Page 31 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Life Cycle Assessment: Principles, Practice and Prospects
18
Table 2.1 Life cycle initiative data sectors
Life cycle stage Sector
Raw material extraction Basic minerals: bauxite, iron ore, ilmenite, copper zinc ores, gravel,
sand, soil, limestone, gypsum, forestry, uranium
Fuels Coal, oil and gas, refinery operation, biofuels, biomass
Processing and converting Basic materials including (but not limited to): slab steel, aluminium
ingot, polymers (PE, PP, PVC, PA, PS, ABS), rubbers (SBR), wood
processing
Manufacturing Metal forming, plastics molding, drilling
Transport Road, rail, sea, air, freight and passenger services
calculated using mass, kilometre, volume kilometre
Energy and heat Energy from fuels, electricity supply, machinery operation
Use
Waste management Landfill, recycling, composting, waste-to-energy
ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PA (polyamid), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride),
PS (polystyrene), SBR (Styrene butadiene rubber)

development projects and no consistent method for each project. A review of data development
is provided here to indicate various activities, and information and knowledge development in
each sector.
2.4.1.1 Metals
The steel and aluminium industries in Australia have both been involved in LCA data develop-
ment over the last 10 years, although neither has publicly released inventory data in a system-
atic way. Instead, limited inventory data has been provided on a case-by-case basis to research
projects. Basic metal production data and some finished product data, such as sheet produc-
tion, have been provided in some areas. For non-ferrous metals other than aluminium, no
specific company data has been collated. The University of New South Wales/RMIT inventory
project developed steel data from public information made available by BHP, and the gaps were
filled from inventories developed in the USA. Aluminium data in this same project was devel-
oped principally with data from the Australian Aluminium Council. Other LCA work has
derived steel data from a European inventory (Boustead model), and CSIRO Minerals has
undertaken LCA for copper and nickel production based on different production routes. Data
for this project was based on theory rather than on ‘average Australian consumption’. While
there is scope to update and enrich steel and aluminium data, there is also a particular need to
develop LCI data for other metal sectors.

Table 2.2 Status of life cycle initiative in Australia
Industry is mature with LCI Industry is interested Industry has low interest
Steel Timber Electricity
Concrete Plastics Transport
Vinyl Water Imports (e.g. electronics)
Aluminium Waste management
Agriculture
Chemicals
Automotive
Packaging

100804•Life Cycle Assessment 5pp.indd 18 17/02/09 12:46:15 PM