Papers by Roland Hischier
Environment international, Jan 4, 2016
The fast penetration of nanoproducts on the market under conditions of significant uncertainty of... more The fast penetration of nanoproducts on the market under conditions of significant uncertainty of their environmental properties and risks to humans creates a need for companies to assess sustainability of their products. Evaluation of the potential benefits and risks to build a coherent story for communication with clients, authorities, consumers, and other stakeholders is getting to be increasingly important, but SMEs often lack the knowledge and expertise to assess risks and communicate them appropriately. This paper introduces LICARA nanoSCAN, a modular web based tool that supports SMEs in assessing benefits and risks associated with new or existing nanoproducts. This tool is unique because it is scanning both the benefits and risks over the nanoproducts life cycle in comparison to a reference product with a similar functionality in order to enable the development of sustainable and competitive nanoproducts. SMEs can use data and expert judgment to answer mainly qualitative and ...
Wissenschaftliche Berichte Fzka, 2004
Résumé/Abstract This paper presents a comparison of two formats for data documentation and exchan... more Résumé/Abstract This paper presents a comparison of two formats for data documentation and exchange-EcoSpold and Sirii SPINE. In the beginning of September 2003 ecoinvent, the Swiss national Life-Cycle Inventory database, was publishedon the internet. Besides ...
The Science of the total environment, 2015
Plastics play an increasingly important role in reaching the recovery and recycling rates defined... more Plastics play an increasingly important role in reaching the recovery and recycling rates defined in the European WEEE Directive. In a recent study we have determined the life cycle environmental impacts of post-consumer plastics production from mixed, plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues in the Central European plant of a market-leading plastics recycler, both from the perspective of the customers delivering the residues and the customers buying the obtained post-consumer recycled plastics. The results of our life cycle assessments, which were extensively tested with sensitivity analyses, show that from both perspectives plastics recycling is clearly superior to the alternatives considered in this study (i.e. municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) and virgin plastics production). For the three ReCiPe endpoint damage categories, incineration in an MSWI plant results in an impact exceeding that of the examined plastics recycling facility each by about a factor of 4, and the produ...
Biomacromolecules, 2010
A novel process was developed to isolate poly([R]-3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHO)... more A novel process was developed to isolate poly([R]-3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHO) and poly([R]-3-hydroxy-ω-undecenoate-co-3-hydroxy-ω-nonenoate-co-3-hydroxy-ω-heptenoate) (PHUE) from Pseudomonas putida species. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl acetate, acetone, and methylene chloride efficiently extracted PHO from freeze-dried biomass. The ratio of solvent to biomass was 15:1 (vol/wt). The nonchlorinated solvents required 18 h of extraction to achieve methylene chloride's yield of 15 wt % within 60 min. In the case of PHUE, the yield was 15-17 wt % after 60 min of extraction at room temperature, independently of the solvent used. MTBE performed best in life cycle assessment (LCA) if contamination of the environment is avoided. Filtration of the extract containing 8 wt % of raw polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) through activated charcoal revealed colorless polymers with less than one endotoxin unit/g. The ratio (v/v) of the solution to activated charcoal was 2:1. The loss (impurities and polymers) amounted up to 50 wt %.
Technologies for storing, transmitting, and processing information have made astounding progress ... more Technologies for storing, transmitting, and processing information have made astounding progress in dematerialization. The amount of physical mass needed to represent one bit of information has dramatically decreased in the last few years, and is still declining. However, information will always need a material basis. In this chapter, we address both the upstream (from mining to the product) and the downstream (from the product to final disposal) implications of the composition of an average Swiss end-of-life (EoL) consumer ICT device from a materials perspective. Regarding the upstream implications, we calculate the scores of the MIPS material rucksack indicator and the ReCiPe mineral resource depletion indicator for selected materials contained in ICT devices, namely polymers, the base metals Al, Cu, and Fe, and the geochemically scarce metals Ag, Au, and Pd. For primary production of one kg of raw material found in consumer ICT devices, the highest material rucksack and resource depletion scores are obtained for the three scarce metals Ag, Au, and Pd; almost the entire material rucksack for these metals is determined by the mining and refining processes. This picture changes when indicator scores are scaled to their relative mass per kg average Swiss EoL consumer ICT device: the base metals Fe and in particular Cu now score much higher than the scarce metals for both indicators. Regarding the downstream implications, we determine the effects of a substitution of primary raw materials in ICT devices with secondary raw materials recovered from EoL consumer ICT devices on both indicator scores. According to our results, such a substitution leads to benefits which are highest for the base metals, followed by scarce metals. The recovery of secondary raw materials from EoL consumer ICT devices can significantly reduce the need for primary raw materials and subsequently the material rucksacks and related impacts. However, increased recycling is not a panacea: the current rapid growth of the materials stock in the technosphere necessitates continuous natural resource depletion, and recycling itself is ultimately limited by thermodynamics.
