The Volumetric Method Describing the Life Cycle of Power Tools during Their Production with Different Ends of Life

Richard Sovják, Marie Tichá and Eva Fridrichová
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Richard Sovják: Institute of Machine and Industrial Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic
Marie Tichá: Faculty of Environment, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 3632/15, 400 96 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic
Eva Fridrichová: Institute of Machine and Industrial Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: The amount of power consumption of the product life cycle has a significant impact on global warming. To determine these negative impacts, life cycle assessment (LCA) is used. These methods are time-consuming and expensive training costs that require the characteristics of the mass and material characteristics of the products. The aim of the present study was to develop a method that uses only product typology and volumetric product properties without knowing the structural and material composition. To achieve the objective, 134 pieces of power tools were used, divided into 10 groups according to their type. The volume of the product was determined by 3D scanning with subsequent material and the LCA method based on the Oil Point Method (OPM). The end of life (EoL) of the product was evaluated in landfilling, combustion, and 90% recycling variants. Equations were obtained from Monte Carlo Simulation with 95% reliability and allowed the determination of the energy requirements for the production of power tools and CO 2 emissions, including data for packaging and transport of goods. The Volumetric Evaluating Method of Ecodesign (VEME) can quickly evaluate impact in three EoL procedures and optimise the volume of power tools and the location of production of products without LCA knowledge.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; environmental impacts; CO 2 emission; industrial design; landfilling; combustion; recycling; prediction; VEME method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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