Autor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe, Gustavo Larrea Gallegos y otros
Purpose: The main goal of this study is to provide a thorough environmental sustainability analysis of the construction, traffic, and maintenance of a 45.6-km section of the ‘Manu Road’, an unpaved tropical road that is currently being built in the vicinity of Manu National Park, in the region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Methods: Life cycle assessment (LCA) using a set of 18 different impact categories was selected to conduct the environmental analysis. Modelling of machinery and vehicle emissions, as well as dust emissions, was performed to account for site-specific characteristics in terms of road construction and traffic. Similarly, direct land use changes were modelled with a particular emphasis on the decay of deforested biomass during construction. A set of different scenarios for the production system were considered to account for uncertainty regarding vehicle transit, amount of deforested biomass, and emission standards. Results and discussion: Construction, maintenance, and traffic of the Manu Road varied considerably depending on methodological assumptions. Deforestation due to direct land use changes appears to be the main environmental hotspot in terms of climate change, whereas in the remaining impact categories, traffic was the main carrier of environmental burdens. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first LCA that focuses on the construction, maintenance, and traffic in a tropical rainforest environment. Despite the low requirements in terms of materials and technology to build this road, its derived environmental impacts are relevant in terms of climate change and particulate matter formation due to deforestation and dust emissions, respectively. Unpaved roads represent a relevant proportion of the entire road network worldwide, especially in developing tropical countries, playing a crucial role in the transportation of raw materials. Furthermore, road infrastructure is expected to expand explosively in the decades to come. Therefore, we suggest that LCA studies can and should improve the planning of road infrastructure in terms of life cycle inventories.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Samy García Torres y otros
Earthquakes are natural phenomena that can cause severe damage to housing infrastructure and prolonged disruption to society. Depending on their magnitude, epicenter location, local construction characteristics, and many other features, earthquakes may generate large amounts of debris and waste. The large amounts of debris generated after the disaster become one of the main problems for a population facing health issues and the need to reconstruct the city. Proper characterization and quantification of debris, subsequent waste management and reconstruction planning are essential for the restoration of an area affected by an earthquake. This study presents a methodological approach to characterize, quantify and forecast the debris produced as a consequence of earthquakes, as well as the flow of materials required for the reconstruction of the area affected. The proposed methodology includes a residential infrastructure characterization stage, a probabilistic estimation of damage by characterizing the vulnerability functions using CAPRA-GIS tool, and material flow analyses (MFA) for the characterization and quantification of debris associated with the event of an earthquake and for new materials for the reconstruction stage. A case study was developed to test this methodological approach. The residential sector of Tacna, a city with high seismic risk located on the southern coast of Peru, was selected. Moreover, five different construction systems (i.e., reinforced masonry-bearing walls with concrete diaphragms, adobe, wood, concrete shear walls, and straw) used in the residential sector of Tacna were characterized. Also, three possible earthquake scenarios (i.e., 8.6 Mw, 7.5 Mw and 6.2 Mw) were analyzed, each one with three different material end-of-life management situations. Simultaneously, the origin and quantities of new materials needed for the reconstruction of housing infrastructure were determined. The flow of new materials considered productivity rates in the construction and manufacturing sectors. The results show that in the presence of the greatest earthquake (8.6 Mw), adobe and straw homes suffered greatest damage, with damage proportions of 63% and 48%, yielding 27,000 and 1390 tonnes of debris, respectively. Also, 204,000 tonnes of concrete, 7400 tonnes of steel and 461,400 tonnes of clay brick were included as debris generated in this scenario. Furthermore, for all scenarios, the MFA provides an estimate of regional import of materials (e.g., cement, steel, brick and wood) for the reconstruction phase. Finally, the methodology is applicable to developed and undeveloped countries with different housing types, their respective vulnerability functions and constant earthquake recurrence.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Santos Corzo Remigio
