Nanotechnology - not that green?
From: Nanowerk Spotlight - October 22, 2008
Read Full Article: http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=7853.php
There is a general perception that nanotechnologies will have a significant impact on developing 'green' and 'clean' technologies with considerable environmental benefits. Uses of nanotechnology range from water treatment to energy breakthroughs and hydrogen applications. As a matter of fact, renewable energy applications probably are the areas where nanotechnology will make its first large-scale commercial breakthroughs.
Conflicting with this positive message is the growing body of research that raises questions about the potentially negative effects of engineered nanoparticles on human health and the environment. However, there is one area of nanotechnology that so far hasn't received the necessary attention: the actual processes of manufacturing nanomaterials and the environmental footprint they create, in absolute terms and in comparison with existing industrial manufacturing processes. Analogous to other industrial manufacturing processes, nanoproducts must proceed through various manufacturing stages to produce a material or device with nanoscale dimensions.
A recent overview article in the Journal of Industrial Ecology explores manufacturing routes of nanoproducts, with special attention focused on attributes likely to have significant environmental implications ("Toward Sustainable Nanoproducts"). Apart from certain nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, the volume of mass produced nanomaterials is relatively modest, especially when compared with the total output of chemicals. Nevertheless, a number of the materials used in nanoproducts are rare, with demand sometimes exceeding production (see for instance: "Ultrathin transparent graphene films as alternative to metal oxide electrodes"). The paper by the UIC scientists takes a detailed look at the sources of environmental impacts of current production methods for nanomaterials and they evaluate both top-down and bottom-up nanomanufacturing methods.
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BLOGS ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
