Abstract
Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) potentially represent a more sustainable, less expensive and environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The development of new low-cost, non-toxic, highly performing electrode materials is the key point for the SIB technology advances. This study develops a basic life cycle assessment (LCA) model for the evaluation of the production by electrospinning of iron (III) oxide-based fibers to be used as anode materials in SIBs. Indeed, it has been recently demonstrated that electrospun silicon-doped iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) fibers exhibit outstanding electrochemical properties and gravimetric capacities never achieved before for pure Fe2O3-based anodes. The LCA methodology is utilized in order to analyze the environmental burdens (from raw material extraction to manufacturing process) of these electrode materials. The simplified comparative LCA studies, conducted to assess the environmental impacts associated with the electrospun Fe2O3 and Fe2O3:Si fibers at the same cell performance, demonstrate that the Si-doped anode material, which exhibits better electrochemical performance with respect to the undoped one, has also lower impact for each category of damage, namely human health, ecosystem quality and resources.
Highlights
LIBs are the primary electrochemical energy storage systems for portable devices, but the growing consumption of lithium and its limited availability restricted to few countries represent a serious concern for their future large-scale production costs
The goal and scope of life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis are to analyze the environmental impacts of the production by electrospinning of iron (III) oxide-based fibers to be used as anode materials in SIBs
Eco-toxicity Acid rain /eutrophication Land use Minerals Fossil fuels. For both the anode materials, the greatest impact is on the resource consumption, whereas the lowest impact is on the ecosystem quality
Summary
LIBs are the primary electrochemical energy storage systems for portable devices, but the growing consumption of lithium and its limited availability restricted to few countries represent a serious concern for their future large-scale production costs. Since sodium exhibits a quite similar chemistry to lithium and it is the 4th most abundant element in the Earth crust (Slater et al 2013), SIBs potentially represent a more sustainable and less expensive alternative to LIBs for the use in large scale, in the near term (Slater et al 2013). In year 2016, sodium carbonate was commercialized at ~ 121 €/t vs 6340 €/t for the lithium carbonate (U.S Geological Survey 2017). In this view, an increasing scientific interest is focused on this technology. The quantification of the potential environmental impacts of the production of such batteries with respect to LIBs is attracting attention too
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