Green Engineering: Environmentally Conscious Design of Chemical Processes

A chemical engineer's guide to managing and minimizing environmental impact. Chemical processes are invaluable to modern society, yet they generate substantial quantities of wastes and emissions, and safely managing these wastes costs tens of millions of dollars annually. Green Engineering is a complete professional's guide to the cost-effective design, commercialization, and use of chemical processes in ways that minimize pollution at the source, and reduce impact on health and the environment. This book also offers powerful new insights into environmental risk-based considerations in design of processes and products. First conceived by the staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Engineering draws on contributions from many leaders in the field and introduces advanced risk-based techniques including some currently in use at the EPA. Coverage includes: Engineering chemical processes, products, and systems to reduce environmental impacts Approaches for evaluating emissions and hazards of chemicals and processes Defining effective environmental performance targets Advanced approaches and tools for evaluating environmental fate Early-stage design and development techniques that minimize costs and environmental impacts In-depth coverage of unit operation and flowsheet analysis The economics of environmental improvement projects Integration of chemical processes with other material processing operations Lifecycle assessments: beyond the boundaries of the plant Increasingly, chemical engineers are faced with the challenge of integrating environmental objectives into design decisions. Green Engineering gives them the technical tools they need to do so.

Table of Contents:
Preface. About the Authors. Acknowledgments. I. A CHEMICAL ENGINEER'S GUIDE TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND REGULATIONS. 1. An Introduction To Environmental Issues. Introduction. The Role of Chemical Processes and Chemical Products. An Overview of Major Environmental Issues. Global Environmental Issues. Air Quality Issues. Water Quality Issues. Ecology. Natural Resources. Waste Flows in the United States. Summary. References. Problems. 2. Risk Concepts. Introduction. Description of Risk. Value of Risk Assessment in the Engineering Profession. Risk-Based Environmental Law. General Overview of Risk Assessment Concepts. Hazard Assessment. Dose-Response. Exposure Assessment. Risk Characterization. Summary. References. Problems. 3. Environmental Law and Regulations: From End-of-Pipe to Pollution Prevention. Introduction. Nine Prominent Federal Environmental Statutes. Evolution of Regulatory and Voluntary Programs: From End-of-Pipe to Pollution Prevention. Pollution Prevention Concepts and Terminology. References. Problems. 4. The Roles and Responsibilities of Chemical Engineers. Introduction. Responsibilities for Chemical Process Safety. Responsibilities for Environmental Protection. Further Reading in Engineering Ethics. References. Problems. II. EVALUATING AND IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES. 5. Evaluating Environmental Fate: Approaches based on chemical structure. Introduction. Chemical and Physical Property Estimation. Estimating Environmental Persistence. Estimating Ecosystem Risks. Using Property Estimates to Estimate Environmental Fate and Exposure. Classifying Environmental Risks Based on Chemical Structure. References. Problems. 6. Evaluating Exposures. Introduction. Occupational Exposures: Recognition, Evaluation, and Control. Exposure Assessment for Chemicals in the Ambient Environment. Designing Safer Chemicals. References. Problems. 7. Green Chemistry. Green Chemistry. Green Chemistry Methodologies. Quantitative/Optimization-Based Frameworks for the Design of Green Chemical Synthesis Pathways. Green Chemistry Expert System Case Studies. Questions for Discussion. References. Problems. 8. Evaluating Environmental Performance During Process Synthesis. Introduction. Tier 1 Environmental Performance Tools. Tier 2 Environmental Performance Tools. Tier 3 Environmental Performance Tools. References. Problems. 9. Unit Operations and Pollution Prevention. Introduction. Pollution Prevention in Material Selection for Unit Operations. Pollution Prevention for Chemical Reactors. Pollution Prevention for Separation Devices. Pollution Prevention Applications for Separative Reactors. Pollution Prevention in Storage Tanks and Fugitive Sources. Pollution Prevention Assessment Integrated with HAZ-OP Analysis. Integrating Risk Assessment with Process Design—A Case Study. Questions for Discussion. References. Problems. 10. Flowsheet Analysis for Pollution Prevention. Introduction. Process Energy Integration. Process Mass Integration. Case Study of a Process Flowsheet. Summary. References. Problems. 11. Evaluating the Environmental Performance of a Flowsheet. Introduction. Estimation of Environmental Fates of Emissions and Wastes. Tier 3 Metrics for Environmental Risk Evaluation of Process Designs. Summary. References. Problems. 12. Environmental Cost Accounting. Introduction. Definitions. Magnitudes of Environmental Costs. A Framework for Evaluating Environmental Costs. Hidden Environmental Costs. Liability Costs. Internal Intangible Costs. External Intangible Costs. References. Problems. III. MOVING BEYOND THE PLANT BOUNDARY. 13. Life-Cycle Concepts, Product Stewardship, and Green Engineering. Introduction to Product Life Cycle Concepts. Life-Cycle Assessment. Life-Cycle Impact Assessments. Streamlined Life-Cycle Assessments. Uses of Life-Cycle Studies. Summary. Questions for Discussion. References. Problems. 14. Industrial Ecology. Introduction. Material Flows in Chemical Manufacturing. Eco-Industrial Parks. Assessing Opportunities for Waste Exchanges and Byproduct Synergies. Summary. References. Problems. IV. APPENDICES. A. Details Of The Nine Prominent Federal Environmental Statutes. B. Molecular Connectivity. C. Estimating Emissions From Storage Tanks. D. Tables of Environmental Impact Potentials—Tables D-1 to D-. E. Procedures for Estimating Hidden (Tier II) Costs—Tables E-1 to E-5. F. Additional Resources—Web Resources/Online Databases/Software. Index.

About the Author :
DAVID T. ALLEN, Reese Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources at the University of Texas at Austin, was the 2000 recipient of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Lawrence K. Cecil Award in Environmental Chemical Engineering for his contributions to air quality and pollution prevention engineering and environmental engineering education. DAVID R. SHONNARD, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Michigan Technological University, is a 1998 recipient of the NSF/Lucent Technologies Foundation Industrial Ecology Research Fellowship for research that integrates environmental impact assessment with process design. Other related awards include an NSF-funded repository for pollution prevention curriculum development materials. With contributions by authors from US EPA and Industry.