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In the current context of the European Environmental legislation and standards, the automotive sector is expected to continuously improve the vehicles life cycle with solutions able to minimise emissions of greenhouse gases and other negative effects on the environment and on human health. The vehicle painting process has been identified to be responsible of significant potential impacts, but recent primary inventory data and impact results are currently scarcely available in the literature. The novelty of this paper is the provision of a comprehensive life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment (LCA) of a painting process, with reference to a large and highly automated plant located in Turin (Italy). To achieve these goals, the highly recognised methodology of LCA has been followed, as indicated in ISO 14040-44. A detailed inventory is disclosed (both as input/output table and ILCD file) for the four main phases of the painting process (electrodeposition, primer application, top coat application and final drying and revision). Impact results on the categories of climate change, acidification, terrestrial eutrophication and photochemical ozone creation potential are quantified as well. These latter show that the major hot points are the high-energy consumption (specifically, the integrated provision of technological heating and chilled water is responsible of almost half of the total emissions of greenhouse gases), the direct emission of volatile organic compounds into air (for a total of 7.44 kg/car) and the waste production and treatment [giving a significant contribution to the impact categories of ozone depletion (99%), freshwater eutrophication (66%) and freshwater ecotoxicity potential (60%)]. This study contributes to increase the pool of publicly available life cycle data for specific applications in the automotive sector. In addition, the easy replicability and adaptation of the provided inventory is expected to boost enterprises to increase their overall sustainability. Finally, this study provides data and tools for the development of further research in alternative painting technologies.

Access, affordability and sustainability of raw material supply chains are crucial to the sustainable development of the European Union (EU) for both society and economy. The study investigates whether and how the social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) methodology can support responsible sourcing of raw materials in Europe. The potential of social indicators already available in an S-LCA database is tested for the development of new metrics to monitor social risks in raw material industries at EU policy level. The Product Social Impact Life Cycle Assessment (PSILCA) database was identified as a data and indicators source to assess social risks in raw material industries in EU-28 and extra-EU countries. Six raw material country sectors in the scope of the European policy on raw materials were identified and aggregated among those available in PSILCA. The selection of indicators for the assessment was based on the RACER (Relevance, Acceptance, Credibility, Ease, Robustness) analysis, leading to the proposal of 9 social impact categories. An S-LCA of the selected raw material industries was, thus, performed for the EU-28 region, followed by a contribution analysis to detect direct and indirect impacts and investigate related supply chains. Finally, the social performance of raw material sectors in EU-28 was compared with that of six extra-EU countries. Considering the overall social risks in raw material industries, “Corruption”, “Fair salary”, “Health and safety” and “Freedom of association and collective bargaining” emerged as the most significant categories both in EU and extra-EU. EU-28 shows an above-average performance where the only exception is represented by the mining and quarrying sector. An investigation of the most contributing processes to social impact categories for EU-28 led to the identification of important risks originating in the supply chain and in extra-EU areas. Therefore, the S-LCA methodology confirmed the potential of a life cycle perspective to detect burdens shifting and trade-offs. However, only a limited view on the sectoral social performance could be obtained from the research due to a lack of social data. The S-LCA methodology and indicators appear appropriate to perform an initial social sustainability screening, thus enabling the identification of hotspots in raw material supply chains and the prioritization of areas of action in EU policies. Further methodological developments in the S-LCA field are necessary to make the approach proposed in the paper fully adequate to support EU policies on raw materials.

Highlights • Indicators are useful to support circular economy progress. • Circular economy has different definitions entailing challenges for indicators. • A classification framework to understand what indicators measure is proposed. • Most of the analysed indicators focus on the preservation of materials. • None of the analysed indicators focuses on the preservation of functions., Circular Economy (CE) is a growing topic, especially in the European Union, that promotes the responsible and cyclical use of resources possibly contributing to sustainable development. CE is an umbrella concept incorporating different meanings. Despite the unclear concept, CE is turned into defined action plans supported by specific indicators. To understand what indicators used in CE measure specifically, we propose a classification framework to categorise indicators according to reasoning on what (CE strategies) and how (measurement scope). Despite different types, CE strategies can be grouped according to their attempt to preserve functions, products, components, materials, or embodied energy; additionally, indicators can measure the linear economy as a reference scenario. The measurement scope shows how indicators account for technological cycles with or without a Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach; or their effects on environmental, social, or economic dimensions. To illustrate the classification framework, we selected quantitative micro scale indicators from literature and macro scale indicators from the European Union ‘CE monitoring framework’. The framework illustration shows that most of the indicators focus on the preservation of materials, with strategies such as recycling. However, micro scale indicators can also focus on other CE strategies considering LCT approach, while the European indicators mostly account for materials often without taking LCT into account. Furthermore, none of the available indicators can assess the preservation of functions instead of products, with strategies such as sharing platforms, schemes for product redundancy, or multifunctionality. Finally, the framework illustration suggests that a set of indicators should be used to assess CE instead of a single indicator.

