Environmental and societal issues, Energy conservation through better process design

1. Environmental and societal issues,
Energy conservation through better process design
Prepared By
- Manish Kumar

2. Energy and We
• Energy constitutes the main motivator for each human activity and
hence, is deeply embedded in each of the economic, social and
environmental dimensions of human development.
• Energy services provide an essential input to economic activity while
they improve living conditions and environmental quality.
• They also contribute to social development through education and public
health, and help meet the basic human needs for food and shelter.
However extensive use of energy can increase carbon footprints and
greenhouse gas emissions while conversely mismanagement of energy
resources can cause harm to existing ecosystems.

3. • It is the role of the designer to attempt to bridge this gap between our
desire for energy and the adverse environmental effects it produces by
designing machines that can still meet society’s needs while substantially
reducing our dependence on fossil fuels for energy.
• A prime aspect of this is in reducing the inefficient systemic losses
through friction and wear which reduce the performance of these
machines.
• Another approach is to identify the aspects of a technology that have the
greatest impact on the eco-system and to try and reduce or eliminate this
impact.

4. Environmental and societal issues
• Four major issues that lead to the collapse of societies.
• The first issue comprises destruction and loss of natural resources (e.g.
destruction of natural habitats, aquacultures, biodiversity loss, erosion
and soil damage),
• The second ceilings on natural resources (e.g. fossil fuels, water,
photosynthesis ceiling),
• The third harmful things that we produce and move around (e.g. toxic
man-made chemicals, alien species, ozone hole) and
• The fourth comprises population issues (e.g. population growth, impact
of population on the environment).
• We need to go green if we want to sustain ourselves.

5. • The Millennium Project
was initiated in 1996.
Until now, it has
comprised the work of
2500 futurists, scholars,
decision makers and
business planners from
over 50 countries.
The Millennium Project

6. • In the course of relevant practices savings of basic resources and
materials, optimum design, optimum operation, reduced energy
consumption and the protection of the environment have to be
covered… Using environmentally acceptable lubricants is the key factor
for this.’
• At this time, the electricity market does not yet fully recognize the
possibility that current electricity generation methods may impose a
heavy cost on the economy, the environment, as well as society as a
whole through greenhouse gas emissions and other costs associated with
the long-term damage to the environment.

7. • Wind and solar power are of increasing interest in society due to its
prospects as an environmentally friendly source of renewable energy.
• Savings of resources of energy and reducing the impact on the
environment are the most important for sustainability.
• The new concept of ‘‘green tribology’’ (or in some way sustainable
tribology) has been defined as ‘‘the science and technology of the
tribological aspects of ecological balance and of environmental and
biological impacts’ by H.P. Jost in 2009.

8. Figure. The impact of sustainable tribology to sustainable development

9. • In sustainable tribology highlights the fundamentals aspects of
sustainable development by addressing the practical functions of an
engineering problem to improve efficiency and durability, by minimizing
the cost of a system to benefit the consumers and by reducing material
resources and energy consumption to protect the environment.
• Consequently, through sustainable tribology social progress can be
achieved by radically improving people’s well being and life quality.

10. Energy conservation through better process design
• Drafted in 1966, the Jost Report was the first official document traducing
annual tribological losses in energetic and economic wastes: according to
its esteem, U.K. could save approximately £500 million per year (1.5% of
GDP), and the U.S. could save in excess of $16 billion per year by better
tribological practices.
• In other words, 1/3 of the world’s primary energy consumption (of
which about 20% in motor cars, 9% in airplane piston engine and (1 ½ -
2)% in turbojet engines) and 80% of equipment failure cause a huge loss.
• However 50 years later only around a tenth of these savings have been
achieved, but even this small percentage shows gigantic energy savings
on the large scale.

11. • It has been estimated that approximately 11 percent of the total energy
annually consumed in the U.S. in the four major areas of transportation,
turbomachinery, power generation and industrial processes can be saved
through new developments in lubrication and tribology.
• The area of green tribology hence can be proving. It will directly affect
the economy by reducing waste and extending equipment life, improve
the economical, technological and environmental balance, reduce the
carbon footprint of mechanical systems helping thus the mitigation of
climate changes, and improve in general the sustainability and safety in
the human society.

