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EVALUATING AND DESIGNING CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Citation:
Smith*, R L. EVALUATING AND DESIGNING CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. Presented at University of Porto, Porto, PORTUGAL, May 01, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Chemicals and chemical processes are at the heart of most environmental problems. This isn't surprising since chemicals make up all of the products we use in our lives. The common use of cjhemicals makes them of high interest for systems analysis, particularly because of environmental concerns. While chemical processes are at the center of many of these systems, thre is interest in systems of many different scales, from those that affect the entire ecomony to those that are very localized. At the USEPA, research has been done to analyze systems on multiple scales. Examples include life cycle assessments of fuel systems, eco-industrial parks where wastes are exchanged, chemical process designs at the plant level, bench scale process development and instances where spills evaporate. Similarities and differences in the research at these various scales will be discussed within an overarching theme of analyzing potential environmental impacts.