Highlights • Second-use entails energy savings but also delays availability of secondary raw materials. • Different perspectives should be used to assess the effects of second-use of batteries. • A dynamic and parametrized MFA model describes the value-chain of batteries in Europe. • Flows of batteries/energy storage capacity/materials are assessed for various scenarios. • More robust data as model input are needed to proper manage the whole battery system., Although not yet developed in Europe, second-use of traction batteries enables an extension of their lifetime and potentially improves life cycle environmental performance. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) offer the most promising chemistry for traction batteries in electric vehicles (xEVs) and for second-use. Due to the novelty of the topic and the expected increase of e-mobility in the next decades, more efforts to understand the potential consequences of second-use of batteries from different perspectives are needed. This paper develops a dynamic, parameterised Material Flow Analysis (MFA) model to estimate stocks and flows of LIBs after their removal from xEVs along the specific processes of the european value-chain. Direct reuse, second-use and recycling are included in the model and parameters make it customisable and updatable. Focusing on full and plug-in electric vehicles, LIBs and energy storage capacity flows are estimated. Stocks and flows of two embedded materials relevant for Europe were also assessed (cobalt and lithium). Results showed that second-use corresponds to a better exploitation of LIBs’ storage capacity. Meanwhile, Co and Li in-use stocks are locked in LIBs and their recovery is delayed by second-use; depending on the slower/faster development of second-use, the amount of Co available for recycling in 2030 ranges between 9% and 15% of Co demand and between 7 and 16% for Li. Uncertainty of inputs is addressed through sensitivity analysis. A variety of actors can use this MFA model to enhance knowledge of second-use of batteries in Europe and to support the effective management of LIBs along their value-chain.

Long-term statistical data was explored, acquired, processed, and analysed in order to assess the historical domestic production and international trade of a number of cobalt-containing commodities in the EU. Different data sources were examined for data, such as the British Geological Survey (BGS), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and the Eurostat and UN Comtrade (UNC) databases, considering all EU-member states before and after they joined the EU. For the international trade, hidden flows related to data gaps such as data reported in monetary value or recorded as “special category” were identified and included in the analysis. In addition, data from the Finnish customs database (ULJAS) was used to complement flows reported by Eurostat and UNC. From UNC, data was obtained considering the member states as reporters or as partners of the trade, due to internal differences of the database. Based on the acquired data the domestic production and international trade of the commodities were reconstructed for the timeframes 1938–2018 and 1988–2018, respectively. Next to the analysis of the trend of the production and trade of the different commodities, the importance of including hidden flows was revealed, where hidden flows represented more than 50% of the flow of a year in some cases. In addition, it was identified that even from reliable data sources, strong differences (more than 100% in some cases) can be found in the reported data, which is crucial to consider when utilizing the data in research., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

The use of cobalt has experienced a strong growth in the last decades. Due to its high economic importance and high supply risk, it has been classified as a critical raw material for the EU and other economies. Part of the EU's strategy is intended to secure its availability, through fostering its efficient use and recycling. The latter is affected by factors such as the amount of available end-of-life products, and their collection-to-recycling rate. A novel methodology to analyze the impact of these factors on the cobalt flows in society is the model MaTrace, which can track the fate of materials over time and across products. The MaTrace model was expanded, adapted, and applied to predict the fate of cobalt embedded in finished products in use in the EU, considering the underlying life cycle phases within the technosphere. Eleven scenarios were built, assessing different options in the implementation of relevant EU's policies. The flows were projected for a period of 25 years, starting in 2015. The results of the baseline scenario show that after 25 years, around 8% of the initial stock of cobalt stays in use, 3% is being hoarded by users, 28% has been exported, and 61% has been lost. The main contributors to the losses of the system are the non-selective collection of end-of-life products, and the export of end-of-life products, recycled cobalt and final products. The results of the scenarios show that higher collection-to-recycling rates and lower export could increase up to 50% the cobalt that stays in use., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

Highlights • A method to track the fate of materials in e-waste flows in EU is presented. • An extension to the current indicators to assess WEEE treatment systems is proposed. • Recovery performance of waste screens in France is assessed per target elements. • The type of screens collected impact the materials potentially available for recycling. • Tracking the quality of WEEE flows can boost (critical) raw materials recovery., Currently, in the European Union (EU), e-waste chain performance is assessed by technical indicators that aim to ensure system compliance with collection and recovery targets set by the WEEE Directive. This study proposes indicators to improve WEEE flow monitoring beyond the current overall weight-based approach, including complementary flows and treatment performance. A case study focused on the screen category in France is presented. In 2017, the collection rate of cathode-ray tube screens (CRT) was 68%, while for flat panel display (FPD) generated only 14% was collected. CRT screens have less precious and critical materials than FDP. Thus, elements like cobalt and gold highly concentrated in FPD, have a collection rate two to four times lower than elements such as copper (37%) which represents a high proportion in CRTs. Recycling is the main treatment in France. Nevertheless, the recycling rate per element varies significantly due to the low collection, and also the lack of technology and/or secondary raw materials market. The elements with higher recycling rates are base metals such as copper (28%), followed by precious metals like silver (23%), and gold (13%). Except for palladium, the recycling rate of the critical raw materials targeted in the study ranged from 6% (cobalt) to 0% (e.g. neodymium and indium). The results stress the need for indicators to support the development of WEEE chain from waste management to secondary (critical) raw materials suppliers.

