Ghadimi, Pezhman and Wang, Chao and Azadnia, Amir Hossein and Lim, Ming K and Sutherland, John W.
(2019)
Life cycle-based environmental performance indicator for the coal-to-energy supply chain: A Chinese case application.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 147.
pp. 28-38.
ISSN 0921-3449
Abstract
Coal consumption and energy production (CCEP) has received increasing attention since coal-fired power plants
play a dominant role in the power sector worldwide. In China, coal is expected to retain its primary energy
position over the next few decades. However, a large share of CO2 emissions and other environmental hazards,
such as SO2 and NOx, are attributed to coal consumption. Therefore, understanding the environmental implications of the life cycle of coal from its production in coal mines to its consumption at coal-fired power plants
is an essential task. Evaluation of such environmental burdens can be conducted using the life cycle assessment
(LCA) tool. The main issues with the traditional LCA results are the lack of a numerical magnitude associated
with the performance level of the obtained environmental burden values and the inherent uncertainty associated
with the output results. This issue was addressed in this research by integrating the traditional LCA methodology
with a weighted fuzzy inference system model, which is applied to a Chinese coal-to-energy supply chain system
to demonstrate its applicability and effectiveness. Regarding the coal-to-energy supply chain under investigation, the CCEP environmental performance has been determined as “medium performance”, with an indicator
score of 39.15%. Accordingly, the decision makers suggested additional scenarios (redesign, equipment replacement, etc.) to improve the performance. A scenario-based analysis was designed to identify alternative
paths to mitigate the environmental impact of the coal-to-energy supply chain. Finally, limitations and possible
future work are discussed, and the conclusions are presented.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Coal consumption and energy production;
Coal-to-energy supply chain;
Environmental performance indicator;
Life cycle analysis;
Fuzzy inference system; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business |
| Item ID: |
15904 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.04.021 |
| Depositing User: |
Amir Azadnia
|
| Date Deposited: |
03 May 2022 14:15 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Resources, Conservation and Recycling |
| Publisher: |
Elsevier |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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