The recycling of OMC's carbon reinforcement by solvolysing thermoset matrix. A way of sustainability for composites.

Originally developed for high-tech applications, carbon fibre/thermoset matrix composites have been increasingly used in leisure and sports industries, for several years. But the carbon reinforcement is the most expensive constituent, and also the most environmentally impacting in the elaboration of a composite part. To this day, no end-of-life solution or recycling process efficiently exists. This paper aims at demonstrating that recovering the carbon reinforcement is possible, technically and economically speaking. Moreover, it is particularly the basis for a life cycle analysis that assesses benefits and environmental challenges of this recycling loop based on the reinforcement recovery by a solvolysis of the organic matrix. Lastly, the lack of data to consider the better end-of-life option (reuse, recycling, energy recovery and material valorisation) will be underlined

Supply risk evolution of raw materials for batteries and fossil fuels for selected OECD countries (2000–2018)

Fossil fuels are the dominant form of storable energy, but their share in the global energy supply is slowly diminishing due to climate mitigation policies. Alternative energy production from variable renewable energy sources for both stationary and mobile use requires some form of energy storage. Batteries are the current frontrunner for this application, particularly with Li-ion batteries that are reliable and highly efficient. However, batteries themselves have evolved to meet current requirements and expectations. These changes in battery chemistry have shifted the dependency on raw materials used to produce them. Raw materials critical for battery production are subject to supply risk due to their availability or trade policies prompting a need for supply risk assessment. Such resource supply risks depend on the perspective of the importing country or region. By analysing the supply risk of raw materials used in the production of batteries in comparison to fossil fuels, it is possible to understand the shift in risk to storable energy that is underway. In this study, we analyse the supply risk of selected raw materials used in batteries and compare it with the supply risk of fossil fuels for the period 2000 to 2018 from the perspective of the European Union, USA, South Korea, Japan, Canada and Australia using the GeoPolRisk method. Our analysis demonstrates a higher risk of supply for raw materials compared to that of fossil fuels for all the selected territories. Rare earth elements, graphite and magnesium, are amongst the raw materials with the highest supply risk due to their concentrated production in one or only a few countries. Countries have recognised the need for raw material security and made specific policies to ensure secure supply. Raw material security is an emerging concern for all the countries, especially in the case of batteries for major manufacturing nations that are heavily import-dependent. Raw materials producing countries like Canada and Australia focused on stockpiling minerals and minerals exploration while importing countries such as Japan and South Korea are looking for alternate sources for their supply. The results from our analysis suggest that the necessary policy reforms taken for energy security have benefited all the countries with a reduced risk of fossil fuel supply, while similar policies to secure raw materials are discussed but not yet fully implemented

Preface:Recognizing management in LCM

The Life Cycle Management conference 2013 took place in Göteborg, Sweden in August that year. During some very sunny days, nearly 450 presentations took place in front of more than 600 conference goers, leading to uncountable numbers of meetings, conversations, and reflections. A group that brought together different facets of management and policy-making research in relation to LCM was created as conference special issue editors. The group identified a need for systematized descriptions and analyses of life cycle-related practices in industry and in society at large. Preferably, the research should be grounded in the social and management sciences. The intention with the special issue was advancing LCM research, with an emphasis on the 'M' for management. The special issue includes 7 papers developed from the conference presentations. The combination of life cycles and management enables many kinds of LCM research. Novel terminology and perspectives to LCM research introduced by the included papers convey some of this diversity. Studies with a product chain perspective to LCM offer a complementing contrast to the study of corporate LCM. Advancement of LCM research can thus be achieved by expanding from the company perspective towards, looking deeper into the interactions of multiple actors. Also, critical perspectives have been shown to be valuable for the legitimacy and credibility of LCA and its practitioners. These studies show how deeper studies in the social sciences offer paths for the further advancement of LCM

An application of life cycle assessment (LCA) within the Catalonian building sector: A case study

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool has been applied to evaluate environmental impacts through the whole building life cycle. LCA has been carried out in accordance to the international standard of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. As a reference, an application of LCA has been made to a Catalan house located in Barcelona, Spain with a projected 50 years life span. In this work, construction, use (operationand maintenance) and end-of-life phases have been considered. The operational energy consumed during thedwelling period was modeled using a mix of electrical power for electrical appliances, illumination, heating and cooling; and using thermal energy from natural gas for domestic hot water and cooking. Result shows that the highest environmental impacts during the dwelling’s life cycle took place during the use hase. The total impact of global warming potential was 4.52+01 kgCO2-Equiv. m-2 a-1 of which use phase accountedfor 92% (operation 90% and maintenance 2%), construction represented 7% and end-of-life contributed less than 1%. Regarding the operation phase, cooling had the highest environmental burden with 33%, heating represented 9%, followed by illumination 26% and electrical appliances 19%. The other two household activities accountedfor less than 12% (domestic hot water 9% and cooking 4%) of total phase. During the construction phase, the production of building materials represented about 97%, transport to the job site 2% and waste management 1% of total phase. The total primary energy demand was 5.26E+01 MJ m-2 a-1 (gross calorific value) of which non renewableprimary energy demand represents 78% and renewable energy demand 22%. In summary, data for a Catalan home has been provided to evaluate environmental impacts using LCA tool. Data have been modelled into the Gabi software system. Finally, LCA is a suitable tool to evaluate environmental impacts throughout all phases of the building life cycle

Life cycle inventory of plastics losses from seafood supply chains: Methodology and application to French fish products

