Current Developments and Challenges in the Recycling of Key Components of (Hybrid) Electric Vehicles

The introduction of electromobility causes major challenges as new components and materials enter vehicle recycling. This paper discusses the current developments in the recycling of traction batteries, electric motors, and power electronics, which constitute the key components of (hybrid) electric vehicles. Both technical and ecological aspects are addressed. Beside base metals, all components contain metals that are considered critical by the EU (European Union), e.g., rare earth elements, cobalt, antimony, and palladium. As electromobility is a new trend, no recycling routes have been established at an industrial scale for these components. The implementation is complicated by small return flows and a great variety of vehicle concepts as well as components. Furthermore, drastic changes regarding design and material compositions can be expected over the next decades. Due to hazards and high weights, there is a strong research emphasis on battery recycling. Most pilot-scale or semi-industrial processes focus on the recovery of cobalt, nickel, and copper due to their high value. Electric motors and power electronics can be fed into established recycling routes if they are extracted from the vehicle before shredding. However, these processes are not capable of recovering some minor metals such as rare earth elements and antimony

Growth of large-area single- and bi-layer graphene by controlled carbon precipitation on polycrystalline Ni surfaces

We report graphene films composed mostly of one or two layers of graphene grown by controlled carbon precipitation on the surface of polycrystalline Ni thin films during atmospheric chemical vapor deposition(CVD). Controlling both the methane concentration during CVD and the substrate cooling rate during graphene growth can significantly improve the thickness uniformity. As a result, one- or two- layer graphene regions occupy up to 87% of the film area. Single layer coverage accounts for 5-11% of the overall film. These regions expand across multiple grain boundaries of the underlying polycrystalline Ni film. The number density of sites with multilayer graphene/graphite (>2 layers) is reduced as the cooling rate decreases. These films can also be transferred to other substrates and their sizes are only limited by the sizes of the Ni film and the CVD chamber. Here, we demonstrate the formation of films as large as 1 in2. These findings represent an important step towards the fabrication of large-scale high-quality graphene samples

Synthesis of vesicle cargo determines amplitude of Ca2+-sensitive exocytosis

Here we examine the potential coupling between the synthesis of secretory proteins and the sensitivity of exocytosis to the concentration of free Ca2+ in the cytosol ([Ca2+](i)) in plant cell. We therefore monitor in tobacco protoplasts the excursion of the membrane capacitance in response to an elevation of[Ca2+](i) as a measure for exocytotic activity. The data show that a ramp like elevation of [Ca2+](i) generates in protoplasts from wild type plants and from transgenic plants, which overexpress the secreted alpha-amylase, an exocytotic burst with an initial steep and a subsequent slow phase. The largest capacitive burst is obtained in alpha-amylase producing plants and the amplitude of the [Ca2+](i) evoked C-m excursion is a function of the amylase synthesis of the plants. The data support a model according to which plant cells have at least two serial [Ca2+](i) sensitive processes in the final steps of their exocytotic pathway. The overproduction of a secreted cargo does not affect the kinetics of this process but the number of vesicles in pools upstream of the [Ca2+](i) sensitive steps. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Environmental Evaluation of Gypsum Plasterboard Recycling

Gypsum is widely used in the construction sector, and its worldwide consumption has been increasing for several decades. Depending on the lifetime of the used gypsum products, an increase of gypsum in construction and demolition waste follows. Especially against the background of a circular economy, the recycling of waste gypsum is of growing importance. However, the use of recycled gypsum only makes sense if it is environmentally friendly. Therefore, an evaluation of the environmental impacts of industrial-scale processing for the recycling of post-consumer gypsum waste was conducted. The evaluation was performed with an established life cycle assessment software. Original data provided by the industry and complementary data from a database for life cycle assessments were used for the calculations. Two scenarios for recycled gypsum with different transportation distances were calculated. These results were compared with the results of the environmental evaluation of gypsum derived from coal-fired power plants (FGD gypsum) and natural gypsum. The results showed that the utilization of recycled gypsum can be environmentally advantageous compared to the use of natural gypsum or FGD gypsum, especially in the impact categories of land transformation and resource consumption (abiotic depletion potential). For most environmental impact categories, the specific transportation distances have a strong influence

