Alejandro Gallego Schmid

The University of Manchester · Tyndall Centre Manchester

In Nepal, the informal sector is responsible for treating 15% of household waste. It is the only alternative to landfilling and open disposal; however, the current waste management system does not acknowledge informal recyclers aggravating various challenges and vulnerabilities that the sector already faces. This study identifies and validates for...

Reducing the shipping sector’s contribution to climate change requires urgent emission reductions this decade. Both weather routing and wind propulsion offer immediate solutions, where combining sails with efficient routing amplifies the performance of each technology. However, while large emission savings are theoretically available, the impact of...

Environmental benefits of circular economy (CE) measures, such as waste reduction, need to be weighed against the urgent need to reduce CO 2 emissions to zero, in line with the Paris Agreement climate goals of 1.5-2 °C. Several studies have quantified CO 2 emissions associated with CE measures in the construction sector in different EU countries, w...

Graphene oxide (GO)-enhanced membranes are being developed to solve major limitations in both reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD) technologies, which include high electricity and thermal energy consumption. This study performed, for the first time, a life cycle assessment to determine the effects of using GO-enhanced membranes on th...

Unlike the linear model "take-make-use-dispose", the circular economy model "grow-make-use-restore" intends to potentiate material and energy flows within a system with the premise of increasing environmental gains. Moreover, circular economy practices can be alternatives for closing loops in companies from different sectors, with material-, waste-...

The current enthusiasm for the circular economy (CE) offers a unique opportunity to advance the impact of research on sustainability transitions. Diverse interpretations of CE by scholars, however, produce partly opposing assessments of its potential benefits, which can hinder progress. Here, we synthesize policy-relevant lessons and research direc...

The rate of access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is just 42 %. The private market for household-scale off-grid solar (OGS) products (pico solar and solar home systems) is regarded as a key tool for increasing electricity access in SSA. However, the growing volume of unabated waste from OGS products poses a significant environmental ris...

Geothermal power generation is expected to increase fivefold worldwide by 2040 compared to 2018. The upcoming growth of geothermal power plants (GPPs) requires assessments of its role in tackling climate change and other impacts within complex environmental, economic and social systems. This study presents the first literature review of GPPs, inclu...

Business models have the potential to deliver environmental sustainability in companies through innovative approaches to creating and delivering value. Business model innovation has been shown as a means to integrate circular economy principles into companies' operations. Several frameworks have been created to guide the transition from traditional...

Guaranteeing drinking water access to populations living in urban centres is expected to become a significant challenge. This is due to threats such as climate change, deterioration of freshwater sources, and rapid urbanization. In order to minimize this negative prospect, urban centres should begin to update their water supply infrastructure, impr...

The deployment of wind energy technologies is instrumental to support a sustainable energy transition. However, the manufacturing, operation and end-of-life management of wind turbines (WTs) entail the consumption of a significant amount of energy and material resources contributing to environmental impacts. Thus, much of the ongoing sustainability...

Africa has the potential to base a significant proportion of its development on renewable energy. Business models will be instrumental to this end because they are among the key drivers of the energy sector's growth. This study performs the first systematic literature review of renewable energy business models in Africa to assess their types, why t...

Thermal energy storage (TES) is widely expected to play an important role in facilitating the decarbonization of the future energy system. Although significant work has been done in assessing the values of traditional sensible TES, less is known about the role, impact and value of emerging advanced TES at the system level. This is particularly the...

Circular business models, aimed at narrowing, slowing, and closing resource loops, can potentially generate significant economic and social benefits, promote resource security and improve environmental performance. However, within the wind power industry, sustainability research, including life cycle assessments, has been focused mostly on technolo...

The emissions generated by the space and water heating of UK homes need to be reduced to meet the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The combination of solar (S) collectors with latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technologies with phase change materials (PCM) can potentially help to achieve this goal. However, there is limited underst...

Renewable energy capacity in Africa is expected to reach 169.4 GW by 2040 from 48.5 GW in 2019. The growth of the sector necessitates a re-evaluation of the environmental impacts of renewable energy on the continent to inform mitigation decisions. This study presents the first literature review of the life cycle assessments of renewable energy in A...

The current enthusiasm for circular economy (CE) offers a unique opportunity to advance the impact of research on sustainability transitions. Diverse interpretations of CE by scholars, however, produce partly opposing assessments of its potential benefits, which can hinder progress. Here, we synthesize policy-relevant lessons and research direction...

In the current context of resource scarcity, global climate change, environmental degradation, and increasing food demand, the circular economy (CE) represents a promising strategy for supporting sustainable, restorative, and regenerative agriculture. A review of the literature on CE confirms the initial hypothesis that the theoretical CE framework...

The current global interest in circular economy (CE) opens an opportunity to make society's consumption and production patterns more resource efficient and sustainable. However, such growing interest calls for precaution as well, as there is yet no harmonised method to assess whether a specific CE strategy contributes towards sustainable consumptio...

