Greening the Industrial Facility

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Greening the Industrial Facility

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Thomas E. Graedel

Jennifer A. Howard-Grenville

Greening the Industrial Facility

Perspectives, Approaches, and Tools

With 185 Illustrations

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Thomas E. Graedel Jennifer A. Howard-Grenville

School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Boston University

205 Prospect Street College of Management

New Haven, CT 06520 595 Commonwealth Ave.

Boston, MA 02215

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005925872

ISBN 0-387-24306-2 Printed on acid-free paper.

ISBN-13: 978-0387-24306-2

C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written per￾mission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013,

USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with

any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or

dissimilar methodology now know or hereafter developed is forbidden.

The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms, even if the are not

identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to

proprietary rights.

Printed in the United States of America. (EB/TB)

987654321

springeronline.com

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Preface

The concept of “green engineering” is one that is both vitally important and increas￾ingly discussed. The basic idea is that engineers and other technologists should take

account of the potential environmental consequences of their engineering decisions,

whether those consequences are immediate or may occur far into the future. The case

can quite easily be made that green engineering is a necessary (though not sufficient)

condition for the sustainable development of Planet Earth.

A major difficulty with implementing green engineering, however, is that only

a tiny fraction of the world’s engineers have any knowledge of the field, and few en￾gineering curricula address the topic. This is in large part because reference material

and textbooks have yet to be written for many specialties within this new field. One

exception is in the field of chemical engineering, where Allen and Shonnard’s Green

Engineering: Environmentally Responsible Designs of Chemical Processes (Prentice Hall, 2002)

has focused on green chemical process design. However, there remains a very large

number of civil engineers, electrical engineers, industrial engineers, and mechanical

engineers operating in diverse industrial sectors who can draw on no such text. Fur￾thermore, managers, environmental specialists and policy makers can benefit from

comprehensive and integrated information on the environmental aspects of industrial

production.

We attempt in this book to fill the need for a textbook and reference book

combining broad coverage of technology with the environmental implications of that

technology. Our focus is on the industrial facility, and we address its progression

toward a green facility in four stages: regulatory compliance, pollution prevention,

life-cycle assessment, and sustainability. Our coverage is by industrial sector, from

the resource extraction industries through the fabricators and manufacturers to the

recyclers. For each sector we provide an overview of typical sector operations and

their environmental implications, and potentially important transformations of sector

operations.We discuss as well the probable aspects of sector operations that could occur

under three scenarios for the future: “trend world” (business as usual), “brown world”

(development without considerations of environmental or sustainable development

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vi Preface

issues), and “green world” (development with heightened levels of consideration of

environmental and sustainable development issues). We conclude the book with a

speculation as to the possible structure of industries a half-century from now, and

thoughts on how industrial change may be brought about.

This book is written as a textbook for upper-level undergraduates or beginning

graduate students in engineering or applied science, and is the product of a course

by the same name that has been given at Yale University since 1997. Our approach

in the course is to emphasize visits to several different industrial facilities, because

only by doing so can students get a sense of the scale of industrial operations, the

technical challenges presented by contemporary standards of quality, reliability, and

manufacturing efficiency, and the commitment of employees to good environmental

performance. Each facility visit is previewed with the host organization, and we en￾courage tours that emphasize the manufacturing process and sequence rather than the

environmental aspects (which inevitably are addressed anyway). Accordingly, a typical

tour begins at the receiving dock, follows the incoming materials and/or components

as processes transform them, moves on to quality control and packaging, and concludes

at the shipping dock. Throughout the tour, which ideally has a student to tour guide

ratio of about 8:1, students gather and record relevant information on the facility.

(A form that some find useful is included in Appendix A.) They then prepare and

submit a report to the instructor. Our approach is to encourage students to work in

groups to prepare process flow diagrams and tables of materials and processes, but to

write reports individually.

We recommend four or five facility visits as the optimum number. This enables

the students to think about and write one or two reports on each of the stages of facility

environmental performance: compliance, pollution prevention, life-cycle assessment,

and sustainability. It is helpful, if possible, if the facilities are visited in a sequence

of increasing complexity, e.g., a plastic parts manufacturer before an appliance

fabricator. Class lectures address Chapter 1–7 and 27–28, plus a selection of sector￾specific chapters appropriate to the facility visits and the interests of the instructor and

students.

