Toward Sustainable Nanoproducts

International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences (IJMTS), 2021

Nanotechnology is considered as a tool for solving problems and providing comfort in the livelihood of human beings, also possess challenges and treats if not used carefully. nanotechnology if used properly can support to realize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to be realized by 2030. Nanotechnology, being multidisciplinary frontier technology useful for innovative solutions in primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary industry sectors has shown slow progress due to its potential risks due to predicted nanotoxicity. To counter this but to use nanotechnology solutions in societal progress, green and eco-friendly nanotechnology solutions play a major role in realizing sustainable development goals and eliminates the threat of the technification of development processes. This paper discusses the concept, current research outcome, and the industrial prospects of achieving global SDG and much more using green and eco-friendly nanotechnology in 21st century.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2017

The functionalities of nano-materials are accompanied by features that are in collision with the postulates of environmental friendliness and sustainability. Nano-related research, part of which is nano-safety, is gaining momentum worldwide, but there is a limited body of knowledge about mechanisms such as the degradation, surface modification and transformation of nanoparticles. This study aims to provide a brief survey on the challenges that researchers and engineers face when attempting to assess the environmental impacts of nano-based products. The applicability of the life cycle assessment method to nanotechnology is briefly explored. The advancement of nano-specific life cycle approaches capable of evaluating the sustainability of these emerging technologies depends on further research on material inventories, the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes, the transport and fate of nanoparticles in the environment, health risks and mitigation techniques. Specialized nano-based product-related databases are still needed to track engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the environment and to facilitate life cycle inventories and assessment. Permissible exposure limits for key ENMs in the workplace and standardized handling protocols for ENMs are not widely available. Properties that increase their toxicity and bioaccumulation are being increasingly investigated. The dissemination of information to the general public related to risk management is rather sporadic, and the suitability of current regulation for controlling environmental pollution by ENM is subject to continued discussion. Taking into account the environment health and safety challenges mentioned, a suitable expertise and information dissemination network is proposed to take the responsible application of nanotechnology forward in the developing world context.

Sustainability, 2010

Citing the myriad applications of nanotechnology, this paper emphasizes the need to conduct -life cycle‖ based assessments as early in the new product development process as possible, for a better understanding of the potential environmental and human health consequences of nanomaterials over the entire life cycle of a nano-enabled product. The importance of this reasoning is further reinforced through an illustrative case study on automotive exterior body panels, which shows that the perceived environmental benefits of nano-based products in the Use stage may not adequately represent the complete picture, without examining the impacts in the other life cycle stages, particularly Materials Processing and Manufacturing. Nanomanufacturing methods often have associated environmental and human health impacts, which must be kept in perspective when evaluating nanoproducts for their -greenness.‖ Incorporating life-cycle thinking for making informed decisions at the product design stage, combining life cycle and risk analysis, using sustainable manufacturing practices, and employing green chemistry alternatives are seen as possible solutions.

Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2018

Recent advances in nanotechnology have shown numerous societal benefits through the development or improvement of smart materials. Several engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have been produced during the last years that may be found in related sectors like health, food, home, automotive, electronics, and computers (Hansen et al., 2016). The estimated output of ENMs produced was up to 270,000 metric tons/year and in this case considering only SiO2, TiO2, FeOx, AlOx, ZnO, and CeO2 nanoparticles (Medina-Velo et al., 2017).

This article seeks to answer several questions: Where does the global science community need to provide reliable data that will assist policymakers and regulators to develop confidence regarding the safety of these materials? What are the critical needs that will move us forward safely and intelligently in this promising field? Are the paradigms generally developed to assess the fate and effects of solute contaminants applicable to nanomaterials? We propose a way to answer these questions and move Nano environmental, health, and safety (EHS) forward, creating a new framework for detecting, determining the fate, characterizing the hazards, and assessing the risk of engineered nanomaterials. To understand why and how these frameworks are relevant, we must first look at what nanotechnology is, examine the current state of strategies to manage nanomaterials and instill public the field, and highlight the issues inherent in studying nanotechnology.

2011

Sustainability, 2018

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology with the potential to contribute towards sustainability. However, there are growing concerns about the potential environmental and human health impacts of nanomaterials. Clearly, nanomaterials have advantages and disadvantages, and a balanced view is needed to assess the overall benefit. The current "green and clean" claims of proponents of nanomaterials across different sectors of the economy are evaluated in this review study. Focusing on carbon emissions and energy use, we have reviewed 18 life cycle assessment studies on nanomaterials in the solar, energy, polymer, medical and food sectors. We find that the "green and clean" claims are not supported for the majority of the reviewed studies in the energy sector. In the solar sector, only specific technologies tend to support the "green and clean" claims. In the polymer sector, only some applications support the "green and clean" claims. The main findings show that nanomaterials have high cradle-to-gate energy demand that result in high carbon emissions. Synthesis of nanomaterials is the main contributor of carbon emissions in the majority of the studies. Future improvements in reducing parameter uncertainties and in the energy efficiency of the synthesis processes of nanomaterials might improve the environmental performance of nanotechnologies.

Manufacturing of nanomaterials is an interdisciplinary field covering physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering. The interaction between scientists with different disciplines will undoubtedly lead to the production of novel materials with tailored properties. The success of nanomanufacturing depends on the strong cooperation between academia and industry in order to be informed about current needs and future challenges, to design products directly transferred into the industrial sector. It is of paramount importance the selection of the appropriate method combining synthesis of nanomaterials with required properties and limited impurities as well as scalability of the technique. Their industrial use faces many obstacles as there is no suitable regulatory framework and guidance on safety requirements; specific provisions have yet to be established in EU legislation. Moreover, regulations related to the right of intellectual properties as well as the absence of an appropriate framework for patent registration are issues delaying the process of products' industrial application. The utilization of high-quality nanomaterials is now growing and coming to the industrial arena rendering them as the next generation attractive resources with promising applications. Undoubtedly, the existing gap between basic research relating nanomaterials and their application in real life will be overcome in the coming decade.

Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2013

The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth's global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This special issue of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. We highlight recent advances and discuss opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in (1) water purification, (2) clean energy technologies, (3) greenhouse gases management, (4) materials supply and utilization, and (5) green manufacturing and chemistry. In addition to the technical challenges listed above, we also discuss societal perspectives and provide an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development.

physica status solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letters, 2011

Toxicology, 2010

Whilst the global players in industry are rapidly moving forward to take advantage of the new opportunities and prospects offered by nanotechnologies, it is imperative that such developments take place in a safe and sustainable manner. The increasing use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in consumer products has raised certain concerns over their safety to human health and the environment. There are currently a number of major uncertainties and knowledge gaps in regard to behavior, chemical and biological interactions and toxicological properties of ENMs. As dealing with these uncertainties will require the generation of new basic knowledge, it is unlikely that they will be resolved in the immediate future. One has to consider the whole life cycle of nanoproducts to ensure that possible impacts can be systematically discovered. For example, life cycle assessment (LCA) -a formalized life cycle concept -may be used to assess the relative environmental sustainability performance of nanoproducts in comparison with their conventional equivalents. Other less formalized life cycle concepts in the framework of prospective technology assessment may uncover further detailed and prospective knowledge for human and environmental exposure to ENMs during the life cycle of nanoproducts. They systematically reveal impacts such as cross product contamination or dissipation of scarce materials among others. The combination of different life cycle concepts with the evolving knowledge from toxicology and risk assessment can mitigate uncertainties and can provide an early basis for informed decision making by the industry and regulators.

