Ex-ante and prospective LCA of biobased filtration membrane – Benchmarking and uncertainty analysis of the environmental impacts.

Main Presenter:    Muhammad Zeeshan Khan 

Co-Authors:   Gabriele Weber-Blaschke                                               

Filtration membranes provide an inexpensive and effective solution for water purification. However, most commercial ultrafiltration membranes are made from fossil-based polymers, raising environmental concerns about the extensive use of fossil resources. Innovation and ongoing research on biobased filtration membranes, i.e., those made of wood, represent a promising technological advancement. However, wood-based filtration membranes are an emerging technology and require a life-cycle thinking approach to analyze their environmental impacts before industrial production and to support sustainable technological development. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a key approach for analyzing the environmental impacts of emerging technologies, identifying hotspots, and providing recommendations to improve design and sustainability profiles. Therefore, this study conducts an Ex-ante and prospective LCA of a wood-based filtration membrane to analyse the environmental impacts and hotspots at the early
stage of innovation. A key focus is on explicitly handling data uncertainty arising from lab-scale measurements, impact variation due to circular strategies (i.e., reuse), and the application of upscaling methodologies. Furthermore, the upscaled wood-based membrane is benchmarked against a functionally equivalent fossil-based polymer membrane to make a comparative sustainability assessment. The results of this study will contribute to analyzing the environmental performance of an innovative technology to support sustainable decision-making and evaluate the practical application of existing upscaling methodologies for wood-based products. Further, benchmarking of emerging technology against existing fossil-based alternatives will lead to more sustainable development.

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