150
P. S. Kumar et al.
14 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Method
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodological framework for estimating the environmental impacts attributable to the life cycle of a product, including climate change,
stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone (smog) creation, eutrophication,
acidification, toxicological stress on human health, and ecosystems, the depletion of
resources, water use, land use, and noise [21]. In the steel industry, the LCA method is
suitable to evaluate the total environmental impacts of products from cradle to grave.
Much advancement has been developed years ago to provide a framework of LCA
based on international and draft standards of ISO 14,000 series. Those standards
included the following:
• International standard ISO 14,040 (1997) on principles and framework;
• International standard ISO 14,041 (1998) on goal and scope definition and
inventory analysis;
• International standard ISO 14,042 (2000) on life cycle impact assessment;
• International standard ISO 14,043 (2000) on life cycle interpretation.
As an efficient tool, LCA considers a wide range of environmental issues such as
the discharge of pollutants and climate change to potentially quantify the impacts on
products at different stages of their lifecycle. The research is concerning the role of
LCA in water in 2009 [19], following a great interest in water use in LCA databases.
Water is then considered in life cycle assessment as an input from nature in which
the utilization can develop an environmental impact related to known production
activity. LCA therefore mainly focuses on the extraction and manufacturing processes
for a better understanding of environmental impacts. In the steel industry, LCA
mat help scrutinizing the elements of the environmental factor correlated among
corporate activities; Likewise, LCA can further help to come upon the root causes of
different environmental issues associated with products, overcome their management
drawbacks, and accomplish the entire process control.
15 Impacts of Water Footprint on Steel Industry
The ISO 14,026 related to the principles of requirements and guidelines on water
footprint was promoted to deal with the impacts of water scarcity. In order to well
understand the role of LCA in a water footprint, the development of a suitable methodology outline is very important. According to the international standards, the different
steps to be considered include the following:
• The definition of goal and scope: Describe the functional unit and system
boundaries;
• Inventory analysis: Describe the life cycle steps, gather all the inputs and outputs
elements, and evaluate the components of each element;
P. S. Kumar et al.
14 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Method
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodological framework for estimating the environmental impacts attributable to the life cycle of a product, including climate change,
stratospheric ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone (smog) creation, eutrophication,
acidification, toxicological stress on human health, and ecosystems, the depletion of
resources, water use, land use, and noise [21]. In the steel industry, the LCA method is
suitable to evaluate the total environmental impacts of products from cradle to grave.
Much advancement has been developed years ago to provide a framework of LCA
based on international and draft standards of ISO 14,000 series. Those standards
included the following:
• International standard ISO 14,040 (1997) on principles and framework;
• International standard ISO 14,041 (1998) on goal and scope definition and
inventory analysis;
• International standard ISO 14,042 (2000) on life cycle impact assessment;
• International standard ISO 14,043 (2000) on life cycle interpretation.
As an efficient tool, LCA considers a wide range of environmental issues such as
the discharge of pollutants and climate change to potentially quantify the impacts on
products at different stages of their lifecycle. The research is concerning the role of
LCA in water in 2009 [19], following a great interest in water use in LCA databases.
Water is then considered in life cycle assessment as an input from nature in which
the utilization can develop an environmental impact related to known production
activity. LCA therefore mainly focuses on the extraction and manufacturing processes
for a better understanding of environmental impacts. In the steel industry, LCA
mat help scrutinizing the elements of the environmental factor correlated among
corporate activities; Likewise, LCA can further help to come upon the root causes of
different environmental issues associated with products, overcome their management
drawbacks, and accomplish the entire process control.
15 Impacts of Water Footprint on Steel Industry
The ISO 14,026 related to the principles of requirements and guidelines on water
footprint was promoted to deal with the impacts of water scarcity. In order to well
understand the role of LCA in a water footprint, the development of a suitable methodology outline is very important. According to the international standards, the different
steps to be considered include the following:
• The definition of goal and scope: Describe the functional unit and system
boundaries;
• Inventory analysis: Describe the life cycle steps, gather all the inputs and outputs
elements, and evaluate the components of each element;