| 1. |
- Adrianto, Lugas Raka, et al.
(author)
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How can LCA include prospective elements to assess emerging technologies and system transitions? The 76th LCA Discussion Forum on Life Cycle Assessment, 19 November 2020
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 26:8, s. 1541-1544
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper summarizes the 76th LCA Discussion Forum end its main findings. Main issues when addressing emerging technologies identified were: the lack of primary data, the need for (shared) future background scenarios and (guidlines for) a common methodology. The following recommendations have been derived by the organizers: 1) Specific foreground inventories are always tailor-made, but consistency can be improved through lists of mandatory considerations. 2) Continue sharing (future) technology data and proxy processes, that can be readily replicated to new studies and assist in developing inventories. 3) Streamline and unify the process of including scenarios for background systems. New approaches may provide first important solutions to efficiently include consistent future scenarios in prospective LCA.
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| 2. |
- Afrane, George, et al.
(author)
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A product chain organisation study of certified cocoa supply
- 2013
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In: 6th International Conference on Life Cycle Management, LCM2013, 25-28 August 2013,Göteborg.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cocoa supplies may become limited in the future. Demands for sustainable cocoa sparked an exploration of the product chain organisation of conventional and certified cocoa from Ghana. The comparison shows that transparency requirements have led to a more complex product chain. Even so, certification has yielded important productivity increases resulting in environmental benefits (e.g. reduced greenhouse gas emissions) and improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
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| 3. |
- Aggarwal, Rahul, 1994, et al.
(author)
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Influence of data selection on aquatic ecotoxicity characterization factors for selected persistent and mobile substances
- 2024
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - Göteborg : IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 29:2, s. 344-354
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: This paper addresses the lack of ecotoxicity characterization factors (CFs) for persistent and mobile (PM) chemicals in life cycle assessment. The specific aims are (1) to provide CFs for 64 selected chemicals and benchmark them against the USEtox database, (2) to propose an ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy, and (3) to analyze the influence of ecotoxicity data sources and data harmonization strategies. Methods: Sixty-four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), triazines, and triazoles were selected. An ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy was developed to ensure data consistency. A screening strategy for including transformation products was also developed. Existing CFs in the USEtox organic substances database (version 2.01) were identified, and new CFs were calculated based on available data sources. The USEtox model (version 2.13) was used for calculations, and the collected ecotoxicity data from different sources were varied to test their influence. Results and discussion: The ecotoxicity data harmonization strategy excluded a considerable amount of incompatible data. To the list of 64 chemicals, 3 transformation products were added. Out of the 67 chemicals, experimental ecotoxicity data were available for 47, leading to the use of in silico tools and average values to fill data gaps for 20 chemicals. CFs for 67 chemicals could thus be provided. Comparing CFs calculated based on experimental and estimated ecotoxicity data reveals that the estimated data leads to considerably different CF values. Conclusions: The paper provides strategies for ecotoxicity data harmonization and the inclusion of transformation products. The limited availability of experimental ecotoxicity data and differing results of the applied estimation methods highlight the need for further development of estimation methods. In addition, further development in including transformation products is recommended, which is particularly relevant for PM chemicals.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Arvidsson, Lars, 1964-
(author)
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Från mål till måltid : Implementeringen av det politiska målet om 25 procent ekologisk mat i offentlig sektor år 2010– en fallstudie kring skolmaten i Växjö
- 2011
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the implementation of a political aim – formulatedfrom a context of sustainable development. In 2006 both the Swedish national Parliament andthe municipality of Växjö (among others) stated that 25% of publically served food wouldstem from organic production by the end of 2010. The thesis investigates the outcome of theimplementation of this policy in a local perspective - looking at one part of the public sectorby focusing on four differently organized schools within Växjö municipality. School food in Sweden has a specific institutional setting. It holds the almost unique statusas a non-charged, legal right to all pupils in the compulsory school system. School food as apublic good is affected by the EU legislation of public procurement. The thesis studies theoverall institutional framework (i.e. legislation and regulations) fundamental to school food.With the institutional framework in mind the thesis also describes different organizationalactivities connected to school food. Thus the thesis involves four geographical levels: Theregional (EU), the national, the local and the individual level. The latter is defined in theorganized context from a number of individual professionals. Some of these individuals arefurther considered as so called street level bureaucrats – officials sandwiched between superiorsand their clients. The thesis builds a conceptual framework based on institutional, organizational and streetlevel theory together with policy analysis. Methodologically the thesis is formed around andcarried out as a local case study through a number of semi-structured qualitative interviews.The empirical and analytical part of the thesis is further structured around the three theoreticalconcepts. From the thesis´ purpose three guiding questions were outlined. The main implications of the thesis are that a number of factors were found to be involvedin the policy implementation. The most significant factors for the policy implementation arefirstly the formulation of the political goal, and secondly the individual professionals actuallybuying the food for the schools. As long as the policy of the school food is non-forcing (i.e. anaverage aim of the public sector, and not included in the legislation) the final outcome of thefood depends on the decisions made by the buyer. There is disagreement of the policy intention and of whether organic food is more sustainablethan other food. Thus I end the thesis by suggesting a change of concepts if the politicalaim is to reach sustainability. I encourage a system to control the food´s total ecological footprint.This would be achieved by formulating the policy around a suggested level of the ecologicalfootprint. The level would be calculated and set where experts say it´s in accordancewith sustainable development. From this the street level bureaucrats can sum up the componentsof the lunch they buy and serve. No matter if the individual product is labeled organic,local, conventional, or… This would – according to me – improve the chances for Växjö actually to live up to itslogo: the greenest city in Europe. At least this idea could awake a debate.
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| 6. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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A crustal scarcity indicator for long-term global elemental resource assessment in LCA
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:9, s. 1805-1817
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: How to assess impacts of mineral resources is much discussed in life cycle assessment (LCA). We see a need for, and a lack of, a mineral resource impact assessment method that captures the perspective of long-term global scarcity of elements. Method: A midpoint-level mineral resource impact assessment method matching this perspective is proposed, called the crustal scarcity indicator (CSI), with characterization factors called crustal scarcity potentials (CSPs) measured as kg silicon equivalents per kg element. They are based on crustal concentrations, which have been suggested to correlate with several important resource metrics (reserves, reserve base, reserves plus cumulative production, and ore deposits), thereby constituting proxies for long-term global elemental scarcity. Results and discussion: Ready-to-use CSPs are provided for 76 elements, through which the CSI can be calculated by multiplying with the respective masses of elements extracted from Earth’s crust for a certain product. As follows from their crustal concentrations, the three platinum-group metals iridium, osmium, and rhodium have the highest CSPs, whereas silicon, aluminum, and iron have the lowest CSPs. Conclusion: An evaluation of the CSPs and the characterization factors of four other mineral resource impact assessment methods in LCA (the abiotic depletion, the surplus ore, the cumulative exergy demand, and the EPS methods) were conducted. It showed that the CSPs are temporally reliable, calculated in a consistent way, and have a high coverage of elements in comparison. Furthermore, a quantitative comparison with the characterization factors of the four other methods showed that the CSPs reflect long-term global elemental scarcity comparatively well while requiring a minimum of assumptions and input parameters. Recommendations: We recommend using the CSI for assessments of long-term global elemental scarcity in LCA. Since the CSI is at the midpoint level, it can be complemented by other mineral resource impact assessment methods (both existing and to be developed) to provide a more comprehensive view of mineral resource impacts in an LCA.
