Life cycle analysis, industrial waste

The ISO 14000 series of environmental standards and their implications for the plastics industry are discussed. Aspects of ecolabelling and life cycle analysis and different options for recycling and waste disposal are examined. 

Handbook of Green Chemistry and Technology, J. H. Clark and D. J. Macquarrie, Eds., Blackwell Publishing 2002, 540 pp., ISBN 0-632-05715-7. This collection of 22 review essays covers all the important areas of green chemistry, including environmental impact and life-cycle analysis, waste minimization, catalysts and their industrial applications, new synthesis methods, dean energy, and novel solvent systems. The chapters are well referenced and contain pertinent examples and case studies. 

Topics covered include life cycle analysis, identifying and prioritizing pollutants for industrial sites, selecting environmentally compatible materials, design of unit operations for waste minimization, and pollution prevention economics. 

In looking at the life cycle analysis of surfactants based on renewable materials versus petrochemical feedstocks there are pros and cons to each side. Petrochemical processes use more energy but generate less waste whereas agricultural processes generate more waste and gaseous emissions. However, the opportunities for efficiency improvements are greater in the oleochemical and allied industries than in the petrochemical industry [40]. 

Products and processes all have a natural life cycle. For example, the life cycle of a product starts from the extraction of raw materials for its production and ends when the product is finally disposed. In the production, use and disposal of this product, energy is consumed and wastes and emissions are generated. A life-cycle assessment is an analysis in which the use of energy and materials are quantified and the potential environmental and societal impacts are predicted. Life-cycle thinking is progressively being adopted by industry as an... 

Within some industries, industrial waste management efforts have extended from pollution control measures, to the identification of industrial ecology linkages, in which waste stream information must he made available for analysis and evaluation. The collection and analysis of information contributes to the success of a waste management system therefore, the system can be used to assist in the integration of energy, economic and environmental considerations when determining product life cycles [6]. 

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