LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY (LCI) OF A MECHANICAL GEARBOX MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The metal-mechanical industry bears an environmental responsibility with respect to the proper use of natural resources. This translates into constant efforts to develop processes and products with optimum use of raw materials, incorporate clean technologies and reduce waste generation. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental resource management tool that evaluates all stages in the life cycle of a product or process. In this study, a simplified LCA was applied to the manufacturing process of a mechanical gearbox. Primary data from a life cycle inventory (LCI) were used to determine the mass balance of solid metallic waste per functional unit (FU) and energy balance. The energy balance was of 56.96kWh/FU, acquired through free market supply. Thus, the LCI was able identify possible the environmental aspects and impacts which could be used as future guidelines