Appreciating the Role of Thermodynamics in LCA Improvement Analysis via an Application to Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Although many regard it as the most important step of life cycle assessment, improvement analysis is given relatively little attention in the literature. Most available improvement approaches are highly subjective, and traditional LCA methods often do not account for resources other than fossil fuels. In this work exergy is evaluated as a thermodynamically rigorous way of identifying process improvement opportunities. As a case study, a novel process for producing titanium dioxide nanoparticles is considered. A traditional impact assessment, a first law energy analysis, and an exergy analysis are done at both the process and life cycle scales. The results indicate that exergy analysis provides insights not available via other methods, especially for identifying unit operations with the greatest potential for improvement. Exergetic resource accounting at the life cycle scale shows that other materials are at least as significant as fossil fuels for the production of TiO2 nanoparticles in this process.

Environmental assessment of a bottom-up hydrolytic synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles

“…LCA studies related to different nanomaterials have recently been reviewed 23 including also a few studies necessarily related to titanium dioxide, [24][25][26][27] which is the most studied and applied semiconductor and photocatalyst, owing to its unique physicochemical properties. 28,29 In general, the preparation routes for this material produce anatase, rutile, or an amorphous solid, depending on the experimental synthetic conditions employed.…”

Environmental Impact Assessment and End-of-Life Treatment Policy Analysis for Li-Ion Batteries and Ni-MH Batteries

“…Various tools have been developed to evaluate the environmental impacts of different systems [7,8,9,10,11,12]. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a suitable tool for calculating the environmental impact of certain electric products [13,14,15].…”

Exergy sustainability analysis of biomass gasification: a critical review

“…The exergy concept and exergy methods stemming from it have attracted much attention among available approaches, in part because its scientific rigor provides an opportunity to account for resource use (Grubb and Bakshi, 2011). This promising methodology effectively resolves the shortcomings of energy analysis by simultaneously measuring the quality and quantity of energy flows (Reyes et al, 2021).…”