Processes environmental viability

The same reasoning applies to the synthesis of pure enantiomers as to organic synthesis in general for economic and environmental viability, processes should... 

Since process design starts with the reactor, the first decisions are those which lead to the choice of reactor. These decisions are among the most important in the whole design. Good reactor performance is of paramount importance in determining the economic viability of the overall design and fundamentally important to the environmental impact of the process. In addition to the desired products, reactors produce unwanted byproducts. These unwanted byproducts create environmental problems. As we shall discuss later in Chap. 10, the best solution to environmental problems is not elaborate treatment methods but not to produce waste in the first place. 

Apart from the actual purchase cost a business pays a supplier for a chemical, there are costs that are usually not considered. Happily there has been considerable development of approaches to Total Cost Assessments or environmental accounting, and the reader is strongly encouraged to seek out more information about how this is done. Application of Total Cost Assessment will provide a strategic view of trends that can directly affect the long-term viability of a process and is well worth the effort. 

Most investigations of sonochemistry for the purposes of water pollution control are performed with reagent grade water, which does not closely mimic environmental matrices. Natural waters and most industrial process streams contain solid impurities. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the viability of sonication in heterogeneous systems. 

To complete the list of what we need to know to really understand a cell, there are the issues of adaptive processes—those mechanisms by which cells maintain viability in the face of changing environmental circumstances—and specialized functions that may be unique to a certain cell type such as nerve conduction in neurons. Finally, when we really understand a cell, we will be able to make a definitive mathematical model for it. 

This chapter discusses a "generic" pyrolysis process in detail and describes some of the significant variations. An analysis of the environmental impact and financial viability is also be presented. 

To speed up in the short and medium term the exploitation of the technology, in the last 5 years GVS has carried out several projects to demonstrate the environmental, technical, social and economic viability of processes to dehumidify air based on membrane contactors. 

During pilot plant studies, laboratory results are confirmed, process chemistry is finalized, key process variables are tested, equipment design is evaluated, and waste characteristics are defined. It is especially important at this stage of R D that all major environmental cost areas are understood as these relate to the overall viability of a commercial project. 

---