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Prof. Rita Puig Vidal
Universitat de Lleida

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Cleaner Production
0 Ecodesign
0 Life Cycle Assessment
0 circular economy
0 Circular Bioeconomy

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Life Cycle Assessment
circular economy
Ecodesign
ecoinnovation

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Short Biography

Chemical Engineer (1988) and degree in Chemical Sciences (1994) at the Universitat Ramon Lllull (Barcelona, Spain). PhD in Chemical Engineering (1993). Lecturer and researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) from 1993 to 2018 and at Universitat de Lleida (UdL) since 2018. Vice-Dean (2001-2004) and Dean (2004-2010) of the Igualada Engineering School (UPC). Co-founder of the spin-off consultancy Cyclus Vitae Solutions (2010-2019). More than 60 published papers in peer-reviewed/international-indexed journals (50% Q1) and about 45 funded projects (international, national or industry financed).

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Project

Project Goal: Estrategias relacionadas con la circularidad y la eficiencia de los recursos de sistemas alimentarios

Starting Date:01 June 2020

Current Stage: ongoing

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Project

Project Goal: Metodología para el análisis de tecnologías de almacenamiento de energía térmica hacia una economía circular

Starting Date:01 January 2019

Current Stage: ongoing

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Project

Project Goal: Estrategias de consumo alimentario para La mitigación del cambio climático: hacia una dieta sostenible

Starting Date:30 December 2016

Current Stage: finished

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Journal article
Published: 24 December 2020 in Sustainability
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The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the “distance to target” approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05–0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.

ACS Style

Jara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability 2020, 13, 125 .

AMA Style

Jara Laso, Cristina Campos, Ana Fernández-Ríos, Daniel Hoehn, Andrea del Río, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jorge Cristobal, Ainoa Quiñones, Francisco Amo-Setién, María Ortego, Sergio Tezanos, Rebeca Abajas, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig, María Margallo, Rubén Aldaco, Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability. 2020; 13 (1):125.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. 2020. "Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 125.

Journal article
Published: 16 November 2020 in Foods
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Current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed. This study applied a systematic optimization methodology to define sustainable dietary patterns complying with nutritional, environmental, and economic issues. The methodology was based on a multi-objective optimization model that considered a distance-to-target approach. Although the three simultaneous objectives (maximal nutritional contribution, minimal greenhouse gas emissions, and minimal costs) could be divergent, the proposed model identified the optimal intake of each food product to achieve the maximal level of nutritional, environmental, and economic diets. This model was applied to six different eating patterns within the Spanish context: one based on current food consumption and five alternative diets. The results revealed that dietary patterns with improved nutritional profiles and reduced environmental impacts could be defined without additional costs just by increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, while reducing the intake of meat and fish.

ACS Style

Ricardo Abejón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Jara Laso; Alba Bala; Ian Vazquez-Rowe; Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context. Foods 2020, 9, 1677 .

AMA Style

Ricardo Abejón, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Jara Laso, Alba Bala, Ian Vazquez-Rowe, Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos, María Margallo, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jorge Cristobal, Rita Puig, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context. Foods. 2020; 9 (11):1677.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ricardo Abejón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Jara Laso; Alba Bala; Ian Vazquez-Rowe; Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context." Foods 9, no. 11: 1677.

Perspective
Published: 09 November 2020 in Journal of Leather Science and Engineering
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Leather industry is facing new trends on production and consumption patterns due to society concerns. Circular economy is proposing a transition from the current economic model to a more sustainable one, in which waste is designed out and resources will be reused and recycled as long as possible. In this transition, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an important tool to help decision-making. In the present review, 39 English-written peer-reviewed papers related to LCA and leather have been found, 30 of which were published in the last 6 years, meaning LCA is nowadays an important subject. Papers are presented within 4 types, focused on: 1) the whole leather production process, 2) a single step in the production process (e.g, new technologies for unhairing), 3) waste treatment and recycling, and 4) life cycle thinking with ideas on long-term strategies for leather industries. As discussed in the literature review, leather industry has important challenges to address: increasing sustainability and transparency on the supply chain, and strengthening the beauty of leather. Taking up these challenges from a life cycle perspective will help leather industry flourish in the coming future. Graphical abstract

ACS Style

Diego Navarro; Jianhui Wu; Wei Lin; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. Life cycle assessment and leather production. Journal of Leather Science and Engineering 2020, 2, 1 -13.

