Life Cycle Perspective Research Articles

Towards sustainable perovskite light-emitting diodes

Abstract Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are advancing to become the frontrunner candidates for the next generation of lighting and display technologies. However, despite rapid technical development, a thorough understanding of PeLEDs’ environmental and economic impacts—essential information for future commercialization—is currently lacking. Here we assess the environmental and economic performance of 18 representative PeLEDs, aiming to identify effective industrial techniques to develop sustainable PeLEDs from a life-cycle perspective. We find that, like mature organic LEDs, PeLEDs show excellent environmental performance. In addition, we demonstrate that lead is not a major source of toxicity from PeLEDs. We estimate that, to commercialize PeLEDs and improve their sustainability, their lifetime should reach the order of 10,000 hours to compensate for the relative environmental impacts. The techno-economic assessment indicates that the cost of future PeLEDs will probably be in the vicinity of US$100 m–2, comparable to that of commercial organic LED panels. Overall, this study shows the potential of PeLEDs as next-generation lighting technology from environmental, economic and technical perspectives, providing insights relevant to their future development.

Comparison of Environmental Benefits between Photovoltaic and Wind Power Based on LCA Method

Since the 21st century, climate change is a global issue that affects every corner of the world and extreme weather occurs frequently. The Paris Agreement proposes that countries should strengthen their response to the threat of climate change. Countries around the world are actively seeking energy transition. Photovoltaic power generation and wind power generation are the most important renewable energy generation methods in the world. These two technologies are pollution-free and zero carbon emission during the power generation process. But from the perspective of the full life cycle, there is still some controversy over the environmental benefits of both at present. This article normalizes and analyzes the input-output data of the cradle to grave process using the LCA methodology, and the results indicate that the environmental impact of photovoltaic power generation throughout the full life cycle is significantly greater than that of wind power generation. Based on the above conclusions, several measures are proposed to improve the ecological benefits of both photovoltaic and wind power generation.

Environmental assessment of oyster farming from a life cycle perspective

Environmental assessment of oyster farming from a life cycle perspective

Practical Research on the Development of Non-Profit Organizations from the Perspective of Organizational Life Cycle

Practical Research on the Development of Non-Profit Organizations from the Perspective of Organizational Life Cycle

Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts in the manufacturing process of thermoelectric coolers: A life-cycle impact perspective.

A path to carbon neutrality requires the development of refrigeration units that use no refrigerant or emit less greenhouse gas (GHG), such as Thermoelectric coolers (TECs). Using the life cycle inventory assessment (LCIA), the environmental impacts of the manufacturing process of TECs were analyzed, including greenhouse gas emissions, human carcinogenic toxicity (HCT), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE), freshwater ecotoxicity (FE), mineral resource scarcity (MRS), and fossil resource scarcity (FRS). The alumina plate manufacturing process produces the most GHG emissions because it uses a lot of electricity in the sintering process. The type of energy source significantly affects GHG emissions, HCT, FE, and FRS but has only a limited impact on TE and MRS. Also, TE, FE, and MRS are affected by the mineral resources used to manufacture the legs. Also, GHG reductions in the manufacturing process have been predicted based on Korea's electricity supply and demand plan for 2030. According to the plan, fossil energy is expected to decrease in 2030 compared to 2021, while renewables and nuclear power are expected to increase. For every 1MWh of cooling amount, GHG emissions are predicted to decrease from 2.9kg CO2-eq in 2021 to 1.95kg CO2-eq in 2030 with a greener energy mix. In addition, generating 2.1% with green hydrogen would reduce total GHG emissions by 1.7%p more than grey hydrogen generation. Increased use of nuclear and hydrogen energy and decreased use of coal energy are likely to be the biggest drivers of reductions. This study suggests that alternatives to alumina plates that are more environmentally friendly should continue to be explored along with process improvements such as fast heating rate or sintering aids.

