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WAR DSS: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CHEMICAL PROCESS DESIGN
Citation:
Young*, D M., J. K. Saxe**, AND T M. Martin**. WAR DSS: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS CHEMICAL PROCESS DESIGN. Presented at AIChE National Meeting, Reno, NV, 11/4-9/2001.
Description:
The second generation of the Waste Reduction (WAR) Algorithm is constructed as a decision support system (DSS) in the design of chemical manufacturing facilities. The WAR DSS is a software tool that can help reduce the potential environmental impacts (PEIs) of industrial chemical processes by providing process designers with timely data and models elucidating environmentally favorable design options. It is intended to be used in conjunction with chemical process design software. The WAR DSS uses a wide range of environmental impact categories including global warming, ozone depletion, human health, ecological health, to evaluate the environmental concerns of a chemical process. The database for WAR DSS contains data and models for approximately 5,000 chemicals. Indicators for human and ecological toxicity ideally require data for chronic and acute toxicity and other effects in several species. Since these data are not available for many of the WAR DSS-supported chemicals, Quantitative Structural-Relationship Activities (QSARs) and cross-species toxicological models were developed to provide estimates for missing data to evaluate human and ecological health concerns. Generalized environmental fate models were also tailored for the WAR DSS, providing information on chemicals' likely persistence and bioconcentration while providing the option to add site-specific data for more refined predictions. The use of several toxicity and fate measures for each chemical in assessing the human and ecological toxicity PEIs allows consideration of the most pertinent information available for the large list of chemicals supported in the WAR DSS.