In addition to formal course use, we recommend this book to practicing engineers

and to corporate environment, health, and safety personnel. We think many of them

will find the book useful as they help their corporations follow the road to sustainability.

We are grateful to the students who have dealt with an evolving series of course notes

over the years, to Ryan Bennett, William B. Ellis, Elizabeth Levy, Reid J. Lifset, and

Peter J. Deschenes, who contributed ideas and initial text for several of the chapters,

and to our editors at Kluwer Academic Publishers.

T. E. Graedel, New Haven

J. A. Howard-Grenville, Boston

November, 2004

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Contents

Part I: INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 1

1. Technology and the Environment 3

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Trading Energy for Resources 5

1.3 The “Potential to Pollute” 5

1.4 The Industrial Food Web 6

1.5 Envisioning Potential Futures 9

1.6 The Organization of This Book 11

2. Key Topics and Approaches in Greening the Industrial Facility 13

2.1 Technology’s Use of Energy 13

2.2 Technology’s Use of Water 13

2.3 Technology’s Use of Materials 15

2.4 Common Industrial Processes 16

2.5 Green Chemistry and Green Engineering 19

2.6 Tools for Improving Environmental Performance 20

Part II: APPROACHES AND TOOLS FOR INDUSTRIAL

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 23

3. The Starting Point: Compliance with Regulations and Agreements 25

3.1 Motivation for Regulations 25

3.2 Setting Regulatory Goals 26

3.3 The United States: An Example of a Primarily

Regulatory Approach 27

3.4 The Netherlands: An Example of a Primarily Consensual Approach 37

3.5 International and Industry-Generated Approaches 40

3.6 Conclusion 44

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viii Contents

4. The Next Step: Pollution Prevention 47

4.1 Introduction 47

4.2 What is Pollution Prevention? 49

4.3 Implementing Pollution Prevention 55

4.4 Environmental Supply Chain Management 56

4.5 Where Pollution Prevention Fits 58

5. Facility Assessment from the Life-Cycle Perspective 61

5.1 The Life Cycle Concept 61

5.2 Life-Cycle Assessment of Products 61

5.3 Life-Cycle Assessment of Processes 63

5.4 Life-Cycle Assessment of Industrial Facilities 65

5.5 The Matrix Assessment Approach 68

5.6 Assessing The Automobile and Its Manufacture 69

5.7 Facility Health and Safety Performance 76

5.8 Corporate Use of Comprehensive LCAs 77

6. Sustainability-Related Performance 79

6.1 Ordinal Evaluation 79

6.2 Material Throughput 81

6.3 Hazard Potential 82

6.4 Use of Materials 92

6.5 Use of Water 95

6.6 Use of Energy 102

6.7 Moving the Symbols on the Matrix Plots 110

6.8 Summary 113

7. Sustainability Assessments 115

7.1 The
WESH Plot 115

7.2 Quantifying the
WESH Plot 117

7.3 A
WESH Plot Example 119

7.4 The Sustainability Roadmap 121

7.5 The Absolute Nature of Sustainability 126

Part III: INDUSTRIAL SECTOR ANALYSIS 127

8. Fossil Fuel Extraction and Processing 129

8.1 Overview 129

8.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 130

8.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 132

8.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 134

8.5 Sector Prospects 139

9. Power Generation 147

9.1 Overview 147

9.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 148

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Contents ix

9.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 151

9.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 155

9.5 Sector Prospects 160

10. Metal Ore Extraction and Processing 167

10.1 Overview 167

10.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 167

10.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 173

10.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 177

10.5 Sector Prospects 182

11. Inorganic Minerals and Chemicals 189

11.1 Overview 189

11.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 189

11.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 192

11.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 195

11.5 Sector Prospects 197

12. Petrochemicals 201

12.1 Overview 201

12.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 205

12.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 208

12.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 208

12.5 Sector Prospects 212

13. Agriculture 217

13.1 Overview 217

13.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 218

13.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 221

13.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 227

13.5 Sector Prospects 231

14. Food Processing 239

14.1 Overview 239

14.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 240

14.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 243

14.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 247

14.5 Sector Prospects 249

15. Textiles and Leathers 257

15.1 Overview 257

15.2 Physical And Chemical Operations 257

15.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 263

15.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 263

15.5 Sector Prospects 266

16. Sand and Glass 271

16.1 Overview 271

16.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 272

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16.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 277