AMA Style

Diego Navarro, Jianhui Wu, Wei Lin, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig. Life cycle assessment and leather production. Journal of Leather Science and Engineering. 2020; 2 (1):1-13.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Diego Navarro; Jianhui Wu; Wei Lin; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. 2020. "Life cycle assessment and leather production." Journal of Leather Science and Engineering 2, no. 1: 1-13.

Journal article
Published: 03 September 2020 in Polymers
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Leather buffing dust (BF) is a waste from tannery which is usually disposed on landfills. The interest in using wastes as fillers or reinforcements for composites has raised recently due to environmental concerns. This study investigates the potential use of BF waste as filler for a high density polyethylene matrix (HDPE). A series of HDPE-BF composites, containing filler concentrations ranging from 20 to 50wt%, were formulated, injection molded and tested. The effect of filler contents on the mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated and discussed. Composites with BF contents up to 30wt% improved the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the matrix, achieving similar mechanical properties to polypropylene (PP). In the case of flexural strength, it was found to be proportionally enhanced by increasing reinforcement content, maintaining high impact strength. These composites present great opportunities for PP application areas that require higher impact resistance. The materials were submitted to a series of closed-loop recycling cycles in order to assess their recyclability, being able to maintain better tensile strength than virgin HDPE after 5 cycles. The study develops new low-cost and sustainable composites by using a waste as composite filler.

ACS Style

Eylem Kiliç; Quim Tarrés; Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Xavier Espinach; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene. Polymers 2020, 12, 2016 .

AMA Style

Eylem Kiliç, Quim Tarrés, Marc Delgado-Aguilar, Xavier Espinach, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig. Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene. Polymers. 2020; 12 (9):2016.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eylem Kiliç; Quim Tarrés; Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Xavier Espinach; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig. 2020. "Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene." Polymers 12, no. 9: 2016.

Short communication
Published: 01 August 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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The COVID lockdown has affected food purchases and eating habits. In this regard, this short communication assesses the nutritional and environmental impacts of these changes during the COVID lockdown in Spain, by applying Life Cycle Assessment and an energy- and nutrient-corrected functional unit. Three environmental impacts were studied (Global Warming Potential, Blue Water Footprint and Land Use) and a total of seven weekly diet scenarios were designed: two pre-COVID diets for March and April in 2019 (MAR19, APR19), one COVID diet (COVID) and two alternative diets, one based on the National Dietary Guidelines (NDG) and another one on the Planetary Health Diet (PHD). Results show that the COVID diet had larger energy intake and lower nutritional quality, as well as higher environmental impacts (between 30 and 36%) than the pre-COVID eating patterns. Further research is needed to account for food affordability within this assessment, as well as to analyze how eating patterns will evolve after the COVID lockdown. Finally, the definition of short guidelines for sustainable food behaviors for future possible lockdowns is suggested, as well as the introduction of sustainable indicators within NDGs.

ACS Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Rita Puig; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Josep Maria Antó; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 748, 141410 -141410.

AMA Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer, Rubén Aldaco, Alba Bala, Rita Puig, Jara Laso, María Margallo, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Josep Maria Antó, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 748 ():141410-141410.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Batlle-Bayer; Rubén Aldaco; Alba Bala; Rita Puig; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Josep Maria Antó; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown." Science of The Total Environment 748, no. : 141410-141410.

Journal article
Published: 10 June 2020 in Materials
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Circular economy comes to break the linear resource to waste economy, by introducing different strategies, two of them being: using material from renewable sources and producing biodegradable products. The present work aims at developing polylactic acid (PLA), typically made from fermented plant starch, and polycaprolactone (PCL) blends, a biodegradable polyester, to study their potential to be used as substitutes of oil-based commodity plastics. For this, PLA/PCL blends were compounded in a batch and lab scale internal mixer and processed by means of injection molding. Tensile and impact characteristics were determined and compared to different thermoplastic materials, such as polypropylene, high density polyethylene, polystyrene, and others. It has been found that the incorporation of PCL into a PLA matrix can lead to materials in the range of 18.25 to 63.13 megapascals of tensile strength, 0.56 to 3.82 gigapascals of Young’s modulus, 12.65 to 3.27 percent of strain at maximum strength, and 35 to 2 kJ/m2 of notched impact strength. The evolution of the tensile strength fitted the Voigt and Reuss model, while Young’s modulus was successfully described by the rule of mixtures. Toughness of PLA was significantly improved with the incorporation of PCL, significantly increasing the energy required to fracture the specimens. Blends containing more than 20 wt% of PCL did not break when unnotched specimens were tested. Overall, it was found that the obtained PLA/PCL blends can constitute a strong and environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based commodity materials.