The assessment of the criticality of raw materials allows the identification of the likelihood of a supply disruption of a material and the vulnerability of a system (e.g. a national economy, technology, or company) to this disruption. Inconclusive outcomes of various studies suggest that criticality assessments would benefit from the identification of best practices. To prepare the field for such guidance, this paper aims to clarify the mechanisms that affect methodological choices which influence the results of a study. This is achieved via literature review and round table discussions among international experts. The paper demonstrates that criticality studies are divergent in the system under study, the anticipated risk, the purpose of the study, and material selection. These differences in goal and scope naturally result in different choices regarding indicator selection, the required level of aggregation as well as the subsequent choice of aggregation method, and the need for a threshold value. However, this link is often weak, which suggests a lack of understanding of cause-and-effect mechanisms of indicators and outcomes. Data availability is a key factor that limits the evaluation of criticality. Furthermore, data quality, including both data uncertainty and data representativeness, is rarely addressed in the interpretation and communication of results. Clear guidance in the formulation of goals and scopes of criticality studies, the selection of adequate indicators and aggregation methods, and the interpretation of the outcomes, are important initial steps in improving the quality of criticality assessments.

Paint sludge (PS) is a waste product coming from spray application of paints in automotive industry. For the first time, this work assessed the economic costs and environmental impacts connected to recycling PS in bituminous binders for asphalt pavement applications. Previous works have demonstrated that PS could be used as a replacement of up to 20% (w/w) of neat bitumen in the production of hot mixture asphalts (HMAs), without worsening the technical performances of pavements. The annual production of PS from Italian automotive plants (3000 t/year) could be accommodated in a paved area of 1.64 km2 that, when employed in local roads, with an average width of 5 m, corresponds to approximately 330 km. Costs for treating PS to be prepared for recycling resulted in 144 €/t raw PS. This cost was of the same order, or even less, of that required for PS incineration or disposal in a landfill for hazardous waste (250–300 €). The LCA analysis revealed that the production of HMAs by employing a binder that contains 20% (w/w) of PS, reduced the gross energy requirement (GER) and global warming potential (GWP) indexes by 15% and 39%, respectively, compared to an HMA produced with the traditional process.

Sustainable and smart mobility and associated energy systems are key to decarbonise the EU and develop a clean, resource efficient, circular and carbon-neutral future. To achieve the 2030 and 2050 targets, technological and societal changes are needed. This transition will inevitably change the composition of the future EU fleet, with an increasing share of electric vehicles (xEVs). To assess the potential contribution of lithium-ion traction batteries (LIBs) in decreasing the environmental burdens of EU mobility, several aspects should be included. Even though environmental assessments of batteries along their life-cycle have been already conducted using life-cycle assessment, a single tool does not likely provide a complete overview of such a complex system. Complementary information is provided by material flow analysis and criticality assessment, with emphasis on supply risk. Bridging complementary aspects can better support decision-making, especially when different strategies are simultaneously tackled. The results point out that the future life-cycle GWP of traction LIBs will likely improve, mainly due to more environmental-friendly energy mix and improved recycling. Even though second-use will postpone available materials for recycling, both these end-of-life strategies allow keeping the values of materials in the circular economy, with recycling also contributing to mitigate the supply risk of Lithium and Nickel.

The Publisher regrets that this article is an accidental duplication of a published article, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104617 . The duplicate article has therefore been withdrawn. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal

Highlights • EU raw material policies for enhanced monitoring of technology critical elements are discussed. • Methodologies to define “technology critical elements (TCEs)” are described. • Interconnections of anthropogenic and natural elemental cycles are highlighted. • EU-28 anthropogenic element fluxes for TCEs are compared to global natural fluxes., Graphical abstract Image 1, The characterization of elemental cycles has a rich history in biogeochemistry. Well known examples include the global carbon cycle, or the cycles of the ‘grand nutrients’ nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. More recently, efforts have increased to better understand the natural cycling of technology critical elements (TCEs), i.e. elements with a high supply risk and economic importance in the EU. On the other hand, tools such as material-flow analysis (MFA) can help to understand how substances and goods are transported and accumulated in man-made technological systems (‘anthroposphere’). However, to date both biogeochemical cycles and MFA studies suffer from narrow system boundaries, failing to fully illustrate relative anthropogenic and natural flow magnitude and the degree to which human activity has perturbed the natural cycling of elements. We discuss important interconnections between natural and anthropogenic cycles and relevant EU raw material dossiers. Increased integration of both cycles could help to better capture the transport and fate of elements in nature including their environmental/human health impacts, highlight potential future material stocks in the anthroposphere (in-use stocks) and in nature (e.g., in soils, tailings, or mining wastes), and estimate anticipated emissions of TCEs to nature in the future (based on dynamic stock modeling). A preliminary assessment of natural versus anthropogenic element fluxes indicates that anthropogenic fluxes induced by the EU-28 of palladium, platinum, and antimony (as a result of materials uses) might be greater than the respective global natural fluxes. Increased combination of MFA and natural cycle data at EU level could help to derive more complete material cycles and initiate a discussion between the research communities of biogeochemists and material flow analysts to more holistically address the issues of sustainable resource management.

