Introduction to Sustainable Engineering

By: AP Dr Suriati Sufian

 Course Learning Outcomes

1. Identify and define sustainable engineering and

anthropogenic sources.
2. Interpret sustainable ethics and challenges of
engineers.
3. Explore and examine sustainable concepts and
fundamentals.
4. Assess and apply of sustainable engineering concepts
into industrial process design through case studies and
worked examples.
 Week 1 and Week 2

1. Identify and define sustainable engineering and

anthropogenic sources.
2. Interpret sustainable ethics and challenges of
engineers.
3. Explore and examine sustainable concepts and
fundamentals.
4. Assess and apply of sustainable engineering concepts
into industrial process design through case studies and
worked examples.
 Week 1&2

1. Sustainability- Definition
2. Sustainability- Introduction
3. Sustainability- Need & Concept
4. Social Sustainability Concept
5. Environmental Sustainability Concept
6. Economic Sustainability Concept
7. Sustainable Development
8. Challenges to Sustainable Development
9. Green Processes
10.Use of Resources and Management
11.Waste Management Recycling
1. DEFINITION
Choose the right definition…
The process of using resources in a
way that does not compromise the
environment or deplete the materials
for future generations

To provide what is needed for

(something/someone) to exist,
continue, etc.

Able to be used without being

completely used up or destroyed.

The ability of the human race and the

environment to survive over time
without using up or destroying the
environment or ourselves.
Traditional Engineering vs
Sustainable Engineering
2. INTRODUCTION

Earth belongs to the humans only.

Ignore the fact that humans are part of the Earth's
biosphere.
Earth's stock of resources are infinite.
Environment can bear any amount of damage that is
caused by human activity.
 3. NEED & CONCEPT

Environment gives resources, raw

materials to the Economy for
production activities.

Production by Economy and

Consumption by Society lead Economy creates
to the following environmental products and sells it to
impacts!!! society for use.
1. Exhaustion of Resources – Water,
Petroleum, Forests
2. Loss of Biodiversity - Extinction of
Animal/Plant Species due to Water, Soil, Air
Pollution
3. Deforestation - conversion of
forestland to farms, urban use etc.
4. Ozone Depletion - reduction of the amount
of ozone in the stratosphere due to the emission of
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFC/s emitted from
the industries, rises to the Stratosphere. Sunlight
breaks CFCs to release Chlorine. Chlorine reacts
with Ozone and destroys it.
5. Acid Deposition – results in acid
rain, acid fog and acid mist.
6. Desertification - type of land degradation
in which a land region becomes dry, typically
losing its water bodies, vegetation and wildlife.
7. Eutrophication - form of water
pollution occurs when excessive fertilizers
run into lakes and rivers. This encourages
the overgrowth of algae and other aquatic
plants.
Sources of Eutrophication
8. Global Warming - gradual increase in
the average temperature of the Earth's
atmosphere and its oceans, caused by
increasing concentrations of greenhouse
gases – Carbon oxides, Nitrous oxides,
sulphur oxides, Fluorocarbons
The environmental impact, caused by economy on
production and society on consumption, leads to the
following damages to human life…..
1. Fresh water scarcity
2. Climate Change
3. Exposure to
toxics in food,
air, water and
soil
3. Exposure to toxics in food, air, water and soil
3. Exposure to toxics in food, air, water and soil
3. Exposure to toxics in food, air, water and soil
4. Emerging diseases
5. Food insecurity resulting in poverty
6. Energy scarcity due to depletion of non-renewable
resources
7. Ecosystem damage and habitat loss due to
pollutant discharges
8. Sea level rise
Key Sustainability
Concepts
Concept of sustainability

“In addition to its

economic performance, a
company must also
account for and focus on
its environmental and
social performance to be
truly sustainable.”
 Concept of sustainability

Environmental
(Planet)

Social Economic
(People) (Profit)

Sustainability
Another common way of saying this is “people, planet, profit”2
Sustainability is the intersection of these three concepts.
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
There are six principles of sustainability that can help a
community ensure that its social, economic, and environmental
systems are well integrated and will endure. A community or
society that wants to pursue sustainability will try to:
1. Maintain residents’ quality of life.
Quality of life has many components: income, education, health
care, housing, employment, legal rights. Each locality must
define and plan for the quality of life it wants and believes it can
achieve, for now and for future generations.
2. Enhance local economic vitality.
A viable local economy is essential to sustainability. This
includes job opportunities, sufficient tax base and revenue to
support government and the provision of infrastructure and
services, and a suitable business climate.
3. Promote social and intergenerational equity.
A sustainable community’s resources and opportunities are
available to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender,
cultural background, religion, or other characteristics. Further, a
sustainable community does not deplete its resources and
destroy natural systems.
4. Maintain the quality of the environment.
A sustainable community tries to find ways to co-exist
with natural environment and ecosystem. It avoids
unnecessary degradation of the air, oceans, fresh water,
and other natural systems.
5. Incorporate disaster resilience and mitigation into
its decisions and actions.
A community is resilient in the face of inevitable natural
disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods,
and drought if it takes steps to ensure that such events
cause as little damage as possible.
6. Use a consensus-building, participatory process when making
decisions.
Participatory processes are vital to community sustainability. It
encourages the identification of concerns and issues, promotes the
wide generation of ideas for dealing with those concerns, and
helps those involved find a way to reach agreement about solutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Environmental sustainability requires:

