Use Sustainability

Sustainability is the path of continuous improvement to provide the products and services society needs with an ever decreasing impact on the environment.  Use of a sustainability framework and the associated metrics, is essential for selecting and evaluating energy systems for the future. 

Energy for the 21st century and beyond is not only a grand challenge, it is a global challenge.  Energy demand continues to grow in both developed and developing countries even as extraction of fossil fuels becomes more difficult and expensive.  National initiatives are being undertaken to address environmental costs of extraction and processing of these fuels.  Use of emerging technologies (including solar, wind) and alternative paths for use of traditional fossil and nuclear fuels is growing but remains limited by various constraints including cost, infrastructure, public acceptance, and other factors.  Selection of the ‘right’ solutions is an immensely complex optimization problem with innumerable variables and subjective as well as objective criteria – and the stakeholders haven’t even agreed on the problem statement!

Selecting an energy system can be addressed from different perspectives.  A given business will make decisions based on their objectives, resources, and culture.  Many different fuels and technologies will be used that will be attractive for a given application, location and environment.  A sustainability framework for looking at the larger question of providing a basis for evaluating energy system choices for the future is essential.  Developing, designing and using energy systems of the future, which society needs, with an ever decreasing environmental footprint is the core of sustainable thinking.  The perspective is national and global with a view to providing understanding that can be applied to guiding technology development, to informing public policy and will also have application for local business decisions.

The AIChE Energy metrics project, uses the vast areas of expertise developed using sustainability approaches.  You can find out more here.