ACS Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Rita Puig; Ilija Sazdovski; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products. Materials 2020, 13, 1 .

AMA Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar, Rita Puig, Ilija Sazdovski, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products. Materials. 2020; 13 (11):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marc Delgado-Aguilar; Rita Puig; Ilija Sazdovski; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2020. "Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products." Materials 13, no. 11: 1.

Journal article
Published: 21 March 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Due to the increase on fresh water demand, wastewater treatment facilities need to be proactive to increase the circularity of water cycles. They have to go further than the traditional end-of-pipe service. In the present study a common wastewater treatment facility, for the tanning cluster of Barcelona, was investigated and environmentally assessed (through Life Cycle Assessment, LCA, methodology). In addition, its continuous changes for improvement and adaptation to the cluster are presented and discussed. Results show that about 97% reduction of 9 evaluated impact categories were achieved by technological improvement of wastewater treatment processes over the last 6 years with a minimum financial investment. In addition, the plant is prepared for the forthcoming changes in industrial tanning processes, like metal-free tanning, new salinity regulations, etc. This is a successful example of how small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) can organize themselves and share services and facilities through circular economy principles to innovate and find their own market niches.

ACS Style

Diego Navarro; Rosa Cantero; Elisabet Valls; Rita Puig. Circular economy: The case of a shared wastewater treatment plant and its adaptation to changes of the industrial zone over time. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 261, 121242 .

AMA Style

Diego Navarro, Rosa Cantero, Elisabet Valls, Rita Puig. Circular economy: The case of a shared wastewater treatment plant and its adaptation to changes of the industrial zone over time. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 261 ():121242.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Diego Navarro; Rosa Cantero; Elisabet Valls; Rita Puig. 2020. "Circular economy: The case of a shared wastewater treatment plant and its adaptation to changes of the industrial zone over time." Journal of Cleaner Production 261, no. : 121242.

Journal article
Published: 09 September 2019 in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
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One of the main drivers for companies to perform environmental improvements is economic benefit, either by obtaining a more valuable product or gaining new customers. Circular economy combines environmental improvements with these drivers to achieve higher and quicker benefits. This paper is a case study on packaging eco-design aligned with circular economy strategy along the production chain. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to identify the product life cycle stages where the application of eco-design strategies would be more efficient (in this case, raw materials production from virgin petrochemicals). To improve the environmental profile of this packaging, virgin petrochemicals were partially replaced by mineral fillers (calcium carbonate based) or/and post-consumer recycled plastics. Different technically compliant cosmetic tubes were produced by collaboration between a company producing the plastic granulates with mineral fillers and a company producing the cosmetic tubes and cradle-to-gate LCA were performed. The replacement of virgin petrochemicals by mineral fillers helped to reduce the environmental impacts by an average of 12% and the use of post-consumer recycled plastic further decreased emissions up to 29% for 6 out of the 9 evaluated impact categories. The option with better environmental performance was also the one with lower economic costs. According to the involved companies, LCA combined with ecodesign helped to achieve efficient environmental and economic savings. The findings are important for the plastic packaging sector because they tackle with prime concerns, like plastic debris, climate change and resource depletion. They are of main interest for industrial activities where brand positioning is a priority (i.e. cosmetics).

ACS Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Rita Puig; Stephan Voigt; Dieter Walter; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Improving the production chain with LCA and eco-design: application to cosmetic packaging. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2019, 151, 104475 .

AMA Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu, Rita Puig, Stephan Voigt, Dieter Walter, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Improving the production chain with LCA and eco-design: application to cosmetic packaging. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2019; 151 ():104475.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Rita Puig; Stephan Voigt; Dieter Walter; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2019. "Improving the production chain with LCA and eco-design: application to cosmetic packaging." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 151, no. : 104475.

