Consider the environmental quotient

Journal Article · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1994 · CHEMTECH; (United States)

OSTI ID:7109196

Sheldon, R A ^[1]

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1. Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)

When evaluating alternative routes to a product, both the amount and nature of the waste make a difference. A more sophisticated assessment should take into account both the amount and the nature of the waste. To this end, The author has devised the environmental quotient'' (EQ), which is obtained by multiplying the E factor by an arbitrarily assigned unfriendliness quotient (Q) EQ = E [times] Q. For example, if innocuous salts such as NaCl and (NH[sub 4])[sub 2]SO[sub 4] are assigned an unfriendliness quotient of 1, then heavy metal salts could be given a factor of 100 to 1,000, depending on toxicity. Such figures are debatable and will vary from one company to another and even from one production site to another. Nevertheless, alternative processes can be assessed on this basis, and in the final analysis EQs can and will be translated into ECUs (European Currency Units). A further refinement of this approach leads to the concept of environmental profile analysis. In such an analysis, alternative processes would be assessed on the basis of three cost factors: raw materials, energy consumption, and waste generation. To translate the EQ of waste streams into a cost factor, for example, one could take the cost of recycling using the best available technology.

• OSTI ID: 7109196
• Journal Information: CHEMTECH; (United States), Vol. 24:3; ISSN 0009-2703
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
WASTE MANAGEMENT
CHEMICAL WASTES
RECYCLING
MINIMIZATION
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
INDUSTRY
MANAGEMENT
NONRADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTES
320305* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Industrial Waste Management