How Relevant Are Direct Emissions of Microplastics into Freshwater from an LCA Perspective?

Microplastics are ubiquitous in ecosystems and a lot of research is being performed to understand their environmental fate and effects on organisms. However, the release and impact of MP has so far not been considered in LCA studies. This is due to missing information on the inventory side about microplastic releases and missing Characterization Factors to quantify the effects of MP. The goal of this study was to elucidate the relevance of MP release into freshwaters from an LCA perspective, by using worst-case assumptions. In accordance with the USEtox framework, an interim and simplified Characterization Factor for the impact category of freshwater ecotoxicity was calculated to be 3231 PAF·m3·d·kg−1. Applying this Characterization Factor, two LCA case studies were conducted, one on a polyester T-Shirt and one with a shower gel containing microplastics. The results show a small contribution of microplastics to the freshwater ecotoxicity for a scenario with state-of-the-art wastewater treatment. Different scenarios varying in microplastic release and removal during wastewater treatment and a sensitivity analysis of the Characterization Factor allowed identifying the potential range of the microplastic contribution to the overall ecotoxicity. In conclusion, the inclusion of microplastic release into LCA only marginally influences the overall environmental effects of the two products in the LCA case studies.

STUDYING THE PROPERTIES OF DISTILLATE USING DIFFERENT CRUDE OILS AND THEIR FRACTIONS UNDER ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION

This research study the properties of two different crude oils . Two samples of crude oil were used, which were ( Al – Dora and Al - Ahdab )crude oil. Atmospheric distillation used to separate these two crude oils into their fractions according to boiling point. This research introduced most important characteristics and information's about these samples of crude oils and their products. ASTM distillation was converted to TPB distillation curve. It was found that the preliminary boiling point is lower than the cease point is higher than ASTM distillation for the two crude oils. Most important properties of the products of the two crude oils were calculated. These properties are API, gravity, Watson characterization factor (k), viscosity, molecular weight and refractive index. It was found that the API gravity for Al-Dora crude oil cuts is less than that of the Al-Ahdab crude oil cuts. Also , Al-Dora and Al-Ahdab crude oils cuts having more naphthenic or aromatic components since the characterization factor is less than 12.5. it was concluded that the characterization factor (K) for Al-Ahdab crude oil is less than Al-Dora crude oil for gasoline only. While the opposite happens with Kerosene and gas oil. Finally , It was conclude that the viscosity, molecular weight and refractive index of Al-Dora crude oil products were higher than that of the products of Al-Ahdab crude oil. It was found also that the viscosity of cuts for Al-Dora and Al- Ahdab crude is increase because kerosene is more viscous (heavy cut) than gasoline. Also gas oil is more viscous than gasoline and kerosene. Finally , it was concluded that the viscosity of gasoline, kerosene and gas oil for Al-Dora crude is higher than gasoline, kerosene and gas oil for Al-Ahdab crude oil. It was concluded that the molecular weights of gasoline, kerosene for Al-Dora crude is higher than gasoline, kerosene for Al-Ahdab crude oil but the gas oil is on the contrary. It was concluded that the refractive index for Al-Dora crude is higher than Al-Ahdab crude oil

Regionalization of characterization factor in Brazil: freshwater eutrophication category

Brazil is privileged to have the most important natural resource in its territory, the water. But currently, the increased concentration of phosphorus (P) affects the water quality. It has two main routes to get into aquatic environmental: through the dump of untreated sewage and fertilizers runoff. The P excess may promote eutrophication, a process characterized by microalgae uncontrolled growth, affecting several parameters of freshwater. Due to the great differences at the Brazilian regions, the current Life Cycle Impact Assessment methodologies are not capable to evaluate properly the eutrophication impact in Brazil. The most viable method to obtain a more suitable model is regionalizing it by estimating the characterization factor (CF). Therefore this is the first study that presents a regionalized model to estimate Brazilian CF for freshwater eutrophication. The regionalization was based on the models proposed by Helmes et al. (2012) and Azevedo et al. (2013), which are considered the most complete and suitable models. Due to the lack of data it was possible to calculate the CF for Alto Iguaçu micro watershed and four more subwatersheds: Paraíba do Sul, Parnaíba, Litorânea do Ceará and Litorânea Pernambuco Alagoas. The processes assessment of advection, retention and water use provides valuable information of each region and also results in more realistic Fate Facto (FF), since Brazilian sanitation is completely uneven, and the sewage treatment must be modelled to not overestimated or sub estimated the FF. At Alto Iguaçu is the advection rate is the most relevant and its CF is 7.43 103. m3 .KgP-1 day. For that reason, the same amount of emitted phosphorus promotes a bigger eutrophication potential at Paraíba do Sul and Parnaíba than other basins. Phosphorus income rates estimate is possible to know the origin of its most significant input. Based on this information, financial resources can be better used. This was the first attempt to develop a Brazilian CF and some improvements need to be done. Firstly, new studies ought to concentrate to promote good quality of data, because the unavailability of data was one of the greatest difficulties of this study. Then the regionalized model should be improved modeling treatment of industrial sewage and, finally, CF needs to be calculated for all subwatershed. Keywords: Eutrophication. Characterization factor. Freshwater. Brazil. Life Cycle Impact Assessment.

Correlation Model Development for Saybolt Colour of Condensates and Light Crude Oils

Saybolt colour or number is a measured physical property of petroleum condensates and light crude oils which can be used as a quality indicator. As an alternative approach to the laboratory-based colour measurement method, this work aims to determine the influential physical properties in predicting Saybolt colour by applying a regression modelling approach. Data available on Saybolt colour and several physical properties are obtained from assay reports for condensates and light crude oils of Malaysian oil and gas fields. Other unavailable but potentially influential properties are estimated using a commercial process simulation software, iCON. The properties identified as explanatory variables in this study are refractive index, kinematic viscosity at 40C, and characterization factor. This machine learning problem gives rise to applying multiple linear regression techniques based on a backward elimination approach in developing a correlation to predict Saybolt colour using the identified key properties of characterization factor, kinematic viscosity at 40C, and refractive index.