Reduction In Global Warming Potential Research Articles

Life Cycle Assessment of Plant-Based vs. Beef Burgers: A Case Study in the UK

As the world attempts to decarbonise the food industry and limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) have emerged as a sustainable alternative to traditional meat. The objective of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of PBMAs compared to traditional beef burgers, aiming to address the research gap in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of publicly available PBMA recipes. Utilising a cradle-to-fork system boundary, this research conducted a rigorous LCA on a 100 g plant-based burger patty and its beef burger (BB) counterpart, each produced in the UK but sourced from different global locations. The results demonstrated that the plant-based burger had significantly lower environmental impacts across several categories, including a 65% reduction in global warming potential and a 45% reduction in water consumption. A simple extrapolation illustrated that if the UK population switched from beef to meat analogue patties, 3 million tonnes of CO2e could be saved annually, corresponding to 0.74% of the country’s yearly territorial GHG emissions. Scenario analyses displayed how the environmental impact of the MA patty remained stable regardless of changes in exportation, ingredient origin or soy protein sourcing. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis conducted with an alternative characterisation method corroborated the initial findings, whilst uncertainty analysis ensured that nearly all of the conclusions generated from the original comparison were robust. Future studies should conduct LCAs on PBMA patties with commercial recipes using varied plant-based sources, as well as fully understanding any potential health implications of long-term PBMA consumption.

Changes in the environmental impacts of the waste management system after implementing the waste‐sorting policy: A Beijing case study

AbstractQuantifying the environmental impacts of a household waste‐sorting policy on the household waste management system, including collection, transportation, and treatment, is the basis for evaluating the policy's effectiveness. Beijing, the capital of China, began to implement the mandatory domestic waste‐sorting policy in May 2020. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the household waste management system in Beijing before and after implementing the sorting policy using the life cycle assessment method. Implementing the policy at the waste collection stage reduced the environmental impacts by minimizing the number of garbage bins consumed through their removal and consolidation. At the transportation stage, implementing the policy increased the environmental impacts per unit of waste via transportation structure changes. However, the overall impact was reduced because more recyclable materials were separated after waste sorting. The environmental impacts were reduced after implementing the policy at the treatment stage mainly because of the change in waste composition and the decrease in the total volume of treatment. Global warming potential (GWP) was the main contributor to the environmental impacts. After waste sorting, the GWP of the collection, transportation, and treatment stages decreased by −19.96%, −24.36%, and −38.08%, respectively, resulting in a total GWP reduction of −37.90%. However, incineration and biochemical treatments may offer environmental benefits.

Life cycle assessment of electric kick scooters: consolidating environmental impact quantification and concluding climate-friendly use options

BackgroundThe environmental impact of electric scooters has been the subject of critical debate in the scientific community for the past 5 years. The data published so far are very inhomogeneous and partly methodologically incomplete. Most of the data available in the literature suffer from an average bias of 34%, because end-of-life (EOL) impacts have not been modelled, reported or specified. In addition, the average lifetime mileage of shared fleets of e-scooters, as they are operated in cities around the world, has recently turned out to be much lower than expected. This casts the scooters in an unfavourable light for the necessary mobility transition. Data on impact categories other than the global warming potential (GWP) are scarce. This paper aims to quantify the strengths and weaknesses of e-scooters in terms of their contribution to sustainable transport by more specifically defining and extending the life cycle assessment (LCA) modelling conditions: the modelling is based on two genuine material inventories obtained by dismantling two different e-scooters, one based on a traditional aluminium frame and another, for the first time, based on plastic material.ResultsThis study provides complete inventory data to facilitate further LCA modelling of electric kick scooters. The plastic scooter had a 26% lower lifetime GWP than the aluminium vehicle. A favourable choice of electric motor promises a further reduction in GWP. In addition to GWP, the scooter's life cycles were assessed across seven other impact categories and showed no critical environmental or health impacts compared to a passenger car. On the other hand, only the resource extraction impact revealed clear advantages for electric scooters compared to passenger cars.ConclusionsUnder certain conditions, scooters can still be an important element of the desired mobility transition. To assure a lifetime long enough is the crucial factor to make the electric scooter a favourable or even competitive vehicle in a future sustainable mobility system. A scooter mileage of more than 5400 km is required to achieve lower CO2eq/pkm emissions compared to passenger cars, which seems unlikely in today's standard use case of shared scooter fleets. In contrast, a widespread use of e-scooters as a commuting tool is modelled to be able to save 4% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the German mobility sector.

