A modeling framework to identify environmentally greener and lower-cost pathways of nanomaterials

Kai Lan; Hannah Szu-Han Wang; Tessa Lee; Camilla Abbati de Assis; Richard A. Venditti; Yong Zhu; Yuan Yao

doi:10.1039/D3GC04036D

A modeling framework to identify environmentally greener and lower-cost pathways of nanomaterials†

Kai Lan,^ab Hannah Szu-Han Wang,^a Tessa Lee,^a Camilla Abbati de Assis,^c Richard A. Venditti,

^b Yong Zhu^d and Yuan Yao

*^ae

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 380 Edwards Street, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
E-mail: y.yao@yale.edu

^b Department of Forest Biomaterials, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

^c Fisher International, Inc., 15720 Brixham Hill Ave. Suite 550, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

^d Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, 911 Oval Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

^e Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, 17 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Abstract

Producing environmentally benign and economically viable nanomaterials is critical for large-scale applications in energy and other industries. This study presents a modeling framework to identify environmentally greener and lower-cost pathways of large-scale nanomaterial production, which encompasses life cycle assessment, Green Chemistry principles, techno-economic analysis, and eco-efficiency analysis. The framework is demonstrated by case studies of cellulose nanomaterials produced in the U.S. For cellulose nanocrystals, the framework identifies pathways that simultaneously reduce the life-cycle global warming potential (GWP) from 17.7 to 2.6 kgCO₂e per dry kg cellulose nanocrystals and the minimum selling price (MSP) from US$7540 to US$4587 per dry t cellulose nanocrystals. For cellulose nanofibrils, the strategies present trade-offs of reducing GWP from 7.8 to 0.1 kgCO₂e per dry kg cellulose nanofibrils but increasing MSP slightly from US$2873 to US$2985 per dry t cellulose nanofibrils. Eco-efficiency analysis quantifies the magnitudes of co-benefits and trade-offs between the environmental and economic performance of different production strategies and supports decision making for sustainability-informed process optimization.

Green Chemistry

A modeling framework to identify environmentally greener and lower-cost pathways of nanomaterials†

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A modeling framework to identify environmentally greener and lower-cost pathways of nanomaterials

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