The European furniture sector is dynamic and competitive, currently facing a transition to further increase the environmental sustainability and circularity of its products. Literature on this topic is relatively abundant and authors converge in the identification of the main sustainability criteria. Nevertheless, defining which sustainability criteria should be prioritized is still open to question. This is due to the high number of variables in the life cycle of furniture and also the specific characteristics of each piece of furniture. In this context, this paper has developed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based tool that considers the main materials and processes typically used in the furniture sector. The tool is provided both as a model to be imported in an LCA software (for use by LCA-experts) and as a spreadsheet document (for use by non LCA-experts or for quick analyses). Both of these versions of the tool contain editable parameters that allow the model to be adapted to specific pieces of furniture. In addition, both versions have been tested using the case study of a wooden armchair conceived and produced by an Italian architectural and design firm. The tool has made it possible to quantify the environmental impacts of the armchair and the evaluation of four possible scenarios to enhance its environmental sustainability. This work can therefore guide the actors in furniture value chains as to the choice of the criteria able to maximise the furniture sustainability throughout its life cycle.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the dominating storage technology for electric vehicles (EVs). Different types of LIBs, using diverse cathode materials are available in the market, such as LiMn2O4, Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2. The cathodes contain a wide range of raw materials (RMs), among which e.g. cobalt is in the 2017 list of CRMs for the Europe Union (EU). CRMs are both of high economic importance for the EU, and vulnerable to supply security. In the last years, the increasing demand of LIBs has triggered a growing interest in the need to ensure the security and the sustainability of the supply of the CRMs used in LIBs and in general in EVs. In this context, lithium rich layered oxides from the class xLi2MnO3-(1− x)LiMO2 (M=Ni, Co, Mn), known as LMO – NCM, have drawn attention as cathode material due to their high discharge capacity and lower cobalt content, compared with the Ni-Co-Mn cathodes (NMC). In this context, the authors carried out a Life Cycle Assessment of an 11.4 kWh LMO-NMC battery cells useable in Plug-in EVs with the following main goals: to assess the impact on the mineral, fossil and renewable resources depletion (MFRRD); to estimate the requirement of CRMs; to identify the contribution of each cell component to the MFRRD; to compare the LMO-NMC LIB cell technology with an NMC cell technology available in the literature, with reference to the MFRRD and CRMs requirement. The LMO-NMC battery cell technology is modelled as 0.5LiMnO2 – 0.5Li (Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2, using both primary and secondary data. The cells of the 11.4 kWh LMO-NMC battery are selected as functional unit. The system boundaries include RMs supply, manufacturing, transports and infrastructures. The results show that the LMO-NMC cells have an impact on MFRRD of 0.34 kg Sbeq. The relevant share of MFRRD (34%) is caused by the cobalt sulphate production used in the cathode. Of the 27 CRMs for the EU, the analysis shows the relevance of only two of them: cobalt and barite. From the comparison with the NMC cell, carried out with reference to 1 kWh of nominal capacity, results that the MFRRD impact and the cobalt requirement of the LMO-NMC technology is lower, respectively, of a percentage equal to -4.4% and -29% than those of the NMC. The results indicate that the LMO-NMC cell could be a suitable technology to meet the demand of the EV market as it involves a lower impact on MFRRD and a lower consume of CRMs compared to the NMC cell.

Sustainability and integration are becoming keywords in many European Union policies, including ones that are directly or indirectly related to mineral resources and waste management. Moreover, life cycle thinking (LCT) is core to many of these policies. The European Union has recently issued two Communications on "A resource efficient Europe" and "Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe", the stated goal of which is to reconsider the whole life cycle of resource use so as to make the European Union a "circular economy", one based on recycling and the use of waste as a resource. Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) is a possible source of unconventional aggregates, which are recognised as essential and valuable resources for the economic and social development of humankind. The objective of this paper is to give an overview on some key issues relevant to the integration between mineral resources and C&DW management, in urban areas, towards a more resource-efficient Europe. The paper starts from a definition of Sustainable Supply Mix (SSM) of aggregates, i.e. a selected blend of natural aggregates, quarry by-products and recycled waste that minimizes total negative impacts and maximizes overall benefits to society. Then it turns on available technologies for C&DW recycling and technical quality requirement of recycled aggregates. Finally, it focuses on assessment tools and metrics that are currently used to understand and enhance eco-efficiency.

Summary The concept of a circular economy (CE) is gaining increasing attention from policy makers, industry, and academia. There is a rapidly evolving debate on definitions, limitations, the contribution to a wider sustainability agenda, and a need for indicators to assess the effectiveness of circular economy measures at larger scales. Herein, we present a framework for a comprehensive and economy‐wide biophysical assessment of a CE, utilizing and systematically linking official statistics on resource extraction and use and waste flows in a mass‐balanced approach. This framework builds on the widely applied framework of economy‐wide material flow accounting and expands it by integrating waste flows, recycling, and downcycled materials. We propose a comprehensive set of indicators that measure the scale and circularity of total material and waste flows and their socioeconomic and ecological loop closing. We applied this framework in the context of monitoring efforts for a CE in the European Union (EU28) for the year 2014. We found that 7.4 gigatons (Gt) of materials were processed in the EU and only 0.71 Gt of them were secondary materials. The derived input socioeconomic cycling rate of materials was therefore 9.6%. Further, of the 4.8 Gt of interim output flows, 14.8% were recycled or downcycled. Based on these findings and our first efforts in assessing sensitivity of the framework, a number of improvements are deemed necessary: improved reporting of wastes, explicit modeling of societal in‐use stocks, introduction of criteria for ecological cycling, and disaggregated mass‐based indicators to evaluate environmental impacts of different materials and circularity initiatives.

