All Outputs (29)

How do we decarbonize one billion vehicles by 2050? Insights from a comparative life cycle assessment of electrifying light-duty vehicle fleets in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom (2024)
Journal Article
Huo, D., Davies, B., Li, J., Alzaghrini, N., Sun, X., Meng, F., Abdul-Manan, A. F., McKechnie, J., Posen, I. D., & MacLean, H. L. (2024). How do we decarbonize one billion vehicles by 2050? Insights from a comparative life cycle assessment of electrifying light-duty vehicle fleets in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. Energy Policy, 195, 114390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114390

Electrifying light-duty vehicle fleets is essential to decarbonize road transport, however its efficacy relies on policies targeting country-specific challenges and opportunities. We model and compare fleet-level life cycle GHG emissions for differen... Read More about How do we decarbonize one billion vehicles by 2050? Insights from a comparative life cycle assessment of electrifying light-duty vehicle fleets in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.

EU’s recycled content targets of lithium-ion batteries are likely to compromise critical metal circularity (2024)
Journal Article
Zhou, H., Yang, Y., Li, W., McKechnie, J., Thiede, S., & Wang, P. (2024). EU’s recycled content targets of lithium-ion batteries are likely to compromise critical metal circularity. One Earth, 7(7), 1288-1300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.06.017

Batteries, essential for a net-zero future, are highly dependent on critical metals, the extraction and supply of which inflict harm on society and the environment and are subject to geopolitical tensions. To reduce damages and secure supply, the EU... Read More about EU’s recycled content targets of lithium-ion batteries are likely to compromise critical metal circularity.

Future material demand and greenhouse gas emissions implications for electrification of the UK light-duty vehicle fleet (2024)
Journal Article
Davies, B., Llamas-Orozco, J. A., Meng, F., Posen, I. D., MacLean, H. L., Abdul-Manan, A. F. N., & McKechnie, J. (2024). Future material demand and greenhouse gas emissions implications for electrification of the UK light-duty vehicle fleet. RSC Sustainability, 2(8), 2275-2288. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4su00112e

The UK zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate aims for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to account for 100% of new sales by 2035. This study presents a fleet-scale life cycle assessment model of UK light duty vehicles through 2050, integrating a dynami... Read More about Future material demand and greenhouse gas emissions implications for electrification of the UK light-duty vehicle fleet.

Are vehicle lifespan caps an effective and efficient method for reducing US light-duty vehicle fleet GHG emissions? (2024)
Journal Article
Striepe, M. C., Milovanoff, A., Abdul-Manan, A. F. N., McKechnie, J., Posen, I. D., & MacLean, H. L. (2024). Are vehicle lifespan caps an effective and efficient method for reducing US light-duty vehicle fleet GHG emissions?. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 4(2), Article 025002. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ad397e

With light duty vehicles (LDVs) responsible for 17% of annual US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, integrating emerging GHG-reducing technologies into the fleet is essential. However, the slow rate of vehicle turnover presents a significant barrier to... Read More about Are vehicle lifespan caps an effective and efficient method for reducing US light-duty vehicle fleet GHG emissions?.

A review of techno-economic analyses and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of biomass-to-hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels (2024)
Journal Article
Lilonfe, S., Davies, B., Abdul-Manan, A. F., Dimitriou, I., & McKechnie, J. (2024). A review of techno-economic analyses and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of biomass-to-hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 47, 425-444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.04.016

Synthetic “drop-in” fuels are compatible with existing fuel and vehicle infrastructures and, when produced sustainably, they could play an important role in mitigating the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from transportation, especially in the har... Read More about A review of techno-economic analyses and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of biomass-to-hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels.

Attribution of Global Warming Potential impacts in a multifunctional metals industry system using different system expansion and allocation methodologies (2024)
Journal Article
Fernandez, M. C., Grund, S., Phillips, C., Fradet, J., Hage, J., Silk, N., …McKechnie, J. (2024). Attribution of Global Warming Potential impacts in a multifunctional metals industry system using different system expansion and allocation methodologies. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 29, 873–889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-023-02274-7

Purpose: In order to reach a more circular economy, materials previously classified as waste can be upgraded and turned into valuable co-products, with associated environmental benefits. The generation of co-products raises many questions around the... Read More about Attribution of Global Warming Potential impacts in a multifunctional metals industry system using different system expansion and allocation methodologies.

