Producción científica

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://cris.pucp.edu.pe/handle/123456789/20173

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10

Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Biocomposites of bio-polyethylene reinforced with a hydrothermal-alkaline sugarcane bagasse pulp and coupled with a bio-based compatibilizer
(MDPI, 2020-05-01)
Bio-polyethylene (BioPE, derived from sugarcane), sugarcane bagasse pulp, and two compatibilizers (fossil and bio-based), were used to manufacture biocomposite filaments for 3D printing. Biocomposite filaments were manufactured and characterized in detail, including measurement of water absorption, mechanical properties, thermal stability and decomposition temperature (thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA)). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed to measure the glass transition temperature (Tg). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to assess the fracture area of the filaments after mechanical testing. Increases of up to 10% in water absorption were measured for the samples with 40 wt% fibers and the fossil compatibilizer. The mechanical properties were improved by increasing the fraction of bagasse fibers from 0% to 20% and 40%. The suitability of the biocomposite filaments was tested for 3D printing, and some shapes were printed as demonstrators. Importantly, in a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis of the biocomposites, we demonstrated that replacing fossil compatibilizer with a bio-based compatibilizer contributes to a reduction in CO2-eq emissions, and an increase in CO2 capture, achieving a CO2-eq storage of 2.12 kg CO2 eq/kg for the biocomposite containing 40% bagasse fibers and 6% bio-based compatibilizer.
3
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Reviewing environmental life cycle impacts of biobased polymers: current trends and methodological challenges
(Springer, 2020-11-01)
Purpose: The aim of this review is to evaluate previous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of first- and second-generation bioplastics, to understand the state of the art and the main problems addressed during the development of new bioplastics. Furthermore, it provides an overview on land use change (LUC) impacts accounted for, methodologies chosen, and the results obtained. Methods: Studies related to the impact assessment of bioplastics and published between 2007 and 2018 were gathered. Five keyword strings were used to perform a wide search and select relevant LCA studies. The study aimed to analyze critical methodological aspects in LCA, in order to determine the most common choices made during biobased material analyses, as well as major limitations. Three filters were applied to select comparable studies, ending with a final number of 17 papers. Recommendations were obtained by comparing common practices performed by different authors with suggested best available practices mentioned in handbooks and guidelines. Interestingly, LUC metrics and impacts were, most of the time, neglected. Thus, a specific assessment and discussion was performed regarding the methods used to quantify LUC impacts, considering its importance during the production of biobased materials. Results and discussion: The study discussed the main environmental problems linked to the development of new biomaterials. LCA of agricultural products or systems, when compared with fossil-based counterparts, is expected to show higher environmental impacts in categories directly affected by fertilizer use, occupied and transformed land, among others. Thus, studies that included additional impact categories besides global warming (e.g., eutrophication or acidification) concluded that biobased materials present higher impacts, recommending improvements in farming practices to improve their overall environmental profile. Moreover, this review gathered methodologies used to account for LUC impacts and the results obtained. The main constraint of including LUC impacts was the lack of a standardized methodology, as well as large uncertainties in existing methodologies. Conclusions: Most studies concluded that improvements in farming practices might reduce the attributed environmental impacts with the reduction of the amount of land, fertilizer, pesticides, and water used. Studies computing LUC impacts agreed on the importance of including these impacts and concluded that greenhouse gas emissions of bioplastic production would increase, but in most cases would still be lower than the impact of their fossil-based counterparts. However, challenges remain when computing LUC impacts that need to be tackled when working with the available methodologies, including the collection of reliable inventory data (site-specific or regional data) and regionalized characterization factors.
2
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Life cycle assessment of bagasse fiber reinforced biocomposites
(Elsevier, 2020-06-10)
This study aims to evaluate the life cycle environmental implications of producing fiber-reinforced biocomposite pellets, compared with sugarcane- and petroleum-based polyethylene (PE) pellets. