TY - THES

T1 - Life Cycle Assessment of Innovative Medical Waste Treatment Products

AU - Fritz, Theresa

N1 - embargoed until 03-03-2027

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool has been around since the 1960s but still gains more and more relevance with companies’ growing interest in the sustainability of their products and practices. In light of the path to a sustainable future, an LCA of a medical waste treatment product following the ISO 14040 framework in Umberto LCA+ was conducted. A literature review shows that the technology used in this unit has the least environmental impacts compared to similar options. Still, none of the publications take anything other than the operation into account. This thesis includes the raw material extraction, transport of the components to the assembly, assembly, transportation to the place of operation and lastly, the end-of-life. It turns out the user phase is the most important one for the three considered impact categories: global warming potential, energy and water demand. The electricity consumption and generation are most impactful, however, not solely influenceable by the manufacturer. Two realistic scenarios assess the influence of data uncertainties and potentials for eco-design and result in a significant decrease in all categories. The first scenario proposes a mass, energy demand and water demand reduction and the second solely renewable sources for electricity generation.

AB - Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool has been around since the 1960s but still gains more and more relevance with companies’ growing interest in the sustainability of their products and practices. In light of the path to a sustainable future, an LCA of a medical waste treatment product following the ISO 14040 framework in Umberto LCA+ was conducted. A literature review shows that the technology used in this unit has the least environmental impacts compared to similar options. Still, none of the publications take anything other than the operation into account. This thesis includes the raw material extraction, transport of the components to the assembly, assembly, transportation to the place of operation and lastly, the end-of-life. It turns out the user phase is the most important one for the three considered impact categories: global warming potential, energy and water demand. The electricity consumption and generation are most impactful, however, not solely influenceable by the manufacturer. Two realistic scenarios assess the influence of data uncertainties and potentials for eco-design and result in a significant decrease in all categories. The first scenario proposes a mass, energy demand and water demand reduction and the second solely renewable sources for electricity generation.

KW - life cycle assessment

KW - LCA

KW - sustainability

KW - medical waste treatment

KW - Ökobilanz

KW - Lebenszyklusanalyse

KW - Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement

KW - Medizinische Abfälle

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -