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Life cycle assessment comparison of photocatalytic coating and air purifier
Author(s) -
Tichá Marie,
Žilka Miroslav,
Stieberová Barbora,
Freiberg František
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.1786
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , context (archaeology) , environmental science , life cycle assessment , supercritical fluid , air purifier , titanium dioxide , coating , waste management , hydrothermal circulation , process engineering , production (economics) , chemical engineering , materials science , engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , catalysis , mechanical engineering , paleontology , biochemistry , macroeconomics , organic chemistry , economics , inlet , biology
This article presents a comparison of 2 very different options for removal of undesirable microorganisms and airborne pollutants from the indoor environment of hospitals, schools, homes, and other enclosed spaces using air purifiers and photocatalytic coatings based on nano titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). Both products were assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology from cradle‐to‐grave. The assessment also includes comparison of 2 different nano TiO 2 production technologies, one by continuous hydrothermal synthesis and the other by a sulfate process. Results of the study showed a relatively large contribution of photocatalytic coatings to reducing the effects of selected indices in comparison with an air purifier, regardless of which nano TiO 2 production method is used. Although the impacts of the sulfate process are significantly lower compared to those of hydrothermal synthesis when viewed in terms of production alone, taken in the context of the entire product life cycle, the net difference becomes less significant. The study has been elaborated within the Sustainable Hydrothermal Manufacturing of Nanomaterials (SHYMAN) project, which aims to develop competitive and sustainable continuous nanoparticle (NP) production technology based on supercritical hydrothermal synthesis. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:478–485. © 2016 SETAC