John Reap

HOLISM, BIOMIMICRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING

Socially beneficial, profitable products that restore or at least leave the environment undamaged (i.e. sustainable products) remain an elusive goal. Emulation of the inherently sustainable living world through biomimetic design potentially offers one approach to creating sustainable or, at least, less unsustainable products. In this article, one learns, however, that current approaches to biomimicry do not necessarily lead to such ends. Examination of research and practice reveals a reductive mindset that limits biomimicry’s applicability within the context of sustainable engineering. To remove this limitation, this article proposes a holistic view of biomimicry that goes beyond imitation of a few features of a particular organism. A holistic view of biomimicry involves incorporation of life’s general characteristics in design and application of these characteristics across multiple spatial, temporal and organizational scales of engineering influence. The article initiates the development of holistic biomimicry as a guiding framework for designers interested in utilizing biomimicry’s potential as a sustainable design tool.Copyright

Improving Life Cycle Assessment by Including Spatial, Dynamic and Place-Based Modeling

Drawing from the substantial body of literature on life cycle assessment / analysis (LCA), the article summarizes the methodology’s limitations and failings, discusses some proposed improvements and suggests an additional improvement. After describing the LCA methodology within the context of ISO guidelines, the article summaries the limitations and failings inherent in the method’s life cycle inventory and impact assessment phases. The article then discusses improvements meant to overcome problems related to lumped parameter, static, site-independent modeling. Finally, the article suggests a remedy for some of the problems with LCA. Linking industrial models with spatially explicit, dynamic and site-specific ecosystem models is suggested as a means of improving the impact assessment phase of LCA.Copyright

Design for Disassembly and the Value of Robotic Semi-Destructive Disassembly

This article explores robotic semi-destructive disassembly’s relationship with design for disassembly, and the article investigates its value as a disassembly approach for remanufacture and / or recycling. Specifically, the compatibility of design for disassembly guidelines with semi-destructive disassembly is explored. Regulatory pressures, recovering the value of products’ materials and the long-range environmental importance of cycling material flows motivate the exploration. The article compares general design for disassembly guidelines drawn from the literature with experimental results from the semi-destructive disassembly of a simple consumer product. Additionally, the value of semi-destructive disassembly is investigated. The prevailing view of semi-destructive disassembly’s value is discussed, and the realities of an experimental semi-destructive disassembly study are contrasted with these beliefs.Copyright

Life Cycle Inventory Study of Biologically Inspired Self-Cleaning Surfaces

In this paper, self-cleaning surfaces are investigated as an environmentally benign design option. These surfaces are a biologically inspired concept; first discovered on the lotus plant, micro- and nano-scale surface features aid in contaminant removal. Self-cleaning surfaces have been successfully recreated for engineering applications and appear on a variety of products. Because they can be cleaned with water alone, the use of such a surface could lead to less resource consumption during cleaning, if used in place of more resource intensive current industrial cleaning methods. A screening Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) study is used to determine if environmental benefits are obvious from the use of a self-cleaning surface over the entire life cycle. The study is performed on a chemical self-cleaning coating, selected for its durability, transparency and ease of use. The results of the LCI study are compared to current industrial cleaning practices of aqueous spray or ultrasonic cleaning, including solvent production and use of the cleaning machines. The LCI study reveals that environmental benefits are present in the use (cleaning) phase of a self-cleaning surface. However, when also considering the production of the self-cleaning surface, no clear environmentally superior choice exists. More analysis and evaluation of the production of self-cleaning surfaces is needed to select the more sustainable choice.Copyright

Using Ecosystem Landscape Models to Investigate Industrial Environmental Impacts

This article explores the use of ecosystem landscape models to estimate the environmental impacts of industrial activities at the regional / local scale. Integrated ecosystem and industrial modeling is first introduced within the context of life cycle assessment. Then, the use of integrated modeling to overcome problems stemming from the lumped parameter, static, site non-specific nature of life cycle assessment is discussed. Finally, the results of linking a handful of industrially relevant material and information flows demonstrate the ability of current ecosystem landscape models to respond to industrial burdens and estimate some environmental impacts.Copyright