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1.
  • Anselm, Jonas, et al. (author)
  • Bannlys alla politiska beslut som ger mer klimatutsläpp
  • 2014
  • In: Dagens Nyheter.
  • Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Torftig valdebatt. Dagspolitiken klarar inte att hantera ödesfrågan om klimatet, vilket oroar oss. Vi föreslår därför ett ”utsläppsmoratorium”: inga beslut får tas som ökar utsläppen av växthusgaser. Principen måste kopplas till mål om exempelvis förnybar energi och grön infrastruktur, skriver 23 forskare och debattörer.
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2.
  • Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al. (author)
  • A background on social context and renewable energy sources in Mozambique and Tanzania - An initial report from the STEEP-RES project
  • 2009
  • Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This initial research report, appearing before the formal commencement of the STEEP-RESproject, focuses on the background and context of the project which is intended to make asocio-technical-ecological assessment of prerequisites to and effects of introducing renewableenergy sources (RES) into rural communities of the coastal Tanzania and Mozambique. Thereforea short review of the scientific literature is made dealing with societal prerequisites andrepercussions of electrification. Technical aspects related to the availability of natural resourcesand technologies for renewable energy resources utilisation are also briefly coveredalong with some very brief remarks on possible environmental repercussions.The review of the social context covers > 45 papers dealing with different experiencesof electrification in developing countries relating to renewable energy applicable for povertyalleviation in rural settings. The primary energy sources in rural East Africa are biofuels andelectricity plays a limited role. Electrification influences the composition of the energy mix,but during early development it has very limited impact on the use of wood for cocking andheating purposes. The institutional and financial frameworks are currently major barriers tosmall-scale RES-projects, although local technical and financial capacities are slowly increasing.Social and cultural settings create important drivers and barriers to introduction and diffusionof new technologies. Further, poverty and gender inequality are considered key issues forelectrification projects and create important barriers to success. Participatory and needorientedapproaches are considered necessary by most researchers for successful RES-projects.The more technical review is based on ~50 papers covers the existing renewable energysources (RES) - biofuels, solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, wave and tide. The technologicalstate and resource abundance of each source is discussed briefly in a regional context,along with environmental considerations on each technology.As large scale hydropower is being used in the region since long, it is noticeable thatsmall- and micro-scale hydropower is now advancing and will contribute to electrification inmany smaller river-bound areas. Bioenergy, in terms of firewood is widely used for cookingpurposes, although not environmentally sustainable and not with potential for electricity generation.Biofuels from plantations is rapidly increasing in Africa as well as the global trend.Also here, environmental considerations are of great importance for sustainability. Other RESof potential in the region, and with perhaps less environmental constrains, may be solar photovoltaicand tidal energy. Of less importance, according to regionally sparse resource abuniidance, seem to be wind and wave energy. The potential of geothermal energy is geographicallyrestricted to a few good locations.An inventory of actors within the field of East-African RES based on internet resourcesreveals a “top-heavy” information situation with many and well-designed information sourcesand active networks on global and African regional level while less web-information is availablefrom local levels in Tanzania and Mozambique, where only few companies working inthe field has been identified. More direct investigations are needed starting from the actorsidentified in this initial inventory.
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4.
  • Dahllöf, Ingela, 1963, et al. (author)
  • The Effect of TBT on the Structure of a Marine Sediment Community - a Boxcosm Study
  • 2001
  • In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 42:8, s. 689-695
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • The effect of tri-n-butyl tin (TBT) on an intact marine sediment community after five months exposure was investigated. Changes in the structure of macro- and meiofauna communities were determined, as well as the functional diversity of the microbial community using BIOLOG microplates for Gram negative bacteria. Development of tolerance in the microbial community was investigated using Pollution Induced Community Tolerance (PICT) experiments with fluxes of nutrients as effect indicators. TBT affected the structure and recruitment of the macro- and meiofauna at nominal additions of 30137 mol TBT/m2 sediment. Number of species, diversity, biomass and community similarity was reduced at these concentrations compared to control. Species that molt seemed to be the most tolerant since they were predominant in boxes that had received the highest TBT addition and echinoderms were the most sensitive species. Renewed addition of TBT in PICT experiments with sediment from each boxcosm showed that TBT had an effect on individual nutrient fluxes from all sediments. Analyses of the flux patterns revealed a memory of previous TBT exposure, either due to induced tolerance or other community conditioning.
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5.
  • Eckerberg, Katarina, et al. (author)
  • Varför brister politikerna när det gäller miljömålen?
  • 2012
  • In: Dagens Nyheter. - 1101-2447.
  • Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Vad ska vi svara? Politikernas ambitiösa miljömål uppfylls sällan eller aldrig. När våra elever frågar oss varför blir vi ofta svaret skyldiga. Om politikerna inte vill att väljarna ska dra slutsatsen att de har misslyckats, måste de ange en realistisk väg att nå de uppsatta målen. Det skulle väcka respekt, skriver ledande forskare och samhällsplanerare.
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6.
