Life cycle assessment of nanocellulose-reinforced advanced fibre composites

Hervy, Martin; Evangelisti, Sara; Lettieri, Paola; Lee, Koon‐Yang

doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2015.08.024

Cited by 87 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Results obtained from the reviewed studies vary in terms of carbon emissions of nanomaterial-based polymers compared to alternative technologies. The production of nanomaterial-based polymers resulted in higher carbon emissions in two of the studies [25,26]. However, when the nano-based polymers are applied to car body panels the results are different.…”

Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Bio-based or biodegradable polymers have the potential to replace conventional petrochemical plastics [27], high-strength polymer nanocomposites can replace steel, aluminum, or other metals in industrial applications [25,26] and also, they can be used in the production of alternative fuel cells [29]. Results obtained from the reviewed studies vary in terms of carbon emissions of nanomaterial-based polymers compared to alternative technologies.…”

Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Carbon emissions in production phase: [26] • Bacterial cellulose (BC) reinforced epoxy: about 194% higher compared to neat PLA.…”

Section: Green and Clean Claimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the study of Khanna and Bakshi [25] the application of carbon nanofiber reinforced polymer composites in vehicle body panels resulted in net energy savings and subsequently to lower carbon emissions compared to steel alternatives. In the study of Hervy et al [26], application of nanofibrillated cellulose reinforced epoxy composites as applied in vehicle body panels resulted in almost breakeven of carbon emissions compared to neat polylactide (PLA) and glass fiber/polypropylene (GF/PP) alternatives. In the study of Pietrini et al [27] the use of nanoscaled organophilic montmorillonite PHBs (poly3-hydroxybutyrate) resulted in a better carbon impact in the case of CRT monitors (using HIPS) and in a comparable carbon impact in the case of car body panels (using GF-PP).…”

Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the reviewed studies in the polymer sector, the synthesis of nanomaterials appears to be one of the most significant contributors to carbon emissions and energy consumption [25][26][27]. The application of nano-based polymers to vehicle body panels reduces the weight of the vehicle compared to the alternatives.…”

Section: Main Contributors Of Climate Change and Energy Demandmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Green and Clean: Reviewing the Justification of Claims for Nanomaterials from a Sustainability Point of View

et al. 2018

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Nanotechnology is an emerging technology with the potential to contribute towards sustainability. However, there are growing concerns about the potential environmental and human health impacts of nanomaterials. Clearly, nanomaterials have advantages and disadvantages, and a balanced view is needed to assess the overall benefit. The current "green and clean" claims of proponents of nanomaterials across different sectors of the economy are evaluated in this review study. Focusing on carbon emissions and energy use, we have reviewed 18 life cycle assessment studies on nanomaterials in the solar, energy, polymer, medical and food sectors. We find that the "green and clean" claims are not supported for the majority of the reviewed studies in the energy sector. In the solar sector, only specific technologies tend to support the "green and clean" claims. In the polymer sector, only some applications support the "green and clean" claims. The main findings show that nanomaterials have high cradle-to-gate energy demand that result in high carbon emissions. Synthesis of nanomaterials is the main contributor of carbon emissions in the majority of the studies. Future improvements in reducing parameter uncertainties and in the energy efficiency of the synthesis processes of nanomaterials might improve the environmental performance of nanotechnologies.

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Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Carbon emissions in production phase: [26] • Bacterial cellulose (BC) reinforced epoxy: about 194% higher compared to neat PLA.…”

Section: Green and Clean Claimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Polymer Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Main Contributors Of Climate Change and Energy Demandmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Green and Clean: Reviewing the Justification of Claims for Nanomaterials from a Sustainability Point of View

et al. 2018

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Wooden “Air Purifiers” with Fire‐Retardancy and Smoke‐Suppression Properties

Sun

Yang

et al. 2022

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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The demand for improved indoor air quality has grown with improvements in the standards of living worldwide. While wood is widely used to construct furniture since it is a renewable resource and aesthetically pleasing, it is also flammable, which limits its applications. Although there have been extensive research efforts in reducing the flammability of wood products, current approaches often have adverse effects on the environment. In this work, a novel organo‐inorganic coordination system is proposed to prepare a fire‐retardant and smoke suppression wooden “air purifier” using a vacuum impregnation method. The “air purifier” is composed of tourmaline particles/KH550 (TPs/KH550) and delignified wood. The added TPs give the final composites capable to purify air (1000 psc cm−3 negative oxygen ions [NOIs]). Compared with pristine wood (PW), total heat release (THR), peak heat release rate (HRR), and smoke production rate (SPR) of the wooden “air purifier” are reduced by 47.88%, 11.73%, and 82.81%, respectively, highlighting that the composites have good fire‐retardancy and smoke suppression performances. Life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicate the composites have minimal environmental impact (EI) in 15 categories. This green, eco‐friendly wooden “air purifier” with fire‐retardant and smoke suppression properties has a great potential application in furniture and buildings.

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Nanobiopolymers Fabrication and Their Life Cycle Assessments

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2018

Biotechnology Journal

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Living organisms produced nanopolymers (nanobiopolymers for short), such as nanocellulose, nanochitin, nanosilk, nanostarch, and microbial nanobiopolymers, having received widely scientific and engineering interests in recent years. Compare with petroleum-based polymers, biopolymers are sustainable and biodegradable. The unique structural features that stem from nanosized effects, such as ultrahigh aspect ratio and length-diameter ratio, further endow nanobiopolymers with high transparence and versatile processability. To fabricate these nanobiopolymers, a variety of mechanical, chemical, and synthetic biology techniques have been developed. The applications of the isolated nanobiopolymers have been extended from polymer fillers into wide emerging high-tech fields, such as biomedical devices, bioplastics, display panels, ultrafiltration membranes, energy storage devices, and catalytic supports. Accordingly, in the review, the authors first introduce isolation techniques to fabricate nanocellulose, nanochitin, nanosilk, and nanostarch. Then, the authors summarized the nanobiopolymers produced from biosynthetic pathway, including microbial polyamides, polysaccharides, and polyesters. On the other hand, most of these techniques require high energy consumption and usage of chemical reagents. In this regard, life cycle assessment offered a quantitative route to precisely evaluate and compare environmental benefits of different artificial isolation approaches, which are also summarized in the second section of the review.

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Life cycle assessment of nanocellulose-reinforced advanced fibre composites

Cited by 87 publications

References 48 publications

Green and Clean: Reviewing the Justification of Claims for Nanomaterials from a Sustainability Point of View

Green and Clean: Reviewing the Justification of Claims for Nanomaterials from a Sustainability Point of View

Wooden “Air Purifiers” with Fire‐Retardancy and Smoke‐Suppression Properties

Nanobiopolymers Fabrication and Their Life Cycle Assessments

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