Eco-design Approach Research Articles

Design and Fabrication of Multifunctional E-Textiles by Upcycling Waste Cotton Fabrics through Carbonization

The merging of electronic materials and textiles has triggered the proliferation of wearables and interactive surfaces in the ubiquitous computing era. However, this leads to e-textile waste that is difficult to recycle and decompose. Instead, we demonstrate an eco-design approach to upcycle waste cotton fabrics into functional textile elements through carbonization without the need for additional materials. We identify optimal parameters for the carbonization process and develop encapsulation techniques to improve the response, durability, and washability of the carbonized textiles. We then configure these e-textiles into various 'design primitives' including sensors, interconnects, and heating elements, and evaluate their electromechanical properties against commercially available e-textiles. Using these primitives, we demonstrate several applications, including a haptic-transfer fabric, a joint-sensing wearable, and an intelligent sailcloth. Finally, we highlight how the sensors can be composted, re-carbonized and coated onto other fabrics, or repurposed into different sensors towards their end-of-life to promote a circular manufacturing process.

Study Of The Hydraulic Response Of A High Permeable Breakwater Using Physical Modelling

Physical modelling tests were conducted in the wave flume of Artelia’s hydraulic laboratory to study the hydraulic response/stability of a rubble mound breakwater made with a non-standard core composed of crushed concrete blocks (tetrapod). This design carried out by EDF, is aimed at having high permeability and fits in an eco-design approach, through the reuse of existing materials already on site. Eventually, the hydraulic efficiency of three different sections were tested and compared, all sections having the same armour layer and the same main dimensions but different {core; filter} systems : core only made with crushed tetrapod, core and underlayer made with crushed tetrapod (no filter layers with rocks) and baseline design (quarry run core and rock underlayer). Several responses were studied: armour layer stability, overtopping and transmission of the structure and head loss on both sides of the structure with an inflow/outflow system in the rear side basin set up in the wave flume. This case study illustrates 1) the importance of the physical modelling approach to testing unusual structures, as part of an eco-design approach, where the use of standard design formulas does not allow to verify the hydraulic behaviour of a high permeable breakwater and 2) also shows that unconventional design can lead to satisfactory hydraulic results.

Participatory ecodesign of crop management based on Life Cycle Assessment: an approach to inform the strategy of a Protected Denomination of Origin. A case study in viticulture

Since the context on environmental issues is challenging, the Cognac protected denomination of origin (PDO) adopted life cycle assessment (LCA) to inform its environmental strategy, initially focusing on vineyard soil management. This study developed a participatory eco-design approach involving stakeholders to inform the PDOs’ strategy for transitioning to less impactful crop management practices. It did this by drawing on literature that emphasises the use of participatory design, serious games, and LCA to foster knowledge sharing, engagement, and sustainability assessment. The approach that was put to the test in the Cognac PDO involved 17 elected officials with varying levels of experience. The participants used the serious game known as Vitigame (a game done for participatory ecodesign in viticulture) to ecodesign a soil management and fertilisation pathway for 2030, with the process guided by the results of the LCA. Exchange dynamics, LCA results, and participant feedback were analysed. The study revealed diverse dynamics and efficient ecodesign strategies among the participant groups, which resulted in a reduction of environmental impacts by up to 51% and raised new questions for the territory. The diversity of participants presented challenges, highlighting the need to improve LCA knowledge sharing. The workshop’s results could inform the PDO’s strategic planning. The interest of this innovative process including a serious game was confirmed, suggesting potential applications to other viticultural PDOs and adaptability to diverse sectors.

The Ecological Design of Marine Urban Green Space Plant Landscaping Based on the Concept of Sustainability.