1. Maintenance of biodiversity (genes, species and ecosystems)

2. Protection of natural capital (air, water, soils, etc.)
3. Maintenance of the energy and material cycles of the planet
4. Health and resilience of all life support systems.
This can be achieved by:
1. Reduce dependence upon finite, virgin resources like Fossil
fuels, minerals and metals.
This can be achieved by:
2. Nature must not be subjected to increased concentrations of
substances produced by society. This requires that consideration
be given to the biodegradability of substances and the length of
time it takes the earth to reabsorb them.
This can be achieved by:
3. The physical basis for the productivity and biodiversity of
nature must be not systematically degraded. This requires that
we protect diverse and special habitats.
This can be achieved by:
4. There must be efficient use and fair distribution of resources
to enable humans to meet their needs. This requires a
reduction in consumerism, especially among wealthy nations.
ECONOMIC-SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL MATRIX
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The concept of sustainable development has received much
recognition after the Stockholm declaration in the year 1972.
Sustainable development is the development which meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
Features in sustainable development:

1. Satisfying human needs

2. Favouring a good quality of life through decent standards of
living
3. Sharing resources between rich and poor
4. Acting with concern for future generations
5. Looking at the ‘cradle-to-grave’ impact when consuming
6. Minimizing resource use, waste and pollution
MEASURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

(i) Technology:
Using appropriate technology is one which is locally adaptable, eco-
friendly, cost effective, resource efficient and culturally suitable.
Nature is often taken as a model, using the natural conditions of that
region as its components. This concept is known as “design with
nature”.
MEASURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

(iii) Promoting Environmental Education and Awareness:

Making environmental education the centre of all learning process
will greatly help in changing the thinking pattern and attitude of
people towards our earth and the environment.
MEASURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(iv) Resource Utilization as Per Carrying Capacity:
Any system can sustain a limited number of organisms on a long-
term basis which is known as its carrying capacity. If the carrying
capacity of a system is crossed (say, by over exploitation of a
resource), environmental degradation starts.
MEASURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(v) Improving Quality of Life Including Social, Cultural and
Economic Dimensions:
Development should not focus just on one-section of already affluent
people. Rather it should include sharing of benefits between the rich
and the poor. The tribal, ethnic people and their cultural
heritage should also be conserved.
CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. Misconception about sustainable development

The popular perception that development and environment protection
should not go together, has to be changed.

2. Population explosion in developing economies (require more food,

energy, goods)
CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

3. Over exploitation of natural resources in developed countries (resulting

in imbalance between developed & underdeveloped countries)

4. Poverty (To achieve sustainable development, eradication of poverty is

vital.
CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

5. Over dependence on fossil fuels leading to global warming & climate

change

6. Loss in Biodiversity

7. Freshwater scarcity
CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

8. High cost of appropriate technology to tap renewable energy sources

9. Poor solid waste management system (focusing on mere waste

disposal)

10. Public awareness

CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

11. Absence of strict environment laws and legislations to control

pollution

12. Absence of adequate political and industrial will for moving towards a
sustainable future
CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

13. Lack of co-ordination between the three pillars of sustainable

development – Economy, Society, Environment – in finding long term
solutions

14. Corruption and misuse of sustainable development assistance funds

 Green Process
Manufacturing products with consideration for the source of materials, energy-
efficient manufacturing methods, use of recycled materials in packaging, and
reclaiming manufacturing waste.
 Quick ‘Green’ Test

Which choice is greener in a chemical process? .

1, Which choice is greener in a chemical process?

A reaction that can be run at 350 K for 12 hours without a catalyst
A reaction that can be run at 300 K for 1 hour with a catalyst

2, Which choice is greener in a chemical process?

A reagent for the reaction that can be obtained from petroleum
A reagent for the reaction that can be obtained from corn husks

3, Which choice is greener in a chemical process?

A process in which the by-products are recycled for another process
A process that produces no by-products
Homework
Homework
Homework
Homework
Waste Management Recycling