PPubMed4 Feb 2020Cited 50×

Accounting for the dissipation of abiotic resources in LCA: Status, key challenges and potential way forward

Antoine Beylot, Fulvio Ardente, Serenella Sala, Luca Zampori

Abstract

Title: Highlights 1. • Dissipation is a concept increasingly considered in LCA/MFA/SFA/IO Analysis. 2. • We review the way resource dissipation is addressed in 45 life cycle-based studies. 3. • Major differences arise in the approaches to account for this concept. 4. • We provide a comprehensive definition of abiotic resource dissipation. 5. • We discuss its potential implementation in LCA, as of today and in the future.

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The paper reviews how abiotic resource dissipation is treated in LCA, defines the concept, and outlines challenges and future steps.

What’s new

i.Systematic review of 45 life‑cycle‑based studies on resource dissipation
ii.Compilation of 15 explicit definitions and creation of a comprehensive definition for abiotic resource dissipation
iii.Identification of major methodological differences and key challenges (temporal perspective, compartments, assessment approaches)
iv.Proposal of short‑, mid‑, and long‑term pathways for implementing dissipation accounting in LCA

How they did it

The authors performed a literature search, screened references, and selected 45 publications that addressed resource dissipation. They extracted definitions, compartment allocations, and methodological approaches, and summarized the findings in tables and figures.

What they found

45 publications analyzed; 15 (33 %) provided explicit definitions of dissipation
73 % of studies assigned dissipative flows to at least one of three compartments (environment 62 %, waste facilities 36 %, products in use 33 %)
Environment was the sole compartment in 31 % of studies

Caveats

✕Review limited to abiotic (fossil and mineral) resources, excluding biotic, water, soil, and land
✕Most studies lack an explicit temporal perspective for quantifying dissipation
✕Definitions are often implicit; only a minority provide clear quantitative criteria
✕Few quantitative methods (e.g., Relative Statistical Entropy) have been applied, limiting practical implementation

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