Sustainable Chemistryand

Industrial Ecology

T.E. Graedel

Yale University

The Chemical Industry Approach to Chemistry and the Sustainable

Enterprise:

“Responsibility”

(Responsible Care, Responsibility Reports, etc.)

The Chemical Industry Vision of “Responsible”

Inputs

Cheap

Community interactions

Cordial

EmissionsLow

Products

Lots and lots

GlaxoSmithKline CO2 Emissions

GlaxoSmithKline VOC Emissions

The Chemical Industry Vision of “Responsible”

Inputs

Cheap

Community interactions

Cordial

EmissionsLow

Products

Lots and lots

Expanding the Scope ofResponsible Action

xxMH5M1430N

2

29

MaterialsPreparation

MaterialsPreparation

VirginMaterialsExtraction

Discard

Refurbish? Ship Package

Stages of the Life-CycleStages of the Life-Cycle

CustomerUse

51

5455 3

Reactant #2

Mfr.

Reactant #1

Mfr.

Product

Mfr.

Sludge(treated)

Liquid Fertilizer

Farms

Cement;roads

Fishfarming

Water

Water

Water

Fly ash

Heat

ScrubberSludge

Gas

Steam

Ste

am

Sulfur

A-S Bioteknisk Jordrens

Sludge

Ste

am Coo

ling

wat

er

Statoil Refinery

LakeTissø

Gas

Was

tew

ate

r

Yeast slurry Recovered nickel and vanadium

Kalundborg, DK: Industrial Symbiosis Pathways

Asnaes PowerAsnaes PowerStationStation

Pharmaceutical

Municipality of Kalundborg

District heating

Wall-board Plant

Responsible Actionmay not equalSustainability

Sustainability - Meeting the needs of people

living on Earth while nurturing and restoring the planet’s life

support systems

- Board on Sustainable Development, 1999

What is it that we want to sustain?

For whom?

For how long?

What should be sustained?

• Environmental scientists: Earth systems

• Ecologists: Ecological systems

• Economists: Earth products (ores, minerals)

• Humanists: Human systems

What does the chemical industry want to sustain?

• The right to operate

• Feedstocks

• Suppliers (process equipment, catalysts, etc.)

• Customers

Sustainability Challenge #1

Everything is connected to

everything else, so sustainability

is a group project

From

Customer

To

Customer

Various

Process And Product Reuse Options

METAL MINING

METAL SMELTING &

REFINING

METAL FABRICATION

NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION

COAL MINING

POWER GENERATION

PLASTICS FABRICATION

PRODUCT ASSEMBLY

PACKAGING & SHIPPING

RECYCLING

INORGANIC MINERAL

EXTRACTION

INORGANIC CHEMICALS,

SAND & GLASS

SYNTHETIC ORGANIC

CHEMICALS

ELECTRONIC FABRICATION

PETROLEUM REFINING,

PETROCHEMICALS

PETROLEUM EXTRACTION

EXTRACTION MATERIAL PROCESSING

INTERMEDIATE PRODUCT MFR.

IfINAL PRODUCT MFR.

PRODUCT DELIVERY

The Sector Sequence

AGRICULTURE

FOODPROCESSING

FORESTPRODUCTS

CONSTRUCTION

TEXTILES

Sustainability Challenge #2

In most cases, the limits we

are approaching remain uncertain

Lake Powell, CO before and after drought

Sustainability Challenge #3

Notwithstanding our difficulties in determining limits, there are increasing signs

that our society and the planet

is approaching limits

Limits to Feedstocks: Crude Oil Price, $/bbl

Limits to Emissions: Melting Glaciers

The Copper Cycle: Studying Human Use of Resources

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

Year

Global Copper Use, 1700-2000(T

g/y

ear)

IMPORT/EXPORT

ORE ENVIRONMENT

PROCESS-ING

FABRICA-TION

USE WASTEMGT.

IMPORT/EXPORT

ORE ENVIRONMENT

PROCESS-ING

FABRICA-TION

USE DISCARDMGT.

STAF Project© Yale University 2004

Data Sources

DataArchive

Databases- UN Comtrade- ...

Trade Organizations- ICSG- ...

Personal Contacts- auto industry- ...

Periodicals- Minerals yearbook- ...

120OldScrap

LandfilledWaste,Dissipated

180

Landfill +200

Collection,SeparationIncineration

Import/Export

200

Old Scrap

Discards

500

+120

Japan Waste ManagementWM

© STAF Project, Yale University

Units: Gg/yr

Japan Copper cycle: One Year Stocks and Flows, 1990s

System Boundary Japan

280

New Scrap

18 Slag

Cathode

0.3

Tailings

2

Concentrate

1100

Blister

1

1200

80

34

120

Ore

Semis,finished Products

500

Prod. Cu

950

120Old

Scrap

200

Old Scrap

LandfilledWaste,

Dissipated

180

Discards

500Prod. Alloy

240

Cathode

170

NewScrap,Ingots

1805216

ProductionMill, Smelter,Refinery 7

Stock

Use

Stock

700

Lith. -2 Environment +200

Fabrication &Manufacturing

WasteManagement

Import/Export -830

© STAF Project, Yale University Units: Gg/yr

Zambia’s Copper Cycle: One Year Stocks and Flows, 1994

Units: Gg/yr

China’s Copper Cycle: One Year Stocks and Flows, 1994

Units: Gg/yr

Computing Resource Stockin Use: Copper in Cities

Quantifying stock per capitaStep 1: Determine content of

major reservoirs

Typical auto – 21 kg Cu

Typical house – 200 kg Cu

Quantifying stock per capitaStep 2: Multiply by the number of units

in the reservoirs

Copper Stock per capita

170 kg Cu 35 kg Cu

North America Beijing

Copper Stock and Copper Need

170 kg Cu 170 kg Cu

North America Beijing

Global need

1.7 Pg Cu

Limits to Materials: Copper Stock and Copper Supply

170 kg Cu 35 kg Cu

North America Beijing

Global need Global resource

1.7 Pg Cu 1.6 Pg Cu

Final Thoughts

• “Responsible” action is a good thing

• Sustainability demands a broader perspective, and probably more effort, than responsible action

• The quantification of sustainability is a work in progress