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| 7. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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A framework for energy use indicators and their reporting in life cycle assessment
- 2016
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In: Integrated environmental assessment and management. - : Wiley. - 1551-3777 .- 1551-3793. ; 12:3, s. 429-436
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Energy use is a common impact category in life cycle assessment (LCA). Many different energy use indicators are used in LCA studies, accounting for energy use in different ways. Often, however, the choice behind which energy use indicator is applied is poorly described and motivated. To contribute to a more purposeful selection of energy use indicators and to ensure consistent and transparent reporting of energy use in LCA, a general framework for energy use indicator construction and reporting in LCA studies will be presented in this article. The framework differentiates between 1) renewable and nonrenewable energies, 2) primary and secondary energies, and 3) energy intended for energy purposes versus energy intended for material purposes. This framework is described both graphically and mathematically. Furthermore, the framework is illustrated through application to a number of energy use indicators that are frequently used in LCA studies: cumulative energy demand (CED), nonrenewable cumulative energy demand (NRCED), fossil energy use (FEU), primary fossil energy use (PFEU), and secondary energy use (SEU). To illustrate how the application of different energy use indicators may lead to different results, cradle-to-gate energy use of the bionanomaterial cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) is assessed using 5 different indicators and showing a factor of 3 differences between the highest and lowest results. The relevance of different energy use indicators to different actors and contexts will be discussed, and further developments of the framework are then suggested.
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| 8. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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A method for human health impact assessment in social LCA: lessons from three case studies
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 23:3, s. 690-699
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose Improving human health is a long-lasting endeavour of mankind. In the field of social life cycle assessment (SLCA), the importance of human health is often highlighted, and further development of impact assessment methods has been recommended. The purpose of this article is to present a method for assessing human health impacts within SLCA. Methods By using a systematic combining approach, knowledge and experience about assessing human health impacts were obtained from three previously conducted case studies. The first case study was about an airbag system, the second about a catalytic converter and the third about gold jewellery. The disability-adjusted life years (DALY) indicator was used for impact assessment in all three case studies. Results and discussion Both positive and negative human health impacts associated with the products were identified and assessed in the three case studies. For the airbag system, avoided health impacts in the use phase outweighed health impacts during production. For the catalytic converter, whether health impacts avoided exceeded health impacts caused or not depended on which time perspective regarding impacts was employed. Gold jewellery does not help avoiding any health impacts but caused considerable health impacts when produced at a certain location. Based on experience from these case studies, a generic human health impact assessment method was developed, and a life cycle human health typology for products was developed based on the method. The method provides a basis for analysis and interpretation of health impacts along product life cycles, and it is therefore important to report both positive and negative health impacts separately for different actors. Conclusions The developed human health impact assessment method involves the assessment and comparison of both positive and negative human health impacts along product life cycles. In addition to the products assessed in the three case studies, we suggest additional products that could be particularly interesting to assess with the developed method, including medicines, seat belts, other conflict minerals, alcoholic beverages and products with a high chemical impact.
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| 9. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1985, et al.
(author)
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An Evaluation of Discharge Strategies for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles
- 2016
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In: 25th Aachen Colloquium.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Discharge strategies for known routes are tested in a Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV in order to evaluate fuel consumption for the drivetrain of a real commuting cycle. An approximate optimal solution is obtained by dynamic programming. The method is implemented in the vehicle control system and compared to a heuristic strategy. The work has been carried out at Volvo Cars test facilities in Gothenburg. Results show that for a known route both combustion engine and battery efficiency increases in both tested methods, with decreased charge transfer through the battery and less charge sustain operation. The dynamic programming strategy has previously been shown to outperform rule based strategies in terms of fuel consumption by comparing the methods in simulation studies. In this study the dynamic programming solution reduced the consumption with - 4 %, and the heuristic strategy decreased consumption even further to - 8 %.
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| 10. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Palm Oil
- 2011
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In: Palm Oil: Nutrition, Uses and Impacts. - : Nova Science Publishers, Inc.. - 9781612099217 ; , s. 159-186
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Palm oil is used for cooking in Southeast Asia and Africa and as a food additive in a number of processed foods world-wide. The production of palm oil is increasing, and it is of special interest from a nutritional point of view due to its high energy content and its significant content of micronutrients. In addition, palm oil is increasingly used to produce various biofuels. Due to large production volumes and diverse applications of palm oil, it is highly interesting and important to study the environmental impacts of its production. This chapter discusses how the environmental impacts of palm oil can be assessed, focusing on the life cycle environmental impacts of palm oil in comparison to similar products. A brief overview of life cycle assessment as a method is given, and results are presented together with suggestions for environmental improvements of palm oil cultivation and production. It is shown that the magnitude of the environmental impacts connected to palm oil in relation to other products is heavily affected by the choice of environmental indicators, which in LCA studies consist of both an environmental impact category and a so-called functional unit. Regarding impact categories, the global warming and acidification potentials of palm oil are lower than those of rapeseed oil per kg oil. The water footprint of palm oil and rapeseed oil are about the same on a mass basis, but for the two land use indicators soil erosion and heavy metal accumulation, rapeseed oil has a lower impact than palm oil. Specific interest is given to the life cycle energy use of palm oil in response to the unclear and diverse definitions of this impact category in different studies. It is concluded that there is a need to carefully define the energy use impact category when reporting on palm oil or similar products, and also to differentiate between different kinds of energy sources. If instead of mass the micronutrient content is applied as functional unit, palm oil still has lower global warming potential and acidification than rapeseed oil when compared on the basis of vitamin E content. However, if β-carotene content is used as functional unit, rapeseed oil is not relevant for comparison due to its negligible content of β-carotene. For that case, palm oil is therefore instead compared to tomatoes on a β-carotene basis, since tomatoes are rich in β-carotene. The tomatoes were shown to perform better then palm oil regarding global warming potential on a β-carotene basis. The effects of time and scale on the environmental impacts of palm oil, which includes changes in technical performance and electricity sources, are also discussed in this chapter. It is shown that combustion of the methane formed from the palm oil mill effluent can significantly reduce the global warming potential.
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| 11. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Environmental Risks of Silver from Clothes in an Urban Area
- 2014
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In: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). - : Informa UK Limited. - 1549-7860 .- 1080-7039. ; 20:4, s. 1008-1022
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The environmental risks from the use of silver-containing clothes (“silver clothes”)were assessed for an urban area. First, we evaluated whether the use of silver clothesmay cause contamination of wastewater treatment sludge that exceeds certain risk thresholds. Second, we assessed the risk of silver exposure to earthworms from applyingthe sludge as fertilizer to agricultural land. The most critical parameter was the concentration of silver in silver clothes, for which estimates in the literaturevary by more than five orders of magnitude. For concentrations at the high end of that parameter range, there is considerably increased concentration of silver in the sludge, and toxic effects on earthworms even at modest use rates of silver clothes suggest high risk. At the low end, no risks can be expected. The main recommendationfrom this study is that if silver is used in clothes, the silver concentration must be kept at the lower end of the range applied in this study if risks are to be avoided.This can be done either by design choices of companies, or by regulation. If the function of the applied silver is not maintained at these lower levels, the use of silver clothes should be minimized.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1985, et al.
(author)
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Battery parameter estimation from recorded fleet data
- 2016
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In: SAE Technical Papers. - 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA, United States : SAE International. - 0148-7191 .- 2688-3627. ; 2016-Octobeer
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A method to identify battery parameters for a Li-ION hybrid battery model based on current and voltage measurements performed in a vehicle during 12 months of in use operation is investigated. This is different from previous work where a common approach is to use current pulse de-rating tests, HPPC, hybrid pulse-power capability, which uses predetermined amplitudes and frequencies of current pulses. Equivalent circuit linear models of different complexity were tested and evaluated in order to identify parameter dependencies at different state of charge levels and temperatures. The average accuracy of modelling the DC bus voltage provides a model goodness average higher than 75% for all analyzed individual log files. The models are used in order to estimate energy output from the battery and compared towards how the estimated voltage error propagates throughout a drive cycle. Both single RC equivalent circuit model and R-equivalent circuit model experienced goodness of fit at average 75 % and dual RC equivalent circuit model was less accurate with average 40 %.
