Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Design for Environment (DfE)Making products green - really

Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Mark Myles

Clark UniversityMaterials & Energy Sustainability

26 February 2011

MA Toxics Use Reduction

• 50% reduction in generation of toxic waste by 1997 through TUR

• Establish TUR as the preferred means of regulatory compliance

• Sustain and promote the competitive position of Massachusetts industry

• Promote reduction in the production of toxic and hazardous substances

• Enhance and coordinate state agency enforcement of environmental laws

Great Philosophical Dilemmas of the 21st Century

Plastic?(polystyrene)

OR

Paper?

Hocking paper in Science (Feb. 1991):Paper vs Polystyrene, a Complex Choice

• Wood product use: 33g• Petroleum material: 4.1g• Steam: 9-12 tonne/T• Electricity: 980 KWh/T• Cooling water: 50 m3/T• Water effluent: 50-190 m3/T• H2O solids: 35-60 kg/T• Metal salts to H2O: 1-20 kg/T• Low recycled use (coating

removal)• Biodegradable with BOD* lechate

and CH4 to air• Clean incineration

• Wood product use: 0• Petroleum material: 3.2g• Steam: 5 tonne/T• Electricity: 120-180 KWh/T• Cooling water: 154 m3/T• Water effluent: 0.5-2 m3/T• H2O solids: trace• Metal salts to H2O: 20 kg/T• High recycled use (resin re-use)• Inert, non-biodegradable• Clean incineration

Paper CupPaper Cup Polystyrene CupPolystyrene Cup

* Biological Oxygen Demand

DfE is more than ‘design’

• DfE success ties to Quality processes

• DfE is a strategic decision

• DfE is cross-functional• DfE is systemic, holistic,

and synergistic• DfE may be counter-

intuitive

What makes a product ‘green’?

Lowell Center for Sustainable Production -

Framework for Sustainable Products

DfE Definitions

• “…product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern [regarding human health and environmental effects] among chemicals in their class.”

• “Ecodesign aims at reducing the environmental impact of products, including the energy consumption throughout their entire life cycle.”

DfE Definitions

“The DfE program has three priorities:

• Energy efficiency - reduce the energy needed to manufacture and use our products

• Materials innovation - reduce the amount of materials used in our products and develop materials that have less environmental impact and more value at end-of-life

• Design for recyclability - design equipment that is easier to upgrade and/or recycle”

From Take-Make-Waste….

…to Cradle-to-Cradle

Drivers: Legislation

REAChRoHSTURAToSCA

EU Energy CA Appliance Efficiency

MA “Stretch Codes”

Energy

Toxics ResourceConservation

WEEEELV

EU Ecodesign Directive: all 3

Drivers: Labeling and Certification

Drivers: Consumer Preference

Making DfE Happen

Total Quality Management

Focus on identifying defects in every step

Continuous improvement

= The Better Mousetrap:• Higher quality • More reliable• Better focused on customer

need• Cheaper

Total Quality Environmental Management

Consider non-compliance and adverse environmental impact to be defects

Existing TQM practices

= The Greener Mousetrap:• Environmentally compliant• Designed for the

Environment• ISO Life cycle oriented

Quality Costs

Supplier Inspection

Incoming Inspection

Fabrication Inspection

Sub-product Test

Final Product Test

Field Service

0.003

0.03

0.30

$3

$30

$300

Quality costs escalate as value is added to a product or service

Cost of finding and correcting a defective electronic component

P. Crosby & Associates, 1979

Environmental Quality Costs

Product concept

Landfill, incineration, etc.

Environmental cleanup

Manufacture

Design

Use

Life Cycle Costs escalate at later stages of the Life Cycle

Life Cycle Cost of a toxic material

“Most environmental costs are incurred on the first day of product development”

Environmental Quality Costs

Product concept

Landfill, incineration, etc.

