Environmental Chemistry Lab

Principal investigators, graduate students, and fellow researchers in the Environmental Chemistry Lab use fundamental material chemistry techniques to assess life-cycle environmental impacts of products and technologies, with a focus on end-of-life. Federal and state sponsors and industrial partners are looking to fill in current gaps in life-cycle inventory databases for new products and materials, e.g., landfill leaching potential or extraction efficiency of recycling processes. Students learn how quantifying midpoint and endpoint metrics contribute to understanding full life-cycle impacts.

Capabilities include:

• Research of environmentally benign and economically efficient recycling of Li-ion batteries.
• Quantification of nano-particulate exposure potentials for emerging technologies.
• Study of reuse potential and feasibility for spent batteries.
• Research of landfill leaching impacts.