Journal article
Published: 28 May 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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Increased plastic consumption has resulted in high amounts of plastic waste ending up in the environment. Recently, the European Commission (EC) has identified a list of single-use plastics, including plastic bags, most commonly found in the European beaches. As a response, alternatives for plastic carrier bags have been more of a concern. Many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have been performed to evaluate the environmental profile of different carrier bags; however, without considering the possibility of contribution to the littering problem. Therefore, in this study, an indicator has been introduced, based on an LCA study of carrier bags which was performed in Spain. The indicator is influenced by parameters such as: number of bags to fulfill the functional unit, weight, surface, fee, and biodegradability. In this paper, a comparative LCA of HDPE, LDPE, PP, paper and biodegradable plastic bags is presented. Following that, a littering indicator is introduced to allow a comparison of the risk of littering of the different carrier bags in marine environment. The results given by the Littering Potential indicator rank the bags oppositely to the results given by the LCA as usual. Further research is needed to refine the model and include additional contributing variables.

ACS Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Rita Puig; Michael Hauschild; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Life cycle assessment of carrier bags and development of a littering indicator. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 685, 621 -630.

AMA Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu, Rita Puig, Michael Hauschild, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Life cycle assessment of carrier bags and development of a littering indicator. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 685 ():621-630.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Rita Puig; Michael Hauschild; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2019. "Life cycle assessment of carrier bags and development of a littering indicator." Science of The Total Environment 685, no. : 621-630.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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Assessment of carbon emissions and environmental impact of production is indispensable to achieve a sustainable industrial production in Turkey, especially for those companies willing to compete in new international green markets. In this case study, corporate carbon footprint of a representative Turkish tanning company was analyzed. Inventory and impact data are presented to help in the environmental decision-making process. The results indicate that significant environmental impacts were caused during the landfilling of solid wastes as well as the production of the electricity and fuel required in the tannery. Turkish tannery inventory data presented here for the first time will be useful for leather tanning company managers to calculate sustainability key indicators. Improving alternatives at country level were identified (increasing the renewable sources on electricity production and promote energy recovery in landfills) which would be useful not only to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of tanning sector but also of other industries requiring electricity and producing organic wastes. Considering the substantial contribution of industrial processes to the Turkish carbon emissions (15.7%) (TUIK, 2013), work done on those areas would provide a sound improvement in environmental profile of Turkey. The importance to promote a national strategy to reduce GHG emissions in Turkey was discussed here, as well as its relation to corporate carbon footprint assessments. One of the significant points revealed from the case study is the lack of published country specific emission factors for Turkey, which is a fundamental prerequisite to promote corporate carbon footprint assessment within the country.

ACS Style

Eylem Kılıç; Rita Puig; Gökhan Zengin; Candaş Adıgüzel Zengin; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Corporate carbon footprint for country Climate Change mitigation: A case study of a tannery in Turkey. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 635, 60 -69.

AMA Style

Eylem Kılıç, Rita Puig, Gökhan Zengin, Candaş Adıgüzel Zengin, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Corporate carbon footprint for country Climate Change mitigation: A case study of a tannery in Turkey. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 635 ():60-69.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Eylem Kılıç; Rita Puig; Gökhan Zengin; Candaş Adıgüzel Zengin; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2018. "Corporate carbon footprint for country Climate Change mitigation: A case study of a tannery in Turkey." Science of The Total Environment 635, no. : 60-69.

Original paper
Published: 04 August 2018 in International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
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This article describes the eco-innovative characteristics implemented in electronic devices for irrigation with smart-gardening solutions, such as internet connection for weather forecast and sensors of soil moisture contents, as well as a database with different plants necessities. The main function of these products is to collect and analyze the information related to plants needs, thus reducing water and fertilizer consumption. In addition to quantify the environmental impact of savings in these two resource flows (40% water and 20% fertilizers savings) compared with conventional irrigation systems, an ISO 14067 compliant life cycle-based carbon footprint evaluation has been performed to quantify environmental impact of the product itself. The main methodological issue is finding a means on how to proceed when the main environmental benefit of the product under study is, in fact, the service it provides to other systems and when this service cannot be included directly in the product’s carbon footprint calculation due to lack of defined standard-use conditions (such as meteorology or soil composition). Implementation of smart irrigation tools in gardening and agriculture can lead the transition toward more sustainable production systems worldwide, as well as being an example of business transformation toward resource efficiency improvements through the use of information technology systems to contribute to circular economy.

