Sustainable technologies

Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST), ... 

Addressing the second question first leads to a critical constraint when thinking about new, more sustainable, technological developments, that is, the universal applicability of the laws of thermodynamics to aU physical, chemical and biological processes. A central and inescapable fact is the inevitability of waste formation. One statement of the second law of thermodynamics says that heat cannot be converted completely into work. Or, in other words, the energy output of work is always less than the energy transformed to accomplish it. A consequence of this is that, even in principle, it is impossible for any real process to proceed without the generation of some sort of waste. 

Energy Conservation, Exceeding Minimum Code Requirements, Development of New Sustainable Technologies. 

Buchert M, Schuler D, Bleher D (2009) Critical metals for future sustainable technologies and their recycling potential (Ed. UNEP-DTIE), Paris... 

Hydrogen, however, can be produced using sustainable technologies that are nowadays still not applied at large scale the most promising ones are water splitting by electrolysis using sustainably produced electricity (e.g., wind, hydro, and sun) and processes based on sustainable production and utilization of biomass.3... 

It is accepted that many widely used latex vulcanisation accelerators - dithiocaibamates, thiurams and thiazoles - are capable of producing Type IV allergic response in certain individuals within the population and may also possess increasingly unacceptable eco-toxic and acute toxicity profiles. Thiurams and dithiocaibamates (derived from secondary amines) can also produce potentially harmful N-nitrosamines. Four safer accelerators developed and commercialised by Robinson Brothers are described. They are designed to reduce or eliminate the impact of the above problems using sustainable technology. At the same time these accelerators produce equivalent technological performances to those conventionally used. 10 refs. 

Fig. 1.12 Fully integrated agro-biofuel-biomaterial-biopower cycle for sustainable technologies (From A. J. Ragauskas et al., Science, 311,484 (2006). Reprinted with permission from AAAS [7]).

Such environmental concerns and technical problems (having major consequences on the overall cost of the production) prompted many research teams to look for alternative synthetic pathways that rely on catalytic processes and more sustainable technologies. 

These principles are embodied in the concepts of zero discharge and sustainable technology. 

Sustainable technology innovations (E-h-) = emerging or unproven technology to provide through inherently different mechanisms radical technology change. 

A campus-wide mechanism for integration and coordination. The Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development at Georgia Tech serves in this capacity. The institute encourages activities in education and research and managing the campus and stimulates activities with other universities and industry. 

The costs for the new and sustainable technology are found to be similar to those of the existing technology (for an 8,000 BBL/day plant, an EEC of MM 43.5 for the Alkylene process and MM 40.5 for hydrofluoric acid alkylation). The increased costs for the novel Alkylene reactor are offset by costs for HE mitigation capital and... 

Storey, M. (2003). Biodegradable packaging spuds get packing. Sustainable Technologies Initiative. Oakdene Hollins, http //www.ohlsti.co.uk/ohl/stipdfs/ohl sti56.pdf. 

Solstice, the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies, is an on-line resource for sustainable-energy information. Be sure to explore the related website www.crest.org where you will learn about the US. Renewable Energy Policy Project. 

The philosophy of process intensification has been traditionally characterized by four words smaller, cheaper, safer, slicker. And indeed, equipment size, land use costs, and process safety are among the most important PI incentives. But process intensification can (and should) also be placed in a broader context—the context of sustainable technological development. Several years ago DSM published a picture symbolizing its own vision of process intensification (32), in which skyscraping distillation towers of the naphtha-cracking unit are replaced by a compact, clean, and tidy indoor plant (see Figure 3). The importance of PI for sustainable development and its role in the company s responsible business has been further stressed in a recent publication by the company s CEO, Peter Elverding (33). Here,... 

Legislative and environmental aspects are usually strongly linked. They are getting a lot of attention in discussions on the license to operate (LTO) and sustainable technology (see Chapter 14). 

This chapter is meant for developers and designers of processes, in particular of intensified processes, who want to ensure that their processes contribute to sustainable development. To this end problems with the present technological solutions in relation to the world-scale environment and society are explained in the first section. Then in the second section sustainable development is explained and the role and criteria for sustainable technology are derived. Finally process intensification is assessed on its contribution to sustainable development. 

Economic Issues (Profit). It is obvious that if scarce nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels and rich metal ores are going to be depleted, prices will become extremely high. Therefore, economics is very important in sustainable development. This is also true for the feasibility of sustainability concepts If they are not profitable, then they will not be accepted. However, it is very important to think over the meaning of the term profitability. Indeed, if external costs are taken into account, sustainable technology will be more profitable in the long term than conventional technology. 

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