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| 14. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Blood cobalt? Life cycle human health impacts of a lithium-ion battery
- 2022
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Lithium-ion batteries have become the dominating technology for rechargeable batteries. However, they are associated with several social sustainability concerns. In particular, these concerns have been expressed for lithium-ion batteries that contain cobalt in the cathode, such as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries. Cobalt has been on the European Union’s list of critical raw materials since its first appearance in 2011. While not counted among the conflict minerals, the extraction and refining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for 70% of the global supply. Reports from this extraction include harsh working conditions, high presence of child laborers and forced evictions, particularly for the 20% share of the extraction conducted at small scale. In this work, the life-cycle health impacts of an NMC battery are quantified using the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) indicator. Health impacts from emissions are included, as well as health impacts from occupational accidents during small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC and other processes. Two scenarios for occupational fatalities in small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC were tested: one expert estimate at 2000 fatalities/years and one at only 65 fatalities/year based on reports in media. The results show that given 2000 fatalities/year, cobalt extraction and refining account for 18% of the total health impacts. However, the nickel in the cathode accounts for 30% and the copper used as a current collector for the anode accounts for 20%. Consequently, the results from this study show that while cobalt contributes notably to the health impacts of an NMC battery, nickel and copper are also important to consider for reducing health impacts. The main recommendations are to reduce emissions from nickel and copper extraction, to increase the share of recycled metals in lithium-ion batteries and to improve the occupational safety in small-scale cobalt extraction in the DRC.
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| 15. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Can carbon nanomaterials help avoiding resource scarcity?
- 2015
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In: International Society of Industrial Ecology’s biennial conference, 7-10 July 2015, University of Surry, England.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The pressure on resource extraction is increasing due to a continued growth of world population and affluence. In particular, scarcity may become a pressing problem for several metals in the coming decades (Ljunggren Söderman et al. 2014). Carbon nanomaterials, such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and nanocellulose, have been suggested as a potential remedy for this. They have gained high interest in recent years, owing to their unique properties, which potentially could make them viable substitutes for a range of scarce and critical metals. However, carbon nanomaterials also require raw materials in order to be produced. Having carbon as main constituent, carbon nanomaterials require carbon feedstock of either renewable or fossil origin. Although carbon is an abundant element, not all chemical forms of carbon can be used directly for carbon nanomaterial production. The first aim of this study is to list potential raw materials for the carbon nanomaterials fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and nanocellulose. Second, raw material reserves available for future potential production rates of carbon nanomaterials are assessed. This analysis is done using prospective material flow analysis (MFA), which is a forward-looking type of MFA in contrast to the more traditional MFA that typically considers current material flows. Third, we outline which scarce materials that may be replaced by carbon nanomaterials in these applications. With this method, resource benefits from substitution and resource constraints of carbon nanomaterials can be assessed, both in the short and long term. Preliminary results show that the carbon nanomaterials investigated have the potential to replace a number of scarce materials. For example, graphene could replace indium and tin in transparent screens (Segal 2009). There may also be short term resource constraints for carbon nanomaterials. For example, graphene is currently suggested to be produced from graphite for some applications, and graphite has been listed as a critical material. We also discuss risks of competition over carbon feedstock (fossil and biomass) between current uses of carbon feedstock (e.g. plastics and wood) and carbon nanomaterials.
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| 16. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Carbon nanomaterials as potential substitutes for scarce metals
- 2017
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 156, s. 253-261
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is growing evidence of resource problems related to the use of scarce metals in society, includingthe long-term risk of world-wide depletion of high-grade ores, shorter-term supply deficits and mineralrelated conflicts. In this study, we explore the idea that scarce metals may be substituted by nanomaterialsbased on the abundant element carbon, primarily graphene, nanotubes and fullerenes. We depart from a list of 14 geochemically scarce metals: antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, gold, indium, niobium, platinum, silver, tantalum, tin and tungsten. We then review scientific papers and patents for carbon nanomaterial technologies that, if successfully implemented, couldreduce or eliminate the need for each metal in its main application. For all main applications except forgold in jewelry, such technologies were identified. Most of the identified technologies were described inmore than 100 papers. This suggests that there is an ongoing promising development of carbon nanomaterialtechnologies for applications currently relying on scarce metals. However, we recommend further studies to scrutinize these technologies regarding their environmental performance to avoid problem shifting from metal scarcity to (eco)toxic effects of the carbon nanomaterials themselves orother impacts related to their production and use.
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| 17. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Challenges in Exposure Modeling of Nanoparticles in Aquatic Environments
- 2011
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In: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1080-7039 .- 1549-7860. ; 17:1, s. 245-262
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Managing the potential environmental risks of nanoparticles requires methods to link nanoparticle properties with macro-scale risks. This study outlines challenges in exposure modeling of nanoparticles in aquatic environments, such as the role of natural organic matter, natural colloids, fractal dimensions of agglomerates, coatings and doping of particles, and uncertainties regarding nanoparticle emissions to aquatic environments. The pros and cons of the exposure indicators mass concentration, particle number concentration, and surface area are discussed. By applying colloid chemistry kinetic equations describing particle agglomeration and sedimentation for the case of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, a limited exposure assessment including some of the factors mentioned is conducted with particle number concentration as the exposure indicator. The results of the modeling indicate that sedimentation, shear flows, and settling are of less importance with regard to particle number based predicted environmental concentrations. The inflow of nanoparticles to the water compartment had a significant impact in the model, and the collision efficiency (which is affected by natural organic matter) was shown to greatly affect model output. Implications for exposure modeling, regulation and science are discussed. A broad spectrum of scientific disciplines must be engaged in the development of exposure models where nano-level properties are linked to macro-scale risk.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1985, et al.
(author)
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Comparing Dynamic Programming Optimal Control Strategies for a Series Hybrid Drivetrain
- 2017
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In: SAE Technical Papers. - 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA, United States : SAE International. - 0148-7191 .- 2688-3627. ; 2017-October
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A two-state forward dynamic programming algorithm is evaluated in a series hybrid drive-train application with the objective to minimize fuel consumption when look-ahead information is available. The states in the new method are battery state-of-charge and engine speed. The new method is compared to one-state dynamic programming optimization methods where the requested generator power is found such that the fuel consumption is minimized and engine speed is given by the optimum power-speed efficiency line. The other method compared is to run the engine at a given operating point where the system efficiency is highest, finding the combination of engine run requests over the drive-cycle that minimizes the fuel consumption. The work has included the engine torque and generator power as control signals and is evaluated in a full vehicle-simulation model based on the Volvo Car Corporation VSIM tool. Lowest fuel consumption is obtained by the new two-state method, with 12 % less fuel consumed compared to operating the engine in the system efficiency sweet spot.
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| 21. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984
(author)
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Contributions to Emission, Exposure and Risk Assessment of Nanomaterials
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In recent years, synthetic nanomaterials have begun to be produced and used in increasingly larger volumes. These materials may cause new or increased risks to the environment, but no harmonized methods for structured assessment of their environmental risks exist. The main aim of this thesis is to contribute to the development of emission and exposure assessment methods, and thus also risk assessment methods, for nanomaterials. The second aim is to apply developed methods to specific nanomaterials. The nanomaterials assessed were titanium dioxide nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, and graphene. Starting from the two methods of risk assessment of chemicals and substance flow analysis, three different methods were outlined. The first method is called particle flow analysis, and can be used to assess current and future potential particle number-based emissions of nanoparticles. The second method is an exposure model for nanoparticles based on colloidal stability. This method can be used to derive particle number-based predicted environmental concentrations of nanoparticles. The third method is exposure modeling of nanomaterials based on partitioning factors, a method that can be used to derive mass-based predicted environmental concentrations. By applying the particle flow analysis method, it was shown that antibacterial clothing is a large source of particle number-based emissions of silver nanoparticles, and could become an even larger source. Applying the same method to titanium dioxide nanoparticles showed that both the currently highest, and potentially also the future highest, particle number-based emissions come from sunscreen. By applying the exposure method based on partitioning factors, it was shown that if the silver content of antibacterial clothing is as high as some measurements have indicated, there is considerable risk of high silver levels in wastewater treatment sludge and in agricultural land if the sludge is applied as fertilizer. A review of risk-related properties of graphene showed that the risk-related data is very scarce, but what is available gives reason for concern in relation to high potential emissions, high persistence, hydrophobicity, and considerable toxicity. The developed methods, case study results, and some reflections and suggestions for future research together constitute contributions to emission assessment, exposure assessment, and risk assessment of nanomaterials.