  • Hassellöv, Ida-Maja, 1974, et al. (author)
  • Verification of a benthic boxcosm system with potential for extrapolating experimental results to the field
  • 2007
  • In: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-0981. ; 353:2, s. 265-278
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • A marine mesocosm system (boxcosm system) was developed for ecological and/or ecotoxicological studies of sediment community function and structure. The system consists of continuous flow-through incubations of intact sediment samples, each with a surface area of 0.25 m2. The experimental setup enables repeated non-destructive measurements of benthic fluxes, such as of nutrients, oxygen and dissolved inorganic carbon, over the sediment–water interface. The benthic fluxes reflect the function of the sediment community, integrating over the chemical, biological and physical activities in the sediment. The suitability of the boxcosm system for controlled, highly ecologically relevant studies of intact sediment communities was evaluated in two experiments of six weeks and five months duration respectively, where the functional and structural development over time was compared to the development of the sampling site. The function of the sediment was measured as nutrient and oxygen fluxes, and the structural component consisted of microbial functional diversity and meio- and macrofauna composition. Differences between the boxcosm and the sampling site were detected especially in nitrate fluxes and meiofauna diversity and abundance, but all differences fell within seasonal and inter-annual variability at the sampling site. The cause of the differences could be referred to differences in oxygen availability, supply of organic matter particles, and recruitment of larvae. These factors can however be compensated for within the present setup. The study shows that the boxcosms are suitable tools for ecologically relevant studies generating comparable conditions to the natural environment.
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7.
  • Molander, Sverker, 1957, et al. (author)
  • Socio-technical-ecological evaluations of the potential to implement renewable energy sources in coastal areas of tropical developing countries – an East African case study
  • 2008
  • Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The suggested project aims at evaluating the potential for a successful implementation of renewableenergy sources in the coastal zone of tropical developing countries integrating results from differentscientific disciplines (ecology, social science and technology) into a useful support for developmentpolicy. Its emphasis will be on remote areas where poor infrastructures raise the demand forindependent electricity supplies. Moreover, the project intends to identify key-issues and sociotechnicalpathways for a future integration of suitable renewable energy sources in such areas.The research will be based on analyses of the relationships between technical, ecological andsocial systems and focus on applying adequate technology in a socially and ecologically feasible way.The energy sources considered will be selected from local natural flowing resources, i.e. mainly tidal,stream, and wave energies.With funding from Sida (SAREC Planning Grant) and Adlerbertska Forskningsstiftelsen, a planningstudy was carried out during October – November 2007, including the subsequent parts:1) meetings with representatives from several concerned institutions in Mozambique and inTanzania2) field visit to remote rural areas in southern Tanzania where hydrographical and coastmorphological features were documented3) meetings with village representatives in remote rural southern Tanzania in order to collectinformation about living standards, energy demands and development intentionsCompiled results from the three parts are presented in this report and will constitute a baseline for theforthcoming application of Sida Project grant, to be handed in April 2008. When taking part of theresults it is important to keep in mind that the suggested project does not intend to construct any actualpower plants, or pilot plants, but to study the prerequisites and consequences, technical, natural as wellas societal in order to evaluate if and how a future implementation of these recent technologies couldbe carried out in a feasible and sustainable way.This report is written with a plain perspective and contains no abstract. As the proceedings of the studywill be the basis for a research application in progress, conclusions will instead be developed withinthat context.
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9.
  • Wallin, Are, 1978, et al. (author)
  • Influence of interventions and internal motivation on Swedish homeowners’ change of on-site sewage systems
  • 2013
  • In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 76:July 2013, s. 27-40
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • This article reports results from a questionnaire administered to Swedish homeowners (N = 1481) investigating factors that influence them, as users and owners of on-site sewage systems (OSS), to environmentally improve their OSS. Social and psychological factors were based on previous research into pro-environmental and compliance behaviors and a previous interview study. The results suggest that the most important motives are to benefit, to act when outcomes are fair, and to avoid inconvenience. Less important motives are to act when outcomes are fair and to act of concern for the environment. Perceived efficacy in decreasing the environmental impacts of current OSS, when the OSS is changed, and perceived ability to change their OSS are also among the strongest predictors of readiness to change OSS. However, among homeowners who changed their OSS to do ones duty and achieve long-term safety were ranked highest. The results support the expectations of goal-framing theory that motives related to “gain” would be focal in situations of unfavorable cost–benefit ratios. Similarly, the importance of fair outcomes and efficacious rules is consistent with general findings in research on social dilemmas.
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10.
