Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Qian Zhang, Lakshmi Suresh, Qijie Liang, Yaoxin Zhang, Lin Yang, Nikita Paul, Swee Ching Tan
Summary: This review summarizes recent advancements in green energy conversion and storage devices, focusing on emerging technologies. It discusses technical innovations in energy-related materials, device structures, and new applications; emphasizes the multifunctional applications of hybrid energy and self-charging power systems.
ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Md Munjure Mowla, Iftekhar Ahmad, Daryoush Habibi, Quoc Viet Phung, M. Ishtiaque Aziz Zahed
Summary: This research investigates the green backhauling challenge of the hybrid FSO/mmWave backhauling system and proposes a more energy-efficient solution.
COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
B. Del Rio-Gamero, Tyrone Lis Alecio, J. Schallenberg-Rodriguez
Summary: This research addresses the challenge of supplying desalination plants with electricity from waves. Performance indicators are established to evaluate different wave energy converters (WECs), and the analysis of wave farms is conducted. Results show that there is no correlation between wave resource and WEC output, highlighting the importance of analyzing both the wave resource and technology behavior in a specific marine area. Higher wave energy potential does not necessarily lead to higher energy production. WECs can provide a significant percentage of the desalination plant electricity demand.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gang Li, Weidong Zhu
Summary: As a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, tidal current energy is abundant, clean, and predictable. However, tidal current energy harvesting technologies are still in early stages of development and face technical barriers and uncertain environmental impacts. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art of tidal current energy harvesting schemes and life cycle assessment studies of TCECs, identifying key advancements required for successful commercialization and presenting detailed LCA studies to indicate energy consumption and environmental impacts.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Abidur Rahman, Omar Farrok, Md Mejbaul Haque
Summary: This paper analyzes the environmental impacts of renewable energy source (RES) based power plants, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, ocean current, oceanic wave, ocean thermal, and osmotic effects. The SWOT analysis is conducted for all RES based power plants, and the comparative environmental impact analyses are presented. It is found that careful selection of RES is necessary to prevent harm to the environment.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Kangmin Wu, Yuyao Ye, Xiangyu Wang, Zhengqian Liu, Hong'ou Zhang
Summary: Understanding the interaction between infrastructure and environment is crucial for shaping resilient cities, and solutions based on emerging technologies to drive sustainable transition are key. However, research on the role of new infrastructure in this transition is still insufficient.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Business
Mahelet G. Fikru, Jessica W. A. Azure
Summary: The study suggests that with sufficient policy incentives, profit-maximizing power generators can increase the percentage of captured carbon dioxide by increasing the use of renewable energy technologies. Fossil-based power plants can adopt both renewable energy and carbon capture retrofits as strategic complements.
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mohammad Parhamfar, Iman Sadeghkhani, Amir Mohammad Adeli
Summary: With the increasing concerns over environmental degradation and climate change, the shipping industry is facing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. As a response, green port initiatives have been developed to promote sustainable practices and reduce the environmental footprint of ports and their operations. Renewable energy technologies (RETs), specifically those that require aquatic environments for operation, such as floating photovoltaic systems, offshore wind turbines, and ocean energy, have been identified as key strategies for achieving sustainability goals in green ports. Additionally, the use of fuel cells as a feasible solution for supplying power to ports has been discussed.