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is used to evaluate the production of four types of pellets. LCA allows the evaluation of the benefits of improving the production of biobased materials by replacing part of the sugarcane bioPE with bagasse fibers. The functional unit selected was the production of 1 kg of plastic pellets. Primary data were collected from laboratory tests designed to obtain pulp fibers from bagasse and mix them with sugarcane bioPE. Two processes were studied to obtain fibers from bagasse: soda fractionation and hot water-soda fractionation. The results from the LCA show environmental improvements when reducing the amount of bioPE by replacing it with bagasse fibers in the categories of global warming, ozone formation, terrestrial acidification and fossil resource scarcity, when comparing to 100% sugarcane bioPE, and a reduction in global warming and fossil resource scarcity when compared to fossil-based PE. In contrast, results also indicate that there could be higher impacts in terms of ozone formation, freshwater eutrophication, and terrestrial acidification. Even though biocomposites result as a preferred option to bioPE, several challenges need to be overcome before a final recommendation is placed. The sensitivity analysis showed the importance of the energy source on the impacts of the processing of fibers. Thus, using clean energy to produce biobased materials may reduce the impacts related to the production stage. These results are intended to increase the attention of the revalorization of these residues and their application to generate more advanced materials. Further outlook should also consider a deeper evaluation of the impacts during the production of a plastic object and possible effects of the biobased materials during final disposal.
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Microplastics in fisheries and aquaculture: implications to food sustainability and safety
(Elsevier, 2021-06-01)
Plastic waste has arisen as a worldwide environmental concern, becoming ubiquitous in all marine compartments. Microplastics (MPs) are an important fraction of this accumulation, due to direct emissions from the technosphere or fragmentation of macroplastic waste. Consequently, the aim of this letter is to analyze the effects of microplastics on fishing and aquaculture, identifying the links with food safety and sustainability. Current studies have observed multiple potentially damaging effects of microplastics on marine biota, mainly at lower trophic levels. It is plausible to assume that fishing stocks and aquaculture systems will suffer setbacks due to these damages. However, additional research is needed to understand the potential effects on human health, especially considering that smaller microplastics and nanoplastics, for which data is very scarce, are the particles most likely to be absorbed by human tissues.
3
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Environmental footprint of critical agro-export products in the Peruvian hyper-arid coast: a case study for green asparagus and avocado
(Elsevier, 2021-11-19)
Peru has become one of the world's main agricultural hubs for a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Two of these products, avocado and green asparagus, have raised attention in recent years in the international scene from an environmental perspective due to the high amounts of water they require, as well as the long air and marine freighting distances to export these products to Europe, Asia or the US. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to perform an environmental assessment of these two products using two life-cycle methods: carbon and water footprint. For the latter, water scarcity, acidification, eco-toxicity and eutrophication impact categories have been selected for assessment. Inventory data were gathered from six different companies located in different regions of the hyper-arid Peruvian coast. The results report that the products are not carbon intensive and are in line with other similar plant-based products. Conversely, the hyper-arid conditions of the cultivation sites require a large volume of groundwater to fulfill the needs of the crops. Interestingly, even though this may lead to overexploitation of groundwater resources in the absence of appropriate management policies, the low mobility of pollutants, namely pesticides, constitutes a natural barrier to protect the degradation of natural water bodies. Similarly, highly technified irrigation systems have allowed minimizing the amounts of water used per hectare. In conclusion, results from this study may be useful in more concise environmental assessment studies on food products and diets, considering the consumption of these Peruvian products in many countries in the world. Furthermore, results are also important at regional level since they depict the carbon and water performance of these products and can also be accompanied by cross-cutting certification schemes, including Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules Guidance.
4
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Prevalence of microplastics in the ocean in Latin America and the Caribbean
(Elsevier, 2021-12-12)
The release of microplastics to the ocean is an increasing global environmental concern. The specific characteristics of the Global South (e.g., widespread mismanaged waste and wastewater) make this an even greater challenge. The current study performed a critical review related to the prevalence of microplastics in the ocean in Latin America and the Caribbean, analyzing also the possible sources of microplastics release to the marine environment. A majority of the studies assessed point towards mismanaged waste, inland or offshore, as well as mismanaged wastewater as critical sources of plastic pollution into the ocean. However, there is a need to delve into the effects that these microplastics are generating on local biota and human health.
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Developing a methodology to quantify mismanaged plastic waste entering the ocean in coastal countries
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022-12-01)
