Papers by Marco Mengarelli
La commissione europea ha elaborato iniziative, regolamenti e piani d’azione con l’intento di rid... more La commissione europea ha elaborato iniziative, regolamenti e piani d’azione con l’intento di ridurre il l’attuale livello di emissioni e di consumo di risorse, e di incrementare la partecipazione di aziende e consumatori verso lo sviluppo sostenibile. Al momento, strumenti e metodologie come il “Life Cycle Assessment” (LCA) e l’Eco-Design, le quali sono state sviluppate per raggiungere questi obiettivi, sono difficilmente integrate nella maggior parte dei processi industriali per lo sviluppo prodotto specialmente nelle piccole e medie imprese (PMI). L’idea esposta consiste nell’analizzare gli aspetti critici di questi strumenti e proporre soluzioni appropriate. Il focus è principalmente su due aspetti: strategie di semplificazione e modellazione di scenari di smaltimento. Per prima cosa, letteratura scientifica e casi studio pubblicati sono stati analizzati in modo da comprendere bisogni e limiti di questi strumenti per sostenere l’eco-design nelle PMI. Partendo da ciò, si è realizzata una struttura completa per introdurre l’approccio di ciclo vita nel processo di progettazione prodotto. Dopodiché, è stata effettuata una revisione dei modelli usati nell’LCA per la modellizzazione del fine vita ed è stata proposta una nuova formula per modellare sistemi di smaltimento complessi. Attraverso la nuova formula, la quale è stata comparata con modelli esistenti, è stato introdotto il concetto di “material pool”. L’approccio presentato è stato testato con due elettrodomestici è una bici a pedalata assistita. L’applicazione delle strategie di semplificazione ha dimostrato che lo sforzo nell’applicare concetti di eco-design nelle PMI è stato sensibilmente ridotto. Tuttavia, la sua implementazione implica un notevole sforzo iniziale di raccolta dati. Il modello di fine vita presentato ha dato risultati soddisfacenti confermando che l’approccio “material pool” può essere considerato più realistico in quanto tiene conto del numero di volte un materiale può essere riciclato
Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2015
This paper discusses end-of-life (EoL) modeling issues in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), through th... more This paper discusses end-of-life (EoL) modeling issues in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), through the application to a domestic cooker hood. Two EoL approaches are applied and discussed, namely the avoided burden and the one recommended by the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Guide, presently under testing. While no case studies on PEF application have been published yet, to the best of our knowledge, the scientific community is questioning the robustness and relevance of some methodological aspects, especially the EoL formula. The objective of the work is to provide a case study for supporting the scientific discussion on EoL modeling by: applying the avoided burden approach to the cooker hood EoL; testing the PEF EoL approach on a cooker hood component, the aluminum filter, and compare the results with those obtained from the avoided burden approach; evaluating how both the approaches affect the allocation of burdens/credits associated to recycling. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) and the Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP) impact categories are investigated. The study points out that the PEF EoL approach delivers higher environmental impacts than the avoided burden one, due to a reduced contribution from the avoided impacts. Overall, the application of the PEF EoL approach is more complex, due to the additional and often not available information needed, such as the recycled content of the materials and the disposal treatments that are avoided when recycled materials are used in the product. Also the structure of the LCA datasets may limit the application of the PEF EoL.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018
The paper aims to analyse and compare the environmental performances of the most widely used cook... more The paper aims to analyse and compare the environmental performances of the most widely used cooking appliances (the induction hob vs. the gas hob) considering a typical Italian scenario in terms of food, family and social habits. Cooking appliances are subject to energy labelling, and they represent the most impacting system inside households. This study was performed in accordance with the international standard, ISO 14040/14044, by using an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (aLCA). The functional unit is defined as the "preparation of a complete homemade meal (lunch) for 20 years consumed by a four-member family in Italy". This study shows the dominance, in terms of environmental impact, of the induction hob with respect to the gas hob for most of the selected midpoint indicators. In particular, the induction hob accounts for more than 60% of the climate change and ozone depletion impact categories and more than 70% of the metal depletion category. The same trend is also noticed in the end-point categories (human health, ecosystem qualities and resources) and for the Cumulative Energy Demand indicator. Based on the experimental evidence of this work, the use phase is the most important due to the different energy carriers (natural gas vs. electrical energy). This finding is the result of the nature of the energy carrier (the electricity grid mix) in the Italian scenario, which is mainly based on nonrenewable sources. In addition, concerning the production phase of the two appliances, the induction hob shows a relevant dominance in terms of the human toxicity and metal depletion impact categories due to the use of rare metals and coppers in the cooktop part manufacturing. The outcomes obtained from this study may be used by household manufacturers to improve the performance and design solutions of their appliances as well as by end users in their selection of cooking technologies.
