Green process systems engineering

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The quest for pollution prevention, coupled with increased pressure and demand for environmentally sustainable processes and products, have spawned new rules and regulations in the process industry. Sustainability is defined as "economic development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", according to the 1987 Brundtland Report of the United Nations. This research will address the challenge of designing and managing chemical and biochemical processes in a sustainable and safe way. The long term objective of this research is to develop an integrated computer-aided framework for green (sustainable) Process Systems Engineering (PSE). This framework will extend upon the traditional PSE approach through the incorporation of environmental impact assessment tools, life-cycle analysis, sustainability metrics, and inherent safety concepts. We envision a framework that can be utilized to: (1) Perform process modifications on existing processes to reduce waste and energy consumption, and improve efficiency, (2) Take appropriate scheduling and reactive operating actions to minimize pollution under adverse environmental conditions or under changing regulations, (3) Select appropriate control options from a superstructure of available technologies, (4) Develop new processes that abide to economic, safety, and environmental considerations, and (5) Suggest robust green energy and power production pathways. The consideration of economics along with concepts of green engineering is essential in order to preserve profitability; otherwise investment will not occur and environmental protection will be eroded. A number of case studies will be considered in order to illustrate how the findings of this research can lead to greener and profitable designs and/or production operations.