Dissertation
Impact assessment modelling of matter-less stressors in the context of Life Cycle Assessment
Promotores: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo & Dr. R. Heijungs
- Author
- S. Cucurachi
- Date
- 21 October 2014
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
In the last three decades, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework has grown to establish itself as the leading tool for the assessment of the environmental impacts of product systems.LCA studies are now conducted globally both in and outside the academia and also used as a basis for policy making.Now that the science behind existing and established impact assessment models is more solid, LCA modellers may work on deepening and broadening LCA, and on tackling the issues that make the framework incomplete or uncertain.This work of thesis deals with the complete modelling of stressors that are not related to the standard extraction/emission pattern, thus that do not relate to the extraction of a certain quantity of matter or to the emission of matter to the environment.These stressors may be defined in this acceptation as matter-less.The thesis analyses the development of impact assessment models for the case of sound emissions determining noise impacts, radio-frequency electromagnetic emissions leading to electromagnetic pollution, and light emissions determining ecological light pollution.Through the study of these matter-less stressors the computational structure and other methodological topics of the LCA framework are put to the test.