|
|
|
According to a paper by Hatice Sengül and colleagues at the University
of Illinois at Chicago, strict material purity requirements, lower tolerances
for defects and lower yields of manufacturing processes may lead to greater
environmental burdens than those associated with conventional manufacturing.
In a study of carbon nanofiber production, Vikas Khanna and colleagues at The
Ohio State University found, for example, that the life cycle environmental
impacts may be as much as 100 times greater per unit of weight than those of
traditional materials, potentially offsetting some of the environmental benefits
of the small size of nanomaterials.
Materials engineered at dimensions of 1 to 100 nanometers (1 to 100 billionths
of a meter) exhibit novel physical, chemical and biological characteristics,
opening possibilities for stunning innovations in medicine, manufacturing and
a host of other sectors of the economy. Because small quantities of nanomaterials
can accomplish the tasks of much larger amounts of conventional materials, the
expectation has been that nanomaterials will lower energy and resource use and
the pollution that accompanies them. The possibility of constructing miniature
devices atom-by-atom has also given rise to expectations that precision in nanomanufacturing
will lead to less waste and cleaner processes. Research described in this special
issue suggests that these anticipated benefits remain to be realized.
Other topics explored in the special issue of Journal
of Industrial Ecology include:
- Approaches for identifying and reducing the life cycle hazards of nanomaterials
- Quantified life cycle energy requirements and environmental impacts from
nanomaterials
- Tradeoffs between nanomanufacturing costs and occupational exposure to
nanoparticles
- Efficiency of techniques for nanomaterials synthesis
- Improvement of the sustainability of bio-based products through nanotechnology
- Industrial frameworks for responsible nanotechnology
- Industrial and public perception about the risks and benefits of nanomaterials
- Governance and regulation of nanotechnology
- Industrial ecology is a field that examines the opportunities for sustainable
production and consumption, emphasizing the importance of a systems view of
environmental threats and remedies.
Roland Clift, Professor of Environmental Technology in the Centre for Environmental
Strategy at the University of Surrey and Shannon Lloyd, Principal Research Engineer
in the Sustainability & Process Engineering Directorate at Concurrent Technologies
Corporation, served as guest editors. Support for this special issue was provided
by the Educational Foundation of America, in Westport, Conn., and the Project
on Emerging Nanotechnologies of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars in Washington, D.C.
Posted November 7th, 2008
|