12. Figure. Investigation of damage

13. • Economic perspectives and long-term reliabilities (i.e. energy and matter
savings) gave a fundamental lift towards the wide diffusion of tribology
and the training of high-quality tribologists whose main purpose of
research is the minimization and elimination of losses resulting from
friction and wear at all levels of technology where mating surfaces are
involved.
• These conclusions oriented the scientific and technological communities
towards the needing of strategies for friction reduction and wear control.

14. Figure. Tribological research and development

15. • Green tribology includes tribological technology that mimics living
nature (biomimetic surfaces) and thus is expected to be environmental
friendly (green).
• Green tribology can be viewed in the broader context of two other
‘green’ areas: Green engineering and Green chemistry.
• Green engineering is defined as the ‘design, commercialization and use
of processes and products that are technically and economically feasible
while minimizing
• generation of pollution at the source and,
• risk to human health and the environment.

16. • The three tiers of green engineering assessment in design involve:
• Process research and development,
• Conceptual/preliminary design, and
• Detailed design pollution prevention; process heat/energy integration;
process mass integration.
• Green chemistry is the define as the design of chemical products and
processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous
substances.

17. 12 Principles of Green Tribology
• Minimization of heat and energy dissipation
• Minimization of wear
• Reduction or complete elimination of lubrication and self lubrication
• Natural lubrication
• Biodegradable lubrication
• Green chemistry (sustainable chemistry) and green engineering principles
• Biomimetic approaches
• Surface texturing
• Environmental implications of coatings
• Design for degradation
• Real time monitoring
• Sustainable energy applications.

18. • There are three focus areas of tribology having the greatest impact on
environmental issues and therefore, they are of importance for green
tribology:
• Biomimetic and self-lubricating materials/surfaces,
• Biodegradable and environment-friendly lubricants and
• Tribology of renewable and/or sustainable sources of energy.
• Biomimetic and environment-friendly lubrication are manufacturing or
operation based approaches whereas tribology of renewable energy is
energy production based approach.

19. • Environmental problems in metal forming tribology, can be divided into
the following areas,
a) health and safety of people,
b) influence on equipment and buildings,
c) destruction and/or disposal of waste and remaining products.
• Improvement efforts are concentrated on
1) elimination of hazardous chemicals, e.g. chlorinated additives or
phosphates with (heavy) metal sludge, and
2) reduction of waste, including prolonging tool and lubricant life,
recovery and reuse of lubricants and Minimal Quantity Lubrication
(MQL).

20. • Liquid lubrication is a technological nuisance since filters, pumps and
cooling systems are required to maintain the performance of the
lubricant over a period of time. There are also environmental issues
associated with the disposal of the used lubricants. Therefore ‘solid
lubrication’ and ‘surface coatings’ are the subject of intense research.
Application of ‘surface texturing’ now-a-days is also proving as a
promising technique.
• The principal limitations of, in particular, liquid lubricants are the loss of
load carrying capacity at high temperature and degradation in service.
The performance of the lubricant depends on its composition and its
physical and chemical characteristics.

21. Biodegradable lubricantMetal Scrap Recycling

22. Example: Biomimetics

23. The Palazzo Italia -building that
eats smog!!!
• Engineered bio-dynamic Skin
that consumes smog and takes
pollution out of the air.
• Palazzo Italia also consumes 40
percent less energy than a
conventional building of its size,
and emits zero air pollution.

24. Spider silk use

25. Gecko effect and Stickybot, a climbing robot using synthetic setae
The fish-scale effect can be applied for antibiofouling.

26. Oleophobic-effect based self cleaning and antifouling surfaces
Water-strider-effect based capillary effect

27. Challenges?
• As a new field, green tribology has a number challenges like
• Development of fields of tribology benefitting from each other.
• Green tribology should be integrated with world science.
• Technology to practical application of biomimetics.
• Development of other related areas like green chemistry, green
engineering and their integration.

28. The End.