With global climate change and accelerating urbanization, marine cities face unique environmental challenges. Ecological landscape creation is a form of design planning guided by the disciplines of landscape ecology and ecological aesthetics in the process of urban planning and construction. It seeks a design that can maintain the virtuous cycle of the ecosystem and at the same time maintain the spatial equilibrium of the dynamic development of urban landscapes, so as to make them have good ecological functions and corridor functions. The aim of this study is to explore the ecological design methods of plant landscaping in marine urban green spaces under the concept of sustainability. We first reviewed the concept of sustainable development and its application to urban green space design, especially the special requirements in the marine urban environment. This research focuses on how to select plant species that are adapted to the marine climate and how to promote biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services, and improve the quality of life of urban residents through eco-design approaches. Through the analysis of a number of domestic and international cases of green spaces in marine cities, we found that effective eco-design is not only about choosing the right plant species but also includes the rational management of water resources, soil protection, and ecosystem restoration, among other aspects. This study also points out that public participation and interdisciplinary cooperation play a crucial role in the ecological design process. Finally, this paper carries out a specific analysis of the landscape model landscape evaluation system for the ecological design of plant landscaping in marine urban green spaces and experimentally verifies that, compared with other styles, the experience of the European-style landscape is good overall. However, the view openness rating of the European style landscape is only about 0.42, and the best plant landscaping is the mixed mode of alkali poncho and salt poncho. This study aims to provide a practical reference and guidance for urban planners, landscape architects, and environmentalists.

Eko Tasarım Yaklaşımıyla Mesken Isıtma Uygulaması

Günümüzde oldukça popüler olan enerji mimarisi kavramına bağlı olarak eko tasarım uygulamaları ve yeşil bina sertifikaları günden güne prestij kazanmaktadır. Bu sertifikaların alınabilmesi için, yapılarda tüketilen enerjinin yerinde ve yenilenebilir enerji teknolojileri ile üretilerek fosil yakıtların kullanımının sınırlandırılması gerekmektedir. Bunun yanında, sertifika alım sürecinde, enerjinin etkin ve verimli kullanılabilmesi konusunda ısı yalıtımı süreçleri de ön plana çıkmaktadır. Ayrıca bu çalışma yukarıdaki kriterler dahilinde, nSEB kapsamında inşa edilecek binalar için örnek bir uygulama mahiyetini de taşımaktadır. Yapılan bu çalışmada Ankara iklim şartlarında yer alan bir villanın etkin enerji verimliliği süreci için TS 825 “Binalarda Isı Yalıtım Kuralları” standardına bağlı kalınarak ısı yalıtımı yapılmış ve villanın ısıtma sezonunda ihtiyaç duyacağı ısıtma yükü hesaplanmıştır. Normal koşullarda mahal ısıtma ve kullanım sıcak suyu için gaz yakıcı cihaz kullanılan villada, PV/T paneller desteği ile yeni nesil bir ısıtma sistemi tasarımı yapılmış ve ısı pompası sistemi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan tasarımda evaporasyon ve kondenzasyon sıcaklıkları sırasıyla 10°C ve 50°C olarak kabul edilerek sistemde R410A soğutucu akışkanı kullanılmıştır. Güneş enerjisi destekli bu ısı pompası tasarımının COP değeri 4,65 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Isıtma sezonunda villanın mahal ısıtma ve kullanım sıcak suyu için ihtiyacı olan 1.345,88 kWh enerjinin %39,60’sında gaz yakıcı cihaza gereksinim duyulmadan tek başına PV/T destekli ısı pompası sistemi enerji ihtiyacını karşılamış, ısıtma sezonu boyunca tasarruf edilen doğalgaz miktarı 426,37 m3, bu miktarın ekonomik karşılığı ise 2.579,41 ₺ olarak hesaplanmıştır. Ayrıca doğalgaz tüketiminde yaşanan azalma ile yılda 0,861 ton CO2 salınımının önüne geçildiği saptanmıştır.

Efficient green Cr(VI) adsorbent from sorghum waste: Eco-designed functionalized mesoporous silica FDU-12

