Life cycle assessment of manufactured nanomaterials: Inventory modelling rules and application example [thesis]

Roland Hischier, Lorenz M. Hilty, Stefanie Hellweg
2013
Industrial development can only become truly sustainable if it is built on firm ecological foundations. Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, United Nations Environmental Programme supports respective efforts with activities e.g. in the area of its "Life Cycle Initiative". The concept of Life Cycle Thinking as the basis of this initiative integrates existing consumption and production strategies into a life cycle approach. For its implementation, Life Cycle Assessment is seen as the most
more » ... ed and well-developed tool. The most important weakness of Life Cycle Assessment is the high effort needed in data inventory gathering that is required in order to be able to apply the tool in an adequate way. Therefore the goal of this PhD thesis is to provide a foundation for clear guidance for a coherent and comprehensive inventory modelling of nanomaterials along their complete life cycle. This will contribute to an increased effectiveness when Life Cycle Assessment is used in the area of nanotechnology. After a short introduction in Chapter 1, explaining the key points of Life Cycle Assessment and the Inventory Analysis (i.e. the most time consuming step within this tool) -Chapter 2 investigates the general set-up for an application of Life Cycle Thinking in general, and Life Cycle Assessment specifically focused in the area of nanotechnology. Two simple case stud-
doi:10.3929/ethz-a-009908553 fatcat:35zebiz73jgl3pxuupnubkfgca