Life cycle assessment of energy production from municipal solid waste: İstanbul case

Several methods are used during waste management: landfill, incineration, composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, and recycling etc. In particular, the use of biogas formed through anaerobic digestion in energy production and the energy obtained through the incineration process is very effective in turning the negative effects of wastes into positive ones. In this study, the effects of three different waste management scenarios were examined from a life cycle perspective. According to the results, scenario1 (landfill and incineration), scenario2 (landfill, incineration, and anaerobic digestion), and scenario3 (landfill, anaerobic digestion, and recycle) produced emissions of 3233.1, 328.8, and -848.9 kg of CO2eq, respectively. Accordingly, and in accordance with the results of the previous studies, it is observed that the landfill application gave the worst environmental result, the incineration and anaerobic digestion applications reduce the environmental effects, and the recycling application provides environmental benefits. It is concluded that the best environmental practice is plastic and metal recycling.

A business model canvas for construction waste resource use under dual carbon targets

For several years, as China's urbanization efforts have continued to advance, construction waste treatment has been a priority issue. Many treatment modes focused on sustainability have been researched, while the current method of construction waste treatment in China remains stuck in the linear economic mode. The circular economy mode is developing slowly, the construction waste resourcing and treatment industry is underdeveloped, and the business model is insufficiently mature. This paper analyzes the main elements in the economic, environmental, and social layers; suggests improvements based on the existing business model canvas; constructs a more targeted business model canvas for construction waste treatment resourcing; and explores the relationship between environmental, social, and economic values. It concludes that the government should guide the promotion of stakeholder cooperation and consider the sustainable use of building materials from the perspective of the whole life cycle and the interrelationship based on stakeholders to promote the application of the circular economy in construction waste resourcing. The economic value of the construction waste recycling industry requires the government's support and encouragement to attract more enterprises to participate in and realize the value of construction waste recycling, create more jobs, and thereby reduce carbon emissions.

Applications of geospatial technologies for construction and demolition waste management: A systematic literature review

AbstractConstruction and demolition waste management (CDWM) is a grand challenge on a global scale. Traditional CDWM has heavily relied on anthropological approaches, which may prevent stakeholders from acquiring a comprehensive understanding of a macro standpoint for developing effective strategies. The emergence of geospatial technologies offers a more objective and precise approach for CDWM to enhance resource management and support environmental and socio‐economic sustainability. However, a holistic review of how these geospatial technologies have been applied to CDWM is still lacking. To fully harness the potential of geospatial technologies for CDWM, this study aims to examine how different categories of geospatial technologies serve different application scenarios in CDWM through a systematic literature review. Through delving into 73 papers spanning 2004 to 2024, the results find this research discipline has been a hotspot since 2017. Existing CDWM literature has predominantly utilized geographic information systems (GIS) technology, followed by remote sensing technology and a hybrid technology strategy. Geospatial technologies have been extensively integrated with other non‐geospatial technologies. Existing literature is mainly distributed across four application scenarios: identification and classification, site selection, quantification, and decision support. Finally, three research gaps have been also pinpointed, directing future studies to devote specific efforts to improving data accuracy, combining geospatial technologies with traditional methods as well as expanding application scenarios from a life cycle perspective. This paper offers academics and practitioners a clear roadmap on how to utilize geospatial technologies for propelling the discipline of CDWM toward high efficiency and precision.

Life cycle cost analysis of ultra-thin white topping of geopolymer concrete overlay on bituminous concrete pavement

The social and economic growth of nations greatly depends on effective pavement maintenance methods that adhere to sustainable principles, ensuring long-term durability and performance. Conventional methods for maintaining bituminous concrete pavements, such as using a bituminous concrete overlay, are not always the most efficient. In contrast, concrete overlays have consistently demonstrated superior performance globally. This paper focuses on the design, analysis of life cycle costs, and assessment of emissions of greenhouse gases associated with bituminous concrete pavement from a life cycle perspective. It evaluates two maintenance strategies: a bituminous concrete overlay and an ultra-thin geopolymer concrete overlay (often called "white topping"). The findings suggest that utilizing sustainable materials in an ultra- thin white topping (UTWT) geopolymer concrete overlay is a more favorable option when compared to a bituminous concrete overlay. The life cycle cost study, utilizing the net present value approach, demonstrates its superior economic viability in the long run. The study suggests that using a very thin layer of white topping geopolymer concrete as an overlay on bituminous concrete pavement improves its long term performance and provides economic and environmental advantages.

