Cover Image

Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective adsorbent in water treatment but its production method has significant emissions to the environment. This study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of various AC types and determine whether raw material selection could reduce the footprint of AC. A cradle...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tan, Lian See, Tan, Jully, Yong, Jiunn Boon, Ahmad, Fauzan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Akademia Baru Publishing (M) Sdn. Bhd. 2022
Subjects:
TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/104626/1/JiunnBoonYongLianSeeTanJullyTan2022_ComparativeLifeCycleAssessmentofBiomassBased.pdf
http://eprints.utm.my/104626/
http://dx.doi.org/10.37934/progee.20.1.115
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.utm.104626
record_format eprints
spelling my.utm.1046262024-02-21T08:35:39Z http://eprints.utm.my/104626/ Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production. Tan, Lian See Tan, Jully Yong, Jiunn Boon Ahmad, Fauzan TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering Activated carbon (AC) is an effective adsorbent in water treatment but its production method has significant emissions to the environment. This study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of various AC types and determine whether raw material selection could reduce the footprint of AC. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on coal, coconut shell, wood, peat, and reactivated coal ACs. The different types of raw materials were selected to reflect typical global and local availability in the selected location. Life cycle data was collected from the Ecoinvent database, scientific literature, and an industrial producer. Using CML 2001 as a characterization method, potential environmental impacts were calculated for 12 categories. The direct emis- sions of AC production and electricity production were the largest contributors to environmental impacts. Coal AC had the highest impact in ten out of the twelve categories. On the other hand, reactivated coal and coconut AC had the lowest impacts in three and five categories, respectively. The comparison in carbon footprints be- tween the AC types were found to be dependent on inclusion or exclusion of biogenic emissions: When including biogenic carbon emissions, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of reactivated coal AC was 72–80% lower than for the virgin ACs. When biogenic carbon emissions were excluded, the GWPs of the residual biomass ACs (coconut shell and wood) were found to be about 50% lower than that of reactivated coal AC. The results demonstrate that raw material choice and production method significantly affect the environmental impact of AC. To minimize site-specific impacts of AC application, technical feasibility of AC and use phase emissions need to be assessed. Akademia Baru Publishing (M) Sdn. Bhd. 2022-12-15 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.utm.my/104626/1/JiunnBoonYongLianSeeTanJullyTan2022_ComparativeLifeCycleAssessmentofBiomassBased.pdf Tan, Lian See and Tan, Jully and Yong, Jiunn Boon and Ahmad, Fauzan (2022) Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production. Progress In Energy And Environment, 20 . pp. 1-9. ISSN 2600-7762 http://dx.doi.org/10.37934/progee.20.1.115 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116356
institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
building UTM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
content_source UTM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.utm.my/
language English
topic TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
spellingShingle TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Tan, Lian See
Tan, Jully
Yong, Jiunn Boon
Ahmad, Fauzan
Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
description Activated carbon (AC) is an effective adsorbent in water treatment but its production method has significant emissions to the environment. This study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of various AC types and determine whether raw material selection could reduce the footprint of AC. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on coal, coconut shell, wood, peat, and reactivated coal ACs. The different types of raw materials were selected to reflect typical global and local availability in the selected location. Life cycle data was collected from the Ecoinvent database, scientific literature, and an industrial producer. Using CML 2001 as a characterization method, potential environmental impacts were calculated for 12 categories. The direct emis- sions of AC production and electricity production were the largest contributors to environmental impacts. Coal AC had the highest impact in ten out of the twelve categories. On the other hand, reactivated coal and coconut AC had the lowest impacts in three and five categories, respectively. The comparison in carbon footprints be- tween the AC types were found to be dependent on inclusion or exclusion of biogenic emissions: When including biogenic carbon emissions, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of reactivated coal AC was 72–80% lower than for the virgin ACs. When biogenic carbon emissions were excluded, the GWPs of the residual biomass ACs (coconut shell and wood) were found to be about 50% lower than that of reactivated coal AC. The results demonstrate that raw material choice and production method significantly affect the environmental impact of AC. To minimize site-specific impacts of AC application, technical feasibility of AC and use phase emissions need to be assessed.
format Article
author Tan, Lian See
Tan, Jully
Yong, Jiunn Boon
Ahmad, Fauzan
author_facet Tan, Lian See
Tan, Jully
Yong, Jiunn Boon
Ahmad, Fauzan
author_sort Tan, Lian See
title Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
title_short Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
title_full Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
title_fullStr Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
title_full_unstemmed Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
title_sort comparative life cycle assessment of biomass-based and coal-based activated carbon production.
publisher Akademia Baru Publishing (M) Sdn. Bhd.
publishDate 2022
url http://eprints.utm.my/104626/1/JiunnBoonYongLianSeeTanJullyTan2022_ComparativeLifeCycleAssessmentofBiomassBased.pdf
http://eprints.utm.my/104626/
http://dx.doi.org/10.37934/progee.20.1.115
_version_ 1792147899372535808
score 13.211869

Similar Items