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| 22. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Energy and resource use assessment of graphene as a substitute for indium tin oxide in transparent electrodes
- 2016
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In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 132, s. 289-297
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One of the most promising applications of graphene is as material in transparent electrodes in applications such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and solar cells. In this study, we assess life cycle resource requirements of producing an electrode area of graphene by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and compare to the production of indium tin oxide (ITO). The resources considered are energy and scarce metals. The results show that graphene layers can have lower life cycle energy use than ITO layers, with 3–10 times reduction for our best case scenario. Regarding use of scarce metals, the use of indium in ITO production is more problematic than the use of copper in graphene production, although the latter may constitute a resource constraint in the very long run. The substitution of ITO by graphene thus seems favorable from a resource point of view. Higher order effects may outweigh or enhance the energy use benefit. For example, cheaper, graphene-based electrodes may spur increased production of LCDs, leading to increased absolute energy use, or spur the development of new energy technologies, such as solar cells and fuel cells. The latter could potentially lead to larger absolute reductions in resource use if these new technologies will replace fossil-based energy systems.
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| 23. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1985
(author)
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Energy Efficient Longitudinal Control
- 2018
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Vehicles are contributing to global and local environmental problems as a result of fossil fuels. A majority of the combustion engine population is driven by fossil fuels and electrified vehicles are also to a large extent dependent on electricity production from fossil fuels. Emission legislation and standardized test methods have lead the development of technology for the automotive industry. Increased efficiency, improved combustion control and aftertreatment systems have created cleaner and more fuel efficient drivetrains. Authorities and publications have highlighted an increased gap between in-use and certified vehicle consumption and emissions because of the test-cycles current design. In order to address these differences authorities have conducted changes within the test methods from 2017 and forward and a new test-cycle WLTP is introduced including real-driving-emission test procedures. Decreasing the gap of real driving emissions and consumption can also be improved outside the legislative test-cycles using forward looking sensors, map data and statistical models. The work considers controlling the drivetrain actuators more efficiently in a vehicle with predictive information. For this, dynamic programming is used to optimize engine speed trajectories during depletion mode for a series hybrid drivetrain. The result shows that choice of state and control signals has a direct impact on the engine speed trajectory and thereby the fuel consumption. Up to 21 % lower fuel consumption could be achieved for a series hybrid drivetrain compared to a rule based engine speed demand controller (along the best efficiency line) for the drivecycle analyzed. For a parallel hybrid drivetrain a DP method was compared to a heuristic strategy in order to determine the optimal discharge rate of the battery. In the simulation study done the DP method provided the best fuel consumption results. During evaluation of the physical tests the pre-optimized DP parameter set performed worse than the heuristic strategy. In the rig tests a fuel consumption reduction of 8 % was measured with the heuristic method, compared to a non predictive controller strategy. The DP algorithm provided 4 % reduction of fuel compared to a non predictive controller. The work has also considered different modeling methods of a high voltage battery from recorded fleet data. One individual vehicle recorded battery pack current and voltage for one year. The recorded data was used to identify battery parameters for electric equivalent circuits. The measured current was used to calculate a reference voltage from the circuit equivalent parameters that was compared to the measured voltage. The best result was obtained for a single RC circuit model which obtained the highest average goodness of fit in voltage for the entire training data set.
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| 24. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Energy use and climate change improvements of Li/S batteries based on life cycle assessment
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Power Sources. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-7753. ; 383, s. 87-92
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a life cycle assessment (LCA) study of a lithium/sulfur (Li/S) cell regarding its energy use (in electricity equivalents, kWhel) and climate change (in kg carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2 eq) with the aim of identifying improvement potentials. Possible improvements are illustrated by departing from a base case of Li/S battery design, electricity from coal power, and heat from natural gas. In the base case, energy use is calculated at 580 kWhel kWh−1 and climate change impact at 230 kg CO2 eq kWh−1 of storage capacity. The main contribution to energy use comes from the LiTFSI electrolyte salt production and the main contribution to climate change is electricity use during the cell production stage. By (i) reducing cell production electricity requirement, (ii) sourcing electricity and heat from renewable sources, (iii) improving the specific energy of the Li/S cell, and (iv) switching to carbon black for the cathode, energy use and climate change impact can be reduced by 54 and 93%, respectively. For climate change, our best-case result of 17 kg CO2 eq kWh−1 is of similar magnitude as the best-case literature results for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The lithium metal requirement of Li/S batteries and LIBs are also of similar magnitude.
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| 25. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Energy use indicators in energy and life cycle assessments of biofuels: review and recommendations
- 2012
-
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 31, s. 54-61
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study we investigate how indicators for energy use are applied in a set of life cycle assessment (LCA) and energy analysis case studies of biofuels. We found five inherently different types of indicators to describe energy use: (1) fossil energy, (2) secondary energy, (3) cumulative energy demand, (4) net energy balance, and (5) total extracted energy. It was also found that the examined reports and articles, the choice of energy use indicator was seldom motivated or discussed in relation to other energy use indicators. In order to investigate the differences between these indicators, they were applied to a case. The life cycle energy use of palm oil methyl ester was calculated and reported using these five different indicators for energy use, giving considerably different output results. This is in itself not unexpected, but indicates the importance of clearly identifying, describing and motivating the choice of energy use indicator. The indicators can all be useful in specific situations, depending on the goal and scope of the individual study, but the choice of indicators need to be better reported and motivated than what is generally done today.
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| 26. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Environmental and health risks of nanorobots: an early review
- 2020
-
In: Environmental Science: Nano. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2051-8161 .- 2051-8153. ; 7:10, s. 2875-2886
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nanorobots for biomedical applications have experienced extensive research and rapid development during the last decade, up to a point where they can now deliver cargos to designated sites in organisms under laboratory conditions. Despite this development, research into nanorobot risks and discussions about potential regulation of nanorobots have so far been limited. This early review of risks related to nanorobots first provides a brief overview of the current state of the technology. The overview outlines three main types of nanorobots: helices, nanorods and DNA nanorobots. Several different designs exist for each of these categories. Second, early indications of potential hazards are reviewed and discussed. Two potential hazards are highlighted: (i) the use of hazardous materials and UV light in nanorobots, and (ii) the loss of propulsion/targeting control. Third, how current regulations are adapted to nanorobots is discussed. Current regulations for medical devices are clearly not adapted to nanorobots and it is even unclear which specific regulations might be applicable. In order to make the most of the use of nanorobots, we recommend they should be subject to broad, risk-related studies as well as dialogues with stakeholders and the public about the definition, purpose and controllability of nanorobot applications. A list of ten priority questions to be addressed in future risk-related studies of nanorobots is provided.