ACS Style

M. Yuli; R. Puig; M. A. Fuentes; D. Civancik-Uslu; M. Capilla. Eco-innovation in garden irrigation tools and carbon footprint assessment. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 2018, 16, 2937 -2950.

AMA Style

M. Yuli, R. Puig, M. A. Fuentes, D. Civancik-Uslu, M. Capilla. Eco-innovation in garden irrigation tools and carbon footprint assessment. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2018; 16 (7):2937-2950.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M. Yuli; R. Puig; M. A. Fuentes; D. Civancik-Uslu; M. Capilla. 2018. "Eco-innovation in garden irrigation tools and carbon footprint assessment." International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 16, no. 7: 2937-2950.

Review
Published: 01 June 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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The use of functional fillers can be advantageous in terms of cost reduction and improved properties in plastics. There are many types of fillers used in industry, organic and inorganic, with a wide application area. As a response to the growing concerns about environmental damage that plastics cause, recently fillers have started to be considered as a way to reduce it by decreasing the need for petrochemical resources. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is identified as a proper tool to evaluate potential environmental impacts of products or systems. Therefore, in this study, the literature regarding LCA of plastics with functional fillers was reviewed in order to see if the use of fillers in plastics could be environmentally helpful. It was interesting to find out that environmental impacts of functional fillers in plastics had not been studied too often, especially in the case of inorganic fillers. Therefore, a gap in the literature was identified for the future works. Results of the study showed that, although there were not many and some differences exist among the LCA studies, the use of fillers in plastics industry may help to reduce environmental emissions. In addition, how LCA methodology was applied to these materials was also investigated.

ACS Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Laura Ferrer; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Are functional fillers improving environmental behavior of plastics? A review on LCA studies. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 626, 927 -940.

AMA Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu, Laura Ferrer, Rita Puig, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Are functional fillers improving environmental behavior of plastics? A review on LCA studies. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 626 ():927-940.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Didem Civancik-Uslu; Laura Ferrer; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2018. "Are functional fillers improving environmental behavior of plastics? A review on LCA studies." Science of The Total Environment 626, no. : 927-940.

Article
Published: 12 April 2018 in Environmental Management
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Production and consumption of olive oil is very important in Europe, being this product a basic element in the Mediterranean diet since long ago. The project objective is two-fold: a study of the contribution of virgin olive oils (VOOs) usual packaging to the whole life cycle of the product and a study of the environmental consequences of the Spanish Government regulation on VOO packaging. A life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14044 has been performed using the CML methodology for the impact assessment. The results show that the packaging influence varies from 2 to 300%, depending on the impact category and type of packaging (glass, tin or polyethylene terephtalate). Glass, which is related to higher quality perception by consumers, was found to be the most influencing material (due to its weight); however, this impact may be fairly reduced by applying ecodesign strategies (such as weight reduction and recycled-glass percentage increase). A new Spanish regulation on the mandatory use of non-refillable oilers in HORECA establishments (hotels, restaurants and caterings) aims to provide more quality assurance and better information to consumers; however, it was also found to mean a 74% increase in greenhouse gases emissions. This regulation was deeply discussed at European level and its application was withdraw due to consumers rejection, except for Spain. The findings of the present case study show that LCA and ecodesign should be important tools to be promoted and applied in policy making to reduce non-desirable consequences of regulation.

ACS Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Elena Martí; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Tackling the Relevance of Packaging in Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin Olive Oil and the Environmental Consequences of Regulation. Environmental Management 2018, 62, 277 -294.