Synergistic reduction of pollution and carbon mitigation in constructed wetlands-microbial fuel cell using sludge-derived biochar

Integrating microbial fuel cells (MFC) into constructed wetland systems (CW) has been an efficient wastewater treatment to improve the pollutants removal and regenerate power energy. This study fabricated a sludge biochar material (SBM) to sequestrate the carbon of residual sludge. Thereafter used SBM and modified SBM as the substrate materials to construct three groups of CW-MFC for decreasing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The water quality improvement in removal efficiency achieved (2.59 %, 3.10 %, 5.21 % for COD; 3.31 %, 3.60 %, 6.71 % for TN; 1.80 %, 7.38 %, 4.93 % for TP) by the application of MFC, SBM, and modified SBM in wastewater treatment, respectively. Additionally, the reduction in global warming potential (GWP) realized 17.2 %, 42.2 %, and 64.4 % resulting from these applications. The carbon flow and fate diagrams showed MFC shifted the gas phase‑carbon flow from CH4 to CO2, and SBM promoted this shift trends. Microbial diversity indicated enrichment of electrochemically active bacteria (EAB), denitrifying bacteria, and phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) by SBM. Metabolic pathways analysis showed that introduction of MFC and SBM exhibited significant increases of key functional genes in metabolic pathway of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). This study highlights the benefit of CW-MFC in and provides a new strategy for removing pollutants and abating GHG emissions in wastewater treatment.

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis in biomass and waste valorisation: Insights into the life-cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA)

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) has been perceived as a promising technology for biomass and waste conversion due to its distinctive features, including fast, even, and precise heating. This results in higher energy efficiency when compared to conventional pyrolysis via thermal heating. However, the scaling up of MAP of biomass and waste poses challenges, with investigations ongoing to uncover not only the technological aspect, but also both the environmental impacts and economic feasibility associated with this process/technology. The possible environmental impacts associated with MAP processes can be analyzed through systematic life-cycle assessment (LCA), while the economic feasibility can be evaluated via techno-economic analysis (TEA). This paper presents an overview of the current research trend in MAP and the products produced, as well as the LCA and TEA of the pyrolysis technologies. The LCA study reported a 2.5 folds reduction in energy consumption and up to 62% reduction in global warming potential. TEA study revealed that conventional pyrolysis has a greater profit for long-term assessment due to a higher maturity and less complexity technology; however, MAP may be more economically feasible in the future owing to the increased maturity and more established technology. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for LCA and TEA in MAP are elucidated.

Modified lignin can achieve mitigation of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously in composting

The constant ammonia gas (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions were considered as a deep-rooted problem in composting which caused air pollution and global climate change. To achieve the mitigation of NH3 and GHG, a novel additive derived from wasted straw, with modified structure and functional groups, has been developed. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of modified lignin (ML) for both ammonium and nitrate was significantly increased by 132.5–360.8 % and 313.7–454.3 % comparing with biochar (BC) and phosphogypsum (PG) after reconstructing porous structure and grafting R-COOH, R-SO3H functional groups. The application of ML could reduce 36.3 % NH3 emission during composting compared with control. Furthermore, the synergetic mitigation NH3 and GHG in ML treatment resulted in a reduction of global warming potential (GWP) by 31.0–64.6 % compared with BC and PG. These findings provide evidence that ML can be a feasible strategy to effectively alleviate NH3 and GHG emissions in composting.

