Sustainability Engineering for Enhanced Process Design and Manufacturing Profitability: Balancing the Environment Through Renewable Resources

Now in an expanded and revised second edition, this book explores sustainability engineering through the lens of the manufacturing and chemical process industries to explain the safe and economical implementation of process designs to transform raw materials into valuable finished products. The author applies the principles of sustainability science to engineering methodology for residential, commercial, and industrial applications that support the perpetual availability of raw materials through recycling, reuse, and repurposing to incorporate inexhaustible supplies and encompasses the management and conservation of these resources in a manner that minimizes negative environmental impacts. New sections include:

• Coverage of electric power opportunities and challenges (solar, wind, and cogeneration),
• Efficiency improvement as an energy supply extender,
• Recycling as a material extender.

The book examines relevant energy policies driving and affecting commercial, industrial, and residential energy utilization and includes new industrial case studies.

Anyone involved in the design or manufacture of chemicals or the upgrade of existing manufacturing processes will benefit from this book’s suggestions for identifying improvement options while adding the pivotal aspect of sustainability to the usual cost and safety equation optimization elements.

Dr. Jeffery Perl, PE, CHMM, founded and was President of Chicago Chem Consultants Corporation (CCC) for 37 years. CCC’s work has focused on chemical process engineering, hazardous waste treatment and environment, safety and occupational health management systems (ESOH-MS), and related engineering activities. Dr. Perl is a former plant manager and process engineer for Safety-Kleen, a national solvent chemical recovery and recycling business. His specialties include chemical process design, engineering, and troubleshooting, pollution prevention, Superfund remediation design, negotiations with state regulators, chemical separation processes, and bringing new products to market. He has contributed forensic engineering evidence and expert testimony regarding the root cause of process failures leading to workplace accidents involving death or injury, premature production failure, and fraud, waste, and abuse in federal government contracting. He provides investment and technical reviews of new product or technical service opportunities for corporate, venture capital, and private investors. He has worked as an Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, teaching the two-semester senior chemical process design engineering course for six years. Dr. Perl has authored numerous technical papers, undertaken conference presentations, and chaired symposia. He served in the United States Air Force Reserve (IMA) from 1993 through 2004 with three by-name request USAF HQ assignments over ten years, including work on AF environmental and pollution prevention contracting and compliance issues for the HQ AF Center for Environmental Excellence and the HQ AF Air Education and Training Command both in San Antonio, TX HQ, and later in the office of The Air Force Surgeon General in Washington, DC, where he focused on active duty readiness issues. Dr. Perl is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and The Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM). He has served on the National Council of Examiners of Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) professional engineering (PE) chemical exam licensing committee since 2007 and is presently a consulting chemical engineer. Jeff is a private pilot who also enjoys tinkering with geothermal heat pumps.