A COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF VARIOUS PRODUCT SYSTEMS IN A WATER PRODUCTION COMPANY

Sydney Achugwo; Ogechukwu Ezeonu; Patrick Akpan

doi:10.4314/njt.v44i1.7

Authors

S. U. Achugwo Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria
O. E. Ezeonu Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria
P. U. Akpan Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria, and Africa Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Energy and Power Development (ACESPED), University of Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.v44i1.7

Keywords:

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Impacts, OpenLCA software, Life Cycle Inventory, Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Abstract

It is no news that man’s activities usually have negative impacts on the environment. One major activity that man carries out that grossly affects the environment is the Production processes in general, especially those that are heavily industrialized. This paper presents a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted on four different product systems in the University of Nigeria’s LION water Company. The study makes use of the OpenLCA software to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of four selected product systems, including 50cl PET bottle water, 75cl PET bottle water, 60cl sachet water and 18l dispensary water. The aim is to provide insights into the environmental implications of the different water packaging options and identify potential areas for sustainability improvements. The LCA methodology encompasses the use of the ‘ecoinvent_391_cutoff_upr_regionalized’ database and the impact assessment was done using the ‘openLCA - ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H)’ method to analyse resource use, emissions, and other environmental indicators. Summarized results show that the 60cl sachet water production system has the least environmental impact, while the 50cl PET bottled water production system exhibits the highest environmental impact. The study recommends a reduction in 50cl PET bottle water production and an increase in 60cl sachet water production within University of Nigeria (UNN) Lion Water to minimize negative environmental footprints and promote sustainability in water production operations.

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