Chapter 8. Lifecycle and sustainability

International audienceThe concept of sustainability was developed in order to improve the present human living standards while maintaining the availability of the natural resources for future generations. According to this definition, technological development is a way to improve the sustainability, because it enables to meet human needs by transforming natural resources into useful products. By 2050, the urban world population is expected to approximately double to an estimated 6.4 billion2 and we are aware that the Earth’s natural resources are already limited. In this context, less impacting and more efficient industrial processes’ design represents a real challenge for engineers. From now on, the impacts of new technologies have to be assessed in detail, all along their life cycle, even before their massive industrial deployment.We should be sure that the generated impacts are actually counterbalanced by the improvement of the living standards on Earth. In this chapter, we will consider new technologies related to the development and treatment of lithium batteries. In the first part, we will demonstrate how existing studiesare already taking into account environmental impacts assessment and we will particularly emphasize the main assumptions realized using life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. In the second part, we will focus on the end-of-life (EOL) of lithium batteries to demonstrate that the entire value chain has to be considered while arbitrating on the acceptability or not of a design decision from an environmental perspective.Les batteries de type lithium connaissent et vont connaitre un essor considérable compte tenu d'une part de leurs bonnes performances et d'autre part d'une demande sans cesse croissante d'énergie notamment pour les applications transports. Cet accroissement entraîne une consommation accrue de matières premières et exige, dès aujourd'hui, de penser « cycle de vie » et « développement durable » afin de préserver et de pérenniser les ressources naturelles. Ce chapitre décrit dans un premier temps la méthodologie de l'« analyse du cycle de vie » appliquée aux batteries au lithium à partir de l'analyse de travaux publiés dans la littérature. En particulier les points clefs de ces études sont soulignés et des améliorations indispensables dans l'application de la méthode sont proposées. Dans un deuxième temps, le chapitre décrit un rapide état de l'art du recyclage et pointe la nécessité d'intégrer et de modéliser tout le cycle de vie des batteries depuis l'extraction des ressource primaires jusqu'à la fin de vie

Predicting the capability of carboxylated cellulose nanowhiskers for the remediation of copper from water using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models

This study observed the influence of temperature, initial Cu(II) ion concentration, and sorbent dosage on the Cu(II) removal from the water matrix using surface-oxidized cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) bearing carboxylate functionalities. In addition, this study focused on the actual conditions in a wastewater treatment plant. Conductometric titration of CNWs suspensions showed a surface charge of 54 and 410 mmol/kg for the unmodified and modified CNWs, respectively, which indicated that the modified CNWs provide a relatively high surface area per unit mass than the unmodified CNWs. In addition, the stability of the modified CNWs was tested under different conditions and proved that the functional groups were permanent and not degraded. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models were employed in order to optimize the system and to create a predictive model to evaluate the Cu(II) removal performance of the modified CNWs. The performance of the ANN and RSM models were statistically evaluated in terms of the coefficient of determination (R2), absolute average deviation (AAD), and the root mean squared error (RMSE) on predicted experiment outcomes. Moreover, to confirm the model suitability, unseen experiments were conducted for 14 new trials not belonging to the training data set and located both inside and outside of the training set boundaries. Result showed that the ANN model (R2 = 0.9925, AAD = 1.15%, RMSE = 1.66) outperformed the RSM model (R2 = 0.9541, AAD = 7.07%, RMSE = 3.99) in terms of the R2, AAD, and RMSE when predicting the Cu(II) removal and is thus more reliable. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data and the results revealed that Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.9998) had better correlation than the Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.9461). Experimental data were also tested in terms of kinetics studies using pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. The results showed that the pseudo-second-order model accurately described the kinetics of adsorption

Influence of genotype on biomass production and polyphenols of artichoke and cardoon

Cynara is a relatively small genus comprising two important crops: globe artichoke (C. cardunculus L. subsp. scolymus (L.) Fiori) and cultivated cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. altilis DC.). The chemical components of artichoke leaves have been studied extensively and have been found to be a rich source of polyphenolic compounds. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the hydroponic floating trays system due to the advantage of cultivation of globe artichoke for leaf biomass production with shorter cycles. Three artichoke (‘Romolo’, ‘Violetto di Provenza’ and ‘Violetto di Romagna’) and three cultivated cardoon (‘Bianco Avorio’, ‘Bianco Gigante Inerme’ and ‘Gigante di Romagna’) genotypes were evaluated for their leaf dry biomass and major polyphenols. The highest leaf dry biomass was recorded in the three genotypes of cardoon followed by the two artichoke genotypes ‘Romolo’ and ‘Violetto di Provenza’. The major polyphenols present in the leaf were chlorogenic acid and cynarin, followed by luteolin, whereas apigenin was found in trace quantities. The highest concentration of chlorogenic acid was observed in ‘Violetto di Provenza’, ‘Violetto di Romagna’ and ‘Bianco Avorio’, whereas the highest luteolin concentration was found in the cardoon genotypes ‘Bianco Avorio Gigante di Romagna’. Data showed that the hydroponic floating tray is a suitable system for biomass production of globe artichoke and cultivated cardoon. They also suggest that specific genotypes should be selected to obtain the desired nutritional features