Environmental Health, 2014

In a world of finite resources and ecosystem capacity, the prevailing model of economic growth, founded on ever-increasing consumption of resources and emission pollutants, cannot be sustained any longer. In this context, the "green economy" concept has offered the opportunity to change the way that society manages the interaction of the environmental and economic domains. To enable society to build and sustain a green economy, the associated concept of "green nanotechnology" aims to exploit nano-innovations in materials science and engineering to generate products and processes that are energy efficient as well as economically and environmentally sustainable. These applications are expected to impact a large range of economic sectors, such as energy production and storage, clean up-technologies, as well as construction and related infrastructure industries. These solutions may offer the opportunities to reduce pressure on raw materials trading on renewable energy, to improve power delivery systems to be more reliable, efficient and safe as well as to use unconventional water sources or nano-enabled construction products therefore providing better ecosystem and livelihood conditions. However, the benefits of incorporating nanomaterials in green products and processes may bring challenges with them for environmental, health and safety risks, ethical and social issues, as well as uncertainty concerning market and consumer acceptance. Therefore, our aim is to examine the relationships among guiding principles for a green economy and opportunities for introducing nano-applications in this field as well as to critically analyze their practical challenges, especially related to the impact that they may have on the health and safety of workers involved in this innovative sector. These are principally due to the not fully known nanomaterial hazardous properties, as well as to the difficulties in characterizing exposure and defining emerging risks for the workforce. Interestingly, this review proposes action strategies for the assessment, management and communication of risks aimed to precautionary adopt preventive measures including formation and training of employees, collective and personal protective equipment, health surveillance programs to protect the health and safety of nano-workers. It finally underlines the importance that occupational health considerations will have on achieving an effectively sustainable development of nanotechnology.

Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research, 2020

In true world, it is desirable that the properties, behaviour, and types of nanomaterials should be improved to meet the aforementioned points. On the other hand, these limitations are opening new and great opportunities in this emerging field of research. To counter those limitations, a new era of ‘green synthesis’ approaches/methods is gaining great attention in current research and development on materials science and technology. Basically, green synthesis of materials/ nanomaterials, produced through regulation, control, clean up, and remediation process, will directly help uplift their environmental friendliness. Some basic principles of “green synthesis” can thus be explained by several components like prevention/minimization of waste, reduction of derivatives/pollution, and the use of safer (or non-toxic) solvent/auxiliaries as well as renewable feedstock. ‘Green synthesis’ are required to avoid the production of unwanted or harmful by-products through the build-up of reliabl...

Nanotoxicology, 2015

An international symposium for nanosafety was held recently at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Topics relating to understanding nanomaterial properties, tools, and infrastructure required for predicting hazardous outcomes, measuring nanomaterial exposure levels, systems approach for risk assessment and public's perception of nanotechnology were covered. The need for a multidisciplinary approach, across both natural and social sciences, for developing sustainable nanotechnology solutions was heavily emphasized. This commentary highlights the major issues discussed and the commitment of the nanosafety research community in Singapore to contribute collectively to realise the vision of sustainable nanotechnology.

Materials Today, 2004

This article summarizes the key findings and recommendations of the Royal Society/Royal Academy of Engineering Report on Nanotechnology 1 . The report is enthusiastic about the great potential benefits of nanotechnologies. Uncertainties associated with the health and environmental impacts of free, manufactured nanoparticles and nanotubes are discussed. It recommends research to understand better their toxicology and exposure pathways, and actions to restrict exposure of humans and the environment to free, manufactured nanoparticles and nanotubes until they are better understood. The need for public dialogue about the development of nanotechnologies is highlighted. Nanotechnologies are attracting increasing investment from governments and industry around the world. Total global spend is thought to be around $6.25 billion at present, but this is set to rise. The USA's 21 st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (2003) allocated almost $3.7 billion to fund nanotechnologies during 2005-2008. This compares with just $750 million spent in 2003. Between 2001 and 2003, the Japanese Government doubled its nanotechnology funding to $800 million. Within Europe, about $1.25 billion is currently spent on nanotechnology research and development per annum, and the UK Government has allocated about $81.9 million per year from 2003 to 2009.