1,721,004 research outputs found
Life cycle assessment (Lca) of environmental and energy systems
Full text linkThe transition towards renewable energy sources and “green” technologies for energy generation
and storage is expected to mitigate the climate emergency in the coming years. However, in many
cases, this progress has been hampered by our dependency on critical materials or other resources that
are often processed with high environmental burdens. Yet, beyond global warming, several global
challenges have to be promptly addressed, including the loss of biodiversity, environmental pollution,
water scarcity, and energy security.
Environmental and energy issues are strictly interconnected and require a comprehensive
understanding of resource management strategies and their implications. For instance, the depletion
and contamination of a vital resource such as water has been related to possible shortages in heat
and power generation, distribution and use; on the other hand, water supply requires energy inputs,
particularly if the most common sources of natural provision (e.g., groundwater) are not easily
accessible. Actions undertaken in separately considered systems may hinder the achievement of
optimized benefits and reduction in adverse consequences.
A system perspective is therefore needed to identify and quantify the impact of human activity
on the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is among the most inclusive analytical techniques
to analyze sustainability benefits and trade-offs resulting from complex systems. This Special Issue
presents a collection of original articles, reviews, and case studies focusing on mutual influences of
environmental and energy systems. A brief description and discussion of the contributions to this
Special Issue is reported hereafter. It is worth noting that the order in which the contributio
The Reuse of Municipal Solid Waste Fly Ash as Flame Retardant Filler: A Preliminary Study
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Mining the in-use stock of energy-transition materials for closed-loop e-mobility
Full text linkThe decarbonization of transportation is essential to achieve a carbon neutral planetary society. However, the turn to electromobility is based on advanced technologies (e.g., lithium-ions batteries) that tied our development to many functional materials with problematic supply. In this study, we apply prospective dynamic material flow analysis to explore the potentials for closing material cycles while meeting a full transition to electric for a set of energy-transition materials (ETMs) including lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and natural graphite. Three demand scenarios are applied to develop trajectories for ETM demand, their in-use stock, and derive the potentials to which recycling can substitute for virgin material extraction at the global scale to 2065. Our results estimate that ETM inflow to use could increase between 20 and 50 times by 2065. However, secondary supply will hardly enable the achievement of circularity in material cycles in the next decades so that the supply of ETMs will remain mainly based on primary material extraction. Nevertheless, from 2040 onwards, recycling volumes could meet up to more than 80% of demand and represent a viable alternative to mining. If the ideal scenario is realized, government policies could have the potential for achieving the dual goal of decarbonizing e-mobility and securing sustainable access to ETMs already in the middle of 2050s. However, the combined commitment and efforts across the value chain of policymakers, companies involved in the cycle, and consumers will be needed to fully realize the great potential for circular economy to work for e-mobility
Innesti ad apposizione mediante tecnica piezoelettrica; considerazioni cliniche e metodologiche.
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Sustainable cycles and management of plastics: A brief review of RCR publications in 2019 and early 2020
Full text linkPlastics have been playing a vital role in the industrialized economy, resulting in the growing amount of plastic waste and the surging attentions to plastics sustainability challenge. This is well reflected in the growing amount of submissions to and publications in Resources, Conservation, and Recycling on plastics, which made the editorial board decide to edit a Virtual Special Issue (VSI) on the “sustainable cycles and management of plastics” in 2018. The call for the VSI has attracted many submissions and twelve were accepted for publication. Together with several other relevant studies, we collected and summarized a total of 26 papers published in RCR mainly during 2019–2020 in this editorial. These papers mostly apply system approach and cover very wide topics such as material flows analysis and circular economy, life cycle assessment and eco-design, regional and global plastic emissions, and human consumption behavior. The whole collection of them offer a comprehensive view of the plastic waste challenges, as well as insights into achieving sustainability in plastic cycles and management. We believe these papers are helpful for government, industries, and individuals in exploring policy implications for building a more sustainable plastics system
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