ABSTRACT
ABST R AC T Due to recent interest in global climate change, the traditional design heuristics that have served as the backbone of capstone design must now be updated to include the topics of sustainability and environmental impact assessment. A capstone design program that includes sustainability requires careful selection of the design problems. Although sustainable design principles can be incorporated into any process, the challenge is to choose processes that clearly illustrate these principles to students. In this contribution, two projects based on the manufacture of biodiesel will be highlighted. Through these sustainable design projects, the students have the chance to experience how the design choices made at the conceptual level
CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 690 Background of Sustainable Design Projects .................................................... 692 Overview of Design Projects ............................................................................. 692
Project 1 – Production of Sodium Methylate Catalyst .......................... 692 Project 2 – Production of Acrolein from Crude Glycerol ..................... 693
Student Design Objectives ................................................................................. 694 Sustainability Objectives .................................................................................... 694 Process Integration Objectives .......................................................................... 695 Incorporating Environmental Impact Assessment ......................................... 695 Product Life Cycle Considerations ................................................................... 696 Industrial Collaboration ..................................................................................... 696 Results and Conclusions .................................................................................... 696 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 697 References ............................................................................................................. 697
impact not only the economic performance of a process, but also the environmental performance and overall sustainability of a chemical process.
