Influence of composition on the environmental impact of a cast aluminum alloy

Gómez, Patricia ; Elduque, Daniel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Sarasa, Judith (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Pina, Carmelo (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Javierre, Carlos (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The influence of alloy composition on the environmental impact of the production of six aluminum casting alloys (Al Si12Cu1(Fe), Al Si5Mg, Al Si9Cu3Zn3Fe, Al Si10Mg(Fe), Al Si9Cu3(Fe)(Zn) and Al Si9) has been analyzed. In order to perform a more precise environmental impact calculation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with ReCiPe Endpoint methodology has been used, with the EcoInvent v3 AlMg3 aluminum alloy dataset as a reference. This dataset has been updated with the material composition ranges of the mentioned alloys. The balanced, maximum and minimum environmental impact values have been obtained. In general, the overall impact of the studied aluminum alloys varies from 5.98 ˆ 10 ´1 pts to 1.09 pts per kg, depending on the alloy composition. In the analysis of maximum and minimum environmental impact, the alloy that has the highest uncertainty is AlSi9Cu3(Fe)(Zn), with a range of ¿9%. The elements that contribute the most to increase its impact are Copper and Tin. The environmental impact of a specific case, an LED luminaire housing made out of an Al Si12Cu1(Fe) cast alloy, has been studied, showing the importance of considering the composition. Significant differences with the standard datasets that are currently available in EcoInvent v3 have been found.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ma9060412

Año: 2016

Publicado en: Materials 9, 412 (2016), [14 pp.]
ISSN: 1996-1944

Factor impacto JCR: 2.654 (2016)

Categ. JCR: MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY rank: 82 / 275 = 0.298 (2016) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.837 - Materials Science (miscellaneous) (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T39
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/RTC-2014-1847-6

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingeniería Mecánica (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)
Área (Departamento): Área Expresión Gráfica en Ing. (Dpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri.)
Área (Departamento): Área Tecnologi. Medio Ambiente (Dpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb.)