Life Cycle Economic and Environmental Implications of Using Nanocomposites in Automobiles

Lloyd, Shannon M.; Lave, Lester B.

doi:10.1021/es026023q

Cited by 150 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In spite of the challenges faced in conducting LCAs of nanomaterials, a number of LCAs have been attempted [20][21][22][23][24][25], and even if complete LCAs cannot be performed, it is important to take a life-cycle view of new technologies such as these, to help bring to light any issues or concerns in any of the upstream or downstream stages that may be elusive at first. This -life-cycle thinking‖ approach needs to be applied at an early stage in the product development process, in order to better understand the environmental implications of new technologies and to be able to make informed decisions on the benefits or drawbacks of one alternative over another.…”

Section: Industrial Ecology and Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

et al. 2010

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Abstract:Citing the myriad applications of nanotechnology, this paper emphasizes the need to conduct -life cycle‖ based assessments as early in the new product development process as possible, for a better understanding of the potential environmental and human health consequences of nanomaterials over the entire life cycle of a nano-enabled product. The importance of this reasoning is further reinforced through an illustrative case study on automotive exterior body panels, which shows that the perceived environmental benefits of nano-based products in the Use stage may not adequately represent the complete picture, without examining the impacts in the other life cycle stages, particularly Materials Processing and Manufacturing. Nanomanufacturing methods often have associated environmental and human health impacts, which must be kept in perspective when evaluating nanoproducts for their -greenness.‖ Incorporating life-cycle thinking for making informed decisions at the product design stage, combining life cycle and risk analysis, using sustainable manufacturing practices, and employing green chemistry alternatives are seen as possible solutions.

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Section: Industrial Ecology and Lcamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

et al. 2010

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“…9 In addition, a growing number of applications of nanoscience/nanotechnology are being developed that promise environmental benefit, including new catalysts for environmental remediation, 10 cheap and efficient photovoltaics, 11 thermoelectric materials for cooling without refrigerants, 12 lightweight (and thus energy-conserving) nanocomposite materials for vehicles, 13 miniaturized devices that reduce material consumption, and sensors that eliminate the need for (often) wasteful wet-chemical analyses. Nanoscale sensors 14 can also offer faster response times and lower detection limits, making on-site, real-time detection possible.…”

Section: Application Of the Principles Of Green Chemistry To Nanosciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Greener Nanosynthesis

Dahl¹,

Maddux²,

Hutchison³

2007

ChemInform

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“…A nanoclay-reinforced polypropylene polymer composite has been proposed as a substitute for steel or aluminum in light-duty vehicle body panels 177 . The addition of nanoclay in polypropylene improves the mechanical properties, principally Young's modulus, of the polymer.…”

Section: Compositesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovative forming and fabrication technologies : new opportunities.

Davis¹,

Hryn²

2008

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Executive SummaryThe state of technology in the field of fabrication and materials forming is reviewed. The purpose of this work is to identify new fields of Research & Development (R&D) that can lead to a significant reduction in energy consumption. This report, based on an extensive literature survey, identifies sheet aluminum alloy manufacturing, forming, and applications as a core aspect, but also highlights other types of sheet metal alloys and materials.This study found that aluminum alloy sheet manufacturing by the direct chill (DC) casting process is a mature technology where only marginal energy savings can be expected. Energy savings in this field can be accomplished mainly by individual plant wide assessments of energy consumption followed by optimization work. A possible breakthrough would come from advanced melting techniques such as plasma heating. As well, immersion heaters were recently identified as showing potential. An emerging technology in sheet manufacturing is spray rolling. The process could save 4.6x1012 kJ per year of energy for the U.S. aluminum industry. Even though the process has been proven to be technically feasible, the industrial implementation of spray rolling might need a significant effort. Improvements to the twin-roll casting process by coupling it with rheocasting could be an interesting method that would be easier to implement on the industrial scale.Extensive research has been performed to develop processes capable of forming commercial aluminum alloys for applications in the automotive industry. The following processes are considered advanced forming technologies: superplastic forming, electromagnetic forming, age forming, warm forming, and hydroforming. They are not necessarily new but can be regarded as emerging technologies with respect to their application to aluminum alloys. Superplastic forming is already being used industrially; however, simple and inexpensive manufacturing methods for the production of superplastic aluminum sheets still require further development. Any breakthrough in the forming of sheet materials will most likely come from the development of new alloys with very high formability at low temperature or the development of processing techniques to improve formability of existing alloys that will relax the stringent requirements of the forming techniques themselves. To have significant achievements in alloy development, thermodynamic models must be developed (or improved). The recent developments in quantum physics applied to aluminum alloys could pave the way for very efficient alloy development.Aluminum alloys are currently the material of choice to reduce weight in the automotive industry because of their commercial availability and the maturity of the aluminum industry. Opportunities still exist in the field of lightweight materials having high specific strength. Among those materials are magnesium alloys. Magnesium alloys could allow for further weight savings but high formability and high corrosion resistant alloys must be developed to overc...

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Life Cycle Economic and Environmental Implications of Using Nanocomposites in Automobiles

Cited by 150 publications

References 17 publications

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

Sustainable Nanotechnology: Through Green Methods and Life-Cycle Thinking

Toward Greener Nanosynthesis

Innovative forming and fabrication technologies : new opportunities.

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