Life Cycle Assessment – GHG

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for construction materials are gaining momentum in the United States due to new state and federal “Buy Clean” policies and programs. Buy Clean programs are focused on public agency procurement and use of low-carbon construction materials. These programs aim to reduce the global warming potential (GWP) associated with publicly funded construction in the United States by requiring EPDs and setting GWP thresholds for materials such as cement, concrete, steel, asphalt, and glass. California, Colorado, Oregon, and Minnesota already have Buy Clean programs in place, and under the 2023 Federal–State Buy Clean Partnership, many other states have committed to prioritize efforts that support the procurement of low-carbon construction materials in state-funded projects. A confidential client that manufactures steel and precast concrete pipe products for water, stormwater, and wastewater conveyance systems retained Geosyntec to conduct an EPD pilot study to understand the environmental impacts (including, but not limited to, GWP) of their products over the product life cycle.

The goal of this project was to apply life cycle assessment (LCA) methods to evaluate two alternative jet fuel products in terms of their potential to qualify for incentives under the Sustainable Skies Act (SSA). The two products evaluated included (i) a low-carbon jet fuel produced from coal mine methane (CMM) that is captured at abandoned mines and used in a Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquid synthesis process, and (ii) a proprietary technology that produces liquified natural gas (LNG) as a low-carbon jet fuel alternative.

Geosyntec conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of hydrogen and two co-products using an innovative manufacturing process. The LCA model was used to explore carbon intensity reduction opportunities, estimate a product carbon footprint (PCF) for hydrogen and for one of the co-products in a manner consistent with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14067 standard, and investigate the possibility of qualifying for clean hydrogen production tax credits under Section 45V of the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).