Engineering Systems and Services Department, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands.
Department of Biotechnology, Applied Sciences Faculty, Delft University of Technology, 92629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 2;19(7):4241. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19074241.
Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) is a concept that takes a systems approach by integrating safety, sustainability, and functionality throughout a product's the life cycle. This paper proposes a framework based on a prospective life cycle assessment for early safety and sustainability assessment. The framework's purpose is to identify environmental sustainability and toxicity hotspots early in the innovation process for future SSbD applicability. If this is impossible, key performance indicators are assessed. Environmental sustainability aspects, such as global warming potential (GWP) and cumulative energy demand (CED), and toxicity aspects, such as human toxicity potential and freshwater ecotoxicity potential, were assessed upon applying the framework on a case study. The case study regarded using nano-titanium dioxide (P25-TiO) or a modified nano-coated version (CuO-coated/P25-TiO) as photocatalysts to produce hydrogen from water using sunlight. Although there was a decrease in environmental impact (GWP and CED), the modified nano-coated version had a relatively higher level of human toxicity and freshwater eco-toxicity. For the presented case study, SSbD alternatives need to be considered that improve the photocatalytic activity but are not toxic to the environment. This case study illustrates the importance of performing an early safety and environmental sustainability assessment to avoid the development of toxic alternatives.
安全与可持续性设计（SSbD）是一种系统方法，通过在产品的整个生命周期中整合安全性、可持续性和功能性来实现。本文提出了一个基于前瞻性生命周期评估的框架，用于早期的安全性和可持续性评估。该框架的目的是在创新过程的早期识别环境可持续性和毒性热点，以实现未来的 SSbD 适用性。如果这不可能，则评估关键绩效指标。在将该框架应用于案例研究时，评估了环境可持续性方面，如全球变暖潜能 (GWP) 和累计能源需求 (CED)，以及毒性方面，如人类毒性潜能和淡水生态毒性潜能。该案例研究涉及使用纳米二氧化钛 (P25-TiO) 或经过改性的纳米涂层版本 (CuO 涂层/P25-TiO) 作为光催化剂，利用阳光将水转化为氢气。尽管环境影响（GWP 和 CED）有所降低，但改性纳米涂层版本的人类毒性和淡水生态毒性相对较高。对于所提出的案例研究，需要考虑采用替代的 SSbD 方法，这些方法可以提高光催化活性，但对环境没有毒性。本案例研究说明了进行早期安全性和环境可持续性评估的重要性，以避免开发出有毒替代品。
