A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Wood–Aluminum Window Production in Two Life Cycle Assessment Software

Sečkár, Michal and Schwarz, Marián and Pochyba, Adam and Polgár, András (2024) A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Wood–Aluminum Window Production in Two Life Cycle Assessment Software. SUSTAINABILITY, 16 (21). ISSN 2071-1050

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Abstract

In the construction sector, there is a shift towards environmentally conscious practices that prioritize the minimization of environmental burdens. In this study, we dealt with a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of a wood–aluminum window in two software tools. SimaPro (PRé Sustainability) and Sphera LCA for Experts (formerly known as GaBi) were selected. The results from both software tools were compared to assess the output uniformity of the two selected tools. The results indicate the similarities and differences in the software tools. The most similar results were achieved for impact categories Photochemical Ozone Formation (1.1% difference), Human Toxicity, cancer (total) (3.6% difference), Climate Change (3.7% difference) and for Resource Use, fossils (4.5% difference), respectively. On the other hand, the results were most different in the impact categories Ozone Depletion (84.7% difference), Resource Use, minerals and metals (75% difference), Ecotoxicity, freshwater—inorganics (35.6%) and Ecotoxicity, freshwater (total) (31.2%), respectively. The differences in the LCA results between SimaPro and GaBi were analyzed in-depth and were mainly attributable to using different databases in the transportation process and due to different system boundaries in some processes, with the Ecoinvent data containing significantly more background processes and inconsistencies in the implemented characterization factors.

Tudományterület / tudományág

engineering and technology > material sciences and technologies
engineering and technology > wood industry

Faculty

Not relevant

Institution

Soproni Egyetem

Item Type:	Article
SWORD Depositor:	Teszt Sword
Depositing User:	Csaba Horváth
Identification Number:	MTMT:35498705
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2024 11:05
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2024 11:05
URI:	http://publicatio.uni-sopron.hu/id/eprint/3361

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