Development of sustainable paper coatings using nanoscale industrial surface processing

摘要

The term “sustainable production” comprises a weighting of economical, environmental and social considerations. The three categories are mutually dependent and therefore an assessment needs to take a systems analysis approach to make the right decisions by the various stakeholders ranging from developers, production industries, consumers and authorities. Part of the consideration is the public perception of the new product and the processes to manufacture it, which is an important aspect for products being developed using nanoscale surface processing. Such considerations are integrated in the PlasmaNice project, as environmental and social aspects are addressed using methods like life cycle check (LCC), life cycle assessment (LCA), and industrial risk assessment (RA) within the boundary of an economical production for different market segments. The results are intended to be used partly to inform the public about the processes and benefits of the prototype products, and partly to give feedback to the project partners on the environmental and safety aspects of the different material, processing, use and waste stages. By that being a link between the industrial project partners developing products, and the process and material developers providing new coatings with specific properties. The combination of RA and LCA/LCC within the early stages of product development provide a more holistic approach, It is commonly believed to be also economical beneficial as changes are easier to implement. The paper will provide some insights of this approach presenting some first results of the project describing the used processes and substances, safety and occupational health issues, consideration of nanomaterial safety, and the communication of safety issues to the public.