an
LCA
for
their
product.
Make
sure
it
is

abundantly
clear
that
each
student
in
the
group
must
present
some
aspect
of
the

LCA,
and
students
must
discuss
why
they
purchased
the
item.