georgia institute of technology systems realization laboratory dr. bert bras me 4171 -...

Georgia Institute of TechnologySystems Realization Laboratory

Dr. Bert Bras

ME 4171 - Environmentally Conscious

Design & Manufacturing

ME 4171 - Environmentally Conscious

Design & Manufacturing

SRL

Systems Realization Laboratory The G.W.Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0405, USA

World Wide Web address: http://www.srl.gatech.edu


OutlineOutline

• Environmental impact, reduction and approaches

• Pollution Prevention

• ECDM, DFE approaches and guidelines

• Design for Recycling

• Design for Remanufacture

• Eco-labels

• Life-Cycle Assessment

• Life-Cycle Costing

• ISO 14000


Engineering and the EnvironmentEngineering and the Environment

The focus of engineering design has primarily been on achieving superios products from a technical, economical and quality perspective.

However, there is an increasing awareness of the effects of technological advances on the environment.

The focus of engineering design has primarily been on achieving superios products from a technical, economical and quality perspective.

However, there is an increasing awareness of the effects of technological advances on the environment.

Note: Environment does not have to refer only to the global, natural environment. The phrase "environment" can also include the close proximity (user) environment of a technical system.

Note: Environment does not have to refer only to the global, natural environment. The phrase "environment" can also include the close proximity (user) environment of a technical system.


Typical Questions to be AnsweredTypical Questions to be Answered

The following questions need to be addressed:

1) what exactly is the impact of technical systems on the environment? (and how can we measure it?)

2) how can this impact be reduced?

3) how can (computer-based) tools be developed and integrated with other engineering tools to assess and reduce the environmental impact of engineering systems?

The following questions need to be addressed:

1) what exactly is the impact of technical systems on the environment? (and how can we measure it?)

2) how can this impact be reduced?

3) how can (computer-based) tools be developed and integrated with other engineering tools to assess and reduce the environmental impact of engineering systems?

Furthermore:

How to make Environmentally Conscious Design profitable in terms of dollars?

Furthermore:

How to make Environmentally Conscious Design profitable in terms of dollars?


Environmental Impact – High LevelEnvironmental Impact – High Level

Most design researchers (and practitioners) agree that:

Technical systems convert matter, energy and information into more useful matter energy and information.

However, unwanted consumptions and emissions of energy, matter (and information) occur as well.

Most design researchers (and practitioners) agree that:

Technical systems convert matter, energy and information into more useful matter energy and information.

However, unwanted consumptions and emissions of energy, matter (and information) occur as well.

Environmental impact is made in the form of matter and energy consumption and emission throughout the life cycle.

Environmental impact is made in the form of matter and energy consumption and emission throughout the life cycle.

Because of the diversity of opinions, a unifying measure of environmental impact has to be established.

Because of the diversity of opinions, a unifying measure of environmental impact has to be established.


Municipial Solid Waste (MSW)Municipial Solid Waste (MSW)

• Municipial solid waste (MSW), that is, your trash, averages 4 pounds per person per day.

• The USA generated 180 million tons of MSW in 1988

• One third of US MSW consist of packaging materials.– Can you understand why Germany has made a packaging law?

• The European Community’s annual waste output (including packaging) is estimated at 2.2 billion tons.

– The amount of the EC’s packaging waste is estimated at 50 million tons with 9 million tons being recycled to a different extent in the Member States.


Industrial WastesIndustrial Wastes

U.S. Industry, on the other hand, generates

700 million tons of hazardous waste, and

11 billion tons of “non-hazardous” waste.

U.S. Industry, on the other hand, generates

700 million tons of hazardous waste, and

11 billion tons of “non-hazardous” waste.


Traffic ImpactTraffic Impact

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the transport sector accounts for

– 75 percent of the carbon monoxide emissions

– 60 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions

– 50 percent of the organic hydrocarbon emissions

– 20 percent of the carbon dioxide output

– as much as 26 percent of end-point energy consumption.