Journal of Industrial Information Integration, 2017
and Reggio Emilia. She obtained her Master Degree in Industrial Mechanical Engineering in 2007 an... more and Reggio Emilia. She obtained her Master Degree in Industrial Mechanical Engineering in 2007 and received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management in 2010. She is part of LAPIS (Laboratory of Integrated Design, Prototyping and Simulation) and INTERMECH MO.RE, the interdepartment Lab of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia on advanced mechanics for industrial applications. She actually coordinates the ViP Lab (Virtual Prototyping Lab) of the Modena Technopole. Her topics of research are: Virtual prototyping, Digital Manufacturing, Human-Centred Design, Human-Machine Interaction, Sustainable Design, Integrated Design of Product-Service Systems. She actually participates in several research projects at National and European level, she is member of the Design Society, IFIP WG5.1, ISPE Society and other scientific communities. She is author of more than 80 international publications on international journals and conference proceedings.
Procedia CIRP, 2017
Electronics plays an essential role in many products and this leads to a larger production of e-w... more Electronics plays an essential role in many products and this leads to a larger production of e-wastes, currently recovered through impactful recycling processes. This paper proposes a web-based platform to implement reuse scenarios for electronic components. The objective is to create a structured portal where all the stakeholders can collaborate to extend the components lifespan and implement new circular business models. The final goal is to "close the gap" between the beginning and the end of life. The case study (industrial application) shows relevant benefits for the involved electronics manufacturer both in terms of environmental impact and economic savings.
Volume 4: 21st Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference; 10th International Conference on Micro- and Nanosystems, 2016
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016
Purpose End-of-life (EoL) modelling in life cycle assessment has already been broadly discussed w... more Purpose End-of-life (EoL) modelling in life cycle assessment has already been broadly discussed within several studies. However, no consensus has been achieved on how to model recycling in LCA, even though several approaches have been developed. Within this paper, results arising from the application of two new EoL formulas, the product environmental footprint (PEF) and the multi-recycling-approach (MRA) ones, are compared and discussed. Both formulas consider multiple EoL scenarios such as recycling, incineration and landfill. Methods The PEF formula has been developed within the PEF programme whose intent is to define a harmonized methodology to evaluate the environmental performance of products. The formula is based on a 50:50 allocation approach, as burdens and benefits associated with recycling are accounted for a 50% rate. The MRA formula has been developed to change focus from products to materials. Recycling cycles and material losses over time are considered with reference to material pools. Allocation between systems is no longer needed, as the actual number of potential life cycles for a certain material is included in the calculation. Both the approaches have been tested within two case studies. Results and discussion Methodological differences could thereof be determined, as well as applicability concerns, due to the type of data required for each formula. As far as the environmental performance is concerned, impacts delivered by MRA are lower than those delivered by PEF for aluminium, while the opposite happens for plastic and rubber due to the higher share of energy recovery accounted in PEF formula. Stainless steel impacts are almost the same. Conclusions and recommendations The application of the two formulas provides some inputs for the EoL dilemma in LCA. The use of a wider perspective, better reflecting material properties all over the material life cycle, is of substantial importance to properly represent recycling situations. In MRA, such properties are treated and less data are required compared to the PEF formula. On the contrary, the PEF model better accommodates the modelling of products whose materials, at end of life, can undertake the route of recycling or recovery (or landfill), depending on country-specific EoL management practices. However, its application requires more data.
Procedia CIRP, 2016
A growing interest toward the adoption of a lifecycle perspective in product design is characteri... more A growing interest toward the adoption of a lifecycle perspective in product design is characterizing current industrial trends. The cooperation of global manufacturing actors is fundamental to retrieve information from each lifecycle stage. From this background, a lifecycle based platform is proposed to efficiently set up feasible design configurations by including global manufacturing information. Starting from a set of input parameters, the idea is to collect lifecycle information in a customized XML structure in order to draw up the environmental profile. Such platform can also be adopted as an organized "knowledge repository" enhancing information sharing among the global manufacturing network.
International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2016
The adoption of an eco-design approach is a key challenge for the total quality environmental man... more The adoption of an eco-design approach is a key challenge for the total quality environmental management (TQEM). Recently, several eco-design methodologies have been presented, but none can be easily integrated in the traditional design process of manufacturing companies. The research presented in this paper aims to define a methodology, called G.EN.ESI, to help designers (especially those ones without a specific know-how on eco-design), during the development of sustainable products. In order to aid designers in the assessment of the environmental and cost impacts of a product, also a set of software tools have been defined. Using such a platform, the designer is supported by a robust workbench to perform all the analyses required to evaluate the product eco-sustainability for each phase of the product lifecycle. This software platform is essential for companies which want to implement the G.EN.ESI methodology without upsetting their own consolidated modus operandi and the internal organisation.
