Melo de Lima Luiza R, Dias Ana C, Trindade Tito, Oliveira José M
EMaRT Group-Emerging: Materials, Research, Technology, School of Design, Management and Production Technologies Northern Aveiro, University of Aveiro, Estrada do Cercal, 449, 3720-509 Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal; Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 1;871:162140. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162140. Epub 2023 Feb 9.
The circulation of motor vehicles with an exhaust system is one of the leading causes of pollution. Due to the risk factor for human health and contribution to climate change, countries have been growing efforts to achieve a sustainable level of air quality and limit carbon dioxide (CO) emissions in recent years. Hence, there has been significant interest in developing technological innovations such as alternative fuels and lighter thermoplastic composites for auto applications. Thermoplastic nanocomposites show substantial properties improvements, incorporating much lower nanofiller percentages than fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites, allowing for a reduction in the weight of automotive parts (AP). For these motivations, this study presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of poly(propylene) (PP)-based graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) nanocomposite and PP/glass fibre (GF) composite for automotive applications. The AP selected as the functional unit was the front end part of 1.5 tons weight car. The LCA included preparing raw materials, AP manufacturing, AP use, and AP end-of-life (EoL). Three different EoL scenarios were considered in this analysis. Several midpoint environmental impact indicators were evaluated. Overall, the results suggest that the different EoL scenarios do not affect the global environmental impact of both AP systems. The environmental impacts of the AP depend on the type of material. The AP of the PP-based GnPs nanocomposite exhibited a weight 28 % lower than the AP of the PP/GF composite. This lightweight resulted in energy and emissions savings, especially during the AP use stage, which was the stage with the most significant contribution in most environmental impact categories. Using nanocomposite reduced the AP environmental impact from 17 % to 75 %, depending on the impact category. The study suggested that substituting traditional composite with a new lighter nanocomposite can decrease the global environmental impacts caused by AP.
配备排气系统的机动车的流通是污染的主要原因之一。由于对人类健康的风险因素以及对气候变化的影响，近年来各国一直在加大努力，以实现可持续的空气质量水平并限制二氧化碳（CO）排放。因此，人们对开发诸如替代燃料和用于汽车应用的轻质热塑性复合材料等技术创新产生了浓厚兴趣。热塑性纳米复合材料显示出显著的性能改进，与纤维增强热塑性复合材料相比，其纳米填料的百分比要低得多，从而可以减轻汽车零部件（AP）的重量。出于这些动机，本研究对用于汽车应用的聚（丙烯）（PP）基石墨烯纳米片（GnPs）纳米复合材料和PP/玻璃纤维（GF）复合材料进行了比较生命周期评估（LCA）。选为功能单元的汽车零部件是一辆1.5吨重汽车的前端部件。生命周期评估包括原材料制备、汽车零部件制造、汽车零部件使用和汽车零部件报废（EoL）。本分析考虑了三种不同的报废情景。评估了几个中点环境影响指标。总体而言，结果表明不同的报废情景不会影响两种汽车零部件系统的全球环境影响。汽车零部件的环境影响取决于材料类型。PP基GnPs纳米复合材料的汽车零部件重量比PP/GF复合材料的汽车零部件低28%。这种轻量化带来了能源和排放的节省，尤其是在汽车零部件使用阶段，这是大多数环境影响类别中贡献最大的阶段。使用纳米复合材料可将汽车零部件的环境影响降低17%至75%，具体取决于影响类别。该研究表明，用新型轻质纳米复合材料替代传统复合材料可以减少汽车零部件对全球环境的影响。
