Carbon footprint and water footprint assessment of virgin and recycled polyester textiles

2021 ◽  
pp. 004051752110062
Author(s):  
Weiran Qian ◽  
Xiang Ji ◽  
Pinghua Xu ◽  
Laili Wang
Keyword(s):  
Production Process ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Polyester Fabric ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Fabric Production ◽  
Water Eutrophication

Recycled polyester textile fibers stemming from waste polyester material have been applied in the textile industry in recent years. However, there are few studies focusing on the evaluation and comparison of the environmental impacts caused by the production of virgin polyester textiles and recycled polyester textiles. In this study, the carbon footprint and water footprint of virgin polyester textiles and recycled polyester textiles were calculated and compared. The results showed that the carbon footprint of the virgin polyester textiles production was 119.59 kgCO2/100 kg. Terephthalic acid production process occupied the largest proportion, accounting for 45.83%, followed by polyester fabric production process, ethylene production process, paraxylene production process, ethylene glycol production process and polyester fiber production process. The total carbon footprint of waste polyester recycling was 1154.15 kgCO2/100 kg, approximately ten times that of virgin polyester textiles production. As for the water footprint, it showed that virgin polyester fabric production and recycled polyester fabric production both had great impact on water eutrophication and water scarcity. Chemical oxygen demand caused the largest water eutrophication footprint, followed by ammonia-nitrogen and five-day biochemical oxygen demand. The water scarcity footprint of virgin polyester fabric production and recycled polyester fabric production was 5.98 m3 H2Oeq/100 kg and 1.90 m3 H2Oeq/100 kg, respectively. The comprehensive evaluation of carbon footprint and water footprint with the life cycle assessment polygon method indicated that the polyester fabric production process exhibited greater environmental impacts both for virgin polyester and recycled polyester.

scholarly journals Carbon and water footprint of coffee consumed in Finland—life cycle assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1976-1990
Author(s):  
Kirsi Usva ◽  
Taija Sinkko ◽  
Frans Silvenius ◽  
Inkeri Riipi ◽  
Hannele Heusala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Coffee Cultivation ◽  
Irrigation Optimization

Abstract Purpose Coffee is one of the most widely grown cash crops globally, but there are few scientific articles on its carbon footprint and water scarcity impacts. The aim of this study was to assess the carbon footprint and water scarcity impacts throughout the life cycle of the coffee chain (cradle-to-grave) and to identify the most important sources of the impacts (hotspots). Methods The system included all the key stages of the supply chain from land use change and coffee cultivation to roasting and household consumption. Primary data was collected from eight coffee cultivation farms in Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia and Honduras and coffee roastery and packaging manufacturers in Finland. The AWARE method was applied in a water scarcity impact assessment. Results and discussion The carbon footprint varied from 0.27 to 0.70 kg CO2 eq/l coffee. The share of the coffee cultivation stage varied from 32 to 78% and the consumption stage from 19 to 49%. The use of fertilizers was the most important process contributing to the carbon footprint. Furthermore, deforestation-related emissions notably increased the carbon footprint of coffee from Nicaragua. Compared with the previous literature, our results indicate a relatively larger share of climate impacts in the cultivation stage and less during consumption. The water scarcity impact was relatively low for non-irrigated systems in Central America, 0.02 m3 eq/l coffee. On Brazilian farms, irrigation is a major contributor to the water scarcity impact, varying from 0.15 to 0.27 m3 eq/l coffee. Conclusions Improving the management practices in cultivation and fertilization is key for lower GHG emissions. Irrigation optimization is the most important mitigation strategy to reduce water scarcity impact. However, actions to reduce these two impacts should be executed side by side to avoid shifting burdens between the two.

Designing a healthy, low-cost and environmentally sustainable food basket: an optimisation study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hassan Eini-Zinab ◽  
Seyyed Reza Sobhani ◽  
Arezoo Rezazadeh
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Fish Eggs ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Basket

