PV in the circular economy, a dynamic framework analyzing technology evolution and reliability impacts.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ovaitt S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8683597 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The concept of a circular economy (CE) is gaining increasing attention from policy makers, industry, and academia. There is a rapidly evolving debate on definitions, limitations, the contribution to a wider sustainability agenda, and a need for indicators to assess the effectiveness of circular economy measures at larger scales. Herein, we present a framework for a comprehensive and economy-wide biophysical assessment of a CE, utilizing and systematically linking official statistics on resource extraction and use and waste flows in a mass-balanced approach. This framework builds on the widely applied framework of economy-wide material flow accounting and expands it by integrating waste flows, recycling, and downcycled materials. We propose a comprehensive set of indicators that measure the scale and circularity of total material and waste flows and their socioeconomic and ecological loop closing. We applied this framework in the context of monitoring efforts for a CE in the European Union (EU28) for the year 2014. We found that 7.4 gigatons (Gt) of materials were processed in the EU and only 0.71 Gt of them were secondary materials. The derived input socioeconomic cycling rate of materials was therefore 9.6%. Further, of the 4.8 Gt of interim output flows, 14.8% were recycled or downcycled. Based on these findings and our first efforts in assessing sensitivity of the framework, a number of improvements are deemed necessary: improved reporting of wastes, explicit modeling of societal in-use stocks, introduction of criteria for ecological cycling, and disaggregated mass-based indicators to evaluate environmental impacts of different materials and circularity initiatives.
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| S-EPMC9638415 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Bioplastics - typically plastics manufactured from bio-based polymers - stand to contribute to more sustainable commercial plastic life cycles as part of a circular economy, in which virgin polymers are made from renewable or recycled raw materials. Carbon-neutral energy is used for production and products are reused or recycled at their end of life (EOL). In this Review, we assess the advantages and challenges of bioplastics in transitioning towards a circular economy. Compared with fossil-based plastics, bio-based plastics can have a lower carbon footprint and exhibit advantageous materials properties; moreover, they can be compatible with existing recycling streams and some offer biodegradation as an EOL scenario if performed in controlled or predictable environments. However, these benefits can have trade-offs, including negative agricultural impacts, competition with food production, unclear EOL management and higher costs. Emerging chemical and biological methods can enable the 'upcycling' of increasing volumes of heterogeneous plastic and bioplastic waste into higher-quality materials. To guide converters and consumers in their purchasing choices, existing (bio)plastic identification standards and life cycle assessment guidelines need revision and homogenization. Furthermore, clear regulation and financial incentives remain essential to scale from niche polymers to large-scale bioplastic market applications with truly sustainable impact.
| S-EPMC8771173 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The rapid growth of the livestock sector in some areas of Europe has caused an imbalance between the generation of livestock manure and the availability of agricultural soil for its direct application as a fertilizer. Since the transport of pig slurry to other areas with nutrient-deficient soils is costly from an economic point of view due to its high water content, the application of new technologies for the concentration of this waste is considered key for reducing management costs. Consequently, the main objective of this study was to demonstrate the potential of vibratory shear enhanced processing (VSEP) operated with reverse osmosis membranes to recover nutrients from the liquid fractions of pig slurry (LF-pig slurry) and digestate (LF-digestate) and obtain concentrated fertilizing products. Use of the VSEP unit permitted reductions in the water contents of the LF-pig slurry and LF-digestate, around 77% and 67%, respectively. Both VSEP concentrates were characterized by their significant nutrient contents and showed a nitrogen fertilizer replacement value similar to that of mineral fertilizer as demonstrated in a barley crop pot-test, although the salinity of the digestate concentrate was identified as a key limitation, negatively impacting the agronomic yield of the test crop.
| S-EPMC9501425 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management has been a long-standing problem for many cities in developing countries. Urbanization, population growth, and excessive demand for resources caused significant waste related environmental and socio-economic problems in cities. Integration of policy decisions with actionable targets and management of economic and environmental extremes were common challenges to achieving sustainable waste management strategy. Circular economy is a concept that has been evolved with sustainable resource management perspective adopted in this study to support scientific decision-making process for urban planners and policymakers. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a framework to assess the environmental impacts of waste life cycle ranging from waste generation, transportation, treatment, and end disposal. This study used the LCA framework to evaluate the impact of MSW management of a selected local authority in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to identify the environmental impact of four (04) proposed scenarios in comparison with the Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario. Environmental impacts were calculated using global warming potential in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and short-lived climate pollutants. The results revealed that management of MSW within the local authority boundary by integrating recycling, incineration, and sanitary landfill (3:8:1 ratio) offered the highest positive impacts (- 121.84 kg of CO2 eq./ton) while BAU scenario caused the highest negative impacts (250.97 kg of CO2 eq./ton) in comparison with selected scenarios. Moreover, incineration, sanitary landfill, recycling, and anaerobic digestion contributed to emission savings and energy generation. LCA framework was used to identify the composition of MSW for suitable technologies as well as to evaluate the efficiency of existing management mechanisms within a local authority. Evaluation was used to understand the holistic picture of multiple management options to support policymakers in the decision-making process. This framework can be used as a benchmarking tool and bridging concept between the waste management policy and local action plans, which is an important step towards achieving a circular economy for developing countries.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43615-022-00200-x.
| S-EPMC9360726 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Circular Economy (CE) is a growing topic, especially in the European Union, that promotes the responsible and cyclical use of resources possibly contributing to sustainable development. CE is an umbrella concept incorporating different meanings. Despite the unclear concept, CE is turned into defined action plans supported by specific indicators. To understand what indicators used in CE measure specifically, we propose a classification framework to categorise indicators according to reasoning on what (CE strategies) and how (measurement scope). Despite different types, CE strategies can be grouped according to their attempt to preserve functions, products, components, materials, or embodied energy; additionally, indicators can measure the linear economy as a reference scenario. The measurement scope shows how indicators account for technological cycles with or without a Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach; or their effects on environmental, social, or economic dimensions. To illustrate the classification framework, we selected quantitative micro scale indicators from literature and macro scale indicators from the European Union 'CE monitoring framework'. The framework illustration shows that most of the indicators focus on the preservation of materials, with strategies such as recycling. However, micro scale indicators can also focus on other CE strategies considering LCT approach, while the European indicators mostly account for materials often without taking LCT into account. Furthermore, none of the available indicators can assess the preservation of functions instead of products, with strategies such as sharing platforms, schemes for product redundancy, or multifunctionality. Finally, the framework illustration suggests that a set of indicators should be used to assess CE instead of a single indicator.
| S-EPMC6559262 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This paper investigates the economy-wide impact of the uptake of circular economy (CE) measures for the small open economy (SOE) of Belgium, in particular the impact of fiscal policies in support of lifetime extension through repair activities of household appliances. The impact assessment is completed by means of a computable general equilibrium model as this allows quantification of both the direct and indirect economic and environmental impact of simulated shocks. The results show that different fiscal policy types can steer an economy into a more circular direction. However, depending on the policy type, the impact on the SOE's macroeconomic structure and level of circularity differs. Furthermore, common claims attributed to a CE (e.g. local job creation or decreased import dependence) can be, but are not always, valid. Hence, policy-makers must prioritize their most important macroeconomic goals and opt for an according fiscal policy. Finally, this paper finds that the CO2 equivalent emissions calculated from a production (or territorial) perspective increase, while they decrease from a consumption perspective. This is explained by the substitution of international activities by local circular activities. This comparative analysis advocates for the consumption approach to assess the CE's impact on CO2 equivalent emissions.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00168-021-01079-6.
| S-EPMC8475896 | biostudies-literature