  • Zannakis, Mathias, 1975-, et al. (author)
  • On the Relationship between Pro-Environmental Behavior, Experienced Monetary Costs, and Psychological Gains
  • 2019
  • In: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:19
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Drawing on the emerging scarcity, abundance, and sufficiency (SAS) framework, this study explores how various consumer behaviors with potential environmental impacts relate to subjective evaluations of psychological resources such as economic resources, time, social networks, and emotional support. Assuming that individuals may "trade" the costs and efforts of green consumption, including the buying of eco-labeled goods, altered eating habits, and choice of transportation mode, against such psychological resources, we investigate the relationships between green consumer choices and resource evaluations using hierarchical regression analysis of data from an online panel survey. The results suggest that green consumer behaviors are positively related to subjectively evaluated resources such as feelings of economic sufficiency and other, more "relational" resources, including social networks and emotional support. Performing such behaviors may therefore lead to psychological gains. These findings do paint a rather positive picture of environmental behaviors, since they may thus be viewed as having a personal positive trade-off. Although directional effects cannot be firmly established, our study suggests that pro-environmental behavior may increase wellbeing and experienced prosperity. Future studies should further investigate these causalities and implications of these suggested relationships.
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11.
  • Zannakis, Mathias, 1975, et al. (author)
  • Perceived resource scarcity and environmental behaviors - how do they relate?
  • 2017
  • In: 113th Annual American Political Science Association Meeting & Exhibition, San Francisco, USA, August 31 - September 3, 2017.
  • Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Sustainability challenges largely have to do with valuing past, present and future resources. History is full of examples of humans and societies that threat, react to changes in, and preserve resources they depend on. However, there is surprisingly little research on behavioral reactions to decreasing or increasing resource levels in the field of environmental studies. This study aims to investigate the impact of individual experience-based subjective evaluations of different types of resources on environmental behavior. The study is explorative since the relation between subjective resources and environmental behavior to our knowledge has never been investigated. There are good reasons to expect both negative and positive correlations between perceived scarcity of resources and environmental behavior (partly depending on what resource we have in mind). The theoretical model is based on an understanding of environmental behavior as a collective action problem based in a social dilemma. This link is investigated in a survey to the Swedish public (N = 978), which also controls for people’s social value orientation (SVO), subjective well-being, and generalized trust and trust in environmental institutions, as well as income, age and gender.
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12.
  • Abdul-Sattar, Nizami, 1982, et al. (author)
  • Comparative analysis using EIA for developed and developing coutnries case studies of hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden
  • 2011
  • In: International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1745-2627 .- 1350-4509. ; 18:2, s. 134-142
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.
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14.
  • Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al. (author)
  • Bringing Technology into Social-Ecological Systems ResearchMotivations for a Socio-Technical-Ecological Systems Approach
  • 2019
  • In: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:7
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • The purpose of this synthesis paper is to present the motivations and conceptual basis for research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), addressing the need for interdisciplinary studies targeting the technological mediation of human-environment relationships. The background is the very limited number of collaborations between scholars of social-ecological systems and sociotechnical systems (SES), despite repeated calls for bridging work. The synthesis builds on an in-depth review of previous literature, interdisciplinary exchanges, and empirical examples. The result is arguments for why a sociotechnical understanding of technology' is of central importance for SES studies, related to how technology: (1) mediates human-environment relationships; (2) brings ambivalence to these relationships; (3) enhances and transforms human agency and provides a source of constitutive power; (4) changes scalar relationships, enabling our interaction with and impact on the natural world across time and space. Furthermore, we present an STES analytical approach which starts from symmetrical attention to technology, society, and environment, specifically targeting interfaces and relationships of critical relevance for SES scholars, and address counterarguments that we have encountered. We conclude that a shift to STES research will enhance our knowledge of system interfaces that are often overlooked, opening further avenues for research and real-world interventions.
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16.
  • Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al. (author)
  • Ecology and sociotechnical systems research – motivations for theoretical and methodological integration across fields
  • 2017
  • In: International Sustainability Transitions conference 2017.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Currently, we are witnessing a number of global trends that do not promise well for the future. Accelerating climate change, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, disappearance of natural forest and degradation of fishing grounds and agricultural lands are just a few of the serious environmental problems that threaten the functional and structural integrity of ecosystems, to an extent that also human societies risk collapse. The scale of human impact is now such that scholars suggest that we live in the Anthropocene. The trends are driven by several linked factors, which are not easily disentangled into manageable specific problems to be solved by specific policies. More than ever, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations are needed in order to address these urgent challenges. The objective of this paper is to argue for the importance of research on socio-technical-ecological systems (STES) rather than social-ecological (SES) and sociotechnical systems (STS) separately. Hence, we address researchers in both the social-ecological and sociotechnical fields. We organize the argument around six reasons why “technology” should be integrated into SES studies. We call these reasons: (1) the interface and mediation aspect, (2) ambivalence, (3) the agency aspect, (4) the question of scale, (5) the question of governance and politics, and (6) the question of epistemology and framing. We also highlight potential conceptual conflicts and mistranslations. Our discussion is primarily a theoretical argument, exemplified with empirical examples.Among the conceptual challenges, we note that SES scholars, if they consider technology in their analyses, generally treat it as an exogenous factor or as a passive background element. Similarly, STS scholars tend to neglect ecological dynamics and refer to the ecological domain mainly in terms of inputs and outputs, e.g. natural resources, environmental and health problems caused by human activities. In light of the discussion, we conclude that the importance of collaborating across the two fields goes beyond each field adding pieces together. We argue that integration and translation across these domains will lead to qualitative change in the theoretical and methodological approaches of both fields; and that technology, society and ecology should be given symmetric analytical attention.