Identification of tourists’ dynamic risk decision-making: a crisis communication lifecycle perspective

ABSTRACT There is a scarcity of research exploring the mechanisms behind tourists’ risk decision-making from the lens of the crisis communication lifecycle. Based on crisis communication lifecycle and construal level theories, this study reveals how tourists’ risk decision-making dynamically responds to the stages of the destination crisis communication lifecycle and examines the moderating role of psychological distance. The findings from three studies suggest that (1) tourists’ risk decision-making exhibits a U-shaped change tendency as the crisis communication shifts from one lifecycle stage to the next, with perceived risk mediating the influence of the crisis communication lifecycle on tourists’ risk decision-making; (2) psychological distance moderates tourists’ responses to the crisis communication lifecycle, with varying risk decision-making response patterns at different scales of distance. This research unveils the complex response of tourist risk decision-making in times of crisis, offering guidance for setting crisis communication agendas for tourist destinations.

Functional Hydrogels for Aqueous Zinc-Based Batteries: Progress and Perspectives.

Aqueous zinc batteries (AZBs) hold great potential for green grid-scale energy storage due to their affordability, resource abundance, safety, and environmental friendliness. However, their practical deployment is hindered by challenges related to the electrode, electrolyte, and interface. Functional hydrogels offer a promising solution to address such challenges owing to their broad electrochemical window, tunable structures, and pressure-responsive mechanical properties. In this review, the key properties that functional hydrogels must possess for advancing AZBs, including mechanical strength, ionic conductivity, swelling behavior, and degradability, from a perspective of the full life cycle of hydrogels in AZBs are summarized. Current modification strategies aimed at enhancing these properties and improving AZB performance are also explored. The challenges and design considerations for integrating functional hydrogels with electrodes and interface are discussed. In the end, the limitations and future directions for hydrogels to bridge the gap between academia and industries for the successful deployment of AZBs are discussed.

Viral Live-Attenuated Vaccines (LAVs): Past and Future Directions.

Viral infections continue to pose a significant threat to the health of both humans and animals. Currently, live attenuated vaccines (LAVs) remain the most efficacious and widely utilized tool for combating viral infections. Conventional LAVs involve the adaptation of virulent viruses to novel hosts, cell cultures, or suboptimal environments, resulting in a reduction in pathogenicity while retaining immunogenicity. This process entails directed evolution of the virus to enhance its replication efficiency under these modified conditions. In this review, the development of traditional animal-adapted and cold-adapted LAVs is specially discussed. Additionally, the factors that contribute to virus attenuation from a viral lifecycle perspective are summarized. Finally, we propose future directions for next-generation LAVs.

Assessing Environmental and Economic Sustainability: Valorizing Grape Stems for Animal Feed Production.

This study evaluated an innovative strategy for valorizing grape stems (GS) from the winery industry as an animal feed ingredient from both environmental life-cycle and economic perspectives. Two processes for GS-based feed ingredient production were compared: one using hydrolyzed GS and the other using nonhydrolyzed GS, alongside the conventional animal feed production process. Using primary pilot-scale data for GS-based feed ingredient production and secondary data for animal feed production, life-cycle assessments, and economic analyses were conducted. Results showed that hydrolyzing GS leads to 3.8 times higher impacts on human health compared to the nonhydrolyzed variant, primarily due to NaOH and electricity usage, although this difference becomes negligible at the animal feed production stage. Incorporating GS-based feed ingredients was found to reduce the environmental impacts of animal feeds, primarily due to reductions in other ingredients. Economically, producing nonhydrolyzed GS-based feed ingredient proved more feasible, with a net present value of €-106,766 for a plant with a capacity of 1000 kg/d. GS valorization scenarios yield lower environmental impacts than landfilling and composting, although not compared to incineration, which offers notable energy recovery potential. This study suggests adopting GS valorization in animal husbandry to support a circular economy, providing insights for stakeholders.