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| 27. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Environmental Assessment of Emerging Technologies: Recommendations for Prospective LCA
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 22:6, s. 1286-1294
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The challenge of assessing emerging technologies with life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly discussed in the LCA field. In this article, we propose a definition of prospective LCA: An LCA is prospective when the (emerging) technology studied is in an early phase of development (e.g., small-scale production), but the technology is modeled at a future, more-developed phase (e.g., large-scale production). Methodological choices in prospective LCA must be adapted to reflect this goal of assessing environmental impacts of emerging technologies, which deviates from the typical goals of conventional LCA studies. The aim of the article is to provide a number of recommendations for how to conduct such prospective assessments in a relevant manner. The recommendations are based on a detailed review of selected prospective LCA case studies, mainly from the areas of nanomaterials, biomaterials, and energy technologies. We find that it is important to include technology alternatives that are relevant for the future in prospective LCA studies. Predictive scenarios and scenario ranges are two general approaches to prospective inventory modeling of both foreground and background systems. Many different data sources are available for prospective modeling of the foreground system: scientific articles; patents; expert interviews; unpublished experimental data; and process modeling. However, we caution against temporal mismatches between foreground and background systems, and recommend that foreground and background system impacts be reported separately in order to increase the usefulness of the results in other prospective studies.
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| 28. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Environmental Impact of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles – Applying Life Cycle Thinking and Risk Assessment for Swedish Conditions
- 2008
-
In: 3rd International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, Birmingham University, Birmingham, UK, September 15-16, 2008.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The risks of nanoparticles have been issued by several different groups, e.g. The Royal Society (2004) and Friends of the Earth (2006), and the concept nanotoxicology has been introduced to underline the distinctive toxicological features of nanoparticles (Oberdörster et al. 2005). Some nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes, have been outlined as hazardous and great caution has been suggested before introducing carbon nanotubes into the market (Poland et al. 2008). According to a risk assessment performed by Mueller and Nowack (2007), titanium dioxide nanoparticles had higher predicted environmental concentration compared with the predicted no effect concentration than both silver nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, and further detailed studies regarding titanium dioxide nanoparticles were suggested. However, no sensitivity analysis was performed in Mueller and Nowack (2007), and a crude model was used to model environmental faith of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Our study applied substance flow analysis in order to facilitate a comprehensive environmental risk assessment of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (see e.g. Tsunemi and Wada (2008) and Fuster et al. (2002)). A detailed investigation of the production of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and their application in society was performed facilitating hazard identification according to Hansen et al. (2007). Emissions were calculated based on use assumptions and a modelling of the environmental faith of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles was attempted including the particle aggregation and interaction with natural organic substances that modify bioavailability. Predicted environmental concentrations were calculated and compared with predicted no effect concentrations according to several ecotoxicological studies and in order to assess the uncertainty a sensitivity analysis was performed for input parameters.
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| 29. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Exposure assessments of nanoparticles in aquatic environments – considerations, review and recommendations
- 2013
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Synthetic nanoparticles are new forms of chemical substances. They can be found in several different forms, such as free particles, surface bound and dissolved in liquid. Nanoparticles can also exist as free, individual particles or agglomerate consisting of multiple particles. This report discusses the assessment of possible risks of nanoparticles. Chemical risk is usually considered to consist of two elements: (1) Exposure to the substance, and (2) the substance's toxicity. So far, the risk-related research on nanoparticles has had a strong focus on the particles ' toxic effects. In this report, we would instead focus on how exposure to nanoparticles can be calculated and assessed, with focus on nanoparticles in water. In the report, we provide an initial background and definitions of nanomaterials and nanoparticles, and describe briefly a standard method of risk assessment of chemicals in the environment. Then we go through important considerations that should be made in the exposure assessment of nanoparticles. First we discuss three considerations related to the emissions of nanoparticles, namely the lack of data for annual production of nanoparticles, the importance of applying a substance flow perspective, and lack of data for so-called emission factors for nanoparticles of various products and materials. Furthermore, we discuss considerations for modeling of nanoparticles behavior in water, mainly by listing a number of key processes with large influence. These are agglomeration, sedimentation, and dissolution. Related to that, we discuss how natural organic materials, coatings and aging of particles can affect these processes. We note here three particle properties that are important in order to describe nanoparticles dispersion in water, in a similar way that the octanol-water partition coefficient and half-life is important to describe the fate of organic chemicals in the environment. For nanoparticles these are the particle size (a) and the density (ρ). We also identify a number of more complex parameters affecting particle behavior in the environment, but not only because of the different particle characteristics, but also depending on characteristics related to the environment. These are the collision efficiency (α), point of zero charge (pHpzc), Hamaker constant (A) and a so-called form factor (β) that affect the sedimentation. In addition to the general difficulty to measure or calculate these parameters they also co-vary. Furthermore, we make a review of 11 currently available exposure models for nanoparticles in aquatic environment. We note that the studies differ regarding modeling method, which sources of emissions that are included, the nanoparticles taken into account, estimated concentrations in the environment, and whether the results are presented as mass or particle concentration. Only two studies trying to model the nanoparticle exposure based on particle properties in a manner similar to standard methods for chemical risk assessment. The other modeling studies are instead based on data on flows of specific nanomaterials, and not on generic algorithms. Next, we describe a number of challenges that occur when measuring nanoparticles in the environment. Finally, we provide the following recommendations to ensure good exposure assessment of nanoparticles in the future: 1. Information of flows and stocks of nanoparticles in society need to be collected. 2. Emission factors would need to be developed for each product that makes use of nanoparticles. 3. Emissions should be reported both as mass and particle number until it becomes clearer which one is most relevant. 4. More research is needed in order to determine which particle properties need to be known in order to calculate the concentration of nanoparticles in the environment. 5. At least the particle size and particle size distribution, as well as the specific particle density should be reported. 6. More research is required to improve the experimental measurements of nanoparticles to be able to validate exposure models.
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| 30. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Fate modeling of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the water compartment by colloid chemistry
- 2009
-
In: 1st International Conference on the Environmental Implications and Applications of Nanotechnology, June 9-11, 2009, Amherst, U.S.A..
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Titanium dioxide is one of the most produced nanoparticles according to the Project of Emerging Nanotechnologies (www.nanotechproject.org). According to Mueller and Nowack (2008) it is also the nanoparticle that has the largest environmental concentration in the Swiss water compartment, 16 µg/l according to their high estimate. Further, Boxall et al. (2007) estimate a titanium dioxide nanoparticle environmental concentration of 24.5 µg/l in the UK water compartment for a scenario that probably overestimates the current exposure levels. However, neither of these risk models take fate processes such as aggregation and sedimentation into account. Colloid chemistry deals with particles within the size range of 1 nm to 1 µm. Nanoparticles of a size between one nanometer and a few hundred nanometers are thus well within the colloid range. Theories of colloid chemistry suggest that sedimentation of nanoparticles depends mainly on the density and the viscosity of the water and the density and size of the particles. Sedimentation is shown not to be an important factor, since the sedimentation of particles smaller than ~300 nm is negligible. Aggregation is a more complex process which depends on factors such as temperature, salinity, ion valence, pH, point of zero charge, the Hamaker constant, particle size and particle concentration (Elimelech et al. 1995). These factors were estimated for a typical Swedish lake and calculations were performed in MATLAB. The aggregation is modeled by kinetics according to Smoluchowski (1917) but adjusted according to the DLVO theory (see Elimelech et al. 1995). Preliminary results show that aggregation can reduce the predicted environmental concentration significantly in a short time. It would take less than 4 minutes for the initial environmental concentrations predicted by both Mueller and Nowack (2008) and Boxall et al. (2007) to be reduced by 50%. After 24 hours, both predicted environmental concentrations would have fallen below 0.1 µg/l.
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| 31. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1985, et al.
