A first year introduction to life cycle analysis

At Rowan University, we have developed a module to introduce first year engineering students to life cycle assessment (LCA) through the comparison of the environmental impact of the combustion of two diesel fuels: petroleum diesel and biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO). The purpose of this LCA module was to incorporate life cycle thinking into the engineering design process, to apply the four main steps of LCA (definition and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment and improvement assessment), and to recognize modifications that would improve the environmental impact of the biodiesel combustion. Students compared the emissions generated in the combustion of laboratory-made biodiesel from waste vegetable oil and conventional diesel from petroleum by analyzing the exhaust gases from a generator. A fuel combustion life cycle inventory was developed using student data from the laboratory experiment, and life cycle analysis was then conducted using SimaPro®. The biodiesel fuel had been previously produced in the laboratory by the students and the production life cycle environmental impacts had been calculated as well. The assessment of learning outcomes indicates a significant increase in conceptual understanding of life cycle assessment in every category, and an average gain of over 60% in overall knowledge of life cycle assessment.