IET RENEWABLE POWER GENERATION
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ji-Seok Hong, Jae-Hong Moon, Taekyun Kim, Il-Hyoung Cho, Jongsu Choi, Ji Yong Park
Summary: This study demonstrates that tidal currents significantly affect wave energy distribution in the western sea of Jeju Island. When the tidal current direction aligns with wave propagation, wave height decreases with energy transfer to longer wave periods, while the opposite occurs when they flow in opposite directions. The ocean-wave coupling model improves wave condition estimation and is useful for assessing wave energy potential and site selection.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Haley A. Viehman, Daniel J. Hasselman, Jessica Douglas, Tyler Boucher
Summary: Active acoustic instruments are useful for studying fish abundance and distribution in tidal energy development areas, but data loss due to air entrainment in the water column can lead to errors in estimating fish abundance. A study found that higher current speeds and undersampling of the upper water column can greatly affect simulated fish abundance estimates. Complementary sensing technologies can be used to fill gaps in the data and enhance understanding of fish abundance and distribution at tidal energy sites.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Le Thanh Ha
Summary: We used quantile vector autoregression (QVAR) to uncover the relationships between six variables related to digitalization, green technology, green energy, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic complexity index in Vietnam from 1996 to 2019. The system exhibited a dynamic connectedness of 62% in the short term and 14% in the long term. The connectedness was particularly strong for highly positive and negative quantiles. Our findings underscore the importance of promoting digitalization, green technology, and green energy for sustainable development in Vietnam.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Annamaria De Rosa, Samantha McGaughey, Isobel Magrath, Caitlin Byrt
Summary: Plants utilize membrane separation mechanisms to distinguish between desired and undesired elements in the soil solution, enabling efficient absorption of nutrients while filtering out waste. Understanding these mechanisms can help engineer plants for improved performance in challenging conditions and inspire the development of industrial membrane separation technologies. Applying knowledge from studying plant membrane separation mechanisms can contribute to the development of precision separation technologies needed for a circular green economy.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Charlie Wilson, Simon De Stercke, Caroline Zimm
Summary: Granular energy technologies, with smaller unit sizes and costs, have advantages in faster deployment, job creation, and wider distribution of benefits compared to large-scale alternatives. A study analyzed 93 green recovery funding programs in France, Germany, South Korea, and the UK, and found that South Korea's program had the highest technological granularity, focusing on distributed renewables, smart technologies, and low-cost technologies that are quick to implement. The UK, on the other hand, concentrated public funds on a few mega-scale energy projects with high implementation risks, resulting in the least granular portfolio. The study demonstrates the importance of technological granularity in achieving green recovery goals.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ignacio Beya, Bradley Buckham, Bryson Robertson
Summary: The study highlights the significant impact of model fidelity on wave resource characterization and the effect of tidal currents on wave energy resource in the Pacific Northwest region. Differences in energy period, significant wave height, wave power density, spectral distribution, directional distribution, and wave direction suggest that including tidal currents in wave assessment could affect subsequent recommendations on wave farm planning.
Article
Thermodynamics
Merve Ozturk, Ibrahim Dincer
Summary: An integrated system is designed to produce renewable hydrogen and blend it with natural gas for countrywide utilization. Adding 20% hydrogen by volume to natural gas increases blend gas consumption, decreases natural gas consumption, and increases the lifetime of proven reserves. Additionally, the combustion emissions of CO and CO2 decrease, while NOx emissions increase with the addition of hydrogen.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Vanessa Burg, Farzin Golzar, Gillianne Bowman, Stefanie Hellweg, Ramin Roshandel
Summary: This study explores the feasibility of using manure resources for biogas and greenhouse heating in Switzerland. Through spatial analysis and modeling, it demonstrates that manure-based biogas can provide heat for greenhouse tomato production and meet a certain percentage of domestic demand.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Livia Cabernard, Stephan Pfister, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: Transparency in global value chains of materials, fuels, and food is crucial for sustainability. An improved method was developed to assess the impacts of materials, fuels, and food. The study found that the G20's metals and construction materials industry drove the rise in global coal-related greenhouse gas emissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Correction
Engineering, Environmental
Matthias Stucki, Marleen Jattke, Marcus Berr, Harald Desing, Ashley Green, Stefanie Hellweg, Rafael Laurenti, Ronny Meglin, Karen Muir, Dario Pedolin, Rhythima Shinde, Tobias Welz, Regula Lisa Keller
