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THE WASTE REDUCTION (WAR) ALGORITHM: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AND ENGINEERING ECONOMICS
Citation:
Young*, D. THE WASTE REDUCTION (WAR) ALGORITHM: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AND ENGINEERING ECONOMICS. Presented at Seminar, Grenesboro, NC, March 28, 2001.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
A general theory known as the WAste Reduction (WAR) algorithm has been developed to describe the flow and the generation of potential environmental impact through a chemical process. This theory defines potential environmental impact indexes that characterize the generation and the output of potential impact from a process. The potential environmental impact indexes are calculated from stream mass flow rates, stream composition, and a relative potential environmental impact score for each chemical present. The impact scores for each chemical incorporate a comprehensive set of environmental effects including ozone depletion potential, human toxicity potential, and ecotoxicity potential. The theory is extended to include the potential environmental impact of the energy consumed in a process. An extensive engineering economic evaluation has been included in the process analysis which inherently contains the cost of the consumer energy as an operating cost. A case study will be presented which includes a base process design and a number of potential design modifications to the base design. The benefit of including an environmental evaluation with the typical economic evaluation of a process design will be illustrated.