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17.
  • Ahlborg, Helene, 1980, et al. (author)
  • Technology and social-ecological change: Scale mismatch, synergy and conflict in poor rural communities
  • 2015
  • Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • There is little communication and bridging between the research fields of social-ecological and socio-technical systems approaches, while both fields construct systems that share characteristics such as complexity, uncertainty and multi-actor involvement. Beyond that, little conceptual work has been done to understand socio-technical-ecological dynamics. In the real world, however, processes of socio-technical change are at the heart of human use of and relations to natural resources and environments. In this paper we argue that there is need to engage theoretically and empirically with the interfaces between society, technology and nature, to identify how these system conceptions overlap, where and how pressures and feedbacks emerge and what synergies, trade-offs and conflicts that appear as a result of interactions. In this paper, we aim to take the conceptual discussion forward by highlighting where the current discussion may be misleading and by providing an empirical example of how socio-technical change and social-ecological dynamics can be studied and analyzed together. In order to achieve this we draw on socio-technical systems thinking, the concept of scale mismatch and literature on common pool resources (CPR). Our conceptual points are developed using an empirical case study of an NGO-led micro-hydropower development project in Tanzania. The fieldwork took place in 2012-2013 over a period of three months, and multiple data sets were gathered; 142 semi-structured interviews, documentation from participatory observation, group discussions, workshops and documentation (project reports, a GIS study of soil erosion risk, a baseline study of local livelihoods).This case study of a small-scale decentralized energy system problematizes a proposal made recently by some socio-technical scholars: that collective action and CPR theories are relevant to apply in analyses of decentralized energy systems. These attempts at bridging theoretically between fields are valuable. However, the system characteristics are sometimes similar only at the surface, and the application of CPR theory can in some cases be misleading and theoretically flawed, in cases where the technology is poorly understood. Based on our case study and conceptual discussion, we conclude that introduction of a new technology can motivate influential members of a community to engage in natural resource management and environmental protection, also when this generates social conflict and has negative implications for local food security. Theoretically, we conclude that developed understanding of non-human elements, scale and relations of power are critical to advancing the bridging work while keeping complementary analyses genuinely grounded in the theoretical base of each field.
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19.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Assessing the Environmental Risks of Silver from Clothes in an Urban Area
  • 2014
  • In: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). - : Informa UK Limited. - 1549-7860 .- 1080-7039. ; 20:4, s. 1008-1022
  • 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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21.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Challenges in Exposure Modeling of Nanoparticles in Aquatic Environments
  • 2011
  • 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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22.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Energy and resource use assessment of graphene as a substitute for indium tin oxide in transparent electrodes
  • 2016
  • In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 132, s. 289-297
  • 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, 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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24.
  • 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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25.
  • 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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26.
  • 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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27.
  • 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.
  •  
28.
  • 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.
  •  
29.
  • 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.
  •  
30.
  • 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.
  •  
31.
  • 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.
  •  
32.
  • 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.
  •  
33.
  • 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.
  •  
34.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Lessons from early assessments of production processes for the nanomaterial graphene
  • 2016
  • In: SETAC Europe 22th Case Study Symposium, 20-22 September, Montpellier, France.
  • 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 (
  •  
35.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • MODELLING ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF TiO2 NANOPARTICLES IN WATER – IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPIRICAL VALIDATION STUDIES
  • 2009
  • In: 4th International Conference on the Environmental Effects of Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials, 6-9 September, Vienna, Austria.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The potential environmental effects of nanoparticles (NPs) require interdisciplinary research to assess the risks. One part of a risk assessment concerns exposure, which builds on knowledge of the environmental fate. In this particular case the fate of TiO2 NPs in the water compartment was modelled by applying a second order kinetic rate equation and the DLVO theory. Assumptions were made regarding water parameters such as pH, salt concentration and temperature, as well as regarding particle properties such as Hamaker constant, primary particle size and point of zero charge. The effect of sedimentation was taken into account, but as one would expect the influence of sedimentation on such small particles is very small. The model was implemented in MATLAB®. Results indicate the importance of agglomeration as an important fate mechanism, and that pH andpoint of zero charge are important parameters with regards to agglomeration. Other parameters such as the Hamaker constant, salt concentration and temperature were shown not to have a significant effect, which is in goodcorrelation with empirical studies. Also, we would like to see our model validated by empirical studies. Important implications then are to include a continuous inflowof NPs in the experimental setup and to work at environmentally relevant water properties. For example is the effect of natural organic matter (NOM) on theagglomeration not modelled, despite that its significance has been pointed out in many studies. This is due to a weak link between mathematical expressions andempirical data for this particular part of the model. It is of importance that this linkage is strengthened both by theoretical and empirical studies on NOM aimingat producing mathematical expressions, and empirical data, that can assist fate modelling of NPs.
