Assessing the life cycle environmental impacts of titania nanoparticle production by continuous flow solvo/hydrothermal synthesis

Caramazana-Gonzalez, P.; Dunne, Peter W.; Gimeno-Fabra, Miquel; Zilka, Miroslav; Ticha, M.; Stieberova, B.; Freiberg, F.; McKechnie, Jon; Lester, Edward

Abstract

Continuous-flow hydrothermal and solvothermal syntheses offer substantial advantages over conventional processes, producing high quality materials from a wide range of precursors. In this study, we evaluate the “cradle-to-gate” life cycle environmental impacts of alternative titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticle production parameters, considering a range of operational conditions, precursors, material properties and production capacities. A detailed characterisation of the nano-TiO₂ products allows us, for the first time, to link key nanoparticle characteristics to production parameters and environmental impacts, providing a useful foundation for future studies evaluating nano-TiO₂ applications. Five different titanium precursors are considered, ranging from simple inorganic precursors, like titanium oxysulphate (TiOS), to complex organic precursors such as titanium bis(ammonium-lactato)dihydroxide (TiBALD). Synthesis at the laboratory scale is used to determine the yield, size distribution, crystallinity and phase of the nanoparticles. The specifications and operating experience of a full scale plant (>1000 t per year) are used to estimate the mass and energy inputs of industrial scale production for the life cycle assessment. Overall, higher process temperatures are linked to larger, more crystalline nanoparticles and higher conversion rates. Precursor selection also influences nano-TiO₂ properties: production from TiOS results in the largest particle sizes, while TiBALD achieves the smallest particles and narrowest size distribution. Precursor selection is the main factor in determining cradle-to-gate environmental impacts (>80% in some cases), due to the production impact of complex organic precursors. Nano-TiO2 production from TiOS shows the lowest global warming potential (GWP) (

Citation

Caramazana-Gonzalez, P., Dunne, P. W., Gimeno-Fabra, M., Zilka, M., Ticha, M., Stieberova, B., …Lester, E. (in press). Assessing the life cycle environmental impacts of titania nanoparticle production by continuous flow solvo/hydrothermal synthesis. Green Chemistry, 19, https://doi.org/10.1039/C6GC03357A

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Feb 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 2, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 2, 2017
• Journal: Green Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 1463-9262
• Electronic ISSN: 1463-9262
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C6GC03357A
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/837026
• Publisher URL: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2017/GC/C6GC03357A#!divAbstract