Life cycle assessment is becoming an important tool for guiding environmental design improvements in the automotive industry. The life cycle inventory profiles for two automotive fuel tank systems are reported based on a collaborative effort between the National Pollution Prevention Center at the Univ. of Michigan, General Motors Research and Development, and the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Two 31 gallon functionally equivalent fuel tank systems used on a 1996 light duty vehicle were investigated: a multi-layer HDPE tank with a steel shield and PVC coated steel straps, and a steel tank with a HDPE shield and painted steel straps. Overall, the HDPE fuel tank system is environmentally preferable to the steel tank system based on the set of inventory results presented. The Life Cycle Inventory analysis indicated lower energy burdens for the HDPE tank system and comparable solid waste burdens for both systems. The total life cycle energy consumption for the steel and HDPE tank systems were 4.9 GJ and 3.6 GJ per tank, respectively. The energy consumption and most of the air pollutants inventories occurred as a consequence of the use phase. The solid wastes were generated primarily during the material production phase for the steel tank (13 kg) and during the end-of-life management phase for the HDPE tank (14 kg). In addition, data analysis and modeling challenges are highlighted, including manufacturing and use phase allocation methods.
Application of life cycle inventory analysis to fuel tank system design
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment ; 3 , 1 ; 18-28
1998
11 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 7 Tabellen, 22 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Life Cycle Inventory Study of Automotive Fuel Tank
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