AMA Style

Alejandra Navarro, Rita Puig, Elena Martí, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Tackling the Relevance of Packaging in Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin Olive Oil and the Environmental Consequences of Regulation. Environmental Management. 2018; 62 (2):277-294.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Elena Martí; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2018. "Tackling the Relevance of Packaging in Life Cycle Assessment of Virgin Olive Oil and the Environmental Consequences of Regulation." Environmental Management 62, no. 2: 277-294.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2017 in Science of The Total Environment
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Tourism is a key industry in the Spanish economy. Spain was in the World top three ranking by international tourist arrivals and by income in 2015. The development of the tourism industry is essential to maintain the established economic system. However, if the environmental requirements were not taken into account, the country would face a negative effect on depletion of local environmental resources from which tourism depends. This case study evaluates, through a life cycle perspective, the average carbon footprint of an overnight stay in a Spanish coastland hotel by analyzing 14 two-to-five-stars hotels. Inventory and impact data are analyzed and presented both for resource use and greenhouse gases emissions, with the intention of helping in the environmental decision-making process. The main identified potential hotspots are electricity and fuels consumption (6 to 30kWh/overnight stay and 24 to 127MJ/overnight stay respectively), which are proportional to the number of stars and unoccupancy rate and they produce more than 75% of the impact. It is also revealed that voluntary implementation of environmental monitoring systems (like EMAS regulation) promotes collection of more detailed and accurate data, which helps in a more efficient use of resources. A literature review on LCA and tourism is also discussed. Spanish hotels inventory data presented here for the first time will be useful for tourism related managers (destination managers, policy makers and hotel managers among others) to calculate sustainability key indicators, which can lead to achieve real sustainable-tourism goals. Further data collection will be needed in future projects to gather representative data from more hotels, other accommodation facilities and also other products/services offered by tourist sector in Spain (like transport of tourists, food and beverage, culture-sports & recreation and others).

ACS Style

Rita Puig; Eylem Kiliç; Alejandra Navarro; Jaume Albertí; Lorenzo Chacón; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Inventory analysis and carbon footprint of coastland-hotel services: A Spanish case study. Science of The Total Environment 2017, 595, 244 -254.

AMA Style

Rita Puig, Eylem Kiliç, Alejandra Navarro, Jaume Albertí, Lorenzo Chacón, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Inventory analysis and carbon footprint of coastland-hotel services: A Spanish case study. Science of The Total Environment. 2017; 595 ():244-254.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rita Puig; Eylem Kiliç; Alejandra Navarro; Jaume Albertí; Lorenzo Chacón; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2017. "Inventory analysis and carbon footprint of coastland-hotel services: A Spanish case study." Science of The Total Environment 595, no. : 244-254.

Review
Published: 01 March 2017 in Science of The Total Environment
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Carbon footprint (CF) is nowadays one of the most widely used environmental indicators. The scope of the CF assessment could be corporate (when all production processes of a company are evaluated, together with upstream and downstream processes following a life cycle approach) or product (when one of the products is evaluated throughout its life cycle). Our hypothesis was that usually product CF studies (PCF) collect corporate data, because it is easier for companies to obtain them than product data. Six main methodological issues to take into account when collecting corporate data to be used for PCF studies were postulated and discussed in the present paper: fugitive emissions, credits from waste recycling, use of "equivalent factors", reference flow definition, accumulation and allocation of corporate values to minor products. A big project with 18 wineries, being wine one of the most important agri-food products assessed through CF methodologies, was used to study and to exemplify these 6 methodological issues. One of the main conclusions was that indeed, it is possible to collect corporate inventory data in a per year basis to perform a PCF, but having in mind the 6 methodological issues described here. In the literature, most of the papers are presenting their results as a PCF, while they collected company data and obtained, in fact, a "key performance indicator" (ie., COeq emissions per unit of product produced), which is then used as a product environmental impact figure. The methodology discussed in this paper for the wine case study is widely applicable to any other product or industrial activity.

ACS Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Product vs corporate carbon footprint: Some methodological issues. A case study and review on the wine sector. Science of The Total Environment 2017, 581-582, 722 -733.