Assessing the sustainability of cultured meat in optimized Danish diets

Reducing animal-sourced foods in diets saves a significant share of environmental impacts. Sustainable dietary patterns have proposed large reductions in red meats in particular. Foods with the potential to reduce the environmental impacts of diets are under increasing investigation, and cultured meat, produced by culturing animal cells, could play a key role, especially for diet transitions away from high red meat consumption. In this paper, the inclusion of cultured meat in optimized Danish diets is explored through minimizing climate impact in greenhouse gas emissions measured through Global Warming Potential (GWP) with ±30 %, 60 %, and 90 % stepwise changes from current diets while meeting nutritional requirements; the total consumer diet costs were also assessed. Three optimization models were run, one with a cultured meat diet (all animal-sourced meats are replaced with cultured meat), an omnivore diet (with conventional animal-sourced foods and no cultured meat), and a vegan diet (neither cultured meat nor other animal-sourced foods are allowed). Results revealed that both omnivore diets with and without cultured meat and vegan diets can achieve impact improvements compared to current diets. The greatest GWP reductions can be seen in the cultured meat diet (8.0 Mt CO2 eq./yr) and vegan diets (9.8 Mt CO2 eq./yr) with 90 % deviation in both from current diets. These reductions could represent potential Danish national emissions decrease of 21 % and 25 %, respectively, in 2022 impacts. Cultured meat diets resulted in the highest costs (11.58€/day) compared to the current diets (8.05€/day), vegan diets (6.49€/day), and omnivore diets (6.11 €/day). This paper provides key information about diet shifts and the potential of novel foods to reduce carbon emissions compared with the current diets. Although the socio-cultural acceptability and technological readiness of cultured meat, which represent crucial prerequisites to its inclusion in diets, still need to be assessed.

Life cycle greenhouse gas emission analysis of co-processing of algal bio-oil and vacuum gas oil in an existing refinery

The co-processing of algal bio-oil and vacuum gas oil (VGO) within existing refineries to generate gasoline and diesel represents a financially advantageous strategy for the integration of third-generation biofuels. Microalgae cultivation can be facilitated through the utilization of algal turf scrubbers (ATS) and open raceway ponds (ORP), with algal bio-oil extraction achievable via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and fast pyrolysis (FP). Four distinct algal bio-oil production processes, namely ORP&HTL, ORP&FP, ATS&FP, and ATS&HTL, have been identified for the integration of algae cultivation and algal bio-oil production. To assess the global warming potential (GWP) of the five co-processing scenarios, the four algal bio-oils co-processed with VGO, along with pure VGO cracking, underwent evaluation utilizing the CML 2001 method. The investigation revealed that the ORP&HTL scenario exhibited the lowest GWP among the five scenarios. In the ORP scenarios, KNO3 and Ca(H2PO4)2·CaHPO4 were utilized as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) sources during the algae production stage, resulting in a GWP 3.86 and 2.01 times higher than that observed in the ATS scenarios during this phase. Subsequent sensitivity analysis demonstrated that optimizing the reduction of GWP entails diminishing electricity and nutrient consumption within the algal production processes, alongside augmenting the proportion of algal bio-oil in the feed. This strategic approach effectively mitigates the GWP associated with the co-processing endeavor.

Feasibility analysis and environmental impact evaluation of biochar derived from mango pit for blast furnace injection

Biochar, produced by the pyrolysis of carbon–neutral biomass, has great potential to replace pulverized coal (PC) injection in blast furnace (BF) ironmaking. Herein, this study aimed to develop a low-ash and low-alkali metal biochar from mango pit (MP) and evaluate its environmental impact as an alternative fuel for BF ironmaking. This paper first studied the feasibility of mango pit biochar (MPB) as an alternative fuel. Compared with other preparation conditions, MPB prepared at 600 °C for 60 min (MPB-600–60) had the most similar fuel performance to PC, which was confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA). Moreover, MPB-600–60 exhibited lower ash and alkali metal content compared to PC. The co-combustion experiment demonstrated that MPB-600–60 could promote the combustion of mixed fuel, and the optimal combustibility was achieved when the addition ratio of MPB-600–60 was 80%. Comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that the reduction of global warming potential (GWP) amounted to 220 kg CO2 eq/tHM if MPB 100% replaced PC. These results indicated that MPB could significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of BF ironmaking. This study provides a novel and promising approach for developing low-carbon and clean alternative fuels in BF ironmaking.

