Leonie Barner
YOU?
Author Swipe
How Circular Can the Chemical Industry Sector Be(come)? Open
The current perspective discusses the urgent need for the chemical industry to become more circular by adopting principles of circular economy. Importantly, many chemical products do not fit into the mainstream circular economy scheme that…
A comprehensive review of sustainable valorisation of lignocellulosic biomass and plastic waste into biofuels and chemicals via co-liquefaction Open
Liquefaction stands out as a promising strategy within the bioeconomy, offering a pathway to convert waste into valuable fuels and products. However, bio-oil from biomass liquefaction has high oxygen content and poor calorific value, limit…
Potential of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a circular economy from a life cycle assessment perspective - a case study for anaesthesia and surgical instrument packaging waste in Australia Open
Plastics are a versatile material group with many applications in the healthcare sector. Clinicians, particularly in the operating rooms, have become increasingly dependent on single-use instruments and consumables typically packaged in Po…
Product stewardship in health care: The importance of minimising the environmental and health impacts of plastic products Open
Increased waste in health care is a widespread problem. Currently, modern clinical practices favour single-use products and pre-packaged supply kits. Many of these consist of various types of plastics. By weight, up to 25 per cent of total…
Waste to resource recovery at a marina: Empirical evidence of upstream and downstream innovation for circularity Open
In 2021, an Australian research centre partnered with a regional marina and shipyard where 90 businesses build, refit, and maintain boats in premium condition. Tenants and owners grapple with environmental waste management issues. Since th…
Comment on “Sexism in Academia is Bad for Science and a Waste of Public Funding” Open
A recent comment by Boivin et al. urges academia and governments to address sexism and fight bias at higher education and research institutions as losing female academics is costing science and society too much. Herein, I discuss further u…
Environmental potential of recycling of plastic wastes in Australia based on life cycle assessment Open
Plastic consumption in Australia is steadily increasing and is estimated to reach 8.8 million tonnes by 2050. Alongside plastic consumption, plastic waste management (PWM) faces rising environmental challenges in Australia as most of them …
Technology comparison for sequential extraction of fucoidan and sodium alginate from Ascophyllum nodosum using a glycerol and choline chloride solvent Open
Brown algae are the main source of polysaccharides such as fucoidan and alginate, which can be used to develop a wide range of bioactive and polymer materials. In this study, sodium alginate and fucoidan were sequentially extracted using t…
Life Cycle Assessment in a Nutshell—Best Practices and Status Quo for the Plastic Sector Open
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardized methodology to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of products and technologies and assists in lowering their negative environmental consequences. So far, extensive kn…
Industry 4.0 as an enabler in transitioning to circular business models: A systematic literature review Open
The current planetary crisis and the perceived urgency necessitates more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Businesses, particularly the multinationals, play a key role in transitioning to a circular economy, which provides a…
RDM+PM Checklist: Towards a Measure of Your Institution’s Preparedness for the Effective Planning of Research Data Management Open
A review at our institution and a number of other Australian universities was conducted to identify an optimal institutional-wide approach to Research Data Management (RDM). We found, with a few notable exceptions, a lack of clear policies…
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Sustainable Polymers Open
The world's first-ever human-made synthetic polymer, “Parkesine”, as it was called, was introduced in 1862 by Alexander Parkes at the London International Exhibition. “Parkesine” was a moldable plastic material (as an alternative to ivory …
Getting the Terms Right: Green, Sustainable, or Circular Chemistry? Open
Green chemistry, sustainable chemistry, and circular chemistry are important concepts for the modern lifestyle, current research directions, and worldwide industries. These three concepts are closely related and interconnected but cannot b…
Design for Recycling Strategies Based on the Life Cycle Assessment and End of Life Options of Plastics in a Circular Economy Open
The plastic economy, despite offering unique properties in fulfilling the functions of products in different industrial sectors over decades, has so far been mainly linear, that is, “take‐make and dispose” with only a small fraction of pla…
Waste to resource strategy: Summary report Open
The Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard (GCCM) embarked on an ambitious strategic action plan in 2021 to manage, recover and convert waste into valuable commodities. It represents a deeper endeavour to help the Marina and its associates stee…
Waste to resource strategy Open
Boat repair and maintenance effect surrounding coastal environments. Facility operators are often unaware of the environmental risks posed by their practices regarding wastes, particularly the harm caused by toxic paint chips, paint residu…
Submission to the Productivity Commission Draft Report:'Right to Repair' Open
The Centre for a Waste-Free World supports the Productivity Commission’s examination of the ‘right to repair’ and the draft recommendations that have followed from its inquiry. We understand that this inquiry into the right to repair is be…
Mattress Recycling Scoping Study Open
An average of 1.6 to 1.8 million mattresses are disposed of annually in Australia (Planet Ark Recycling, 2020). Only a small percentage are recycled. The majority of mattresses post-consumer use wind up in landfill. Each one amounts to .75…
Mapping Photochemical Reactivity Profiles on Surfaces Open
Herein, we introduce a comprehensive methodology to map the reactivity of photochemical systems on surfaces. The reactivity of photoreactive groups in solution often departs from their corresponding solution absorption spectra. On surfaces…
The bright and the dark side of the sphere: light-stabilized microparticles Open
We introduce degradable microparticles, synthesized from prepolymers in a precipitation-like polymerization. The narrow disperse particles are stabilized with continuous irradiation of green light and can be spontaneously degraded in the d…
Investigation of the Porosity of Poly(sodium methacrylate) Hydrogels by <sup>1</sup>H‐NMR <i>T</i><sub>2</sub>‐Relaxation and Inverse Size‐Exclusion Chromatography Open
A series of poly(sodium methacrylate) hydrogels, also called superabsorbents, having a theoretical degree of neutralization of 100 mol%, and degree of crosslinking varying from 0.6 to 20 mol%, are synthesized via conventional free radical …
Plastics and the Environment—Current Status and Challenges in Germany and Australia Open
Polymers and plastics play a very important part in the modern world and contribute to people's wellbeing and comfort. However, products made of them are contributing to land‐ and marine‐based environmental pollution due to littering and o…
An In-Depth Analysis Approach Enabling Precision Single Chain Nanoparticle Design Open
The formation of single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) is typically characterized by a shift towards higher elution volumes in SEC due to size decrease upon folding. However, a step-change in SCNP analysis is required for understanding of the…
An In-Depth Analysis Approach Enabling Precision Single Chain Nanoparticle Design Open
The formation of single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) is typically characterized by a shift towards higher elution volumes in SEC due to size decrease upon folding. However, a step-change in SCNP analysis is required for understanding of the…