Review of LCA/ Nano Published Work

Transcription

1 Review of LCA/ Nano Published Work J. A. Isaacs Associate Director, Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing Northeastern University, Boston, MA LCA/Nanotechnology Workshop October 2-3, 2006 Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Washington, DC

2 Life Cycle Assessment Used to identify opportunities for risk management (potential risks or adverse impacts) o Materials selection oproduct design omanufacturing o Use / Maintenance oend-of-life

3 NNI Funded Studies Paper reviews research priorities, funding and outcomes on the Risks of Nanotechnology Guzmaän, Taylor &Banfield, Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology: National Nanotechnology Initiative Funding, , Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40,

4 Recent EPA & NSF Awards o o o Evaluating the Impacts of Nanomanufacturing via Thermodynamic and Life Cycle Analysis o EPA Grant Number: R o PIs: Bakshi & Lee o Ohio State University o Duration: 01/01/ /31/2008 o Amount Funded: $375,000 A Life Cycle Analysis Approach for Evaluating Future Nanotechnology Applications o EPA Grant Number: R o PI: Lave o Carnegie Mellon University o Duration: 05/01/ /30/2005 o Amount Funded: $100,000 Implications of Nanomaterials Manufacture and Use: Development of a Methodology for Screening Sustainability o EPA Grant Number: R o PIs: Beaver, Beloff, Tanzil, & Wiesner o BRIDGES to Sustainability, Rice University o Duration: 05/01/ /30/2005 o Amount Funded: $99,740 o o NER: Identifying and Regulating Environmental Impacts of Nanomaterials o NSF Award SES o PIs: Swami & Gorman o University of Virginia o Duration: 09/01/ /31/2007 o Amount Funded: $130,000 NER: Carbon Nanotube Synthesis: Assessing Economic and Environmental Tradeoffs in Process Design o NSF Award SES o PI: Isaacs o Northeastern University o Duration: 07/15/ /30/2006 o Amount Funded: $129,989

5 EPA funded Bakshi & Fiksel AIChE Journal, v 49, n 6, Jun 1, 2003, p Work in Progress Bakshi, B. R. and N. U. Ukidwe, The Role of Thermodynamics in the LCA of Emerging and Existing Technologies, IEEE Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, o Generate life cycle inventory for manufacture of polymer nanocomposites o Test two hypotheses for thermodynamics-based LCA and impact assessment with limited information o (i) alternative with a higher life cycle thermodynamic efficiency has a smaller life cycle impact o (ii) emissions with a smaller life cycle thermodynamic efficiency have a larger ecotoxicological impact o Develop a tool for exploring economic and environmental aspects of alternate manufacturing combinations for selected nanoproducts and conventional processes

6 NSF funded Work Near Completion o Create life cycle inventory for manufacture of SWNT o Compare three production methods: oarc ablation ocvd ohipco o Develop process-based technical cost models for exploring economic and environmental tradeoffs of alternate process parameters o Utilize SimaPro for LCA 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% ARC SWNT Production CVD SWNT Production HiPco SWNT Production Carcinogens Resp. organics Resp. inorganics Climate change Radiation Ozone layer Impact Catagory Ecotoxicity Acidification/ Eutrophication Land use Minerals Isaacs, Tanwani & Healy, Environmental Assessment of SWNT Production, IEEE Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, San Francisco, CA, May 8-11, 2006

7 EPA funded LCA Informs Nanotech R&D o Develop a framework employing quantitative analysis o Use technology scenarios and prospective hybrid life-cycle assessment o Estimate economic and environmental life-cycle implications of two NT products: o nanocomposites in vehicle body panels o nanofabricated Pt-catalysts to reduce resources used o Compare conventional product to its NT-based substitute o Assess NT substitute in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmental quality Lloyd & Lave, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, Lloyd, Lave & Matthews, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39,

8 Robichaud, Tanzil, Weilenmann & Wiesner, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39(22); Implications of Nanomaterials Manufacture & Use EPA/NSF funded o Assess potential costs and benefits of nanomaterials with near-term uses along their product lifecycles o Develop methodology to screen new technology applications in terms of environmental, societal, and economic risks and opportunities o Data difficulties prevented more formal lifecycle assessment and lifecycle impact assessment as originally intended o Continuation of work resulted in relative risk scores for processing of five nanomaterials: oswnt, C 60, quantum dots, alumoxane nanoparticles, and nanotitanium dioxide

9 Steinfeldt Four NT Case Studies Undertaken o Two central questions for project: o Can possible effects of a technology be evaluated if it is still newly emerging and far from being fully developed? o How may active shaping of nanotechnology towards sustainability take place successfully? Nanovarnish Styrene synthesis Displays Lighting Steinfeldt, Petschow, Haum, von Gleich, Nanotechnology & Sustainability, Discussion paper 65/04 of the IÖW, Berlin, October 2004

10 Steinfeldt LCA Limitations Identified o Some impact categories (human toxicity and ecotoxicity) have no commonly accepted impact model o Evaluation of exposure to fine dust (PM10 <10 μm) inadequate since nanoparticles smaller o No consideration of risks or extent of possible impact o Limitations compensated for within these case studies by consciously establishing points of focus while selecting the specific application contexts to be researched Steinfeldt, Petschow, Haum, von Gleich, Nanotechnology & Sustainability, Discussion paper 65/04 of the IÖW, Berlin, October 2004