  •  
36.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Particle flow analysis. Exploring Potential Use Phase Emissions of Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles from Sunscreen, Paint and Cement
  • 2012
  • In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 16:3, s. 343-351
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Several authors have highlighted the potential risks of nanoparticles (NPs). Still, little is knownabout the magnitude of emissions of NPs from society. Here, the method of explorativeparticle flow analysis (PFA), a modification of the more well-known substance flow analysis(SFA), is suggested. In explorative PFA, particle number instead of mass is used as flowand stock metric and explorative scenarios are used to account for potential technologydiffusion and, consequently, potentially higher emissions. The method has been applied ina case study of the use phase of titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs in paint, sunscreen andself-cleaning cement. The results indicate that the current largest emissions of TiO2 NPsoriginate from the use of sunscreen. One scenario implies that, in the future, the largestflows and stocks of TiO2 NPs could be related to self-cleaning cement. Gaps in currentknowledge are identified and suggestions for future research are given.
  •  
37.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Epitaxial Graphene Production at Different Manufacturing Scales and Maturity
  • 2017
  • In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 21:5, s. 1153-1164
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Epitaxial growth is a potential production process for the new material graphene, where it is grown on silicon carbide (SiC) wafers at high temperatures. We provide first estimates of the life cycle cumulative energy demand, climate change, terrestrial acidification, and ecotoxicity of this production. For this purpose, we applied prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) for three production scenarios (lab, pilot, and an industrial scenario), which reflect different production scales and technological maturity. The functional unit was one square centimeter of graphene. Results show that the three scenarios have similar impacts, which goes against previous studies that have suggested a decrease with larger production scale and technological maturity. The reason for this result is the dominance of electricity use in the SiC wafer production for all impacts (>99% in the worst case, >76% in the best case). Only when assuming thinner SiC wafers in the industrial scenario is there a reduction in impacts by around a factor of 10. A surface-area-based comparison to the life cycle energy use of graphene produced by chemical vapor deposition showed that epitaxial graphene was considerably more energy intensive-approximately a factor of 1,000. We recommend producers of epitaxial graphene to investigate the feasibility of thinner SiC wafers and use electricity based on wind, solar, or hydropower. The main methodological recommendation from the study is to achieve a temporal robustness of LCA studies of emerging technologies, which includes the consideration of different background systems and differences in production scale and technological maturity.
  •  
38.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Graphene Production by Ultrasonication and Chemical Reduction
  • 2014
  • In: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 48:8, s. 4529−4536-4536
  • Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • One promising future bulk application of graphene is ascomposite additive. Therefore, we compare two production routes for insolutiongraphene using a cradle-to-gate lifecycle assessment focusing onpotential differences in energy use, blue water footprint, human toxicity,and ecotoxicity. The data used for the assessment is based on informationin scientific papers and patents. Considering the prospective nature of thisstudy, environmental impacts from background systems such as energyproduction were not included. The production routes are either based onultrasonication or chemical reduction. The results show that theultrasonication route has lower energy and water use, but higher humanand ecotoxicity impacts, compared to the chemical reduction route.However, a sensitivity analysis showed that solvent recovery in the ultrasonication process gives lower impacts for all includedimpact categories. The sensitivity analysis also showed that solvent recovery is important to lower the blue water footprint of thechemical reduction route as well. The results demonstrate the possibility to conduct a life cycle assessment study based mainly oninformation from patents and scientific articles, enabling prospective life cycle assessment studies of products at early stages oftechnological development.
  •  
39.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Proxy Measures for Simplified Environmental Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials
  • 2018
  • In: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 52:23, s. 13670-13680
  • Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Proxy measures have been proposed as a low-data option for simplified assessment of environmental threat given the high complexity of the natural environment. We here review studies of environmental release, fate, toxicity, and risk to identify relevant proxy measures for manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs). In total, 18 potential proxy measures were identified and evaluated regarding their link to environmental risk, an aspect of relevance, and data availability, an aspect of practice. They include socio-technical measures (e.g., MNM release), particle-specific measures (e.g., particle size), partitioning coefficients (e.g., the octanol–water coefficient), and other fate-related measures (e.g., half-life) as well as various ecotoxicological measures (e.g., 50% effect concentration). For most identified proxy measures, the link to environmental risk was weak and data availability low. Two exceptions were global production volume and ecotoxicity, for which the links to environmental risk are strong and data availability relatively decent. As proof of concept, these were employed to assess seven MNMs: titanium dioxide, cerium dioxide, zinc oxide, silver, silicon dioxide, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. The results show that none of the MNMs have both high production volumes and high ecotoxicity. Several refinements of the assessment are possible, such as higher resolution regarding the MNMs assessed (e.g., different allotropes) and different metrics (e.g., particle number and surface area). The proof of concept shows the feasibility of using proxy measures for environmental assessment of MNMs, in particular for novel MNMs in early technological development, when data is particularly scarce.
