Sustainability
Radical resource productivity
Whole system design
Biomimicry
Green chemistry
Industrial ecology
Renewable energy
Green nanotechnology
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Green Chemistry
(Sustainable Chemistry)
design of chemical products and
processes that reduce or eliminate
the use and generation of hazardous
substances.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Source: Anastas, P. T & Warner, J. C.
Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice
Green Chemistry
(Sustainable Chemistry)
12 Principles of Green Chemistry:
1. Prevent waste generation
2. Maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the
process into the final product.
3. Use and generate substances that possess little or no
toxicity to human health and the environment.
4. Products should be designed to effect their desired
function while minimizing their toxicity.
5. Use safer solvents and auxiliaries
6. Design for energy efficiency
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Source: Anastas, P. T & Warner, J. C.
Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice
Green Chemistry
(Sustainable Chemistry)
12 Principles of Green Chemistry (continued):
7. Use renewable feedstocks
8. Reduce derivatives
9. Use catalysis
10. Design products such that they degrade at the end of
their function
11. Real-time analysis for pollution prevention
12. Inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Source: Anastas, P. T & Warner, J. C.
Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice
Green Chemistry
(Sustainable Chemistry)
Products of Green Chemistry:
Bioplastics.
Plastics made from plants, including corn,
potatoes or other agricultural products, even
agricultural waste.
Products already available are forks, knives
and spoons made from potato starch and
biodegradable packaging made from corn.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Green Engineering
9 Principles of Green Engineering:
1. Engineer processes and products holistically, use
system analysis and integrate environmental impact
assessment tools
2. Conserve and improve natural ecosystems while
protecting human health and well-being
3. Use life cycle thinking in all engineering activities
4. Ensure that all material and energy inputs and outputs
are as inherently safe and benign as possible
5. Minimize depletion of natural resources
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Source: EPA 2006, What is Green Engineering?
Green Engineering
9 Principles of Green Engineering (continued):
6. Strive to prevent waste
7. Develop and apply engineering solutions, while being
cognizant of local geography, aspirations and cultures
8. Create engineering solutions beyond current or
dominant technologies; improve, innovate and invent
(technologies) to achieve sustainability
9. Actively engage communities and stakeholders in
development of engineering solutions
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Source: EPA 2006, What is Green Engineering?
Earth Systems Engineering
A multidisciplinary (engineering, science,
social science, and governance) process
of solution development that takes a
holistic view of natural and human system
interactions is known as Earth Systems
Engineering.
- US National Academy for Engineering
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Earth Systems Engineering
Earth System Engineering
emphasizes five main characteristics
that apply to all branches of
engineering
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Earth Systems Engineering
Characteristic 1:
Our ability to cause planetary change through
technology is growing faster than our ability to
understand and manage the technical, social,
economic, environmental, and ethical consequences
of such change.
Since modern engineering systems have the power to
significantly affect the environment far into the future,
many engineering decisions cannot be made
independently of the surrounding natural and humanmade systems.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/ESSPCLP-Intro_to_SDPreliminariesKeynote1.aspx
Earth Systems Engineering
Characteristic 2:
The traditional approach that engineering is only a
process to devise and implement a chosen solution
amid several purely technical options must be
challenged.
A more holistic approach to engineering requires
an understanding of interactions between engineered
and non-engineered systems, inclusion of nontechnical issues, and a system approach (rather than
a Cartesian approach) to simulate and comprehend
such interactions.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/ESSPCLP-Intro_to_SDPreliminariesKeynote1.aspx
Earth Systems Engineering
Characteristic 3:
The quality of engineering decisions in society directly
affects the quality of life of human and natural
systems today and in the future.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/ESSPCLP-Intro_to_SDPreliminariesKeynote1.aspx
Earth Systems Engineering
Characteristic 4:
There is a need for a new educational approach that
will give engineering students a broader perspective
beyond technical issues and an exposure to the
principles of sustainable development, renewable
resources management, and systems thinking.
This does not mean that existing engineering curricula
need to be changed in their entirety. Rather, new
holistic components need to be integrated,
emphasizing more of a system approach to
engineering education.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/ESSPCLP-Intro_to_SDPreliminariesKeynote1.aspx
Earth Systems Engineering
Characteristic 5:
Multi-disciplinary research is needed to create
new quantitative tools and methods to better
manage non-natural systems so that such
systems have a longer life cycle and are less
disruptive to natural systems in general.
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/ESSPCLP-Intro_to_SDPreliminariesKeynote1.aspx
[engineers should] strive to
accomplish the beneficial objectives
of their work with the lowest possible
consumption of raw materials and
energy and the lowest production of
wastes and any kind of pollution.
- 2001 Model Code of Ethics
The World Federation of
Engineering Organisations
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Sustainability
Radical resource productivity
Whole system design
Biomimicry
Green chemistry
Industrial ecology
Renewable energy
Green nanotechnology
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011
Green Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study and
control of matter in the dimension of
1 to 100 nanometers
1 m = 109 nm
For an Introduction to Green nanotechnology,
read the article by Karen F. Schmidt
Uploaded at the CP551 page of
www.rshanthini.com
R. Shanthini
17 Oct 2011