Performance polyamides built on a sustainable carbohydrate core

Sustainably producing plastics with performance properties across a variety of materials chemistries is a major challenge—especially considering that most performance materials use aromatic precursors that are still difficult to source sustainably. Here we demonstrate catalyst-free, melt polymerization of dimethyl glyoxylate xylose, a stabilized carbohydrate that can be synthesized from agricultural waste with 97% atom efficiency, into amorphous polyamides with performances comparable to fossil-based semi-aromatic alternatives. Despite the presence of a carbohydrate core, these materials retain their thermomechanical properties through multiple rounds of high-shear mechanical recycling and could be chemically recycled. Techno-economic and life-cycle analyses suggest selling prices close to those of nylon 66 with a reduction of global warming potential of up to 75%. This work illustrates the versatility of a carbohydrate moiety to impart performance that can compete with that of semi-aromatic polymers across two important materials chemistries.

Technical, economic and ecological assessment of European sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) production

AbstractMultiple options for sustainable alternatives to fossil kerosene have been assessed. The route using biomass gasification, hotgas cleaning, hydrogen addition (derived from water electrolysis using renewable power), Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and product upgrading towards ASTM D7566 certified SAF has technical, economic and environmental advantages to be discussed in detail. The technical assessment shows carbon resp. energy efficiency of fuel production at 61% resp. 55%. The economic assessment of brown-field installations in Finland predicts costs in the range of 1.00 €2019/l. For the evaluation of 200 MWth biomass plus 160.2 MWe grid power plant size, an electricity price and biomass price of 42 €2019/t and 51 €2019/MWh were assumed, respectively. The environmental assessment shows a global warming potential reduction of 91% (corresponds to 8.8 gCO2-eq./MJFuel,LHV) compared to fossil fuel using Finnish wind energy and biomass residues, far better than the required 65% GWP reduction of the European RED II regulation. Based on the techno-economic and environmental assessment of the preferred FT route, a European deployment potential between 10 and 60 Mt/a SAF seems achievable in early 2030 years. The authors propose to implement appropriate regulation with high urgency.

Coupling agent-based modelling and life cycle assessment for a behaviour-driven evaluation of SAEVs

ABSTRACT Shared Automated Electric Vehicles (SAEVs) are poised to revolutionize future transportation. However, potential drawbacks, including increased vehicle usage and the projected shorter vehicle lifespan, introduce critical factors that may impact efficiency and environmental benefits. This research introduces a framework that integrates Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a behaviour-driven SAEV assessment. The ABM simulates regional SAEV operations, informing the LCA of pre- and post-integration scenarios. Sensitivity analysis on fleet sizes, system performance metrics, and Global Warming Potential (GWP) reference values are performed. Findings demonstrate that SAEVs significantly decrease the fleet size and total travel distance by raising the average travel per vehicle. SAEVs integration yields a 75–86% daily GWP reduction without significantly compromising user experience. Over 30 years, fleet replacement needs due to inadequate fleet sizing raised GWP by 170%. Balancing short and long-term environmental impact requires optimizing fleet size to achieve sustainable and efficient service delivery.

Environmental potential of recycling of plastic wastes in Australia based on life cycle assessment

Plastic consumption in Australia is steadily increasing and is estimated to reach 8.8 million tonnes by 2050. Alongside plastic consumption, plastic waste management (PWM) faces rising environmental challenges in Australia as most of them are currently landfilled. Therefore, the Australian government has published a policy to transition to a circular economy as well as a new strategy for PWM with higher recycling rates. To understand the implications of the policy changes and the environmental impacts of End-of-Life (EoL) options, life cycle thinking is necessary. This study evaluates and compares the environmental impacts of the Australian PWM for 2018–2019 to the policy envisaged for 2030 that includes higher recycling rates and waste export bans from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective. From the results, it can be seen that the current PWM is majorly linear (take, make, use and dispose) as most of the wastes gets landfilled and exported to other countries but the future PWM strategy for 2030 results in higher resource recovery and significant reduction in the environmental impacts. There is a reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) by a factor of almost 10, if the recycling rates increase from 13 to 70%. The state and the federal governments along with other stakeholders need to implement stringent measures to recover plastic wastes if a transition to a circular economy is to happen by 2030.

