Waste Environmental Impact

To assess the environmental impact of chemical processes, EATOS can take into consideration up to ten different substances ecotoxicological and human toxicological parameters, and each parameter can be given a different weight. Such substances parameters are then normalized (each parameter is made to vary from 1 to 10) and then combined to afford an environmental quotient (El) (much the same as Sheldon s Q). Thus, each different component of the waste can be assigned a quantitative potential environmental impact PEIout (much the same of Sheldon s environmental quotient EQ), defined as the product of its mass (relative to the product unit mass) with its El. 

SewageWater Auxiliaries (isolation) Solvents Impurities Catalysts Substrates By-products Coupled products 

European Chemicals Bureau (http //ecb.jrc.it/) and the Hazardous Substance DataBank (http //toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/). When insufficient data were available for human chronic toxicity, a prediction of the carcinogenic and mutagenic effects was performed with the OSIRIS tool, available at the Organic Chemistry Portal (http // www.organic-chemistry.org/prog/peo/). 

it is important to stress how misleading an environmental assessment could be based only on waste masses relatively small portions of the waste mass can account for relatively large environmental impacts. 

the environmental analysis performed with the aid of EATOS makes it clear (in quantitative terms) that any effort for the reduction of the environmental impact of both processes should take into consideration, in the first place, an improvement of isolation procedures, that is, using less and/or less toxic auxiliaries - a result that would not have been possible at all considering other metrics such as atom economy, or would have been greatly underestimated using metrics based only on masses. 

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Helsen, L. and Van den Bulck, E. (2004) Review of thermochemical conversion processes as disposal technologies for chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste, Environmental Impacts of Preservative-Treated Wood, Florida Center for Environmental Solutions, Conference, February 8-11, Gainesville, Orlando, EL, pp. 277-94. 

Figure 16.3 allows us to see immediately that route B also permits a large decrease in waste environmental impact the figures are 697 and 402 PEI-unit per kg of product for routes A, and B, respectively, that is, route B achieves a net 40% reduction in waste potential environmental impact. 

EATOS can also be used as a powerful tool to drive the green improvement of a chemical synthetic sequence. For example, from Table 16.1 it is clear that, in absolute terms, the greatest contribution to environmental impact of both routes comes from the auxiliaries materials, that is, materials used for isolation and/or purification of the product. Therefore, efforts to further decrease waste environmental impact should be directed, in the first place, towards finding alternative and greener isolation procedures. 

Safety, waste minimization, environmental concerns, and health hazards should be considered together because of their commonality in impact and in the database, and because if we solve one problem, say in waste reduction, we often solve problems in the related areas such as safety and environment. Minimizing waste, environmental impact, and unsafe conditions are not always consistent with the minimum cost. The criteria given in Tables 16.1, 16.2, and 16.4 do not always agree. 

Keywords Solid wastes Environmental impact Environmental analysis ... 

In this chapter, we will examine the types of plastics packaging, their fabrication methods, their occurrence in municipal solid waste, environmental impacts (both positive and negative) associated with their use and disposal, and packaging changes that can reduce those environmental impacts. First, we will examine... 

R. Widmer, H. Oswald-Krapf, D. Sinha-Khetriwal, M. Schnelhnann, and H. Boeni, Global Perspective on e-Waste. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. Volume 25, Issue 5 (July 2005) pp 436 58. 

XVII-1.6.2. Provisions for sustainability, waste environmental impacts... 

R Widmer, H Oswald-Krapf, D Sinha-Khetriwal, et al. Global perspectives on e-waste. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 25(5) 436-458,2005. 

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. 

Once the life-cycle inventory has been quantified, we can attempt to characterize and assess the eflfects of the environmental emissions in a life-cycle impact analysis. While the life-cycle inventory can, in principle at least, be readily assessed, the resulting impact is far from straightforward to assess. Environmental impacts are usually not directly comparable. For example, how do we compare the production of a kilogram of heavy metal sludge waste with the production of a ton of contaminated aqueous waste A comparision of two life cycles is required to pick the preferred life cycle. 

The treatment of these issues will be discussed jointly with the health, safety and environment (HSE) departments within the company and with the process and facilities engineers, and their treatment should be designed in conjunction with an environmental impact assessment. Some of the important basic principles for waste management are to ... 

Solids. Proper handling and disposal techniques can obviate potential problems associated with the soHd waste-retorted shale. Retorted shale disposal and revegetation have posed no adverse environmental impacts at the Unocal Parachute Project (62). EarHer studies carried out using Paraho and Lurgi retorted shales indicated that these materials behave as low grade cements (63,64) and can be engineered and compacted into high density materials (Pig. 11) and water impervious stmctures (Table 15). 

Environmental Impact. The volume of waste remover from these products is remarkably increased when compared to methylene chloride, petroleum, and oxygenate removers, since both /V-methy1pyrro1idinone and dibasic esters have low vapor pressures. Recovery of the remover after use is difficult because the finish is tesolubili2ed by the remover. A representative dibasic ester formula appears below for a thickened water rinse finish remover. 

The process starting from lignin has faced serious problems, such as reduced availabiUty and environmental impact. The availabiUty is reduced because the new process for making paper paste yields less Hquor. As a result, it is likely that the larger companies will not reinvest in new factories to process Hquors to meet demand. The process s environmental impact is also problematic because over 160 t of caustic waste are produced for every ton of vanillin manufactured. 

When antifreeze becomes unsuitable for use, either because of depletion of inhibitors, presence of corrosion products or corrosive ions, or degradation of the fluid, recycling and reuse of the antifreeze, rather than disposal, may be considered. Although ethylene glycol is readily biodegraded in typical municipal waste treatment faciHties, antifreeze disposal becomes problematic because the coolant may contain hazardous quantities of heavy metals picked up from the cooling system. Recycling may be economically preferred over coolant disposal and reduces the concern for environmental impact. 

Reduced negative environmental impacts. Through an evaluation of pollution-prevention alternatives, which consider a total systems approach, consideration is given to the negative impact of environmental damage to natural resources and species that occur during raw-material procurement and waste disposal. The performance of pollution-prevention endeavors will therefore result in enhanced environmental protection. 

Site Selection Factors that must be considered in evaluating potential solid-waste-disposal sites are summarized in Table 25-71. Final selection of a disposal site usually is based on the results of a preliminary site survey, results of engineering design and cost studies, and an environmental-impact assessment. 

The main purpose of pesticide formulation is to manufacture a product that has optimum biological efficiency, is convenient to use, and minimizes environmental impacts. The active ingredients are mixed with solvents, adjuvants (boosters), and fillers as necessary to achieve the desired formulation. The types of formulations include wettable powders, soluble concentrates, emulsion concentrates, oil-in-water emulsions, suspension concentrates, suspoemulsions, water-dispersible granules, dry granules, and controlled release, in which the active ingredient is released into the environment from a polymeric carrier, binder, absorbent, or encapsulant at a slow and effective rate. The formulation steps may generate air emissions, liquid effluents, and solid wastes. 

In both the materials used and the construction process, sustainability and efficiency will become standard. Improvements mjob site management and building design will reduce waste and cost of construction. Materials such as engineered wood, recycled carpeting, and cellulose insulation, which have lower environmental impact, will become cheaper and more widely available. Not only are buildings constructed with such material friendlier to the environment, they also provide higher-quality, lower-cost solutions. 

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