Technological change, process

Technological Change Processes, Impacts, and Adjustment Policies, 25 March 1964, box 1, folder Birth of the Program, Records of the Harvard University Program on Technology and Society, UAV.825.16, Harvard University Archives [hereafter cited as Harvard Program Records]. 

During process development, a model can be developed as soon as a conceptual flow sheet has been formulated. This model can be updated as more information about the process is obtained. Even at an early stage in the project, the model can be used to assess the preliminary economics of the process and the effect of technological changes on these economics. The model can aid in interpreting pilot-plant data and allows the study of many process alternatives. 

The principal technological changes in the engineering control of air pollution were the perfection of the motor-driven fan, which allowed large-scale gas-treating systems to be built the invention of the electrostatic precipitator, which made particulate control in many processes feasible and the development of a chemical engineering capability for the design of process equipment, which made the control of gas and vapor effluents feasible. 

Arizona has traditionally been a large copper-producing state. SO, emissions from copper smelters near Phoenix and Tucson are shown in Fig. 10-10 (1). Phoenix is located 100 km from the nearest smelter, and Tucson is 60 km from the nearest smelter. The improvement in visibility in the 1967-1968 period was due to a decrease in SO, emissions when there was 9-month shutdown caused by a strike. Improvement in visibility in the mid-1970 was the result of better control technology and process changes. 

The use of more efficient technologies or process changes can reduce PIC emissions. Advanced coal combustion technologies such as coal gasification and fiuidized-bed combustion are examples of cleaner processes that may lower PICs by approximately 10%. Enclosed coal crushers and grinders emit lower PM. 

People develop bad habits and take things for granted processes, equipment, and technology change, so retraining is essential at appropriate intervals. 

In today s world the decision is more complex. Markets are more sophisticated, skills can be in short supply, technological change can soon outdate newly installed processes, and there has been a phenomenal revolution in communications, both in terms of the physical movement of goods and people and of information around the world. As a consequence, companies often have to consider a wide number of options, and the eventual decision is based on optimizing the perceived net benefits. 

Heaton, G.R., Financing the Process of Technological Change Innovative Mechanisms for the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies. UNIDO, Vienna, Austria, 1995. 

In this process EAF dust, other zinc-bearing wastes, recycled materials, coke or coal, lime, and silica are mixed and fed to a rotary furnace. The zinc and other volatile nonferrous metals in the feed are entrained in the furnace off-gas and are carried from the furnace to an external dust collection system. The resulting oxide (zinc calcine) is a crude zinc-bearing product that is further refined at zinc smelters. A byproduct of the process is a nonhazardous, iron-rich slag that can be used in road construction. Solidification technologies change the physical form of the waste to produce a solid structure in which the contaminant is mechanically trapped. 

The hazardous waste identification process is subject to critical review, and adjusted accordingly to reflect technology changes and new information. The hazardous waste listings are particularly dynamic as U.S. EPA conducts further research to incorporate new listings. The following is a brief discussion of several developments to hazardous waste identification. 

When reusing the osmotic solution, the first main problem is to restore the solute concentration. The technological answers that could be suggested include both phase and nonphase changing processes ... 

This checklist should not be used in a rote "yes/no" manner, nor is it necessary to answer every question. The idea is to consider what might be possible, and then determine what is feasible. The checklist should be reviewed periodically throughout the life cycle of the process. As technology changes, what was once impossible becomes possible, and what was once infeasible becomes feasible. 

R. Schadt, Process analytical technology - changing the validation paradigm. Pharmaceutical Rev. 7(1) 58-61, January/February (2004). 

Unlike the dangers inherent in nature, we are responsible, and have responsibility for technology. Technological change is not an autonomous, automatic process beyond our control but the result of human decisions. It only looks like an... 

The scale of bioreactions is listed in Table 5.3. In today s economic environment there are three distinct scales of operation. On the large scale the emphasis of research is generally on fermentation technology and process engineering, while this emphasis changes as the scale of operation is reduced and ultimately the research is dominated by work in genetic manipulation and catalyst development. 

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