A comparative life cycle assessment of recycling waste concrete powder into CO2-Capture products

Waste concrete powder (WCP), a byproduct of construction and demolition (C&D), currently has a low degree of recycling despite its potential for environmentally friendly applications. WCP can serve as a valuable substitute for cement, offering advantages for resource conservation and carbon sequestration. However, there are very few studies that quantitatively assess the environmental impact of incorporating WCP into the circular economy as a secondary material instead of disposing of it. The energy-intensive processing of WCP raises questions about the optimal carbonation time using available equipment. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by employing carbon footprint and life cycle assessments (LCA) to optimize WCP recycling. Three recycling WCP scenarios are analyzed. The first scenario involved the conversion of WCP into compacts that absorb CO2 during the carbonation process. The results of the first scenario revealed that the optimal carbonation time for WCP compacts was 8 h, during which 42.7 kg CO2-e per tonne of WCP compacts was sequestered. The total global warming potential (GWP) was −4.22 kgCO2-e, indicating a carbon-negative recycling process. In the second and third scenarios, LCA was conducted to compare the use of carbonated and uncarbonated WCP as a partial replacement for cement in concrete. In these scenarios, it was found that uncarbonated WCP is a more effective solution for reducing the carbon footprint of traditional concrete mixes, achieving a significant 16% reduction of GWP when 20% of cement is replaced. Conversely, using carbonated WCP as a partial cement replacement in concrete mixtures shows limited potential for CO2 uptake. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the carbon footprint of the WCP compacts production process is strongly influenced by the electricity supplier used.

Life cycle assessment of apricot puree concentrate production

The key factors influencing the ecological impact of the food industry include intensive components such as waste management, logistics, energy consumption, and raw material usage. Holistically, these also offer a range of environmentally friendly improvement opportunities. The fruit juice industry needs the Life Cycle Assessment for sustainable improvements, especially for concentrated juice that requires high-energy evaporation. The study aims to conduct a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment of apricot puree concentrate production in Sultanhisar, Turkey. Open-access Agribalyse database and OpenLCA software and the ReCiPe impact assessment method have been used. The functional unit is chosen as 1 kg concentrated apricot puree transported to the retail center. The research results indicate that apricot production is the primary contributor, followed by harvested apricot transportation as the secondary factor, and evaporation as the tertiary factor to all environmental impacts approximately. Sensitivity, uncertainty, and scenario analyses are carried out. Sustainable improvement scenarios, in terms of photovoltaic utilization, result in a minor reduction in Global Warming Potential, ranging from 0.82% to 1.65%. On the contrary, logistics adjustments emphasize a significant hotspot with a reduction impact of 16.71%–19.67%.

A Multi-Objective Optimization Method for the Design of a Sustainable House in Ecuador by Assessing LCC and LCEI

The building industry significantly contributes to global warming, driving the demand for sustainable construction and green buildings. However, barriers like cost concerns and limited knowledge persist. Previous studies have used multi-objective optimization (MOO) to minimize life cycle cost and environmental impact, often emphasizing energy efficiency. In equatorial climates, unique factors like material selection must be considered. This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of sustainable materials, focusing on envelope materials in Ecuador. The case study is a single-family house in the equatorial climate, optimized using Building Information Modeling (BIM), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA). In this study, a MOO process using the weighted sum approach (WSA) identifies sustainable house designs. The sustainable houses achieve a 98% decrease in Ozone Depletion Potential, a 75% reduction in Global Warming Potential, and a 45% drop in Primary Energy Demand, although they still incur a 30% increased cost. The results offer a foundation for cost-effective, eco-friendly housing solutions. Bamboo emerges as a promising material with local acceptance. This research highlights the significance of material selection in sustainable construction and provides a replicable approach for diverse settings. It aims to promote sustainable housing solutions in Ecuador and beyond.

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions during biochar‐composting are driven by biochar application rate and aggregate formation

AbstractManure is a leading source of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ammonia (NH3) emissions, and alternative manure management practices can help society meet climate goals and mitigate air pollution. Recent studies show that biochar‐composting can substantially reduce emissions from manure. However, most studies test only one type of biochar applied at a single application rate, leading to high variation in emission reductions between studies. Here, we measured greenhouse gas and NH3 emissions during biochar‐composting of dairy manure with biochar applied at 5% or 20%, by mass, and made from walnut shells, almond shells, or almond clippings. We found little difference in emissions between biochar type. However, we found that the 20% application rates increased CH4 emissions and decreased N2O and NH3 emissions, resulting in a net reduction in global warming potential (GWP). We attribute this result to biochar increasing the formation of compost aggregates, which likely acted as anaerobic reactors for methanogenesis and complete denitrification. Biochar may have further fueled CH4 production and N2O consumption by acting as an electron shuttle within aggregates. We recommend lower application rates, as we found that the 5% treatments in our study led to a similar reduction in GWP without increasing CH4 emissions.

