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Evaluating the Emissions of the Heat Supplied by District Heating Networks through A Life Cycle Perspective

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  • Francesco Neirotti

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy)

  • Michel Noussan

    (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Corso Magenta 63, 20123 Milano, Italy)

  • Marco Simonetti

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy)

Abstract

The Life Cycle Assessment methodology has proven to be effective in evaluating the impacts of goods production throughout their life cycle. While many studies are available on specific products, in recent years a growing interest is related to the analysis of services, including energy supply for final customers. Different LCA evaluations are available for electricity, while the heating and cooling sector has not yet been properly investigated. The objective of this study is the analysis of the specific impacts of the heat supplied to the final users connected to a district heating system, in comparison with traditional individual natural gas boilers, which represent the baseline heating solution in several urban contexts in Europe. The results show that the comparison is heavily dependent on the allocation method used for combined heat and power plant production. District Heating impact on heat supplied to the users can vary from 0.10 to 0.47 kg CO 2 eq /kWh, while distributed natural gas boilers present an overall impact equal to 0.27 kg CO 2 eq /kWh.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Neirotti & Michel Noussan & Marco Simonetti, 2020. "Evaluating the Emissions of the Heat Supplied by District Heating Networks through A Life Cycle Perspective," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:2:y:2020:i:4:p:24-405:d:424091
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karlsson, Johan & Brunzell, Lena & Venkatesh, G., 2018. "Material-flow analysis, energy analysis, and partial environmental-LCA of a district-heating combined heat and power plant in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 31-40.
    2. Murillo Vetroni Barros & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Antonio Carlos De Francisco, 2018. "Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Saner, Dominik & Juraske, Ronnie & Kübert, Markus & Blum, Philipp & Hellweg, Stefanie & Bayer, Peter, 2010. "Is it only CO2 that matters? A life cycle perspective on shallow geothermal systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1798-1813, September.
    4. Varun & Bhat, I.K. & Prakash, Ravi, 2009. "LCA of renewable energy for electricity generation systems--A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1067-1073, June.
    5. Eriksson, Ola & Finnveden, Goran & Ekvall, Tomas & Bjorklund, Anna, 2007. "Life cycle assessment of fuels for district heating: A comparison of waste incineration, biomass- and natural gas combustion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1346-1362, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gjoka, Kristian & Rismanchi, Behzad & Crawford, Robert H., 2023. "Fifth-generation district heating and cooling systems: A review of recent advancements and implementation barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    2. Mahaut Vauchez & Jacopo Famiglietti & Kevin Autelitano & Morgane Colombert & Rossano Scoccia & Mario Motta, 2023. "Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Infrastructures: A Comparison of Pipe Typologies in France," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, May.

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