AMA Style

Alejandra Navarro, Rita Puig, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Product vs corporate carbon footprint: Some methodological issues. A case study and review on the wine sector. Science of The Total Environment. 2017; 581-582 ():722-733.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2017. "Product vs corporate carbon footprint: Some methodological issues. A case study and review on the wine sector." Science of The Total Environment 581-582, no. : 722-733.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Environmental sustainability in the wine sector has become a priority, as a result of both the growing interest in environmental issues and the consumer's demand for more information regarding the environmental impact of the products they purchase. In this context, the use of carbon footprint as an indicator to assess and report the environmental burdens associated with wine production has gained a role of primary interest. The present study has the aim of improving the wine sector's sustainability by providing inventory data on wine production systems from a total of 18 wineries located in major wine-producing regions in Spain and the South of France. The main novelty of this paper is: the corporate carbon footprint approach, the greater number of wineries studied, the diversity of location of those wineries, the detail of data presented and the identification of the best reference flow for vineyards. Data was statistically analysed. Vineyard consumptions are usually related to the area of cultivation. However, although 1 ha of vineyard or 1 kg of harvested grape could both be considered good reference flows for vineyard processes, this study shows a greater standard deviation of average data calculated per ha rather than per kg. Impact results show a major contribution of the winery phase to the corporate carbon footprint (73%), mainly due to glass production for bottling (45.6% contribution) and electricity consumption (9.2%). In the vineyard phase, contribution comes mainly from diesel production and combustion due to field works (11.3%) and the use of phytosanitary products (6.0%). The results revealed that with the establishment of best practices and with optimized resource consumption, the corporate carbon footprint values can be reduced by almost 25%. The comparative results presented can be used as a reference that will enable wineries to compare their impacts to the average, to identify in which aspects they are within the average and which aspects they are outside the average and whether these aspects are significant to their carbon footprint. This may encourage wineries to adopt measures for Eco-innovation through carbon emission reduction.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

ACS Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Eylem Kılıç; Sophie Penavayre; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Eco-innovation and benchmarking of carbon footprint data for vineyards and wineries in Spain and France. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 142, 1661 -1671.

AMA Style

Alejandra Navarro, Rita Puig, Eylem Kılıç, Sophie Penavayre, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. Eco-innovation and benchmarking of carbon footprint data for vineyards and wineries in Spain and France. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017; 142 ():1661-1671.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alejandra Navarro; Rita Puig; Eylem Kılıç; Sophie Penavayre; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer. 2017. "Eco-innovation and benchmarking of carbon footprint data for vineyards and wineries in Spain and France." Journal of Cleaner Production 142, no. : 1661-1671.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2015 in Applied Energy
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Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have been widely identified as an efficient mechanism to generate electrical power based on renewable energy sources (RES). This kind of energy generation systems are based on the combination of one or more RES allowing to complement the weaknesses of one with strengths of another and, therefore, reducing installation costs with an optimized installation. To do so, optimization methodologies are a trendy mechanism because they allow attaining optimal solutions given a certain set of input parameters and variables. This work is focused on the optimal sizing of hybrid grid-connected photovoltaic-wind power systems from real hourly wind and solar irradiation data and electricity demand from a certain location. The proposed methodology is capable of finding the sizing that leads to a minimum life cycle cost of the system while matching the electricity supply with the local demand. In the present article, the methodology is tested by means of a case study in which the actual hourly electricity retail and market prices have been implemented to obtain realistic estimations of life cycle costs and benefits. A sensitivity analysis that allows detecting to which variables the system is more sensitive has also been performed. Results presented show that the model responds well to changes in the input parameters and variables while providing trustworthy sizing solutions. According to these results, a grid-connected HRES consisting of photovoltaic (PV) and wind power technologies would be economically profitable in the studied rural township in the Mediterranean climate region of central Catalonia (Spain), being the system paid off after 18 years of operation out of 25 years of system lifetime. Although the annual costs of the system are notably lower compared with the cost of electricity purchase, which is the current alternative, a significant upfront investment of over $10 M - roughly two thirds of total system lifetime cost - would be required to install such system. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Postprint (author's final draft

ACS Style

Arnau González; Jordi-Roger Riba; Antoni Rius; Rita Puig. Optimal sizing of a hybrid grid-connected photovoltaic and wind power system. Applied Energy 2015, 154, 752 -762.

AMA Style

Arnau González, Jordi-Roger Riba, Antoni Rius, Rita Puig. Optimal sizing of a hybrid grid-connected photovoltaic and wind power system. Applied Energy. 2015; 154 ():752-762.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Arnau González; Jordi-Roger Riba; Antoni Rius; Rita Puig. 2015. "Optimal sizing of a hybrid grid-connected photovoltaic and wind power system." Applied Energy 154, no. : 752-762.