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Small-Size Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: An Environmental Sustainability Analysis via LCA

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Book cover Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Technologies

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

Electrical energy production from renewable sources has dramatically grown in the recent years in the developed countries, putting the hard problem to be solved of supply discontinuity. How to reach high efficiency and reliability of electrical energy storage system is thus now one of the most challenging goals to be reached: among all, one of the most simple and widespread to use is the electrochemical storage systems. This paper analyzes the sustainability of a small vanadium redox flow battery performed by an LCA approach. This electrical energy storage system was selected for its significant advantages in use, such as the almost infinite lifetime of the vanadium electrolytes, which represent a potentially significant advantage in terms of a sustainable future made of less fossil fuels and more renewable energy. In fact, the LCA analysis performed shows that the production of the battery has a moderate impact, including the effect toxicity while at the end of life, the material and the electrolyte are completely reusable with a small fraction that goes to landfill disposal.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Duferco Project from Inreslab s.c.a.r.l. Monopoli for partially supporting the present analysis. This work  has been published under the moral patronage of the SOSTENERE group of the AITEM (www.aitem.org)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Environmental, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Pasqua L’Abbate

  2. Department of Mechanics, Management and Mathematics, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Michele Dassisti

  3. Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, 27272, Sharjah, UAE

    Abdul G. Olabi

  4. Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, B4 7ET, Birmingham, UK

    Abdul G. Olabi

Authors
  1. Pasqua L’Abbate
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  2. Michele Dassisti
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  3. Abdul G. Olabi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pasqua L’Abbate .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Riccardo Basosi

  2. Department of Energy, Information Engineering and Mathematical Models, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Maurizio Cellura

  3. Department of Energy, Information Engineering and Mathematical Models, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Sonia Longo

  4. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Maria Laura Parisi

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L’Abbate, P., Dassisti, M., Olabi, A.G. (2019). Small-Size Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: An Environmental Sustainability Analysis via LCA. In: Basosi, R., Cellura, M., Longo, S., Parisi, M. (eds) Life Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Technologies. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93740-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93740-3_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93739-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93740-3

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