16.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 278

16.5 Sector Prospects 282

17. Fabricated Metal Products 287

17.1 Overview 287

17.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 287

17.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 292

17.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 293

17.5 Sector Prospects 297

18. Fabricated Plastic Products 303

18.1 Overview 303

18.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 304

18.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 309

18.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 311

18.5 Sector Prospects 314

19. Electronics 321

19.1 Overview 321

19.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 323

19.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 325

19.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 328

19.5 Sector Prospects 331

20. Synthetic Organic Chemicals 339

20.1 Overview 339

20.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 341

20.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 344

20.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 344

20.5 Sector Prospects 347

21. Assembled Products 355

21.1 Overview 355

21.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 355

21.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 359

21.4 Potential Environment Concerns 359

21.5 Sector Prospects 361

22. Forest Products and Printing 369

22.1 Overview 369

22.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 369

22.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 375

22.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 377

22.5 Sector Prospects 381

23. Packaging and Shipping 389

23.1 Overview 389

23.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 391

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23.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 394

23.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 396

23.5 Sector Prospects 398

24. Industrial, Residential, and Infrastructure Construction 407

24.1 Overview 407

24.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 410

24.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 413

24.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 416

24.5 Sector Prospects 419

25. The Remanufacturing and Recycling Industry 427

25.1 Overview 427

25.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 432

25.3 The Sector’s Resource Balance 437

25.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 439

25.5 Sector Prospects 440

26. Advanced Materials, Processes, and Products 445

26.1 Overview 445

26.2 Physical and Chemical Operations 448

26.3 The Sector’s Use of Resources 451

26.4 Potential Environmental Concerns 451

26.5 Sector Prospects 452

Part IV: THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 457

27. The Industries of 2050 459

27.1 Industry in the 21st Century 459

27.2 Today’s Industrial Sectors, Linkages, and Potential Impacts 459

27.3 A Vision for Industry in 2050 466

27.4 Implications for the Environment 467

27.5 Implications for Corporations 468

28. Achieving Industrial Change 469

28.1 The Myriad Pressures for Change 469

28.2 Drivers of Organizational Change 470

28.3 Mechanisms of Organizational Change 472

28.4 The Mechanics of Organizational Change 479

28.5 Environmentally-Responsible Industry in the Future 479

Appendix A. Greening the Industrial Facility: Facility Visit Data Sheet 481

Appendix B. Example of a Facility Visit Report Directed Toward

Regulatory Compliance 485

Appendix C. Example of a Facility Visit Report Directed Toward

Pollution Prevention 495

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xii Contents

Appendix D. Environmentally-Responsible Product Matrix: Scoring

Guidelines and Protocols 505

Appendix E. Environmentally-Responsible Process Matrix: Scoring

Guidelines and Protocols 521

Appendix F. Environmentally-Responsible Facilities Matrix: Scoring

Guidelines and Protocols 539

Appendix G. SLCA Health and Safety Matrix: Scoring

Guidelines and Protocols 553

Appendix H. Example of a Facility Visit Report Directed Toward

Streamlined Life-Cycle Assessment 569

Appendix I. Techniques for Environmental Evaluation of an

Industrial Process 581

Appendix J. Example of a Facility Visit Report Directed

Toward Sustainability 587

Appendix K. Units of Measurement 599

Glossary 601

Index 611

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Part I

Introduction to Industry and

Environmental Issues

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Chapter 1

Technology and

the Environment

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The fruits of modern technology provide humanity with capabilities far beyond those of

the richest prince of yesterday—comfort, travel, communication, and a wide variety

of food. As the past two or three decades have indicated, however, technology has

