Environmental Life Cycle

• True or False?
• Why should we be concerned about the environment?
• Some of the common environmental damages
• Some common causes of environmental damage
• Risks caused by damage to the environment
• Interactions between the environment, industry, and society
• Environmental considerations in the manufacturing life cycle
• Environmental considerations in product design
• Environmental considerations in materials selection
• Environmental considerations in material processing
• Environmental considerations in product packaging & distribution
• Environmental considerations in product use and maintenance
• Environmental considerations in product recycling
• Governmental and legal regulations concerning the environment
• Assessing the impact of product life cycle on the environment

True or False?

1. The U.S. is running out of safe and secure sites for landfills
2. Most hazardous waste is generated by big companies rather than small ones
3. One quart of used motor oil can contaminate 250,00 gallons of water
4. A controversy rages over the cost effectiveness of recycling
5. Surveys have shown that Americans see recycling as more important than voting and community service
6. Recycling means to restore a product to its original condition or use less of it
7. In general, about 75% of the typical car can be reused by the auto industry
8. Manufacturing companies are solely responsible for damaging the environment
9. One of the origins of environmental damage is population growth, and as a result, the need for more and better goods and services
10. In 1994, the price for old newspapers in the Midwest skyrocketed from $5 per ton to more than $65 per ton
11. The Chicago Board of Trade has developed a system so that the Board can trade in trash
12. Studying the environment and assessing the damage done to it requires the knowledge and understanding of science and mathematics

Why should we be concerned about the environment?

• Environmental problems, once begun, can take a long time before they can be corrected, if at all they can be corrected
• Damage to the environment can alter the whole ecological cycle, resulting in catastrophic consequences
• Even a small damage to the environment caused at a local scale can impact the environment at a global scale for generations to come
• It is important to recognize that one of the real sources of environmental damage is our unfettered need and desire for modern goods and services
• Many of us assume that manufacturing companies are the only cause for environmental damage and we must learn about all possible causes
• It is our duty to be knowledgeable and be concerned with how our day-to-day activities and decisions can impact the environment
• We also have an obligation to preserve the environment and the species for future generations
• As citizens, we have the right to demand the government to establish and enforce regulations to protect the environment
• It is even more important for young people to understand that many of the decisions concerning the environment are made without their participation and that they should be concerned about their future
• We, the educated, also have the privilege to learn and understand the complex issues related to the environment and educate others
• Those of us in developed countries also have an obligation to help and educate those in developing countries about the environment since their decisions on the environment can also affect our lives

Some of the common environmental damages

• Global climate change, in particular global warming
• Ozone depletion
• Loss of habitat and endangerment of species
• Surface water chemistry changes
• Soil degradation
• Precipitation acidity, in particular, acid rain
• Decreased visibility
• Toxicity in plants and crops due to herbicides and pesticides
• Photochemical smog
• Groundwater pollution
• Impact of radioactive material
• Toxic sludge
• Oil spills
• Toxic sediments
• Hazardous wastes

Some common causes of environmental damage

• Biomass combustion

• Crop production

• Domestic animals

• Coal production and use

• Petroleum production and use

• Disposal of residues

• Industrial manufacturing processes

the most diverse group of emissions into the environment come from industrial activities which can pollute air, water, and soil quality

Risks caused by damage to the environment

• Risk can be defined as the chance of suffering harm from a hazard and risks perceptions can be highly subjective
• Public and expert perceptions of risks vary and it may be due to factors such as the risk is observable or non-observable, controllable or non-controllable
• Environmental risk is usually defined in terms of damage to biological systems, and generally to humans

• The environmental damages discussed earlier can be classified under three environmental risk categories:
1. Damage to biological systems (e.g. effect on humans, wildlife, and plant life)
2. Aesthetic degradation (e.g. corrosion of materials, loss of visibility)
3. Damage to planetary systems (e.g. global warming, ozone depletion)

• Risks caused by damage to the environment have to be scientifically assessed and managed to gain control over them

• The risk assessment and management process involves the following

1. Identify what the risk is and to whom it is caused
2. Evaluate in what doses the risk causes harm
3. Calculate the probability of an undesirable impact as a result of the evaluated dose
4. Determine what percentage of the population is exposed to the risk
5. Characterize the risk with statistical data and assumptions
6. Manage the risk by developing necessary solutions

• Manufacturing industries are one of the contributing factors toward environmental damage and are the focus here
• However, the real contributing factors are population growth and the human desire for more and better goods to increase quality of life
• The societal need for more and better goods give rise to the design and development of better and complex materials and manufacturing processes
• The manufacture of these products require industrial activities which, when done without analyzing the implications, can impact the environment
• Consumers’ use and disposal of manufactured goods also have an impact on the environment
• Interactions between human needs and wants, industrial activities, and the environment must be well-understood to assess and manage the risks

Interactions Between Industry, Society, and the Environment

Environmental considerations in the manufacturing life cycle

• Environmental considerations should be included in all stages of the manufacturing life cycle to assess and manage potential risks
• The inputs to and outputs from each stage of the manufacturing life cycle should be analyzed to assess their impact on the environment
• From the industry angle emphasis should be placed on the following stages of manufacturing and product life cycle

