Green Chemistry, Green
Engineering, and Sustainability
Martin A. Abraham
Dean
College of Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
Phone: 330.941.3009
email: martin.abraham@ysu.edu
Engineers create goods for society
An engineer is a person whose
job is to design or build
Raw materials
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Energy
Machines
Engines or electrical
equipment,
Roads, railways or bridges,
Gasoline
and other fuels
Plastics
using scientific principles.
Wastewater
Air pollutants
Household
products
The manufacture of products that society desires is
accompanied by the production of wastes, some of
which cannot be avoided.
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Engineering has lead to
substantial productivity growth
 Affluence (3% income growth for last 100 years =
Factor 20!)
 Leisure - Factor 4: Doubled life expectancy with half the
working time
 Unprecedented quality and variety of products
 Unprecedented material use
 Unprecedented environmental impacts
 Global Change
Paradox 1:We need green engineers
to solve the problems created by the
success of engineering
Arnulf Grubler; ECI Green Engineering Conference, Sandestin, FL, May 2003
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Sustainability, Green Engineering
& Green Chemistry
 Sustainability

Sustainability

Green Engineering
 Green Engineering
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Green
Chemistry
Ecosystems
Human Heath
Lifecycle
Systems
Metrics
 Green Chemistry
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Reactions, catalysts
Solvents
Thermodynamics
Toxicology
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Green Engineering (EPA
Definition)
Source reduction
Reuse or recycle
 The design, commercialization
and use of processes &
products that are feasible &
economical while minimizing:

Energy recovery

Waste treatment
Secure disposal
Generation of pollution at the
source
Risk to human health & the
environment
 Decisions to protect human
health and the environment
have the greatest impact and
cost effectiveness when applied
early to the design and
development phase.
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Green Engineering …
 develops and implements technologically and
economically viable products, processes, and systems.
 transforms existing engineering disciplines and
practices to those that promote sustainability.
 incorporates environmental issues as a criterion in
engineering solutions



promote human welfare
protect human health
protection of the biosphere.
From the SanDestin Conference on Green
Engineering: Defining the Principles.
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Sustainability is …
"..development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs" World
Commission on the Environment and
Development
A view of community that
shows the links among its
three parts: the economic part,
the social part and the
environmental part.
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SanDestin Principles on
Sustainable Engineering
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Engineer processes and products holistically, use systems analysis, and
integrate environmental impact assessment tools.
Conserve and improve natural ecosystems while protecting human
health and well-being.
Use life cycle thinking in all engineering activities.
Ensure that all material and energy inputs and outputs are as
inherently safe and benign as possible.
Minimize depletion of natural resources.
Strive to prevent waste.
Develop and apply engineering solutions, while being cognizant of local
geography, aspirations and cultures.
Create engineering solutions beyond current or dominant technologies;
improve, innovate and invent (technologies) to achieve sustainability.
Actively engage communities and stakeholders in development of
engineering solutions.
From the SanDestin Conference on Green
Engineering: Defining the Principles. 8
Sustainability is a systems
problem
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Consider the Total Life
Cycle
Extraction of
Raw Materials
Processes
Products
Recycling
Disposal
Use of products
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Risk Assessment
Risk  Hazard  Exposure
 Risk is the probability of
suffering harm or loss
 Risk assessment can be applied
to processes and products:
Data Collection
and Evaluation
Hazard
Assessment
Exposure
Assessment

Risk
Characterization
Planning
Identification
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Reporting
Assessment