Development of an open-source carbon footprint calculator of the UK craft brewing value chain (2023)
Journal Article
Bowler, A. L., Rodgers, S., Meng, F., McKechnie, J., Cook, D. J., & Watson, N. J. (2024). Development of an open-source carbon footprint calculator of the UK craft brewing value chain. Journal of Cleaner Production, 435, Article 140181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140181

Craft breweries may fall behind large brewing companies in reducing the carbon footprints of their value chains due to limited resources, financial constraints, and a lack of technical knowledge to fully understand their emissions. However, by increa... Read More about Development of an open-source carbon footprint calculator of the UK craft brewing value chain.

Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective (2023)
Journal Article
Yang, J., Meng, F., Zhang, L., McKechnie, J., Chang, Y., Ma, B., …Cullen, J. M. (2023). Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1), Article 466. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01104-w

Wind power supply chains are evolving as markets expand to reach climate goals. With the largest installed wind power capacity globally, China must deal with increasing composite turbine waste and anticipate its associated costs. Here we predict the... Read More about Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective.

Comparative techno-economic and life cycle analyses of synthetic “drop-in” fuel production from UK wet biomass (2023)
Journal Article
Lilonfe, S., Dimitriou, I., Davies, B., Abdul-Manan, A. F., & McKechnie, J. (2024). Comparative techno-economic and life cycle analyses of synthetic “drop-in” fuel production from UK wet biomass. Chemical Engineering Journal, 479, Article 147516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.147516

Renewable synthetic hydrocarbon “drop-in” fuels can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from transport, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like freight and aviation. However, no study has extensively addressed the concerns over biomass availabi... Read More about Comparative techno-economic and life cycle analyses of synthetic “drop-in” fuel production from UK wet biomass.

Estimating the environmental impacts of global lithium-ion battery supply chain: A temporal, geographical, and technological perspective (2023)
Journal Article
Llamas-Orozco, J. A., Meng, F., Walker, G. S., Abdul-Manan, A. F. N., MacLean, H. L., Posen, I. D., & McKechnie, J. (2023). Estimating the environmental impacts of global lithium-ion battery supply chain: A temporal, geographical, and technological perspective. PNAS Nexus, 2(11), Article pgad361. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad361

A sustainable low-carbon transition via electric vehicles will require a comprehensive understanding of lithium-ion batteries’ global supply chain environmental impacts. Here, we analyze the cradle-to-gate energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of c... Read More about Estimating the environmental impacts of global lithium-ion battery supply chain: A temporal, geographical, and technological perspective.

A surrogate model for the economic evaluation of renewable hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks via supercritical water gasification (2023)
Journal Article
Rodgers, S., Bowler, A., Wells, L., Siah Lee, C., Hayes, M., Poulston, S., …Conradie, A. (2024). A surrogate model for the economic evaluation of renewable hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks via supercritical water gasification. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 49(A), 277-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.08.016

Supercritical water gasification is a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production from high moisture content biomass. This work produces a machine learning surrogate model to predict the Levelised Cost of Hydrogen over a range of biomass c... Read More about A surrogate model for the economic evaluation of renewable hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks via supercritical water gasification.

Renewable butadiene: A case for hybrid processing via bio- and chemo-catalysis (2022)
Journal Article
Rodgers, S., Meng, F., Poulston, S., Conradie, A., & McKechnie, J. (2022). Renewable butadiene: A case for hybrid processing via bio- and chemo-catalysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 364, Article 132614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132614

1,3-butadiene (butadiene) is a by-product produced during naphtha steam cracking, predominantly used in tyre manufacturing. Recently, steam crackers have converted to using more cost effective, lighter feedstocks such as shale gas, yielding less buta... Read More about Renewable butadiene: A case for hybrid processing via bio- and chemo-catalysis.

Techno-economic and environmental analysis of community energy management for peak shaving (2021)
Journal Article
Cossutta, M., Pholboon, S., McKechnie, J., & Sumner, M. (2022). Techno-economic and environmental analysis of community energy management for peak shaving. Energy Conversion and Management, 251, Article 114900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114900

Energy storage (ES) is seen as the key to unlocking the true potential of renewable generation as it potentially supports their integration into the grid by providing capability for services such balancing and frequency regulation. It also has the po... Read More about Techno-economic and environmental analysis of community energy management for peak shaving.

