https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7833-0830
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ABSTRACT
This study estimated the environmental impacts by life cycle assessment (LCA) of bioanodes fabricated from devilfish bone chars and their application in microbial fuel cells (MFC). Two types of devilfish bone chars were obtained by calcination using nitrogen (BCN) and air (BCA) as purge gases. Two bioanodes were fabricated with BCN and BCA and applied independently in MFC to produce bioenergy from ibuprofen and carbamazepine biodegradation. LCA was performed using the methodology ISO 14,040. 1 kg of fabricated bioanode and 1 kWh of produced bioenergy were the established functional units, integrating a detailed inventory of the materials’ fabrication and application in MFC. The impact assessment was made with SimaPro 9.2 software and the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (I) method, considering 18 impact categories. Results showed that the bioanode fabricated with BCN has less environmental impacts (1.09 times) than BCA, finding the highest impact in the categories of human carcinogenic toxicity (1.04 kg 1,4-DCB) and human non-carcinogenic toxicity (13.60 kg 1,4-DCB). The environmental impacts in MFC-Ibuprofen were 3.1 times higher than MFC-Carbamazepine in the same impact categories, with 12.76 kg 1,4-DCB and 168.34 kg 1,4-DCB, respectively. Therefore, it is recommended to use BCN to fabricate the bioanode and to apply it in MFC to produce bioenergy from carbamazepine biodegradation. Although the LCA was performed with data obtained at a laboratory level, the results provide information on the environmental impacts that could be generated if both processes are transferred on a large scale, identifying opportunities for improvement to reduce these impacts.
Nomenclature and abbreviations
| BCA | = | Bioanode fabricated with devilfish bone char calcined in an air atmosphere |
| BCN | = | Bioanode fabricated with devilfish bone char calcined in a nitrogen atmosphere |
| FEc | = | Freshwater ecotoxicity |
| FEu | = | Freshwater eutrophication |
| FPMF | = | Fine particulate matter formation |
| FRS | = | Fossil resource scarcity |
| GW | = | Global warming |
| HCT | = | Human carcinogenic toxicity |
| HNCT | = | Human non-carcinogenic toxicity |
| IR | = | Ionizing radiation |
| LCA | = | Life cycle assessment |
| LU | = | Land use |
| MEc | = | Marine ecotoxicity |
| MEu | = | Marine eutrophication |
| MFC-Carbamazepine | = | Microbial fuel cells used to produce bioenergy from carbamazepine biodegradation |
| MFC-Ibuprofen | = | Microbial fuel cells used to produce bioenergy from ibuprofen biodegradation |
| MRS | = | Mineral resource scarcity |
| OFHH | = | Ozone formation – human health |
| OFTE | = | Ozone formation – terrestrial ecosystems |
| SOD | = | Stratospheric ozone depletion |
| TA | = | Terrestrial acidification |
| TE | = | Terrestrial ecotoxicity |
| WC | = | Water consumption |
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2024.2329812
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Miguel Mauricio Aguilera Flores
Miguel Mauricio Aguilera Flores Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing - original draft preparation, writing - review and editing.
Nahum Andrés Medellin Castillo
Nahum Andrés Medellin Castillo Conceptualization, methodology, writing - original draft preparation, writing - review and editing, funding acquisition, resources, supervision.
Verónica Ávila Vázquez
Verónica Ávila Vázquez Methodology, writing - review and editing, resources, supervision.
Israel Herrera Orozco
Israel Herrera Orozco Methodology, writing - review and editing, resources.
Omar Sánchez Mata
Omar Sánchez Mata Investigation, writing - review and editing.
Laura Alejandra Pinedo Torres
Laura Alejandra Pinedo Torres Investigation, writing - review and editing.