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Bio-based and biodegradable plastics (BBPs) are innovative materials, wholly or partially produced from biomass, with the potential to enhance the circulation of resources in the biological cycle of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s butterfly diagram. Although BBPs are generally considered more environmental-friendly than conventional plastics, robust scientific evidence is still missing. The lack of tools and metrics to assess the circularity and sustainability of the BBPs industry poses relevant challenges for its upscaling and contribution to climate neutrality goals in Europe. It calls for adopting system and life cycle thinking, guided by multi-level and multi-dimensional examinations, which led researchers to build a comprehensive picture of trends, gaps and future orientations that may boost a sustainable circular bioeconomy in the sector. The value- chain based and multi-faceted SWOT analysis that emerged from the intersection of system and corporate data reveals the need to establish a combined circular bioeconomy strategy where incentives to integrated local supply chain, dedicated EPR scheme, eco-design guidelines, revised EoL standards, new clear labelling schemes and harmonised sustainability criteria should be prioritized and conjointly pursued to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy of the BBPs value chain. European Journal of Social Impact and Circular Economy, V. 4 N. 2 (2023)

Bio-based and biodegradable plastics (BBPs) are innovative materials, wholly or partially produced from biomass, with the potential to enhance the circulation of resources in the biological cycle of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s butterfly diagram. Although BBPs are generally considered more environmental-friendly than conventional plastics, robust scientific evidence is still missing. The lack of tools and metrics to assess the circularity and sustainability of the BBPs industry poses relevant challenges for its upscaling and contribution to climate neutrality goals in Europe. It calls for adopting system and life cycle thinking, guided by multi-level and multi-dimensional examinations, which led researchers to build a comprehensive picture of trends, gaps and future orientations that may boost a sustainable circular bioeconomy in the sector. The value- chain based and multi-faceted SWOT analysis that emerged from the intersection of system and corporate data reveals the need to establish a combined circular bioeconomy strategy where incentives to integrated local supply chain, dedicated EPR scheme, eco-design guidelines, revised EoL standards, new clear labelling schemes and harmonised sustainability criteria should be prioritized and conjointly pursued to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy of the BBPs value chain. European Journal of Social Impact and Circular Economy, V. 4 N. 2 (2023)

Nowadays, organic aerogels have arisen as promising materials for different applications such as: building, construction, energy among others, due to their low density, high thermal insulation capacity and high porosity. In the recent years multiple procedures to synthesize them have been developed, however, the freeze-drying method has gained more importance, being considered a cost-competitive, eco-friendly, and efficient process. Therefore, it is fundamental to evaluate its environmental impacts for its future implementation as a sustainable industrial process. In this work, a Life Cycle Assessment on the synthesis of nanoclay reinforced polyvinyl alcohol aerogels by freeze-drying has been carried out. Furthermore, the influence of the production scale (laboratory and pilot line) and the functional unit (1 kg and 1 m3) have been studied. Additionally, different upgrading approaches carried out in the pilot line, energy efficiency and production capacity, have been evaluated. Results demonstrated that better environmental impact values were obtained with pilot line aerogel production in comparison to laboratory scale for both functional units. Regarding the different upgrade assessment with the pilot line, it has been concluded that the background processes and the energy consumption are the main causes for the increment in the environmental impact values during the aerogel synthesis. En la actualidad, los aerogeles orgánicos han surgido como materiales promisorios para diferentes aplicaciones tales como: edificación, construcción, energía entre otras, debido a su baja densidad, alta capacidad de aislamiento térmico y alta porosidad. En los últimos años se han desarrollado múltiples procedimientos para sintetizarlos, sin embargo, el método de liofilización ha ganado mayor importancia, siendo considerado un proceso rentable, amigable con el medio ambiente y eficiente. Por lo tanto, es fundamental evaluar sus impactos ambientales para su futura implementación como un proceso industrial sostenible. En este trabajo se ha llevado a cabo un análisis del ciclo de vida de la síntesis de aerogeles de poli(alcohol vinílico) reforzados con nanoarcillas mediante liofilización. Además, la influencia de la escala de producción (laboratorio y línea piloto) y la unidad funcional (1 kg y 1 m 3) han sido estudiados. Adicionalmente, se han evaluado diferentes enfoques de mejora llevados a cabo en la línea piloto, eficiencia energética y capacidad de producción. Los resultados demostraron que se obtuvieron mejores valores de impacto ambiental con la producción de aerogel en línea piloto en comparación con la escala de laboratorio para ambas unidades funcionales. En cuanto a la evaluación de diferentes actualizaciones con la línea piloto, se ha concluido que los procesos de fondo y el consumo de energía son las principales causas del incremento en los valores de impacto ambiental durante la síntesis del aerogel.

