Environmental Impact Evaluation of an Absorption Tower Using Life Cycle Assessment

In this paper, the environmental impact of the absorption tower was quantified using Life-cycle assessment(LCA). The LCA was conducted on six environmental impact categories of the environmental product labeling system using the TOTAL ver 6.6.2 program released by Ministry of Environment. In addition, for excluding a personal opinion, the impact assessment proceeded to the essential element of classification and characterization. As a result, 159 input parameters and 647 emission parameters were analyzed in the inventory analysis. In the impact assessment results, the main cause of the ozone depletion impact category was the impact of the fan in the manufacturing process. In the categories of resource footprint, carbon footprint, acidification, and eutrophication, the influence of electricity in the use process was found to account for more than 90 %. Finally, in the photochemical smog category, the effect of the disposal process by incineration was found to be the greatest. Through this study, the environmental impact of the life cycle of the absorption tower and the main causes of each process were identified.