Asesor: Ramzy Kahhat
Tesis para optar el título de Licenciado en Ingeniería Civil
Resumen:
El Perú desde hace unos años experimenta el denominado boom de la construcción. Esta realidad se refleja en el considerable incremento de proyectos ejecutados y manufactura de productos de construcción (cemento y barras de acero). Si bien el crecimiento del sector genera mayores ingresos y el aporte al PBI es considerable, este óptimo panorama para el sector también ha traído consigo problemas de índole medioambiental. Ante esta realidad se empleó el Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) como metodología para la estimación de los impactos ambientales. Se analizó una vivienda unifamiliar tipo B en la ciudad de Huancayo, ciudad que ocupa el séptimo lugar en entrega de licencias de construcción. Asimismo, se efectuó el análisis en la clasificación B, debido a que existen pocos estudios de esta índole en este tipo de vivienda que carece de diseño estructural. Para el desarrollo de este ACV, se definieron las siguientes etapas: pre-uso, que involucra las fases de manufactura y construcción; uso, que involucra las fases de mantenimiento y energía operativa; y fin de vida. Además, se definieron ocho indicadores ambientales: consumo de energía primaria, potencial de calentamiento global, potencial de acidificación marina, efectos sobre la salud humana, potencial de eutrofización, potencial de smog y potencial de agotamiento de ozono. Adicionalmente, se compararon dos sistemas de tabiquería, bloques de concreto y ladrillos de arcilla, para cada uno de los indicadores ambientales definidos en este proyecto. Además, se plantearon alternativas para la implementación de otros materiales de menor consumo energético y bajas emisiones de CO2. Los resultados comprueban que la etapa de uso —principalmente en la fase de energía operativa— es la que consume mayor cantidad de energía primaria y la que provoca mayor potencial de acidificación marina. Sin embargo, en el resto de indicadores ambientales, la etapa de pre-uso —principalmente la fase de manufactura— surge como la de mayor relevancia, por el alto porcentaje en el potencial de efectos sobre la salud y potencial de smog. Asimismo, se verifica el poco porcentaje de participación de la etapa de fin de vida en todos los indicadores evaluados. Finalmente, en la comparación de los sistemas de tabiquería, los resultados demuestran un mayor consumo de energía primaria y generación de cargas ambientales cuando se utilizan bloques de concreto en vez de ladrillos de arcilla.
Autor(es): Isabel Quispe Trinidad, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y otros
Rapid population growth and consumption of goods and services imply that demand for energy and resources increases continuously. Energy consumption linked to non-renewable resources contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and enhances resource depletion. In this context, the use of agricultural solid residues such as rice husk, coffee husk, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse, among others, has been widely studied as an alternative energy source in order to decrease the use of fossil fuels. However, rice husk is among those agricultural residues that are least used to obtain energy in developing countries. Approximately 134 million tonnes of rice husk are produced annually in the world, of which over 90% are burned in open air or discharged into rivers and oceans in order to dispose of them. This review examines the energetic potential of agricultural residues, focused on rice husk. The review describes direct combustion and fast pyrolysis technologies to transform rice husk into energy considering its physical and chemical properties. In addition, a review of existing studies analyzing these technologies from an environmental life cycle thinking perspective, contributing to their sustainable use, is performed.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Isabel Quispe Trinidad, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y otros
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Kathia Cáceres Huisacayna
Asesor: Ramzy Kahhat
Tesis para optar el título de Licenciado en Ingeniería Civil
Resumen:
El propósito de este estudio es presentar la evaluación de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida realizada a la Planta de Tratamiento Chen Chen ubicada en la ciudad de Moquegua. Dicha evaluación responde tanto al ámbito de eficiencia operativa como a los impactos ambientales que produce cada m³ de agua. Además, mediante el apoyo de una herramienta cualitativa, la entrevista, busca conocer la perspectiva de los usuarios sobre la calidad del sistema de agua proveído por la Empresa Prestadora de Servicios Moquegua. El análisis cuantitativo realizado considera una parte general de la fase de construcción y de manera detallada la fase de operación de la empresa. Dentro de esta última fase se tomarán en cuenta las etapas de dosificación y mezcla rápida, floculación, decantación, filtración y cloración. La metodología utilizada para la evaluación de impactos ambientales en cada etapa es el