This study employs a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to investigate the environmental burden of photovoltaic power generation systems that use multi-crystalline silicon (multi-Si) modules in Pakistan. This study evaluates the energy payback time (EPBT) of this class of systems, and considers various environmental impacts, including climate change, acidification, and eutrophication. The assessment accounts for upstream, midstream, and downstream processes, including cell as well as module production. The critical stages in the production cycle were identified, including the metallic silicon transformation into solar silicon and the assembly of the panels, which involve energy-intensive materials such as aluminum frames and glass roofing. Despite using the most efficient conversion technology, the former stage consumes a significant amount of electricity. This study reveals that multi-Si PV systems in Pakistan have an EPBT that is considerably less than their lifespan, ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 years. These findings suggest that the development of PV systems in Pakistan is a very interesting option for energy production. Additionally, this study compares solar PV and wind power generation systems in various regions of Pakistan. The study outcomes can facilitate evidence-based decision-making processes in the renewable energy sector and contribute significantly to Pakistan’s endeavor to transition toward a sustainable energy system.

Rapid industrialization is consuming too much energy, and non-renewable energy resources are currently supplying the world’s majority of energy requirements. As a result, the global energy mix is being pushed towards renewable and sustainable energy sources by the world’s future energy plan and climate change. Thus, hydrogen has been suggested as a potential energy source for sustainable development. Currently, the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels is dominant in the world and its utilization is increasing daily. As discussed in the paper, a large amount of hydrogen is used in rocket engines, oil refining, ammonia production, and many other processes. This paper also analyzes the environmental impacts of hydrogen utilization in various applications such as iron and steel production, rocket engines, ammonia production, and hydrogenation. It is predicted that all of our fossil fuels will run out soon if we continue to consume them at our current pace of consumption. Hydrogen is only ecologically friendly when it is produced from renewable energy. Therefore, a transition towards hydrogen production from renewable energy resources such as solar, geothermal, and wind is necessary. However, many things need to be achieved before we can transition from a fossil-fuel-driven economy to one based on renewable energy.

In this article, activated carbon was produced from Lantana camara and olive trees by H₃PO₄ chemical activation. The prepared activated carbons were analyzed by characterizations such as scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. H₃PO₄ is used as an activator agent to create an abundant pore structure. According to EDX analysis, the crystalline structure destroys and increases the carbon content of the olive tree and Lantana camara by 77.51 and 76.16%, respectively. SEM images reveal a porous structure formed as a result of H₃PO₄ activation. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of the olive tree and Lantana camara activated carbon was 611.21 m²/g and 167.47 m²/g, respectively. The TGA analysis of both activated carbons shows their thermal degradation starts at 230 °C but fully degrades at temperatures above 450 °C. To quantify the potential environmental implications related to the production process of the activated carbon (AC) from olive trees, the life cycle assessment (LCA) environmental methodology was employed. For most of the tested indicators, chemical activation using H₃PO₄ showed the greatest ecological impacts: the ozone layer depletion potential (42.27%), the acidification potential (55.31%), human toxicity (57.00%), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity (85.01%), terrestrial ecotoxicity (86.17%), and eutrophication (92.20%). The global warming potential (5.210 kg CO₂ eq), which was evenly weighted between the phases, was shown to be one of the most significant impacts. The total energy demand of the olive tree’s AC producing process was 70.521 MJ per Kg.

In this article, the effect of absorption time on the surface chemistry and pore structure of activated carbon (AC) from waste leaves of Quercus alba with the H₃PO₄ chemical activation method. XRD, SEM, EDX, BET, TGA, and FT-IR analyses of prepared AC were used to figure out the properties of the activated carbon. The results demonstrated that the 48 h absorption time of H₃PO₄ contributed to the highest surface area, 943.2 m²/g, among all the prepared activated carbon samples. As the absorption time of the phosphoric acid activating agent was increased, the surface area initially increased and then started to decrease. The further surface chemical characterization of activated carbon was determined by FT-IR spectroscopic method. Life cycle assessment methodology was employed in order to investigate the environmental impacts associated with the laboratory steps for activated carbon (AC) production. The LCA approach was implemented using OpenLCA 1.10.3 software, while ReCiPe Midpoint (H) was used for environmental impact assessment. The results of the LCA study showed that the impact categories related to toxicity were particularly affected by the utilization of electrical energy (≈90%). The power utilized during laboratory procedures was the main cause of environmental impacts, contributing an average of nearly 70% across all impact categories, with the maximum contribution to the impact category of freshwater ecotoxicity potential (≈97%) and the minimum contribution to land use potential (≈10%).