Clean water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource, and its availability is already compromised in many cities. Several techniques for increasing urban water availability are under consideration, but how their life cycle environmental impacts compare amongst one other remain largely unknown. For cities in developing countries, which are more s...

The circular economy (CE) literature has so far focused on the implementation of the CE philosophy in teaching and research at universities. However, studies on the implementation of CE principles for sustainable campus management are lacking. This chapter shows how the latter may be achieved using the University of Manchester as an illustrative ca...

Growing uncertainty in the future availability of freshwater sources has led to an increase in installations for desalination of seawater. Reverse osmosis (RO), currently the most widely adopted technique, has caused environmental concerns over the high associated greenhouse gas emissions and generation of large amounts of chemicals-containing brin...

The current global interest in circular economy (CE) opens an opportunity to make society’s consumption and production patterns more resource efficient and sustainable. However, such growing interest calls for precaution as well, as there is yet no harmonised method to assess whether a specific CE strategy contributes towards sustainable consumptio...

This virtual special issue (VSI) intends to contribute to this field of research, by collecting high-quality manuscripts dealing with exploration and implementation of indicators to measure the progress level in the achievement of CE in the agri-food sector. Original research articles and review papers from all disciplines are invited to address th...

Waste recycling is an essential part of waste management. The concrete industry allows the use of large quantities of waste as a substitute for a conventional raw material without sacrificing the technical properties of the product. From a circular economy point of view, this is an excellent opportunity for waste recycling. Nevertheless, in some ca...

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) have a potential to be used as a feedstock for higher value-added products, such as biodiesel. However, the environmental implications of the valorisation of SCGs are largely unknown. This study evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of utilising SCGs for biodiesel production in comparison with the widely used di...

The construction sector represents one of the most significant sources of waste generation in the European Union (EU), with nearly one billion tonnes of construction and demolition waste annually. This sector also contributes a third of the annual EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Accordingly, construction represents one priority area for interven...

Improving access to energy and water in remote communities is an important step towards sustainable development. However, integrated sustainability studies at the community or household scale are rare compared to industrial or national studies. Thus, this paper presents an integrated approach to the development and evaluation of energy and water su...

Access to clean water is one of the targets in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, millions of people are still without basic water services, predominantly in rural areas in developing nations. Previous studies have investigated the environmental impacts of water provision, but they mostly focused on large-scale urban systems. This paper...

The success of deploying energy and water technologies in remote communities in developing countries can be improved by considering their synergistic relationships and their social, economic and environmental implications. This paper first evaluates social implications of current energy and water supply in a prototypical remote community against fi...

Access to clean cooking fuels and technologies is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in developing countries, to minimise human health and environmental impacts. This paper assesses for the first time the environmental sustainability of household cooking, focusing on remote communities in developing countries in...

Small-scale off-grid renewable energy systems are being increasingly used for rural electrification, commonly as stand-alone home systems or community micro-grids. With the variety of technologies and configurations available, it is not clear which options are sustainable for remote communities. This study investigates the life cycle environmental...

Access to freshwater is further restricted in dry regions of South America due to the high levels of arsenic and boron. To overcome this, desalination through multi effect distillation (MED) is a potential solution. However, the significant amount of heat needed in MED treatments can have significant environmental burdens. The use of biomass to pro...

This study uses life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of electricity generated from fossil fuels in Chile over a ten–year period, from 2004 to 2014. The focus on fossil fuels is highly relevant for Chile because around 60% of electricity currently comes from natural gas, coal and oil. The impacts are first considered at the le...

Although electricity supply is still dominated by fossil fuels, it is expected that renewable sources will have a much larger contribution in the future due to the need to mitigate climate change. Therefore, this paper presents a new framework for developing Future Electricity Scenarios (FuturES) with high penetration of renewables. A multi-period...

Within developing countries, wastewater treatment (WWT) has improved in recent years in but remains a high priority sustainability challenge. Accordingly, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have recently started to analyse the environmental impacts of WWT technologies on the specific context of less developed countries, mainly in China and India....

Agricultural wastes are readily available in farming communities and can be utilised for off-grid electrification as an alternative to diesel generators. This work evaluates for the first time the life cycle environmental sustainability of these small-scale systems in the context of Southeast Asia. Rice and coconut residues are considered for direc...

Many higher education institutions have started to develop academic curricula, research capacity and outreach activities related to circular economy. However, little is known yet on how to apply circular economy thinking to sustainable campus management. In an attempt to address this gap, this paper proposes a methodological framework and guidance...

Various frameworks have been developed to guide organisations in embedding circular economy principles in their strategy and operational practice. However, there is a lack of studies analysing practical implementation of circular economy thinking in the higher education sector. Higher education institutions are strategic agents in supporting sustai...

Access to sufficient quantities of fresh water is becoming increasingly difficult, especially in dry regions. Moreover, high levels of salinity, arsenic and boron are further limiting the access to quality fresh water in many isolated communities worldwide. This paper evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of a small multi-effect distillati...