Life cycle assessment of waste materials in deep cement mixing for land reclamation in Hong Kong

In recent years, researchers have shown increasing concern on the environmental impact attributed to traditional binders like cement, especially in mega-scale reclamation projects utilizing Deep Cement Mixing (DCM). The substitution of cement with alternative binders derived from construction and demolition waste as well as industrial slag waste is viewed as a potential strategy for mitigating the carbon footprint of this construction sector. In this study, the potential of using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), steel slag (SS), and waste concrete powder (WCP) to partially replace cement in construction projects involving DCM is assessed based on a case study in Hong Kong. A detailed comparison through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is conducted to examine the carbon footprint of alternative binders. Various scenarios that involve substituting cement to different extents with alternative binders generated from waste materials have been considered. The results reveal that the grinding process is the main contributor to the Global Warming Potential (GWP) for GGBS and SS, accounting for over 57% in each case. For WCP, the GWP is distributed across separation, sieving, and loading. Utilizing alternative waste leads to a GWP reduction in all scenarios, primarily due to lower emissions from these secondary raw materials. Overall, substituting 60% of Portland cement with GGBS, SS, or WCP in DCM construction resulted in GWP reductions of 34.7%, 34.5%, and 35.8% of greenhouse gas emissions, respectively. Various transportation scenarios are explored when moving the supply of construction materials from a local to a regional level by considering various material suppliers and the associated transportation distance. The sensitivity analysis highlighted the significant impact of transportation distance on GWP. This underscores the importance of logistics analysis in land reclamation projects and the benefits of integrating alternative binders into DCM projects.

American Chemistry Council issues reports on plastics and reacts to proposed EPA plastics-rules

On December 7, 2023, the American Chemistry Council issued a new report, spanning data from 2005 to 2017, showing a decline in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and energy consumption during the production of plastic resins. The plastics manufacturing industry reportedly showed a significant reduction in global warming potential even though consumers and businesses demanded the material for cars and trucks, new homes, packaged goods, and other products that rely on plastics. The new report, “A Decreasing Footprint: A Review of Resin Life Cycle Assessments,” the second in a series of three of life cycle assessment reviews, looks at trio of thermoplastics (HIPS, GPPS and ABS) commonly used in automotive, construction, protective packaging and household items.

Selective thermal recycling for graphene growth on natural substrates: A comparative study on life cycle assessment, energy consumption, and mechanical performance in recompounding

AbstractManufacturing of carbon‐based materials from waste thermoplastics is a keystone to reduce adverse environmental impacts. There are numerous attempts for sustainable graphene manufacturing from various waste sources by thermal treatment but there is no clear distinction on the effective conversion process by addressing reliable CO2 footprints. This study provides a comprehensive benchmarking study on the conversion of waste polypropylene plastics coming from yogurt containers into graphene on the substrate of talc by applying two upcycling techniques of catalytic carbonization (CC) and flash pyrolysis (FP) by comparing energy and speed of the processes and a dimensional stability and physical characteristics of the produced graphene substances by adopting a comparative life cycle assessment. FP led to the sphericalization of graphenes due to fast dehydration, cross‐linking, and carbonization of aromatic structures. On the other hand, gradual heating in CC caused the formation of tubular‐like graphene structures. In addition, FP became advantageous by resulting in 52% of CO2 emission compared with CC process. On the other hand, graphenes separated from talcs exhibited a remarkable 70% reduction in global warming potential compared with conventional graphene production from graphite. In order to complete the value chain and circularity, the mechanical performance of two different hybrid additives produced by selective thermal recycling in recompounding with copolymer polypropylene was examined, and additives from CC enhanced the flexural and tensile properties two times better than the one from FP. With this study, it becomes possible to compare analysis of graphene growth on natural substrates by exploring life cycle assessment, energy consumption, and mechanical performance with selective thermal recycling and recompounding.