This paper presents an eco-design approach to the synthesis of a highly efficient Cr(VI) adsorbent, utilizing a positively charged surface mesoporous FDU-12 material (designated as MI-Cl-FDU-12) for the first time. The MI-Cl-FDU-12 anion-exchange adsorbent was synthesized via a facile one-pot synthesis approach using sodium silicate extracted from sorghum waste as a green silica source, 1-methyl-3-(triethoxysilylpropyl) imidazolium chloride as a functionalization agent, triblock copolymer F127 as a templating or pore-directing agent, trimethyl benzene as a swelling agent, KCl as an additive, and water as a solvent. The synthesis method offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to the production of a so-called “green” adsorbent with a bimodal micro-/mesoporous structure and a high surface area comparable with the previous reports regarding FDU-12 synthesis. MI-Cl-FDU-12 was applied as an anion exchanger for the adsorption of toxic Cr(VI) oxyanions from aqueous media and various kinetic and isotherm models were fitted to experimental data to propose the adsorption behavior of Cr(VI) on the adsorbent. Langmuir model revealed the best fit to the experimental data at four different temperatures, indicating a homogeneous surface site affinity. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent were found to be 363.5, 385.5, 409.0, and 416.9 mg g−1 at 298, 303, 308, and 313 K, respectively; at optimal conditions (pH=2, adsorbent dose=3.0 mg, and contact time of 30 min), surpassing that of most previously reported Cr(VI) adsorbents in the literature. A regeneration study revealed that this adsorbent possesses outstanding performance even after six consecutive recycling.

Life cycle assessment of fibre metal laminates: An ecodesign approach

Despite the extensive research on renewable resources (RR) and their potential applications in composite materials and sandwich structures, there remains a significant dearth of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies that comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of RR in mitigating environmental impacts (EI). To bridge this gap, the present study aims to investigate twelve different designs of sandwich panels, specifically referred to as Fibre Metal Laminates (FML). These FML combine aluminium skins (2024-T3 and 1200-H14), polymer matrices (Epoxy, Polyester, and Castor oil Bio-PU), natural fibres (Sisal, Coir, and Cynodon spp.), surface treatments for aluminium skins (sanding, NaOH, and Washprimer), and treatments for natural fibres (Ground, NaOH-treatment and untreated). A cradle-to-gate LCA is conducted, and the inventories are modelled using the OpenLCA 1.6.3 and ecoinvent 3.9 cut-off regionalized database. EI are evaluated in twelve categories, including climate change, fossil and nuclear energy use, freshwater (acidification, ecotoxicity and eutrophication), human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer), mineral resources use, ozone layer depletion, particulate matter formation, photochemical oxidant formation, and terrestrial acidification. Impact World+ method for Latin America version 1.251 is employed to calculate EI. Nine Eco-efficiency indicators and trade-off analyses are evaluated to gain insights into design decision outcomes. Among the various panels considered, FML12, manufactured with aluminium alloy 1200-H14 treated only with sanding, castor oil biopolymer and untreated coir fibres, present the most consistent eco-efficiency indicators. The reference scenario considers the average characteristics of FML (both environmental and mechanical) for trade-off analysis. Despite the fifty percent chance of better performance, FML12 is the only panel that shows higher mechanical performance and lower EI compared to the reference scenario. The importance of this article lies in the novel results obtained using the proposed eco-efficiency indicators, which can be expanded in further studies on the topic.

Ecodesign approach for complex systems – Electric Vehicle case study

The reduction of environmental impacts from the early stages of product and system design is a major challenge. Thus, traditional ecodesign methods are not appropriate because they reason by fixing the functional definition of products/systems and address the complexity of these new systems in a simplistic way, which leads to a marginal reduction of impacts. Moreover, these methods do not consider the attractiveness for users, leading to an optimization oriented towards functional reduction. In this paper, a comprehensive ecodesign approach is presented suggesting a paradigm shift, which involves a hybrid ecodesign approach based on constraint modeling of systems based on the constraint satisfaction problem formalism (CSP) with more traditional environmental assessment methods to decide which design choices to make. This approach was applied to generate and characterize product and life cycle architectures of a serial hybrid vehicle powertrain focusing on the use and end-of-life phase.