Technical and environmental analysis of an innovative window concept based on a hidden frame: Insights from a life cycle perspective

Technical and environmental analysis of an innovative window concept based on a hidden frame: Insights from a life cycle perspective

Voice health throughout the entire lifespan

Objective:Voice is a vital tool for human communication, and its health spans across various stages of an individual's life cycle. This article discuss the importance of voice health from a lifecycle perspective, exploring the needs of voice, phonatory organ changes, the main etiologies and their incidence, the impact on social function, and treatment of voice disorders at different stages （childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age）. During childhood, due to incomplete vocal cords development and weak behavioral control, the incidence of voice disorders is high, which adversely affects children's psychological and social function development. The most common condition is vocal nodules, and there has been insufficient attention to the treatment of voice disorders in this stage. Voice disorders during adolescence are mainly related to physiological development and hormonal changes. In the elderly, the larynx undergoes structural and functional aging, which can be delayed with active intervention and treatment. Therefor, maintaining voice health should focus on preventing and managing voice problems throughout the entire life cycle, with targeted voice care and intervention at each stage. Establishing a comprehensive voice health management framework thereby upholds an individual's optimal health status and social function.

Environmental assessment of gasification and green hydrogen potential role in waste management decarbonization

Achieving sustainability involves implementing a circular economy model and decarbonizing the waste management sector. The development of innovative technologies that enable the reduction of emissions and resource recovery is one of the sector's greatest challenges. From this perspective, the waste-to-methanol (WtM) process represents a viable prospect, the potential environmental impacts of which have never been studied from a life-cycle perspective. A cradle-to-grave LCA analysis was conducted, studying WtM technology and its potential implementation of green hydrogen (WtM-GH) in the process, through a comparison with traditional waste-to-energy (WtE).The results showed that WtM-GH performs best for global impacts, with a global warming potential of 3.52·107 kgCO2eq instead of 1,04·108 kgCO2eq proper of the WtE. Positive effects take place also for the fossil resource scarcity. Looking for non-toxic regional/local impacts WtE represents the best scenario, with the best performance on water consumption (7.96·107 m3) and ionising radiation (2.82·107 kBq Co-60eq). Cumulative impact results, obtained through the normalization, found that WtM is the best scenario, thanks to the less toxic impact compared to the other two, especially for freshwater ecotoxicity (5.26·106 kg 1,4-DCB) and marine ecotoxicity (6.73·106 kg 1,4-DCB).WtM-GH allows the production of 1366 kg of methanol per ton of Refuse Derived Fuel, thanks to the conversion of the entire CO2 contained in the waste, enhancing the value of by-products and carbon credits on the market and making the process more economically sustainable.

Environmental insights of bioethanol production and phenolic compounds extraction from apple pomace-based biorefinery

Food waste is one of the main challenges of solid waste management throughout the food supply chain. Apples are one of the most widely consumed fruits worldwide, the production of which is accompanied by the generation of pomace as a by-product with valuable nutrients. This research presents the first environmental insights of a multiproduct apple pomace-based biorefinery through a life cycle perspective. The design and process modelling of this platform aims to produce bioethanol and extract total phenolic compounds (TPC) towards an efficient use of the pomace obtained from the apple manufacturing industry (juice production). Bioethanol production consist of pressing, fermentation, distillation as the main processes; while in the case of TPC, two extraction techniques were evaluated: i) solvent extraction (mainly water), and ii) the Soxhlet method. The life cycle analysis followed an attributional cradle-to-gate approach considering different midpoint impact categories from the ReCipe 2016 method such as Global Warming (GW), Eutrophication, Human Toxicity, Fossil Scarcity, among others. The results indicate that bioethanol production encompasses a GW profile of 3.17 kg of CO2 eq per kg of product, being the vinasse treatment (subproduct after distillation) the most impactful stage. Phenolic compounds extraction with water achieves a total value of 5.8 kg CO2 eq per g of TPC, while 0.22 kg CO2 eq per g of TPC is obtained with Soxhlet technique. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is addressed to improve the environmental profile of bioethanol and TPC. This research demonstrated the relevance of process design on the environmental performance of bioethanol and TPC, where stillage treatment has a key contribution to the results and the use of solvents in TPC extraction, although improving extraction yield, leads to a higher environmental impact.

