Life Cycle Engineering of Plastics

by Lundquist; Leterrier; Sunderland; Månson

• ISBN13: 9780080438863
• ISBN10: 0080438865
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-23
• Publisher: Elsevier Science

Summary

"This book adds much to the already evolving field of Design for Environment; but it goes far beyond most works on this subject by surrounding the central notions of life cycle assessment with a scientific body of knowledge and with a more practical slant reflecting the reality of the organizations in which product development occurs. Through a focus on plastic products, the authors show the importance of making ties between basic technical knowledge and the process of life cycle engineering. Their approach offers a practical, deliberate way to make ecologically and economically sensible decisions about product reuse and recycling and other critical dimensions of product life behavior. They demonstrate a positive approach to designing products that fits into a sustainable economy through down-to-earth cases. While the book focuses on the life cycle engineering of plastics, it is only a short step to other materials and products. Beyond contributing to the technology of life cycle engineering, this text adds to the growing body of knowledge that argues for an fundamentally new way of thinking about economic and social activity--a new paradigm for sustainable social and industrial problem solving. Industrial ecology is such a new system for thinking about and implementing sustainability that draws its core set of ideas from the ecological world. Industrial ecology brings to the surface the idea of interdependence among members of a community-- natural or economic, and notes the material cycles that are central to a stable ecosystem. The life cycle engineering framework, coupled with sound scientific knowledge of materials behavior as articulated in this book, makes a giant step towards bringing the model of industrial ecology into everyday practice." From the Preface by John R. Ehrenfeld Director, MIT Technology, Business and Environment Program Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Preamble	vi
Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction to Life Cycle Engineering	1	(12)
What is Life Cycle Engineering?	3	(1)
The Growth of Plastics	4	(3)
The Life Cycle Engineering of Plastics	7	(2)
Who Should Be Involved?	9	(4)
The Polymer Life Cycle	13	(26)
What Is A Polymer?	13	(5)
What Are Plastics?	18	(3)
Durability and Reliability of Plastic Products	21	(2)
Degradation and Ageing of Polymers	23	(7)
Process induced degradation	24	(2)
Service-induced degradation	26	(1)
Physical ageing	27	(2)
Viscoelastic effects	29	(1)
Life-Time Prediction	30	(9)
Long-term prediction of thermo-oxidative degradation	30	(2)
Superpositions and shift factors	32	(2)
Prediction of fatigue failure	34	(2)
Material Know-how and life cycle engineering	36	(3)
Plastics Recovergy and Recycling	39	(38)
The Vital Recycling Chain	39	(1)
Collection and Sorting for Recycling	40	(7)
Identification and sorting systems	41	(4)
Economics of collection and sorting	45	(2)
Conclusions	47	(1)
Waste Management Routes	47	(18)
Mechanical recycling	48	(4)
Revitalisation	52	(5)
Feedstock recycling	57	(3)
Energy recovery	60	(3)
Environmentally-degradable polymers	63	(2)
Applications For Recycled Plastics	65	(12)
Factors affecting market acceptance	65	(3)
Emerging markets for recycled plastics	68	(1)
Responsibility in the recycling chain	69	(8)
Life Cycle Assessment	77	(24)
Introduction	77	(3)
Goal Definition and Scoping	80	(5)
Purpose	80	(1)
Scope	81	(1)
Determining the functional unit	82	(2)
Data quality assessment	84	(1)
Inventory Analysis	85	(6)
Generating the process tree	85	(2)
Entering the process data	87	(1)
Applying the allocation rules	88	(2)
Creating the inventory table	90	(1)
Impact Assessment	91	(4)
Classification	91	(1)
Characterisation	92	(2)
Evaluation	94	(1)
Improvement Analysis	95	(1)
Conclusions and Pointers	96	(5)
Life Cycle Engineering in Product Development	101	(28)
Resource Optimisation	101	(2)
The Product Development Process	103	(3)
Integrated product development	104	(1)
Computer-based ``green'' design tools	105	(1)
Reduction of Material Intensity	106	(9)
Material selection	106	(2)
Weight reduction	108	(3)
Material reduction through design	111	(4)
Product Life Extension	115	(4)
Modularity and maintainability	116	(1)
Repair, remanufacturing and reuse	117	(2)
Material Life Extension	119	(5)
Material optimisation	119	(2)
Design for recycling	121	(3)
Perspectives	124	(5)
Organisational Aspects of Life Cycle Engineering	129	(26)
The Importance of Networking	129	(3)
The Importance of Communication	132	(2)
Environmental Management	134	(15)
The ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development	134	(3)
BS 7750	137	(2)
The EEC Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)	139	(3)
ISO 14000	142	(1)
Core elements in EMS and environmental reporting	143	(4)
Cost and utility of environmental management	147	(2)
EMS in Small and Medium Sized Companies	149	(2)
Towards Greener Management. A Summary	151	(4)
Case Studies	155	(40)
Packaging Restructuring	155	(9)
Pharmacia & Upjohn	155	(1)
Packaging development	156	(2)
Packaging recycling	158	(4)
Attitudes of hospital personnel	162	(1)
The vital recycling chain	163	(1)
Industrial Networking for Competitiveness	164	(31)
Plastics in the automotive industry	164	(4)
Volvo Car Corporation	168	(9)
AB Konstruktions-Bakelit	177	(5)
DuPont de Nemours International S.A	182	(9)
Future automotive recycling networks	191	(4)
Afterword	195	(4)
Acronyms	199	(4)
Index	203