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Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Infrastructures: A Comparison of Pipe Typologies in France

Author

Listed:
  • Mahaut Vauchez

    (Efficacity, 14 Boulevard Newton, F-77420 Champs-sur-Marne, France)

  • Jacopo Famiglietti

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Kevin Autelitano

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Morgane Colombert

    (Efficacity, 14 Boulevard Newton, F-77420 Champs-sur-Marne, France
    LAB’URBA, Université Gustave Eiffel, Université Paris Est Creteil, EIVP, F-77454 Marne-la-Vallée, France)

  • Rossano Scoccia

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Mario Motta

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

Identifying decarbonization strategies at the district level is increasingly necessary to align the development of urban projects with European climate neutrality objectives. It is well known that district heating and cooling networks are an attractive energy system solution because they permit the integration of renewable energies and local excess of hot or cold sources. The detailed design and optimization of network infrastructures are essential to achieve the full potential of this energy system. The authors conducted an attributional life cycle assessment to compare the environmental profile of five distribution network infrastructures (i.e., pipes, heat carrier fluid, trenches, heat exchangers, valves, and water pumps) based on a study case in Marseille, France. The work aims to put into perspective the environmental profile of subsystems comprising a district heating infrastructure, and compare pipe typologies that can be used to guide decision-making in eco-design processing. Rigid and flexible piping systems were compared separately. The results show that the main impact source is the pipe subsystem, followed by the trench works for most impact categories. The authors underlined the importance of pipe typology choice, which can reduce emissions by up to 80% and 77% for rigid and flexible systems, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3912-:d:1140171
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Camille Jeandaux & Jean-Baptiste Videau & Anne Prieur-Vernat, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of District Heating Systems in Europe: Case Study and Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-32, October.
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    3. Oliver-Solà, Jordi & Gabarrell, Xavier & Rieradevall, Joan, 2009. "Environmental impacts of the infrastructure for district heating in urban neighbourhoods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4711-4719, November.
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    5. Abokersh, Mohamed Hany & Vallès, Manel & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Boer, Dieter, 2020. "A framework for the optimal integration of solar assisted district heating in different urban sized communities: A robust machine learning approach incorporating global sensitivity analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    6. 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.
    7. Rehman, Hassam ur & Hirvonen, Janne & Sirén, Kai, 2018. "Performance comparison between optimized design of a centralized and semi-decentralized community size solar district heating system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 1072-1094.
    8. Michał Turski & Agnieszka Jachura, 2022. "Life Cycle Assessment of Dispersed Phase Change Material Heat Accumulators for Cooperation with Buildings in the District Heating System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-24, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacopo Famiglietti & Hicham Madioum & Mario Motta, 2023. "Developing a New Data-Driven LCA Tool at the Urban Scale: The Case of the Embodied Environmental Profile of the Building Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-30, July.

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