Ökobilanz von Energieprodukten: Ökologische Bewertung von Biotreibstoffen, R. Zah et al., Empa I ... more Ökobilanz von Energieprodukten: Ökologische Bewertung von Biotreibstoffen, R. Zah et al., Empa I 1 Methode der ökologischen Knappheit (UBP 06). Die Masseinheit sind Umweltbelastungspunkte. Diese Schweizer Methode schätzt die totale Umweltbelastung aus der Differenz der Emissionswerte zu den gesetzlichen Vorschriften. 2 Voll aggregierende Umweltbewertungsmethode, die auf der Ausbreitung und Schädigungswirkung von Emissionen beruht. 3 "Von der Wiege bis zur Bahre" M ethan Gras B io raffinerie M ethan Gülle M ethan Gülle+Ko substrat M ethan Gülle, o ptimiert M ethan Gülle+Ko substrat, o ptimiert M ethan B io abfall M ethan Klärschlamm M ethan Ho lz Diesel, schwefelarm EURO3 B enzin, schwefelarm EURO3 Erdgas, EURO3 CO2-eq. [kg/pkm ] Infrastruktur Anbau Produktion Transport Betrieb Fossil Biodiesel Alkohol Methan Abbildung 2 Vergleich der Treibhausgas-Emissionen von Biotreibstoffen im Vergleich mit fossilen Treibstoffen (Benzin und Diesel, EURO3). Die Emissionen sind nach den einzelnen Prozessen der Wertschöpfungskette gegliedert. 6 Die THG-Emissionen bei Methan aus Gülle, optimiert sind negativ, da hier die Differenz zu den Emissionen bei landwirtschaftlichem Ausbringen der unvergorenen Gülle betrachtet werden. IV Ökobilanz von Energieprodukten: Ökologische Bewertung von Biotreibstoffen, R. Zah et al., Empa -Die Bereitstellung und der Unterhalt der Fahrzeuge und Strassen (Abbildung 2, hellgrau) wurde in dieser Studie ebenfalls berücksichtigt. Allerdings wurden für alle betrachteten Fälle ein identisches Fahrzeug und eine gleiche jährliche Fahrleistung angenommen, weshalb dieser Anteil für alle Varianten gleich hoch ist. Dieser Aufwand kann bei sehr effizienten alternativen Treibstoffen wie Biodiesel aus Altöl, Bioethanol aus Zuckerrohr oder Methan aus Gülle deutlich mehr die Hälfte der gesamten THG-Emissionen ausmachen. Ein anderes Bild zeigt Abbildung 3, in der die gesamte Umweltbelastung, berechnet nach der Methode der ökologischen Knappheit (UBP 06), dargestellt ist. Zwar sind die Umweltauswirkungen des Fahrzeugbetriebs (dunkelgrau) bei der Verwendung von fossilem Treibstoff im Vergleich zu den Biotreibstoffen noch deutlich höher, dies wird aber durch teilweise sehr hohe Umweltbelastungen in der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion überkompensiert. Ursachen hierfür sind Bodenversauerung und Überdüngung bei der europäischen und Schweizer Landwirtschaft. Bei der tropischen Landwirtschaft sind Biodiversitätsverlust, Luftbelastung durch Brandrodung sowie Toxizität von in der Schweiz teilweise verbotenen Pestiziden die wesentlichen Ursachen für die hohen Umweltbelastungen. Die sehr hohe Belastung bei der Nutzung von Schweizer Kartoffeln ist durch die hohe Gewichtung der Nährstoffauswaschung zu erklären. Die sehr hohen Werte für Roggen aus europäischer Produktion lassen sich dagegen durch den niedrigen Ernteertrag von Roggen im gesamteuropäischen Schnitt erklären.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
ABSTRACT Purpose An life cycle assessment (LCA) study of a field emission display (FED) televisio... more ABSTRACT Purpose An life cycle assessment (LCA) study of a field emission display (FED) television device was established. The first objective of this study was to get an up-to-date and comprehensive picture by applying the latest developments in the area of LCA, especially concerning the use of nanoparticles. In its second part, the study shows a comparison with today’s display technologies (i.e. CRT, LCD, plasma) and the timely development of the assessment of a FED television device. Methods This LCA study covers the complete life cycle of a FED television device in accordance with the ISO 14040 standard, from the extraction of raw materials until the final end-of-life treatment in a European WEEE recycling system. Two different functional units were applied in this study: For the in-depth analysis of the FED television device, an entire device along its complete life cycle was considered as functional unit—for the subsequent comparison with today’s display technologies, “one square-inch of display during 1 h of active use” was used as an appropriate functional unit. Main data source for the FED device was patent information; ecoinvent was used as default background database. Results and discussion The in-depth analysis of this FED television device shows a clear dominance of the