Design for cost and environment Flashcards
What are the major environmental challenges that we are facing
- Global warming due to greenhouse gases
- Air pollution
- Sea pollution
- Unsustainable waste levels
- Excessive energy consumption
- Growing population
- Using up all the natural resources
What is the material energy content
Energy used to mine, refine and process materials to produce basic material stock.
What does material energy content include and not include
Includes the energy required to run the factories
Does not include energy used to machine stock material into components
What is commercially available material
Most commonly available material. Typically contain 15-30% recycled material
Compare fully recycled material to commercially available material
usually more expensive than commercially available material and sometimes has lower performance
What is virgin material
Zero recycled material, also called primary raw material
What is production energy content
Energy used to turn stock material into components. Includes energy required to run the factories and transport the components
What is the carbon footprint
CO2 measured per year per capita (tonnes) or per country (giga tonnes)
What is energy footprint
Fossil versus non fossil energy sources
Fossil energy footprint
Ratio of oil, coal and gas
Land footprint
Ratio of forest, marine, grace, crop and builtup
What do the colours blue, grey and black mean for water foot print
blue: drinking
grey: non sewage waster
black: sewage
What is the difference between domestic consumption and gross consumption for water footprint
domestic consumption: consumed in the house
Gross consumption: house hold + factories + farms etc
What are the different types of domestic solid waste
Electronic plastic metal food clothing
What is the difference between PM10 and PM2.5 microns
PM10 = particles under 10 microns PM2.5 = particles under 2.5 microns
What are the main gas pollutants
- O3 (ozone)
- NOx
- SOx
- COx
What is SMOG and why is it formed
Signification air pollution that is visible.
SMOG can remain over a city when cold air is trapped under warm air and there is little wind.
Which cities commonly have smog and why
Tehran and Oslo in the winter due to the geographical location
What does EPA stand for
Environmental protection agency
How is AQI calculated
Pollutant conc./pollutant standard level x 100
What is a safe AQI
AQI < 100
What is an unsafe AQI
AQI > 100
What are the good and moderate AQI levels
Good = 0-50 Moderate = 51-100
What are the unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous AQI measures
unhealthy = 151-200
very unhealthy = 201-300
hazardous = 300+
What is the worst city for AQI
Dehli inda, some have AQI = 500+
What does AQI stand for
Air quality index
Describe the European Air quality index
launched by the European Environment agency and the european commission and allows users to check the current air quality across europe’s cities and regions. The index is accompanied by new country fact sheets that provide updated quality information for EEA member countries
It has have grades; good, fair, moderate, poor and very poor
How many grades does the UK and ireland air quality index have and how many does the european air quality index have
UK = 10 Euro = 5
What are the 5 challenges of environmental impct analysis
- Difficult to get accurate energy and cost data on material production
- Difficult to take into account building of infrastructures
- There are many types of material each with different costs, energy consumption and production methods
- quantities of recycled material can quickly change
- Energy prices can change rapidly
What is an engineering designers goal and role
Design produces for lower environmental impact. They should complete life cycle analysis, complete material selection, follow guidelines and publish data
What are the goals of professional bodies
To publish standard of design to protect the environment. These then need to be followed by engineers. Engineers can also support them being created
What are the goals of the governments
They should lead countries to be more environmentally friendly though legislation, incentives and targets
What are the goals of business
Leadership through best practise, presenting eco-friendly methods
What should the goals be of the public
To consume and dispose of items responsibly
Describe the United nation environmental goals and resolutions
This includes 17 goals in leading to sustainable development, including:
no poverty
quality education
gender equality
What is the UNESCO strategy for education for sustainable development
aims to improve access to quality education on sustainable development at all level s and in all social contexts, to transform society by reorienting education and helping people develop knowledge, skills, values and behaviours needed for sustainable development.
How are cars designed to meet the Euro 6 emission standards
Diesel particle filters (DPFs) are used to reduce PM emissions. Cars can have up to 4 catalytic converters in the exhaust system to meet emission standards
What is the 2021 car CO2 emission target
95g C02/km
There will be penalty payments for excess emissions
What is the current challenge around the 2021 car CO2 emission target
Diesel car sales were down due to bad publicity
The industry needs to sell diesels because they are generally more fuel efficient than petrol cars therefore produce less CO2 - this helps companies to meet their targets.
However there is concern over the amount of NOx produced and have been badly targeted by the press
What legislation and targets are there for waste?
- European directive on the landfill of waste - national strategy to help minimise the biodegradable wast that is going into landfills
- Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
to contribute to sustainable production and consumption, leading to prevent of WEEE through also reuse and recycling
What are the aims of WEEE
- encourage the reuse of EEE
- reduce waste from EEE
- increase collection recovery and recyling rates of WEEE
- encourage the separate collection of WEEE and minimise the disposal of it as unsorted municipal
What does the energy act 2011 state
energy providers must fund insulation and promote energy efficiency especially in low income areas
What does the Environment act 1995 include
- national air quality strategy
2. national waste strategy
What is the new car tax from april 2017
Car tax bands gives buyers of new cars penalties for buying the more polluting cars - helps to send a strong pro-eco message at the point of purchase
Describe the professional standard which helps to protect the envionment
ISO4001
an internationally recognised framework for setting up an environmental management system. It can used to reduce waste, improve resource efficiency and cut waste management costs
What are the benefits of the ISO4001 framework
- Identify cost savings in waste and energy management
- improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact across your product life cycle
- improve coporate image and credibility
- ensure understanding and compliance with environmental legislation - reduces likelihood of fine/prosecution
- quantify, monitor and control environmental impact
- improve environmental performance of your supply chain
- reduce insurance costs
- improve employee engagement through improvement in communication
What is Bristol unis environmental management system include
- Aim to become a net carbon neutral campus by 2030
- decrease transport footprint
- ensure students have the opportunity to undertake education into sustainable development (following UNESCO global action programme)
- include social and environmental consideration into our procurement processes - product and services are eco-friendly
What are the 5 different types of repair
- remake
- Remanufacture
- recondition
- reuse
- repair
Describe remake
a brand new sub assembly is made for as a spare part - poor option from an eco point of view
Describe remanufacture
a system is disassembled and reassembles from a combination of reconditioned and new elements. they are re-tested and given a full warranty
Describe reconditioned
third party company salvages sub systems and reconditions them with limited testing and limited warranty
Describe re-use
customer buys a second hand part from scrap yard or recycling company
Describe repair
The faulty sub system is taken apart and the fault is identified and repaired - this can be expensive and time consuming but is the best option from an eco point of view
Give 7 types of cars and their typical efficiencies
- IC petrol 20%
- IC diesel 30%
- Micro hybrid 32%
- mild hybrid 35% (parallel drive)
- Full hybrid 40% (IC generator)
- Plug in hybrid 40%
- Electric 60+%
Consideration should be made on the efficiency of the power generation of the electricity but power plant has much better emission control and efficiency compared to the engine
What are the guidelines for aiding recycling
- Avoid sing more different materials than necessary
- Make parts easier to disassemble
- Use material identifiers
What are the 4 big energy burners when looking at someones energy footprint
- Air travel
- car travel
- home heating/lighting
- food
Why is there little incentive for a food manufacturer to reduce energy content of food
because food is high value and the energy content is a relatively small part of the cost, therefore there is not a strong cost incentive for the manufacturer to reduce it