(author)
-
Geofencing as an enabler for Zero-Emission Zones
- 2018
-
In: 25th ITS World Congress Book of abstracts.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) have the ability to operate as electric vehicles.There is a potential toreduce emissions overall and also control emissions in zones, if PHEV are controlled so that they only use electric drive in selected areas such as cities. Through collaboration between the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Volvo Cars it was shown how a zero emission zone could be created in Oslo as part of the NordicWay Norwegian pilot. The zone was shared with Volvo Cars who optimized powertrain management to ensure no emission driving and sufficient battery power within the zone.
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| 32. |
|
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| 33. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
How do we know the energy use when producing biomaterials or biofuels?
- 2012
-
In: Proceedings of ECO-TECH 2012.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How much fossil energy that is used in the production of biomaterials or biofuels (e.g. fuel used in harvesting) is a parameter of obvious interest when optimizing the production systems. To use more fossil fuels in the production of a biofuel than what will be available as the biofuel product is obviously a bad idea. With increasing interest in biomaterials and biofuels, a shift from a sole focus on fossil energy will be necessary. Optimized use of energy over the whole life cycle is one important parameter to ensure sustainability. However, to report and interpret values on life cycle energy use is not as straight forward as what might immediately be perceived. The impact category ‘energy use’ is frequently used but is generally not applied in a transparent and consistent way between different studies. Considering the increased focus on biofuels, it is important to inform companies and policy-makers about the energy use of biofuels in relevant and transparent ways with well-defined indicators. The present situation in how energy use indicators are applied was studied in a set of LCA studies of biofuels. It was found that the choice of indicator was seldom motivated or discussed in the examined reports and articles, and five inherently different energy use indicators were observed: (1) fossil energy, (2) secondary energy, (3) cumulative energy demand (primary energy), (4) net energy balance, and (5) total extracted energy. As a test, we applied these five energy use indicators to the same cradle-to-gate production system and they give considerably different output numbers of energy use. This in itself is not unexpected, but indicates the importance of clearly identifying, describing and motivating the choice of energy use indicator. Direct comparisons between different energy use results could lead to misinformed policy decisions.
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| 34. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
How much energy is used when producing biofuels?
- 2012
-
In: World Bioenergy 2012, Jönköping, Sweden.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Considering the increased focus on biofuels, it is important to inform companies and policy-makers about the energy use for production of biofuels in relevant and transparent ways, using well-defined indicators. The amount of fossil energy used in the production of a biofuel (e.g. diesel fuel used in harvesting) is a parameter of obvious interest when comparing different biofuels or when optimizing the production systems. With increasing worldwide production of different biofuels, a shift in focus from fossil energy to the entire energy use will also be necessary. In that context, not only reducing the use of fossil fuels in biofuel production, but also optimizing the use of all energy sources over the whole life cycle becomes an important to ensure the sustainability of biofuels. However, to report and interpret values on life cycle energy use is not straight forward due to methodological difficulties. The impact category ‘energy use’ is frequently used in life cycle assessment (LCA). But the term ‘energy use’ is generally not applied in a transparent and consistent way between different LCA studies of biofuels. It is often unclear whether the total energy use, or only fossil energy, has been considered, and whether primary or secondary energy has been considered. In addition, it is often difficult to tell if and how the energy content of the fuel or the biomass source was included in the energy use. This study presents and discusses the current situation in terms of energy use indicators are applied in LCA studies on biofuels. It was found that the choice of indicator was seldom motivated or discussed in the examined reports and articles, and five inherently different energy use indicators were observed: (1) fossil energy, (2) secondary energy, (3) cumulative energy demand (primary energy), (4) net energy balance, and (5) total extracted energy. As an illustration, we applied these five energy use indicators to the same cradle-to-gate production system (production of palm oil methyl ester), resulting in considerably different output numbers of energy use. This in itself is not unexpected, but indicates the importance of clearly identifying, describing and motivating the choice of energy use indicator. All five indicators can be useful in specific situations, depending on the goal and scope of the individual study, but the choice of indicator needs to be better reported and motivated than what is generally done today. Above all, it is important to avoid direct comparisons between different energy use results calculated using different indicators, since this could lead to misinformed policy decisions.
|
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| 35. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
How to make policy-relevant life cycle assessments of future products? Lessons learned from nanomaterials
- 2013
-
In: 6th International Conference on Life Cycle Management, Gothenburg, 25-28 August.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many new nanomaterials are currently being developed, and there is a great demand from policy-makers such as governments and agencies to understand the future environmental impact of nanomaterials. However, assessing the life cycle environmental impacts, e.g. in terms of emissions and energy use, related to these materials and products that contain them constitutes a great challenge, which makes it difficult to meet such needs from policy-makers. The challenge is much due to the many uncertainties that surround new nanomaterials at an early point of technological development, which makes environmental assessment methods such as life cycle assessment difficult to apply. These uncertainties include the future areas of application of the nanomaterial, future designs of products within those areas, and future production processes. When one or more of these uncertainties are present, we say that the life cycle or product chain is embryonic. This embryonic nature of nanomaterial life cycles differentiates them from the life cycles of more established products, such as cups and cucumbers. Assessing the environmental impacts of embryonic nanomaterial life cycles requires the assessor to understand the future, or rather some aspects of a number of possible futures. Hence, we need to make use of methods belonging to the field of future studies, including monitoring of trends in technology development (e.g. via patent analysis) and application areas as well as predicting and exploring by trend analysis, expert judgement, and sometimes even fantasizing. We illustrate the theoretical concept of embryonic life cycles with a number of examples of embryonic nanomaterial life cycles, including carbon nanotubes in composites, titanium dioxide nanoparticles in self-cleaning cement and graphene in electronic devices and composites. We show that a range of future study approaches may enrich, or even be essential to, policy-relevant life cycle assessments. We also show that environmental assessments such as life cycle assessment can be misused or used in questionable ways when applied to embryonic life cycles with the purpose of obtaining policy-relevant results.
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| 36. |
|
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| 37. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Impacts of a Silver-Coated Future - Particle Flow Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 15:6, s. 844-854
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Silver is a compound that is well known for its adverse environmental effects. More recently, silver in the form of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have begun to be produced in increasingly larger amounts for antibacterial purposes in for instance textiles, wound dressings and cosmetics. Several authors have highlighted the potential environmental impact of these NPs. In order to contribute to a risk assessment of Ag NPs, a suggested method named particle flow analysis is applied to estimate current emissions from society to the environment. In addition, explorative scenarios are set up to account for potential technology diffusion of selected Ag NP applications. The results are uncertain and need to be refined, but they indicate that emissions from all applications included may increase significantly in the future. Ag NPs in textiles and electronic circuitry may increase more than in wound dressings due to the limited consumption of wound dressings. Due to the dissipative nature of Ag NPs in textiles, the results indicate that they may cause the highest emissions in the future, thus partly confirming the woes of both scientists and environmental organizations. Gaps in current knowledge have been identified. Especially the fate of Ag NPs during different waste handling processes is outlined as an area that requires more research.
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| 38. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Implementation of the crustal scarcity indicator into life cycle assessment software
- 2020
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This report provides a detailed description of how the crustal scarcity indicator (CSI) is implemented into the life cycle assessment (LCA) software OpenLCA. The original characterization factors for the CSI, called crustal scarcity potentials (CSPs), were designed to be paired with life cycle inventory data formulated as the amount (mass) of elements extracted from the crust. However, some inventory data is not formulated in terms of mass of elements extracted. For example, data in the Ecoinvent database – the world’s largest LCA database – can also be expressed in terms of the amount of mineral extracted, the amount of rock extracted, or the amount of ore extracted. In order to implement the CSI into OpenLCA in a way that captures such nonelement flows, we construct five categories of inventory data for material flows extracted from the crust. Type A flows are flows of elements, such as lead or tin, which the original CSPs can be paired with. Type B flows are flows of minerals, such as kieserite or stibnite. Type C flows are flows of rocks and groups of minerals, such as basalt or olivine. Type D flows are ores, like copper ore. Type A flows are paired with the CSPs of the respective element types. However, for type B, C and D flows, new CSPs were calculated based on their respective content of different elements. These new CSPs can be found in Appendix A-D. In addition, type E flows are those that are too vaguely formulated in the Ecoinvent database, for example as general metal or ore, making it impossible to derive CSPs. In the concluding discussion, we show that this implementation gives the CSI a wider coverage of different inventory flows than other existing mineral resource impact assessment methods implemented in different packages for OpenLCA. The implementation might thus be considered a guidance for a more all-encompassing implementation of other mineral resource impact assessment methods as well.
