Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers (대한환경공학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Engineers (대한환경공학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Assessment of the Potential Environmental Impact of Smart Phone using LCA Methodology

LCA 기법을 활용한 스마트폰의 잠재적 환경영향평가

  • Received : 2017.08.05
  • Accepted : 2017.09.26
  • Published : 2017.09.30
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Environmental concern about smart phone is growing because it has short product life span while having intensive production technology and cost. In this study environmental impact of the smart phone is quantified using the LCA methodology based on the ISO 14040 series standards. The assessment considers potential environmental impacts across the whole life cycle of the smart phone including; pre-manufacturing; manufacturing; distribution; product use; and end-of-life stages. The pre-manufacturing stage is the most dominant life cycle stage causing the highest environmental impacts among all 10 impact categories assessed. The global warming impacts of the smart phone in the pre-manufacturing, distribution, use, manufacturing, and end-of-life stages were 52.6% 23.9%, 15.7%, 7.0%, and 0.8%, respectively. Sensitivity of the life cycle impact assessment results to the system boundary definition and assumptions made were quite high. Three components of the smart phone, PCB, battery, and display module were identified as the key components causing majority of the potential environmental impact in the pre-manufacturing stage. As such the slim and light-weight design and the use of environmental friendly materials are important design factors for reducing the environmental impact of the smart phone.

제조공정이 기술 집약적인 반면 제품 수명이 짧아 다량으로 버려지는 스마트폰의 환경영향에 관심이 커지고 있다. 이 연구에서는 전과정평가 기법을 기반으로 스마트폰의 다양한 환경영향을 정량적으로 분석, 평가하였다. ISO 14040 시리즈 표준에 의거한 전과정평가를 수행하였고, 스마트폰의 제조전, 제조, 유통, 사용 및 폐기를 포함하는 전과정 단계를 시스템경계에 포함하였다. 평가한 10개 환경영향범주 모두에서 제조전단계가 가장 큰 환경영향을 나타내었다. 지구온난화 영향은 제조전단계, 유통단계, 사용단계, 제조단계, 폐기단계경우 각각 52.6%, 23.9%, 15.7%, 7.0% 및 0.8% 이었다. 스마트폰 제조전단계의 부품별 환경영향은 PCB, 배터리, 디스플레이 모듈 순이었다. 따라서 스마트폰의 전과정 환경영향 저감을 위해서는 스마트폰 소형/경량화를 통해 자원사용량을 줄이고, 자원순환성을 높일 수 있는 친환경 소재를 적용하여 제조전단계의 환경영향을 줄이려는 노력이 필요하다.

Keywords

References

  1. United Nations, The Sustainable Development goals report, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), New York, pp. 34-37(2016).
  2. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Home Page, Paris Agreement, http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf(2015).
  3. Teehan, P. and Kandlikar, M., "Comparing Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Modern Computing and Electronics Products," Environ. Sci. Technol., 47(9), 3997-4003(2013). https://doi.org/10.1021/es303012r
  4. O'Connell, S. and Stutz, M., "Product carbon footprint (PCF) assessment of Dell laptop - Results and recommendations," in Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology, IEEE Computer Society, Pittsburgh, pp. 1-6(2010).
  5. Korea Internet and Security Agency, 2016 Survey on the Internet Usage Summary Report, http://isis.kisa.or.kr, April(2016).
  6. ISO, ISO14040 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Pringciples and framework, Geneva, Switzerland(2006).
  7. ISO, ISO14044 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines, Geneva, Switzerland(2006).
  8. PRe Consultants, Simapro Home Page, https://simapro.com, September(2017).
  9. Herrmann, I. and Moltesen, A., "Does it matter which Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool you choose? - a comparative assessment of SimaPro and GaBi," J. Cleaner Production, 86, 163-169(2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.004
  10. Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, Guidelines for carbon footprint of products, http://www.epd.or.kr/en/carbon/confirm02.asp, December(2013).
  11. Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, Korea LCI Database Information Network, http://www.edp.or.kr/en/lci/lci_intro.asp, Sempter(2011).
  12. Frischknecht, R. and Rebitzer, G., "The ecoinvent database system: a comprehensive web-based LCA database," J. Cleaner Production, 13, 1337-1343(2005). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.05.002
  13. Carbon Trust Home Page, https://www.carbontrust.com/ourclients/s/samsung, April(2015).
  14. US EPA, Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States-Facts and Figures for 2012, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2012_msw_dat_tbls.pdf, February(2014).
  15. International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC TR 62635: 2012 Guidelines for end-of-life information provided by manufacturers and recyclers and for recyclability rate calculation of electrical and electronic equipment, 1st ed, Geneva(2012).
  16. Guinee, J., Gorree, M., Heijungs, R., Huppes, G., Kleijn, R. and De Koning, A., Life cycle Assessment; An operational guide to the ISO standards; Part 3. scientific background. Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment (VROM) and Centre Environmental Science (CML), Den Haag and Leiden, The Netherlands(2001).
  17. Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, Information book of carbon footprint certified product, http://www.epd.or.kr, November(2016).
  18. Rodriguez, E., Carrasquillo, O., Lee, C., Lee, J. and Zhou, A., "iGo Green: A Life cycle Assessment of Apple's iPhone," iConference 2015 Proceedings, iSchools, illinois(2015).
  19. Teehan, P., "Life cycle assessment studies of tablet PCs," Green Electronics Coulcil Slates/Tablets workshop, Dallas(2013).
  20. Stutz, M. and Moriarty, M., "Product carbon footprint (PCF) assessment of Dell laptop-Results and recommendations," Going Green - CARE INNOVATION 2010 proceedings, Vienna (2010).