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Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management
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Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 April 2023) | Viewed by 32752

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Viktoria Mannheim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Energy Engineering and Chemical Machinery, University of Miskolc, H-3529 Miskolc, Hungary
Interests: life cycle assessment; waste management; energy efficiency; environmental management; thermic waste treatment technologies; renewable energy; process engineering; grinding; sustainable development; climate change
Prof. Dr. Ernesto D.R. Santibanez-Gonzalez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CES4.0, Industrial Engineering Department, University of Talca-Chile, Talca, Chile
Interests: addressing and solving problems at the interface of climate change and sustainability that arise in many different fields, such as supply chain, energy efficiency, low-carbon economy, carbon capture and storage, smart city, smart manufacturing, sustainable sourcing, sustainable and resilience supply chain, and sustainable operations management; the integration of disruptive technology, business processes, and operations research methods, which plays a key role in understanding and solving complex problems; integrating mathematical models, big data, blockchain, and internet technology to understand, model, and provide practical solutions to companies and organizations that need to address climate change and sustainability problems; sustainable development goals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Weronika Kruszelnicka

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Machines and Technical Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Al. Prof. S. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: materials grindability; comminution; processing machines; sustainable development; eco-design; energy efficiency; environmental impact
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Technological processes can be considered on the basis of three viewpoints: environmental burden, energy efficiency, and economic viewpoints. Environmental loads and their derived dire consequences are significant for different manufacturing technologies. With the increasing pressure on companies/organizations to adopt environmentally friendly practices that allow moving toward a low carbon economy that mitigates the harmful effects of climate change, the use of techniques based on life cycle assessment can facilitate analysis and the comparison of technological alternatives with the ecological requirements that they must meet. The different technological alternatives that need to be implemented in companies/organizations can be analyzed by applying life cycle assessment that considers, among other aspects, the environmental load, energy efficiency, and profitability aspects involved.  The goal of this Special Issue is to compare the different waste management technologies (including recycling, wastewater treatment, landfilling) with the help of life cycle assessment.

In the last few years, several waste energetic utilization/thermic treatment technologies have come to the front. This Special Issue also summarizes thermic and energetic utilization processes of wastes with a comparison between different technologies, stressing factors affecting their applicability and operational suitability.

The research results of the articles in this Special Issue show the values of the environmental impacts and energy efficiencies for manufacturing processes and waste management technologies in different lifecycle stages. This Special Issue can set up prognoses and models with LCA analyses and the conscious application of scientific methods, which can offer a prognosis for untested situations.

Dr. Viktoria Mannheim
Prof. Dr. Ernesto D.R. Santibanez-Gonzalez
Dr. Weronika Kruszelnicka
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • life cycle assessment
  • waste management
  • waste treatment technology
  • energy efficiency