  •  
40.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Review of Potential Environmental and Health Risks of the Nanomaterial Graphene
  • 2013
  • In: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). - : Informa UK Limited. - 1549-7860 .- 1080-7039. ; 19:4, s. 873-887
  • Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Several future applications have been suggested for the nanomaterial graphene, and its production is increasing dramatically. This study is a review of risk-related information on graphene with the purpose of outlining potential environmental and health risks and guide future risk-related research. Available information is presented regarding emissions, environmental fate, and toxicity of graphene. The results from this study indicate that graphene could exert a considerable toxicity and that considerable emission of graphene from electronic devices and composites are possible in the future. It is also suggested that graphene is both persistent and hydrophobic. Although these results indicate that graphene may cause adverse environmental and health effects, the results foremost show that there are many risk-related knowledge gaps to be filled and that the emissions of graphene, the fate of graphene in the environment, and the toxicity of graphene should be further studied.
  •  
41.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Review of Screening Risk Assessment Methods for Nanomaterials
  • 2016
  • Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Nanomaterials are a new and growing type of material, and concerns have been raised regarding their potential risks to human health and to the environment. These concerns have spurred the development of risk assessment methods with thepurpose of assessing risks related to nanomaterials. However, such developments have proven to be challenging, both with regard to assessing toxic effects ofnanomaterials and to predicting human and environmental exposure to nanomaterials. In response to these challenges, a number of screening risk assessment methods fornanomaterials have been developed. In contrast to full risk assessments, screening risk assessments typically assess risk in a qualitative manner, for example on an ordinalscale from 1 to 3. The aim of this report is to investigate existing screening risk assessment methods for nanomaterials and provide recommendations on their furtherdevelopment. In order to fulfil this aim, a background section about three general and often-used screening risk assessment approaches is first provided. Second, screeningrisk assessment methods developed specifically for nanomaterials are reviewed.Third, recommendations on potentially beneficial developments within the field are provided in a concluding discussion. The review showed that many quite different screening risk assessment methods for nanomaterials exist. A total of 20 were identified: ANSES, CB Nanotool 2.0, early warning signs, Genaidy’s method, Groso’s method, Guidance, Hierarchical Rank Aggregation, LICARA nanoSCAN, Nano-Evaluris, NanoHAZ, NANoREG, NanoRiskCat, NanoSafer, Occupational Hazard Band for Nano, Precautionary Matrix,Relative Risk Analysis, Risk Trigger Scores, Stoffenmanager Nano, TEARR, and the WCD model. These methods share many features, such as the scoring and ranking of risk on ordinal scales. However, they are also different in several respects. The exact scales used in the different methods differ, and, more importantly, they vary concerning the complexity of the scoring and ranking procedure, and which hazard input parameters are used in order to conduct the scoring and ranking. Some methods are relatively simple and require few hazard input parameters, while others are morecomplex, and require many input parameters, some of which are difficult to determine. It was also noted that most methods focused on occupational human health risks, while fewer focused on environmental risks. Based on the review, we propose three main recommendations. First, the further development of screening risk assessment methods focusing on environmental risks is warranted. Second, modest complexity and input data requirements arebeneficial for the applicability of the method and more in line with the spirit of screening risk assessment. Third, since ordinal scales have problems related to mathematical operations and scale compression, we recommend they be used with caution.
  •  
42.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Risk scoring and ranking of nanomaterials – a way forward?
  • 2016
  • In: Society for Risk Analysis Europe: Nordic Chapter Annual Meeting, 14-15 November, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Assessing environmental and health risks of chemical substances is a formidable challenge. Where they will be transported in the environment, which organisms will be exposed to them, and what the effects will be, are difficult questions to answer. To enable such assessments, multi-media environmental fate models and (eco)toxicological data are often employed in so-called chemical risk assessments. Nanomaterials (NMs), having at least one dimension in the nanometre size range, are a new class of substances, and their risks have proven to be even more difficult to assess. This is because models developed for conventional chemical substances are generally not applicable to NMs. In order to still be able to say something about NMs’ risks, less complicated risk scoring and ranking methods have been developed. We have conducted a review of these methods, identifying 20 in total. In these methods, risk is not assessed in terms of comparing exposure and effects as in conventional chemical risk assessment, but instead scored and ranked on ordinal scales, for example from 1 to 5 or from green to red. They often follow decision tree-like frameworks, where different hazard-related properties, such as whether the NM is bound to a surface and is in the form of bio-persistent fibres, are employed to score and rank NMs. Some methods assess NMs specifically, some assess products containing NMs, and some assess labs using NMs. Human health risks - in particular occupational health - is more often covered than are environmental risks. These methods provide easy-to-understand scoring and ranking of NMs. However, some methods are complicated to the extent that they rival the complicatedness of conventional chemical risk assessments. The use of ordinal scoring scales in risk assessment has also been questioned due to their subjectivity and mathematical limitations, which include that common mathematical operations such as addition and multiplication are strictly not allowed for ordinal scales. Ultimately, the question is to which extent such scoring and ranking methods can escape uncertainties related to the release, environmental fate and potential effects on humans and other organisms? However, it is clear that risk scoring and ranking can be used for screening assessments and thereby aid prioritization for more detailed assessments. Methods employed should be transparent, relatively simple and assure that factors included are cautiously selected to include important aspects of NM release, fate, exposure and effects.
