1 Chapter 7 Green Engineering 7 1 The expenses of owning and operating a traditional wastewater treatment facility are too high for the local community The community is seeking ideas to address this issue What are the design opportunities for improvement scaled with increasing degrees of freedom and what are the potential benefits Solution Students responses will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 2 7 2 The teaching and research laboratories at your university are found to be out of compliance with EPA regulations The EPA would like a plan stating how the labs can come within the regulations Based on the pollution prevention hierarchy provide at least one action at each level that your university can take with regard to waste in the research labs What are the advantages and disadvantages of each action Solution Pollution Prevention Hierarchy stage Source reduction Recycling Treatment Disposal Advantages Disadvantages Answers will vary for different students Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 3 7 3 Visit EPA s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award Web site at www epa gov greenchemistry pubs pgcc past html Select a past award winning project Based on the description of this project what are the environmental economic and social benefits of this green chemistry advance Solution Students responses will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 4 7 4 Discuss whether shoe A leather or shoe B synthetic is better for the environment based on data in Table 7 14 Is it possible to weight one aspect air water land pollution or solid waste as being more important than another How Why Who makes these decisions in our society Solution Students responses will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 5 7 5 You are preparing a life cycle analysis of different transportation options for getting from your house to work 10 miles each way The options include bicycling one person in a car carpooling with three or more people or taking the bus Write a possible goal scope function and functional unit for this LCA Possible solution Goal Determine which of the following modes of transportation for commuting to and from work have the least environmental impact bicycling one person in a car carpooling with 3 or more people taking the bus Scope This LCA will only consider the use phase of these transportation modes and will not consider the material acquisition manufacture or end of life stages Function Provide a means of transporting a person on a 20 mile round trip commute from home to work each day Functional unit 140 miles of transportation 1 week s worth of commuting Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 6 7 6 Draw a causal loop diagram that links energy consumption air emissions climate change water availability Earth s temperature and human health quality of life Possible solution o Energy consumption s Air emissions s Human health quality of life Climate change s o Water availability Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 7 7 7 Draw and then explain in words a causal loop diagram for the following system elements GDP population resource consumption environmental quality and health Then redraw the diagram to include green engineering Solution Students solutions will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 8 7 8 Is centralized drinking water treatment and distribution more or less resilient than point of use water treatment technologies Why or why not Does it matter whether these water treatment systems are implemented in the developed or developing world Solution Students responses will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 9 7 9 Provide an example of a product s replacement by a service that reduces or eliminates consumption of natural and economic resources while providing the same function What benefits are associated with the evolution from product to service for this example Solution Students responses will vary Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley Sons New York 2009 10 7 10 You are about to buy a car that will last 7 years before you have to buy a new one and Congress has just passed a new tax on greenhouse gases Assume a 5 annual interest rate You have two options a Purchase a used car for 12 000 upgrade the catalytic converter at a cost of 1 000 and pay a 500 annual carbon tax This car has a salvage value of 2 000 b Purchase a new car for 16 500 and pay only 100 annually in carbon tax This car has a salvage value of 4 500 Based on the annualized cost of these two options which car would you buy Solution a PV 13 000 500 500 500 2 000 14 472 2 7 1 05 1 05 1 05 0 05 A 14 472 1 1 i 7 b PV 16 500 2 501 100 100 100 4 500 13 881 2 7 1 05 1 05 1 05 0 05 A 13 881 1 1 i 7 2 399 Buy the new car even though the upfront cost is more expensive it will be cheaper to drive an annual basis over the 7 year lifetime of the car assuming at 5 annual interest rate Solutions Manual prepared by Ziad Katirji and Heather E Wright Wendel Environmental Engineering Fundamentals Sustainability Design James R Mihelcic and Julie Beth Zimmerman John Wiley