análisis de ciclo de vida (ACV o LCA). Esta herramienta ayuda a evaluar la contribución de cargas ambientales y a su vez comparar distintos escenarios a través del tiempo. Esto permite comparar la influencia que tiene el utilizar técnicas para reducir el volumen de agua producida frente a años anteriores en los que se utilizaba la reducción de pérdidas en menor medida. Los resultados muestran el proceso histórico que siguió el consumo de químicos y electricidad, con el fin de ver las mejoras anuales. Los dos principales motivos del aumento en los requerimientos de energía y químicos son, por un lado, el aumento de la población en un rango aproximado de mil personas (INEI 2015) y por otro lado la creciente contaminación del agua procedente de la cuenca hídrica que abastece a la región (GRM 2014). La evaluación de impactos ambientales evidencia que la fase de operación es la que presenta mayores cargas ambientales. A su vez dentro de dicha fase, la etapa de dosificación con los productos policloruro de aluminio (PAC), cloruro férrico (FeCl₃) y el respectivo transporte de productos representa aproximadamente el 60% de cargas para la mayoría de las categorías de impacto de punto medio. Se concluye que una reducción de pérdidas afecta significativa y positivamente a la disminución de cargas ambientales. Además se evidencia que la perspectiva de la población podría ser un factor importante al comunicar los logros actuales y futuros de la empresa. Se espera que este aporte ayude a la mejora en la toma de decisiones tanto para la Empresa Prestadora de Servicios Moquegua como para futuras evaluaciones en otras potabilizadoras tradicionales en el Perú.
Autor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
The new ISO 14045 framework is expected to slowly start shifting the definition of eco-efficiency toward a life-cycle perspective, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as the environmental impact assessment method together with a system value assessment method for the economic analysis. In the present study, a set of 22 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Spain were analyzed on the basis of eco-efficiency criteria, using LCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) as a system value assessment method. The study is intended to be useful to decision-makers in the wastewater treatment sector, since the combined method provides an alternative scheme for analyzing the relationship between environmental impacts and costs. Two midpoint impact categories, global warming and eutrophication potential, as well as an endpoint single score indicator were used for the environmental assessment, while LCC was used for value assessment. Results demonstrated that substantial differences can be observed between different WWTPs depending on a wide range of factors such as plant configuration, plant size or even legal discharge limits. Based on these results the benchmarking of wastewater treatment facilities was performed by creating a specific classification and certification scheme. The proposed eco-label for the WWTPs rating is based on the integration of the three environmental indicators and an economic indicator calculated within the study under the eco-efficiency new framework.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
Fisheries management and sustainability assessment of fisheries more generally have recently expanded their scope from single-species stock assessment to ecosystem-based approaches, aiming to incorporate economic, social and local environmental impacts, while still excluding global-scale environmental impacts. In parallel, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has emerged as a widely used and recommended framework to assess environmental impacts of products, including global-scale impacts. For over a decade, LCA has been applied to seafood supply chains, leading to new insights into the environmental impact of seafood products. We present insights from seafood LCA research with particular focus on evaluating fisheries management, which strongly influences the environmental impact of seafood products. Further, we suggest tangible ways in which LCA could be taken up in management. By identifying trade-offs, LCA can be a useful decision support tool and avoids problem shifting from one concern (or activity) to another. The integrated, product-based and quantitative perspective brought by LCA could complement existing tools. One example is to follow up fuel use of fishing, as the production and combustion of fuel used dominates overall results for various types of environmental impacts of seafood products, and is also often linked to biological impacts of fishing. Reducing the fuel use of fisheries is therefore effective to reduce overall impacts. Allocating fishing rights based on environmental performance could likewise facilitate the transition to low-impact fisheries. Taking these steps in an open dialogue between fishers, managers, industry, NGOs and consumers would enable more targeted progress towards sustainable fisheries.
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