Inputs and Outputs in the Various Stages of the Product Manufacturing Life Cycle

Environmental considerations in product design

• Designing for environmental concerns should be one of the integral parts of the product design and development process
• It will be difficult to address environmental concerns after a product has been fully designed
• The steps in product design for environmental concerns should include:

Product definition -	identify the environmental attributes of a product
Materials selection -	address issues such as toxicity, disposal, use of recyclable materials, etc.
Materials processing -	address the need for new processes, environmental consequences of new processes, energy needs, etc.
Product distribution -	address the environmental impact of material and product packaging and distribution
Product use -	address how the customers’ use, maintenance and disposal of the product will affect the environment
Product recycling -	address the recyclability of the disposed product and the impact of the non-recyclable material on the environment

• One of the important steps in the design phase is also the testing of the prototype product before finalizing the design and going into full production
• Including a test phase will help to assess the environmental and other potential hazards of the product and to make the necessary corrections in the final design

Environmental considerations in materials selection

• The ability to choose materials with desired properties is limited by the global supplies of those materials and their associated costs

Infinite supply: Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Si, Ti
Ample supply: Ba, Mn, P, Rb, Sr, Zr
Adequate supply: Cr, Cu, Ga, Li, Ni, Pb, Sc, Zn
Limited supply: B, Be, Co, Cr, Th
Highly limited supply: Ag, Au, Hg, Pt, Sb
(Which periodic elements the symbols above represent?)

• Materials extraction can be destructive to local ecological habitats and consideration should be given to the following during mining operations:

Retain topsoil removed from site so that it can later be replaced
Monitor trace metal concentrations in discharged water
Line working pits with impermeable material to reduce groundwater contamination
Control acid drainage from mines
Restore the site to its former appearance and productivity at the conclusion of extraction operations

• Availability of recycled materials should be investigated during the product design and materials selection process and whenever possible rather than using raw materials
• Through careful design and analysis of properties desired for a product, materials use can be minimized by substituting materials in limited supply with materials in abundant supply

For example, over the years in the automotive industry, the use of steel and zinc has been reduced by substituting with high strength plastics and alloys

• Toxicity of materials also impact their selection

1. potential for substituting toxic with non-toxic materials in products
2. potential for process changes due to toxicity of materials
3. potential for disposal of toxic materials and co-products

Materials selection recommendations based on environmental considerations:

1. Choose abundant, non-toxic, non-regulated materials, if possible
2. If possible, choose natural materials rather than synthetic materials
3. Design for minimum use of materials in products, processes, and service
4. Use recycled materials as much as possible rather than raw materials

Environmental considerations in material processing

• The three major environmental consideration in materials processing are:
1. Energy use
2. Residues
3. Process technology

• The goals of environmentally conscious materials processing are the minimization of energy use and the reduction or elimination of pollutants

• Manufacturing processes release a substantial amount of residues into the environment while processing materials and these can be:

Solid residues - for e.g. excess material, molding sprues, packaging residues, trace metals, biological residues, etc.
Liquid residues - for e.g. solvents and oils, acids, organics, sludge, etc.
Gaseous residues - for e.g. Carbon Dioxide, CFCs, HCFCs, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Sulfur Dioxide, volatile compounds, etc.

• The process technology impacts the minimization and disposal of residues and energy usage, and therefore, requires serious consideration

Due to governmental regulations, the process of safely disposing the residues has to be designed along with the design of the process technology
The interactions between product and process are also important since designing better products often requires advanced process technology, which in turn, can have environmental consequences

Environmental considerations in product packaging & distribution

• It may seem that packaging and distribution of manufactured products have very little impact on the environment:

30% of all municipal waste in U.S. come from packaging material and nearly one third of all plastics produced is used for packaging
The need for sophisticated packaging material often comes from the need to transport products safely and cheaply
For many consumer products and food items, packaging material is a primary residue released to the environment

• Environmental impact of product packaging and distribution is often overlooked by manufacturers because of cost and aesthetics

• Environmentally sound product packaging and distribution issues must be considered during the product design stage to:

Assess the actual packaging needs and prevent overpackaging of the product
Select packaging materials that can be safely discarded and recycled
Select one type of packaging material instead of a combination of materials which make it to difficult to separate the materials and recycle them
Assess the impact of the product on the packaging material, for e.g. chemicals or oils shipped in steel containers
Assess the impact of the atmospheric conditions, such as moisture, heat, etc. on the packaging material, and as a result, the impact on the environment
Evaluate different modes of transporting (rail, air, road) and handling (manual, automated equipment) the product and their consequences
Evaluate how the discarded packaging material can be processed back into usable packaging material without impacting the environment further

Environmental considerations in product use and maintenance

• One of the important considerations in product design should be the amount of environmental impact produced by products when they are used
• The use and maintenance of a product after it has been sold to the customer is currently constrained primarily by the product design
• This constraint requires the designer to consider the environmental impact of use and maintenance of the product during the product design phase
• Of course, the customer also has some responsibility in maintaining and disposing the product safely (for e.g. disposing off used motor oil)