The approximate 3 million inhabitants of the metropolitan Atlanta area drive 100 million miles per DAY!


Refrigerator ImpactRefrigerator Impact

• In the course of its service life, an average three-star refrigerator consumes roughly 5,000 kilowatt-hours and produces about 2,400 kilograms of CO2 (a Greenhouse contributor)

• An assessment of the entire product line of a refrigerator - ranging from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of the used product -shows that the lion’s share of this energy (90 percent or more) is consumed during the refrigerator's period of use.


Computers and Energy ConsumptionComputers and Energy Consumption

• If the number of workstation computers continues to grow as it has in the recent past, a new power plant will have to be built every five years in order to cover the increasing electricity consumption in Germany.

• While the computers' specific energy consumption per processing transaction is decreasing, this development is offset by the greater computing power of the new machines.

• According to calculations made by the World Watch Institute, all the computers operated worldwide consume as much energy as all of Brazil during the same period of time.


PaperPaper

• Each German citizen consumes about 200 kilograms of paper per year, while the per-capita consumption in China, for instance, is only 13 kilograms.


Reducing Environmental ImpactReducing Environmental Impact


EPA’s ViewEPA’s View

Environmental requirements should minimize:

• raw materials consumption

• energy consumption

• waste generation

• health and safety risks

• ecological degradation


US Congressional ViewUS Congressional View

The congressional view on the issue is reflected in (or at least influenced by) the report "Green Products by Design – Choices for a Cleaner Environment" from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA-E-541), published in October 1992.

Green design

Waste prevention

Reduce: weighttoxicityenergy use

Extend: service life

Better materials management

Facilitate: remanufacturingrecyclingcompostingenergy recovery

Green design consists of two complementary goals. Design for waste prevention avoids the generation of waste in the first place; design for better materials management facilitates the handling of products at the end of their service life.

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment, 1992.


Policy ImplicationsPolicy Implications

• The environmental evaluation of a product or design should not be based upon a single attribute, such as recyclability.

• The trend toward increasing product complexity seems certain to make the environmental evaluation of products more difficult and expensive in the future.

• Policies to encourage green design should be flexible enough to accommodate the rapid pace of technological change and the broad array of design choices and tradeoffs.

• The biggest environmental gains will likely come from policies that provide incentives for greener production and consumption systems, not just greener products

Based upon (inter)national studies, the Office of Technology Assessment states:


Guiding Principles according to OTAGuiding Principles according to OTA

Principle 1: Identify the root problem and define it clearly.All the different perceptions on "the environmental problem" are not helping solving the problem. The tradeoffs and interactions between the problems have to be considered carefully.

Principle 2: Give designers maximum flexibility that is consistent with solving the problem.Strict regulations and rigid Federal mandates will have adverse effects. Promote flexibility (in policies).

Principle 3:Encourage a systems approach to green design.Don't just focus on the component, but look at the big picture. For example, German automakers are rethinking their entire "ecology" of car production and disposal.


Product Life Cycle(s)Product Life Cycle(s)


A Product’s Life Cycle – From Cradle to Re-IncarnationA Product’s Life Cycle – From Cradle to Re-Incarnation

The term “demanufacture” is used to characterize the process opposite to manufacturing involved in recycling materials and products.

Disposal

MiningMaterial

processingProduct

manufactureDistribution

Product take-back

Material de-manufacture

Energy recovery with incineration

Use +

Service

Product demanufacture

Environment: air, sea, land 1234

Clean fuel production via pyrolysis

2 = Remanufacture of reusable components

3 = Reprocessing of recycled material

4 = Monomer / raw material regeneration

1 = Direct recycling / reuse

Manufacture

Demanufacture


Stages of the Product Life Cycle (Office of Technology Assessment)Stages of the Product Life Cycle

(Office of Technology Assessment)

Environmental impacts occur at all stages of a product’s life cycle. Design can be employed to reduce these impacts by changing the amount and type of materials used in the product, by creating more efficient manufacturing operations, by reducing the energy and materials consumed during use, and by recovery of energy and materials during waste management. (OTA)