Nowadays, organic aerogels have arisen as promising materials for different applications such as: building, construction, energy among others, due to their low density, high thermal insulation capacity and high porosity. In the recent years multiple procedures to synthesize them have been developed, however, the freeze-drying method has gained more importance, being considered a cost-competitive, eco-friendly, and efficient process. Therefore, it is fundamental to evaluate its environmental impacts for its future implementation as a sustainable industrial process. In this work, a Life Cycle Assessment on the synthesis of nanoclay reinforced polyvinyl alcohol aerogels by freeze-drying has been carried out. Furthermore, the influence of the production scale (laboratory and pilot line) and the functional unit (1 kg and 1 m3) have been studied. Additionally, different upgrading approaches carried out in the pilot line, energy efficiency and production capacity, have been evaluated. Results demonstrated that better environmental impact values were obtained with pilot line aerogel production in comparison to laboratory scale for both functional units. Regarding the different upgrade assessment with the pilot line, it has been concluded that the background processes and the energy consumption are the main causes for the increment in the environmental impact values during the aerogel synthesis. En la actualidad, los aerogeles orgánicos han surgido como materiales promisorios para diferentes aplicaciones tales como: edificación, construcción, energía entre otras, debido a su baja densidad, alta capacidad de aislamiento térmico y alta porosidad. En los últimos años se han desarrollado múltiples procedimientos para sintetizarlos, sin embargo, el método de liofilización ha ganado mayor importancia, siendo considerado un proceso rentable, amigable con el medio ambiente y eficiente. Por lo tanto, es fundamental evaluar sus impactos ambientales para su futura implementación como un proceso industrial sostenible. En este trabajo se ha llevado a cabo un análisis del ciclo de vida de la síntesis de aerogeles de poli(alcohol vinílico) reforzados con nanoarcillas mediante liofilización. Además, la influencia de la escala de producción (laboratorio y línea piloto) y la unidad funcional (1 kg y 1 m 3) han sido estudiados. Adicionalmente, se han evaluado diferentes enfoques de mejora llevados a cabo en la línea piloto, eficiencia energética y capacidad de producción. Los resultados demostraron que se obtuvieron mejores valores de impacto ambiental con la producción de aerogel en línea piloto en comparación con la escala de laboratorio para ambas unidades funcionales. En cuanto a la evaluación de diferentes actualizaciones con la línea piloto, se ha concluido que los procesos de fondo y el consumo de energía son las principales causas del incremento en los valores de impacto ambiental durante la síntesis del aerogel.

Transport is an important source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Although the applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for transport, also known as intelligent transport systems, are seen as having great potential to help reduce emissions from road transport, their exact impact on CO2 emissions are uncertain for decision makers from government to industry. This uncertainty hinders the deployment of such applications. Therefore there is a need for a common evaluation approach to assess the CO2 impact of ICT measures in a systemic and realistic way. In this study, a methodology framework to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on CO2 emissions is explained. The methodology was developed within the European Union FP7 project Amitran. In particular, this study focuses on the outline and the framework architecture of the methodology as well as the required interfaces between the required models. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a use case of dynamic traffic light systems. Finally, the efforts made to validate the methodology and make it accessible to users are explained.

Transport is an important source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Although the applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for transport, also known as intelligent transport systems, are seen as having great potential to help reduce emissions from road transport, their exact impact on CO2 emissions are uncertain for decision makers from government to industry. This uncertainty hinders the deployment of such applications. Therefore there is a need for a common evaluation approach to assess the CO2 impact of ICT measures in a systemic and realistic way. In this study, a methodology framework to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on CO2 emissions is explained. The methodology was developed within the European Union FP7 project Amitran. In particular, this study focuses on the outline and the framework architecture of the methodology as well as the required interfaces between the required models. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a use case of dynamic traffic light systems. Finally, the efforts made to validate the methodology and make it accessible to users are explained.

NaNO3 has been selected as phase change material (PCM) due to its convenient melting and crystallization temperatures for thermal energy storage (TES) in solar plants or recovering of waste heat in industrial processes. However, incorporation of PCMs and NaNO3 in particular requires its protection (i.e. encapsulation) into containers or support materials to avoid incompatibility or chemical reaction with the media where incorporated (i.e. corrosion in metal storage tanks). As a novelty, in this study, microencapsulation of an inorganic salt has been carried out also using an inorganic compound (SiO2) instead of the conventional polymeric shells used for organic microencapsulations and not suitable for high temperature applications (i.e. 300–500 °C). Thus, NaNO3 has been microencapsulated by sol–gel technology using SiO2 as shell material. Feasibility of the microparticles synthetized has been demonstrated by different experimental techniques in terms of TES capacity and thermal stability as well as durability through thermal cycles. The effectiveness of microencapsulated NaNO3 as TES material depends on the core:shell ratio used for the synthesis and on the maximum temperature supported by NaNO3 during use.