This work assesses the environmental impacts of an industrial-scale Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) plant fed by sewage biogas locally available from a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Three alternative scenarios for biogas exploitation have been investigated and real data from an existing integrated SOFC-WWTP have been retrieved: the first one (Scenario 1) is the current scenario, where biogas is exploited in a boiler for thermal-energy-only production, while the second one is related to the installation of an efficient SOFC-based cogeneration system (Scenario 2). A thermal energy conservation opportunity that foresees the use of a dynamic machine for sludge pre-thickening enhancement is also investigated as a third scenario (Scenario 3). The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has shown that producing a substantial share of electrical energy (around 25%) via biogas-fed SOFC cogeneration modules can reduce the environmental burden associated to WWTP operations in five out of the seven impact categories that have been analyzed in this work. A further reduction of impacts, particularly concerning global warming potential and primary energy demand, is possible by the decrease of the thermal request of the digester, thus making the system independent from natural gas. In both Scenarios 2 and 3, primary energy and CO2 emissions embodied in the manufacture and maintenance of the cogeneration system are neutralized by operational savings in less than one year.

Highlights • Resource efficiency of PV recycling processes is analysed in different scenarios. • Processes with high-efficiency can recycle up to 83% of the waste panel. • Obtaining high-quality recycled materials from PV grants significant benefits. • The treatment of halogenated plastics represents a bottleneck for PV recycling. • Knowing the composition of panels is essential to boost their efficient recycling., Although the amount of waste photovoltaic (PV) panels is expected to grow exponentially in the next decades, little research on the resource efficiency of their recycling has been conducted so far. The article analyses the performance of different processes for the recycling of crystalline silicon PV waste, in a life cycle perspective. The life cycle impacts of the recycling are compared, under different scenarios, to the environmental benefits of secondary raw materials recovered. Base-case recycling has a low efficiency and, in some cases, not even in line with legislative targets. Conversely, high-efficient recycling can meet these targets and allows to recover high quality materials (as silicon, glass and silver) that are generally lost in base-case recycling. The benefits due to the recovery of these materials counterbalance the larger impacts of the high-efficiency recycling process. Considering the full life cycle of the panel, the energy produced by the panel grants the most significant environmental benefits. However, benefits due to high-efficient recycling are relevant for some impact categories, especially for the resource depletion indicator. The article also points out that thermal treatments are generally necessary to grant the high efficiency in the recycling. Nevertheless, these treatments have to be carefully assessed since they can be responsible for the emissions of air pollutants (as hydrogen fluoride potentially released from the combustion of halogenated plastics in the panel’s backsheet). The article also identifies and assesses potential modifications to the high-efficiency recycling process, including the delocalisation of some treatments for the optimisation of waste transport and the introduction of pyrolysis in the thermal processing of the waste. Finally, recommendations for product designers, recyclers and policymakers are discussed, in order to improve the resource efficiency of future PV panels.

Although metals and minerals represent a prominent asset for sustainable development, continuous population growth and the current accelerations in energy and mobility transitions are increasing concerns regarding their accessibility for current and future generations. As recent insights have identified access rather than depletion to be the dominant factor for resources, this paper elaborates on the (in)accessibility concept of such raw materials once they have entered the technosphere. It identifies six human actions that compromise accessibility: emitting, landfilling, tailing, downcycling, hoarding and abandoning. It analyses the degree of the generated inaccessibility and proposes estimated duration of inaccessibility as a proxy. It further explores how current sustainability management tools like material flow analysis and life cycle analysis could be further developed to address resource (in)accessibility. Finally, the paper presents a case study on cobalt in the EU, where five compromising actions make 70% of the extracted cobalt inaccessible due to tailings (21.3%), landfilling (31.2%), downcycling (11.6%), dissipation (1.4%) and hoarding (4.3%); only 30% is used to expand the functional stock. © 2021 The Authors, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 167, ISSN:0921-3449, ISSN:1879-0658

After their first use in electric vehicles (EVs), the residual capacity of traction batteries can make them valuable in other applications. Although reusing EV batteries remains an undeveloped market, second-use applications of EV batteries are in line with circular economy principles and the waste management hierarchy. Although substantial environmental benefits are expected from reusing traction batteries, further efforts are needed in data collection, modelling the life-cycle stages and calculating impact indicators to propose a harmonized and adapted life-cycle assessment (LCA) method. To properly assess the environmental benefits and drawbacks of using repurposed EV batteries in second-use applications, in this article an adapted LCA is proposed based on the comparison of different scenarios from a life-cycle perspective. The key issues for the selected life-cycle stages and the aspects and parameters to be assessed in the analysis are identified and discussed for each stage, including manufacturing, repurposing, reusing and recycling. The proposed method is applied to a specific case study concerning the use of repurposed batteries to increase photovoltaic (PV) self-consumption in a given dwelling. Primary data on the dwelling’s energy requirements and PV production were used to properly assess the energy flows in this specific repurposed scenario: both the literature search performed and the results obtained highlighted the relevance of modelling the system energy using real data, combining the characteristics of both the battery and its application. The LCA results confirmed that the environmental benefits of adopting repurposed batteries to increase PV self-consumption in a house occur under specific conditions and that the benefits are more or less considerable depending on the impact category assessed. Higher environmental benefits refer to impact categories dominated by the manufacturing and repurposing stages. Some of the most relevant parameters (e.g. residual capacity and allocation factor) were tested in a sensitivity analysis. The method can be used in other repurposing application cases if parameters for these cases can be determined by experimental tests, modelling or extracting data from the literature.