Comparison between batch and column experiments to determine the surface charge properties of rutile TiO2 powder

This paper reports a comparative study of three methods for determining the surface charge and acid–base behavior of a TiO2 rutile material. Electrophoretic mobility measurements were performed using two different batch protocols: (i) a “static” mode that consisted of immersing the rutile powder in aqueous solutions of given pH's and ionic strengths for 10 h, and (ii) a “dynamic” mode that consisted of using an automatic titrator to continuously adjust the solution pH with a contact time of 15 min. The same apparatus (a Nanosizer from Malvern) was used to measure the zeta potential of the particles in both methods. These batch experiments were next compared to the determination of the surface charge of rutile using nonlinear chromatography in column experiments. In that case, the rutile powder was compacted to enable the formation of a proper column bed. Therefore, Raman scattering and X-ray photoelectron spectra were used, as well as other physical information such as specific surface area and morphology of the particles, to verify that the rutile powder and compacted form were identical. The three approaches were then compared and discussed in relation to the acid–base behavior of the rutile material

The first structure function study of GH151 alpha l fucosidase uncovers new oligomerization pattern, active site complementation, and selective substrate specificity

Fucosylated compounds are abundantly present in nature and are associated with many biological processes, therefore carrying great potential for use in medicine and biotechnology. Efficient ways to modify fucosylated compounds are still being developed. Promising results are provided by glycosyl hydrolases with transglycosylating activities, such as amp; 945; l fucosidase isoenzyme 2 from Paenibacillus amp; 8201;thiaminolyticus family GH151 of Carbohydrate Active enZYmes . Currently, there is no 3D structure representing this glycoside hydrolase family and only a few members have been investigated. Here, we present the first structure function study of a GH151 member, providing the key insights into its specific oligomerization and active site properties. According to the crystal structure, small angle X ray scattering data and catalytic investigation, this enzyme functions as a tetramer of a new type and represents the second known case of active site complementation among all amp; 945; l fucosidases. Mutation of the active site complementing residue histidine 503 to alanine confirmed its influence on amp; 945; l fucosidase activity and, specifically, on substrate binding. Several unique features of GH151 family amp; 945; l fucosidases were revealed, including the oligomerization pattern, active site accessibility and complementation, and substrate selectivity. Some common properties of GH151 glycosyl hydrolases then would be the overall three domain structure and conservation of the central domain loop 2 function, including its complementation role and the formation of the carbohydrate binding platform in the active site vicinit

Wireless distributed environmental sensor networks for air pollution measurement-the promise and the current reality

The evaluation of the effects of air pollution on public health and human-wellbeing requires reliable data. Standard air quality monitoring stations provide accurate measurements of airborne pollutant levels, but, due to their sparse distribution, they cannot capture accurately the spatial variability of air pollutant concentrations within cities. Dedicated in-depth field campaigns have dense spatial coverage of the measurements but are held for relatively short time periods. Hence, their representativeness is limited. Moreover, the oftentimes integrated measurements represent time-averaged records. Recent advances in communication and sensor technologies enable the deployment of dense grids ofWireless Distributed Environmental Sensor Networks for air quality monitoring, yet their capability to capture urban-scale spatiotemporal pollutant patterns has not been thoroughly examined to date. Here, we summarize our studies on the practicalities of using data streams from sensor nodes for air quality measurement and the required methods to tune the results to different stakeholders and applications. We summarize the results from eight cities across Europe, five sensor technologies-three stationary (with one tested also while moving) and two personal sensor platforms, and eight ambient pollutants. Overall, few sensors showed an exceptional and consistent performance, which can shed light on the fine spatiotemporal urban variability of pollutant concentrations. Stationary sensor nodes were more reliable than personal nodes. In general, the sensor measurements tend to suffer from the interference of various environmental factors and require frequent calibrations. This calls for the development of suitable field calibration procedures, and several such in situ field calibrations are presented