Data-intensive Life Cycle Assessment (DILCA) for Deteriorating Products

In the current age of big data and sustainability, accuracy and effectiveness of life-cycle assessment (LCA) are becoming more important for strategic decision-making. This paper describes a data-intensive approach to life-cycle assessment, with the use phase of a lithium-ion mobile phone battery as a case study. LCA datasets involving a temporal dependence can be created for the use phase of products and to improve the accuracy of the analysis. In order to demonstrate the procedure, energy density data over the life-cycle of a lithium-ion battery and the evolution of its technology are analyzed to synthesize a more accurate methodology to perform the life cycle analysis of the product. In the case study, DILCA estimates an impact 47.8% to 42.9% higher than traditional LCA.