Life Cycle Assessment System Boundary (IMAGE) University of Pittsburgh Caption Life cycle assessment of a pilot-scale produced water and abandoned mine drainage co-treatment process identifies electricity use as the dominate contribution to environmental and human health impacts of the process. A system boundary extension to include transportation demonstrates its significant impact and a system optimization model was employed to identify how transportation can be minimized for a region in Southwest Pennsylvania, providing insights into future implementation of this co-treatment approach. Credit Leanne Gilbertson. Reprinted with permission from <i>Environmental Science & Technology</i>. Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society. Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.