OEM

Assembly Plant(s)

Dealer Consumer

Vehicle Platform

Tier 1 Part Molder/Suppliers




Material Supplier

Material Supplier

partsmaterials vehicles

parts

parts

materials

material and parts specifications

Supplier Base

vehicles

Recycler(s)

Vehicle Dismantler

Auto Shredder

junked vehicles

scrap parts

scrap vehicles

reusable parts

Parts Re-manufacturer

cores

coresremanufact. parts

recyclable non-metallic materials

Millsmetals

Automobile Life-CycleAutomobile Life-Cycle

• Many modern products like automobiles are assembled by OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) from components manufactured by numerous suppliers, creating a complicated network of interactions.


Examples of undesired releases and consumptionsExamples of undesired releases and consumptions

Product life cycle stage Some examples of harmful energy and matter

consumption and emissions

Manufacturing Energy inefficient manufacturing processes.

Manufacturing waste material.

Hazardous chemicals.

Waste heat.

Large energy consumption.

Deployment Packaging materials.

Transportation energy.

Operation and service Increased emissions and energy consumption due to loss

of peak performance.

Worn components which are replaced and discarded.

Retirement Energy for (garbage) collection.

Scrap products.The above names for life cycle stages are often used in Defense related industries and products.


Generic High Level Life-Cycle ActivitiesGeneric High Level Life-Cycle Activities

Materials Manufacture

Product Fabrication

Filling/ Packaging/ Distribution

Manufacturing

Raw Materials Acquisition

Use / Reuse / Maintenance

Recycle / Waste Management

Life-cycle StagesInputs Outputs

Atmospheric Emissions

Waterborne Wastes

Solid Wastes

Coproducts

Other Releases

Energy

Raw Materials

For a mechanical product. Source: EPA


Aspects of an Environmentally Benign ProductAspects of an Environmentally Benign Product

Product Life Cycle

UseProduction and Distribution

Post Use

low energy and material consumption few and environmentally benign emissions

long product life = easy to: inspect, maintain, repair, update

usefulness

low energy and material consumption use of environmentally benign (e.g. recycled) material few and environmentally benign (recyclable) emissions / waste

Recycling Disposal

Material Recycling Product Recycling (Reuse of the product or its parts)

degradability

Incineration

high reuse value disassemblability

high recycling value of the materials separability or compa- tibility of materials

no hazardous emissions

The terms “material” and “product” recycling are used in Germany and the German engineering standard VDI 2243 – “Designing Technical Products for Ease of Recycling”


Reducing Environmental Impact -Approaches and History

Reducing Environmental Impact -Approaches and History


From:

Coulter, S., B.A. Bras and C. Foley (1995). A Lexicon of Green Engineering Terms, 10th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 95), V. Hubka Ed., Praha, Czech Republic, Heurista, Zurich, Switzerland, pp. 1033-1039.

Bras, B., 1997, "Incorporating Environmental Issues in Product Realization," Industry and Environment, United Nations UNEP/IE (invited contribution), Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (double issue), pp. 7-13, 1997.

Sca

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Scale of Temporal Concern

Sin

gle

Pro

duct

Lif

e C

ycl

e X Products

One Manufacturer

Society

Manufacturing

Use

Disposal

Product Life Cycle

Human Lifetime

Civilization Span

X Manufacturers

Manufacturing Use Disposal

1: Environmental Engineering 2: Pollution Prevention 3: Envir. Conscious D&M 4: Design for the Environment 5: Life Cycle Design 6: Industrial Ecology 7: Sustainable Development

21

3,4,5

6

7

A Classification of Environmental Impact Reduction EffortsA Classification of Environmental Impact Reduction Efforts


ClassificationClassification

• Three classes of approaches can be identified: – those which are applied within a single product life-cycle and focus on

specific life-cycle stages,

– those that focus on a complete product life-cycle and cover all life-cycle stages, and

