Environmental assessment of manufacturing with carbon nanotubes

Author

Dahlben, Lindsay J. ; Isaacs, Jacqueline A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. & Ind. Eng., Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA, USA

fYear

2009

fDate

18-20 May 2009

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

5

Abstract

Given the uncertain environmental, health, and safety risks for using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), it is prudent to assess the environmental attributes of nanomanufacturing processes using CNTs while in the developmental phase. This information can provide insights for development of safe, economically competitive, and environmentally responsible nanotechnologies. Environmental assessments of manufacturing two CNT applications were investigated: a CNT switch and a CNT-polymer mesh. Results indicate significant environmental impact contribution to airborne inorganics, climate change, and fossil fuels due to materials used in cleansing processes and significant electricity consumption.

Keywords

carbon nanotubes; nanotechnology; carbon nanotubes; environmental assessments; life cycle assessment; nanomanufacturing processes; nanotechnology; Carbon nanotubes; Energy consumption; Environmental economics; Fossil fuels; Fuel economy; Health and safety; Inorganic materials; Manufacturing; Phase change materials; Switches; Carbon nanotubes; environmental impact; life cycle assessment; nanotechnology;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Sustainable Systems and Technology, 2009. ISSST '09. IEEE International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Phoenix, AZ

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4324-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ISSST.2009.5156767

Filename

5156767