An Industrial Ecology: Material Flows and Engineering Design

1. David Allen Center for Energy and Environmental Resources and Department of Chemical Engineering The University of Texas at Austin An Industrial Ecology: Material Flows and Engineering Design

2. Industrial Ecology: What Is It? • A metaphor, emphasizing the need to design industrial systems that mimic the mass conservation and material cycling properties of natural ecosystems • A new set of business partnerships and systems that create synergies in supply chains • A set of design tools to identify and optimize synergies and sets of environmental performance measures that can be used to assess performance • The science of sustainability?

3. An Industrial Ecology? Wastes, emissions Raw materials, Industrial Material Products energy Processing

4. Industrial Ecology Factoids • In most advanced economies, flows of materials are of order of 50 kg/person/day • Most of these materials are used once, then discarded • The value of these energy and material flows are enormous, so firms and individuals with the tools to identify valuable flows of resources will have significant competitive advantages

5. What are the tools of Industrial Ecology? • Life Cycle Assessments • Material and energy flow analyses at a variety of spatial scales and focusing on individual processes, industrial sectors and entire economies • Tools for measuring environmental performance • Design tools for improving environmental performance

6. Material flows at multiple scales • Total material flows at national scales • Flows of specific materials at national scales • Flows of materials in industrial sectors (chemical process industries) • Flows of materials in an integrated network of facilities (a network for end-of-life electronic products)

7. Material flow accounts at national scales U.S. National Research Council, “Materials Count”, National Academy Press, 2003

8. Examples of entries in a material flow account • Flow of copper into the domestic economy (e.g., from a domestic copper mine) or through imports (e.g., from Chile) • Related hidden or indirect flows (e.g., overburden removed during mining and the waste portion of copper ore) and emissions (e.g., to air, from mine roadways, mill operations, refining) • Stock of products (e.g., autos), without distinguishing the products; and • Flows out of the economy as exports (e.g., in the form of finished products containing copper).

9. Hidden flows

10. Broad-based characterization of material flows Fuels Minerals Biomass

11. Broad-based characterization of material flows

12. What is this stuff?

13. Summary of bulk flows of materials at national scales • Hidden flows are significant • Small stock accumulation • A one-pass system where most material is discharged to air or water • Some country to country differences

14. Wastes, emissions Raw materials, Industrial Material Products energy Processing Why should we care about national material flows? Use wastes as raw materials? ?

15. Should we mine waste streams? Flows of metals in hazardous wastes in the US • 12 billion tons (wet basis) of industrial waste is generated annually in the United States • Annual production of the top 50 commodity chemicals in the United States is 0.3 billion tons • Annual output of U.S. refineries is 0.7 billion tons

16. Industrial Hazardous Waste • 0.25 - 0.75 billion tons/year • 75 - 90% from chemical manufacturing • Much of the rest from petroleum refining

17. Hazardous waste flow mapping

18. Should we mine waste streams?Consider the Sherwood diagram: value vs. dilution

19. An economic opportunity?

20. Material flows at multiple scales • Total material flows at national scales • Flows of specific materials at national scales • Flows of materials in industrial sectors (chemical process industries) • Flows of materials in an integrated network of facilities (a network for end-of-life electronic products)

21. A more detailed look at the structure of material flows Metal case studies

22. Why metals? • Easy to track • Relatively simple chemistry and processing • Significant in both material displaced and environmental consequences • Advanced Recycling structures • Interesting interactions

23. Mercury A new opportunity for using material flow analyses?

24. Why examine mercury (Hg)?

25. Mercury use • Industrial uses of mercury continue to decrease, so any material flow analysis is a snapshot that may change

26. Mercury case study • Emissions from coal fired power plants dominate the nation’s total emissions based on reported emission inventories

27. Environmental forecasting:Mercury case study • What emissions should be controlled? • Regional case study for the New York Harbor/Hudson River drainage

28. Environmental forecasting:Mercury case study • Is the mercury loading in the harbor coming from air, wastewater, or seepage from landfills?

29. Environmental forecasting:Mercury case study What are the major sources?

30. Environmental forecasting:Mercury case study • What are the policy implications of this material flow analysis? • Are the findings for the New York Harbor likely to be replicated in other parts of the world?

