HSU mason jar analysis: Difference between revisions

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This is a research project in partnership between Engr308 Technology and the Environment and The Sustainability Office and HSU Dining at Humboldt State University during Fall 2016. The project includes analyzing the various impacts of mason jars impacts on campus. Client leads are

• Morgan King, Sustainability & Waste Coordinator
• Katie Koscielak, Sustainability Analyst
• Ron Rudebock, Director of Dining Services

Our object is to analyze the impacts of mason jars on campus and the effects of the new HSU policy and pricing regarding mason jars versus disposables. A secondary goal is work towards a recommendation regarding the policy. Impacts will be focused primarily on $, CO₂, and Energy. Final products will include:

• Quantification of impacts over mason jar life cycle
• Quantification of impacts over disposable life cycle
• A spreadsheet for HSU specific impacts with clear instruction, outputs and referenced sources. This spreadsheet will include best estimates of the current disposable versus mason landscape gathered from dining data, surveys, and observations. These numbers will be adjustable by the clients and shared for other schools or communities to adapt.
• A graph of the number of times a mason jar must be reused before it buys back its energy in comparison to various disposables (and possibly other reusables).

Some background information:

• Lumberjack article on the mason jars
• Students Promoting ‘Kill the Cup’ Contest
• 

Teams

TEAM 1 NAME

• • Carlos Arreola
  • Rufus Brown
  • Jesus Cornejo
  • Nick Rasmussen

TEAM JAR-JAR BINKS

• • Caroline Stoddard
  • Michael Lyons
  • Alfonso Herrera
  • Kendra Wong

TEAM 3 NAME

• • Melissa Fawcett-Routh
  • Katherine Nunes-Siciliani
  • Juan Miranda

FREE MASONS

• • Christina O’Neill
  • Rebeca Griner
  • Henry Baker
  • Nick Orozco

Jar-Droppers

• • Kelsey Summers
  • Josh Salinas
  • Jennifer Solis
  • James Myres

TEAM Meta

• • TEAM MATE NAME
  • TEAM MATE NAME

Research

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• Information. <ref>URL or Title of reference. </ref>

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I will not be too draconian on writing style... but make sure NOT TO PLAGIARIZE!^[1]

JAR-JAR BINKS Research

Embedded Energy, CO₂, and Life Cycle Analysis Concepts

Embodied or embedded energy (EE) is defined as the energy used during the entire lifecycle of a product. For example, the EE of a mason jar or a disposable cup could include extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use, reuse, recycling and final disposal. EE calculations are used to conduct life cycle assessments (LCA). LCA is a well-explored concept and has been used as an environmental management tool since the late 1960’s. ^[2]

          LCA provides a tool for evaluating the relative environmental impact of various materials and calculates externalities otherwise excluded from pricing. These analyses allow for a comparison of products like the use of mason jars vs. disposable cups. Our LCA will include emissions and the EE of the materials and shipping.  (United States D.O.E.). [3]

Embedded Energy and CO₂ in materials

The primary constituent of mason jars is glass, while disposable cups can be made from a number of materials including plastic, paper, and foam.

• Embedded energy in different types of glass

• Embedded CO₂ in different types of glass

Embedded Energy (MJ/kg) Embedded CO2 (kg/kg) Soda-Lime 11 .8 Float Glass 15.511 1.136 Primary Glass 15.00 .86 Secondary Glass 11.50 .55 Fiberglass 28.00 1.54 Toughened 23.50 1.27 ^{[4] [5]}

• Embedded energy in mason jars
• Embedded CO₂ in mason jars

Weight (g) EE (MJ/kg) Total EE (MJ) Embedded CO2 (kg/kg) Total CO2 (kg/kg) 12 oz. glass wide mouth jar 279 g 15.00 4.185 .86 .240 Stainless steel lid 20 20.19 .4038 1.37 .027 ^{[6] [7]}

• Embedded energy in disposable cups
• Embedded CO₂ in disposable cups

Cup Mass (g/cup) Material Specific Energy (MJ/kg) Embedded Energy (MJ/cup) Material Specific CO2 (kg/kg) Embedded CO2 (kg/kg) Plastic 59 107 6.3 4.1 .2419 Paper 8.3 66 .55 .031 .2573 Foam 1.9 104 .20 .023 .0437

^{[8] [9] [10]}

Embedded Energy and CO₂ in shipping

The embedded energy of cups also includes the cost of shipping. Shipping may include both travel by boat and likely travel by land since we are isolated up here on the North Coast of California.

