Title: Minimizing The Environmental Impact Of Chemical Manufacturing Processes
Abstract: Abstract NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract Session 2513 Minimizing Environmental Impact of Chemical Manufacturing Processes Joan F. Brennecke*, Joseph A. Shaeiwitz#, Mark A. Stadtherr*, Richard Turton#, Mark J. McCready*, Roger A. Schmitz*, Wallace B. Whiting† *University of Notre Dame/#West Virginia University/ † University of Nevada, Reno Introduction Knowledge of technologies and strategies for pollution prevention and the remediation of hazardous pollutants, as well as the environmental impact of pollutants that are released into the environment, is an increasingly important part of the average Chemical Engineer’s job responsibilities. Therefore, in the Departments of Chemical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, West Virginia University and the University of Nevada at Reno, we are implementing through courseware, research, and design projects a program to 1. develop the students’ appreciation of the impact of pollutant release from chemical processes and of the environmental, ecological, and long-term economic benefits of pollutant minimization or elimination, 2. equip them with active knowledge of the technology that is being developed for minimizing the environmental impact of chemical manufacturing processes, 3. show students how this new technology can be implemented. The overall goal of this project is to incorporate the results of recent and ongoing research taking place at the three participating institutions, as well as elsewhere, on environmentally conscious chemical manufacturing processes into the chemical and metallurgical engineering curricula. This research includes pollution prevention, waste reduction, environmentally conscious chemical process design, and the modeling and assessment of the environmental and ecological impact of pollutant release. The overall program includes the incorporation of research results into instructional modules that can be integrated throughout the chemical engineering curriculum, with a special emphasis on the design sequence. These modules include: 1. the development of two new courses: a. Environmentally Conscious Chemical Process Design (Pollution Prevention) b. Ecology and the Environment 2. the development of environmentally related design projects