Page 325 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

4.6 Illustration of the Phase Impact Assessment by Practical Example 309

On the basis of the data in Table 4.30 and the impact indicator result for the
greenhouse effect, the following specific contribution and resident equivalents
(REQs) for the example system carton packaging results:

Sample Calculation: Calculation for the total consumption Germany for beverage
carton; REQ normalised impact indicator result:

Impact category: Global warming potential:

Global warming potential per fU 68.3 kg CO -Eq/1000 l
2
(see Table 4.29)
6
Total consumption in Germany 4.555 × 10 l
3
Global warming potential total 68.3 × 4.555 × 10 kg CO -Eq
2
6
= 311 × 10 kg CO -Eq
2
3
Total greenhouse potential, Germany 1 017 916 500 × 10 kg CO -Eq
2
(see Table 4.30)
Inhabitants in Germany 82 532 000 (see Table 4.30)
REQ Global warming potential 12 334 kg CO -Eq/inhabitant
2
(see Table 4.30)
Specific contribution product system 3.06 × 10 −4
REQ product system 25 223 a
Spec.contribution of product system = total GWP of the product system
total GWP of Germany
REQ of product system = total GWP of the product system
REQ GWP of Germany
a All data specified in this section are rounded for clarity. A REQ of 25212 as the result of the
study is obtained if all decimals are considered.
For the normalisation of the impact indicator, land use, the respective total
areas of Germany or Western Europe were considered. This corresponds
to the assessment in other impact categories with reference to German or
Western European total values.
The geographical frame of references values (e.g. for GWP Germany) and
causing emissions (GWP of carton system) are not necessarily identical since
for instance the GWP due to the production of raw cardboard originates
in the Nordic countries. Generally this has little impact on the results of
normalisation.

Normalised indicator results are usually plotted. Figure 4.5 shows as an example
a comparison of the packing systems ‘beverage carton’ and ‘PET bottle’ for fruit
juice and fruit nectars, normalised with reference to the total consumption in
Germany.