The assessment of the potential human and ecological effects of energy, water, and materials used and discharged to the environment is the man object of the LCA. The different LCA methodologies can be cluster into two main groups depending on the final assessment goal: i) environmental impact assessment and ii) assessment of damage. The most common impact categories used in LCA studies are Global Warming Potential, Acidification, Fresh water ecotoxicity, Cumulative Energy Demand, Abiotic resources depletion, and Eutrophication. These can be assed through the variety of LCA software available on the market, among which the SimaPro and GaBi being the two most popular worldwide. Applying these tools, the results of the inventory analysis and impact assessment can be interpreted to select the product, process, or service with the best performance within the context of the goal and scope of a study. In particular, the application of the LCA in biomass valorization technologies is of primary importance in the view point of waste-to-energy transformation.

Erasmo Cadena (Vertech Group - VTG)