Direct and Embodied Ecological Impacts across the Fullerene Life Cycle

PI: Babbitt, Callie W.提案号：1438280工程纳米材料（ENM）的快速创新步伐导致了利用这些材料独特性能的新应用的巨大增长。富勒烯（碳质ENM，例如60碳纳米球）被广泛应用，从生物医学科学（例如，药物输送），化妆品（例如，自由基“清除”）到可再生能源系统（例如，聚合物光伏电池）。然而，人们对富勒烯对自然环境的影响知之甚少，特别是富勒烯和其他enm一样，在其生命周期中会发生重大变化，这些变化会影响它们在环境区室之间的运输和分配方式。该提案将通过考虑富勒烯利用的两种不同途径：可再生能源（光伏发电）和个人健康（化妆品霜），对富勒烯材料进行生命周期分析。PI和co- PI将采用生态系统评估方法，并使用毒性数据进行生命周期评估，将富勒烯上游生产的总体（“具体化”）与材料释放到环境中时的“直接”生态毒性进行比较。成功的结果可以为可持续的环境管理流程设计、材料处理、处置实践提供信息，并有助于指导政策和决策。该提案也有一个多样化和强有力的推广和教育计划，特别是为代表性不足的K-12学生提供参与可持续纳米技术研究的机会。具体来说，该提案将解决关于富勒烯基材料生命周期影响的关键问题，这些问题也将转化为其他能源管理的生命周期评估（lca）。他们建议创建新的生命周期指标，通过将富勒烯暴露下淡水生态系统的实验室微观研究与新兴的生态系统服务生命周期核算技术相结合，来解释富勒烯对选定生态系统功能的系统级影响。这些数据将使研究人员能够评估材料的“具体”与“直接”生态毒性对生态毒性的影响。本研究的最终目标是建立一个全面的富勒烯生态影响的生命周期评估，反映富勒烯材料、生命周期阶段和最终用途的现实可变性。区分直接的和具体的生态毒性的能力将有助于确定生命周期各阶段的优先次序和最有可能改善环境的干预战略。这项工作的结果可以为环保低影响的富勒烯生产方法提供信息，识别含富勒烯产品在使用寿命结束时的相关风险，为能源管理公司制定前瞻性政策提供帮助。

PI: Babbitt, Callie W. Proposal Number: 1438280The rapid pace of innovation in engineered nanomaterials (ENM) has led to a very large growth in new applications that take advantage of the unique properties of these materials. Fullerenes (carbonaceous ENM, e.g. 60-carbon nanospheres) are used in diverse applications, ranging from biomedical science (e.g., drug delivery), cosmetics (e.g., free radical 'scavenging'), to renewable energy systems (e.g., polymer photovoltaic cells). However, the impact of fullerenes on the natural environment is poorly understood, particularly as the fullerenes, like other ENMs, can undergo significant changes over their life cycle, changes that can affect their manner of transport and partitioning between environmental compartments. This proposal will develop a life-cycle analysis of fullerene materials by considering two diverse pathways of fullerene utilization: renewable energy (photovoltaics) and personal health (cosmetic creams). The PI and Co-PIs will utilize an ecosystem assessment approach and use toxicity data for a life-cycle assessment that will compare the eco-toxicity impact from the totality ('embodied') of upstream production of fullerene to that of the 'direct' eco-toxicity of the materials, when they are released into the environment. A successful outcome can inform sustainable ENM process design, material handling, disposal practices, and help guide policy and decision-making. The proposal also has a varied and strong outreach and educational plan, especially the incorporation of opportunities for underrepresented K-12 students to engage in sustainable nanotechnology research. Specifically, this proposal will address key issues about life cycle impact of fullerene-based materials, which will be translatable to life cycle assessments (LCAs) for other ENMs as well. They propose to create new life cycle metrics that can account for systems-level impact of fullerenes on select ecosystem functions by combining laboratory microcosm studies of freshwater ecosystems under fullerene exposure with emerging life cycle accounting techniques for ecosystem services. This data will enable the investigators to assess the eco-toxicity impact from 'embodied' versus 'direct' eco-toxicity of the materials. The end goal of this research is to create a comprehensive life cycle assessment of fullerene ecological impact that reflects realistic variability of fullerene materials, life cycle stages, and end uses. The ability to distinguish between direct and embodied ecological eco-toxicities will enable prioritization of life-cycle stages and intervention strategies that have the highest opportunity for environmental improvement. Outcomes from this effort can inform environmentally low-impact fullerene production methods, identify risks associated with fullerene-containing products at end-of-life, enable proactive policy-making for ENMs.