You are here:
THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE WASTE REDUCTION (WAR) ALGORITHM: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR GREENER CHEMICAL PROCESSES
Citation:
Saxe**, J. K. AND D M. Young*. THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE WASTE REDUCTION (WAR) ALGORITHM: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR GREENER CHEMICAL PROCESSES. Presented at IUPAC Chemrawn 14: Towards Environmentally Benign Processes & Products, Boulder, CO, 6/9-13/2001.
Description:
chemical process designers using simulation software generate alternative designs for one process. One criterion for evaluating these designs is their potential for adverse environmental impacts due to waste generated, energy consumed, and possibilities for fugitive emissions. Consideration of these impacts at the early design stage allows more efficient solutions to be implemented than would be available later. A scientifically sound, simple-to-use decision support software system interfaced with design simulators brings state-of-the-art information from environmental risk researchers to the aid of chemical engineers in weighing alternative designs. A second generaton of the WAR algorithm is under development to meet this need. Additional data and more sophisticated environmental models are combined with a flexible user interface making this decision support software more comprehensive in providing support for environmentally-conscious decisions. The addition of environmental fate and exposure estimation, aggregated toxicity scoring, and unique presentation of analyses are key research issues addressed.