35
Sustainability & Nanotechnology Arturo A. Keller • University of California, Santa Barbara • UC CEIN
Sustainability &
Nanotechnology
Arturo A. Keller
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• UC CEIN
Sustainability
“Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own
needs.” Brundtland Commission of the United Nations (March 20, 1987)
Sustainable nanotechnology or
nanotechnology for sustainability?
Sustainability
Vicki Elmer, U Oregon
Energy consumption
Graphic showing fraction to each sector
US 2005
Whitesides & Crabtree, Science 2007
Electricity consumption
US Dept. of Energy. Data from the Energy Information Agency
Lighting 80-90% reduction in power
for equivalent lighting
More light output directed towards work surface
nanoMotors
Actuators Sensors
nanofluid delivery
Reduced energy requirements
Better dosage
Renewable
Energy Increasing
capture efficiency
Flexible solar cells
Renewable
Energy
Slicker wind
turbines
Superhydrophobic
surfaces to repel
ice
More efficient
conversion of
mechanical to
electrical energy
Energy Storage
Longer life
“Self”
charging
based on
motion or
heat
Process Energy
n-CeO2 considered as a
catalyst for producing
NH3 from N2
Current process uses lots
of energy
Nano-ceria catalysts may
cut energy costs by 40-
50%
Also used for producing
hydrogen gas (H2) at low
temperature (water-gas
shift process)
Transportation applications
Transportation
Energy
Fuel
consumption
reduced by 20%
Multi-functional
materials
Reduced
weight
Transmit info
Strengthen
frame
Changing
Behavior nanoSensors
Smart metering
Smart appliances
Nano Silver in Membranes Application of nanosilver surface
modification to RO membrane
mitigating biofouling in
seawater desalination
wastewater treatment for reuse
Yang et al., Water Research 2009
Adsorption on CNTs
Magnetic
Adsorbents
Tailored surface properties at nanoscale
Easy removal from treated water
Reusable to reduce
Cost
Energy
Resource use
(b) Kinetics
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 50 100 150 200Time (minutes)
HO
C s
orb
ed c
on
c. (
µm
ol/
g)
Atrazine Diuron
Naphthalene Biphenyl
Wang, Keller et al., JACS 2008
Resource
consumption
Smaller,
integrated
consumer
products
Lighter vehicles
Menu of
Elements
Consuming
more of
unusual
elements
Scarcity?
National
security?
Toxicity?
Life Cycle Assessment: CNTs
12/5/2012 20
CO Deionized water
Water Electricity
HF
Liquid N2
Liquid H2
Services
Coagulant
Fixed Assets
CoMoCAT
Packaging
1 kg CNT
Emissions and
Waste
CNT Manufacturing
Transportation for inputs
End of Life (reuse, recycle, landfill, incineration)
Thin Film with CNTs
Customer Usage of 1 unit of end product
End Product using Thin Film with CNTs
Material, Energy, Services
Material, Energy, Services
Material, Energy, Services
Emissions
and Wastes
Emissions and Wastes
Emissions
and Wastes
Material, Energy, Services
Emissions
and Wastes
Grave Cradle Gate Use Gate
Gavankar, Suh & Keller, in review
Recycling Inputs
Redesign process for scale-up
Reduce energy by 89%
Reduce CO by 90-92%
Manufacturing Readiness Level
Gavankar, Suh & Keller, in review
Consumer Prod
Particle Phase Atmosphere desorption
adsorption
Manufacturing
Consumer Prod
Embedded in
Prod
Landfill
Fugitive
Emissions
Terrestrial
Dry & wet deposition
Groundwater
WWTP
Runoff
Treated
discharge
Freshwater Estuary Ocean
Biota Biota Biota
Sediment Sediment Sediment
Susp
Solids
Susp
Solids
Susp
Solids
Benthic
Biota
Benthic
Biota
Benthic
Biota
Sludge
Life-Cycle considerations
Phytoplankton
Filter Feeders
Suspended Sediments
deposition
Sediment
Dissolved metal
excretion
excretion
Input ENPs
uptake
filtration
sorption
sorption
dissolution feeding
Feces/pseudo feces
sorption
Aggregates
deposition
aggregation
Benthic Feeders
Water column
uptake
uptake
deposition
uptake
Soil
Groundwater
Life
Cycle
Emissions
runoff
Natural Organic Matter
Feces Retained
NPs
resuspension
filtration & sorption
colloids
Dissolved metal
Input ENPs
sorption
dissolution
Aggregates
aggregation
