Magnetic vs. vapor-compression household refrigerators: A preliminary comparative life cycle assessment

• A comparative LCA between vapor-compression and magnetic refrigerator is done.
• Magnetic refrigerator has larger environmental impacts because of rare-earth metals.
• Use-phase electricity determines significance of magnetic refrigerator's extra impacts.
• Reusing materials and optimized design abates the impacts of magnetic refrigerator.
• Higher efficiency cannot make up for all of magnetic refrigerator's extra impacts.

This paper seeks to shed light on the question whether a magnetic household refrigerator with permanent magnets is more environmentally friendly than a conventional, vapor-compression refrigerator. Life cycle assessment has been used as a tool to investigate the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of a magnetic refrigerator. The results of the assessment have been compared with those of a conventional, vapor-compression refrigerator with the same functionality. The comparison reveals that the magnetic refrigeration has higher environmental impacts mainly due to the use of rare-earth metals used in the magnet material. The possibility of compensating for this shortcoming through reuse of the magnetic materials or improving the design and efficiency of the magnetic refrigerator has been examined. In addition, the effect of the electricity mix consumed during the use phase, as one of the key factors determining the life cycle environmental impacts, has been investigated.