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Freight trucks powered by alternative low-emissions fuel sources such as electricity or hydrogen have gained significant attention as replacements for their fossil fuel-operated counterparts. Even though this shift to alternative fuels can reduce the operational emissions at the vehicle tailpipe, there can be significant emissions throughout their supply chains. A thorough review of the published literature highlights that a comprehensive investigation is lacking on the well-to-wheel life cycle impacts of hydrogen fuel used for freight transportation. Furthermore, a comparison between hydrogen-fueled and electric freight transport is unavailable in the published literature. This study comprehensively investigated the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of alternative fueled freight transport based on vehicle types and relevant supply chains. A life cycle impact database was developed for key electric and hydrogen fuel supply chain scenarios and was ranked based on the economic and environmental performance under different decision-maker perspectives. The life cycle emissions of delivering hydrogen fuel range from 2.2 to 12.6 kgCO2eq./kg of hydrogen whereas electric grid emissions range from 0.005 to 0.315 kgCO2eq./MJ. However, hydrogen systems that use electrolysis to produce hydrogen show better environmental performance over the complete vehicle life cycle compared to electric systems that are highly dependent on nonrenewable energy sources. The cost of ownership of a hydrogen and electric freight truck is approximately 2.15 and 0.54 CAD/km respectively. However, with investments from governments and private institutions to develop hydrogen refueling infrastructure, hydrogen-fueled freight vehicles have the potential for reducing GHG emissions in the road transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-based transportation has gained popularity and has presented significant growth over the past few years, providing an excellent platform for capitalizing on natural resources while attaining global carbon policies and sustainability targets. However, lack of infrastructure, cost of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen fuel, and absence of established hydrogen supply chains have been identified as critical challenges of hydrogen-based mobility. Despite current studies predominantly focusing on hydrogen-fueled passenger vehicles and related infrastructure, it was identified that the impacts of hydrogen fuel supply chain for freight transportation from a life cycle thinking perspective have been largely overlooked. This article aims at critically reviewing the existing body-of-knowledge on the current status of hydrogen fueling supply chain and exploring the potential of integrating hydrogen fuel for road freight transportation. Accordingly, the current status of alternative fuel use for freight transportation is discussed over technical, economic, and environmental dimensions outlining its benefits and challenges. Moreover, the pertinence of innovative and established methods of hydrogen production, distribution, and storage for freight transportation are evaluated based on a comprehensive literature review. This study reveals that the transformation of freight transportation into low-emission alternative fuels would require a comprehensive multicriteria assessment that includes technical, economic, environmental, and social feasibilities over the life cycle of the freight vehicle and the fuel supply chain. Moreover, decision parameters affecting the optimal fuel selection process were established through this study, while providing insights on the future prospects for hydrogen-fueled freight transformation in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing sector accounts for 40% and 25% of global energy and resources consumption respectively. Machining is one of the most power-intense operations in the manufacturing sector making a significant contribution to the environmental footprint. The purpose of this study is to identify the key parameters that contribute towards the environmental impacts of conventional turning. A set of experiments was designed using the Taguchi L9 method. Experiments were performed to analyse the electrical energy consumption, metalworking fluid (MWF) consumption, surface roughness, and material removal rate during turning of AISI P20 with both wet and dry machining. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to assess the environmental performance of turning. A multi-response optimisation was performed to identify the optimum operating conditions. The results show that turning with wet machining yields better machining and environmental performance compared to dry machining. The LCA results reveal that electrical energy is the highest contributor under most of the impact categories, while the effect of MWF is negligible. The use of workpiece material and cutting insert material contribute significantly to the impacts under aquatic ecosystem and resource depletion damage categories. Further, optimum parameters were proposed considering both machining performance and environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]