@article{mccance_topliceanu_echeverria_mcalexander_blanchard_venditti_2023, title={Fluffy, Fluffier, and Fluffiest: Creating and Testing Biodegradable Starch Packing Peanuts}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00510}, abstractNote={As e-commerce increases, the demand for packaging materials and the potential for generating waste and negative environmental impacts also rise. Packing peanuts are a type of plastic packaging material that are used to protect goods during the shipping process. Petroleum-based plastics are common packaging materials due to their low cost, light weight, and versatility. Traditional packing peanuts are made of polystyrene, which is not biodegradable and contributes to landfill waste. Starch-based packing peanuts are biobased and a more sustainable alternative. This article describes the implementation and assessment of a hands-on laboratory activity appropriate for high school students (ages 14 to 18). In the lab, students create cornstarch-based packing peanuts with different properties and carry out follow-up experiments to test the peanuts’ performance. This article includes observations and student data that were collected from implementation in four science classes predominantly at rural high schools in a Southeastern state in the U.S. This lab can be adapted to chemistry, environmental science, and physical science classes to augment lessons on topics such as polymers, polarity, bonding, and renewable and nonrenewable resources.}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, author={Mccance, Katherine R. and Topliceanu, Ana Maria and Echeverria, Darlene and Mcalexander, Shana L. and Blanchard, Margaret R. and Venditti, Richard A.}, year={2023}, month={Sep} }
 @article{buitrago-tello_venditti_jameel_yao_echeverria_2022, title={Carbon Footprint of Bleached Softwood Fluff Pulp: Detailed Process Simulation and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment to Understand Carbon Emissions}, volume={10}, ISSN={2168-0485 2168-0485}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c00840}, DOI={10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c00840}, abstractNote={Wood-based fluff pulp (FP) is the primary raw material for indispensable commodities, including hygienic products. FP substantially contributes to global warming due to the high manufacturing energy demand. Despite FP’s importance, the environmental implications of its manufacture have not been transparently explored. The present study provides the carbon footprint for FP cradle-to-manufacturing gate based on process simulation and environmental life cycle assessment The simulation tracks the anthropogenic and biogenic carbon across the mill’s areas. In addition, the implications of switching energy sources and key operational conditions are evaluated. The results show that 1 kg of FP produces 1.102 kg CO2-equiv. Most of the biogenic carbon fed to the mill (52%) is used to produce steam and electricity. The study shows that switching from natural gas to residual biomass wood pellets represents a reduction of 13.4% of the CO2-equiv emissions. This benefit is increased if wood pellets are used to achieve electrical power self-sufficiency, and even more benefit can be realized if the mill produces 20% surplus electricity to the grid. A critical parameter for global warming potential is the incoming biomass lignin content; the pulping of biomass with higher lignin content produces a black liquor with higher heating value and more solids burned in the recovery boiler, reducing the demand for external energy and thus reducing fossil-based greenhouse gas emissions.}, number={28}, journal={ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Buitrago-Tello, Rodrigo and Venditti, Richard A. and Jameel, Hasan and Yao, Yuan and Echeverria, Darlene}, year={2022}, month={Jul}, pages={9029–9040} }
 @article{echeverria_venditti_jameel_yao_2022, title={Process Simulation-Based Life Cycle Assessment of Dissolving Pulps}, volume={56}, ISSN={0013-936X 1520-5851}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06523}, DOI={10.1021/acs.est.1c06523}, abstractNote={Dissolving pulp (DP) is a specialty pulp product from a variety of lignocellulosic biomass (i.e., hardwoods (HW) and softwoods (SW)) with a broad range of applications. Conducting life cycle assessment (LCA) for DP end applications (e.g., textile products, specialty plastics) is challenging due to the lack of life cycle inventory (LCI) data and environmental information associated with different grades. This research addresses this challenge using process simulations to generate LCI for different DP grades (e.g., acetate and viscose) made from HW and SW, respectively. The LCA results show that biomass feedstock directly affects the environmental impacts of DP. For instance, HW acetate grade has higher global warming potential than SW acetate but lower environmental impacts in other categories related to ecosystems and human health. This HW versus SW comparison has similar results for viscose DP in all impact categories except eutrophication. Additionally, a hotspot analysis identifies that on-site emissions and chemicals are the main contributors to the environmental impacts across all grades in this study. The results and LCI data generated in this work provide critical information to support future LCA and sustainability assessment for end-products derived from DP.}, number={7}, journal={Environmental Science & Technology}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Echeverria, Darlene and Venditti, Richard and Jameel, Hasan and Yao, Yuan}, year={2022}, month={Mar}, pages={4578–4586} }
 @article{echeverria_venditti_jameel_yao_2021, title={A general Life Cycle Assessment framework for sustainable bleaching: A case study of peracetic acid bleaching of wood pulp}, volume={290}, ISSN={0959-6526}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125854}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125854}, abstractNote={Bleaching is an important industrial operation that has significant environmental impacts. Many new bleaching technologies have been developed; nonetheless, it is challenging to quantify their potential environmental impacts due to the lack of quantitative information and robust analysis methods across different bleaching agents. This study addresses this gap by developing a general Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework that integrates LCA with manufacturing process simulations and lab-scale bleaching experiments. The framework was applied to a case study of Peracetic Acid (PAA), a promising bleaching agent, used in the Total Chlorine-Free (TCF) technology for wood pulp production, compared with the traditional Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) using chlorine dioxide. Different PAA synthetic pathways (i.e., using acetic acid or triacetin) and bleaching charges were explored using scenario analysis. Results showed that PAA-based TCF achieves a brightness similar to the conventional ECF technology with lower life-cycle impacts in categories such as global warming and eutrophication. From a process perspective, PAA-based TCF reduces the consumption of energy, water, pulping chemicals, completely avoids the use of chlorinated compounds, and provides enhanced process safety. The source of PAA significantly affects the life-cycle environmental impacts of pulp bleaching. Using PAA synthesized from triacetin rather than acetic acid leads to higher environmental impacts; however, such impacts can be mitigated by reducing excessive use of triacetin (direction for future optimization) or using bio-based glycerin in the production of the triacetin feedstock for PAA production. Although this case study focuses on PAA bleaching for wood pulp, the framework has the potential to be used for other/same bleaching agents in different industrial sectors.}, journal={Journal of Cleaner Production}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Echeverria, Darlene and Venditti, Richard and Jameel, Hasan and Yao, Yuan}, year={2021}, month={Mar}, pages={125854} }