filtration & sorption
Retained
NPs
uptake
ground water
transport
• Cerium and Zinc were
found in remarkably
high concentrations in
pseudofeces as
compared to those
found in tissues
• Concentration in
these tissues may lead
to exposure to these
NPs and metals for
other organisms
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
0 1 2.5 5 10
µg
of
Zn
∙ g
-1 o
f d
ry b
iom
ass
ZnO media concentration (mg ∙ L-1)
Zinc excretion by mussels
24 h
48 h
72 h
96 h
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0 5 10 15
µg
of
Zn
∙ g
-1 o
f d
ry t
issu
e
ZnO media concentration (mg ∙ L-1)
Zinc uptake by mussels
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 5 10 15
µg
of
Ce ∙
g-1
of
dry
tis
su
e
CeO2 media concentration (mg ∙ L-1)
Cerium uptake by mussels
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
0 1 2.5 5 10
µg
Ce g
-1 o
f d
ry b
iom
ass
CeO2 media concentration (mg ∙ L-1)
Cerium excretion by mussels
24 h
48 h
72 h
96 h
Bioaccumulation of nCeO2 and nZnO
Work by Montes, Hanna, Lenihan & Keller
Uptake by
Crops
Rico, Gardea-Torresdey et al., 2011
Toxicity
High-Throughput
Screening
Need rapid
response to
emerging
toxicity
questions
Proven assays
give early
warning &
guide in-vivo
testing
Al2O3
SiO2
Y2O3
La2O3 Gd2O3
HfO2 Yb2O3
ZrO2
In2O3 NiO Sb2O3 CeO2
SnO2 TiO2
Ni2O3 Cr2O3 Mn2O3
CoO
Co3O4
CuO
ZnO
Fe2O3 Fe3O4
WO3
-4
-3
-2
-5 E
c (
eV
)
20 10 0 30 40
Metal Dissolution (%)
Safe Toxic Highly Toxic
George e al. ACS Nano. 2010 Xia et al. ACS Nano. 2011 Zhang et al. ACS Nano. 2012
Zebrafish HTS platform automated imaging of
developmental abnormalities and transgenic responses
Hatching Start feeding
NP
s
NP
s
Embryonic development Larval effects
0 4 24 48 72 120
Image acquisition @ 24 hr intervals
High Content Imaging - bright field
(Developmental, morphological abnormalities)
Ctrl
CuO
ZnO
NiO
Co3O4
Ag
CuO
neg
pos
High Content Imaging - fluorescence
(Transgenic Fish)
Heat
sh
ock p
rote
in 7
0
Robotic pick-and-plate system
Flu
ore
sc
en
ce
in
ten
sit
y (
A.U
.)
Xia et al. ACS Nano. 2011
Lin et al. ACS Nano. 2011
George et al. ACS Nano. 2011
28
Miller et al. PLOS 1. 2012
Ecological
Implications
o nTiO2 toxic
under natural
light levels
o Low [nTiO2]
produce
sufficient ROS to
harm
phytoplankton
o Affects base of
food web
TiO2 mg L-1 (ppm)
0 1 3 5 7
Po
pu
lati
on
gro
wth
hr-
1
Po
pu
lati
on
gro
wth
hr-
1
In-vivo toxicity:
food crops
Priester et al., 2012
Soybean exposure:
for nano-ZnO, Zn2+ was taken up and distributed throughout edible plant tissues
for nano-CeO2, plant growth and yield diminished
nitrogen fixation was shut down at high nano-CeO2 concentration
(A) Stem length vs. time for control (○) and nano-CeO2 treatments: low (■),
medium (▲) and high (◆). (B) Stem length vs. time for control (○) and nano-ZnO treatments: low (■), medium (▲) and high (◆).
Risk Assessment Is this Engineered Nanomaterial Environmentally Safe?
Physicochemical
Characterization
In Vitro
In Vivo
Toxicity
LT Exp.
Exposure
Assessment
Transport and
Fate studies/
Modeling
Environmental
Concentrations
Hazard
Identification
In Silico
Toxicity Monitoring
Quantitative Nano-SAR
Mechanistic
Conceptual
• Dose- Response
• Hazard Thresholds
HT Exp.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Decision Analysis
Product manufacturing & use approval
Product/process redesign Exposure control
Diagram by Y. Cohen
Metrics for Sustainability
Per functional unit (i.e. entire life cycle)
Energy requirement
Water requirement
Resource requirements
Risk factors for applications
Toxicity & other hazards
Exposure potential
Economic & social viability
Key Points
Nanotechnology can be a powerful
enabling technology for
sustainability
We need to ensure that
nanotechnology itself posses no
additional risks
Design of nano-enabled products
considering risk minimization is
imperative
SNO in Southern California?
Sustainable Nanotech Organization
November 3-5, 2013
2nd Annual Conference
Environmental
Applications & Implications
of Nanotechnology
