Examinando por Autor "Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro"

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    Circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Drivers, opportunities, barriers and strategies
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-09) Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; López-Eccher, Camila; Muñoz, Edmundo; Salvador, Rodrigo; Cano-Londoño, Natalia A.; Barros, Murillo Vetroni; Bernal, Daniel Choconta; Mendoza, Joan Manuel F.; Nadal, Ana; Guerrero, Ana Belén
    This study assesses for the first time the drivers, opportunities, barriers, and strategies for the transition to a circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean through a comprehensive systematic review of the current academic literature. A total of 247 articles have been analysed through the lens of the PESTLE framework (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental), coupled with the consideration of the most recognised circular economy strategies (narrowing, slowing, closing, and regenerating) and solutions (the ten R's strategies: refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, recycle, and recover). Key drivers identified in the literature include governmental policy shifts in the region towards circular and sustainable practices. These practices have focused on leveraging the abundance and diversity of natural resources and the region's climatic conditions that favour the development of bio-industries, renewable energies, and innovative sustainable materials, reflecting a clear adaptation of circular economy strategies to the specific needs and resources of Latin America and the Caribbean. Similarly, the technological and regulatory progress in pollution prevention and control, although still slow, has driven the implementation of circular economy strategies, making the role of new circular technologies fundamental for the region's sustainability. Barriers mentioned in the articles include limited governmental incentives, inadequate infrastructure for waste management, and the high costs associated with transitioning to circular economy practices, compounded by a lack of general public awareness and engagement. Regarding the circular economy strategies, the reviewed studies predominantly focus on recycling (“closing”) due to the immediate waste management needs of the region, with less emphasis on resource efficiency (“narrowing” and “slowing”) and minimal adoption of regenerative practices due to higher initial investment demands. Recycling and, to a lesser extent, recovery dominate the ten R's strategies discussed in the literature, indicating still a focus on end-of-life approaches in the region, while strategies like reduce, reuse, and repurpose are gaining representation; however, research on repair, refuse, remanufacture, and refurbishment should be the focus of future investigations. Finally, this article provides guidelines and recommendations for future research to facilitate the deployment and management of a sustainable circular economy in the region
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    Environmental assessment of latent heat thermal energy storage technology system with phase change material for domestic heating applications
    (MDPI, 2021-10) Chocontá Bernal, Daniel; Muñoz, Edmundo; Manente, Giovanni; Sciacovelli, Adriano; Ameli, Hossein; Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro
    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 understanding of the environmental sustainability of LHTES technologies from a full life cycle perspective. This study assesses for the first time 18 environmental impacts of a full S-LHTES-PCM system from a cradle to grave perspective and compares the results with the most common sources of heat in UK homes. The results show that the system’s main environmental hotspots are the solar collector, the PCM, the PCM tank, and the heat exchanger. The main cause of most of the impacts is the extensive consumption of electricity and heat during the production of raw materials for these components. The comparison with other sources of household heat (biomass, heat pump, and natural gas) indicates that the S-LHTES-PCM system generates the highest environmental impact in 11 of 18 categories. However, a sensitivity analysis based on the lifetime of the S-LHTES-PCM systems shows that, when the lifetime increases to 40 years, almost all the impacts are significantly reduced. In fact, a 40-year S-LHTES-PCM system has a lower global warming potential than natural gas. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.