Category: Industrial Waste Minimization Methodology

Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, defines her approach as “a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example. I think of it as ‘innovation inspired by nature’” (Benyus 2003). Biomimicry relies…

Consider opportunities to create greater value and align incentives through business models that build on the interaction between products and services. Do we need to own products or is one satisfied by using it as service? Can the current business model, for example, be modified to lease its products? This also includes rethinking circular production…

Linear “take, make, dispose” industrial processes and the lifestyles that feed on them deplete finite reserves to create products that end up in landfills or in incinerators. This realization triggered the thought process of a few scientists and thinkers, including Walter Stahel, an architect, economist, and a founding father of industrial sustainability. Credited with having…

There are various definitions of a circular economy (CE): An idea for a truly sustainable future that works without waste, in symbiosis with our environment and resources. A future where every product is designed for multiple cycles of use, and different material or manufacturing cycles are carefully aligned, so that the output of one process…

There are a number of technologies that support water‐efficient energy systems or energy‐efficient water systems. These technologies are at various stages of research, development, demonstration, and deployment. Figure 9.8 illustrates a range of technologies optimizing water use for energy in waste heat recovery, cooling, alternate fluids, and process water efficiency. Cooling for thermoelectric generation is an important…

Present day water and energy systems are tightly intertwined. Water is used in all phases of energy production and electricity generation. Energy is required to extract, convey, and deliver water of appropriate quality for diverse human uses, and then again to treat wastewaters prior to their return to the environment. Historically, interactions between energy and…

The global climate destabilization underway is primarily due to human combustion of fossil fuels for energy and the resultant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (IPCC 2007). There is a large consensus among scientists that if current trends continue in climate destabilization, the earth will reach a point of no return. The challenge of reducing atmospheric GHG like…

As a success example, consider one where a corporate group devised and adopted a growth strategy whereby a majority of the wastes from one activity were converted to feedstock for another activity. Seshasayee’s original enterprise was a paper mill. To ensure a regular supply of raw material, the company then set up a sugar mill.…

There are at least five advantages of the electron beam process: Among the corresponding disadvantages and challenges associated with this process is the need to keep ammonia injection close to the stoichiometric point to alleviate any ammonia slip. In addition, large electron‐beam generators are needed for a large‐scale plant because the current electron beam has…

EIP development (EIPD) is a new paradigm for achieving excellence in business and environmental performance. It opens up innovative new avenues for managing businesses and conducting economic development. By creating linkages among local “resources,” including businesses, nonprofit groups, governments, unions, and educational institutions, communities can creatively foster dynamic and responsible growth. Antiquated business strategies, based…