Life Cycle Assessment of a Short-Lived Product: The Case of Abrasive Discs

Increasing regulatory and societal pressures to reduce environmental impacts have led the industry to adopt more robust evaluation methods. This study assessed the potential impacts of quick-change abrasive discs—short-life-cycle products made from aluminium oxide, zirconia, and ceramic gel. The evaluation used a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) in accordance with ISO 14040 and 14044. The functional unit examined was a 0.29 m2 abrasive sheet containing 180 discs, with an average use time of 10 min per disc. Environmental impacts were estimated in SimaPro 9.2 using the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) method and the Ecoinvent 3.6 database. Results indicated that the highest impacts were marine ecotoxicity (49.5%, 0.67–0.74 kg 1,4-DCB eq), freshwater ecotoxicity (32.8%, 0.52–0.58 kg 1,4-DCB eq), human carcinogenic toxicity (10.4%, 0.37–0.44 kg 1,4-DCB eq), non-carcinogenic toxicity (3.6%, 6.9–7.9 kg 1,4-DCB eq), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (2.0%, 27–33 kg 1,4-DCB eq), primarily resulting from raw material production and the high consumption of electricity and fuel during manufacturing. Improvement strategies, such as changes in disc geometry and the integration of photovoltaic systems, reduced impacts by 14–27%. Additional measures addressed energy efficiency, local supplier development, and user awareness for responsible use and disposal.