production phase (independently of the impact category). Within the production of such a device, the electronics part (i.e. the printed wiring boards) shows the highest contribution—while, even when focussing on the glass and its various coating layers only, the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) production has a very minor influence. The releases of CNTs during the End-of-Life treatment do not contribute in a relevant manner to the overall impact neither—even when focussing on the “ecotoxicity potential” by using conservative CFs reported for this type of releases. Last but not least, the comparison with the existing television display technologies shows that an FED device has an environmental advantage over all three other technologies using the above stated functional unit of “one square-inch of display during 1 h of active use”. Conclusions Traditional impact categories as well as the ecotoxicity factor results in clear environmental advantages for an FED television device when comparing it to the three display technologies used today. Concerning the general issue of evaluating applications of manufactured nanomaterials in LCA studies, this case study shows the high relevance of an adequate integration of nanoparticle releases into LCA studies in order to achieve an actually comprehensive evaluation.
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2015
ABSTRACT A new technology for the production of cellulose nanofibers from vegetable food waste ha... more ABSTRACT A new technology for the production of cellulose nanofibers from vegetable food waste has been developed. The fibers are liberated enzymatically, given a functionalized coating and oriented using spinning techniques. We performed a laboratory-scale life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess the various routes of the entire production process from an environmental perspective. The results indicate that the electrospinning process has a higher impact than the alternative wet spinning process under the conditions described. Furthermore, to improve the liberation process of the microfibrillated cellulose, the enzymatic treatment step requires development; this could be through optimization of energy use in the heating process, mainly by reducing heat loss and water use. A comparative LCA with the results of other published studies, using different starting materials and chemical processes to obtain nanocellulose, provides a deeper understanding of our processes. From this comparison, we conclude that our technology has the potential to become a competitive alternative, outperforming other nanocellulose technologies from an environmental perspective.
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2014
Direct energy consumption of ICT hardware is only "half the story." In order to get the "whole st... more Direct energy consumption of ICT hardware is only "half the story." In order to get the "whole story," energy consumption during the entire life cycle has to be taken into account. This chapter is a first step toward a more comprehensive picture, showing the "grey energy" (i.e., the overall energy requirements) as well as the releases (into air, water, and soil) during the entire life cycle of exemplary ICT hardware devices by applying the life cycle assessment method. The examples calculated show that a focus on direct energy consumption alone fails to take account of relevant parts of the total energy consumption of ICT hardware as well as the relevance of the production phase. As a general tendency, the production phase is more and more important the smaller (and the more energy-efficient) the devices are. When in use, a tablet computer is much more energy-efficient than a desktop computer system with its various components, so its production phase has a much greater relative importance. Accordingly, the impacts due to data transfer when using Internet services are also increasingly relevant the smaller the end-user device is, reaching up to more than 90% of the overall impact when using a tablet computer.
Résumé/Abstract This paper presents a comparison of two formats for data documentation and exchan... more Résumé/Abstract This paper presents a comparison of two formats for data documentation and exchange-EcoSpold and Sirii SPINE. In the beginning of September 2003 ecoinvent, the Swiss national Life-Cycle Inventory database, was publishedon the internet. Besides ...
Uploads
Papers by Roland Hischier