Synthesis Lectures on Sustainable Development – serie

This concise text provides the concepts, methods, and application examples for integrating sustainability into engineering design and production. It discusses the role of sustainability in the value creation processes of various enterprises and different tools and methods for systematic incorporation of social and environmental aspects into the product's life cycle. The following topics are covered: sustainable development in engineering systems and the life cycle concept, norms and standards in the sustainable development and integration of socio-economic assessment into technical valuation, production systems, management of the production systems based on circular economy principles, ecodesign practices, and value creation and innovative design in the circular economy.Provides a concise guide for engineering students for applying circular economy practicesPresents examples and short case studies for understanding the methods and toolsFacilitates understanding and application of the life cycle perspective in product manufacturing and green engineering

This concise text provides the concepts, methods, and application examples for integrating sustainability into engineering design and production. It discusses the role of sustainability in the value creation processes of various enterprises and different tools and methods for systematic incorporation of social and environmental aspects into the product's life cycle. The following topics are covered: sustainable development in engineering systems and the life cycle concept, norms and standards in the sustainable development and integration of socio-economic assessment into technical valuation, production systems, management of the production systems based on circular economy principles, ecodesign practices, and value creation and innovative design in the circular economy.Provides a concise guide for engineering students for applying circular economy practicesPresents examples and short case studies for understanding the methods and toolsFacilitates understanding and application of the life cycle perspective in product manufacturing and green engineering

The book covers applications of Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing in the fields of hydrology, water resource management, land use, rainfall variability, and groundwater mapping, to help professionals in the field identify change in patterns and guide them in making decisions that promote sustainable development.

The book covers applications of Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing in the fields of hydrology, water resource management, land use, rainfall variability, and groundwater mapping, to help professionals in the field identify change in patterns and guide them in making decisions that promote sustainable development.

This book is an introduction to the many challenges of sustainability. The first half of the book develops a framework for sustainability thinking. The second half considers application areas and personal and corporate responses to sustainability challenges. Basic facts, figures, and information related to sustainability are presented in a way that should convey to readers a sense of scale for the many sustainability challenges we face. Throughout, the end-of-chapter projects and discussion questions focus on tradeoffs among competing goods and the ethical and social implications of decisions related to sustainability. This book was written for a university seminar course on sustainability but could be used in other small-group discussion settings. It is intended to be easy to read but hard to digest.

To address the complexity of today's global challenges requires new ways of thinking. The idea that technology is always the best, maybe only, approach worth taking needs to be reconsidered. Sustainable approaches must also draw from non technological areas. To that end, this book introduces the idea of just technology by rephrasing the idea of just war in order to include concepts of sustainability in future engineering design. The book begins by defining justice and relating these definitions to technology. This is followed by illustrating several notions of sustainability and the awareness that needs to be focused on societal challenges due to the finite resources available in the natural world. Four questions are enumerated to be addressed in order to qualify as a just use of technology: (1) Is the harm being inflicted by the problem on the community, the environment, or humanity, in general lasting, serious, and certain? (2) Have all alternative solutions been investigated first, including non-technology-based solutions? Technology is the last choice, not the first! (3) Do we have confidence in the successful implementation of this technological solution? and (4) Is the potential harm from the technological solution potentially worse than the issue being addressed? Have all unintended consequences been considered that could arise from the technological solution? The book ends with a description for implementing these questions into the traditional engineering design process. Examples are included for reflection and help to understand how the design process proceeds.

Produced water contributes to the largest volume waste stream associated with oil and gas (O&G) exploration and production (E&P) operations. It is usually a complex mixture of inorganics and organics that is formed underground and brought to the surface during O&G production. Traditionally, produced water has been considered as a waste to the O&G industry. The conventional management strategies include disposal (typically by injection into depleted wells or permitted disposal wells), recycle (direct reuse within the E&P operation), and reuse (treatment and reuse offsite for food crop irrigation, livestock watering or industrial use). The O&G industry is going through a paradigm shift, where scarcity of water, economics of water management, declining oil costs, and increasing focus on environmental and ecological stewardship are shifting the focus toward integrated water management in E&P operations. Water is no longer a problem to be delegated to a third-party disposal or treatment vendor, but is becoming a cornerstone of O&G production. In this review, we summarize produced water characteristics, regulations and management options, produced water treatment fundamentals, and a detailed discussion of process equipment and advantages/disadvantages of currently available treatment processes. These results in peer-reviewed publications could provide a guide for the selection of appropriate technologies based on the desired application. Major research efforts in the future could focus on the optimization of current technologies and use of combined treatment processes of produced water in order to comply with reuse and discharge limits, under more stringent environmental regulations.