Plastic debris into the environment is a growing threat for the ecosystems and human health. The seafood sector is particularly concerned because it generates plastic losses and can be endangered by plastic contamination. Life cycle assessment (LCA) does not properly consider plastic losses and related impacts, which is a problem in order to find relevant mitigation strategies without burden shifting. This work proposes a methodology for quantifying flows of plastics from the life cycle of the seafood products to the environment. It is based on loss rate and final release rate considering a pre-fate approach as proposed by the Plastic Leak Project. They are defined for 5 types of micro and macro plastic losses: lost fishing gears, marine coatings, plastic pellets, tire abrasion and plastic mismanaged at the end-of-life. The methodology is validated with a case study applied to French fish products for which relevant data are available in the Agribalyse 3.0 database. Results show that average plastic losses are from 75 mg to 4345 mg per kg of fish at the consumer, depending on the species and the related fishing method. The main plastic losses come from lost fishing gears (macroplastics) and tire abrasion (microplastics). Results show high variability: when mismanaged, plastic packaging at the end-of-life (macroplastics) is the main loss to the environment. As a next step the methodology is to be applied to other fish or shellfish products, or directly implemented in a life cycle inventory database. Further research should characterize the related impacts to the environment when life cycle impact assessment methodologies will be available, and identify eco-design solutions to decrease the major flows to the environment identified

Viabilisation du recyclage de composites à renfort carbone et matrice thermodurcissable. Premiers éléments d'étude

À l’origine développés pour des applications hautement techniques dans l’aéronautique et le spatial, l’usage des composites à renfort carbone et matrice thermodurcissable s’élargit depuis plusieurs années aux industries de l’automobile et des sports et loisirs. Toutefois, le choix du composite dépend parfois moins de ses performances techniques, que de critères esthétiques ou de l’image de haute technicité qu’il véhicule. Il en résulte ainsi un surdimensionnement des propriétés des constituants (en particulier, de la fibre de carbone) par rapport à la fonction du produit. En outre du point de vue environnemental, il a été montré que dans la mise en œuvre du composite, c’est la production de la fibre de carbone qui est la plus impactante. Une réponse économique et environnementale à ces inadéquations consiste donc à viabiliser le développement de composites à renfort recyclé. Ainsi le recyclage du composite en fin de vie, même limité à la seule récupération des fibres, pourrait permettre de diminuer certains impacts anthropiques en réduisant les matières premières nécessaires à sa production (produits pétroliers essentiellement). En outre, ce recyclage du renfort peut être élargi aux déchets de production (fibres ou prépregs inutilisés, chutes de pièces composites, etc.). Les concepteurs seraient alors à même d’équilibrer coût et efficacité énergétique par la production de matériaux dits de seconde génération (p. ex. destinés d’abord à des pièces non-structurelles). Toutefois, viabiliser cette filière de recyclage nécessite de palier les réticences des utilisateurs en les assurant de ses bienfondés technique, économique, environnemental et législatif. Ainsi, après avoir rappelé ces différents contextes, le recyclage des composite par solvolyse de la matrice par de l’eau en conditions supercritiques, ainsi que la mise en œuvre de semi-produits de seconde génération attractifs, seront présentés. Un premier bilan économique et environnemental de cette filière sera enfin dressé

Material Flow Analysis to Evaluate Supply Chain Evolution and Management: An Example Focused on Maritime Pine in the Landes de Gascogne Forest, France

The Landes de Gascogne forest, located in southwestern France, spans nearly 10,000 km2 and consists largely of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). This forest in unique to Europe because it is almost entirely created and managed by man for specific industries. On the basis of a material flow analysis, we assessed the upstream supply chain of maritime pine from 2013 to 2019, using a cradle-to-gate approach. The assessment is based on data provided by Alliance Forêts Bois, an important stakeholder of the region and leader in the production of forest resources in France. For various reasons, the harvest totals decreased 10% in the last years. We identified a clear orientation to specific industries—in 2019, 45% was used as pulpwood. This is due to the overall design of the current territory, species of tree, and market values of the pulp and paper industry. The current design provides a limited supply of old growth trees, which produce high-quality logs for construction-based products, and are also more resistant to climate variability. A future shift or balance in raw material flows could be a crucial step in protecting the long-term economic viability of the region. This article aims to contribute to new attempts in providing comprehensive views of stocks and flows in the French forest-wood supply chain

A necessary step forward for proper non-energetic abiotic resource use consideration in life cycle assessment: The functional dissipation approach using dynamic material flow analysis data

The impact of non-energetic abiotic resource use in life cycle as- sessment (LCA) has been receiving much attention in the last decades, and even more so since the resource efficiency and circular economy have become prominent subjects of discussion in public and private sectors all around the world. As LCA has proven to be the most solid holistic tool to integrate environmental impacts in sustainability as- sessments of product systems, it should be able to integrate current concerns about non-energetic abiotic resource use into its methodology and therefore provide exploitable results for every LCA user. However, to this day no consensus has been reached on which approach for characterizing impacts due to the use of these resources should be used (Drielsma et al., 2016; Sonderegger et al., 2017). This seems to be at- tributable to the fact that no method is recognized as both solid on the methodological level while answering at the same time the true con- cerns for abiotic natural resource uses in LCA: the need to retain and therefore maximize their functional value in the technosphere after their extraction in order to fulfill the needs of current and future gen- erations, while minimizing the losses to the ecosphere. Indeed, abiotic resources are not always consumedBRGM ADEM