– those that go beyond single product life-cycles.

aaa

MaterialProcessing

ProductManufacture Distribution

ProductTake-Back

ProductDemanufacture

MaterialDemanufacture

Disposal

Manufacture

Demanufacture

Energy recoverywith incineration

Clean fuelproduction viapyrolysis

1= Direct reuse2= Remanufacture of reusable components3= Reprocessing of recycled material4= Monomer/raw material generation

1234 Use

Materials ExtractedFrom Biosphere

Materials MinedFrom Lithosphere

Product Life-Cycle


Approaches Focusing on Specific Life-Cycle StagesApproaches Focusing on Specific Life-Cycle Stages

• Traditional environmental engineering is concerned with managing the fate, transport, and control of contaminants in water supplies and discharges, air emissions, and solid wastes (after pollutants have been generated, or at the “end of the pipe”).

• Pollution prevention usually focuses on elimination of pollutants from existing products and process technologies.

• With the exception of Design for Environment, environmentally oriented Design for X approaches are all focused on a specific aspect of a product’s life-cycle (e.g., Design for Disassembly, Design for Recycling)

– A danger of focusing too much on specific DFX approaches (or specific aspects of a product life-cycle in general) is that strong concentration on a single environmental aspect may negatively affect other aspects and render the product less environmental friendly as a whole.


Approaches Focusing on a Complete Product Life-CycleApproaches Focusing on a Complete Product Life-Cycle

• In Design for Environment, Life-Cycle Design, Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacturing, and Green Design, the scope of considerations, both in terms of time and the environment, is the life cycle of one product.

• All these approaches have similar goals and encourage a holistic product view.

• However, it has already been recognized by many that this may not be enough.

– For example, modern manufacturers often rely on multiple suppliers, have multiple product lines, multiple facilities, often in multiple countries.


ECDM, DFE, Life-Cycle Design, etc.ECDM, DFE, Life-Cycle Design, etc.

• Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacture (ECDM) and other Design for Environment (DFE) efforts are largely motivated by a drive to reduce the (negative) impact of engineering systems (products, processes) on their environment.

• Environmental impact occurs throughout a product’s life cycle by means of unwanted and unnecessary energy and material consumptions and emissions.

• Design for Environment – “Systematic consideration of design performance with respect to environmental, health, and safety objectives over the full product and process life-cycle”

(Joseph Fiksel, “Design for Environment – Creating Eco-Efficient Products and Processes”, McGraw-Hill, 1996).

• Sustainable Development is considered the ultimate goal:– Economic growth that is in harmony with the environment


Approaches Going Beyond Single Product Life-CyclesApproaches Going Beyond Single Product Life-Cycles

• In industrial ecology, companies, organizations and communities work together to minimize environmental impact and use each others waste in an intelligent manner for creating new products.

– Industrial ecology is not limited to a single product life cycle, but considers the interactions of several product life cycles (of possibly different lengths) over a larger time scale.

• Sustainable development is the broadest but also the least well-defined approach in terms of tools and methods.

– The United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development in their report Our Common Future, defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations.”

– It is generally agreed that sustainable development requires at least pollution prevention, consideration of life-cycle consequences of production, and an approach that imitates natural or biological processes.


DFE, ECDM, etc. in PracticeDFE, ECDM, etc. in Practice


Some DriversSome

Drivers• Legislation:

– Clean Air Act has limited use of a number of materials.

– (European) take-back legislation is driving Design for Recycling efforts.

• Customers: – Awareness of environmental issues is increasing among customers. In Europe, some

customers will already pay more for a product if it is green.

– Industrial customers (e.g., Original Equipment Manufacturers) do not want (future) environmental liability for your product.

• Eco-Labels: – How “green” is your product? Having an eco-label becomes a competitive advantage.

• ISO 14000:– ISO 14000 (environmental management standards) certification may become a crucial

element in doing business, like ISO 9000 (quality management standards).