  •  
43.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Screening Environmental Risk Assessment of Grease and Oil Emissions from Off-Shore Wind Power Plants
  • 2012
  • Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This report constitutes a generic environmental risk assessment of emissions of grease and oil from off-shore wind power plants. In this context, risk is defined as an exposure of a stressor high enough to cause adverse effects on a certain endpoint. The stressors considered are alkanes, phosphate isodecyl/phenyl compounds and zinc alkyl dithiophosphate. The endpoints considered are the aquatic organisms fish, Daphnia magna, algae and aquatic bacteria. A screening risk assessment method is applied, assuming one-time releases of lubricant and gear oil. Although this should be seen as an early screening study, it indicates that the stressors included constitute risks to aquatic organisms given the setup of this study. A one-by-one parameter sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the impact of different emissions, evaporation and biodegradation on the results. Even with low emissions, high evaporation and high biodegradation, the results show that the organisms living close to the wind power plant are subject to risk. The implications of these results if taken into account that some off-shore wind power plants may not occur one-by-one but rather be part of parks containing tens of plants together are discussed. Recommendations to reduce the risk are given. A technical risk reduction measure is to use less toxic, biodegradable lubricants. An organizational risk reduction measure is to increase maintenance and thereby reducing the likelihood of emissions occurring.
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44.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Substance Flow Analysis of Novel Compounds: The Case of Graphene
  • 2011
  • In: 6th International Conference on Industrial Ecology, Berkley, California, June 7-10, 2011..
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Many new nanomaterials are being developed, and it provides a great challenge to estimate emissions of nanomaterials to the environment. One such nanomaterial is graphene, which has been hailed for its many potential useful applications. In accordance, researchers studying graphene received the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. The current emissions of graphene are low due to the limited production, but may become significant in the future considering the rapid increase in graphene production. The method of substance flow analysis (SFA) has previously been used for estimating emissions of chemicals in an accounting manner. However, when using SFA in a prospective way for assessing emissions of a novel substance such as graphene, three prime challenges emerge: (1) estimating future magnitudes of flows and stocks of applications in which graphene is a constituent, (2) estimating concentration of graphene in the applications and (3) estimating emission coefficients specific for graphene and the application. Even if future flows and stocks of applications containing graphene cannot be rigorously estimated, potential risk can be probed by investigations of stylized states that account for different levels of technology diffusion. Concentration data is sometimes available since it is an important technical performance parameter, for instance for graphene in various composites. In more complex applications such as electronics, it may be more difficult to obtain. No emission coefficients of graphene are available, which constitutes that perhaps largest gap in an SFA of graphene. The conclusions drawn for the case of graphene is probably of interest for assessments of emissions of other novel substances as well.
  •  
45.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • The Environmental Risks of Silver in Clothes
  • 2011
  • In: Creating Successful and Sustainable Societies - Capabilities, resources and trust. The Adlerbert Research Foundation Jubilee Conference.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Water treatment companies and other actors in Sweden are concerned over the potential contamination of the waste water sludge due to silver emissions originating from antibacterial applications, such as clothes treated with silver in order to reduce odour. Silver is a compound which is known for its toxicity to several organisms. Hence, increased silver concentration in sludge may therefore prevent the sludge from being used as fertilizer on agricultural land, hence preventing the recycling of nutrients. Therefore, an environmental risk assessment of silver in clothes was conducted for the case of the waste water treatment plant Ryaverket in Gothenburg. Emissions of silver from washing as function of consumption of silver-containing clothes was estimated, the fate of silver in waste water treatment plants and soil was studied, and finally a review was made regarding silver toxicity to soil organisms. The potential concentration of silver in sludge and soil was estimated and benchmarked against different guideline values. The risk assessment reveals a very large variation in silver concentration in clothes, ranging from 0.003 mg/kg up to 1400 mg/kg. This wide range of about six orders of magnitude of course affects the potential concentration of silver in sludge and soil. If silver concentrations close to 1400 mg/kg are to be used in clothes, the current silver concentration in the sludge from Ryaverket could easily become doubled, and if that sludge was to be applied on soil, the silver may accumulate and cause long-term damage to soil ecosystems. However, if silver concentrations close to 0.003 mg/kg are to be used in clothes, it would not constitute a risk to sludge or soil considering the low amounts of silver. Also, the future consumption of silver-containing clothes may vary and will have a significant effect on the results. The recommendation based on this study is either to limit silver concentration in clothes or the consumption of silver-containing clothes if environmental impacts are to be avoided.