Designing out microplastic pollution released from textiles and apparel during laundering

Abstract The washing of synthetic materials has been named as the largest contributor of microplastic pollution to our oceans. With the consumption of petrochemical-based synthetic materials expected to grow, due to an increased demand, the release of microplastic fibres to our environments is expected to also accelerate. To combat microplastic fibre release, this study explores source-directed interventions within the design and manufacturing process of textiles to reduce the amount of pollution released from the surface and the edges of the fabric structure. Using standardised wash tests and polyester fabric swatches that were created in-house with systematic structural adjustments, single jersey knit fabrics were shown to release over three times more microplastic pollution than twill woven fabric. This illustrates that increasing the tightness of a fabric could be implemented within the design of fabrics for environmental benefits. Additionally, the laser cutting technique reduced microplastic fibres released by over a third compared to scissor cutting and overlock serging, showing that the edge of the fabric is a significant source of microplastic pollution released during laundering. This research highlights the adaptable and innovative eco-design approaches to clothing production which is necessary to help the sector reach international sustainability targets and regulations.

"Augmented" eco-design thanks to the methodological drivers of the "Usefulness Thinking" approach

Faced with the environmental emergency, eco-design needs to be "augmented" in order to further reduce the environmental impact of the products we use. To avoid products that are overloaded with unnecessary functions or that do not fully meet the consumer's needs, products whose lifespan is too short in relation to the resources consumed for their production, or products that are never fully used because they meet needs that are too infrequent, this article argues that we should consider a different frame of reference than lifecycle thinking, based on the maximum usefulness of exploitation of the extracted raw materials. This new framework called "Usefulness Thinking" focuses on the usefulness of the consumed resources in relation to 1/ the usage needs of consumers, 2/ the product exploitation time and 3/ its exploitation space/community. Following an analysis of the literature, the article presents the initial methodological drivers for an eco-design approach based on "Usefulness thinking" and applies it to the case of a cordless upright vacuum cleaner for a consumer living in an apartment or a detached house. For each configuration, a significant environmental performance is obtained, approaching a gain factor of 2.

Design for circularity in manufacturing industries–operationalisation and decision support

Achieving a more circular economy can be an important contributor to sustainable development. The successful implementation at the industrial level requires the development of circular products, services and business models. This paper addresses the compelling need for industrial product development to consider the entire life cycle of products from raw material extraction to the end of life to initiate and evaluate circular economy improvements such as lifetime extension or high-quality recycling. The actual implementation of circular economy in industrial product design processes hasn't yet been extensively researched. This paper operationalises a comprehensive design for circularity by conceptualising a decision support method for the industrial product development process based on literature analysis, decision matrix methodology, and expert evaluation. Results highlight the interplay of circular business models, ecodesign approaches, and product life cycle intensities and shape the basis for technical circular design principles and metrics as well as advanced implementation-oriented research in the field.

Using a data driven approach for comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment and effective eco design of the Internet of Things: taking LoRa-based IoT systems as examples

As we reach the limits of our current technologies and the number of connected devices grows, scientists put more efforts to estimate and reduce the ecological damage of the Internet of Things. Unfortunately, recent literature related to Life Cycle Assessment and eco design of IoT systems suffers from a major inconvenience so far: it does not put sensor data in the focus of attention. This paper aims to point out explicitly the essential role of this aspect for modeling reference flows, and demonstrate its relevance for appropriate environmental assessment and practical eco design. Also, it aims to illustrate that such modeling process must happen in a comprehensive way. For this, our work relies on a case study addressing smart metering, and we proceed as follows: based on available documentation and inspired by certain aspects of different technologies, we deduce the maximal capacities of key electronic components and construct an unfavorable data flow scenario, to get a rough idea of the reference flow and the long-term impact of our system during its use phase. Results from this procedure are later contrasted with results obtained from a packet traffic analysis, in which local and internet data flow are examined carefully. At the end, we verify the importance of sensor data theoretically and empirically, and we conclude that the reference flow and the impact contributors of a system could be affected not only by the local data transit but also by the complex interactions between edge devices and cloud resources. All our findings are discussed to nourish the state-of-the-art around the environmental impact of using full IoT systems and their sustainable design.