Wind turbine blade wastes and the environmental impacts in Canada (2021)
Journal Article
Heng, H., Meng, F., & McKechnie, J. (2021). Wind turbine blade wastes and the environmental impacts in Canada. Waste Management, 133, 59-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.07.032

Electricity production by wind turbines is considered a clean energy technology, but the life cycle of wind turbines could introduce environmental risks due to waste generation, especially at the decommissioning process. This study predicts the futur... Read More about Wind turbine blade wastes and the environmental impacts in Canada.

Asymmetrically heated multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator (2021)
Journal Article
Kisha, W., Riley, P., McKechnie, J., & Hann, D. (2021). Asymmetrically heated multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator. Energy, 235, Article 121312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.121312

Recent developments of thermoacoustic engines have demonstrated that thermoacoustic technology is a viable option for waste heat recovery and low-cost electricity generation, Thermoacoustic technology is capable of converting low-grade heat to electr... Read More about Asymmetrically heated multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator.

From aviation to aviation: Environmental and financial viability of closed-loop recycling of carbon fibre composite (2020)
Journal Article
Meng, F., Cui, Y., Pickering, S., & McKechnie, J. (2020). From aviation to aviation: Environmental and financial viability of closed-loop recycling of carbon fibre composite. Composites Part B: Engineering, 200, Article 108362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.108362

© 2020 By 2050, the aviation sector is expected to generate about 500,000 tonnes of accumulated carbon fibre reinforced plastic waste from the production and end-of-life phase. In this study, aircraft interior applications of recycled carbon fibre (r... Read More about From aviation to aviation: Environmental and financial viability of closed-loop recycling of carbon fibre composite.

Sustainability assessment of continuous-flow hydrothermal synthesis of nanomaterials in the context of other production technologies (2019)
Journal Article
Stieberova, B., Zilka, M., Ticha, M., Freiberg, F., Caramazana-González, P., McKechnie, J., & Lester, E. (2019). Sustainability assessment of continuous-flow hydrothermal synthesis of nanomaterials in the context of other production technologies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 241, Article 118325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118325

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive techno-economic and life cycle environmental evaluation of the continuous-flow hydrothermal synthesis (CFHS) of nanoparticles in the context of current production technologies. This method is compared with a... Read More about Sustainability assessment of continuous-flow hydrothermal synthesis of nanomaterials in the context of other production technologies.

A review of the environmental impact of nanomaterial synthesis using continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis (2018)
Journal Article
Caramazana, P., Dunne, P., Gimeno-Fabra, M., McKechnie, J., & Lester, E. (2018). A review of the environmental impact of nanomaterial synthesis using continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 12, 57-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2018.06.016

Continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis (CFHS) is an emerging process technology for the manufacture of nanomaterials. Recent work has been undertaken to establish the green ‘credentials’ of CFHS amongst alternative techniques for nanosynthesis. In th... Read More about A review of the environmental impact of nanomaterial synthesis using continuous flow hydrothermal synthesis.

Comparing life cycle energy and global warming potential of carbon fibre composite recycling technologies and waste management options (2018)
Journal Article
Meng, F., Olivetti, E. A., Zhao, Y., Chang, J. C., Pickering, S. J., & McKechnie, J. (in press). Comparing life cycle energy and global warming potential of carbon fibre composite recycling technologies and waste management options. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b01026

Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) are used in increasing quantities as they have some of the best properties in terms of specific strength and stiffness of any widely available material. By 2020, annual global CFRP production is expected to be... Read More about Comparing life cycle energy and global warming potential of carbon fibre composite recycling technologies and waste management options.

An assessment of financial viability of recycled carbon fibre in automotive applications (2018)
Journal Article
Meng, F., McKechnie, J., & Pickering, S. J. (2018). An assessment of financial viability of recycled carbon fibre in automotive applications. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 109, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.03.011

Carbon fibre (CF) recycling has been demonstrated to achieve reductions in environmental impacts compared to virgin CF production, but there is limited understanding of the financial viability of recycling and reutilisation of recycled CF (rCF). In t... Read More about An assessment of financial viability of recycled carbon fibre in automotive applications.