Life cycle assessment of a vapor absorption refrigeration system applied to a university building in Northeast Brazil

João Luiz de Medeiros Neto; Carlos Antonio Cabral dos Santos

doi:10.5327/Z2176-94782277

Autores

João Luiz de Medeiros Neto Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) - Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6447-8765
Carlos Antonio Cabral dos Santos Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) - Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8718-8664

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5327/Z2176-94782277

Palavras-chave:

gestão do ciclo de vida; análise de dominância; ReCiPe; openLCA; refrigeração por absorção; avaliação de impactos ambientais

Resumo

Em consequência do aumento do aquecimento global e da crescente demanda por conforto térmico em regiões de clima tropical, os sistemas de refrigeração têm se tornado essenciais para assegurar condições adequadas em ambientes residenciais, comerciais e institucionais. Paralelamente, busca-se reduzir os impactos ambientais associados ao seu uso. Neste contexto, o presente estudo realiza uma avaliação do ciclo de vida (ACV) de um sistema de refrigeração por absorção de vapor de duplo efeito (SFAVDE) com capacidade de resfriamento de 352 kW, utilizando como fonte energética a queima direta de gás natural. Osprincipais objetivos deste trabalho são: i. fornecer uma avaliação do ciclo de vida para tecnologias SFAVDE utilizadas para suprir a demanda de resfriamento de um edifício universitário específico no Nordeste do Brasil e ii. realizar uma análise de dominância para identificar os principais responsáveis pelos impactos ambientais no SFAVDE. O estudo de ACV foi realizado utilizando o método ReCiPe endpoint (humanitário, ponderação média – H/A). As simulações foram realizadas por meio do software de código aberto openLCA versão 1.10.3, utilizando o banco de dados de inventário do ciclo de vida Ecoinvent 3.7.1. Os resultados das simulações mostraram que, nas classes ecossistema, saúde humana e recursos naturais, os maiores impactos ambientais foram causados por mudanças climáticas e ecossistemas (17,19%), mudanças climáticas e saúde humana (27,18%) e esgotamento fóssil e recursos naturais (43,70%). Emrelação ao estudo de dominância, os resultados indicaram que, para as etapas de transporte e operação, os principais impactos foram, respectivamente, o transporte aéreo (91.00%) e o uso de gás natural (97.00%). Na etapa de descarte do SFAVDE, o reaproveitamento do cobre resultou em uma redução de 34,61% no impacto ambiental em comparação com a destinação em aterro sanitário. Portanto, para mitigar os impactos ambientais do SFAVDE, recomenda-se avaliar alternativas de transporte, utilizar combustíveis renováveis na etapa de operação e priorizar o reúso do cobre durante as fases de fabricação e descarte.

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