Unit 2: Resource Management and Production

• Resource management and sustainable production

  Carefully consider three key issues: consumption of raw materials, consumption of energy, and production of waste—in relation to managing resources and reserves effectively and making production more sustainable
• As non-renewable resources run out, designers need to develop innovative solutions to meet basic human needs for energy, food and raw materials
• The development of renewable and sustainable resources is one of the major challenges of the 21st century for designers
• Resources


  The stock or supply of materials that are available in a given context
• Renewable resources


  • Energy or commodities that can replenish with time, some require careful management (e.g. plantation of timber), others are deemed inexhaustible (e.g. wind and solar)
• Non-renewable resources

  Resources that do not renew (replenish) themselves at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction, e.g. coal, petroleum, natural gas, fossil fuels, minerals and ores
• Reserves


  A natural resource that has been identified in terms of quantity and quality. Energy reserves are projected on the basis of geologic and engineering data and cannot be obtained at present due to economic or technical reasons
• Renewability


  Relates to a resource that can be replenished over time or is inexhaustible, e.g. wood from trees, and fresh drinking water. Conserving resources and technologies that improve energy efficiency
• Impact of development on the environment


  • The impact of multinational companies when obtaining resources in different countries/regions can be a significant issue for the local population and have major social, ethical and environmental implications
• The economic and political importance of material and land resources and reserves considering set-up cost, efficiency of conversion, sustainable and constant supply, social impact, environmental impact and decommissioning
• Waste mitigation strategies


  Can reduce or eliminate the volume of material disposed to landfill
• The abundance of resources and raw materials in the industrial age led to the development of a throwaway society, and as resources run out, the many facets of sustainability become a more important focus for designers
• The result of the throwaway society is large amounts of materials found in landfill, which can be considered as a new source to mine resources from
• Waste mitigation strategies


  • Prevention, monitoring and handling of waste, coming up with solutions to deal with pollution and waste
• Re-use

  Reuse of the same product in same context or a different context (e.g. water bottles, plastic bags, glass bottles, toothbrush, clothes)
• Repair


  The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing structure or device. To mend/restore/service faulty equipment, the life-cycle of many products is designed so that they/or parts deteriorate over time (e.g. washing machine belt, shoe soles, lightbulb, car parts)
• Re-engineer


  To redesign components or products to improve their characteristics or performance (e.g. F1 cars - where aerodynamics is changed or lighter new materials used)
• Recycle


  Using the materials from obsolete products (waste) to create other products (e.g. glass, paper, aluminium cans, thermoplastics, newspaper)
• Recondition


  Rebuilding a product so that it is in an "as new" condition, and is generally used in the context of car engines and tyres (e.g. car engines, tyres, bearings)
• Dematerialisation


  Reducing the quantities of materials trying to "do more with less". Looking at the constraints of the materials we use, through reduction and reuse of materials (e.g. changes made to the new Mac Pro vs the old Mac Pro version). Dematerialization improves product efficiency by saving, reusing or recycling materials and products. It impacts on every stage of the product life cycle: in material extraction; eco-design; cleaner production; environmentally conscious consumption patterns; recycling of waste. It may mean smaller, lighter products and packaging; the replacement of physical products by virtual products (email instead of paper, web pages instead of brochures); home working, and so on
• Methodologies for waste reduction


  • Developing new bio-fuels, self-decomposing materials, building products from recyclable materials, reconditioning products and building products with a "cradle to cradle" life-cycle

  Making consumers and manufacturers aware of pollutants and the effect on the environment, passing acts/legislation to ban/reduce these pollutants (e.g. the EU "Take Back" program and the US "Clean Air Act"). Eco-labeling products for consumer awareness

  Following ISO (International standards organisations) 14000 a network of national standards spanning the globe, addressing environmental issues
• Methodologies for designing out waste

  • The prevention, monitoring and handling of waste, coming up with solutions to deal with pollution and waste

  Product recovery strategies at end-of-life/disposal

  Energy from waste, reuse of parts of products, recycling from parts of products

  Circular economy-the use of waste as a resource within a closed loop system

  Environmentalists have a large influence on product marketability, designers and manufactures often work together to design products which are deemed as Green/Environmentally friendly
• Product recovery strategies


  • Recycling

  Raw material recovery - The processes of separating the component parts of a product to recover the parts and materials

  WEEE Recovery - WEEE is a complex mixture of materials and components from electrical products that because of their hazardous content, and if not properly managed, can cause major environmental and health problems

  Energy recovery - Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste

  Standard parts at the end of product life - Reduction of total material and energy throughput of a product or service, and the limitation of its environmental impact through: reduction of raw materials at the production stage; energy and material inputs at the user stage; waste at the disposal stage
• Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)


  A technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from cradle to grave (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling)
• Circular economy


  An economy model in which resources remain in use for as long as possible, from which maximum value is extracted while in use, and the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of the product life cycle
• External drivers and social change


  • Increasing supply chain pressure

  Public opinion

  Energy costs

  Waste charges

  Take-back legislation

  The obligation to recycle
• Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)


  Assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from cradle to grave (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling)
• Circular economy


  The use of waste as a resource within a closed loop system
• External drivers and social change


  • Increasing supply chain pressure
  • Public opinion
  • Energy costs
  • Waste charges
  • Take-back legislation
  • The obligation to provide environment-related information
  • Norms and standards
  • Eco-labelling schemes
  • Subsidies
  • Environmental competition
  • Environmental requirements in consumer tests
  • Environmental requirements for design awards
  • Increasing cooperation with suppliers
• Energy utilization, storage and distribution


  • Efficient energy use is an important consideration for designers in today's society
  • Energy conservation and efficient energy use are pivotal in our impact on the environment
  • A designer's goal is to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products or services using newer technologies or creative implementation of systems to reduce usage
• Embodied energy


  The energy required to produce a product
• Distributing energy: national and international grid systems


  The way in which electricity is distributed along the grid and the energy loss involved from small source collection and delivery, to large scale and the effect on the environment
• Local combined heat and power (CHP)


  An efficient and clean approach to generating electric power and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source
• Advantages of CHP


  • Reduced energy costs versus separate heat and electrical generation systems
  • Reduced emissions versus separate heat and electrical generation systems
  • Where the capture and use of waste heat is not viable, many industrial facilities may still benefit financially via distributed generation (DG)
• Systems for individual energy generation


  Small-scale generation of heat and electric power by individuals, small businesses and communities to meet their own needs, as alternatives or supplements to traditional centralized grid-connected power
• Examples of individual energy generation systems


  • Solar power
  • Wind turbines
  • Biogas
  • Rainwater harvesting
  • Compost toilets
  • Greywater treatments
• Quantification of carbon emissions


  1. Record carbon emissions

  2. Discover how much is being produced

  3. Discover who/where it is produced

  4. Track your carbon footprint
• Mitigation of carbon emissions


  1. Humans intervention in the reduction of carbon emissions

  2. Provide 'Sinks' that can reabsorb carbon emissions
• Sinks


  Forests, vegetation or soils
• Batteries, capacitors and capacities

  Considering relative cost, efficiency, environmental impact and reliability