Life cycle assessment of a personal computer

Abstract

This research project aims to assess the components parts of a PC to determine which parts contribute most adverse to environmental impacts, and to make recommendations about the potential for recycling and recovery of materials at the end-of-life of a PC. The investigation is performed by implementing LCA methodology on the PC. This paper summarizes the methodology generated. A PC used is the Pentium IV ABA PC including the Compaq monitor, keyboard and mouse. The procedure of the LCA follows the ISO 14040 series. System boundary includes the entire life cycle of the product, including raw material acquisition, material processing, transportation, use and disposal. The LCI and impact database for a PC is constructed using SimaPro software version 6.0 after disassembling the PC and taking an inventory of its component parts.