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) in classical life cycle assessment (LCA) aims at analyzing potential impacts of products and services typically on three so-called areas of protection (AoPs): Natural Environment, Human Health, and Natural Resources. This paper proposes an elaboration of the AoP Natural Resources. It starts with analyzing different perspectives on Natural Resources as they are somehow sandwiched in between the Natural Environment (their cradle) and the human-industrial environment (their application). Reflecting different viewpoints, five perspectives are developed with the suggestion to select three in function of classical LCA. They result in three safeguard subjects: the Asset of Natural Resources, their Provisioning Capacity, and their role in Global Functions. Whereas the Provisioning Capacity is fully in function of humans, the global functions go beyond provisioning as they include nonprovisioning functions for humans and regulating and maintenance services for the globe as a whole, following the ecosystem services framework. A fourth and fifth safeguard subject has been identified: recognizing the role Natural Resources for human welfare, either specifically as building block in supply chains of products and services as such, either with or without their functions beyond provisioning. But as these are far broader as they in principle should include characterization of mechanisms within the human industrial society, they are considered as subjects for an integrated sustainability assessment (LCSA: life cycle sustainability assessment), that is, incorporating social, economic and environmental issues.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the ongoing shift in sustainable engineering and the approaches used by universities for engineering students. At the United Nations Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992, participating nations agreed to work together to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Twenty years on, great progress has been made, but many challenges remain and overcoming them and ensuring a sustainable future will require the knowledge, skills and input of engineering professionals. Ethics and costs have long been part of engineering, but broader understanding is now needed because the skill set those engineers will need has grown dramatically. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors describe the ongoing shift to sustainable engineering and discuss a variety of approaches that universities are currently using to introduce engineering students and practitioners to sustainability principles and practice and how those can be utilized in mining and petroleum high education institutions. Findings – The authors first place sustainability in an engineering context and vice versa, and then review alternative approaches to incorporating sustainability in engineering curricula, briefly highlighting a few key concepts and documenting an example. Research limitations/implications – The authors first place sustainability in an engineering context and then review alternative approaches to incorporating sustainability in engineering curricula, briefly highlighting a few key concepts and documenting an example. Originality/value – The challenge to educators is to ensure that new concepts addressing sustainability are not only instilled in the next generation of engineers but are also being communicated to practicing engineers. Incorporating sustainability into mining and petroleum engineering education is identified as a way to engage students, encourage their enthusiasm and interest them in pursuing engineering as a career that is not only interesting but also contributes to society. Distance education is identified as a way to education practicing engineers about sustainability concepts.

The ever increasing quantity of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in Italy is presently challenging public administrators, which strive to ensure that collection and recycling are sustainably managed and need to understand whether and to what extent recycled aggregates can complement natural aggregates in a sustainable supply mix (SSM) for the construction industry. The paper presents a research aimed at analysing energy and environmental implications of the C&DW recycling chain in the administrative territory of Provincia di Torino in Northern Italy, with 2.25 million inhabitants and yearly generation of 1.8 million tons of C&DW. A combined Geographical Information System (GIS) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model was developed using site-specific data and paying particular attention to land use, transportation and avoided landfill: crucial issues for sustainable planning and management. A GIS was used to handle data and information about 89 recycling plants, including technological features, output and physical–mechanical characteristics of recycled aggregate. The LCA methodology was used to identify and quantify energy and environmental loads, under different assumptions relevant to delivery distances, quality of recycled aggregates, local availability of natural aggregates and geographical coverage of market demand. The C&DW recycling chain was proved to be eco-efficient, as avoided impacts were found to be higher than the induced impacts for 13 out of 14 environmental indicators. It was also estimated that the transportation distance of recycled aggregate should increase 2–3 times before the induced impacts outweigh the avoided impacts.

Purpose The objective of this paper is to describe the process of development of an appropriate methodology for a type III label that can be used by a trade association, namely “Sector Environmental Product Declaration” (EPD). The study starts from the definition of required data, data collection procedures, sample selection criteria etc. With this aim, the application of the scheme on a case study has been conducted, regarding the cement production in Italy.

