Mining the in-use stock of energy-transition materials for closed-loop e-mobility

The decarbonization of transportation is essential to achieve a carbon neutral planetary society. However, the turn to electromobility is based on advanced technologies (e.g., lithium-ions batteries) that tied our development to many functional materials with problematic supply. In this study, we apply prospective dynamic material flow analysis to explore the potentials for closing material cycles while meeting a full transition to electric for a set of energy-transition materials (ETMs) including lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and natural graphite. Three demand scenarios are applied to develop trajectories for ETM demand, their in-use stock, and derive the potentials to which recycling can substitute for virgin material extraction at the global scale to 2065. Our results estimate that ETM inflow to use could increase between 20 and 50 times by 2065. However, secondary supply will hardly enable the achievement of circularity in material cycles in the next decades so that the supply of ETMs will remain mainly based on primary material extraction. Nevertheless, from 2040 onwards, recycling volumes could meet up to more than 80% of demand and represent a viable alternative to mining. If the ideal scenario is realized, government policies could have the potential for achieving the dual goal of decarbonizing e-mobility and securing sustainable access to ETMs already in the middle of 2050s. However, the combined commitment and efforts across the value chain of policymakers, companies involved in the cycle, and consumers will be needed to fully realize the great potential for circular economy to work for e-mobility

Phosphorous flow analysis and resource circularity at the province level in north Italy

Phosphorus is an essential element for living organisms, but its unequal distribution combined with the current anthropogenic activity make it a critical resource. To decrease the risks of future shortages, new techniques to manage phosphorous are needed to be mainstreamed under a Circular Economy approach to boost a sustainable transition. A full characterization of flows and stocks is necessary to measure the contribution of secondary materials to meet the overall demand in a system and support decision-making process towards potential improvements. This understanding is determinant for a successful implementation of phosphorous recovery at the regional level, where site-specific conditions dictate local constraints. In this study, material flow analysis has been applied to characterize the 2020 phosphorous cycle in the Province of Rimini (Italy) and the State of San Marino, which are served by a wastewater treatment plant with a 560,000 person-equivalent capacity. Our model shows that, about 236 ± 23 t P entered the system, while 155 ± 14 t P left it, resulting in a net accumulation of 81 ± 21 t P, mainly located in soil for crop production, water bodies, and sedimentation due to dissipative flows. The greatest potential for phosphorous recovery is embedded into the digested sludge from the wastewater treatment plant, which would ideally meet 96% of the annual local demand of mineral fertilizers. However, this flow is currently disposed of by landfilling. Further technical, economic, environmental, and regulatory valuations are ultimately needed to build a positive business case to recover phosphorous in the region

Linux Based Ethernet Communication for Xilinx FPGAs

This article presents the implementation of an Ethernet communication platform for use on Xilinx FPGAs. The proposed solution relies on a synthesized embedded system to provide network data transfer and control capabilities, for use with synthesizable electronic devices. Most TCP/IP stack services and protocols were implemented and the design is flexible to allow adaptation and/or expansion for different application scenarios. Currently this platform is being used on the development of a FPGA based JTAG controller, with remote access. The embedded system hardware requires a MicroBlaze softcore microprocessor running a Petalinux operating system.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmental Impact of Meals: How Big Is the Carbon Footprint in the School Canteens?

The inhabitants of the world are expected to grow by two billion in the next two decades; as population increases, food demand rises too, leading to more intensive resource exploitation and greater negative externalities related to food production. In this paper the environmental impact of meals provided in school canteens are analysed through the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, in order to evaluate the GHGs emissions released by food production. Meals, and not just individual foods, have been considered so as to include in the analysis the nutritional aspects on which meals are based. Results shows that meat, fish and dairy products are the most impacting in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, with values that shift from 31.7 and 24.1 kg CO2 eq for butter and veal, to 2.37 kg CO2 eq for the octopus, while vegetables, legumes, fruit and cereals are less carbon intensive (average of 3.71 kg CO2 eq for the considered vegetables). When the environmental impact is related to the food energy, the best option are first courses because they combine a low carbon footprint with a high energy content. The results of the work can be used both by the consumer, who can base the meal choice on environmental impact information, and by food services, who can adjust menus to achieve a more sustainable production

