Articles

Life cycle assessment and environmental management:Methodology, limitations, and technical progress

  • CAO Ye ,
  • ZOU Zhendong ,
  • QIU Guoyu
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  • Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Water Desalination with Renewable Energy;Shenzhen Gradate School, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China

Received date: 2017-05-25

  Revised date: 2017-10-28

  Online published: 2018-04-27

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) method has been widely used in many fields since its birth, but the most prominent contribution is its application to environmental management. The technical framework of LCA can be divided into four parts:target and scope, list analysis, impact assessment (LCIA) and result interpretation. The methods of LCIA can be summed up as midpoint method and end point method. LCA has limitations in such as data acquisition, inventory allocation, boundary selection, evaluation models, temporal and spatial constraints, and uncertainty of results. In order to adapt to the requirements of environmental management and evaluation technology, LCA evaluation technology is being developed towards a systematic direction. LCA has so far expanded its application field and avoided its limitation in evaluation, which makes it become an indispensable tool for environmental management.

Cite this article

CAO Ye , ZOU Zhendong , QIU Guoyu . Life cycle assessment and environmental management:Methodology, limitations, and technical progress[J]. Science & Technology Review, 2018 , 36(8) : 79 -86 . DOI: 10.3981/j.issn.1000-7857.2018.08.009

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