Life Cycle Analysis Education at Virginia Tech

Transcription

1 Life Cycle Analysis Education at Virginia Tech LCA/LCM Conference October 3, 2007 Sean McGinnis Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Blacksburg, VA

2 VT Overview VT College of Engineering 12 Engineering departments, 300 faculty 5500 undergraduates, 2000 graduate students Program initiated in 1997 to increase student awareness of the environmental impacts of engineering practice across disciplines Goal is integration across engineering curricula, not stand-alone program or degree 18 credit Green Engineering Minor 2 Core Classes Intro to Green Engineering Environmental Life Cycle Analysis 2 Engineering Classes (environmental content) 2 Interdisciplinary Classes (environmental focus) Program is attempting to engage the whole university in sustainable thinking rather than focusing solely on engineering and technology Aerospace & Ocean Engineering Biological System Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil & Environmental Engineering Computer Engineering Electrical & Computer Engineering Engineering Education Engineering Science & Mechanics Industrial Systems Engineering Materials Science & Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mining & Minerals Engineering Architecture Building Construction Business Chemistry Environmental Science Horticulture Economics Science and Technology Studies Urban Affairs and Planning Political Science

3 Environmental Life Cycle Analysis (ENGR 3134) 3 credit upper-level undergraduate course No strict prerequisites; prefer students to have Intro to Green Engineering or Fundamentals of Environmental Science Prefer junior level students to allow use of concepts in subsequent classes, specifically senior design projects Enrollment open across all disciplines, but various barriers limit participation Student awareness Engineering course listing Elective credit allowances by departments Schedule conflicts Student time vs. benefit perception Major Distribution Class size and faculty expertise ( ) BSE CEE CHE ECE ESM ISE ME MSE MINE 39% Gender Ratio ( ) 61% Male Female VT COE Overall Female ~15%

4 LCA Analogy For Course Structure Assessment IMPACTS Teaching/education Students Faculty Content LCA Course (ENGR 3134) Students Faculty New content ideas Green product design LCA studies/reports Policy changes Life Cycle Thinking/Decisions?? INTERPRETATION

5 ENGR 3134 Course Learning Objectives Students successfully completing this course will be able to: 1. Describe the 4 phases of the life cycle of a product, process, or system 1 2. Describe the 4 steps for completing a life cycle analysis Pre-Class Score Define and select appropriate functional units for LCA Analyses Post-Class Score Discuss causes/effects of commonly used environmental impact LCA categories 5. Compare the concepts of environmental 0.7 impact midpoints and endpoints 6. Explain characterization factors 0.6 in LCA for impact analysis 7. Explain the concept of weighting 0.5 in LCA analysis and interpretation 8. Discuss why design decisions dominate environmental impacts of products and processes Explain why materials selection is a critical design parameter for LCA Find sources of environmental impact data and assess the quality of that data 11. Explain the strengths and weaknesses 0.2 of Streamlined LCA compared to full LCA 12. Discuss several limitations of 0.1LCA 13. Discuss the connection of Life 0 Cycle Analysis (LCA) to technology, economics, society, the environment, and political decisions. 14. Create a simple stream-lined LCA for a product, process or system 15. Create a simple LCA on a product, process, or system using a spreadsheet or commercial software Normalized Score inputs 6 - outputs Question Number ASSESSING AND IMPROVING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS COURSE ASEE 2007 Conference M. Borrego, S. McGinnis, and D. Richter

6 LCA Course Topics and Methods LCA Content Life Cycle Phases LCA methodology and details News media, marketing and advertising info, journal articles, case studies, LCA reports LCA connections to issues the students can more easily connect with Green product marketing Organic food LEED buildings Climate Change (carbon footprint, energy analysis, ICLEI Cool Cities) Student Exercises and Projects 1. Green Product analysis Students pick green product and write memos at course beginning and end to justify 2. Materials/product research Students pick specific material/product to research across the life cycle phases 3. Input/Output Inventory Students log personal inputs and outputs (food, purchases, trash) over the course of a week 4. Materials Choice, Disassembly, and End-of-Life Students disassemble simple products and categorize materials (toys, consumer goods, etc.) 5. LCA Group project Students pick small scale project for LCA analysis (SimaPro) and full report

7 ENGR 3134 Reference Material Students need exposure to a variety of references No text covers LCA well from interdisciplinary perspective (selections used from Industrial Ecology, Cradle to Cradle ) Other resources abound, integration and coherence is an issue UNEP, EPA LCA101, TRACI, ISO Standards, NREL LCI data Software Excel Spreadsheets Energy calculations (carbon footprint) University EIO-LCA (Carnegie Mellon University) Governmental TRACI, NREL LCI database, BEES Commercial SimaPro, GaBi, ATHENA Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES) Students need specific instruction on data collection and quality analysis Library facutly expertise often brought into class for a lecture on this topic CES Selector Version 4.6 Granta Design Limited, 2005

8 LCA Education Challenges & Questions Disciplinary differences among students must be assessed & dealt with Students prefer the class to be focused on examples and discussion, but need to build a toolbox of skills to apply Software use is a difficult balance between simplicity and complexity Case studies show final results, but generally don t provide insight into design choices and changes that actually occurred as a result of LCA Engineering students struggle with value-based decisions like weighting What is the best order and depth for presentation of information? Project/examples vs. LCA concepts/methodology Streamlined LCA vs. LCA

9 How Can the LCA Community Help? Case Studies More case studies with detailed project histories, mistakes, iterative design examples Condensed versions of LCA reports or case studies Real-world student LCA projects Student projects are best if they have real data and customers Software Student focused LCA software with realistic and relevant examples

10 Future LCA Plans at VT Incorporate basic LCA concepts into freshman Engineering Education courses to expose all engineering students (~1200) Implement spiral curriculum focused on LCA for engineering departments 1. Freshmen LCA basics, simple product inventory and analysis based on few impact categories 2. Sophomores LCA examples relevant to the discipline including more impact categories 3. Juniors Detailed LCA case studies with more complexity 4. Seniors Senior design project with strong LCA component and application to design Modify the course for other audiences and learning modes Professional and K-12 LCA courses or modules Distance-learning for college and professional levels

11 Questions? Contact Info: Sean McGinnis Director VT

12 LCA Assists in Meeting ABET Criteria ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology) Criterion 3: a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility g) an ability to communicate effectively h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning j) a knowledge of contemporary issues k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

13 LCA Course Assessment Pre-Course Survey # Average Standard Deviation t-test Coding Scale Question Verbiage Pre Post Pre Post p-value List 3 reasons why engineers should be concerned about the environmental impact of their professional decisions Describe in a few sentences your current understanding of the general concept of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Methodology (What is it? Why do it? What does one do? What does it provide?) Explain in a few sentences why engineers should perform LCA on products, processes, and systems < < List the 4 main phases of the life cycle of a product < List 3 common inputs and 3 common outputs for products or processes that would be used in an LCA < inputs 0-3 List 3 common inputs for products or processes that would be used in an LCA < outputs 0-3 List 3 common outputs for products or processes that would be used in an LCA < List any 3 major environmental impact categories and describe one or more potential endpoints List 3 specific sources for quantitative environmental data (more specific than on the web ) < < List 3 limitations of current Life Cycle Analysis methods < Discuss in a few sentences why product design is a critical phase in the life cycle of a product <0.001