ERECON (2014) Strengthening the European rare earths supply chain: Challengesand policy options. Kooroshy, J., G. Tiess, A. Tukker, and A. Walton (eds.).; Policy recommendations:1.Maintaining and strengthening the European Rare Earth Elements (REE) skills and knowledge base through research funding, science and technology education and international cooperation.Without cutting-edge research and technical expertise, a European high-tech REE industry cannot flourish. The EC and Member States should support funding for research grants, scholarships, and training networks, and enhance European and international cooperation through coordinated calls, researcher exchanges, and joint high-level conferences.2.Creating the basis for informed decision-making on REEs through a European Critical Materials Observatory.Mapping and monitoring of REE supply chains is necessary for informed decision-making. Expertise in Europe could be pooled in a virtual Critical Materials Observatory that provides the public with consistent and authoritative knowledge on REEs (e.g., information on advanced exploration projects, prices, key demand and supply trends, and the urban mine potential).3.Support promising technologies through funding industry-led pilot plants for innovative HREE processing.The EC, industry and Member States should accelerate the commercialization and scaling up of key technologies through co-financing industry-led pilot plants. This should include pilots for REE recovery from heavy rare earths-rich minerals, direct-alloy recycling routes, process and sensor equipment for REE recycling, and REE recovery from industrial residues.4.Levelling the playing field for European HREE exploration through co-funding for prefeasibility and bankable feasibility studies.Support from federal and state governments in the U.S., Australia and Canada has played a critical role in advancing project exploration. The EC and Member States should evaluate possibilities for supporting the extensive R&D necessary for pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility studies, to avoid high quality deposits in Europe simply going unexplored.5.Making waste management REE-friendly through eco-design, incentive schemes for collecting priority waste products, and streamlining policy and waste regulation.The EC and Member States should promote recycling-friendly design to help identify and recover REE components in waste more easily. Potential incentives for stimulating REE waste collection should be evaluated and the shipment of REE wastes should be facilitated. More consistency should also be created in implementing and applying existing waste regulations.6.Boost supply security and de-risk strategic REE investment cases through enhanced cooperation among European end-users and other stakeholders.Leading end-users should engage in strategic cooperation across industry and with governments. This could include setting up a voluntary European ‘critical raw materials fund’, establishing a ‘European Resource Alliance’ similar to the German Rohstoffallianz, and convening a high-level taskforce to examine ways in which public funding could support resilient REE supply chains for Europe.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the kinetics of soot combustion, promoted by several catalysts, through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetic analysis (TGA). All the catalysts are substoichiometric or alkali-metal substituted perovskites (La0.9CrO3, La0.8CrO3, La0.9Rb0.1CrO3, La0.9Na0.1CrO3, La0.9K0.1CrO3, La0.8Cr0.9Li0.1O3) on the basis of the LaCrO3 standard, which was found to be active for this reaction in previous studies conducted by our group. Different model-free iso-conversion methods with the DSC data were used to determine the activation energies. Instead, thermogravimetric data were employed to determine the oxygen reaction order.

The mining/quarrying industry is a sector of industry where there are very few Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools, and where the role of LCA has been poorly investigated. A key issue is the integration of three inter-dependent life cycles: Project, Asset and Product. Given the unique features of mining LCAs, this Note from the Field presents a common methodology implemented within the Sustainable Aggregates Resource Management (SARMa) Project ( www.sarmaproject.eu ) in order to boost adoption of LCA in the aggregate industry in South Eastern Europe. The proposed methodology emphasises the importance of resource efficiency and recycling in the context of a Sustainable Supply Mix of aggregates for the construction industry. Through its adoption, aggregate producers, recyclers, and governmental planners would gain confidence with LCA tools and conduct consistent and meaningful life cycle analyses of natural and recycled aggregates.

Problem statement: The minerals industry is faced with choices beginning in the exploration phase and extending over the life cycle of mine. Firms examine the technical feasibility of alternative actions and typically rank them based on economic performance. Increasingly firms also consider alternatives' contribution to sustainable development. Approach: Sustainable decision making before investment (ex ante decisions) should incorporate a broad suite of quantitative and qualitative information. One approach was to utilize an Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA) framework that supplements traditional technical and financial tools with other tools such as Objectives Hierarchies (OH) and Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). The outputs of these tools could be combined with additional qualitative measures and analyzed using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Results: Our study extends previous literature by discussing how a combined OH-LCA-MCDA could support ex ante sustainability assessment by incorporating preferences, risk attitudes and monetized, non-monetized social and economic variables in a manner that captures their inherent complexity. Conclusion: Sustainable development is not a destination; it is an ongoing journey that must be supported by knowledge, social learning and adaptation. Decisions made in the context of sustainability are likewise part of an ongoing process. No single tool can adequately support an ISA. Multiple tools are necessary, with each used in a manner consistent with its strengths.

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of corporate sustainability reporting strategies and communication tools that are increasingly being adopted to foster green market outlets, with focus on the building materials supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThe suitability, feasibility, appropriateness, effectiveness, completeness and redundancy of some of the most common sustainability reporting tools such as Sustainability Reporting (SR), Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI) and Green labels based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) were investigated.FindingsFocusing on the present Italian situation and with emphasis on ornamental stones, ceramic tiles, cement and concrete producers, the interest and the response in the building materials supply chain are highlighted, pointing out strengths, weaknesses and future perspectives.Practical implicationsGreen communication tools discussed in the paper can also be used to protect local markets against the unfair competition by those producers that can supply low price building products, but with much higher environmental externalities.Originality/valueThe paper can be considered as a contribution to support the European Commission's and Member States' policymakers which are pushing for instruments that will improve the sustainability of the building products supply chain. The findings can encourage those producers who are more aware of the environmental consequences of extractive and manufacturing activities and that are actively engaged in Sustainable Development.