Abstract Objective: Sustainable diets are diets with low environmental impacts and high affordability which contribute to food and nutrition security. The present study aimed to develop a healthy, low-cost and environmental-friendly food basket for Iran based on current consumption. Design: The Households Income and Expenditure Survey data were used. Linear Programming was utilised to obtain the optimal diets, separately, for each goal of the sustainable food basket: (1) Diet with maximum Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) index, (2) Diet with minimum cost, (3) Diet with the minimum water footprint and (4) Diet with the minimum carbon footprint. Goal Programming techniques were used to optimise the sustainable food basket by considering all goals simultaneously. Setting: Iran. Participants: Households (n 100 500) in urban and rural areas of Iran, nationally representative. Results: In the ‘optimal model’, compared with the usual consumption, the amount of the ‘bread, cereal, rice, and pasta’, ‘meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, and nuts’ and ‘fats, oils, sugars, and sweets’ groups was decreased. Inside those food groups, cereals, poultry and vegetable oil subgroups were increased. Also, dairy, fruits and vegetable groups were increased. In this model, there was a 14 % reduction in the total water footprint, a 14 % decrease in the total carbon footprint, a 23 % decrease in the cost and a 7 % increase in NRF of diet compared with the usual consumption. Conclusions: Increasing the consumption of dairy, fruits and vegetables and reducing the consumption of bread, rice, pasta, meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, hydrogenated fats and sugars are required to achieve a sustainable food basket.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Carbon Footprint and VOCs Emissions Caused by the Manufacturing Process of the Footwear Industry in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yead Mahmud ◽  
◽  
Md. Rashed-Ul-Islam ◽  
Md. Obaidul Islam ◽  
Tanvir Siddike Moin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Footwear Industry ◽  
Offensive Odour ◽  
Shoe Manufacturing ◽  
Separating Agents

Every industry has an impact on the environment, either good or bad, and leather and footwear industries are no exception. For the footwear industry, the main environmental impacts are the releasing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and solid wastes. The pressure of reducing harm to the environment is coming from both the consumers and the legislation. CO2 and VOCs are hazardous to human health and also trigger serious environment problems, such as ozone layer depletion, offensive odour, photochemical smog, acid rain and many others. Adhesives, finishing products and cleaners contribute to VOCs emissions in the footwear manufacturing industry. VOCs emission may also arise from primers, separating agents, printing inks or finishing pastes. Some most commonly produced VOCs in the footwear manufacturing industry are benzene, toluene, styrene, ethylene, xylene, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, methyl ethyl ketone, chlorobenzene, phenol etc. All of these cause severe health problems in humans and have an adverse effect on the environment. An increasing number of footwear factories adversely affects the environment and human health. One of the largest environmental impacts of shoe industry comes from the manufacturing stages of the shoe’s life cycle. This study was carried out to measure the carbon footprint and VOCs emissions among ten selected footwear factories. The results revealed that the total energy footprint for one pair of shoes is 18.004826 MJ, the water footprint is 8.37167 litres and the carbon footprint is 9.174979 kg CO2 eq. The highest impact in terms of the carbon footprint lies in the shoe manufacturing process with a 5.85109 eq. CO2 (kg). The total VOCs consumption for a fashion shoe is around 36.5 g/pair on average. There should be an initiative taken with the aim of adjusting the choice of methods, materials, machines and the monitoring systems as well as the safety policy for the workers and the environment.

The Water Footprint of Wool Scouring

2015 ◽  
Vol 671 ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai Li Wang ◽  
Xue Mei Ding ◽  
Xiong Ying Wu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Effluent Treatment ◽  
Oil Removal ◽  
Textile Processing ◽  
Scouring Process ◽  
High Oxygen Demand ◽  
Resource Shortage ◽  
Very High

Raw wool contains high percentage by weight of natural contaminants. It is usually treated by a scouring process in the first stage of textile processing. Wool scouring process consumes large quantities of fresh water and produces concentrated effluent with very high oxygen demand, aggravating the water resource shortage and environmental impacts. Water footprint (WF) is a multidimensional indicator that shows water consumption volumes by source and polluted volumes by type of pollution. This study discusses the environmental impacts assessment of wool scouring process based on the WF theory. Through cases study, it was found that chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) was the most critical pollutant associated with the largest pollutant-specific original grey WF (WFori, grey), while NH3-N was the most critical pollutant associated with the largest pollutant-specific residuary grey WF (WFres, grey). The average WFori, greyof wool scouring process was 51878 m3/d, approximately 291 times of blue WF (WFblue). After treatment of the scouring effluent through floatation reflux-biological contact oxidizing technology, the WFori, greyreduced to 558 m3/d. Refluxing and regulating, oil removal were two important processes that contributed largely to effluent treatment as they reduced WFori, greyby 28537 m3/d and 23171 m3/d, respectively.

CARBON FOOTPRINT ASSESSMENT AT UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA SERI ISKANDAR CAMPUS, MALAYSIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Nor Izana Mohd Shobri ◽  
Wan Noor Anira Hj Wan Ali ◽  
Norizan Mt Akhir ◽  
Siti Rasidah Md Sakip
Keyword(s):  
Total Energy ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Green House ◽  
Green House Gas ◽  
Carbon Footprint Assessment ◽  
The University ◽  
Electrical Consumption

The purpose of this study is to assess the carbon footprint emission at UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar Campus. The assessment focuses on electrical power and transportation usage. Questionnaires were distributed to the staffs and students to survey their transportation usage in the year 2014 while for electrical consumption, the study used total energy consumed in the year 2014. Data was calculating with the formula by Green House Gas Protocol. Total carbon footprint produced by UiTM Perak, Seri Jskandar Campus in the year 2014 is 11842.09 MTC02' The result of the study is hoped to provide strategies for the university to reduce the carbon footprint emission.