• Some recommendations for environmentally conscious product use:

The product manufacturer should ensure that an infrastructure exists to encourage customers to dispose used product for safe recycling or reuse
(e.g., HP has setup a system for customers to send in used laser cartridges for reuse)

Product design should minimize the use of coolants and fluids for product use (e.g. freons used for cooling and refrigeration should be minimized or eliminated)

Product design should include considerations for minimizing energy consumption during product use

Product components should be easily repairable and/or replaceable by the customer

Materials required for routine maintenance of products should not contain toxic substances, and the material requirement should be minimal

Intentional dissipation of products into the environment should be none or minimal (e.g. dissipation of paints, fertilizers, diapers, etc.)

Clear warning labels should be posted on the product regarding use, overuse, maintenance, and disposal of products (e.g. people often use more fertilizers and pesticides than recommended on their lawns and gardens)

Environmental considerations in product recycling

• It is estimated that by the year 2005 some 150 million obsolete PCs, none with readily recoverable material, will be dumped into landfills
• The landfill volume required to hold these nonrecylable PCs will be 8 million cubic meters at a cost of $400 million
• If we take into consideration all the other consumer and industrial products that are not designed for recycling, these figures will be staggering
• Designing products for recycling is not only economical but crucial to preserve the environment for the future
• Environmentally sound recommendations for product recycling are:

practice preventive maintenance and maintain products as long as possible
when the products cannot be maintained or their performance has degraded, upgrade them using recycled subassemblies and components
when the products are no longer usable, salvage usable subassemblies and components for reuse and recycle the left over material for new products

• Why recycling should be taken into consideration during product design?

Recyclable material is of substantial commercial value and it is economical to use recycled material rather than raw material
Minimizing the use of different material in a product will make it easier later to separate the materials and recycle them for reuse
If recycling is taken into consideration during product design, the use of toxic materials can be avoided or reduced
The joining of dissimilar material can be eliminated or minimized so that it will be much easier later to separate the material for recycling and reuse

• Two complimentary types of product recycling:

closed-loop recycling - reuse the materials to make the same product over and over again (e.g. discarded aluminum cans recycled as aluminum cans)
open-loop recycling - reuse materials to produce different products (e.g. office paper recycled to produce brown paper bags)

• The type of recycling will depend upon the type of product and materials involved, but closed-loop recycling should be generally preferred
• Another type of recycling is remanufacturing which involves the reuse of obsolete products by retaining usable, serviceable parts and replacing unusable parts with upgraded parts
  e.g. many electronic products such as computers and printers can be remanufactured instead of recycling them fully
• An important consideration in design for remanufacturing is design for disassembly

If a product has to be remanufactured, it should be easily disassemblable so that obsolete or faulty parts can be easily replaced with usable parts
Designing for disassembly is also crucial for ease of servicing the product

• It may not always be possible or economical to recycle products and a comprehensive analysis is often necessary to make that decision

• The order of priorities in product recycling and reuse should be to:
1. reduce material content in products
2. reuse components whenever possible
3. remanufacture products
4. recycle materials
5. dispose off material as the last resort

Governmental and legal regulations concerning the environment

• Governmental and legal regulations concerning the environment are not new and have been around as early as the 1300s in England
• In U.S. at present nearly 50 major environmental acts are in place and are being enforced by different agencies
• 8 major environmental statues have been imposed to limit management, production and regulation of hazardous waste alone and some of these are:

• These acts are designed to:

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been actively enforcing the regulations:

1. in 1989-92 EPA assessed more criminal and civil penalties than in the previous 19-year existence of the agency
2. in 1992 alone, $78.7 million in civil penalties and $62.9 million in criminal penalties (four times the amount in 1991)

• A nation’s ability to respond to environmental concerns is impacted by a number of factors such as type of government (democratic or totalitarian), wealth, population, culture, geographical size, etc.
• Development and enforcement of environmental regulations are no longer a local problem for each country, but a global problem
• Along with the govt.’s, population growth, citizens needs and wants and the industries who respond to their needs also have a part to play in this

Assessing the impact of product life cycle on the environment

• To analyze and document the impact of various stages of product cycle on the environment, an assessment methodology is necessary
• The assessment results can be recorded in the form of a simple matrix as shown

• Now the questions are how to conduct the assessment and what tools are needed to do so and in what scale the results can be recorded?
• For some criteria, the assessment can be done using analytical techniques and for the other, checklists of questions can be used

• The assessment results can be recorded in the form of a numerical scale or symbols, such as:

-	Not applicable		25% uncertainty
+	Positive		50% uncertainty
	No Concern		75% certainty
	Minor Concern		100% certainty
	Moderate Concern
	Significant Concern

• Performing these assessments on various physical, biological, and social criteria requires a thorough knowledge of related mathematics and science topics and the ability to conduct experiments

Matrix for assessing the impact of product life cycle on the environment