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6B - LCIA - New Impact Categories (WEP/236) Life cycle impact categories - the problem of new categories and biological impacts - Part II: Application to LCA of biotechnology processes and products. Renner, Isa1, Kloepffer, Walter1, 1 C.A.U. GmbH, Dreieich, Germany, Germany ABSTRACT- Biotechnology as defined by OECD is the application of biological organisms, systems and processes to the production of goods and services. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a promissing tool for evaluating the cleanliness of biotechnological industrial products and processes. The application of LCA to biotechnology processes and products has to consider their specific needs. Questions of system boundaries and allocation can be solved sufficiently within the existing framework of LCA as well as the production of renewable resources by agriculture, which usually occurs as an upstream chain for an industrial biotechnological process. But the use of biological systems and organisms makes it necessary to consider the potential hazards and risks of the release of various biological materials to the environment. This comprises enzymes and biological emssions as decribed in part I of the presentation. Industrial enzymes fall under the definition of chemical substances and are regulated in the chemical notification system. They are defined by their catalytic activity or structural characteristics. Impurities in enzyme concentrates can also be toxicological relevant. In principle, potential effects caused by the emission of enzymes can be modelled within the existing impact categories human toxicity and ecotoxicity. Key words: Biotechnology, Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Biological Emissions, Enzymes |