Response
estimate the environmental
impacts of specific chemicals
on people and ecosystems;
prioritize chemicals that need to
be minimized or eliminated.
optimize design to avoid or
reduce environmental impacts;
assess feed and recycle streams
based on risk and not volume.
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Metrics – What can be measured
 Mass utilization
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Material intensity (Mass in product/Mass in raw materials)
Atom economy
Potential environmental impact
 Energy utilization
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Energy intensity (per amount of product)
Materials consumed to produce required energy
 Sustainability metrics
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Eco-efficiency (Economic indicator/Environmental indicator)
Ecological footprint
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Sustainability Metrics: Calculations
Materials
Pollutant Dispersion
Mass of raw material  Mass of Product
Output
Total mass of pollutants released
Output
Water Consumption
Toxics Dispersion
Volume of fresh wate r used
Output
Total mass of recognized toxics released
Output
Energy
Land Use
Net energy used
Output
Land covered, paved, or in buildings
Output
Output:
Mass of Product or Sales Revenue or Value-added
Dimensions of Sustainability
The Sustainability Framework
Lenses
Resources
Values
Place
Time
Environmental
Economic
Societal
Supply
Production
Use
Fate
Life Cycle Stages
Adapted from BRIDGES to Sustainability, courtesy of Earl Beaver
Development of Ecological
Value
Parameters considered
•Raw Materials
Ecological footprint
Energy Consumption
1.00
•Energy consumption
Land Use
•Land Use
0.50
•Emissions
0.00
•Toxicity
•Risk potential
Raw Materials
Emissions
Ecological advantage
Relative environmental
impact
High
Product 2
BASF
Toxicity Potential
Product 1
Risk Potential
Low
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Sustainability Considerations
Internal process, value-chain partnership, stakeholder
engagement
Resource Use
Energy use, material intensity, water use, land use
Econ.
Social
Business
Perspective
Management
Environmental
SD alignment with biz strategy & core value, core
competencies, market & regulatory drivers
Business Strategy
Environmental
Impact
GHG emissions, air emissions, solid waste, (pollutant
effects)
Health & Safety
Toxic reduction, hazards, process safety
Societal Impact
Workers’ well-being, local community impacts/QOL,
global societal impacts/contributions
Economic Impact
Financials along value-chain (corporate, customers, …)
AIChE Sustainability Index for
the Chemical Industry
 The AIChE Sustainability
Strategic Commitment
Index will serve as the
Environmental Performance
premier technically
Safety Performance
informed benchmark for
companies to measure their
progress implementing
sustainability.
Social Responsibility
 The index is generated Product Stewardship
from publicly available
data and the results will be
subject to public scrutiny.
Value Chain Management
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5
4
3
2
1
0
Sustainability Innovation
Net Revenue > $10 Billion USD
Net Revenue < $10 Billion USD
Types of Costs
Examples
1 - Direct
Capital, labor, raw
materials and waste
disposal
Operating and
maintenance for
treatment works
2 - Indirect
Overhead costs not
properly allocated to
product or process
Community relations
Regulatory costs
Monitoring costs
3 - Future & contingent Unforeseen, but very
real costs
liability
Current
Description
Remediation, fines,
restoration & penalties
4 - Internal intangible
Image and relationship
costs corporate costs
Employee turnover
Recruitment costs
5 - External intangible
Public costs not yet
borne internally
Consumer perception
Resource depletion
Future
More Difficult to Measure
Cost Type
Types of Benefits
Examples
1 - Direct
Selling price, fewer strikes
and waste disposal choices
Negotiating costs
2 - Indirect
Overhead cost data for
man ag e me n t
Reduced Legal
Costs
3 - Future & contingent Ease of permits
liability
Lower remediation,
fines, penalties
4 - Internal intangible
Employee benefits
Employee health,
productivity costs
5 - External intangible
Public perception of
employee attitude
Lower public
relations costs
Current
Description
Future
More Difficult to Measure
Benefit Type
Sustainable Energy??

Twentieth century humans used 10
times more energy than their
ancestors had in the 1000 years
preceding 1900
 71 % increase by 2030
 World Energy Consumption
Distribution
 80 % Fossil fuel
 14 % Renewable (solar, wind,
biomass, etc)
 6 % Nuclear
http://www.elmia.se/worldbioenergy/pdf/Mr%20Nystrom%20presentation.pdf
3/22/2016
1 GtC per yr avoided
(3.7 GtCO2 per yr)
Stabilization Wedges
1 wedge =
25 billion tons C (GtC)
avoided (91.7 GtCO2)
50 years
2006
Wedges
2056
Global scope
50-year time horizon
Simple shapes (e.g. triangles)
Existing technologies with large
potential (1 billion tons carbon per
year after 50 years)
 Goal of level emissions, followed
by decrease
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Source: Pacala and Socolow (Science 305, 968-972, 2004)
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Solid-State Lighting…
An example of environmental benefits
Light Source
Luminous
Efficacy
(Lumen/Watt)
Lifetime
(hr)
Incandescent bulb
16
1000
Fluorescent lamp
85
10,000
Today’s white LEDs
30
20,000
Future white LEDs
150-200
100,000
Brighter,
cheaper,
more efficient
Doubling the average luminous efficacy of white lighting through the use of solid-state
lighting would potentially:
• Decrease by 50% the global amount of electricity used for lighting.
• Decrease by 10% the total global consumption of electricity (projected to be about 1.8
TW-hr/year, or $120B/year, by the year 2025).
• Free over 250 GW of electric generating capacity for other uses, saving about $100B
in construction costs.
• Reduce projected 2025 global carbon emissions by about 300 Mtons/year.
Renewable resources
 Widely available resources
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Bioproducts (e.g. sugar, corn)
Inedible biomass
Waste products, such as
cheese whey
Municipal waste
CO2
Chemical
Industry
 Opportunities include:
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Chemicals production
Bio-composites
Energy (e.g. methanol,
biodiesel, H2)
Biorefinery
Consumer
Biomass
carbohydrates
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Understanding the energy
impact of biomass conversion
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Moving towards sustainability
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