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 2016
Having environmental indications such as those provided by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), while des... more Having environmental indications such as those provided by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), while designing a product would reduce the time required by the trial-and-error approach resulting from environmental checks only at the end of the process, directing the development towards more sustainable solutions from the beginning. To achieve this, the design and environmental analysis should be more integrated, as well as the respective tools. The project idea discussed in this paper aims to overcome this barrier by defining an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) structure designed to carry Life Cycle Inventory data from Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools to Life Cycle Assessment tool. The idea is to exploit overlapping data between the CAD system and LCA instruments, which are currently not being considered. This process will contribute to the reduction of time required for data input and the amount of mistakes.
Many approaches and strategies have been developed to implement sustainability aspects in the pro... more Many approaches and strategies have been developed to implement sustainability aspects in the product development process. Within these approaches, Life Cycle Assessment has been claimed to be the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle. However, the use and interpretation of LCA results are still being debated. In particular, the implementation of the life cycle approach and of the LCA method in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is still not properly and consistently integrated into the management practice. The challenge is to undertake simplifying in order to ease the interaction with users who may be unfamiliar with environmental aspects, but who can strongly affect the product performance by intervening at the product design stage. This paper presents a Simplified LCA methodology, customized for the household appliances product category. The simplification strategies have been defined at different levels, in...
Energy Procedia, 2017
District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective s... more District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease, prolonging the investment return period. The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor temperature function for heat demand forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665 buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors. The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications (the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered). The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.
Energy Conversion and Management, 2018
Thermoelectric generator is a solid-state energy converter which can convert waste heat directly ... more Thermoelectric generator is a solid-state energy converter which can convert waste heat directly into electricity. During the past decades, thermoelectric materials have been widely investigated whereas the integrated design of thermoelectric generators have been less studied. This paper proposes and implements a framework for the design of thermoelectric generators, consisting of thermoelectric modules and heat exchangers, based on the Taguchi method. As compared with previous researches which optimize the thermoelectric module alone and assume fixed temperature or fixed heat fluxes for the thermoelectric modules, this work proposes a methodology to optimize the thermoelectric module and the heat exchanger together. Five design parameters (namely the height, the fill-ratio, the ratio of cross-sectional area of n-type material over p-type material of thermoelectric module, the length and the material of the heat exchanger) were analyzed for two different applications, waste heat recovery from marine and automotive engines. In order to perform the analysis, a L 27 (3 5) orthogonal array was employed to assess all of the design parameters returning the maximum output power. By analysis of variance, it is found that the thermoelectric module height is the most important design parameter contributing for the 69.6% and 30.25% in automotive and marine application, respectively. And the optimal design parameter set are also determined in both applications.
The mechatronic sector is a strategic sector from the economic and environmental point of view, m... more The mechatronic sector is a strategic sector from the economic and environmental point of view, mainly due to the high content of strategic raw materials used such as (precious) metals, and also on the high production rate, short service life and, in turn, to the high waste flows they generate. The end-of-life (EoL) management of mechatronic products and the assessment of associated environmental impacts play thus a relevant role in the roadmap to resources efficient Europe, and several methods and approaches have been developed for dealing with it. Among these, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology (1), currently being tested through pilot projects in different sectors, proposes a new EoL approach, which has raised the criticisms of many stakehodelrs in different sectors. This paper discusses main challenges and insights from the PEF EoL application to the case study of a domestic cooker hood, and attempts to answer the following questions: what kind of results are ...
To preserve proper growth of the planet, industries have to increase sustainability of produced g... more To preserve proper growth of the planet, industries have to increase sustainability of produced good according to the compliance and governance regulations for NPD (new product development). Sustainability concerns economical, environmental and social aspects; among these issues, the last theme is the less argued in literature and this paper focuses on the social life cycle assessment of products. One of the crucial aspects of S-LCA, is the definition of impact categories and involved stakeholders. This work, proposes a new S-LCA methodology, according to UNEP/SETAC framework. After the clarification of stakeholders, categories and general notions already known on S-LCA, a test case is shown where the new approach is implemented. In this use case, stakeholders from an Italian product line are analysed, then categories of attribution of social impacts are outlined. The paper offers a step-by-step procedure useful to verify the S-LCA theories currently available on a practical industrial case, defining also weaknesses that might be addressed in future studies.
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Papers by Marco Mengarelli