  •  
46.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • The fate of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the water compartment
  • 2009
  • In: SETAC Europe 19th Annual Meeting, 31 May-4 June, 2009, Göteborg, Sweden.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Environmental risk of nanoparticles has been assessed in several studies. Titanium dioxide has been identified as one of the potentially most problematic nanoparticles. It has been shown that a large amount of the titanium dioxide nanoparticles may end up in the water compartment. These risk assessments constitute first estimates and several fate mechanisms are not taken into account. In this study, we propose a risk model that includes the two fate mechanisms sedimentation and aggregation. The sedimentation rate of titanium dioxide nanoparticles is determined using simple laws of motion. Still water is assumed, which gives optimal conditions for sedimentation. It is shown that despite the optimal conditions for sedimentation, the sedimentation rates of particles with a diameter of 100 nm and 1000 nm are about 8 years and 1 month, respectively. One month can be regarded as a long time from a risk perspective, and thus sedimentation is shown not to be an important factor for the removal of titanium dioxide nanoparticles from the water compartment. However, preliminary results show that aggregation can reduce the predicted environmental concentration significantly in a short time. Hence, equilibrium concentrations could be several orders of magnitude lower than what has been indicated in earlier studies. The aggregation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles is modeled using Smoluchowski kinetics and the DLVO theory, which are commonly used in colloid chemistry. The aggregation is shown to depend mainly on the pH of the water compartment and the zero point charge of the particles.
  •  
47.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • The zinc paradox – a problem for USEtox-based indicators of national chemical footprints?
  • 2016
  • In: SETAC Europe 22th Case Study Symposium, 20-22 September, Montpellier, France.
  • Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
    • Considering the immense problem of chemical pollution worldwide, there is a great need for methods that can be used to calculate indicators of chemical footprints. Such indicators can be calculated for products and services using life cycle assessment (LCA), but also for whole nations. Indicators of national chemical footprints may include emissions within the nation’s borders only, or also emissions related to consumption (thus having a life cycle perspective). A limited number of studies ( 50% of the toxicity impacts for both ecotoxicity and human toxicity. For ecotoxicity, this is not unreasonable considering the notable toxicity of zinc to aquatic organisms. For human toxicity, this result is more surprising. Zinc is an essential trace element for humans that many take as a dietary supplement to prevent zinc deficiency. Non-LCA sources describe zinc as “relatively harmless” to human health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not list zinc among the top ten chemicals of major public health concern, although there are other metals on the list (mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic). These contradictory claims about zinc’s health impact seem to constitute a paradox. We present a review of existing studies assessing indicators of national chemical footprints, and of toxicological research related to zinc. We further discuss potential causes of this zinc paradox, as well as implications for assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints with USEtox.
  •  
48.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Towards transparent and relevant use of energy use indicators in LCA studies of biofuels
  • 2012
  • In: 6th SETAC World Congress / SETAC Europe 22nd Annual Meeting in Berlin.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The use of energy has led to resource crises during the history of mankind, such as the deforestation of the Mediterranean during antiquity, and of Great Britain before the 19th century, and the oil crisis in the 20th century and continuing. Considering this, the frequent use of the impact category ‘energy use’ in the environmental assessment tool life cycle assessment (LCA) is not surprising. However, in a previous study, some of the authors noted that the term ‘energy use’ was not applied in a transparent and consistent way in LCA studies of biofuels. In this work we investigate how energy use indicators are applied in a set of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of biofuels. In the examined reports and articles, the choice of indicator was seldom motivated or discussed and we observed five inherently different energy use indicators: (1) fossil energy, (2) secondary energy, (3) cumulative energy demand, (4) net energy balance, and (5) total extracted energy. These five energy use indicators were applied to the same cradle-to-gate production system of palm oil methyl ester (PME), 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. All five 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. Authors of LCA studies should first define the purpose of their energy use indicator (fossil scarcity, energy scarcity, energy efficiency, cost/benefit comparison) and may then make a motivated choice of the energy use indicator.
  •  
49.
  • Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al. (author)
  • Tracing nanomaterial hotspots in a changing world
  • 2010
  • In: 20th SETAC Europe Annual Meeting, Seville, Spain, 23-27 May 2010.
  • Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The potential risks of nanotechnology and nanoparticles have been outlined along with the importance of assessing these risks before commercial products are out on the market. We here propose a method to detect future hotspots of nanoparticle emissions by estimating the production rate and societal stock of technologies containing nanomaterials at a future stage when the technology can be viewed as mature and fully developed and diffused. This estimate is combined with a characterisation of the nanomaterial. The method is applied to some technologies containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterials. The applications of TiO2 nanomaterials investigated in this study are UV absorbers (in sunscreen), pigment (in paint), electron carrier (in Grätzel solar cells) and photocatalyst (in self-cleaning windows and cement). Estimations of the current production and stocks of TiO2 nanomaterials for the technologies are also included for comparison. The TiO2 nanomaterials are characterized in seven steps, which gives valuable information regarding the potential emissions. Results indicate that two TiO2 nanomaterial containing technologies, paint and sunscreen, are already close to their mature stages. Paint is the current hotspot since it has the currently highest production rate and largest stock of TiO2 nanomaterial. In the future, however, in terms of TiO2 nanomaterial turnover, it may be passed by self-cleaning cement, which has the potential to become by far the largest use even if only a minor part of all cement will contain TiO2 nanomaterial. The diversity of types of different TiO2 nanomaterials and their potential emissions makes it problematic to discuss TiO2 nanomaterials as if it was one single nanomaterial in an exposure assessment context.
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50.
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