Environmental Sustainability Assessment

Code:

AMB4019

Acronym:

AMB4019

Level:

400

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Environment

Instance: 2023/2024 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Nanomaterials Science and Technology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M:CTA	10	Study plan since 2021/2022	1	-	6	42	162
M:CTN	2	Official Study Plan since 2020_M:CTN	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

The main objective of this course is to train students with the knowledge, skills and competences necessary to quantify the environmental sustainability of materials (nanomaterials), products and processes. Also, a historical perspective of the concept of environmental sustainability and knowledge about its integration into current environmental policies will be provided. In particular, skills will be developed on carbon neutrality calculations (carbon emissions and sequestration), quantitative assessment of product circularity, life cycle calculations using software certified for this purpose and instruction of processes for environmental and product declarations.

Learning outcomes and competences

- This curricular unit shows the historical evolution of the concept of environmental sustainability and its framing in environmental policies that in recent decades have been under discussion in public opinion and in world conferences on climate change promoted by the UN.

- The student acquires knowledge about the different components for the assessment of environmental sustainability and acquires skills in the use of quantitative methodologies to make the calculations for its assessment.

- This course aims to provide students a solid background on the development of environmental statements as a fundamental environmental management strategy of companies, products and services. In this way, students acquire skills in the interpretation of ISO Standard for the Environmental Statements, and the preparation of the respective statements. In particular, the student acquires skills for the development of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). Also, students acquire skills in environmental management based on sustainability.

- From a practical point of view, this course aims to develop students' abilities for computer processing of the information collected in life cycle assessment studies, namely acquire skills for the use of basic computer systems in the evaluation of life cycle studies. Also, practical skills in environmental measurements for carbon sequestration calculations will be developed.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

There are no prerequisites.

Program

History and principles of the concept of environmental sustainability.

The environmental challenges of the next decade: climate change mitigation and adaptation; pollution and its effect on health; protection of the oceans; energy transition and renewable energies; sustainable food model; protection of biodiversity; urban development and mobility; lack of water; extreme weather phenomena; waste management.

Analysis of excerpts from books that constitute historical landmarks of environmental sustainability: “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson; and, “Breasts: a natural and unnatural history” by Florence Williams.

The Montreal Convention and the environmental issue of refrigerant gases.

Carbon balance in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon sequestration in soil and forest biomass. Calculations of sequestered equivalent carbon.

Principles of the circular economy. Linear industrial economy. Circular industrial economy and the origin of sustainability. Circularity, sustainability and work in the circular industrial economy.

Climate change conferences (Conferences of the Parties - COP) and their proposals.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Purpose, definition and scope of LCA. Inventory Analysis in the Life Cycle. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (ISO 14040 and 14044). Life Cycle Interpretation, Reporting and Critical Review.

From LCA to Sustainability Assessment. Life Cycle Reflection (UNEP). Carbon Footprint. Water Footprint. Life Cycle Management.

Environmental Declarations: ISO Standards; Environmental Labels; Self-Declarations; Environmental Product Declarations (DAP).

 

Practical classes:

Measurements of carbon sequestration in trees and soil.

Development of environmental sustainability assessment projects regarding processes and systems, using as case studies the production of different nanomaterials and their use in technological applications, such as analytical sensors, in water treatment, and as components with antimicrobial activity. The environmental sustainability assessment will be performed with different approaches:

- Determination of sustainability characterization indicators for processes regarding the efficient use of materials and energy, waste generation and toxicity of employed materials.

- Asssessment of the performance of processes within the context of circular economy, by using circularity metrics;

- Elaboration of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies by using the software “SimaPro”, aiming to the identification and assessment of environmental impacts during the life cycle of a given product/process.

Mandatory literature

Walter Klopffer, Birgit Grahl, ; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A Guide to Best Practice, Wiley Classics Library, 2014. ISBN: 978-3-527-32986-1
Paul E. Hardisty; Environmental and Economic Sustainability, Taylor and Francis, 2010. ISBN: 13: 978-1420059489
Walter R. Stahel; The Circular Economy – A User’s Guide, Routledge, 2019
Ulrich Grober; Sustainability: a cultural history, Green Books, 2012. ISBN: 978 0 85784 045 5
Ana S. Tártaro, Teresa M. Mata, António A. Martins, Joaquim C.G. Esteves da Silva; Carbon Footprint of the Insulation Cork Board, Journal of Cleaner Production, 143 (2017) 925e932. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.028, 2017
Diana M Crista, Manuel Algarra, Joaquim C Esteves da Silva, Rafael Luque, Luis Pinto da Silva; Sustainable Production of Carbon Dots Nanoparticles from Spent Coffee Grounds. Sensing and Lyfe Cycle Assesement Analysis, Nanomaterials 10 (2020) 1209. DOI: 10.3390/nano10061209, 2020
Sónia Fernandes, Joaquim Esteves da Silva, Luis Pinto da Silva; Life Cycle Assessment of the Sustainability of Enhancing the Photodegradation Activity of TiO2 with Metal-Doping, Materials 13 (2020) 1487. DOI: 10.3390/ma13071487., 2020
Sónia Fernandes, Joaquim C.G. Esteves da Silva, Luís Pinto da Silva; Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of High-Yield Synthesis Routes for Carbon Dots, NanoImpact 23 (2021) 100332. DOI: 10.1016/j.impact.2021.100332., 2021
Ricardo Sendão, Maria Martínez de Yuso, Manuel Algarra, Joaquim Esteves da Silva, Luis Pinto da Silva; Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Bottom-Up Synthesis Routes for Carbon Dots Derived from Citric Acid and Urea, Journal of Cleaner Production 254 (2020) 120080. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120080., 2020

Teaching methods and learning activities

- The theoretical classes are used to explain the concepts of most of matter of this course.

- The laboratory classes are intended to apply the concepts to real problems, with the aid of computer tools commonly used in this type of work by companies in the Environmental Management and Sustainability services and/or products.

Software

SimaPro

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho escrito	40,00
Trabalho laboratorial	20,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	40,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	120,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance of classes as provided for in the FCUP statutes.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation will be based on the following works:

- Theoretical monographic work on environmental sustainability (TM) (40%)
- Laboratory work report (RL) (20%)
- Project report on environmental sustainability assessment (RP) (40%)

Final grade = 0.40 x TM + 0.20 x RL + 0.40 x RP