The Vercelli rice district in northern Italy plays a key role in the agri-food industry in a country which accounts for more than 50% of the EU rice production and exports roughly 70%. However, although wealth and jobs are created, the sector is said to be responsible for environmental impacts that are increasingly being perceived as topical. As a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation is necessary to understand and manage the environmental impact of the agri-food chain, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to the rice production system: from the paddy field to the supermarket. The LCA has pointed out the magnitude of impact per kg of delivered white milled rice: a CO2eq emission of 2.9 kg, a primary energy consumption of 17.8 MJ and the use of 4.9 m3 of water for irrigation purposes. Improvement scenarios have been analysed considering alternative rice farming and food processing methods, such as organic and upland farming, as well as parboiling. The research has shown that organic and upland farming have the potential to decrease the impact per unit of cultivated area. However, due to the lower grain yields, the environmental benefits per kg of the final products are greatly reduced in the case of upland rice production and almost cancelled for organic rice. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the eco-profile of Italian rice and should be used for transparent and credible communication between suppliers and their customers.

Lifecycle impacts of photovoltaic (PV) plants have been largely explored in several studies. However, the end-of-life phase has been generally excluded or neglected from these analyses, mainly because of the low amount of panels that reached the disposal yet and the lack of data about their end of life. It is expected that the disposal of PV panels will become a relevant environmental issue in the next decades. This article illustrates and analyses an innovative process for the recycling of silicon PV panel. The process is based on a sequence of physical (mechanical and thermal) treatments followed by acid leaching and electrolysis. The Life Cycle Assessment methodology has been applied to account for the environmental impacts of the process. Environmental benefits (i.e. credits) due to the potential productions of secondary raw materials have been intentionally excluded, as the focus is on the recycling process. The article provides transparent and disaggregated information on the end-of-life stage of silicon PV panel, which could be useful for other LCA practitioners for future assessment of PV technologies. The study highlights that the impacts are concentrated on the incineration of the panel׳s encapsulation layers, followed by the treatments to recover silicon metal, silver, copper, aluminium. For example around 20% of the global warming potential impact is due to the incineration of the sandwich layer and 30% to the post-incineration treatments. Transport is also relevant for several impact categories, ranging from a minimum of about 10% (for the freshwater eutrophication) up to 80% (for the Abiotic Depletion Potential – minerals).

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is among the key urban mining stream due to its composition and rising volume. Currently, in the European Union, WEEE chain performance is mainly assessed by technical indicators that aim to ensure system compliance with collection and recovery targets set by the WEEE Directive. The WEEE Directive and French regulation target higher collection and treatment rates in the coming years. Therefore, to ensure an increase in quantity and quality of e-waste collected, reused and recycled, it is necessary to improve our knowledge and control of the WEEE flows. The goal of this thesis is to establish a robust set of indicators covering multidimensional aspects related to the collection and treatment of WEEE. These indicators intend to improve the visibility on the progress of the WEEE official schemes in a circular economy. Different technical, environmental, economic and criticality priorities related to the recovery of raw materials from e-waste are assessed. The indicators are presented and validated with a case study focused on waste screens, considering data and particularities of the e-waste chain in France. The multidimensional approach presented in this study can support future policies and best practices in WEEE management in order to improve e-waste tracking and the recovery of (critical) raw materials. In so doing, more targeted WEEE management activities have the potential to extend the scope from waste and hazardous substances management to enhancing the supply of quality secondary raw materials., Les Déchets d’Équipements Électriques et Électroniques (DEEE) sont parmi les principaux flux de mines urbaines en raison de leur composition et de leur volume croissant. Actuellement, dans l'Union Européenne (UE), la performance de la filière DEEE est évaluée principalement au moyen d'indicateurs techniques qui visent à garantir la conformité aux objectifs de collecte et de valorisation fixés par la Directive DEEE. La Directive DEEE et la réglementation française fixent des taux de collecte et de traitement plus élevés pour les années à venir. Par conséquent, pour garantir une augmentation de la quantité et de la qualité des DEEE collectés, réutilisés et recyclés, il est nécessaire d'améliorer la connaissance et le contrôle des flux de DEEE. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'établir un groupe d'indicateurs couvrant les aspects multidimensionnels liés à la collecte et au traitement des DEEE. Ces indicateurs visent à améliorer la visibilité sur les progrès réalisés par la filière réglementaire dans une économie circulaire. Différentes priorités techniques, environnementales, économiques et de criticité liées à la récupération des matières secondaires des DEEE sont évaluées. Les indicateurs sont présentés et validés avec un cas d'étude sur les écrans en tenant compte des données et des particularités de la filière française. L'approche multidimensionnelle présentée dans cette étude peut soutenir les politiques futures et les meilleures pratiques en matière de gestion des DEEE afin d'améliorer le suivi et la valorisation des DEEE et des matières secondaires (critiques). En adoptant cette approche, des activités de gestion des DEEE ont le potentiel d'étendre leur champ d'application au-delà de la gestion des déchets et des substances dangereuses, afin de devenir des fournisseurs des matières secondaires de qualité.