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The European f-Gas Directive phases out HFC-134a from Mobile Air Conditioning systems (MACs) in new vehicles by 2017. In the US pending California and USEPA regulations have incentives to phase out HFC-134a earlier than 2017. As a result industry is striving to transform all global markets to a single new refrigerant in order to simplify global marketing. One of the global tools to help evaluate alternatives during this transition is the global LCCP (Life Cycle Climate Performance) and the development of the GREENMAC- LCCP© model. This model has become the global standard to measure the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) greenhouse emissions of any proposed alternative refrigerant for MACs starting from bench test results and supporting the car manufacturer choice of the best suitable alternative refrigerant from an environmental perspective.

The GREEN-MAC-LCCP© [Global Refrigerants Energy & Environmental - Mobile Air Condition - Life Cycle Climate Performance] model described here is an evolution of a previous GM model that assesses the lifecycle energy and GHG emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of alternative refrigerants and MAC components. This new model reduces the complexity of inputs and provides a consistent output analysis. This model includes Microsoft Excel Visual Basic© code to automatically make the calculations once inputs are complete.

Well-to-Wheels analyses are important tools that provide a rigorous examination and quantify the environmental burdens associated with fuel production and fuel consumption during the vehicle use phase. Such assessments integrate the results obtained from the Well-to-Tank (WtT) and the Tank-to-Wheels (TtW) analysis components. The purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary Tank-to-Wheels assessment of the benefits associated with the introduction of alternative powertrains and fuels in the Chinese market by the year 2015 as compared to the results obtained with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). An emphasis is given on the vehicles powered by those fuels that have the potential to play a major role in the Chinese auto-sector, such as: M10, M85, E10, E85, Di-methyl Ether (DME) and Coal-to-Liquids (CTL). An important conclusion of this report is that hybridization reduces fuel consumption in all propulsion systems.

The goal of this study is to assess the total Life Cycle Global Warming Impact of the current HFC-134a (R134a) refrigeration system and compare it with the effect of proposed alternatives, HFC-134a Enhanced, HFC-152 (R152a), R744, R744 Enhanced and R290, based on life cycle analysis (LCA). The enhanced systems include control strategies to elevate the compressor suction pressure as the evaporator load is reduced. The hydrofluorocarbons HFC-134a and HFC-152a are greenhouse gases (GHGs) and are subject to the Kyoto Protocol timetables, which when the treaty takes effect will require participating developed countries to reduce their overall CO2 equivalent emissions of six GHGs by at least 5% by 2012 from 1990 levels.

In 1999, the Society of Automotive Engineers established a Committee for Fuel Cell Standards. The Committee is organized in subcommittees that address issues such as Emissions and Fuel Consumption, Safety, Performance, Terminology and Recycling. The mission of the Recycling Subcommittee was to develop a preferred practice document, SAE J2594, that incorporates existing information on recycling practices and infrastructure, and identifies technical, economic, and environmental sustainability issues and applies them to proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (FC) systems. Recyclability should be considered early in the product engineering design/development process in order to enhance its potential for reuse or recycling at the end of the vehicle's useful life. The purpose of this technical report is to provide an overview of the recommendations of the SAE J2594 recommended practice document.

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of complex systems, such as vehicles and vehicle components, are based on the quantification of the energy, wastes, and emissions associated with the material production, manufacturing, use and end of life of the product. However, the volume of information needed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the environmental burdens is large and complicates the decision process in choosing among alternatives. For this reason people have attempted to simplify the information by collapsing it into a single index, which essentially assigns a score to a product of being “good” or “bad”. Even though such an approach looks attractive to the decision-makers that want simple answers based on meaningful data, the results may be misleading.