Over the past half century, reverse osmosis (RO) has grown from a nascent niche technology into the most versatile and effective desalination and advanced water treatment technology available. However, there remain certain challenges for improving the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of RO desalination plants in various applications. In low-pressure RO applications, both capital (CAPEX) and operating (OPEX) costs are largely influenced by product water recovery, which is typically limited by mineral scale formation. In seawater applications, recovery tends to be limited by the salinity limits on brine discharge and cost is dominated by energy demand. The combination of water scarcity and sustainability imperatives, in many locations, is driving system designs towards minimal and zero liquid discharge (M/ZLD) for inland brackish water, municipal and industrial wastewaters, and even seawater desalination. Herein, we review the basic principles of RO processes, the state-of-the-art for RO membranes, modules and system designs as well as methods for concentrating and treating brines to achieve MLD/ZLD, resource recovery and renewable energy powered desalination systems. Throughout, we provide examples of installations employing conventional and some novel approaches towards high recovery RO in a range of applications from brackish groundwater desalination to oil and gas produced water treatment and seawater desalination.

The readers of the book Just Technology: The Quest for Cultural, Economic, Environmental, and Technical Sustainability, Second Edition of will benefit from its systematic approach in evaluating the true sustainability challenges facing society and will learn how to address these challenges in a just manner.Since the publication of the first edition of the book, the concept of a just society has become more important. Several new contemporary examples are now included to reinforce the concepts introduced in the previous edition. The book presents a framework to evaluate the appropriateness of technological approaches to address critical sustainable issues. The framework comprises four questions that aim to create more just approaches by broadening the context engineers consider when formulating solutions.Addressing the complexity of today's global challenges requires new ways of thinking. The idea that technology is always the best, maybe the only approach, needs to be reconsidered, and sustainable approaches must also draw from nontechnological areas.

The readers of the book Just Technology: The Quest for Cultural, Economic, Environmental, and Technical Sustainability, Second Edition of will benefit from its systematic approach in evaluating the true sustainability challenges facing society and will learn how to address these challenges in a just manner.Since the publication of the first edition of the book, the concept of a just society has become more important. Several new contemporary examples are now included to reinforce the concepts introduced in the previous edition. The book presents a framework to evaluate the appropriateness of technological approaches to address critical sustainable issues. The framework comprises four questions that aim to create more just approaches by broadening the context engineers consider when formulating solutions.Addressing the complexity of today's global challenges requires new ways of thinking. The idea that technology is always the best, maybe the only approach, needs to be reconsidered, and sustainable approaches must also draw from nontechnological areas.

Plastic pollution is a serious global environmental and health concern caused by the excessive use of plastic products and poor management of plastic waste. However, it is a complex issue that requires suitable technologies and effective policies and management strategies. This book describes the current global standard of plastic waste management and explains why and how it should be improved.The book begins with an introduction of the different types of plastic materials and their degradation patterns and explains the impact of plastic pollutants on the environment, the quality of water resources, and on human health. Next, the book describes current solutions for plastic waste management including recycling and toxic reduction methods, moving on to presenting innovative approaches and technologies for plastic waste management. The final chapter discusses future prospects and policy implications.

Plastic pollution is a serious global environmental and health concern caused by the excessive use of plastic products and poor management of plastic waste. However, it is a complex issue that requires suitable technologies and effective policies and management strategies. This book describes the current global standard of plastic waste management and explains why and how it should be improved.The book begins with an introduction of the different types of plastic materials and their degradation patterns and explains the impact of plastic pollutants on the environment, the quality of water resources, and on human health. Next, the book describes current solutions for plastic waste management including recycling and toxic reduction methods, moving on to presenting innovative approaches and technologies for plastic waste management. The final chapter discusses future prospects and policy implications.

A Smart City is an urban area in which digital technology is used to connect the infrastructure and services to improve the efficiency of the city’s operations and the quality of life of its population in terms of mobility, energy, security, housing, and more.This book describes the systems and the infrastructure requirements of smart cities and explores how the integration of the Green Internet of Things (G-IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) help improve the efficiency and safety of cities’ systems, as well as reduce costs. The book provides useful information for researchers, policymakers, urban planners, and technology leaders.

A Smart City is an urban area in which digital technology is used to connect the infrastructure and services to improve the efficiency of the city’s operations and the quality of life of its population in terms of mobility, energy, security, housing, and more.This book describes the systems and the infrastructure requirements of smart cities and explores how the integration of the Green Internet of Things (G-IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) help improve the efficiency and safety of cities’ systems, as well as reduce costs. The book provides useful information for researchers, policymakers, urban planners, and technology leaders.

Ionic liquids are organic salts that are typically in liquid phase when their temperature is below 100 °C (212 °F). They are nonflammable and have very low vapor pressure, which make them environmentally friendly alternative to organic solvents. Chemical reactions with ionic liquids can be more efficient, results in less waste and pollution, lower energy consumption, safer manufacturing processes, and reduced resource usage.This book is focused on ionic liquids and their applications. The book begins by introducing ionic liquids, their structure and properties and their synthesis and characterization methods, next, synthesis methods with ionic liquids are reviewed, and then their industrial applications in various fields and finally emerging developments in the area.

Wastewater treatment is a process that involves the extraction of pollutants, removal of coarse particles, and elimination of toxicants from wastewater with minimum impact on the environment.This book introduces the basic concepts of wastewater treatment and outlines the steps and techniques involved in bringing the wastewater to the required quality standard along with resource recovery. The book is intended for students and professionals who have some knowledge of such concepts as environmental chemistry and fluid mechanics and offers information on wastewater treatment technologies, practical strategies, and relevant examples to gaining basic understanding of the process.