Design of Industrial Ecosystems to Minimize Environmental Impact

2 Design of Industrial Ecosystems to Minimize Environmental Impact 

From the discussion in Section 14.6, it is obvious that industrial activity, broadly defined to include agriculture also, has a high potential to adversely affect the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. Inherent to the ways in which properly designed industrial ecosystems operate, however, are measures and systems designed to minimize such impacts. 

FIGURE 14.9 A combined power cycle system in which energy is used at several levels the combustion of fuel in a turbine linked to a generator produces electricity. The heat from this turbine raises steam in a boiler that can drive a steam turbine linked to another generator, and the exhaust steam from this turbine can be used to heat buildings (district heating). Steam from the boiler can also be used for process heat in manufacturing. 

Years of regulation have greatly lowered releases of water pollutants from industrial operations due largely to sophisticated water treatment operations that are applied to water before it is released from a plant. Desirable as these end-of-pipe measures are, the practice of industrial ecology goes beyond such pollution control, minimizing the use of water and preventing its pollution in the first place. One way to ensure that water pollutants are not released from an industrial operation is to completely recycle the water in the system—no water out, no water pollutants. 

In past years, many hazardons solid and liquid wastes have been improperly disposed of to sites in the geosphere, giving rise to a large number of hazardous waste sites, which is the subject of Superfund activity in the United States. The practice of industrial ecology seeks to totally eliminate any such wastes that would require disposal. Ideally, such wastes simply represent material resources that are not properly utilized, a fact that can serve as a gnideline for the prevention of snch wastes. 

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