• In addition, many have noted that DFE makes good business sense and has many other positive effects.

– Reduction of material diversity, driver for new creative solutions, etc.


The Bad NewsThe Bad News

Common “complaint” :

“I have to satisfy my customer demands, my boss, get the product out on time, meet all the deadlines, do DFMA, TQM, etc., and now I also have to worry about DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?”

(a.k.a. the swamped engineer syndrome


Technical, Economical, Ecological Trade-offsTechnical, Economical, Ecological Trade-offs

• Please note: Compromises between technical, economical and environmental concerns are a fact of life

Environmental extreme

Technical extreme

Compromise (?)

or ... (?)


Different Levels of Organizational ConcernDifferent Levels of Organizational Concern

Industrial Ecosystem Level

Company Level (s)

Company 1 (Supplier)

Company 2 (OEM)

Company n

Product 1.1

Product 1.2

Product 2.1

Product n.1

Product n.2

Product n.x

Subsystem 1.1.1

Subsystem 1.1.2

Trans-mission Structure Engine Subsystem

2.1.1Subsystem 2.1.2

Subsystem Levels

Product Level (s)

Subsystem Level (s)Power

SourceType of Engine

Parameters Parameter Levels (s)

(Suppliers and OEMs)Product(s)

Industrial Ecosystem n

Global Industrial System Integration Level

Industrial Ecosystem 1

Sta

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Sta

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?

!


The Good NewsThe Good News

• Most Design for Environment (DFE) guidelines also have other benefits (technical, economical, quality).

– Reducing material diversity for ease of product recycling leads also to lower inventory and purchasing expenditures.

– Life extension practices place renewed emphasis on design for serviceability which typically pleases customers.

– Etcetera.

• Increasing efficiency and reducing waste ALWAYS makes sense!

• Plus, it is argued that the biggest advantage of doing DFE is that it forces more creative thinking.


Industry ExperiencesIndustry Experiences

• Many (larger) companies have adopted the DFE paradigm.

– The Environmental Protection Agency is also moving away from Best Available Technologies to Common Sense Initiatives and also has a (small) group working on DFE.

• DFE success stories are emerging.– Also, the chemical industry has a solid base of pollution prevention

success stories

» 3M’s Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program (established in 1975).

» Dow Chemical’s Waste Reduction Always Pays program.

• Invariably, everybody buys into the DFE philosophy.

• The challenge is in the implementation, in particular – the seamless horizontal and vertical integration, and

– the trade-off assessment and resolution.


Green Engineering – Engineer's point of viewGreen Engineering – Engineer's point of view

What needs to be done?

1) define what is environmental impact (establish objective)2) identify relationships between environmental impact and designs

(create “analysis” model)3) provide capability to select design with reduced environmental

impact (selection between alternatives)4) provide capability to improve design with respect to reducing

environmental impact (“optimization”)5) establish tradeoff model with respect to the other design goals

such as performance, cost and quality (compromise).

What needs to be done?

1) define what is environmental impact (establish objective)2) identify relationships between environmental impact and designs

(create “analysis” model)3) provide capability to select design with reduced environmental

impact (selection between alternatives)4) provide capability to improve design with respect to reducing

environmental impact (“optimization”)5) establish tradeoff model with respect to the other design goals

such as performance, cost and quality (compromise).

Item 5 is of extreme importance, because:• on one hand the tradeoffs are often neglected by researchers,

politicians and activists,• on the other hand the tradeoffs are often used by companies as an

excuse not to participate in Green Engineering.

Item 5 is of extreme importance, because:• on one hand the tradeoffs are often neglected by researchers,

politicians and activists,• on the other hand the tradeoffs are often used by companies as an

excuse not to participate in Green Engineering.

georgia institute of technology systems realization laboratory dr. bert bras me 4171 -...

Documents

impact of technical

tons of msw

tons of nonhazardous

tons of hazardous waste

energy consumption

useful matter energy

ecs packaging waste

percent of end