Environmental Evaluation of Gypsum Plasterboard Recycling

Gypsum is widely used in the construction sector, and its worldwide consumption has been increasing for several decades. Depending on the lifetime of the used gypsum products, an increase of gypsum in construction and demolition waste follows. Especially against the background of a circular economy, the recycling of waste gypsum is of growing importance. However, the use of recycled gypsum only makes sense if it is environmentally friendly. Therefore, an evaluation of the environmental impacts of industrial-scale processing for the recycling of post-consumer gypsum waste was conducted. The evaluation was performed with an established life cycle assessment software. Original data provided by the industry and complementary data from a database for life cycle assessments were used for the calculations. Two scenarios for recycled gypsum with different transportation distances were calculated. These results were compared with the results of the environmental evaluation of gypsum derived from coal-fired power plants (FGD gypsum) and natural gypsum. The results showed that the utilization of recycled gypsum can be environmentally advantageous compared to the use of natural gypsum or FGD gypsum, especially in the impact categories of land transformation and resource consumption (abiotic depletion potential). For most environmental impact categories, the specific transportation distances have a strong influence

MARKET VERSUS RESIDENCE PRINCIPLE: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTS OF A FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TAX

The effects of a financial transaction tax (FTT) are scientifically disputed, as seemingly small details of its implementation may matter a lot. In this article, we provide experimental evidence on the different effects of an FTT, depending on whether it is implemented as a tax on markets, on residents, or a combination of both. We find that a tax on markets has negative effects on volatility and trading volume, whereas a tax on residents shows none of these undesired effects. Additionally, we observe that individual risk attitude is not related to traders' reaction to the different forms of an FTT

Market Design and Moral Behavior

In an experiment with 739 subjects, we study whether and how different interventions might have an influence on the degree of moral behavior when subjects make decisions that can generate negative externalities on uninvolved parties. Particularly, subjects can either take money for themselves or donate it to UNICEF for measles vaccines. By considering two fairly different institutional regimes-one with individual decision making, one with a double-auction market-we expose the different interventions to a kind of robustness check. We find that the threat of monetary punishment promotes moral behavior in both regimes. Getting subjects more involved with the traded good has no effect, though, in both regimes. Only the removal of anonymity, thus making subjects identifiable, has different effects across regimes, which we explain by different perceptions of responsibility

Where to look for the morals in markets?

There is a heated debate on whether markets erode social responsibility and moral behavior. However, it is a challenging task to identify and measure moral behavior in markets. Based on a theoretical model, we examine in an experiment the relation between trading volume, prices and moral behavior by setting up markets that either impose a negative externality on third parties or not. We find that moral behavior reveals itself in lower trading volume in markets with a negative externality, while prices mostly depend on the market structure. We further investigate individual characteristics that explain trading behavior in markets with negative externalities

Contact Precautions for Preventing Nosocomial Transmission of Extended-Spectrum β Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli: A Point/Counterpoint Review

Contact precautions have been recommended for hospitalized patients colonized or infected with extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC). Despite such recommendations, a steady, worldwide increase of ESBL-EC has been reported. We discuss arguments in favor of and against contact precautions for ESBL-EC carriers. Healthcare settings with high ESBL-EC colonization pressure, extended hospital stay, and close contact between patients may serve as amplification platforms, further accelerating transmission. However, the evidence base for justifying the implementation of contact precautions for all ESBL-EC carriers remains weak. Until more high-level evidence is available, we support the attitude that hospitals and countries should carefully evaluate their decision on whether to implement contact precautions for ESBL-EC carriers. It is likely that a majority of patients and wards do not need to rely on contact precautions for preventing nosocomial ESBL-EC transmission in nonepidemic settings, without harming patient safety, providing sufficient compliance with standard precautions and ongoing surveillance