The consumption of takeaway food is increasing worldwide. Single-use containers used for takeaway food represent a significant source of waste and environmental impacts due to their low recyclability. Consequently, it is important to identify the best available alternatives and improvement opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts of fast-f...

Scarcity of water and concerns about the ecotoxicity of microcontaminants are driving an interest in the use of advanced tertiary processes in wastewater treatment plants. However, the life cycle environmental implications of these treatments remain uncertain. To address this knowledge gap, this study evaluates through life cycle assessment the fol...

The sustainability benefits of using solar cookers in developing countries have been analysed widely in the literature. However, the sustainability potential of solar cookers in developed economies has not been explored yet, which is the topic of this paper. Three types of solar cooker – box, panel and parabolic – were built as part of this researc...

This file includes further details on the home-made solar cookers, experimental data on their performance, their composition and detailed results for the scenario analysis. The Spanish electricity mix and the meteorological data used in the analysis are also included.

The use of biomass for production of chemicals is gaining interest because of its potential to contribute towards a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental benefits linked to the substitution of fossil resources. But, conversely to biofuels, studies focusing on environmental impacts of biomass-derived chemicals are scarce. Thi...

Around 40% of electricity in Chile is supplied by renewables and the rest by fossil fuels. Despite the growing electricity demand in the country, its environmental impacts are as yet unknown. To address this gap, the current study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the life cycle environmental sustainability of electricity generation in...

More than 130 million microwaves are affected by European Union (EU) legislation which is aimed at reducing the consumption of electricity in the standby mode (‘Standby Regulation’) and at more sustainable management of end-of-life electrical and electronic waste (‘WEEE Directive’). While legislation focuses on these two life cycle stages, there is...

Modern lifestyles have popularised the use of food containers, also known as food savers or Tupperware. However, their environmental impacts are currently unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper presents the first comprehensive assessment of the life cycle environmental sustainability of reusable plastic and glass food savers and evaluates...

Between 117 and 200 million kettles are used in the European Union (EU) every year. However, the full environmental impacts of kettles remain largely unknown. This paper presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of conventional plastic and metallic kettles in comparison with eco-kettles. The results show that the use stage contributes 80% to t...

The service sector has the potential to play an instrumental role in the shift towards circular economy due to its strategic position between manufacturers and end-users. However, there is a paucity of supporting methodologies and real-life applications to demonstrate how service-oriented companies can implement circular economy principles in daily...

Purpose: The implementation of life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting represents an important professional and research opportunity for chemical engineers, but this is not broadly reflected in chemical engineering curricula worldwide. This study presents the implementation of a coursework that is easy to apply, free of cost, valid worl...

Effective implementation of the circular economy (CE) concept requires a systemic change along supply chains, involving both technological and non-technological innovations. To facilitate the change process, several frameworks have been proposed in the literature. However, few provide practical support in implementing CE requirements in business pr...

The circular economy (CE) is essential for decoupling economic growth from resource consumption and environmental impacts. However, effective implementation requires a systemic change across supply chains, involving both technological and nontechnological innovations. Frameworks are beginning to emerge to foster CE thinking in organizations. Howeve...

Introduction and methods The number of vacuum cleaners (VCs) currently in use in the European Union (EU) is equivalent to 213.8 million. Overall, they consume 400 TWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption by 9.8 million households. Additionally, as the market continues to grow and product innovation cycles become...

Energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has been declining over the past decades while at the same time their number in Europe has been increasing. The European Commission has recently adopted an eco-design regulation to improve the environmental performance of vacuum cleaners. In addition to the existing directive on waste electrical and electronic e...

The sustainability of the use of lignocellulosic biomass to produce ethanol has been extensively studied in recent years through life cycle assessment (LCA). This work focuses on LCA of the use of alfalfa stems (Medicago sativa L.) for the production of ethanol. The analysis considers two blends of conventional gasoline with bioethanol - E10 and E8...

Achieving sustainable development is a priority nowadays, and electricity systems play an especially relevant role. In 2014, Chile consumed 70.4 TWh of electricity generated mainly from hydropower and thermal plants. Since 2008 Chile has experienced consistently high prices of electricity affecting the national economy. In addition, society is not...

Explotar los recursos naturales mineros es una práctica a la que no se debe ni se puede renunciar, si bien deben cambiar algunas de sus premisas: lo que hoy se ve como residuo debe verse como materia prima a aprovechar mediante mínimos procesamientos o, con procesos innovadores, obtener otros productos de interés en el mercado. Los “residuos minero...

Alfalfa is the major forage crop produced in temperate regions worlwide. Although this crop is currently used mainly for producing high-value livestock feed, its application for bioenergy production is a recent focus of interest. Even though it is not mandatory, alfalfa is normally dried in order to improve the quality of the final product. In this...