11 Steinfeldt Full LCA of Auto Clear Coatings Steinfeldt, Petschow, Haum, von Gleich, Nanotechnology & Sustainability, Discussion paper 65/04 of the IÖW, Berlin, October 2004

12 Olsen & Jørgensen, Environmental Assessment of Micro/Nano Production in a Life Cycle Perspective Materials Research Society Symp. Proc. Vol Findings: Four NT Cases Using LCA o Qualitative results due to lack of data and time o Examples of findings: o Supercritical synthesis of nanoparticles requires less energy with reduced resource use. (Use and disposal assumed same as other manufacturing routes.) o Nanocoatings based on sol-gel synthesis may replace alternative methods of de-icing, antifouling etc. thus reducing use of chemicals; production of nanocoating seems to show lower impact o LEDs used in lighting systems not yet as energy efficient as fluorescent lamps but anticipated if quantum dots introduced o Use of nano-materials for environmental remediation not evaluated for benefits over existing technologies

13 Steinfeldt Remarks on Methodology Summarized o Nanotechnology applications do not automatically hold a potential for immediate environmental relief o High level of potential for eco-efficiency using technologies examined in case studies o Difficult to make precise quantitative claims ecoeffects during the production phase o Estimates for the use phase are possible o General claims regarding toxicity of nanoparticles cannot be made (2004) o Great need for further research on the toxicity and behavior of nanoparticles on environment o Methods of production mostly in aqueous solutions or within closed systems o nanoparticles often tightly encapsulated in products o Expect low impact o Substantial gaps exist regarding entire product life cycle Steinfeldt, Petschow, Haum, von Gleich, Nanotechnology & Sustainability, Discussion paper 65/04 of the IÖW, Berlin, October 2004

14 Olsen & Jørgensen, Environmental Assessment of Micro/Nano Production in a Life Cycle Perspective Materials Research Society Symp. Proc. Vol Green Technology Foresight Project o NT challenging to assess due to a number of knowledge gaps o Functional unit may not be defined o Unclear on what technology to compare o Processes still under development o Questions about or materials choice o NT emerging tech, so forecasting necessary o Wide dispersion of nanomaterials in products and environment expected o Difficult to perform LCA in a traditional way

15 Additional Gaps/ Needs Identified o Evaluation of more product sectors o Assessment of transportation & EOL o Inclusion of resources beyond energy o Consideration of nature of nanomaterials o Impacts based not only on size or mass o Consideration of fate and exposure of outputs o Consideration of health and environmental risks Lekas, Analysis of Nanotechnology from an Industrial Ecology Perspective, Masters Project, Yale University, 2005

16 Comprehensive Comparison of Stages Assessed Modified from: Lekas, Analysis of Nanotechnology from an Industrial Ecology Perspective, Masters Project, Yale University, 2005

17 Olsen & Jørgensen, Environmental Assessment of Micro/Nano Production in a Life Cycle Perspective Materials Research Society Symp. Proc. Vol High Standards for Purity of Nanomaterials o Requires energy intensive heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems o Clean room of class 100 requires 8440 kwh/m 2 o Demands higher purity level chemical & gases o additional energy consumption o distillation processes, which are often used in wet chemical purification, account in total for about 7 % of energy consumption of the U.S. chemical industry (Plepys, 2004) o possibly more waste generated o Generates considerable wastes in production o 99% of material used for microinjection molded part could be waste, since runner /sprue systems necessary o Limits to recycling of home scrap o Causes new problems for electronics recycling

18 Broad Scope of EHS in NanoMfg Farhang Shadman Environmental Challenges and Opportunities in Nanomfg for Green Nanotechnology Series, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC, April 26, 2006

19 Obstacles in LCA for Microelectronics o Methodology and data acquisition considerations include: o Electronics too complex for full scale LCAs of high data quality, if detailed decision support is intended o Time frame for LCA in electronics extremely short, if eco-design should be supported o Lack of generic data: tens of thousands of different electronics components in use; umbrella LCA data might be needed o Huge amount of electronic specific inputs (e.g. high purity chemicals) o Huge amount of electronics specific outputs (impact assessments) o Toxicity assessment a weak point of LCA methodology but of major interest o Further impacts such as electro-magnetic radiation need to be addressed by life cycle impact assessment o Modeling of disposal is very complex: electronics are composed of several hundred substances o Use patterns of electronic devices constantly changing, making modeling of the use phase difficult without reliable statistic data o Rapid shifting of functionality raises obstacles concerning the definition of the functional unit and comparability of product systems o Global supply chains hinder availability of specific LCA data Schishke & Griese Is small green? Life Cycle Aspects of Technology Trends in Microelectronics and Microsystems, 2004;

20 From: Environmental Health Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials NSET, August 2006 Research Needs for Impact Assessment Potential Recipient of Exposure R&D Product Life Cycle Stage Mfg Process / Dstr Use Disposal Worker Consumer NA NA Public Environmental Release Water Soil Air Water Soil Air Water Soil Air Water Soil Air Water Soil Air

21 Summary of Literature Review o Few publicly available LCAs o Existing LCAs do not treat all stages of life cycle o Missing EHS impacts of nanomaterials o Numerous calls for LCA during product development o How to proceed with assessments?