Recovery of electronics waste to be converting into functional devices

MRS Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (19) ◽  
pp. 1067-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Baca
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Electrical Characterization ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Waste Materials ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Silicon Devices ◽  
Use Phase ◽  
Negative Environmental Impact ◽  
Performance Principles

AbstractToday, processing technologies have generated negative environmental impact as emission of toxic gases and degradation of the earth when certain products are placement in landfills leading to environmental pollution and several health risks, which damage societies to sustain the planet for future generations. As electronics waste, grain-oriented iron foils, graphite films and Mn-Zn ferrites have been identified as interesting candidates. Uncommon physical properties from such materials are available when these are converting technologically. A strategy such as Life-Cycle Assessment is employed here to taking into account all stages of the life cycle of electronics waste, including processing technology, manufacturing processes, use phase, and end-of-life routes to quantify the recycling performance as a function of the physical parameters that will characterize operability of a functional device. Hence, structure and conduction properties in waste materials are exploring by using Raman spectroscopy and electrical characterization techniques. Researching waste materials will provide theoretical basis for open-loop recycling, where trends related to green engineering must be attained with recyclable materials for practical adaptive structures using different performance principles compared to those used in silicon devices.

scholarly journals Sustainable Panels Made with Industrial and Agricultural Waste: Thermal and Environmental Critical Analysis of the Experimental Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Paola Ricciardi ◽  
Elisa Belloni ◽  
Francesca Merli ◽  
Cinzia Buratti
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Rice Husk ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Waste Materials ◽  
Impact Reduction ◽  
Combined Solution ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Recycled Waste

Recycled waste materials obtained from industrial and agricultural processes are becoming promising thermal and acoustic insulating solutions in building applications; their use can play an important role in the environmental impact reduction. The aim of the present paper is the evaluation of the thermal performance of recycled waste panels consisting of cork scraps, rice husk, coffee chaff, and end-life granulated tires, glued in different weight ratios and pressed. Six panels obtained from the mixing of these waste materials were fabricated and analyzed. In particular, the scope is the selection of the best compromise solutions from the thermal and environmental points of view. To this aim, thermal resistances were measured in laboratory and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis was carried out for each panel; a cross-comparative examination was performed in order to optimize their properties and find the best panels solutions to be assembled in the future. Life Cycle Analysis was carried out in terms of primary Embodied Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, considering a ‘‘cradle-to-gate” approach. The obtained thermal conductivities varied in the 0.055 to 0.135 W/mK range, in the same order of magnitude of many traditional systems. The best thermal results were obtained for the panels made of granulated cork, rice husk, and coffee chaff in this order. The rubber granulate showed higher values of the thermal conductivity (about 0.15 W/mK); a very interesting combined solution was the panel composed of cork (60%), rice husk (20%), and coffee chaff (20%), with a thermal conductivity of 0.08 W/mK and a Global Warming Potential of only 2.6 kg CO2eq/m2. Considering the Embodied Energy (CED), the best solution is a panel composed of 56% of cork and 44% of coffee chaff (minimum CED and thermal conductivity).

scholarly journals Environmental Sustainability of Building Retrofit through Vertical Greening Systems: A Life-Cycle Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4886
Author(s):  
Katia Perini ◽  
Fabio Magrassi ◽  
Andrea Giachetta ◽  
Luca Moreschi ◽  
Michela Gallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Use Phase ◽  
Vertical Greening

Urban greening provides a wide range of ecosystem services to address the main challenges of urban areas, e.g., carbon sequestration, evapotranspiration and shade, thermal insulation, and pollution control. This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of a vertical greening system (VGS) built in 2014 in Italy, for which extensive monitoring activities were implemented. The life-cycle assessment methodology was applied to quantify the water–energy–climate nexus of the VGS for 1 m2 of the building’s wall surface. Six different scenarios were modelled according to three different end-of-life scenarios and two different useful lifetime scenarios (10 and 25 years). The environmental impact of global-warming potential and generated energy consumption during the use phase in the VGS scenarios were reduced by 56% in relation to the baseline scenario (wall without VGS), and showed improved environmental performance throughout the complete life cycle. However, the water-scarcity index (WSI) of the VGS scenarios increased by 42%. This study confirms that the installation of VGSs offers a relevant environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption; however, increased water consumption in the use phase may limit the large-scale application of VGSs.

Role of the use phase and pavement-vehicle interaction in comparative pavement life cycle assessment as a function of context

2019 ◽  
Vol 230 ◽  
pp. 1156-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Xu ◽  
Mehdi Akbarian ◽  
Jeremy Gregory ◽  
Randolph Kirchain
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Use Phase

scholarly journals From Buildings’ End of Life to Aggregate Recycling under a Circular Economic Perspective: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9625
Author(s):  
Ambroise Lachat ◽  
Konstantinos Mantalovas ◽  
Tiffany Desbois ◽  
Oumaya Yazoghli-Marzouk ◽  
Anne-Sophie Colas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Demolition Waste

