Iskanje po repozitoriju

A+ | A- | | SLO | ENG

Povzetek: The role of data centers has intensified with the expansion of the digital economy and the advancement of information and communication technologies. Their environmental footprint is determined by the electricity mix, whose temporal and spatial variability is insufficiently addressed in the conventional life cycle assessment (LCA). In this study, a time-resolved environmental impact assessment was applied to electricity generation in Slovenia and Serbia in 2023. The focus was on three categories: climate change, resource use (minerals and metals), and water use. Hourly generation data from the ENTSO-E Transparency platform were linked with the Ecoinvent 3.11 datasets to generate hourly impact profiles and representative daily profiles for summer and winter. The study's results reveal clear differences primarily due to the distinct electricity mix structures of the two countries. Slovenia relies on nuclear, hydro, and photovoltaic power, while Serbia is predominantly coal-based. Photovoltaic generation in Slovenia reduces greenhouse gas emissions during daylight but increases the impacts related to the use of minerals and metals. Serbia exhibits higher climate change burdens yet lower variability in other categories. Seasonal and diurnal fluctuations influence emission intensities, underscoring the limits of static, annualized assessments. The findings provide input for policy and smart infrastructure planning. Strategies for electric vehicle charging, data centers, and demand-side measures should integrate temporal profiles of environmental impacts. Tools such as environmentally differentiated tariffs or time-varying carbon pricing can help align energy use with periods of lower impact. More broadly, the results highlight trade-offs between greenhouse gas mitigation and other pressures, underscoring the need for holistic energy transition pathways.
Ključne besede: data centers, life cycle assessment, electricity mix, climate change, temporal variability
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 03.02.2026; Ogledov: 143; Prenosov: 65
Celotno besedilo (12,76 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: In the context of the European Green Deal, achieving a climate-neutral building stock by 2050 has become a key objective. The 2024-revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) highlights this goal by requiring EU Member States to transform their long-term renovation strategies into practical National Renovation Plans. The LIFE project GreenRenoV8 supports the practical implementation of the EPBD by developing a scalable, cost-effective methodology for deep, sustainable building renovation. By combining the environmental performance with the economic implications (both investment and life cycle cost), the project aims to identify the most cost-effective renovation strategies. GreenRenoV8 focuses on five EU Member States: Austria, Belgium (Flanders region), Greece, Italy and Slovenia. A stock modelling approach is used, starting with the identification of representative building archetypes per country. For each archetype, specific renovation strategies are developed and their life cycle environmental impact, investment cost and life cycle cost are assessed. The results are extrapolated to the national level to determine the most cost-effective measures and to prioritize these. The modelling moreover incorporates seismic resilience where required. This paper describes the approach taken within the GreenRenoV8 project to support evidence-based renovation planning that maximizes environmental impact reduction and cost-effectiveness across the EU.
Ključne besede: energy efficiency, life-cycle costing, life-cycle assessment, building stock modelling, sustainable renovation, carbon-neutral buildings
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 27.01.2026; Ogledov: 136; Prenosov: 77
Celotno besedilo (760,28 KB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: Transportation electrification is one of the key strategies in the sustainable energy transition. Life cycle assessment was performed to evaluate the environmental impact of different electricity mixes with higher uptake of renewable energy sources and various driving modes on the use of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The results showed that the values for categories global warming, fine particulate matter formation, ozone formation, human health, and fossil fuel scarcity decreased by 15.8 %, 11.3 %, 25.3 %, and 12.9 %, respectively, in the Green 2030 scenario compared to the baseline. When the driving mode was considered, the impact decreased by 27.7 %, 36.9 %, 21.3 %, and 24.4 %, respectively, in the lowest use in the current production scenario. In the categories of land use and mineral resource scarcity, a 6.9 % and 2.1 % increase in the values was observed in Green 2030 scenario, showcasing the trade-off in different environmental impact categories.
Ključne besede: battery electric vehicles, driving mode, electricity use, electricity production mix, life cycle assessment, transportation
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 30.12.2025; Ogledov: 572; Prenosov: 123
Celotno besedilo (1,21 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: As a result of improper management, plastics such as drinking cups are accumulating in environmental compartments worldwide, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services. The goal of this study is to analyze and compare potential environmental impacts of disposable cups made of Polypropylene and Polylactic acid with the help of a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment, including impacts related to the littering of these cups. Plastic pollution impacts are calculated based on the products' persistence in the environment, comparing the results of our own experiment to literature data. As an indication of the possible adverse health effects of Polypropylene and Polylactic acid, a toxicity test of the chemical mixtures migrating from the cups is conducted. Overall, the cups made of Polypropylene show lower environmental impacts compared to those made of Polylactic acid when the experimentally determined degradation rates are used. Nevertheless, regarding toxicity of the chemical migrates, the cup made of Polylactic acid performs better than the one made of Polypropylene. Considering all impact categories, there is no overall improvement in environmental impacts of producing the cup from Polylactic acid instead of Polypropylene. Our results indicate the importance of using degradation data measured specifically for the assessed product. Methodologically, we demonstrate a possible integration of life cycle assessment and safe-and-sustainable-by-design scoring. Further development of the plastic pollution impact category is needed to integrate effects on the terrestrial environment.
Ključne besede: degradation, accelerated weathering, product environmental footprint, life cycle assessment, plastic pollution, toxicity
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 27.05.2025; Ogledov: 949; Prenosov: 511
Celotno besedilo (2,47 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: Wood is considered a promising raw material for the circular bioeconomy and has the ability to store biogenic carbon, and this is one reason why we want to extend the service life of the wood. In order to consider the influence of durability in our study, we used two wood species with different lifespans. Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) belongs to the group of very sensitive wood species, as the durability of the untreated wood is estimated to be around 5 years; meanwhile, pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) belongs to the group of moderately resistant wood species, where the durability of the untreated wood is estimated to be up to 15 years. While toxic chemicals are often used for wood preservation, hydroxyapatite offers an environmentally friendly solution for wood mineralization. This study presents life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) analyses comparing a novel hydroxyapatite (HAp) mineralization method with a service life of 50 years to a non-mineralized reference alternative. LCA was based on EN ISO 14040 and EN ISO 14044, while LCC was adapted from the European Commission’s LCC tool for public procurement. The results of the LCA show that mineralized wood has a lower overall impact on the environment than surface-treated beech wood but a higher impact than surface-treated pine wood. Most impact categories were determined by electricity consumption with the exception of stratospheric ozone depletion, water consumption, and land use. Water consumption proved to be the category where the mineralization process was problematic due to water consumption during the leaching process. The LCC showed that mineralized wood is the most cost-effective solution for the exterior façade, as all costs, but especially investment costs, were lower. The differences in the LCA and LCC results are mainly due to the different lifetimes of the two alternatives. It can be concluded that if energy-intensive processes and chemicals are used in the production of the material, the extended lifetime must be sufficient to account for the additional impacts that occur during the production phase.
Ključne besede: environmental impacts, hydroxyapatite, life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost analysis (LCC), wood mineralization
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 09.09.2024; Ogledov: 1096; Prenosov: 3087
Celotno besedilo (2,60 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...