(20a) Environmentally Conscious Process Design - Identifying Tradeoffs Between Environmental Protection and Economic Viability at Different Scales

Traditional engineering design uses monetary criteria to find optimal solutions. However, as the earth's critical resources are depleting, and environmental stewardship is becoming a more important issue for corporations for several reasons, additional conditions beyond profitability also need to be considered. There is more and more effort to internalize environmental criteria into the design process, instead of only evaluating impacts afterward. In addition, the most popular life cycle assessment methodologies fail to accurately account for ecosystem goods and services, focusing instead on emission impacts and fossil fuel use. This work considers a design methodology with criteria for profitability and environmental impact without losing sight of the depletion of natural resources and ecosystems. Preliminary work has been done with the goal of designing a carbon neutral chemical process. A combination of carbon dioxide mitigation techniques such as ecological sequestration, reforestation, and the purchase of carbon offsets is considered. Economic models for each technique has also been included. The CGAM cogeneration example from the literature has been used as a case study.