Industry 4.0 and life cycle assessment: Evaluation of the technology applications as an asset for the life cycle inventory.

Industry 4.0 technologies present transformative potential in data acquisition for production activities, promising to revolutionize the Life Cycle Inventory process. Despite acknowledging their utility in environmental impact analysis, a gap exists in understanding the specific applicability of these technologies to fulfill ISO 14044 criteria. This study addresses the gap by introducing innovative approaches to Life Cycle Assessment through Industry 4.0 technologies. Beyond existing research, technologies directly impacting LCA development are identified, along with a classification for optimal usage in the LCA process. The crucial role of these technologies in enhanced data collection across life cycle phases is highlighted, introducing a scoring mechanism to identify the technology excelling in enabling Life Cycle Inventory development. Employing a developed framework and systematic literature review, the study aims to identify Industry 4.0 technologies in manufacturing that facilitate LCA. Findings illuminate potential contributions across different product life cycle stages, with cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and Simulation and Modelling identified as the most effective technologies for constructing Life Cycle Inventories. The outcomes provide guidance for practitioners in integrating Industry 4.0 technologies into manufacturing activities, offering valuable insights for environmental sustainability assessment.

Integration of life cycle assessment and system dynamics modeling for environmental scenario analysis: A systematic review.

System dynamics (SD) is widely recognized as a tool for simulating spatial and temporal dynamics in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of the product system. However, there is no agreement on how SD and LCA could be applied effectively together in a consistent way. To address this gap, this research conducted a systematic literature review, analyzing 54 scientific articles published worldwide between 2010 and 2023, to explore the joint application of LCA with SD. The study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) What can be considered an integration of LCA and SD? (2) How can SD and LCA be effectively integrated? and (3)What are the advantages and constraints of this integration? The results highlighted the popularity of LCA and SD as impact assessment tools for sustainable design, each with its own strengths and limitations. Two primary integration types were identified when LCA was jointly applied with SD: (1) inclusion of the life cycle inventory and characterization factors in an SD model, and (2) inclusion of SD model results in an LCA. In the second type of integration, SD models the components of the technical system, and its outcomes served as input for scenario analysis, providing temporal and potentially spatial inventory data for the LCA model. The integrated approach offers a comprehensive understanding of product sustainability, aids decision-making, and enhances stakeholder engagement. The study also identifies knowledge gaps in the joint application of SD and LCA for environmental scenario analysis, suggesting the incorporation of optimization tools and strategy guidance for policy makers.

Odor Discrimination by Similarity Measures of Abstract Odor Factor Maps from Electronic Noses.

The aim of this study is to improve the discrimination performance of electronic noses by introducing a new method for measuring the similarity of the signals obtained from the electronic nose. We constructed abstract odor factor maps (AOFMs) as the characteristic maps of odor samples by decomposition of three-way signal data array of an electronic nose. A similarity measure for two-way data was introduced to evaluate the similarities and differences of AOFMs from different samples. The method was assessed by three types of pipe and powder tobacco samples. Comparisons were made with other techniques based on PCA, SIMCA, PARAFAC and PARAFAC2. The results showed that our method had significant advantages in discriminating odor samples with similar flavors or with high VOCs release.

Polyamine-induced nitric oxide generation and its potential requirement for peroxide in suspension cells of soybean cotyledon node callus.

Polyamines (PAs) induce nitric oxide (NO) generation in plant tissues; however, their mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, suspension cells of soybean cotyledon-node callus were employed. Using a NO-specific fluorescent dye, DAF-FM-DA (3-amino, 4-aminomethyl-2', 7'-difluorescein, diacetate), and laser confocal scanning microscopy, changes in NO generation induced by exogenous PAs were examined. The results of this study showed that NO fluorescence was significantly induced above endogenous levels when callus cells were treated with 0.05 mM PAs. However, putrescine (Put) was the most active PA. The observed NO release by PAs was rapid and without an apparent lag phase. The response was quenched when the suspension cells were treated with the NO-specific scavenger cPTIO (2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-1-oxy-3-oxide). When 0.01 mM l-aminoguanidine (L-AG) was applied prior to the PA treatments, the NO fluorescence was diminished, and the inhibition of NO fluorescence was correlated with a decrease in diamine oxidase (DAO) activity. When callus cells were incubated with 0.1 mM catalase (CAT) and 1.0 mM N'N-dimethylthiourea (DMTU) prior to PA application, NO release was significantly reduced. In sum, our data provided evidence for PA-induced NO generation in suspension cells of soybean cotyledon node callus and demonstrated that peroxide, potentially derived from PA oxidative degradation, was involved in NO release induced by PAs.

Hydrogen generation from polyvinyl alcohol-contaminated wastewater by a process of supercritical water gasification.

Gasification of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-contaminated wastewater in supercritical water (SCW) was investigated in a continuous flow reactor at 723-873 K, 20-36 MPa and residence time of 20-60 s. The gas and liquid products were analyzed by GC/TCD, and TOC analyzer. The main gas products were H2, CH4, CO and CO2. Pressure change had no significant influence on gasification efficiency. Higher temperature and longer residence time enhanced gasification efficiency, and lower temperature favored the production of H2. The effects of KOH catalyst on gas product composition were studied, and gasification efficiency were analyzed. The TOC removal efficiency (R(TOC), carbon gasification ratio (R(CG)) and hydrogen gasification ratio (R(HG)) were up to 96.00%, 95.92% and 126.40% at 873 K and 60 s, respectively, which suggests PVA can be completely gasified in SCW. The results indicate supercritical water gasification for hydrogen generation is a promising process for the treatment of PVA wastewater.