Towards 30% Efficiency by 2030 of Eco-Designed Building Integrated Photovoltaics

The necessity of affordable and durable building-integrated photovoltaics has gained widespread importance for the renewable energy transition involving electrification and decarbonization in climate-neutral cities that possess many public health co-benefits. Although the PV market is dominated by polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon solar cells of the first generation, there is an impetus in the research lately for more sophisticated solar cell architectures with higher efficiency, longer lifetime, and less use of raw materials in an eco-design approach. To accelerate building integration of the next generation of photovoltaics and the associated climate change mitigation benefits, we propose in this work a holistic novel approach to the requirements and associated parameters for the emerging and innovative PV structures, spanning from intrinsic cell properties to panels effect in the urban environment. Within this framework, and supported by building simulation, the improvement of cells’ efficiency is revealed as an important parameter for their wider PV building and urban deployment as well as a major improvement in covering the building energy needs with minimized thermal impact in the urban environment. By analyzing the lab-reported values and the timeline of emerging and novel tandem solar cells, we propose the 30% BIPV efficiency of the eco-designed BIPV products as a central milestone to be attained before 2030 for a sustainable urban transformation.

Cleaner green protein production from vegetable byproducts: Energy recovery and water reuse strategies

Vegetable protein is becoming a new safe resource in tomorrow's diet. Rubisco (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) represents the majority of soluble proteins in vegetable plants. The byproducts (green leaves) resulting from the transformation of these plants represent the most abundant protein resource. However, this resource remains the least exploited. This study presents an innovative process for Rubisco extraction from the green leaves of vegetable plants. This process is part of an eco-responsible circular economy that proposes an eco-design approach at the earliest stages (grassroots) of the Rubisco extraction process from vegetable wastes. In this study, the valorized and fractionated by-product consists of beet leaves.Furthermore, this work provides different methods for minimizing energy and water consumption during process design. The water and energy analysis at the first stages of the process design results in a rapid increase in environmental savings. The proposed optimization methods show potential savings of 78 %, 45 %, and 22 %, respectively, for heating, cooling, and water demand.

Nanostructured cellulose sponge engineered for marine environmental remediation: Eco-safety assessment of its leachate on sea urchin reproduction (Part A)

Nanostructured cellulose sponges (CNS) have been developed as eco-friendly and sustainable engineered materials for marine environmental remediation. Despite their functionality, sensitivity, efficiency and specificity have been proved, CNS application is still limited since their environmental safety (eco-safety) has not been completely assessed. In this study, CNS were allowed to leach in natural seawater simulating the remediation process condition and the eco-safety of CNS leachate on sea urchin reproduction has been assessed by carrying out a multi-response integrated approach, combining standardized ecotoxicity tests, innovative bioassays and gamete quality assessment. Overall, the ecotoxicity data indicate that CNS leachate affects gamete quality, gamete fertilisation competence, and embryo development probably associated with the release of chemical additives used during the synthesis process. However, in the framework of the eco-design approach, consecutive leaching treatments and conditioning of CNS in seawater open the route for a new safety protocol successfully solving the ecotoxicity while maintaining CNS sorbent properties. A safe environmental application of the resulting conditioned CNS for seawater pollution remediation is envisaged.

Ecodesign approach for plastic minimization in shampoo bottles

AbstractCurrent shampoo bottles are oversized, using more plastic than necessary. In order to promote plastic minimization, the aim of this work is to determine how much it is possible to reduce the thickness of current shampoo bottles while maintaining their functionality and performance. In this way, a quantification of the maximum plastic material reduction in the manufacturing of bottles of massively consumed shampoo was assessed. Mechanical testing simulations of shampoo bottles with different capacities and shapes were performed for top load and squeeze load efforts. For these simulations, three different thicknesses were considered: original, 30% reduced and the minimum admissible for being considered as rigid packaging. From the simulations, it was corroborated that shampoo bottles are oversized, allowing them to reduce their amount of plastic by at least 30%. Also, it was found that bottle shape is crucial to its mechanical performance, being the simplest bottle the most resistant, when bottles with the same capacity and thickness are compared. When less material is used, less is discarded, and, consequently, less is turned into waste. Then, rethinking current bottles following ecodesign criteria seems to be the way for an adequate sustainable approach compatible with green marketing strategies and plastic waste minimization.

