EECE 449/549 Sustainable Air Quality:

Sustainable Linking of Energy and the Environment

Rudolf B. Husar & Erin RobinsonDepartment of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering

Sustainability: Grand Challenge of Science and Engineering

The problems of Energy and Environment (EE) are Grand Challenges

Solutions require engineering, biological, socio-economic and other sciences

A rigorous and practical integrated framework for EE is not available

This is an exploration of frameworks for integrated Energy Environmental Analysis

Interested in the EE integration challenge? Join us on the wiki!

Sustainable Development (SD)

A process of reconciling society’s developmental needs with the environmental limits over the long term. But, What should be developed, what should be sustained?

SD as an adaptive process, “in which society's discovery of where it wants to go is intertwined with how it might try to get there”.

During the SD ‘journey’ toward sustainability, the pathways have to be ‘navigated’ adaptively

Science is the compass, giving the directions and laws-regulations are the gyroscope for staying on course

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National Academy, 1999

Life and non-life on Earth form a combined system (Gaia Theory)

Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium are in constant circulation between the earth’s major environmental compartments

Earth’s compartments remain in balance as long as the rate of flow of matter and energy in and out of the compartments is unchanged.

Changes in the environmental compartments will occur if the circulation (in and out flow) of the substances is perturbed.

Atmospheric CO2 has been increasing because the rate of input is larger than the rate of output from the atmosphere.

Major Biogeochemical Processes Visualized by Aerosols

Dust storms

Volcanoes Anthropogenic pollution

Fires

Anthropogenic pollution perturbs the natural processes and material flows

Sustainability Analysis Frameworks

Sensory-Motor Feedback Loop (System Science; Regulatory)

Assessment

Controls

Monitoring

Causality Loop(Combined Social-Physical-Biological System)

Biogeochemical Cycling Loop(Conservation Laws; Engineering; Biology)

Biogeochemical Cycles - Carbon

• Laws: Mass & Energy conservation - Everything has to go somewhere

• Methods: Earth Science, Engineering, Biology

Analysis Framework II: Materials & Energy Flow Loop

Analysis Framework I: Sensory-Motor Loop

AssessmentCompare to Goals, Plan Reductions

Track Progress

Controls (Actions)

Monitoring(Sensing)

Set Goals

Assessment turns data into knowledge for decision making & actions through analysis (science & eng.)

Monitoring collects multi-sensory data from surface and satellite platforms and

Human activities exert pressures, e.g burning fossil fuels, that alter the state of environment.

The impaired environmental state, elicits responses, such as regulations in a feedback loop

All living organisms use this type of sensory-motor feedback to maintain their existence.

Monitoring, Assessment, Control are the necessary steps for sustainable development.

Controls: Sustainability Transition

How and what to Control?? Analysis Framework III – Causality Loop

Economic Development with Due Care of the Environment

The system approach links human activities and their consequences in closed loop

It is the minimum set of linked components – if any missing, the system is crippled

Each component depends on its causal upstream drivers – and external environment

The causal loop can be used as an organizing principle for sustainability analysis

Analysis Framework III – Causality LoopEconomic Development with Due Care of the

Environment

Health-Welfare

Energy-Environment

Socio-Economic

Main Components of WU Carbon Emissions:

On Campus Energy Use in Buildings and Transportation

The impact on carbon arises from on-campus energy use and from transportation

On Campus Energy Use Carbon Impact

Students

Heating

Cooling

Appliances

Faculty/Staff

Transportation Carbon Impact

Commuting

Air Travel

University Fleet

Reporting the Transition

Transportation Indicators:

Building Indicators:

1991-92

1995-96

2000-2001

2007-08

Annual miles driven per student decreased most dramatically from 2002-2007.

This is explained in part by the shift in student residences from 2001-2007.

Washington University Transportation Emission

EECE 449/549 2009 Class

Air Travel General areas of air travel

–Faculty–Study abroad–Athletics

Methodology– Faculty air travel not considered – Study abroad data was

provided for the past 6 years– Athletic air travel data provided

for the past 3 years

On Campus Energy Use 1990 vs. 2006 Main Campus Site Map

Monthly Total Electricity Use

• Monthly data for Danforth campus electricity use

• Data for 1996-2000 is incomplete and not shown above

EECE 449/549 2009 Class

Mark S Wrighton, Chancellor EES, WashU:

Wash U.'s goals are to address the issues of environment, energy and sustainability through education, research and out reach projects. More over, Wash U. will seek and define its best operation practices, and aspire to be a model of energy conservation for other institutions.

What is to be sustained?

What is to be developed?

Carbon Emission Model - Best Case

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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030Year

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90# Students Operational $ per Student

Operational $ per total square foot Total Produced per Sq. Ft. mmbtuTotal Produced Emission- Buildings

Carbon Emission Model - Business as Usual

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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030Year

Ratio

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90

# Students Operational $ per StudentOperational $ per total square foot Total Produced per Sq. Ft. mmbtuTotal Produced Emission

EECE 449/549 2009 Class