Environmental Performance of Noise Reduction System in Cogeneration Plants—A Life Cycle Assessment Study

Abstract

Although one of the most harmful factors to health is noise, it is often ignored in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. Most researches regarding noise inclusion in LCA focus on the problem of transport noise, and very few works consider the impact of noise emitted by other sources. This study addresses the effects of noise generated by cogeneration plants. The main objective is to assess the environmental performance of the noise reduction system by considering the health effects of noise due to steam discharge as well as to compare the environmental loss associated with the production and disposal of a steam silencer with the benefits resulting from its application for noise reduction. A method to determine midpoint and endpoint human health indicators for a composition of noise emitted by intermittent stationary source and background noise is developed. The results indicate that the health benefit due to noise reduction is six orders of magnitude greater than the environmental loss. Human health indicators attributable to noise reduction in the residential zones under consideration span a wide range of disability adjusted life years (DALY)—0.16–136 DALY. The greatest values occur in the densely populated areas located close to the noise source. A formula is proposed to express annoyance of the residents of individual zones depending on their distance to the steam discharge source, its sound power level, and existing background noise level. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses have been carried out assuming other conditions. Modifications of sound power level, noise reduction efficiency, steam discharge duration, and the silencer lifetime have not affected the overall conclusion drawn.