Högskolan i Skövde

This study will identify the environmental impact in terms of carbon dioxide for a boiler house on behalf of Kvänum energi. The boiler central consists of a main building, which in turn contains multiple components such as boilers, pipes, etc, the boiler central uses pellets fuel. It also includes a silo and an ash container. The total weight of the boiler is about 63 tons. Each boiler has an output of 600 kW; the central includes three boilers with room for a fourth if necessary. The study has followed the ISO 14040 as far as it has been possible. The boiler central is manufactured at Kvänum Energi’s plant in Kvänum and then assembled on-site for the customer. When analyzing the system the entire product has been divided into smaller parts to make the analysis more manageable. The breakdown was made regarding the material. The conclusions from the calculations of emissions were that material was of greater importance to the environment than transportation. Design improvement proposal was mainly focused on materials and how any change of material would affect the environment and energy consumption. The ability to construct the building and silo in aluminum was investigated from the strength, price and environmental impact point of views. From design point of view, steel and aluminum are equivalent for the purpose, but in terms of cost, aluminum is more expensive. However the recycling option is significantly better for aluminum. EPS (Environmental Priority Strategies), which is a Swedish method developed for engineers at Volvo, was used for the calculation of environmental impact. When comparing steel and aluminum, the aluminum construction received a lower value regarding carbon dioxide i.e. better from an environmental perspective. The study includes a short survey on a transport to a fossil fuel dependent country, and it is investigated whether such a transport would be justified. The transport would be by boat and truck and the resulting emissions from the transport is about 1 ton of CO₂. In the study, Lithuania has been chosen as an example because it has the same climate as in Sweden, i.e. a large need for heating during winter, and also because that Lithuania has a high dependence of oil and gas for heating.