Ericsson LCA
Paper “Life Cycle Assessment of 3G Wireless Telecommunication Systems at Ericsson” available on the website.
Summary of the study “Life Cycle Assessment of a Third Generation (3G) System at Ericsson” available on the website.
Ericsson LCA
Goal– Develop a flexible LCA model with the capacity of
producing reliable environmental information for Ericsson’s present and future needs
– Develop a user-friendly database with all the LCA data collected during this and previous Ericsson LCA studies
– Determine and describe the environmental impact from Ericsson’s 3G wireless telecommunication systems
Ericsson LCA
Scope– System consists of 3G terminals, radio network,
control equipment & a core network with switches, routers, servers and workstations
– Transmission equipment like feeders and cables & site materials like antennas, climate control equipment and site housing
Ericsson LCA
Functional Unit– One year of operation of the 3G pilot system is
studied– For comparisons another functional unit, per
subscriber and information flow and year is needed.
Ericsson LCA
Following Indicators studied– Climate change– Resource depletion– Acidification– Photochemical ozone generation– Aquatic eutrophication– Terrestrial eutrophication– Ozone depletion– Land use– Human toxicity– Ecosystem toxicity
Ericsson LCA
Focuses on the climate change indicator as it is the most widely accepted environmental indicator.
Based on the global warming potential (GWP) and is measured in CO2 equivalents
Two external independent scientists reviewed the LCA to ensure carried out to ISO14040 series specification. Although data is not available to the public, the data used is valid and interpretations are accurate
Ericsson LCA
What impact does my 3G subscription have?
+0.06% raw material resources depletion +0.7% energy resources depletion & climate change +0.004% use of land resources
Ericsson LCA
Uncertainty & Sensitivity Analysis– Network planning (how many subscribers)– Energy efficient use of products– Product lifetime– Electricity source– Sensitivity of environment– Recycling share at end of life treatment– Dimensioning of site materials– Uncertainties in LCA data for virgin metal production, IC
manufacture, pcb manufacturing, hazardous waste treatment
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Paper available on website EPROM IC chosen for study Gate to Gate study Functional Output is a complete EPROM
device Carried out according to relevant ISO
standards
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Oxidation Masking
EtchingDoping
Dielectric Deposition
Metallisation
PassivationElectrical Test
Raw Wafer
Processed Wafer
Front End Processed Wafer Production
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Cut Welding Base
BondingPackaging
Electrolytic Tuning
Surface Clipping
Insert on Tube
Processed Wafer
Device
Back End Device Realisation
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Transport– Packaging for transport– Truck to airport (40km)– Plane from Milan to Singapore (10,000km)– Truck to site (10km)
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Material Quantity
DI Water 29 litres
Oxygen 140 mg
Nitrogen 122 g
Hydrogen 2.9 mg
Ceramic 7 g
PVC 0.4 g
HDPE 0.1 g
Lead 0.03 mg
Copper 1.2 mg
Tin 0.15 g
Boron 2.9 mg
Arsenic 6.9 mg
Selected total inventory data forone single EPROM device
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
De-Ionised Water– Plays a large part in semiconductor manufacture– Only ultra pure and DI water can be used– Special treatments involve energy and chemical
consumption– Introducing a water reclaim step can minimise the
environmental impact of the IC’s
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Phase Quantity (MJ)
Front End 2.39
Transport 2 x 10 -6
Back End 10.11
Use 58.35
Total 70.85
Gross energy in different life cycle phases of one single device
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Energy Use Phase– Specific device requires 0.36 Watts– Life estimated at 10 years– Equipment obsolescence estimated less than this (5
years)– Real operating time approx 33% of equipment life– 1MJ of electrical energy requires 3MJ of gross
energy– Use phase turns out to be 54 MJ
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Chip production energy density
Material Energy Density [MJ/kg]Si (metallurgical) 33
Si (cz monocrystal) 560Si (IC) 35000
Cu (metallurgical) 20Al (metallurgical) 166
Paper 48
LCA of an Integrated Circuit
Conclusions– Large amount of material & process data required– Only few data available, used several different
databases and other LCA studies– Use of same steps in other IC’s will make other LCA
studies easier
Impacts of IC’s
• extremely low entropy, highlyorganised forms of matter made from materials of high entropy, and lowly organised forms ofmatter
Impacts of PC’s
“The total energy and fossil fuels used in producing a desktop computer with 17-in. CRT monitor are estimated at 6400 megajoules (MJ) and 260kg, respectively”
– Eric Williams, Environmental Science & Technology, 2004, 38, 6166-6174
Based on Irish figures this is equivalent to 1,109 kg CO2
Other studies give figures between 27,700 kg and 2,600,000 kg of water consumed
Emphasis must move to recycling this embodied energy by reuse and by refurbishment
Impacts of PC’s
75.83
10.73 14.56
371.70
52.6271.39
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Always On Switched Off Ouside OfficeHours
Power Saving Outside OfficeHours
RunningCost/€uro
CarbonEmissions/kg
Impacts of PC’s
Offset your PC’s Environmental Impacts by– Telecommuting– On-Line Banking– On-Line DVD Rental– On-Line Shopping– On-Line Newspapers
Offsetting These Impacts
Keep your PC for 4 years; – 277.25 kg/CO2 p.a.
User Profile “Power Saving Outside Office Hours” (1240 hours use);
– 71.39 kg/CO2 p.a.
Drive a VW Golf 1.4L Petrol; – 163 g CO2/km (source www.simi.ie)
Must save yourself 2,134 km (1,326 miles) driving p.a. (approx 25 miles per week)