scholarly journals The Ecological Footprint of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines: Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7425
Author(s):  
Peter Kurzweil ◽  
Alfred Müller ◽  
Steffen Wahler
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Ecological Footprint ◽  
Vaccine Dose ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Road Transportation ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Cooling Technology ◽  
Chain Organization ◽  
Last Mile Delivery

Compared to the medical, economic and social implications of COVID-19 vaccinations, little attention has been paid to the ecological balance to date. This study is an attempt to estimate the environmental impact of two mRNA vaccines in terms of CO2 equivalents with respect to their different freezing strategies and supply chain organization. Although it is impossible to accurately calculate the actual environmental impact of the new biochemical synthesis technology, it becomes apparent that transport accounts for up to 99% of the total carbon footprint. The emissions for air freight, road transportation and last-mile delivery are nearly as 19 times the emissions generated from ultra-deep freeze technologies, the production of dry ice, glass and medical polymers for packaging. The carbon footprint of a single mRNA vaccine dose injected into a patient is about 0.01 to 0.2 kg CO2 equivalents, depending on the cooling technology and the logistic routes to the vaccination sites in Germany.

scholarly journals Water scarcity alleviation through water footprint reduction in agriculture: The effect of soil mulching and drip irrigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 653 ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Nouri ◽  
B. Stokvis ◽  
A. Galindo ◽  
M. Blatchford ◽  
A.Y. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Water Footprint

scholarly journals Sustainable Geometric and Bio-Cultural/Cultural Models of Human Society: The Role of Non-Capitalist Cooperation in Times of Civilizational/Environmental Crisis

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
M. S. Sthel ◽  
J. G. R. Tostes ◽  
J. R. Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Capitalist System ◽  
Equilateral Triangles ◽  
Footprint Area ◽  
The Individual

The Sustainable Complex Triangular Cells (SCTC) and bio-cultural/cultural models of human society are employed here. Regarding SCTC model, the cell areas represent the individual´s carbon footprint. Scalene triangles represent each individual in the present competitive standard (inward arrows). Equilateral triangles (outward arrows) are “summed” so as forming cooperative-hexagonal bodies leading to a collaborative model of society, reducing the total carbon footprint area as regard the formal analogous sum of each individual (inward) non-cooperative triangle. We particularly have focused on environmental global limits of the capitalist system, with SCTC modeling an accelerated global anti-ecological “scalenization” process from the 29 crisis to the present neoliberal stage of capitalism. Employing again the SCTC model, we describe and exemplify instable and short lifetime “islands” built up through evanescent local process of “cooperative equilateralization” (outward arrows) in the last 40 years. Such non-capitalist features were “mixed in” with competitive “scalenized” features of the capitalist “ocean”. In the final topic, we will consider bio-cultural (Nowak and Wilson) models of the human history and a cultural (Weber-Alberoni) model for great inflexions in the western history. All these models intersect via human cooperation. Particularly, that last model is complementary to the above small and instable “islands” sketch: but now we deal with western religious and secular, non- capitalist, purely cooperative experiences, which correspond to the above labeled SCTC “cooperative equilateralization”. Such weber-alberonian “islands” may be – some few times - sufficiently stable for rapid and great expansions leading, e.g., to a “civilizational/environmental jump” in the presently menaced planet.

scholarly journals Quantitative assessment of the dynamics and attribution of arable land water scarcity for arid and semiarid areas based on water footprint framework: the Inner Mongolia case

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
Fanhao Meng ◽  
Min Luo
Keyword(s):  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Semiarid Areas ◽  
Arid And Semiarid Areas ◽  
Land Water ◽  
Arid And Semiarid

Abstract Growing water shortages have been a systemic risk around the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, with seriously threatening global food security and human well-being. Reasonable and accurate evaluations of the water shortages of cultivated lands provide scientific reference for irrigation strategies. In this study, to better understand the distribution and cause of water scarcity for the arid and semiarid areas, we used the arable land water scarcity index (AWSI), based on water footprint theory to accurately estimate the temporal and spatial patterns of the AWSI of Inner Mongolia in China over 1999–2018, and further reveal the key factors influencing the AWSI distribution. The AWSI distribution pattern of Inner Mongolia was high in southwest and low in northeast, with an average value of 0.63 and suffering from high water stress for a long time. The AWSI presented an increasing trend in 1999–2018, with slow in west (change rate2%) and fast in east (2%). The main factors that significantly affected the AWSI were precipitation, relative humidity, and agricultural planting area. This study can provide scientific reference for the formulation of agricultural water management and sustainable use strategies in arid and semiarid areas.

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