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| 39. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Influence of natural organic matter on the aquatic ecotoxicity of engineered nanoparticles: Recommendations for environmental risk assessment
- 2020
-
In: NanoImpact. - : Elsevier BV. - 2452-0748. ; 20
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, we investigate whether the influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the aquatic ecotoxicity of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) can be described quantitatively for the purpose of risk assessments based on existing ecotoxicity studies. A review of the literature studying the aquatic ecotoxicity of ENPs in the presence of NOM identified 66 studies in total, covering the metal and metal oxide ENPs most commonly used in consumer products. It was found that 80% of the studies show a reduction in ENP ecotoxicity in the presence of NOM. Analyses of ecotoxicity data based on 50% effect/inhibition/lethal concentrations (collectively referred to as XC50) were conducted. Correlations of XC50 values with the concentrations of NOM were investigated through Spearman's rank correlation coefficient as well as linear, power law, polynomial, exponential and logarithmic correlations. Furthermore, multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses, including also the pH in the reviewed ecotoxicity test systems (mainly in the range pH 7.0–8.5), were conducted. While none of these statistical approaches provided strong empirical correlations between XC50 values, NOM concentration and pH, an empirical rule of thumb was discovered for the ratio between XC50 values with and without NOM over an environmentally realistic concentration range for NOM (0.1–10 mg/L): XC50 values obtained in experiments with NOM present tended to be a factor of 1–10 higher than those without NOM. Until more accurate correlations are provided, a pragmatic approach for environmental risk assessments of ENPs might therefore be to use observed XC50 values from experiments without NOM present as reasonably conservative proxies for XC50 values with NOM present. Further studies are needed to confirm or falsify this rule of thumb for different ENPs, environmental conditions and metrics.
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| 40. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Introduction to “Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
- 2021
-
In: Life Cycle Inventory Analysis: Methods and Data. - 9783030622695
-
Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This chapter introduces the life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis – the topic of this volume. A brief history of the concept is provided, including its procedure according to different standards and guidance books. The LCI analysis phase of the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework has remained relatively constant over the years in terms of role and procedural steps. Currently, the LCI analysis is situated in between the goal and scope definition phase and the life cycle impact assessment phase in the LCA framework, although it is interconnected also with the interpretation phase. Central concepts in LCI analysis are defined, including product system, process, flow, functional unit, and system boundary. Four important steps of LCI analysis are outlined: constructing a flow chart, gathering data, conducting calculations, as well as interpreting results and drawing conclusions. The focus is on the process LCA approach, which is the most common in LCA practice. Environmentally-extended input-output analysis is also described briefly. Finally, an overview of the other chapters of this volume and their relevance to the topic of LCI analysis is provided.
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| 41. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984
(author)
-
Inventory Indicators in Life Cycle Assessment
- 2021
-
In: Life Cycle Inventory Analysis: Methods and Data. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783030622695 ; , s. 171-190
-
Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This chapter presents the concept of inventory indicators, which are indicators assessed at the inventory level by aggregating inventory flows at the start of the impact pathway. Although the ISO 14040 standard prescribes that a life cycle assessment (LCA) should contain an assessment of environmental impacts, inventory indicators are frequently applied for assessing energy and water use, but sometimes also for assessing waste generation, land use, material use, and emissions. For energy use, the cumulative energy demand is probably the most common indicator, which considers all renewable and non-renewable primary energy. Other energy use inventory indicators consider only non-renewable, or fossil, energy, and some consider secondary rather than primary energy. For water use, common inventory indicators include water extraction (or withdrawal), water consumption, the blue water footprint, and the green water footprint. Contrary to midpoint and endpoint indicators, inventory indicators do not consider which potential impacts the aggregated elementary flows might have. Therefore, inventory indicators have the drawback of being simplified in terms of impact modeling compared to midpoint and endpoint indicators. However, inventory indicators also have benefits: they are easy to apply, easy to interpret, and can serve as proxy indicators for damage at the endpoint level. In particular, they can be used also in cases when midpoint and endpoint characterization factors are lacking. Because of these advantages, inventory indicators are foreseen to play a role in LCA also in the future.
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| 42. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Is graphene a ”wonder material” also from an environmental life cycle perspective?
- 2014
-
In: Abstract of Papers of the American Chemical Society. - 0065-7727. ; 247
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The nanomaterial graphene has attracted great interest for its many potential applications, including composites and electronic devises, and has been referred to by some as a "wonder material" from a technical point of view. However, the question remains whether graphene is also a "wonder material" from an environmental life cycle perspective. In order to investigate this, we applied life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of graphene production. The focus of the assessment was on the foreground system and on more inherent impact categories, namely energy use, water use, human toxicity, and ecotoxicity. Two different production routes were investigated. In the first, called chemical reduction, graphite is first oxidized to graphite oxide, and then reduced by hydrazine to form graphene sheets in solution that could be used in e.g. composites. The second is ultrasonication, where graphite is exposed to ultrasound, and thereby breaks up into graphene sheets in solution, also possible to use in composites. These two routes were compared on a kg of graphene basis. The results indicate that ultrasonication has a considerably lower cradle-to-gate impact than chemical reduction for all included impact categories. For example, the energy use of chemical reduction-made graphene appears to be more than 100 times higher than that of ultrasonication-made graphene. Comparing to the energy use of other nanomaterials, chemical reduction-based graphene appears to have an energy use close to the median. Ultrasonication-made graphene, however, appears to have a lower energy use than any previously assessed nano material. This implicates that the chemical industry should focus their efforts on developing the ultrasonication production route rather than chemical reduction.
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| 43. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Is there a "crystal ball"? Assessing environmental life cycle impacts of new nanomaterials
- 2013
-
In: 7th International Society for Industrial Ecology Biennial Conference, 25-28 June, Ulsan, South Korea.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many new nanomaterials are currently being developed, and assessing the life cycle environmental impacts related to these materials and products that contain the materials, e.g. in terms of emissions and energy use, constitutes a great challenge. The challenge is much due to the many uncertainties that surround new nanomaterials at this early point of technological development, which makes the application of environmental assessment methods such as life cycle assessment difficult to apply. These uncertainties include the future areas of application of the nanomaterial, future designs of products within those areas, and the future production processes that will be needed to produce such products. When one or more of these uncertainties are present, we say that the product chain or life cycle is embryonic. This embryonic nature of nanomaterial life cycles differentiates them from more established products, such as cement and cucumbers. We provide a number of examples of a number of embryonic nanomaterial life cycles, including carbon nanotubes in composites, titanium dioxide nanoparticles in self-cleaning cement and graphene in electronic devices and composites, illustrating their embryonic nature. Assessing the environmental impacts of embryonic nanomaterial product chains requires the assessor to use different future studies approaches, i.e. to use a “crystal ball” to understand the future or rather different possible futures. Existing approaches include monitoring, predicting, exploring, and sometimes even fantasizing. We show how some of these approaches have been used in previous life cycle studies on nanomaterials, illustrating that they may all be relevant to include in environmental assessments and life cycle assessments in particular, but also that they can be misused or used in questionable ways. The important thing is to know which approach to apply in a certain situation in order to ensure a relevant assessment, and to avoid uses that leads to more confusion than knowledge.