• General embedded energy in shipping by sea
• General embedded CO₂ in shipping by sea

Shipping container boat=0.08 kWh/ton*km

Total shipped by sea=0.08 kWh/ton*km*50lb.*1 ton/2000 lb *11,140 km

(Calculations derived in class)

Cargo freight boat for 2014= 540 .5 BTU ^[11]

“A Defra study concludes that 2 tonnes of freight carried for 5,000km by a small container ship creates 150kg of CO2e” ^[12] CO2 in grams/metric ton of freight/km: 10 to 40 g ^[13]

• General embedded energy in shipping by land
• General embedded CO₂ in shipping by land

Fuel consumption of heavy trucks=3,357 BTU per short ton-mile; 2,426 kJ per tonne-kilometer ^[14] Med-Heavy trucks 2014: Class 3-6=1,332 trillion BTUs; Class 7-8 trucks=4,689 trillion BTUs ^[15] CO2 in grams/metric ton/km: Truck 60 to 150 g ^{[16] [17]}

HSU drinking vessels

• Where do HSU mason jars come from?

GET Industries

• Where do HSU disposable containers come from?

Paper cup manufacturer=Karat

Free Masons Research

Embedded Energy, CO₂, and Life Cycle Analysis Concepts

Embedded energy is the total amount of energy required to make a product, including the energy necessary to make, manipulate, and transport materials and final products. Embedded CO2 is the total amount of Carbon Dioxide emitted in the atmosphere during the making of a product, including the CO2 emitted to make, manipulate, and transport materials and final products.

^[18]

Embedded Energy and CO₂ in materials

Mason Jars have become one of HSU’s new alternative and trendy reusable containers. This is opposed to using a disposable container, even though the University has switched over to biodegradable products. Below are the Embedded Energy and CO2 used in the production of mason jars:

• Embedded energy in different types of glass

Borosilicate: 10^4 MJ/m^3 Soda-lime silicate:10^2 MJ/m^3 Silica:10^5 MJ/m^3 ^[19] Float-Glass: 15.9 MJ/kg ^[20] Toughened: 26.2 MJ/kg Laminated:16.3 MJ/kg Tinted:14.9 MJ/kg ^[21]

• Embedded CO₂ in different types of glass

Embedded CO2 in different types of glass Float Glass- 1.74 kg CO2/kg Toughened- 1.74 kg CO2/kg Laminated- 1.92 kg/CO2/kg ^[22] Soda-Lime Glass- 1.36kg CO2/0.8kg ^[23]

• Embedded Energy in mason jars

14 MJ/kg ^[24]

• Embedded CO₂ in mason jars

0.38 pounds CO2 per 12 oz. glass bottle ^[25]

• Embedded energy in disposable cups

0.55 MJ/cup ^[26]

• Embedded CO₂ in disposable cups

0.11kg CO2/cup ^[27]

Embedded Energy and CO₂ in shipping

Production of the mason jar is only considering part of the environmental impacts of the mason jar use and consumption. Another significant part of this environmental consideration is that of shipping the product from the warehouse to the store that sells the product. Products such as Mason Jars and paper cups are both manufactured in China and require shipping over sea (via container ship) and land (semi-truck) to reach the store where they are purchased.

• General embedded energy in shipping by sea

1.4 MJ/TEU/km for a 4000 TEU Container ^[28]

• General embedded CO₂ in shipping by sea

04 kg/tonne km ^[29] .003 kg/tonne km ^[30]

• General embedded energy in shipping by land

36.63 MJ/vehicle km ^{[31] [32]} 67.677m3/truck ^[33]

• General embedded CO₂ in shipping by land

14 kg/tonne km ^[34] .08 kg/tonne km ^[35]

HSU drinking vessels

• Where do HSU mason jars come from?

“GET Industries.”

• Where do HSU disposable containers come from?

“United Natural Foods Incorporated.”

References