NDLI: Characterization model to assess ocean acidification within life cycle assessment

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Bach, Vanessa Möller, Franziska Figeva, Natalia Emara, Yasmine Finkbeiner, Matthias
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Ocean acidification due to the absorption of increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide has become a severe problem in the recent years as more and more marine species are influenced by the decreasing pH value as well as by the reduced carbonate ion concentration. So far, no characterization model exists for ocean acidification. This paper aims to establish such a characterization model to allow for the necessary future inclusion of ocean acidification in life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies.Based on a cause-effect chain for ocean acidification, the substances carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane were identified as relevant for this impact category. In a next step, the fate factor representing the substances’ share absorbed by the ocean due to conversion, distribution, and dissolution is determined. Then, the fate sensitivity factor is established reflecting the changes in the marine environment due to the amount of released hydrogen ions per gram of substance (category indicator). Finally, fate and fate sensitivity factors of each substance are multiplied and set in relation to the reference substance, carbon dioxide, thereby delivering the respective characterization factors (in kg CO$_{2}$ eq) at midpoint level.Characterization factors are provided for carbon monoxide (0.87 kg CO$_{2}$ eq), carbon dioxide (1 kg CO$_{2}$ eq), and methane (0.84 kg CO$_{2}$ eq), which allow conversion of inventory results of these substances into category indicator results for ocean acidification. Inventory data of these substances is available in common LCA databases and software. Hence, the developed method is directly applicable. In a subsequent contribution analysis, the relative contribution of the three selected substances, along with other known acidifying substances, to the ocean acidification potential of 100 different materials was studied. The contribution analysis confirmed carbon dioxide as the predominant substance responsible for more than 97 % of the total ocean acidification potential. However, the influence of other acidifying substances, e.g., sulfur dioxide, should not be neglected.Evaluation of substances contributing to ocean acidification is of growing importance since the acidity of oceans has been increasing steadily over the last decades. The introduced approach can be applied to evaluate product system related impacts of ocean acidification and include those into current LCA practice.
Starting Page	1463
Ending Page	1472
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09483349
Journal	The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Volume Number	21
Issue Number	10
e-ISSN	16147502
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2016-04-24
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Acidifying substances CO$_{2}$ Life cycle assessment Life cycle impact assessment Marine environment Ocean acidification Environment Environmental Economics Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology Environmental Chemistry
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Environmental Science

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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