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| 44. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
-
Is there a scientific justification for the current use of child labour and working hours in social LCA?
- 2014
-
In: Proceedings of the 4th International seminar in social LCA.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) literature, child labour and working hours are frequently suggested and used as indicators for assessment of social impacts. This use is mainly motivated by compliance with political documents. However, indicators should also have a scientific foundation. We therefore review the scientific literature in order to investigate whether the contemporary use of child labour and working hours is scientifically justified. We found that although working hours is used somewhat differently in different SLCA studies, most SLCA studies suggest that fewer working hours are socially beneficial. Yet the non-SLCA scientific literature rather suggests a delicate balance between working too much, and being underemployed. The risk of unemployment is also stressed, not only for society as a whole but also for individual workers. Although excessive (and hard) working may be more common in so-called developing countries, and therefore more severe, adverse social impacts from working too little with subsequent loss of income is typically also more severe in those countries. For child labour, the SLCA literature regards it as socially adverse in unison. However, the non-SLCA scientific literature gives a broader view. Although many cases of harmful child labour have been reported, it is also clear that some forms of child labour may be less harmful, perhaps even socially beneficial. Such beneficial child labour could correspond to a part-time job, working during holidays, or helping parents at their farm. In general, the non-SLCA literature thus does not provide complete scientific justification for the contemporary use of working hours and child labour in the SLCA literature.
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| 45. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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“Just Carbon”: Ideas About Graphene Risks by Graphene Researchers and Innovation Advisors
- 2018
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In: NanoEthics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1871-4757 .- 1871-4765. ; 12:3, s. 199-210
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- © 2018, The Author(s). Graphene is a nanomaterial with many promising and innovative applications, yet early studies indicate that graphene may pose risks to humans and the environment. According to ideas of responsible research and innovation, all relevant actors should strive to reduce risks related to technological innovations. Through semi-structured interviews, we investigated the idea of graphene as a risk (or not) held by two types of key actors: graphene researchers and innovation advisors at universities, where the latter are facilitating the movement of graphene from the laboratory to the marketplace. The most common idea found is that graphene is not a risk due to, e.g., low toxicity, low amounts produced/used, and its similarity to harmless materials (being “just carbon”). However, some researchers and advisors also say that graphene is a risk, e.g., under certain conditions or due to a lack of risk-related information. We explain the co-existence of these seemingly contradictory ideas through (1) the semantic ambiguity of the word risk and (2) a risk/no-risk rhetoric, where risks are mentioned rhetorically only to be disregarded as manageable or negligible. We suggest that some of the ideas held by the researchers and innovation advisors constitute a challenge to responsible research and innovation regarding graphene. At the same time, we acknowledge the dilemma that the discourse of responsible innovation creates for the actors: denying graphene risks makes them irresponsible due to a lack of risk awareness, while affirming graphene risks makes them irresponsible due to their everyday engagement in graphene development. We therefore recommend more research into what researchers and innovation advisors should do in practice in order to qualify as responsible.
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Lessons from early assessments of production processes for the nanomaterial graphene
- 2016
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In: SETAC Europe 22th Case Study Symposium, 20-22 September, Montpellier, France.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Graphene is a new nanomaterial with many promising applications, including in composite materials, transparent displays, electronic components and biosensors. We have conducted a number of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of emerging production routes for this material. The studies cover the three production routes that currently have the most patents and largest scientific interest: Exfoliation, chemical vapour deposition (CVD), and epitaxial growth on silicon carbide. From these studies, a number of results have been obtained, which provide environmental guidance towards less impacting graphene production at an early stage in technology development. Results for exfoliation show that although some processes (chemical and thermal reduction) are energy-intensive (in the order of 1000 MJ/kg), others (ultrasonication) have life cycle energy requirements below those of today’s energy-intensive materials (
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| 48. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984
(author)
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Life cycle assessment and risk assessment of manufactured nanomaterials
- 2015
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In: Dolez P; Nanoengineering – Global approaches to health and safety issues. - 9780444627476 ; , s. 225-256
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Considering the environmental concerns related to manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs), assessments of their environmental impacts are highly motivated. This chapter describes the current research in the life cycle assessment and risk assessment of MNMs. A number of life cycle assessment studies of MNMs and MNM products have been reviewed, showing that MNM products can have an environmental impact higher than, lower than, or similar to other products. A number of risk assessment studies of MNM have also been reviewed, showing varying results so far. In addition, challenges in assessing the environmental impacts of MNMs with these two environmental assessment methods are outlined. For life cycle assessment, one challenge identified is the assessment of MNM products at an early stage of technological development. Another is how to assess the environmental impacts of MNM emissions with characterization factors. For risk assessment, the limited understanding of the fate and exposure of MNMs is a major obstacle. Recommendations on how these challenges can be tackled are provided.
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| 49. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Life cycle assessment of a two-seater all-electric aircraft
- 2024
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In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 29:2, s. 240-254
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Aviation is an important contributor to climate change and other environmental problems. Electrification is one option for reducing the environmental impacts of aviation. The aim of this study is to provide the first life cycle assessment (LCA) results representing an existing commercial, two-seater, all-electric aircraft. Methods: An attributional cradle-to-grave LCA was conducted with a functional unit of 1 h flight time. Data and records from an aircraft manufacturer informed much of the study. Detailed modelling of important aircraft components is provided, including the battery, motor, inverter, instrument panel and seats. Impact results are compared to those from a similar but fossil fuel–based two-seater aircraft. A wide range of impact categories was considered, while the focus was on global warming, resource depletion, particulate matter, acidification and ozone formation. Results and discussion: The main contributors to almost all impact categories are the airframe, the lithium-ion battery and emissions (in the use phase). The airframe has a major impact as it contains energy-intensive, carbon fibre–reinforced composites, the impact of which can be reduced by recycling. The battery dominates mineral resource depletion categories and contributes notably to emission-based categories. Producing batteries using non-fossil energy or shifting to less resource-intensive, next-generation batteries would reduce their impact. Use-phase impacts can be reduced by sourcing non-fossil electricity. Despite the need for multiple battery pack replacements, the comparison with the fossil fuel option (based on equal lifetimes) still showed the electric aircraft contributing less to global warming, even in a high-carbon electricity scenario. By contrast, when it concerned mineral resources, the electric aircraft had greater impact than the fossil fuel based one. Conclusions: A sufficiently long lifetime is key to bringing the all-electric aircraft’s environmental impacts (such as global warming) below those of fossil fuel–based aircraft. The high burden of the airframe and batteries can then be outweighed by the benefit of more efficient and emission-free electric propulsion. However, this comes with a trade-off in terms of increased mineral resource use.
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| 50. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Life cycle assessment of Biodiesel - Hydrotreated oil from rape, oil palm or Jatropha
- 2008
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In: Annual Poster Exhibition at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Mars 6th, 2008, Göteborg, Sweden.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- There is a need for fuels based on renewable resources that have acceptable emission profiles and that are functional for truck engines used in heavy vehicles. Volvo has participated in the CONCAWE/EUCAR/JRC WTW study, which analyzed a number of candidate fuels, several process routes to produce each fuel as well as different raw material choices. However, the CONCAWE study did not include any second generation hydrogenated vegetable oil type biodiesel. In the present study, Volvo and Chalmers investigate and benchmark hydrogenated vegetable oils. Different production routes from different proposed raw materials are investigated using life cycle assessment modeling. Raw materials considered are oil from rape seed (grown in Germany), palm oil (grown in Malaysia) and oil from the fruits of Jatropha curcas (grown in India). The raw material is converted into hydrogenated oil at a production site in northern Europe and used at the European market. Results regarding life cycle global warming potential and energy use are presented.
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