How to Assess the Carbon Footprint of a Large University? The Case Study of University of Bologna’s Multicampus Organization

University campuses represent a heterogeneous ecosystem as to social, economic, energetic, and personal travel planning with a huge impact on hosting cities and territories. Sustainable policies are thus fundamental to reduce this impact and to adopt ecological behaviors. The measures for any University Sustainability Plan should be evaluated in terms of GHG emissions, as well as the overall impact of the university itself. Carbon footprint (CF) calculation is a relevant Decision Support tool that allows university organizations to measure and communicate the environmental effects of their activities. The aim of this paper is to present a carbon footprint methodology specifically designed to calculate the carbon footprint of large universities. The methodology was applied to calculate the CF of the University of Bologna by following international standards—i.e., the GHG protocol, the ISO 14064, and the ISO/TR 14069 guide—to understand the environmental impact caused by greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect university activities. The study was conducted upon the data available in 2020 and then was compared to the 2018 data, with the aim to recognize if the effect of the pandemic could have altered the results. In 2020, the University of Bologna emitted 16,467 tCO2e which became 15,753 tCO2e considering the offset and avoided emission provided by the internal production of energy from renewable sources. Comparison between 2020 and 2018 shows how, in 2018, most of the emissions came from transportation, representing 74% of the total emissions, while in 2020 almost 50% of total emissions derived by IT procurements. The case application demonstrates the way with which the methodology may be applied to assess environmental impact for complex university campuses

Carbon Fibers Waste Recovery via Pyro-Gasification: Semi-Industrial Pilot Plant Testing and LCA

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are increasingly used in a variety of applications demanding a unique combination of mechanical properties and lightweight characteristics such as automotive and aerospace, wind turbines, and sport and leisure equipment. This growing use, however, has not yet been accompanied by the setting of an adequate recycling industry, with landfilling still being the main management route for related waste and end-of-life products. Considering the fossil-based nature of carbon fibers, the development of recovery and recycling technologies is hence prioritized to address the environmental sustainability challenges in a bid to approach mitigating the climate emergency and achieving circularity in materials’ life cycles. To this aim, we scaled up and tested a novel semi-industrial pilot plant to pyrolysis and subsequent oxidation of uncured prepreg offcuts and cured waste of CFRPs manufacturing. The environmental performance of the process proposed has been evaluated by means of a life cycle assessment to estimate the associated carbon footprint and cumulative energy demand according to three scenarios. The scale-up of the process has been performed by investigating the influence of the main parameters to improve the quality of the recovered fibers and the setting of preferable operating conditions. The pyro-gasification process attested to a reduction of 40 kgCO2 eq per kg of recycled CFs, compared to virgin CFs. If the pyro-gasification process was implemented in the current manufacturing of CFRPs, the estimated reduction of the carbon footprint, depending on the composite breakdown, would result in 12% and 15%. This reduction may theoretically increase up to 59–73% when cutting and trimming waste-optimized remanufacturing is combined with circular economy strategies based on the ideal recycling of CFRPs at end-of-life

The role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage for economic pathways that limit global warming to below 1.5°C

The 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, for the first time, stated that CO2 removal will be necessary to meet our climate goals. However, there is a cost to accomplish CO2 removal or mitigation that varies by source. Accordingly, a sensible strategy to prevent climate change begins by mitigating emission sources requiring the least energy and capital investment per ton of CO2, such as new emitters and long-term stationary sources. The production of CO2-derived products should also start by favoring processes that bring to market high-value products with sufficient margin to tolerate a higher cost of goods