“Clean” Nanoscale Production Not Always a Reality

"Research in this issue reveals the potential of environmental impacts from nanomanufacturing to offset the benefits of using lighter nanomaterials," says Gus Speth, dean of the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "To date, most attention has focused on the possible toxic effects of exposure to nanoparticles and appropriately so. But the 'old-fashioned' considerations of pollution and energy use arising from the production technologies used to make nanomaterials need attention as well."

One study, by Vikas Khanna and colleagues at the Ohio State University, found that the life-cycle environmental impacts of carbon nanofiber (CNF) production may be as much as 100 times greater per unit of weight than those of traditional materials. According to another paper by Hatice Sengul and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago, strict material purity requirements, lower tolerances for defects and lower yields of manufacturing processes may lead to greater environmental burdens than those associated with conventional manufacturing.

"There is often a misconception that nanoscale production will necessarily be green and clean," says David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), which helped support the production of this special issue. "This research shows that clean nanoscale production is not happening everywhere and it probably will not without a concerted effort by government and industry to green the emerging production infrastructure for nanomaterials and products."

Working with researchers Paul Anastas and Julie Zimmerman at Yale, PEN has supported the development of a roadmap for a "green nano" award that would provide incentives for nanoscientists and engineers to develop more environmentally benign production processes.