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Methodology for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Emerging Materials

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Technologies for economic and functional lightweight design

Abstract

In order to reduce environmental impacts of product systems through material research and development, to identify mitigation potential, and to avoid problem shifting, information about the environmental impact of emerging materials is needed at an early stage. This information can support decisions on material selection as well as manufacturing process optimization. The goal is to reduce the impact of an emerging material so that it is lower than the impact of an established material. We propose a methodology to address this need. It consists of four steps: 1) reference LCA, 2) forecast LCA of emerging material, 3) scaling and 4) comparison. We apply the methodology to automotive seat cover materials such as bovine leather, faux leather and a fictitious flax-based material, where the production of the latter shares some production steps with leather. The results indicate how much environmental space the to-be-developed manufacturing process of the fictitious material can take up before it surpasses that of leather and faux leather. This way, the methodology can support the material research and development process in identifying and creating alternative materials with a lower environmental impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF) / Chair of Sustainable Manufacturing and Life Cycle Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106, Braunschweig, Deutschland

    Malte Schäfer, Felipe Cerdas & Christoph Herrmann

  2. Group Innovation – Center of Innovation Battery / Polymers / Sustainable Materials, Volkswagen AG, 1777-4, PO Box 011, 38436, Wolfsburg, Deutschland

    Martina Gottschling

Authors
  1. Malte Schäfer
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  2. Martina Gottschling
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  3. Felipe Cerdas
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  4. Christoph Herrmann
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Correspondence to Malte Schäfer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Klaus Dröder

  2. Institute for Engineering Design, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Thomas Vietor

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Schäfer, M., Gottschling, M., Cerdas, F., Herrmann, C. (2021). Methodology for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Emerging Materials. In: Dröder, K., Vietor, T. (eds) Technologies for economic and functional lightweight design. Zukunftstechnologien für den multifunktionalen Leichtbau. Springer Vieweg, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62924-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-62924-6_8

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