The environmental sustainability of microalgae as feed for aquaculture: A life cycle perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 513-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.E. Taelman ◽  
S. De Meester ◽  
L. Roef ◽  
M. Michiels ◽  
J. Dewulf
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

scholarly journals Engineering Design Process of Face Masks Based on Circularity and Life Cycle Assessment in the Constraint of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4948
Author(s):  
Núria Boix Rodríguez ◽  
Giovanni Formentini ◽  
Claudio Favi ◽  
Marco Marconi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
New Device ◽  
Engineering Design Process ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Different Types ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Negative Impacts

Face masks are currently considered key equipment to protect people against the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for such devices is considerable, as is the amount of plastic waste generated after their use (approximately 1.6 million tons/day since the outbreak). Even if the sanitary emergency must have the maximum priority, environmental concerns require investigation to find possible mitigation solutions. The aim of this work is to develop an eco-design actions guide that supports the design of dedicated masks, in a manner to reduce the negative impacts of these devices on the environment during the pandemic period. Toward this aim, an environmental assessment based on life cycle assessment and circularity assessment (material circularity indicator) of different types of masks have been carried out on (i) a 3D-printed mask with changeable filters, (ii) a surgical mask, (iii) an FFP2 mask with valve, (iv) an FFP2 mask without valve, and (v) a washable mask. Results highlight how reusable masks (i.e., 3D-printed masks and washable masks) are the most sustainable from a life cycle perspective, drastically reducing the environmental impacts in all categories. The outcomes of the analysis provide a framework to derive a set of eco-design guidelines which have been used to design a new device that couples protection requirements against the virus and environmental sustainability.

Energetic and environmental sustainability of the co-digestion of sludge with bio-waste in a life cycle perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 67-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Di Maria ◽  
Caterina Micale ◽  
Stefano Contini
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

scholarly journals Assessing Environmental Sustainability of Remediation Technologies in a Life Cycle Perspective is Not So Easy

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1182-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikołaj Owsianiak ◽  
Gitte Lemming ◽  
Michael Z. Hauschild ◽  
Poul L. Bjerg
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

scholarly journals Sustainability Requirements of Digital Twin-Based Systems: A Meta Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5519
Author(s):  
Rui Carvalho ◽  
Alberto Rodrigues da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Product Life Cycle ◽  
Data Communication ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Reducing Costs

Sustainable development was defined by the UN in 1987 as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and this is a core concept in this paper. This work acknowledges the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., economic, social, and environmental, but its focus is on this last one. A digital twin (DT) is frequently described as a physical entity with a virtual counterpart, and the data, connections between the two, implying the existence of connectors and blocks for efficient and effective data communication. This paper provides a meta systematic literature review (SLR) (i.e., an SLR of SLRs) regarding the sustainability requirements of DT-based systems. Numerous papers on the subject of DT were also selected because they cited the analyzed SLRs and were considered relevant to the purposes of this research. From the selection and analysis of 29 papers, several limitations and challenges were identified: the perceived benefits of DTs are not clearly understood; DTs across the product life cycle or the DT life cycle are not sufficiently studied; it is not clear how DTs can contribute to reducing costs or supporting decision-making; technical implementation of DTs must be improved and better integrated in the context of the IoT; the level of fidelity of DTs is not entirely evaluated in terms of their parameters, accuracy, and level of abstraction; and the ownership of data stored within DTs should be better understood. Furthermore, from our research, it was not possible to find a paper discussing DTs only in regard to environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals An integrated life cycle and water footprint assessment of nonfood crops based bioenergy production

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Fengyin Xiong ◽  
Zhuo Chen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Bioenergy Production ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Hybrid Pennisetum

AbstractBiomass gasification, especially distribution to power generation, is considered as a promising way to tackle global energy and environmental challenges. However, previous researches on integrated analysis of the greenhouse gases (GHG) abatement potentials associated with biomass electrification are sparse and few have taken the freshwater utilization into account within a coherent framework, though both energy and water scarcity are lying in the central concerns in China’s environmental policy. This study employs a Life cycle assessment (LCA) model to analyse the actual performance combined with water footprint (WF) assessment methods. The inextricable trade-offs between three representative energy-producing technologies are explored based on three categories of non-food crops (maize, sorghum and hybrid pennisetum) cultivated in marginal arable land. WF results demonstrate that the Hybrid pennisetum system has the largest impact on the water resources whereas the other two technology options exhibit the characteristics of environmental sustainability. The large variances in contribution ratio between the four sub-processes in terms of total impacts are reflected by the LCA results. The Anaerobic Digestion process is found to be the main contributor whereas the Digestate management process is shown to be able to effectively mitigate the negative environmental impacts with an absolute share. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to detect the impacts of loss ratios variation, as silage mass and methane, on final results. The methane loss has the largest influence on the Hybrid pennisetum system, followed by the Maize system. Above all, the Sorghum system demonstrates the best performance amongst the considered assessment categories. Our study builds a pilot reference for further driving large-scale project of bioenergy production and conversion. The synergy of combined WF-LCA method allows us to conduct a comprehensive assessment and to provide insights into environmental and resource management.

scholarly journals Marine biomass for a circular blue‐green bioeconomy?: A life cycle perspective on closing nitrogen and phosphorus land‐marine loops

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean‐Baptiste E. Thomas ◽  
Rajib Sinha ◽  
Åsa Strand ◽  
Tore Söderqvist ◽  
Johanna Stadmark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Marine Biomass
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