Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Cost Evaluation of Biomimetic Cellulose-Enhanced Hydrogels

Résumé fourni par la source

Cellulose-based hydrogels, recognized for their exceptional strength and toughness, have become promising alternatives to petroleum-based functional materials in soft robotics and wearable devices applications. However, the current lack of a detailed understanding of its environmental characteristics and robust quantitative research poses significant challenges to the long-term, sustainable design of biomass materials. To address this research gap and avoid shifting environmental problems in biomass material design, this study developed a sustainable assessment model using life cycle assessment to quantify and identify the drivers of environmental implications in the biomimetic cellulose-enhanced hydrogel fabrication process. The results indicated that preparation of cellulose skeleton and acrylamide solution are the main contributors to environmental burdens, accounting for 68% and 29% of the overall environmental impact. The main driving indicators come from primary energy demand (PED), CO 2, SO 2, NO x, and NH 3 –N during raw material extraction and electricity consumption. The scenario analysis revealed that optimizing materials and energy inputs collaboratively can reduce environmental implications and costs by 72.9% and 88.7%, respectively. This life cycle thinking-based quantitative model provides both data-driven insights for the design of cellulose-based materials, avoiding the risk of environmental problem shifting and offering practical guidance for advancing the sustainable development of biomass-derived functional materials.

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