1

What is Sustainable Technology?

Karel Mulder

Why is this important question?

• SD is a holistic concept

• We all work at the level of parts of the system

• engineers design at ‘artefact’ level where many consequences of SD meet: energy, safety, waste, pollution etc.

Sustainable car?"The car’s body is composed 90% by plate panels which are cut according to the desired finish and the rests are recycled, and completed with thermo-formed pieces”.

The front and back trains, the engine and the stick present a complexity similar to the one of a three wheels charge vehicle. The Nexo car can be equipped with an engine which could get to 20 hp, enough to reach 80 kilometres an hour to go around the city. It can work with a 9 square metres CNG tank that can fuel up to 250 kilometres. As an alternative, there’s also the option of an electric engine, but with less power.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/nexo_the_argent.php

WIKIPEDIA:SubcategoriesThis category has the following 28 subcategories, out of 28 total.

A•[+] Alternative energy (12)•[+] Alternative propulsion (14)•[+] Anaerobic digestion (2)

B•[+] Biofuels (11)•[+] Methods of birth control (8)

C•[+] Composting (2)

D•[+] Distributed generation (2)

E•[+] Electric vehicle batteries (0)•[+] Energy conservation (7)

E cont.•[+] Energy from oceans and water (2)

F•[+] Fuel cells (4)

G•[+] Green chemistry (0)•[+] Green electronics (0)•[+] Green energy design (1)•[+] Green vehicles (9)

H•[+] Human-powered vehicles (7)•[+] Hydrogen economy (1)•[+] Hydrogen technologies (6)

O•[+] Organic gardening (1)

P•[+] Permaculture (0)

R•[+] Recycling (5)•[+] Renewable energy technology (2)

S•[+] Silicon Valley green technology (1)•[+] Sustainable agriculture (2)•[+] Sustainable building (6)•[+] Sustainable energy (5)•[+] Sustainable transport (7)

W•[+] Waste treatment technology (8)

5

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY????

Refrigerator, 1960s

Modern Car

Car 1900s

Horse & Carriage, 1900s

Wind-turbines,

Germany

500 m from

Dutch border

Yes No

refrigerator

New car

Old car

Horse-Carriage

Wind Turbine

Why Refrigerators?

• Perishable food problem: loss of fish and vegetables, risk of food poisoning

• Toxic/flammable refrigerants: Ammonia, SO2, CH3Cl, hydrocarbons ..

• Search for safe refrigerants: non toxic, non flammable and effective

Chloro-Fluoro-Carbons

1928 Synthesis by Thomas Midgley

Main advantages:-effective-Non-toxic-Non-flammable-Somewhat more expensive

Cleveland accident:

May 15th, 1929: 128 people died of methyl-chloride poisoning

1930 CFC Refrigerant

Other applications

CFCs: Solution for dangerous spray cans

Airconditioners

1970 Lovelock traces CFC’s in wind at Western Ireland1974 F. Sherwood Rowland (UC-Irvine), Mario Molina1984-5 Joe Farman1987 Protocol Montreal

CFCs as global threat

So?

• 1930: miracle solution: “really sustainable”• 1974: New issue: atmospheric effects, serious

doubts• 1987: “ozone killer”

Now, cars ………………..

Annual World Oil Consumption 2005                                                       29 Gbo

Annual Oil Discovery Rates in 1990s                                                     4-8 Gbo

Cumulative World Oil Consumption 1860-2005                                       960 Gbo

Conventional Remaining World Oil Reserves (P50)[1]                              850 Gbo

Remaining World Oil Reserves[2]                                                         1317 Gbo

Conventional Remaining World Oil Reserves (mean)[3]                           2311 Gbo

2311 * 10^9 barrels of oil still present.Cumulatieve consumption 960 Gbo.Total 3271 GboFormed in about 350 * 10^6 year (highest speed Paleozoicum)

Simplified: 9345 barrels annually  1 barrel: 51.4 % gasoline (http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/whats_in_barrel_oil.html) = 0.514 * 159 litre/barrel = 81.7 liter gasoline Geological annual production of gasoline: 9345 * 81.7 = 763500 litres gasoline 2000 litres per car annually? 380 cars can drive sustainablyby gasolinelets say between 100 and 1000

Were cars around 1900 Sustainable?

•In 1818, New York City Council: regulation. Manure collection & processing: special "manure-yards" to process: "rotting“, overturning and exposure to weathering.

Problems:

•Abt. 1200 tons of manure daily on the streets: dust, typhoid

•dead animals (In 1880, New York City removed 15,000 dead horses from its streets)

•Noise

•1908: 20.000 death?

Sustainable?

• CFC 1930, 1960: yes• Horse & carriage, New York, 1900: no• Car 1900: yes• Car 2009: no

And that windturbines?

• For many years complaints of villagers: noise at night• Neglected by authorities and NGO’s: NIMBY• Villagers were right: University research found a new

phenomenon:

• At night, the windturbines produced far more noise. Cause• wind shear under absence of sun• Size of windturbines (distance between top and lowest

position of blades)

Lessons?

• Various articulations of sustainability• Related to paradigms• related stakeholders

• Technology should meet all possible SD articulations? No

• Sustainable for ever? No

• Sustainable technology is only a useful concept if it involves hardware and software: use of technologies that is, as far as we know, in harmony with its natural and social environment

ENGINEERING DESIGN CAN ONLY DEAL WITH SPECIFIC ARTICULATIONS OF SD

ARTICULATIONS:- SPECIFY TARGETS TO BE OPTIMIZED- EXCLUDES OTHER TARGETS

Non-sensensical statement:“Sustainable because 100 % recyclable”

Implications

• Involve stakeholders in technological decisions: the engineer cannot decide on their behalf

• Sustainability is never established forever: A sustainable technology now might be unsustainable in 10 years

29

Broadening the Innovation process and long term vision

Include Jevons Paradox(Rebound effect):

Discussion: Sustainable Packaging Coalition: Sustainable?• The Sustainable Packaging Coalition envisions a world

where all packaging is…• Sourced responsibly • Designed to be effective and safe throughout its life cycle • Meets market criteria for performance and cost • Made entirely using renewable energy • Once used, is recycled efficiently to provide a valuable

resource for subsequent generations• In summary: we envision a true cradle to cradle system

for all packaging.• http://www.sustainablepackaging.org/about_vision.asp