What's the environmental footprint of your nanosilver T-shirt?
Although over 1000 kilograms of nanosilver is already being used each year in environmentally sensitive areas, extremely little is yet known about its effects on the environment. To answer these questions, a group of researchers from Switzerland, the UK and Germany, led by Stefanie Hellweg, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich, have performed a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare nanosilver T-shirts with conventional T-shirts with and without biocidal treatment.
The use of silver nanoparticles in all kinds of consumer goods in daily use, such as personal hygiene articles, cosmetics, food, refrigerators, protective plant sprays and, above all, textiles, has considerable commercial potential and is increasing all the time.
According to the researchers, "the results show significant differences in environmental burdens between nanoparticle production technologies: The "cradle-to-gate" climate footprint of the production of a nanosilver T-shirt is 2.70 kg of CO2-equiv (Flame Spray Pyrolysis) and 7.67 - 166 kg of CO2-equiv (plasma polymerisation with silver co-sputtering, varying maturity stages). Production of conventional T-shirts with and without the biocide triclosan has emissions of 2.55 kg of CO2-equiv.
The researchers find that FSP and triclosan T-shirts are produced with a much smaller climate footprint than are PlaSpu T-shirts.
Please read the full article at Nanowerk.