Management of the manufacturing process and exploitation of steel and composite shipping containers. Case study and life cycle assessment analysis

This paper takes the form of a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis of 40-foot steel and composite containers based on GaBi® software. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can be undertaken, among other things, by reducing the weight of the container, which is possible if lighter materials with comparable mechanical properties to steel are used. The LCA analysis allowed us to estimate the energy consumed and the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the production of a steel and composite container. It turned out that the energy consumed in the production of the composite and steel container is practically equal in value, provided that carbon fiber from the polyolefin precursor is used in production. The processes with the highest energy intensity for container production are carbon fiber and COR-TEN A® steel production and processing. Changing the container material from steel to composite would save fuel and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere by 5.1 % and 18.3 % for road transportation and sea shipping, respectively.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2024).