Sustainable Design Through Process Integration
/Systems Conversation with Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi, Director of the Gas & Fuels Research Center, Texas A&M University
Industrial processes exert some of the most profound impacts on the ecosystem. These impacts are attributed to several factors including the significant usage of natural resources, the environmental discharges associated with the processing, and the ecological effects of the products. Sustainable design of industrial processes is aimed at achieving several objectives including resource conservation, recycle/reuse, pollution prevention, yield improvement, and profitability enhancement. These objectives can be methodically addressed using systems-based approaches. In this context, process integration offers an effective framework for sustainable design. The presentation focuses on two branches of process integration: mass and property integration.