Dataset Information

Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Enhancing the Photodegradation Activity of TiO₂ with Metal-Doping.

ABSTRACT: While TiO₂ nanoparticles have shown potential as photocatalysts in the degradation of organic contaminants, their inability to absorb efficiently visible light has limited their industrial application. One strategy for solving this problem is monodoping TiO₂ photocatalysts with transition metals, which has worked in the degradation of several pollutants. However, it is not clear if this improvement is enough to offset the potential environmental impacts of adding metal ions to the synthesis of TiO₂. Herein, we have used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to determine the sustainability of monodoping TiO₂ with transition metals (Fe, Co, Mn and Ni, with a 1% weight ratio) to enhance the photocatalytic properties of the photocatalyst toward the degradation of Carbamazepine and Methyl Orange, under UV-A and visible light irradiation. We found that the addition of transition-metals has no significant effect on the environmental impacts associated with the synthesis of TiO₂, when a weight-based functional unit was considered. However, when photocatalytic activity was considered, major differences were found. Thus, our results demonstrate that the sustainability of monodoping with different transition metals is solely determined by their ability to enhance (or not) the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. Our data also demonstrated that isopropyl alcohol constitutes a critical point in the synthesis of TiO₂ photocatalysts, with ethanol being a potential substitute.

SUBMITTER: Fernandes S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7178238 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Enhancing the Photodegradation Activity of TiO2 with Metal-Doping.

Fernandes Sónia S Esteves da Silva Joaquim C G JCG Pinto da Silva Luís L

Materials (Basel, Switzerland) 20200325 7

While TiO2 nanoparticles have shown potential as photocatalysts in the degradation of organic contaminants, their inability to absorb efficiently visible light has limited their industrial application. One strategy for solving this problem is monodoping TiO2 photocatalysts with transition metals, which has worked in the degradation of several pollutants. However, it is not clear if this improvement is enough to offset the potential environmental impacts of adding metal ions ...[more]

PMID: 32218246

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Project description:PurposeThis study seeks to provide a framework for integrating animal welfare as a fourth pillar into a life cycle sustainability assessment and presents three alternative animal welfare indicators.MethodsAnimal welfare is assessed during farm life and during slaughter. The indicators differ in how they value premature death. All three consider (1) the life quality of an animal such as space allowance, (2) the slaughter age either as life duration or life fraction, and (3) the number of animals affected for providing a product unit, e.g. 1 Mcal. One of the indicators additionally takes into account a moral value denoting their intelligence and self-awareness. The framework allows for comparisons across studies and products and for applications at large spatial scales. To illustrate the framework, eight products were analysed and compared: beef, pork, poultry, milk, eggs, salmon, shrimps, and, as a novel protein source, insects.Results and discussionInsects are granted to live longer fractions of their normal life spans, and their life quality is less compromised due to a lower assumed sentience. Still, they perform worst according to all three indicators, as their small body sizes only yield low product quantities. Therefore, we discourage from eating insects. In contrast, milk is the product that reduces animal welfare the least according to two of the three indicators and it performs relatively better than other animal products in most categories. The difference in animal welfare is mostly larger for different animal products than for different production systems of the same product. This implies that, besides less consumption of animal-based products, a shift to other animal products can significantly improve animal welfare.ConclusionsWhile the animal welfare assessment is simplified, it allows for a direct integration into life cycle sustainability assessment. There is a trade-off between applicability and indicator complexity, but even a simple estimate of animal welfare is much better than ignoring the issue, as is the common practice in life cycle sustainability assessments. Future research should be directed towards elaborating the life quality criterion and extending the product coverage.

Dataset Information

Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Enhancing the Photodegradation Activity of TiO₂ with Metal-Doping.

Publications

Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Enhancing the Photodegradation Activity of TiO<sub>2</sub> with Metal-Doping.

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