TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing sustainability hotspots in the production of paper-based printed electronics
AU - Sudeshwar, Akshat
AU - Beni, Valerio
AU - Malinverno, Nadia
AU - Hischier, Roland
AU - Nevo, Yuval
AU - Dhuiège, Benjamin
AU - Borras, Mateu
AU - Chbani, Aiman
AU - Aucher, Christophe
AU - Martinez-Crespiera, Sandra
AU - Eibensteiner, Friedrich
AU - Kurzhals, Steffen
AU - Giebelhauser, Lisa
AU - Melnik, Eva
AU - Mutinati, Giorgio Cataldo
AU - Fall, Andreas
AU - Aulin, Christian
AU - Abitbol, Tiffany
AU - Som, Claudia
PY - 2020/1/31
Y1 - 2020/1/31
N2 - Novel printed electronics are projected to grow and be manufactured in the future in large volumes. In many applications, printed electronics are envisaged as sustainable alternatives to conventional (PCB-based) electronics. One such application is in the semi-quantitative drug detection and point-of-care device called 'GREENSENSE' that uses paper-based printed electronics. This paper analyses the carbon footprint of GREENSENSE in order to identify and suggest means of mitigating disproportionately high environmental impacts, labeled 'sustainability hotspots', from materials and processes used during production which would be relevant in high-volume applications. Firstly, a life cycle model traces the flow of raw materials (such as paper, CNCs, and nanosilver) through the three 'umbrella' processes (circuit printing, component mounting, and biofunctionalization) manufacturing different electronic components (the substrate, conductive inks, energy sources, display, etc) that are further assembled into GREENSENSE. Based on the life cycle model, life cycle inventories are modeled that map out the network of material and energy flow throughout the production of GREENSENSE. Finally, from the environmental impact and sustainability hotspot analysis, both crystalline nanocellulose and nanosilver were found to create material hotspots and they should be replaced in favor of lower-impact materials. Process hotspots are created by manual, lab-, and pilot-scale processes with unoptimized material consumption, energy use, and waste generation; automated and industrial-scale manufacturing can mitigate such process hotspots.
AB - Novel printed electronics are projected to grow and be manufactured in the future in large volumes. In many applications, printed electronics are envisaged as sustainable alternatives to conventional (PCB-based) electronics. One such application is in the semi-quantitative drug detection and point-of-care device called 'GREENSENSE' that uses paper-based printed electronics. This paper analyses the carbon footprint of GREENSENSE in order to identify and suggest means of mitigating disproportionately high environmental impacts, labeled 'sustainability hotspots', from materials and processes used during production which would be relevant in high-volume applications. Firstly, a life cycle model traces the flow of raw materials (such as paper, CNCs, and nanosilver) through the three 'umbrella' processes (circuit printing, component mounting, and biofunctionalization) manufacturing different electronic components (the substrate, conductive inks, energy sources, display, etc) that are further assembled into GREENSENSE. Based on the life cycle model, life cycle inventories are modeled that map out the network of material and energy flow throughout the production of GREENSENSE. Finally, from the environmental impact and sustainability hotspot analysis, both crystalline nanocellulose and nanosilver were found to create material hotspots and they should be replaced in favor of lower-impact materials. Process hotspots are created by manual, lab-, and pilot-scale processes with unoptimized material consumption, energy use, and waste generation; automated and industrial-scale manufacturing can mitigate such process hotspots.
KW - Printed Electronics
KW - Biosensors
KW - life cycle assessment
KW - Upscaling
KW - Greensense
U2 - 10.1088/2058-8585/acacab
DO - 10.1088/2058-8585/acacab
M3 - Article
SN - 2058-8585
VL - 2023
JO - Flexible and Printed Electronics
JF - Flexible and Printed Electronics
IS - 8
M1 - 015002
ER -