An Empirical Analysis on the Use of Sustainable Fuels in the Aviation Industry

This study aims to analyze and evaluate different types of alternative fuels for aviation from a life cycle and cost perspective. It aims to analyze different alternative fuels and their use in aircraft for this purpose in the aviation sector in relation to their potential to be a suitable transition solution towards sustainable transformation. Using the GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies) aviation module developed by the US National Research Laboratory (Argonne), the life cycles of petroleum and six different sustainable aviation fuel production methods were calculated, and the environmental impact of kerosene and sustainable aviation fuels in terms of cost and carbon dioxide emissions on long, medium and short-haul flights were analyzed. The life cycle values of carbon dioxide formed as a result of the production of corn, soybean and canola products, which are the most preferred to produce biofuel in the aviation industry, with hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), alcohol-to-jet (ATJ), ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) methods, were calculated. As a result of the study, it was determined that the cost of the sustainable aviation fuels examined was higher than fossil fuel. The key to greater acceptance and deployment of sustainable aviation fuel is cost reduction. In the long term, this will require investment in advanced technologies to process feedstocks more efficiently on a larger scale and in the development of sustainable and scalable feedstock options. However, in the short term, temporary support from governments and other stakeholders through policy incentives is needed.

Investigating the potential for realizing life cycle net-zero energy buildings in Europe using multi-objective optimization

In pursuit of the long-term target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, it is crucial to strive for buildings with net-zero energy balance from a life cycle perspective. This study employs multi-objective optimization, specifically the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II, to explore the feasibility of achieving a life cycle net-zero energy balance for a building case in diverse European climate conditions: including Gothenburg’s humid continental climate (characterized by warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters), Frankfurt’s oceanic climate (featuring short, cool summers and long, relatively mild winters), and Madrid’s Mediterranean climate (marked by wet, mild winters and dry, hot summers). The study examines this feasibility across three building lifespan durations: the standard 50 years, commonly applied in life cycle analyses, as well as extended lifespans of 100 and 150 years. This examination is vital due to the impact of longer building lifespans, resulting in increased operational energy demand and higher embodied energy due to the more frequent replacements of building components and systems. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of realizing a life cycle net-zero energy building across diverse European climatic conditions and lifespan durations through the identification of optimal passive, active, and renewable measures. The results emphasize the essential role of renewable measures, such as photovoltaic (PV) panels, in effectively offsetting any surplus energy use throughout the building's life cycle, ultimately enabling the achievement of a life cycle net-zero energy building. It was observed that a minimum of 276 m2 (≈ 63.5 kWp), 246 m2 (≈ 56.5 kWp), and 131 m2 (≈ 30.1 kWp) of PV panels would be required to realize a life cycle net-zero energy building in Gothenburg, Frankfurt, and Madrid, respectively. Across all locations and lifespan durations, these PV panels were integrated with optimal active measures, which included geothermal heat pumps for heating, internal air conditioning units for cooling, and mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery potential. However, the results also indicate that relying solely on active and renewable measures, without incorporating appropriate passive approaches, is insufficient to fully realize life cycle net-zero energy buildings.

AI-powered Fraud Detection in Decentralized Finance: A Project Life Cycle Perspective

Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents a novel financial system but faces significant fraud challenges, leading to substantial losses. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) show potential for complex fraud detection. Despite growing interest, a systematic review of these methods is lacking. This survey correlates fraud types with DeFi project stages, presenting a taxonomy based on the project life cycle. We evaluate AI techniques, revealing notable findings such as the superiority of tree-based and graph-related models. Based on these insights, we offer recommendations and outline future research directions to aid researchers, practitioners, and regulators in enhancing DeFi security.