UNIROSS Study on the Environmental Impact of ... - Battery Logic

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Printed on recycled paper Results of the study 3 All rights reserved – 2007 – Uniross Source: Uniross study carried out by Bio Intelligence Service Equivalences In terms of… The impact of a rechargeable battery is equal to : Reference units Equivalence in disposable batteries: Consumption of nonrenewable natural resources 1 k kg of petroleum extracted v 19 Climate change 16 k km driven by car v 457 Photochemical oxidation 73 k km driven by car v 2 320 Air acidification 2 122 k km driven by car v 19 812 Sedimentary ecotoxicity 227 k mg of mercury emitted into the water v 2 731 If all of the disposable batteries in Europe were replaced with rechargeable batteries, it would avoid: In terms of… Consumption of non-renewable natural resources II Methodology 1. Life cycle analysis Avoiding an impact Avoiding an impact corresponding to X Europeans / year corresponding to 106 000 210 900 tonnes of petroleum extracted If we replace all disposable batteries If we replace all disposable batteries in Europe in Europe with rechargeable ones, with rechargeable ones, we would avoid we would avoid the impact that an impact on the consumption of non-renewable 106,000 Europeans have on the consumption natural resources that is comparable of non-renewable natural resources. to extracting 210,900 tons of petroleum. Climate change 62 110 5 billion km driven by car Photochemical oxidation 136 820 25 620 billion km driven by car Air acidification 109 000 201 700 billion km driven by car Sedimentary ecotoxicity 90 410 29 tonnes of mercury emitted into the water The <strong>UNIROSS</strong> study was based on the comparative Life Cycle Analysis method (LCA) for a rechargeable battery and its equivalence in disposable batteries. This in–depth analysis is used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle: Production of disposable batteries and rechargeable batteries (and the charger), including the extraction of raw materials, production of the basic components and assembly of the product. Sale in shops, to the end-user customer (transport, etc.). For disposable batteries, the study also takes into account the repetition of this step in the analysis of the life cycle. Use phase: this represents energy consumption when recharging rechargeable batteries. End of life: this covers waste collection and treatment (recycling, incineration or burial). The life cycle of a disposable battery is much shorter than that of a rechargeable battery; thus, to obtain the same quantity of energy, i.e. 1 kWh (unit adopted for the study), the consumer must repeat his purchase several times. The manufacturer must produce more batteries which would generate more pollution and use more natural resources. Lastly, the life cycle also entails the emission of greenhouse gases from the transport and distribution of the products. On the basis of this life cycle analysis, a rechargeable battery eco-profile was created. The eco-profile is the product’s “environmental identity card”.
Results of the study 4 All rights reserved – 2007 – Uniross Source: Uniross study carried out by Bio Intelligence Service Battery Life Cycle Diagram Diagram with legend for the LCA according to the eco-profile. 2. Representative environmental impact indicators To be able to express the environmental impact of the battery throughout its life cycle, 11 indicators were selected. Thanks to their effectiveness and overall readability, 5 indicators were adopted to constitute the eco-profile. The 5 indicators: Consumption of non-renewable natural resources; Climate change; Photochemical oxidation; Air acidification; Sedimentary ecotoxicity. A basic scenario The basic scenario chosen and validated by <strong>UNIROSS</strong> and the critical review by the Fraunhofer Institute was the following: A typical European user, Nominal battery capacity: 2500mAh, Rechargeable batteries provide 90% of their nominal capacity with each use, Life expectancy for a rechargeable battery: 0.9 kWh of energy supplied throughout all charge/discharge cycles, Rechargeable batteries are charged with the <strong>UNIROSS</strong> Sprint 1h charger, The battery charger is unplugged after each use, Frequent use and little self-discharge (daily use in an MP3 player), 25% of the batteries are recycled, 75% are collected in household waste. The functional unit chosen for this study was 1 kWh of energy supplied. Two scenarios were used: A 2500mAh Ni-MH rechargeable battery and its charger, A 2500mAh alkaline battery.
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