brought with it a host of environmental problems. Initially perceived to be largely

local (smokestack soot), these concerns have spread to the regional scale (acid rain),

and more recently to the entire planet (stratospheric ozone depletion). The discovery

in 1986 of the ozone hole over the Antarctic continent (Figure 1.1) was followed by

the unambiguous linking of its cause to chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs). These

compounds, used as propellants, refrigerants, and cleaning compounds for several

decades, are unknown in nature but readily synthesized by industrial techniques; thus,

technology played a direct role in degradation of the earth’s atmosphere. This and other

occurrences made it clear that unbridled, environmentally thoughtless technology is

an unpromising partner for the planet over the long term.

If such examples seem to suggest the desirability of less industrial activity, global

trends seem to demand the opposite. Population, ultimately the source of all industrial

activity, will increase by approximately 50% in the next half-century. The use of

resources, both individually and in society as a whole, continues to rise—a trend that

could be regarded as materialism, pure and simple. In a deeper vein, however, we need

to recognize that resources fuel our technological society just as food fuels our bodies.

The employment of materials, water, and energy can be optimized, but it cannot be

avoided if we wish to retain the benefits that industrial activities provide.

The tacit bargain struck between industry and society is that society defines its

needs and wants and industry attempts to satisfy them. These needs and wants are

thus the driving forces that initiate the chain of activities (see Figure 1.2) that often

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Figure 1.1. Total ozone over Halley Bay, Antarctica, for October of the years 1957 through 1993.

(Source: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/jds/ozone/split/split files/frame.htm accessed May 18,

2004.)

Needs,

wants

Modifying

factors

Demand Corporate

plans

Product

designs

Products

Restructuring

plans

Policy

instruments

Society

Economy

Technology

Pollution

Figure 1.2. The relationship between the needs and wants of modern society and the environ￾mental impacts that are likely to result.

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Technology and the Environment 5

ends with nocent environmental impacts. We are therefore faced with the technology￾environment paradox: technology permits us to lead healthier, more productive, and

more enjoyable lives, yet its actions threaten the planet. Cannot society achieve the

technological accomplishments it desires without simultaneously degrading the world

in which we live? Why must technological institutions operate the way they do? These

are the central questions addressed in this book.

1.2 TRADING ENERGY FOR RESOURCES

Modern technology involves the acquisition of materials and their transformation

into desirable products. Acquisition is typically accomplished by heroic technology,

such as drilling an oil well from a platform embedded on the sea floor, or mining metal

ores from shafts sunk deep into mountain rock. Once acquired, only a few materials

such as rock aggregate for roadbeds can be used as is. Much more often, the material

must be transformed—oil into plastics or metal ore into copper pipe and zinc castings.

Resource extraction and transformation requires energy—lots of it. Energy is

used to open mine shafts, to drill the rock, to bring the ore to the surface, to crush

it, to smelt and refine the metal minerals, and to fashion the resulting metal into

products, or to pump crude oil, refine it, fractionate the products, and form plastic

parts. The actual processes require energy to break the chemical forces bonding the

material in its original form, and to generate new chemical bonds that render the

material useful.

Ultimately, all technology is involved in this trade: to have available the materials

needed to provide the products of modern industry we must invest energy to acquire

resources, and use energy to put those resources in suitable form. If we desire the

materials, we must pay the energy price.

1.3 THE “POTENTIAL TO POLLUTE”

Industrial processes, especially those involved in cleaving chemical bonds and

reforming them in desired ways, are rarely benign. These processes often require strong

acids, strong bases, or other aggressive chemicals. The use of these chemicals requires

in turn that the chemicals be manufactured, transported, stored, and used, and that

after use the residues be dealt with appropriately. Most of these activities are carefully

and thoughtfully performed, and little or no direct environmental consequences occur.

Nonetheless, the potential for problems is always present: technological processes have

the “potential to pollute (PTP)”.

The PTP for a specific process or process sequence is heavily influenced by two

factors: the hazard potential of the materials involved, and the quantities of materials

used. Consider the generic process shown in Figure 1.3. Materials enter from the left