Research on Green Modular Design

Zhongmei, Lu; Huang, Yu-Che; Bangjun, Cui; Ko-Jou, Hsiao

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202018603005

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 1 publication

(1 reference statement)

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“…Therefore, repurposing products at the end of their life cycle to be reused or to become raw material for new medical devices should be included in the design of these products. Then, modular design of masks could decrease the disassembly effort and therefore, reduce the climate change impact as well 28 .…”

Section: Discussion and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A life cycle assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

Straten

Ligtelijn

Droog

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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The Covid-19 pandemic led to threatening shortages in healthcare of medical products such as face masks. Due to this major impact on our healthcare society an initiative was conducted between March and July 2020 for reprocessing of face masks from 19 different hospitals. This exceptional opportunity was used to study the costs impact and the carbon footprint of reprocessed face masks relative to new disposable face masks. The aim of this study is to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to assess and compare the climate change impact of disposed versus reprocessed face masks. In total 18.166 high quality medical FFP2 face masks were reprocessed through steam sterilization between March and July 2020. Greenhouse gas emissions during production, transport, sterilization and end-of-life processes were assessed. The background life cycle inventory data were retrieved from the ecoinvent database. The life cycle impact assessment method ReCiPe was used to translate emissions into climate change impact. The cost analysis is based on actual sterilization as well as associated costs compared to the prices of new disposable face masks. A Monte Carlo sampling was used to propagate the uncertainty of different inputs to the LCA results. The carbon footprint appears to be 58% lower for face masks which were reused for five times compared to new face masks which were used for one time only. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the loading capacity of the autoclave and rejection rate of face masks has a large influence on the carbon footprint. The estimated cost price of a reprocessed mask was €1.40 against €1.55. The Life Cycle Assessment demonstrates that reprocessed FFP2 face masks from a circular economy perspective have a lower climate change impact on the carbon footprint than new face masks. For policymakers it is important to realize that the carbon footprint of medical products such as face masks may be reduced by means of circular economy strategies. This study demonstrated a lower climate change impact and lower costs when reprocessing and reusing disposable face masks for five times. Therefore, this study may serve as an inspiration for investigating reprocessing of other medical products that may become scarce. Finally, this study advocates that circular design engineering principles should be taken into account when designing medical devices. This will lead to more sustainable products that have a lower carbon footprint and may be manufactured at lower costs.

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Section: Discussion and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A life cycle assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

Straten

Ligtelijn

Droog

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…Plastic brick manufacturing is an ideal method for managing the issue of plastic waste decomposition while still being cost-effective in producing building materials. Plastics in bricks can be used as binding materials because they resist the absorption of water, providing good plasticity [12][13][14]. Plastic waste consists of recyclable properties that can be recycled to produce a new product without any impact on the environment.…”

Section: Formaldehyde Of Urea Milk or Water Bottlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation of the use of plastic waste in the manufacture of plastic bricks

Rauniyar,

Nakrani,

Narpala

et al. 2024

Preprint

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There is an increase in waste production among the Indian population. Some of these wastes pose a threat to the environment. There is also a significant amount of plastic waste in the country. Even though it is not biodegradable, it poisons trees and aquatic organisms. Thus, waste plastics were repurposed for use in the construction industry. Cement, fly ash, M sand, and plastic waste fibres are used to make plastic bricks. Polypropylene (PP) has a high deformation capacity and is a cost-effective material. Plastic waste is used in this study in the form of polypropylene fibres. To produce the bricks, different mix ratios were used in which PP waste was used in proportions of 5%, 10%, and 15% (represented as Mix1, Mix2, and Mix3), based on the total mixing of the polycarbonate substance volume of bricks. The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of utilizing plastic wastes to produce a cost-effective and lightweight plastic brick for use in construction. Compressive strength, water absorption, soundness, efflorescence, and hardness tests were carried out on the bricks. The compressive strength of mix 2 at a load of 426 kilograms is the highest of the three plastic bricks tested. A comparison of this proportion with other mix proportions and conventional brick effectiveness.

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Research on Formaldehyde Purification Home Product Design Based on Green Design and User Experience

Fang

2022

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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Research on Green Modular Design

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

A life cycle assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

A life cycle assessment of reprocessing face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

An investigation of the use of plastic waste in the manufacture of plastic bricks

Research on Formaldehyde Purification Home Product Design Based on Green Design and User Experience

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