Excel tool to assess the environmental impact of steels based on the composition

  • Isabel García Gutiérrez 
  • Daniel Elduque 
  • Carmelo Pina 
  • Rafael Tobajas 
  • Carlos Javierre  
  • a,b,d,e i+AITIIP, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zaragoza EINA, María de Luna 3, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
  • BSH Electrodomésticos España, S.A., Avda. De la Industria, 49. 50016, Zaragoza, Spain
Cite as
García Gutiérrez I., Elduque D., Pina C., Tobajas R., Javierre C. (2021). Excel tool to assess the environmental impact of steels based on the composition. Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Simulation for Energy, Sustainable Development & Environment (SESDE 2021), pp. 10-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46354/i3m.2021.sesde.002

Abstract

The communication shows the simulation tool developed to calculate the environmental impact of steels based on their composition. The tool is based on the modeling of the Life Cycle Inventory of steels, and only requires the composition data of the steel as input data. This modeling of the systems allows to quantify the content of critical raw materials, which, despite not being a regulatory requirement, may constitute a good practice as a better use of the available resources.
The different blocks of the tool are detailed in this communication: input data, calculation methodology and the results display block. At the same time, a case study is shown, where the environmental impact of three steels are used in the manufacture of metal components of LED luminaires has been simulated. The results have been compared with those obtained from the models provided by EcoInvent, in order to represent the relevance of perform a more accurate simulation of environmental impact based on the composition. Likewise, the content of critical raw materials of the three steels analyzed has also been obtained. 

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