An overview of life cycle assessment (LCA) and research-based teaching in renewable and sustainable energy education

Mälkki, Helena; Alanne, Kari

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.176

Cited by 78 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Ar eview of LCA in chemicale ducation shows that such examples are scarce. [53] However, initial experience of the incorporation of LCA into chemicale ngineering programs results in improved critical thinking and the abilities of students to solve problems. LCA improves an understandingofchemistry areassuch as pharmacy,nanotechnology,and flow chemistry.…”

Section: Green Chemistrym Etrics Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Chemistry in Higher Education: State of the Art, Challenges, and Future Trends

et al. 2018

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Nowadays, there is increasing interest in global sustainability, and thus, university students would like to know how human actions affect the health status of our planet. This is mainly due to their basic knowledge of problems such as global warming and greenhouse gases. Students would like to gain knowledge on how to safeguard the earth for future generations. This must involve changes in education programs at interested institutions and universities. To ensure that future generations of chemists are equipped with proper knowledge, significant efforts are needed. Thus, this article aims to present the history of green chemistry, its milestones, and ideas on how to teach this subject. A discussion of awareness in the field of green chemistry and of existing teaching materials is presented. In addition, green chemistry metrics, which should be known and used by professors and students, are described. Teaching methods for green chemistry are also given, with special attention paid to organic and analytical chemistry education.

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Section: Green Chemistrym Etrics Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Chemistry in Higher Education: State of the Art, Challenges, and Future Trends

et al. 2018

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“…The LCA has been widely used in the evaluation of the impacts caused in the construction industry [22,23]; in the production of biofuels [24]; in the generation of energy [25] from different biomasses; in teaching and research [26]; and in food systems [27], among many applications. Studies demonstrate the joint use of LCA with other methodologies.…”

Section: Charcoal Production Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Analysis of Charcoal Production in Masonry Kilns with and without Carbonization Process Generated Gas Combustion

et al. 2017

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New technologies and emissions controls have been developed for the production of charcoal, but are not widely used in the industry. The present study seeks to evaluate the potential environmental impact of these new technologies as compared to traditional ones. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Brazilian charcoal produced with different technologies without and with the combustion of the gases in burners or furnaces was carried out. The inclusion of furnaces for the combustion of gases reduces all categories of potential environmental impacts by approximately 90% in both a circular masonry kiln and a rectangular masonry kiln with gas combustion. In the process of producing charcoal (gate-to-gate system boundary), in terms of climate change, the rectangular masonry kiln with gas combustion was approximately 63% less impactful than the circular masonry kiln with gas combustion. In the gate-to-gate analysis, the rectangular masonry kiln with gas combustion presented the best performance when not considering NO 2 and SO 2 . Considering these emissions, there were changes in the impact categories of particulate matter emission and terrestrial acidification, and the circular masonry kiln with gas combustion presented better performance (for cradle-to-gate system boundary). The process in a rectangular masonry kiln without gas combustion presented a greater contribution to the categories of terrestrial impact ecotoxicity (98%), due to the emission of acetic acid especially.

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“…Research on the use of LCA in (secondary) education is scarce (Tolppanen et al, 2019). In a recent review article of Mälkki and Alanne (2017), only nine studies were found to examine LCA in education, most of which were carried out in higher, undergraduate education with engineering students. To our knowledge, only Juntunen and Aksela (2013a, 2013b, 2014 conducted three studies investigating the use of LCA in secondary chemistry education, from which only one focusses on plastics.…”

Section: Lca On Plastics In Secondary Chemistry Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In higher education, a relatively large amount of attention goes to ESD, and some well-documented examples are available (Galgano et al, 2012;Ribeiro and MacHado, 2013;Mälkki and Alanne, 2017). The examples show the intention to incorporate sustainability, with relevant scientific knowledge and skills, into curricula.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Waard

Prins

Joolingen

2020

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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Sustainability has become a prominent theme in society and can be considered as an integral part of scientific citizenship. This study investigates to what extent the production, use and re-use of (bio)plastics initiates students’ reasoning and to identify the kind of content knowledge students put forward. The structure of students’ arguments was mapped according to Toulmin's model of argumentation, i.e., claim, data, warrant & backing and qualifier & rebuttals. Students (N = 27, grade 10 & 11) participated in groups of three. The students were introduced to the topic of the production, use and re-use of plastics by watching a video, answering questions, reading articles and having interviews and group discussions. Students were prompted to argue on the sustainability of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics. The results show that students frequently used arguments related to preventing pollution, designing to recycle and designing to degrade. However, themes such as avoiding waste, origin of energy and materials, energy efficiency and costs were rarely used or even absent in students’ reasoning. Overall, the students’ reasoning contained all of Toulmin's categories, and especially the increase in the number of qualifier & rebuttals is interpreted as an indication of awareness of the complexity of the issue at hand. This study underlines that students are able to bring in relevant scientific knowledge when confronted with a suitable sustainability issue, but also more societally oriented arguments enriched their perspective. Implications for the design of interventions aiming to engage students in life cycle analysis (on plastics) are discussed.

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An overview of life cycle assessment (LCA) and research-based teaching in renewable and sustainable energy education

Cited by 78 publications

References 107 publications

Green Chemistry in Higher Education: State of the Art, Challenges, and Future Trends

Green Chemistry in Higher Education: State of the Art, Challenges, and Future Trends

Life Cycle Analysis of Charcoal Production in Masonry Kilns with and without Carbonization Process Generated Gas Combustion

Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

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