97369 - Environmental Aspects in Cosmetic Sciences

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students have acquired a knowledge on the methods required to evaluate the environmental fate and exposure of chemical substances used in cosmetics; are able to understand the principles of environmental risk assessment applied to cosmetic products; have attained basic and advanced tools for the correct interpretation of environmental issues of personal care products.

Course contents

Supply chain of cosmetic industry, impact factor climate change. Basic definitions: planetary boundary, climate change, global mean surface temperature, global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG), decarbonisation. Actions: UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, ETS (cap and trade). GHG emissions, removal, carbon neutrality; land use. Science: energy budget, IR spectra GHG and atmospheric window. Metrics: greenhouse effect, radiative forcing (RF), global warming potential (GWP), atmospheric decay, CO2 equivalents. Basics of LCA. Carbon footprint, report, scopes. Applications and case studies of cosmetic industries. Source and fate of cosmetic ingredients in the environment. Basics of environmental risk assessment (ERA). Exposure, primary data (volatilisation, water solubility, Kow), secondary data (partition coefficients, BCF). Dissipation, transfer (Kd, Koc). Degradation, half-life, examples of biodegradation and photodegradation of cosmetic ingredients. Examples and case studies of cosmetic ingredients of environmental concern.

Readings/Bibliography

Lesson slides in Virtuale.

Case studies:

e-books

scientific articles and reports

Teaching methods

Videoprojection of power point presentation. 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. The student will be required to present and discuss a case study on the topics dealt with in the course (for example, actions to reduce GHG emissions of a cosmetic industry, environmental profile of a cosmetic ingredient). Questions about the definitions presented in the course pertinent to the case study.

Teaching tools

Lecturing, tutorials,  videos, numerical exercises from case studies.

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Fabbri