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rhythima Shinde, Andreas Froemelt, Aleksandra Kim, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: A supervised machine-learning model is developed to quantify consumption rebound effects, allowing for estimation of income-related rebounds at the household level. By considering socio-economic properties of households, the method helps detect dependent consumption expenses and can be used for understanding rebounds and developing targeted measures.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Zhengyin Piao, Moises Bueno, Lily D. Poulikakos, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: This study utilized life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of rubberized semi-dense asphalt pavement. Two scenarios were considered, with the results indicating that reducing waste tires used for clinker production did not improve the environmental impacts of the pavement.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Livia Cabernard, Stephan Pfister, Christopher Oberschelp, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: Despite concerns about plastics in the environment, not enough attention is paid to the impacts of the various stages of the plastics value chain globally. The environmental and socioeconomic impacts from plastics are mainly due to their growing production in coal-based economies.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Aleksandra Kim, Christopher L. Mutel, Andreas Froemelt, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: In recent years, many LCA studies have been conducted to quantify the environmental performance of products and services. However, only a few studies have tackled the Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) of complete LCA models. This study proposes a new GSA protocol suitable for large LCA problems, which obtains more accurate results and reduces data collection efforts.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lugas Raka Adrianto, Stephan Pfister, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: Globally, copper production generates mine waste with varying characteristics, which can pollute natural environments and have long-term consequences. Limited data availability and lack of appropriate methodologies currently hinder the life cycle assessments of mine tailings. To address this issue, data from 431 active copper mine sites were collected to develop site-specific life cycle inventories for tailings disposal. The approach took into account the influence of copper ore composition and local hydrology to dynamically estimate leached metals in tailings. The analysis revealed that large and medium-size copper deposits contribute the most to the global freshwater ecotoxicity impacts of copper tailings, primarily due to hydrological conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Maja Wiprachtiger, Martina Rapp, Stefanie Hellweg, Rhythima Shinde, Melanie Haupt
Summary: According to the waste hierarchy, waste prevention is better for the environment than recycling or recovery. However, the evaluation of waste prevention strategies is hindered by limitations. This study developed a systematic approach combining material flow analysis and life cycle assessment to assess the environmental impact of waste prevention activities and identified factors crucial to the evaluation. The approach revealed potential for improvement in waste prevention scenarios, such as reusing clothing locally and implementing take-back schemes for furniture.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Magdalena Klotz, Melanie Haupt, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: Plastic recycling has environmental benefits, but challenges lie in the utilization of secondary materials. By optimizing collection rates and the use of secondary materials in manufacturing, the efficiency of plastic recycling can be improved.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jing Huo, Zhanyun Wang, Christopher Oberschelp, Gonzalo Guillen-Gosalbez, Stefanie Hellweg
Summary: This study explores the feasibility of a global chemical industry relying on CO2 as its carbon source in 2050. The global annual CO2 demand as chemical feedstock is projected to be 2.2-3.1 Gt, well within the possible supply range from various sectors. Feedstock availability is not a constraint, except for a few regions like the Middle East. The environmental benefits and trade-offs of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are assessed, and it is concluded that capturing CO2 from biomass-fired power plants and pulp mills in Europe would have the least environmental and health impacts.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Torsten Hummen, Stefanie Hellweg, Ramin Roshandel
Summary: This paper develops a generic method for determining the optimal environmental lifespan (OEL) of energy-using products (EuPs) in a circular economy, considering various replacement options and lifetime extension processes. The study finds that in Germany, the OEL for climate change impacts is 7 years, and 11 years for the aggregated environmental indicator. This highlights the importance of early replacement and maintaining the system to prevent efficiency degradation.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Melanie Douziech, Romain Besseau, Raphael Jolivet, Bianka Shoai-Tehrani, Jean-Yves Bourmaud, Guillaume Busato, Mathilde Gresset-Bourgeois, Paula Perez-Lopez
Summary: Life cycle assessment is a holistic approach to estimate the environmental impacts of a system over its entire lifecycle. This study proposes a method that combines parameterized life cycle inventories to assess the effects of background changes on the environmental impacts of the foreground system.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Stefanie Hellweg, Enrico Benetto, Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Francesca Verones, Richard Wood
Summary: This Review examines the role of life-cycle assessment (LCA) in evaluating and shaping environmental mitigation strategies. It discusses the applications of LCA in decarbonization, circular economy, sustainable consumption, and sustainable finance. The study finds that LCA is widely used in energy system decarbonization and sustainable consumption, but its applications in circular economy and sustainable finance are still in their early stages.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sarah Fourcassier, Melanie Douziech, Paula Perez-Lopez, Londa Schiebinger
Summary: The goal of this paper is to provide a guide for environmentally-friendly menstrual product options. The results show that menstrual cups have the lowest environmental impact, followed by menstrual underwear and reusable pads.
CLEANER ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
(2022)
