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Abstract: This review provides a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a cosmetic cream to assess the environmental impacts throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal, using the methodology according to international standards. The LCA was performed using the OpenLCA 2.0.1 software, with data from the Ecoinvent 3.8 database and relevant literature. The assessment focused on multiple impact categories, including climate change, acidification, eutrophication (freshwater, marine and terrestrial), ecotoxicity (freshwater), human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer), ionizing radiation, land use, ozone depletion, photochemical ozone formation, resource use (fossils, minerals and metals), and water use. The LCA of a cosmetic cream containing gold nanoparticles revealed significant environmental impacts across critical categories. The total climate change potential was 2596.95 kg CO2 eq., driven primarily by nanoparticle synthesis (60.7%) and electricity use (31.9%). Eutrophication of freshwater had the highest normalized result (3.000), with nanoparticle synthesis contributing heavily, indicating the need for improved wastewater treatment. The resource use (minerals and metals) scored 1.856, while the freshwater ecotoxicity reached 80,317.23 CTUe, both driven by the nanoparticle production. The human toxicity potentials were 1.39 × 10−6 CTUh (cancer) and 7.45 × 10−5 CTUh (non-cancer), linked to emissions from synthesis and energy use. The LCA of the cosmetic cream revealed several critical areas of environmental impact. The most significant impacts are associated with gold nanoparticle synthesis and electricity use. Addressing these impacts through optimized synthesis processes, improved energy efficiency, and alternative materials can enhance the product’s sustainability profile significantly.
Keywords: life cycle assessment, cosmetic cream, environmental impacts, gold nanoparticles
Published in DKUM: 17.12.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 14
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Abstract: H. pluvialis is a unicellular freshwater alga containing many bioactive compounds, especially carotenoids, which are the strongest antioxidants among the pigments. This study evaluates the composition and content of carotenoids and other pigments in both stages of algae life cycle, especially in the green vegetative stage, less studied in comparison to the red stage. To determine the composition and content of carotenoids, a combination of HPLC-DAD and LC-QTOF-MS was used. The content of carotenoids in the green vegetative stage was significantly lower than in the red vegetative stage. In the green vegetative stage, 16 different carotenoids and other pigments were identified. Among the total 8.86 mg g−1 DW of pigments, 5.24 mg g−1 DW or 59% of them were chlorophyll a with its derivatives, and 3.62 mg g−1 DW or 41% of them were free carotenoids. After the transition from the green to the red stage, the carotenoid composition was replaced by secondary carotenoids, astaxanthin and its esters, which predominated in the whole carotenoid composition. In addition to free astaxanthin, 12 astaxanthin monoesters, 6 diesters and 13 other carotenoids were determined. The majority of 37.86 mg g−1 DW pigments were monoesters. They represented 82% of all pigments, and their content was about 5 times higher than both, diesters (5.91 mg g−1 DW or 12% of all) and free carotenoids (2.4 mg g−1 DW or 6% of all). The results of the study contribute to the data on the overall pigment composition and content of H. pluvialis algae and provide the basis for further improvement of cultivation of the H. pluvialis algae.
Keywords: antioxidants, astaxanthin, chlorophylls, bioactive compounds, algae, Haematococcus, life cycle, pigment composition, secondary carotenoids
Published in DKUM: 21.05.2024; Views: 172; Downloads: 19
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Abstract: Plastic production and its end-of-life management pose a significant environmental footprint. The mitigation strategies of the plastic industry are comparatively attainable than the other hard-to-abate sector. However, the involvement of different stakeholders is needed. The life cycle analysis proposed in this study allocated the environmental footprint to stakeholders based on the game theory concept. It addresses the limitation of previous approaches that do not guarantee the stakeholders from different stages will participate in the initiatives with the lowest net environmental footprint due to the dissatisfaction or imbalance in the allocated unburdening footprint (benefit) and burdening footprint. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a plastic recycling case study. An allocation of 82 % of environmental benefit to the producer, 14 % to the manufacturer, and 4 % to the user are suggested to achieve efficiency (lowest external interference) and stable cooperation (participation in recycling). This work serves as an initial assessment in demonstrating the integration of the game theory concept in environmental footprint allocation or Life Cycle Assessment.
Keywords: plastic production, environmental footprint, life cycle
Published in DKUM: 18.04.2024; Views: 155; Downloads: 6
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Abstract: Japanese knotweed is an invasive alien plant species with characteristic rapid expansion in Europe and North America and resistance to extermination. It displaces autochthonous biodiversity and causes major damage to infrastructure, thus causing global ecological and economic damage. The Japanese knotweed plant is usually eradicated using various chemical, biological, or mechanical techniques, which at a large scale include heavy equipment, usually followed by incineration. Therefore, excavation is preferred to eradication techniques, and as a biomass waste recovery method due to the extraction of high-value biocompounds. This is supported by the fact that the Japanese knotweed possesses various bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on human health. Its rhizome bark extract produces strong and stable antioxidant activity over time, as well as apoptotic, antibacterial, and other beneficial activities. In this work, an environmental impact assessment, including greenhouse gas footprint, acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity for extraction route of the Japanese knotweed rhizome bark, is performed. A comparative case study between the lab-based and proposed pilot-scale production of active added-value extract was evaluated. The results show the pilot-scale production exhibits lower environmental burdens, mainly due to greater electricity requirements for the lab-scale alternative.
Keywords: Japanese knotweed rhizome bark extract, invasive alien plant species, bioactive compounds, lab-scale, pilot-scale, life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental burden assessment
Published in DKUM: 19.03.2024; Views: 236; Downloads: 20
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Abstract: Food supply chains have a significant impact on the environment, using large amounts of fossil energy resources and other non-renewable resources. Energy is directly and indirectly needed in all the steps along the food supply chain. This paper explores energy-related indicators in food supply chains and life cycle assessment within sixty-six research papers, gathered from the Web of Science database. Furthermore, a quantitative content analysis was carried out to assess the research trends and future opportunities regarding energy-related topics. The results revealed that a holistic perspective is needed, as energy-related indicators should be included in the use and end-of-life stages, not only in the production processes, and that the inclusion should follow the life cycle assessment methodology. The current research topics are energy issues related to production processes and environmental impacts. Improvements are possible in extending research areas to renewable resources, whole lifecycle perspectives, and socio-economic consequences.
Keywords: energy, food supply chain, life cycle assessment, Leximancer
Published in DKUM: 05.12.2023; Views: 368; Downloads: 6
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