| Title |
A spiral infinite-life-cycle assessment model for measuring the environmental impacts of circular economy systems |
| ID_Doc |
3140 |
| Authors |
Xie, JL; Tian, X; Xu, M; Liu, YB |
| Title |
A spiral infinite-life-cycle assessment model for measuring the environmental impacts of circular economy systems |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.eiar.2024.107605 |
| Abstract |
The expected benefits of circular economy policies are not fully reflected in current Life Cycle Assessment systems, leading to a lack of incentives for term-limited governments. Additionally, it lacks standardized practical procedures and struggles to account for the temporal changes in parameters caused by impetus like policy adjustment and technological advancements. To improve the recycling modeling and incorporate the expected effects of policies, the Spiral Infinite-Life-Cycle Assessment model is developed. Specifically, an infinite-life-cycle system is defined, i.e., the unidirectional and irreversible journey of given recyclable materials from being mined to dissipating in the environment, linking all unit processes affected by policies into a whole. On this basis, this paper constructs a polar coordinate-based framework that enables intuitive comparisons among different life cycles in one circular economy system. Then, to standardize the procedure, a framework-compliant algorithm is developed based on the consistent form derived from three prominent recycling modeling approaches. The algorithm allows intergenerational allocation of environmental impacts and their accounting over a given time period. Case studies like aluminum ingot and lithium carbonate demonstrate the model's advantages in applicability, proactivity, and standardization. This paper provides a systematic procedure for comprehensive circular economy assessments and contributes to the establishment of a transparent life cycle assessment system. Besides, it can also benefit the scientific debate on endogenous incentives of sustainability policies. |
| Author Keywords |
Life cycle assessment; Recycling modeling; Polar coordinate-based framework; Circular economy; Infinite-life-cycle system; Cascading effect |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) |
| EID |
WOS:001275172900001 |
| WoS Category |
Environmental Studies |
| Research Area |
Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| PDF |
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