31. Metal case studies • Lead Does lead in solder in electronic products pose a significant risk? • Cadmium Should cadmium in batteries be phased out? • Arsenic What do we do with accumulating stocks of CCA (pressure) treated lumber? • Silver Where did the silver in San Francisco Bay come from? • Mercury Will controlling mercury from power plant emissions significantly lower exposures?

32. Material flows at multiple scales • Total material flows at national scales • Flows of specific materials at national scales • Flows of materials in industrial sectors (chemical process industries) • Flows of materials in an integrated network of facilities (a network for end-of-life electronic products)

33. Many technology mixes are possible for a fixed set of raw materials and products

34. Input-output structure of the industry • Define how processes are interconnected • Note that multiple pathways exist for getting from inputs to end products • Optimize structure at a systems level

35. Formulate as a mathematical programming problem • Each technology has energy and mass input requirements • Each has a different set of environmental performance indices • Consider the performance indices of cost and toxicity of chemicals used (as measured by TLV)

36. Select a set of technologies that minimize cost, or a set that minimizes toxicity of intermediates

37. Identify the sources of residual toxicity; these are candidates for alternative reaction pathways

38. Material flows at multiple scales • Total material flows at national scales • Flows of specific materials at national scales • Flows of materials in industrial sectors (chemical process industries) • Flows of materials in an integrated network of facilities (a network for end-of-life electronic products)

39. RIP RIP RIP RIP IBM 360 1965 - 1985 IBM 360 1965 - 1985 IBM 360 1965 - 1985 IBM 360 1965 - 1985 End-of-Life Electronics A cash cow? Or an economic burden?

40. Expected Mass Flow • 3 to 4 billions pounds per year • Steady state • By 2010 • 4 to 5 billion pounds per year • Older units coming out of storage • Estimate peak between 2005 and 2008

41. Electronics Recycling – 1980s • Typical system being retired had the following characteristics • 10 years old • Large units (50 lbs or more), large pieces • Steel, unpainted, mechanical attachments • Gold or aluminum wire bonds, gold backed chips, high base and precious metal content on boards • CRTs a small portion by weight and quantity • Peripherals not common • Market for new electronics • Unsaturated in US, virtually non-existent in developing countries

42. Electronics Recycling – 1990s • Typical system being retired had the following characteristics • 5 years old • 30-50 lb units, moderately sized pieces • 50% steel, some painted, mixture of mechanical attachments and adhesives • Wire-bonded (Al, some Au) and surface mount (Sn/Pb) chips, moderate base and precious metal content on boards • CRTs approaching half by weight and quantity • Peripherals somewhat common • Market for new electronics • Partially saturated in US, unsaturated in developing countries • Moderate cost per function

43. Electronics Recycling – 2000s • Typical system being retired had the following characteristics • 2-3 years old • 10-30 lb units, numerous small pieces • 10% steel, many painted, significant use of permanent attachments and adhesives • Surface mount chips, moderate base and precious metal content on boards • CRTs approaching half by weight and quantity • Peripherals somewhat common • Market for new electronics • Highly saturated in US, developing countries prefer new • Low cost per function

44. Based on 2005 mind set • Focus solely on material recovery • Optimize for minimal labor and storage and for maximum purity of material streams • Assume existing product flows and material price structures • Assume existing separation and sort technology

45. The Concept Thermoplastic Glass Base/Precious metals Steel Aluminum

46. Preferred w/in EIP flow EOL Electronics Prescribed cross boundary flow Boundaries Optional cross boundary flow EIP Disposition Center Product Resale Material Separation and Recovery Off-site purification and use Landfill Compost Materials fromoff-site On-site material purification Power from methane Materials fromoff-site Molded ETP parts Plastics Compounder Injection Molder Off-site plastics compounder Off-site injection molder

47. Material flows at multiple scales • Total material flows at national scales • Flows of specific materials at national scales • Flows of materials in industrial sectors (chemical process industries) • Flows of materials in an integrated network of facilities (a network for end-of-life electronic products)

48. An Industrial Ecology? Wastes, emissions Raw materials, Industrial Material Products energy Processing