J Korean Soc Environ Eng. 2014; 36(11): 725-732.
Published online 2014 November 30.
Life Cycle Assessment of Activated Carbon Production System by Using Poplar
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hannam University
Received 2014 September 22; Accepted 2014 November 14.
ABSTRACT
Phytoremediation is a technology to mitigate the pollutant concentrations such as metals, pesticides, solvents, oils, or others in contaminated water and soils with plants. The plants absorb contaminants through the root and store them in the root, stems, or leaves. Rapid growth trees such as poplar are used to remove low concentrated contaminants eco-friendly and economically in a wide contaminated region. This study was practiced to evaluate an activated carbon production system by using poplar wood discarded after phytoremediation. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to analyze environmental impacts of the system, and the functional unit was one ton of harvested poplar. It was estimated that the small size rotary kiln for activated carbon production from poplar wood had an environmental benefit in optimized conditions to minimize energy consumptions. The results of an avoided environmental impact analysis show that the system contribute to reduce environmental impacts in comparison with activated carbon production from coconut shell.
Keywords :
Poplar, Phytoremediation, Activated carbon, Environmental impact, Life cycle assessment