The demolition of buildings, apart from being energy intensive and disruptive, inevitably produces construction and demolition waste (C&Dw). Unfortunately, even today, the majority of this waste ends up underexploited and not considered as valuable resources to be re-circulated into a closed/open loop process under the umbrella of circular economy (CE). Considering the amount of virgin aggregates needed in civil engineering applications, C&Dw can act as sustainable catalyst towards the preservation of natural resources and the shift towards a CE. This study completes current research by presenting a life cycle inventory compilation and life cycle assessment case study of two buildings in France. The quantification of the end-of-life environmental impacts of the two buildings and subsequently the environmental impacts of recycled aggregates production from C&Dw was realized using the framework of life cycle assessment (LCA). The results indicate that the transport of waste, its treatment, and especially asbestos’ treatment are the most impactful phases. For example, in the case study of the first building, transport and treatment of waste reached 35% of the total impact for global warming. Careful, proactive, and strategic treatment, geolocation, and transport planning is recommended for the involved stakeholders and decision makers in order to ensure minimal sustainability implications during the implementation of CE approaches for C&Dw.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Electric Vehicle Batteries: An Overview of Recent Literature

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Temporelli ◽  
Maria Leonor Carvalho ◽  
Pierpaolo Girardi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Hybrid Vehicles ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Life Cycle Assessments ◽  
Battery Capacity ◽  
Automotive Batteries ◽  
Use Phase

In electric and hybrid vehicles Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), batteries play a central role and are in the spotlight of scientific community and public opinion. Automotive batteries constitute, together with the powertrain, the main differences between electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. For this reason, many decision makers and researchers wondered whether energy and environmental impacts from batteries production, can exceed the benefits generated during the vehicle’s use phase. In this framework, the purpose of the present literature review is to understand how large and variable the main impacts are due to automotive batteries’ life cycle, with particular attention to climate change impacts, and to support researchers with some methodological suggestions in the field of automotive batteries’ LCA. The results show that there is high variability in environmental impact assessment; CO2eq emissions per kWh of battery capacity range from 50 to 313 g CO2eq/kWh. Nevertheless, either using the lower or upper bounds of this range, electric vehicles result less carbon-intensive in their life cycle than corresponding diesel or petrol vehicles.

scholarly journals Design of Eco-Efficient Body Parts for Electric Vehicles Considering Life Cycle Environmental Information

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5838
Author(s):  
Lars Reimer ◽  
Alexander Kaluza ◽  
Felipe Cerdas ◽  
Jens Meschke ◽  
Thomas Vietor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Torsional Stiffness ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Electricity Mix ◽  
Use Phase ◽  
Structural Parts

The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the entire life cycle of vehicles has become part of the strategic objectives in automotive industry. In this regard, the design of future body parts should be carried out based on information of life cycle GHG emissions. The substitution of steel towards lightweight materials is a major trend, with the industry undergoing a fundamental shift towards the introduction of electric vehicles (EV). The present research aims to support the conceptual design of body parts with a combined perspective on mechanical performance and life cycle GHG emissions. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the GHG impact of EV in the use phase depends on vehicle-specific factors that may not be specified at the conceptual design stage of components, such as the market-specific electricity mix used for vehicle charging. A methodology is proposed that combines a simplified numerical design of concept alternatives and an analytic approach estimating life cycle GHG emissions. It is applied to a case study in body part design based on a set of principal geometries and load cases, a range of materials (aluminum, glass and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP, CFRP) as substitution to a steel reference) and different use stage scenarios of EV. A new engineering chart was developed, which helps design engineers to compare life cycle GHG emissions of lightweight material concepts to the reference. For body shells, the replacement of the steel reference with aluminum or GFRP shows reduced lifecycle GHG emissions for most use phase scenarios. This holds as well for structural parts being designed on torsional stiffness. For structural parts designed on tension/compression or bending stiffness CFRP designs show lowest lifecycle GHG emissions. In all cases, a high share of renewable electricity mix and a short lifetime pose the steel reference in favor. It is argued that a further elaboration of the approach could substantially increase transparency between design choices and life cycle GHG emissions.

scholarly journals Valorization of Tomato Surplus and Waste Fractions: A Case Study Using Norway, Belgium, Poland, and Turkey as Examples

Foods ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Løvdal ◽  
Droogenbroeck ◽  
Eroglu ◽  
Kaniszewski ◽  
Agati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Feed ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Storage Conditions ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Tomato Production ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Tomato Processing ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Negative Environmental Impact

There is a large potential in Europe for valorization in the vegetable food supply chain. For example, there is occasionally overproduction of tomatoes for fresh consumption, and a fraction of the production is unsuited for fresh consumption sale (unacceptable color, shape, maturity, lesions, etc.). In countries where the facilities and infrastructure for tomato processing is lacking, these tomatoes are normally destroyed, used as landfilling or animal feed, and represent an economic loss for producers and negative environmental impact. Likewise, there is also a potential in the tomato processing industry to valorize side streams and reduce waste. The present paper provides an overview of tomato production in Europe and the strategies employed for processing and valorization of tomato side streams and waste fractions. Special emphasis is put on the four tomato-producing countries Norway, Belgium, Poland, and Turkey. These countries are very different regards for example their climatic preconditions for tomato production and volumes produced, and represent the extremes among European tomato producing countries. Postharvest treatments and applications for optimized harvest time and improved storage for premium raw material quality are discussed, as well as novel, sustainable processing technologies for minimum waste and side stream valorization. Preservation and enrichment of lycopene, the primary health promoting agent and sales argument, is reviewed in detail. The European volume of tomato postharvest wastage is estimated at >3 million metric tons per year. Together, the optimization of harvesting time and preprocessing storage conditions and sustainable food processing technologies, coupled with stabilization and valorization of processing by-products and side streams, can significantly contribute to the valorization of this underutilized biomass.

scholarly journals Overview of Pavement Life Cycle Assessment Use Phase Research at the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Akbarian ◽  
F. J. Ulm ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Randolph Kirchain ◽  
Jeremy Gregory ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Use Phase
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document