Marine plastic accumulation has gained international attention in recent years. Sources, pathways, and environmental impacts are being currently studied to understand the complex interactions during waste, especially plastic, transportation to the sea. Rivers have been identified as debris corridors allowing transportation of mismanaged waste. However, there is also evidence of waste accumulation in river basins, suggesting they can also act as sinks. Thus, assuming a uniform and continuous transportation of waste through rivers towards the ocean may signify an oversimplification. This study proposes a methodology to estimate plastic release to the ocean, considering a more detailed characterization of each river basin, including natural attributes and manmade constructions that may act as barriers or boosters for this release. The methodology is exemplified using a case study for the Region of Piura, Peru, and estimating a range of 4.2 to 13.9 kg/person/year of plastic waste reaching the Pacific coast during 2018. These results, when compared with the existing literature, demonstrate more conservative estimations. This methodology is presented as a useful tool that can be easily applied to develop more accurate mismanaged waste dissipation along different compartments. Supplementary Information: The online version of this article (doi:10.1111/jiec.13349) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
2
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Climate change mitigation potential of transitioning from open dumpsters in Peru: Evaluation of mitigation strategies in critical dumpsites
(Elsevier B.V., 2022-11-10)
Waste management is a critical policy towards the reduction of environmental impacts to air, soil and water. Many Latin American countries, however, lack a correct waste management system in many cities and rural areas, leading to the accumulation of unmanaged waste in illegal or unregulated dumpsites. The case of Peru is of interest, as it hosts 5 of the 50 largest dumpsites in the world. An erratic waste management compromises climate actions for Peru to commit with the Paris Agreement, as no correct closure systems are established for these dumpsites. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the contribution of the past and present biodegradable waste produced and disposed of in the most critical open dumpsters to the overall annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Peru using the IPCC model. Thereafter, the climate change mitigation potential of possible dumpsite closure strategies based on a selection of technologies, including economic feasibility, were estimated. Results show that cumulative GHG emissions in 2018 for the 24 critical dumpsites evaluated added up to 704 kt CO2 eq. and a cumulative value of 4.4 Mt CO2 eq. in the period 2019–2028, representing over 40 % of solid waste emissions expected by 2030. Mitigation potentials for these emissions tanged from 91 to 970 kt CO2 eq. in the ten-year period depending on the mitigation strategies adopted. The costs of these strategies are also discussed and are expected to be of utility to complement Peru's waste management commitments in the frame of the Paris Agreement.
1
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Analyzing the behavior of beachgoers in the city of Lima and their relationship with potential plastic emissions
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024-12-01)
Beach littering is a source of marine plastic waste accumulation. This is particularly so in overcrowded beaches in the Global South in which cleaning measures are scarce or sporadic and lack of waste management systems can increase plastic release. In the current study we focus on the importance of the behavior shown by beachgoers and how their conduct relates to the amount of plastic that potentially ends up entering littoral ecosystems. Transportation services to beaches, sports, food, and beverage containers are analyzed through a 24-question survey performed to 500 beachgoers in 4 beaches (i.e., Venecia, Punta Negra, Punta Hermosa and San Bartolo) located in the megacity of Lima, Peru, in February 2022. The data obtained were then processed to understand the differences in behavior across different beaches. Moreover, a K-means algorithm was used to identify representative beachgoer profiles. The results showed a dichotomous behavior between two groups of beaches, in which the size group of beachgoers, transportation mode, accommodation, food consumption patterns or the use of reusable containers are some of the main differences between the two groups. No major differences were identified in terms of age distribution across the different beaches, but group sizes were higher in Punta Negra and Villa El Salvador. The K-means algorithm suggests that the surveyed population can be grouped into three main categories, of which two correspond mainly to higher socioeconomic beachgoers in the beaches of Punta Hermosa and San Bartolo. Overall, single use plastic for food and beverages appears as one of the main sources of plastic pollution across beaches and groups, although other sources of plastic emission should not be underestimated. Finally, the three beachgoer profiles identified are useful to implement targeted policies to minimize the environmental impacts of these profiles.
1
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Ocean-Based Sources of Plastic Pollution: An Overview of the Main Marine Activities in the Peruvian EEZ
(Elsevier Ltd, 2023-04-01)
Marine-based activities are a critical source of plastic waste into the ocean. This is particularly important in countries with a competitive fishing industry, such as Peru. Thus, this study aimed to identify and quantify the major flows of plastic waste accumulating in the ocean from ocean-based sources within the Peruvian Economic Exclusive Zone. A material flow analysis was elaborated to analyze the stock of plastic and its release to the ocean by a set of Peruvian fleets, including the fishing industry, merchant vessels, cruises, and boating vessels. Results show that in 2018 between 2715 and 5584 metric tons of plastic waste entered the ocean. The fishing fleet was the most pollutant, representing approximately 97 % of the total. Moreover, fishing gear loss represented the highest single-activity contribution, although other sources, such as plastic packaging and antifouling emissions, have the potential to become vast sources of marine plastic pollution.
1

Producción científica

Browse

Filters

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results