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DESIGNING PROCESSES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Citation:
Fu, Y., U. Diweker, D M. Young*, AND H C. Cabezas*. DESIGNING PROCESSES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS. Chapter 12, M.M. El-Halwagi, S.K. Sikdar (ed.), Process Design Tools for the Environment. Taylor & Francis Publishers, New York, NY, , 295-317, (2001).
Description:
Designing for the environment requires consideration of environmental impacts. The Generalized WAR Algorithm is the methodology that allows the user to evaluate the potential environmental impact of the design of a chemical process. In this methodology, chemicals are assigned values that describe their potential to have an adverse affect on the environment relative to other chemicals. These relative values cover eight different potential environmental impact categories. However, environmental impacts must also be weighted and balanced against other concerns, such as cost and long term sustainability. These multiple, often conflicting, goals pose a challenging and complex optimization problem, requiring multi-objective optimization. This chapter will address the problem of quantifying and analyzing the various objectives involved in process design for the environment. A detailed case study will be presented which will illustrate the concepts leading to environmentally friendly and cost effective designs.