Life cycle analysis: comparison between different methods and optimization challenges

Sustainability, in terms of energy consumption and the emissions impact on both natural environment and human health constitute a major concern in modern society. In the current study, the environmental footprint of the processes related to the manufacturing of cylinder heads for a diesel and a petrol automotive powertrain is investigated with the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques. These two variants are investigated through different LCA techniques that share the same indicators, aiming at the method's objectivity. In addition, a comparison among different LCA methods has been conducted and the optimization challenges raised by their results have been discussed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.