Sustainable Perspectives Using Human Beings: The Sensory Properties of a Bio-Based Material Compared to a Synthetic Material—An Overall Assessment Based on an Innovative Blind Method

Based on a comparative method, this paper discusses a sustainable perspective for the use of a certain bio-based material instead of synthetic materials, using human beings, with their sensory perceptions, as the central measurement tools. The innovative eco-design approaches are aimed at radical environmental improvements by focusing on the services provided to consumers. In improving the quality of a product, equity and environmental harmony have become issues and constant challenges in companies’ quests for modernization. In order to achieve this goal, one of the solutions taken into account by companies in order to be increasingly competitive is to replace, sometimes partially and other times totally, synthetic materials with new non-food, bio-based materials in the manufacturing process. The approach in this paper is aimed at better integrating tactile characteristics in designing green products. The detailed review of the literature shows that a consumer’s subjective perception is of paramount importance in their decision to accept a new product. Focusing on the sensory characteristics of materials with bio-based and synthetic origins, this paper draws conclusions about their resemblances and differences. The various subjective sensations when touching the two types of material are compared in order to obtain results that can protect the environment in the future.

Calcium looping in the steel industry: GHG emissions and energy demand

The development of innovative solutions to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors is a priority challenge in the quest to mitigate climate change. The GHG emission mitigation potential of the carbon capture Calcium Looping process (CaL) is investigated in this work. Two steelmaking routes are modeled: a blast furnace and a basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF), and a direct reduction process and an electric arc furnace (DR-EAF), both of which are coupled with CaL technology. The carbon footprints of the two systems were evaluated, through an eco-design approach, with the aim of quantifying the GHG emissions and identifying the hotspots of the emissions. DR-EAF was found to be characterized by lower GHG emissions than BF-BOF (0.9 t vs 2.1 t CO2eq per tonne of liquid steel produced), as it is intrinsically more efficient and less carbon intensive. For this reason, the adoption of the CaL technology resulted to be more effective when applied to the BF-BOF, as it led to a reduction in GHG emissions of up to 66%, with respect to baseline plant configuration without the CaL system. The primary energy demand increased considerably by the integration of CaL in BF-BOF and this would be amplified in a future scenario dominated by renewable energy resources. We also remarked the importance of the CaL technology being circular to reduce and reuse the spent material deployed for CO2 sequestration. This work ends with a parametric analysis that points out the importance of the timescale of climate change metrics on the evaluation of the carbon footprint.

ALBATROSS Carbon neutrality and zero-emission vehicles with smart battery cells

ALBATROSS is a European Funded project by the European Commission that addresses the needs of European Electric and Hybrid-Electric passenger vehicle market by overcoming driver concerns relating to battery range and anxiety, cost, long-term reliability, and excessive charging times. ALBATROSS will develop an integrated approach based on smart batteries combined with lightweight designs. Using innovative cooling technologies, we will achieve pack temperature range 5-40°C, with <3°C variation between battery cells and optimal operating temperature 20-23°C. The light weighting solutions, based on modular multi-material systems for battery modules and trays, will be fabricated and joined using cutting edge, fast and cost-effective processes, with disassembly, recycling and reuse designed in as a part of an eco-design approach. The modular approach provides solutions for BEVs and PHEVs.

Life cycle assessment of an innovative rotating biofilm technology for microalgae production: An eco-design approach

Microalgae are recognized as a high-nutritional quality non-conventional feed resource which can contribute to address the increasing food demand. This study focuses on a breakthrough microalgal production system, based on rotating biofilm, with the objective of assessing and reducing its environmental impact for two microalgae-based products: algal biomass and protein concentrate (algae meal). The methodology is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with an eco-design approach. This approach is dedicated to emerging technologies with low technology readiness level. Eco-design parameters were identified from the process modelling and its environmental assessment through an iterative sensitivity analysis. The results for algae meal were compared with soymeal and fishmeal and benchmarked with alternative production technologies. The NH3 emission factor, fabric support properties (lifespan and composition) and electricity consumption (power rotor and blower) turned out to be the crucial eco-design parameters. Impact reduction ranging from 25% to 88.3% were obtained by eco-designing this new technology. Environmental footprint of algae meal from rotating algal biofilms outperformed the other scenarios. Algae meal from eco-designed rotating biofilm has an environmental impact reduced by at least 70.8% in comparison to conventional aquafeeds (fishmeal and soymeal).