A systematic review of real-time data monitoring and its potential application to support dynamic life cycle inventories
Tamíris Pacheco da Costa, Daniele Costa, Fionnuala Murphy
Abstract
Dynamic monitoring is crucial for improving the performance of industrial systems. It allows real-time data collection, contributing to more proactive planning and early detection of issues before they cause unplanned downtime and revenue loss. Monitoring systems, particularly sensor and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, are growing exponentially and can become an enormous source of information. This information could also support dynamic life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify potential environmental impacts in a novel way. However, although real-time monitoring provides new opportunities in different domains, it also presents some environmental challenges that must be addressed, such as substantial electricity consumption and the use of batteries. This study reviews the use of dynamic monitoring techniques in LCA studies and how they can be applied to monitor real-time environmental aspects in different domains. A systematic literature review was conducted, encompassing academic documents published within peer-reviewed scientific journals. A total of 34 articles focused on how real-time data is being addressed in LCA studies were selected. The review showed that combining LCA and real-time sensors could result in an improved decision-making tool based on a more holistic view of all the factors relevant to the products or processes. However, the trade-offs of using real-time monitoring technologies to support the development of life cycle inventories need to be widely assessed to be used as a basis for the implementation in different sectors. The review also showed that applying real-time monitoring and dynamic environmental assessment in the food sector is a novel concept that could be used to improve the data collection process. Two articles identified in the review showed the use of real-time data in the agriculture sectors, being used as a tool to monitor the quality and safety of the products. This could be especially relevant to improving and optimising the traceability and safety of food supply chains while reducing environmental impacts.