Browsing by Author "Retamal, Candelaria"

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    Evolution of the Surface Area of Critical Lagoon Systems in the Salar de Atacama
    (2022) Ignacio Guzman, Juan; Retamal, Candelaria; Faundez, Patricio; Joaquin Jara, Jose
    The Salar de Atacama in northern Chile hosts the biggest lithium reserves globally. However, concerns have arisen regarding the environmental impact of lithium extraction on its basin; in particular, the possible drought of its lagoons that sustain unique natural ecosystems. This investigation implemented an image processing and statistical methodology to assess the area evolution and dynamic behavior of these main water bodies between 1986 and 2018. Results showed that these lagoon systems have not presented significant changes despite increasing lithium production, even for the years of large brine extraction. The analysis indicated that the total surface area of the lagoons varied within a restricted range at 95% confidence level: on average, of the total area covered by these systems 0.03% could have been lost or 0.01% could have been gained per year. Moreover, a multivariate analysis indicated that brine extraction did not have a negative impact on the evolution of the surface areas of the lagoons during the last three decades.
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    On the source of metals and the environmental sustainability of battery electric vehicles versus internal combustion engine vehicles: The lithium production case study
    (2022) Guzm, Juan Ignacio; Faundez, Patricio; Jara, Jose Joaquin; Retamal, Candelaria
    Several studies support that the battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are more environmentally friendly than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). However, these studies assume that one unit of metal used in the manufacturing process is a commodity in terms of its environmental footprint. In this study, estimations for water and energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are used as proxies of the environmental footprint variability within the production of various metals used in the automotive industry. Through these estimations, probability distribution functions are fit to assess the sustainability of BEVs and ICEVs when considering the commodities' environmental heterogeneity.Two scenarios are assessed, which considers: (1) the manufacture of vehicles, and (2) their useful life. The results show the existence of a range of potential environmental footprints for BEVs and ICEVs, depending on the footprints of the specific metals being used. Including this input's variability, when only the manufacturing process is considered, ICEVs outperform BEVs in most of the realization cases and for all the analyzed indicators. However, if their useful life is incorporated, the BEV consistently produces significantly less carbon dioxide emissions, as well as consume the same energy and more water than ICEV.A special case study for lithium is presented as it has shown to be a critical resource and a major environmental concern for BEV production. The results show that by switching lithium from pegmatite to brine, the water consumption required for manufacturing the vehicles is reduced by 0.17%, which is contrary to the common view regarding water use in brine extraction.