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1431 KiB  
Article
Relation between Scale-Up and Life Cycle Assessment for Wet Grinding Process of Pumice
by Viktoria Mannheim and Weronika Kruszelnicka
Energies 2023, 16(11), 4470; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114470 - 1 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1892
Abstract
This study examines the grinding process of pumice based on the dry and wet laboratory measurements, scale-up method, and life cycle assessment. This research’s main goal was to set up the relation between scale-up and life cycle assessment results for the wet grinding [...] Read more.
This study examines the grinding process of pumice based on the dry and wet laboratory measurements, scale-up method, and life cycle assessment. This research’s main goal was to set up the relation between scale-up and life cycle assessment results for the wet grinding process with the help of mathematical equations. Within the first research works, basic grinding testing in a laboratory dry Bond mill was accomplished. This step allowed the description of the estimated particle size distribution, median particle size, specific grinding work, and grindability index number of pumice. The second step was the determination of power consumption and scale-up in a laboratory stirred media mill, and it involved the assessment of resources, primary energies, and environmental impacts of wet grinding using GaBi 8.0 software. According to the results, we obtain life cycle emission factors by introducing five coefficients for grinding in laboratory and industrial conditions. These constants depend on the external dimensions of the mill and can be expressed by a derived scale constant from the scale-up. Research results enable the industry to make a prognosis for industrial plants based on the integration between life cycle assessment and scale-up of the pilot grinding processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management)
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26 pages, 4511 KiB  
Article
Management of Environmental Life Cycle Impact Assessment of a Photovoltaic Power Plant on the Atmosphere, Water, and Soil Environment
by Patryk Leda, Adam Idzikowski, Izabela Piasecka, Patrycja Bałdowska-Witos, Tomasz Cierlicki and Marcin Zawada
Energies 2023, 16(10), 4230; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16104230 - 21 May 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2334
Abstract
Photovoltaic power plants are considered to be environmentally friendly solutions to the production of electricity. Solar energy conversion does not release toxic compounds into the environment. However, the construction of solar power plant components (photovoltaic modules, sup-porting structure, inverter station, electrical installation) is [...] Read more.
Photovoltaic power plants are considered to be environmentally friendly solutions to the production of electricity. Solar energy conversion does not release toxic compounds into the environment. However, the construction of solar power plant components (photovoltaic modules, sup-porting structure, inverter station, electrical installation) is extremely consumptive of energy and materials. Massive volumes of minerals, fossil fuels, and electricity are consumed during the manufacturing process. Efficient management of energy and environmental resources seems to be critical for national policy. It is crucial to admit that the post-consumer management of the components of a photovoltaic power plant is connected with a certain quantity of energy and matter and a negative impact on the natural environment. A life cycle assessment was carried out on a real 2 MW photovoltaic power plant located in the northern part of Poland. The analysis was carried out applying the ReCiPe 2016 model and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The impact of the examined renewable energy system was evaluated using 22 impact categories and 3 emission areas (air, water, soil). Life Cycle Assessment analysis was carried out for 2 post-consumer development scenarios (landfill and recycling). The examination of the collected results reveals that photovoltaic modules are the element causing the most negative environmental repercussions connected to the release of dangerous compounds into the atmosphere. Post-consumer development in the form of recycling would provide major environmental benefits and reduce detrimental environmental consequences across the whole life cycle of the photovoltaic power plant. The obtained research results enabled the formulation of pro-environmental recommendations aimed at the long-term development of the life cycle of solar power plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management)
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22 pages, 2540 KiB  
Article
Investigation into the Current State of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Waste Management—A State-of-the-Art Review
by Mohamed Alwaeli and Viktoria Mannheim
Energies 2022, 15(12), 4275; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124275 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 18367
Abstract
Nuclear power can replace fossil fuels and will have a decisive impact on the change in the approach to conventional energy. However, nuclear (or radioactive) wastes are produced by the operation of the nuclear reactors should be safely and properly disposed of. This [...] Read more.
Nuclear power can replace fossil fuels and will have a decisive impact on the change in the approach to conventional energy. However, nuclear (or radioactive) wastes are produced by the operation of the nuclear reactors should be safely and properly disposed of. This paper assesses the uranium resources and the global state of nuclear power plants and determines the energy mixes in different countries using the most nuclear energy. Furthermore, this paper analysed the nuclear waste management and disposal and the depletion of abiotic resources, and the primary energy sources of a basic production process using electricity mix and nuclear electricity for a basic production (PET bottle manufacturing) process. The life cycle assessment was completed by applying the GaBi 8.0 (version 10.6) software and the CML method. In this study, we limit our discussion to high-level nuclear waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste. We do not consider waste generated from uranium mining and milling, which is usually disposed of in near-surface impoundments close to the mine or the mill. The investigation of waste management methods is limited to European countries. This research work is relevant because determining abiotic resources is important in a life cycle assessment and current literature available on LCA analysis for nuclear powers remains under-developed. These results can guide and compare manufacturing processes involving a nuclear electricity and electricity grid mix input. The results of this research can be used to develop production processes using nuclear energy with lower abiotic depletion impacts. This research work facilitates the industry in making predictions for a production-scale plant using an LCA of production processes with nuclear energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management)
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20 pages, 1912 KiB  
Article
Energy-Model and Life Cycle-Model for Grinding Processes of Limestone Products
by Viktoria Mannheim and Weronika Kruszelnicka
Energies 2022, 15(10), 3816; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15103816 - 22 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3204
Abstract
Fine and ultrafine grinding of limestone are frequently used in the pharmaceutical, chemical, construction, food, and cosmetic industries, however, research investigations have not yet been published on the combination of energy and life cycle modeling. Therefore, the first aim of this research work [...] Read more.
Fine and ultrafine grinding of limestone are frequently used in the pharmaceutical, chemical, construction, food, and cosmetic industries, however, research investigations have not yet been published on the combination of energy and life cycle modeling. Therefore, the first aim of this research work was the examination of main grinding parameters of the limestone particles to determine an empiric energy-model. Dry and wet grinding experiments have been carried out with a Bond mill and a laboratory stirred ball mill. During the grinding processes, the grinding time and the filling ratio have been adjusted. The second goal of this research assessed the resources, emissions and environmental impacts of wet laboratory grinding with the help of life cycle assessment (LCA). The life cycle assessment was completed by applying the GaBi 8.0 (version: 10.5) software and the CML method. As a result of research, the determination of an empiric energy-model allowed to develop an estimated particle size distribution and a relationship between grinding fineness and specific grinding energy. The particle size distribution of ground materials can be exactly calculated by an empirical Rosin–Rammler function which represented well the function parameters on the mill characters. In accordance with LCA results, the environmental impacts for the mass of a useful product for different levels of specific energy with the building of approximation functions were determined. This research work sets up a new complex model with the help of mathematical equations between life cycle assessment and specific energy results, and so improves the energy and environmental efficiency of grinding systems. This research work facilitates the industry to make predictions for a production-scale plant using an LCA of pilot grinding processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management)
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Review

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15 pages, 689 KiB  
Review
Management of Plastic Waste and a Circular Economy at the End of the Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review
by Luciano Ferreira da Silva, Maria Helena Costa Resnitzkyd, Ernesto Del Rosario Santibanez Gonzalez, Diego de Melo Conti and Priscila Rezende da Costa
Energies 2022, 15(3), 976; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15030976 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4917
Abstract
This article aims to describe the current state of research on plastic waste management as a circular economy practice at the end of the supply chain. The methodological strategy chosen was a systematic literature review. The articles selected from the Web of Science [...] Read more.
This article aims to describe the current state of research on plastic waste management as a circular economy practice at the end of the supply chain. The methodological strategy chosen was a systematic literature review. The articles selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases were screened, and the research corpus consisted of 201 articles published in journals between 2014 and 2021. The results present 13 study categories, showing topics such as pyrolysis, business models, Industry 4.0, and energy generation. The insertion of Industry 4.0 technologies is still in its initial stages, comprising mainly the generation of inputs to reuse waste for 3D printers’ materials. Regarding energy generation, the insertion of processes such as pyrolysis for fuel generation stands out. The proposed discussion in this article suggests a circular ecosystem in which wastes follow a reuse flow according to their properties; incineration can be an option depending on the stage and benefits generated from the removal of plastic waste from the ecosystem. The highlighted issue is the scalability of the developed processes in the research, which is only possible if the state, universities, and civil society integrate efforts in the construction of a circular ecosystem infrastructure for waste management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment in Waste Management)
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