Environmental cleanup – landfill toxics remediation

Manufacture

Design

Use

Life Cycle Cost of Mercury battery

One ‘button battery’ per kg of soil renders cost

of soil remediation virtually infinite

Theoretical Environmental Quality Costs

Product concept

Landfill, incineration, etc.

Environmental cleanup – landfill remediation

Manufacture

Design

Use

Life Cycle Cost of rechargeable alkaline and Lithium-ion batteries

Relatively expensive to purchase, these

batteries last much longer, are less toxic,

are rechargeable,and can be recycled

easier.

Theoretical Environmental Quality Costs

Product concept

Landfill, incineration, etc.

Environmental cleanup – landfill remediation

Manufacture

Design

UseSelf-powered windup devices minimize the

problem of battery disposal

Life Cycle Cost of windup flashlight

Examples of DfE factors

Low power logic family vs standard logic families

Design Choice

Recycled pulp inserts vs styrofoamPackaging

Gold circuit board traces vs copperMaterial Recovery

Improved Design for DisassemblyRecyclability

‘Always on’ power adaptor vs ‘Smart’ power adaptor

Energy Consumption

Plastic housing vs metalMaterial Choice

Inkjet vs laserProduct Concept

Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA)

• Consider products or product options which deliver equivalent function

• Model chains of engineering unit processes, their resource/pollution flows

• Sum resource/pollution flows over chain (inventory analysis – LCIA)

• Determine damage potentials – impact analysis

• Optimize environmental performance throughout the product’s entire life

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Fossil Fuel DepletionFossil Fuel Depletion

Mineral DepletionMineral Depletion

Land UseLand Use

Water acidification / eutrophicationWater acidification / eutrophication

Eco-toxicityEco-toxicity

Climate ChangeClimate Change

Ozone Layer DepletionOzone Layer Depletion

Carcinogenic SubstancesCarcinogenic Substances

Organic Respiratory EffectsOrganic Respiratory Effects

Inorganic Respiratory EffectsInorganic Respiratory Effects

Ionizing RadiationIonizing Radiation

Ecosystem Resources

Ecosystem Resources

Ecosystem Quality

Ecosystem Quality

Human Health

Human Health

Impact Categories (“Midpoints”) Typical Groupings Endpoints

Modeling chains of unit function – unit process

Extractions from the environment• Fuel• Materials • Land, water, air, etc.

Could be from biosphere or technosphere

Emissions to the environment• To air• To water

Product or service

From previous unit

process(es)

To next unit process(es)

Releases to environment

Extractions from environment

System boundary

Modeling chains of unit function – chains of units

Laser printer example – Life Cycle Inventory hierarchy

Life cycle:laser printer

Product assembly Electricity use

Subassembly – housing

Scenario – office waste

Waste scenario - incineration

Electricity use Electricity use

Sheet metal milling / rolling

Sheet metal production

Paper use Toner use

Waste scenario - landfilling

Subassembly – power supply

Subassembly – electronic parts

Oxygen production

Coke production

Scrap collection

Actual Software Example Life Cycle Inventory hierarchy

Summing resource and emission flows, calculating impact results

Inventory results (LCI) Impact Assessment results

Impact group results – comparing alternatives

Impact group results – comparing weighted alternatives

Issues with LCA

• Relative importance of various midpoints & endpoints– E.g., which is more serious – Global Warming

potential or carcinogenic emissions to water?

• Difficulty of getting data– E.g., what’s the silver yield of Bolivian ore?

• Inappropriate data and assumptions– E.g., sulfur content of Chinese vs US coal

• Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Eco-efficiency

• Jointly considers financial and environmental costs

• Guides development investment decisions

0

0.5

100.51

Cost burden

LCA

sco

re

Incr

easin

g ec

o-ef

ficien

cy

Product option A

Product option B

Product option C

Thank you!

Mark MylesToxics Use Reduction Institute

600 Suffolk St., 5th FloorWannalancit MillsLowell, MA 01854

mark.myles@turi.org+1 978.934.3298