ME 599 Life Cycle Assessment: Syllabus and Lectures

Winter Quarter 2008

ME599 LCA Class Homepage

Data Sources and Impact Equivalency Factors

UWME Design for Environment Homepage

 

Discussion Topics, Assignments, and Lecture Notes

Resources

Week 1

Introduction (lecture in pdf)

Goal and scope definition (lecture in pdf)

  • Heijungs & Suh chapter 1

  • ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006

  • Cooper, J.S. “Specifying Functional Units and Reference Flows for Comparable Alternatives,” International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 8, 337-349 (2003) download here

  • Sheehan, et al. (1998) Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus. Prepared for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/SR-580-24089.  Available at www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24089.pdf

Weeks 2-3

The basic model for inventory analysis (lecture in pdf)

**Project proposal due (1/14 now 1/16)

**Goal and scope report due (1/25)

Week 4

Inventory data sources (lecture in pdf updated Feb 6)

EcoInvent Laboratory (1/30 - 2/4)

  • LCA Database Projects Website

  • Jiménez-González, C., S. Kim, M.R. Overcash (2000) “Methodology for Developing Gate-to-Gate Life Cycle Inventory Information,” International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 5(3) 153-159.

Weeks 5-6

The refined model for inventory analysis (lecture in pdf updated Feb 11)

 

  • Heijungs & Suh chapters 3, 4, 6, and 7

  • Field, F., R. Kirchain, J. Clark (2001) “Life-Cycle Assessment and Temporal Distributions of Emissions: Developing a Fleet-Based Analysis,” Journal of Industrial Ecology 4 (2) 71-91.         

Week 7

• Feb 18 President's day- no class

Impact Assessment (lecture in pdf updated Feb 13)

and an impact assessment example (in pdf updated Feb 13)

**Inventory analysis due (2/20)

Week 8

Interpretation (lecture in pdf updated Feb 27)

**Impact assessment due (2/27)

Week 9 LCA Applications, Tools, a Case Study, and Status
(lecture in pdf)
  • SETAC North America Streamlined LCA Workgroup (1999) Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment: A Final Report, Prepared for the Society of Environmental Toxicologists and Chemists, Available at http://www.setac.org/files/lca.pdf

Week 10

**Oral reports given in class

**Final report due (3/12)

 

 

For more information, contact Associate Professor Joyce Smith Cooper at cooper@me.washington.edu