Chemical Engineering July 2016 - 21

SABIC
nies should be focused on people
as a core component of sustainability, "
says Suresh Sundaram, senior
vice president of product and market
strategy at Aspen Technology (Burlington,
mass.; www.aspentech.com).
" Over the next few years, the industry
is expected to see a turnover of the
workforce with a newer generation
of engineers, as the more seasoned
employees retire. " The key to longterm
workforce sustainability, explains
Sundaram, is balancing operational
strategy with market demand and
reliance on employees. " Companies
need to ensure that their strategies
include investment in cutting-edge
technologies, brain power and skills
to give their businesses a clear advantage
in a turbulent marketplace, "
Sundaram continues.
BASF Se (Ludwigshafen, Germany;
www.basf.com) is looking to
the next generation of engineers to
help instill sustainability into the workforce
through its investment in the
BASF Sustainable Living Laboratory
at Louisiana State University (LSU;
Baton Rouge, La.; www.lsu.edu). In
may, BASF selected the lab's first researcher-in-residence,
kevin mcPeak,
assistant professor in LSU's chemical
engineering department, who will lead
a research group in developing a visible-light-powered
water-disinfection
system. " The lab advances science
and engineering education in the region
while engaging creative minds to
innovate sustainable solutions, " says
BASF. The project is part of BASF's
ongoing workforce-development activities
in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
mcPeak's work at the Sustainable
Living Laboratory involves visiblelight-driven
advanced oxidation processes
(AOPs) for environmental remediation.
" Ultimately, he will develop
a visible-light-driven water disinfection
system using plasmonic-assisted-photo-Fenton
catalysis, " explains
BASF. These AOPs are set apart from
other solar-driven water-purification
technologies that rely on ultraviolet
light (representing just 5% of the
spectrum) because they will utilize
the much larger visible range of sunlight
(over 40%). The technology will
provide a low-cost, efficient method
for photo-inactivation of waterborne
pathogens, says BASF.
Ideation
Business case
R&D
Validation
Sustainability Assessment
Figure 3. It is critical to evaluate sustainability early in the process-development phase
Sustainability in all stages
many companies cite innovation as
a core value with regard to both economics
and sustainability. In may,
SABIC inaugurated a research center
in Geleen, the Netherlands that is focused
on sustainability projects for the
architectural and mass-transportation
sectors, including weight reduction,
energy efficiency and the integration of
photovoltaic panels. For all new initiatives
at the company, a sustainability
assessment is conducted in the early
stages and remains ongoing throughout
the development phase (Figure
3). " The entire lifecycle is thoroughly
considered and carefully examined.
Passing a quantitative threshold is a
prerequisite in order to proceed, " explains
a SABIC representative.
Aspen's Suresh Sundaram reiterates
the importance of innovation
and technology development over
the lifetime of assets: " For an asset
to remain viable over the term of its
useful lifespan, it must be continually
improved over time. " He suggests that
data management is a crucial pillar for
sustainability, since it can introduce
significant efficiencies into operational
decision-making, requiring fewer resources
and less time to complete
tasks. With proper data management
and analysis, he says, " Sustainability is
enhanced through more efficient use
of energy and less raw-material waste,
which overall improves quality. "
evaluating sustainability through the
lens of data management and process
development means that some
degree of standardization is necessary.
In may, under a work item within
ASTm International, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST; Gaithersburg, md.; www.
nist.gov) announced the creation
of a new international standard for
characterizing the environmental aspects
of manufacturing processes.
ASTm e3012-16 provides guidance
to help manufacturers consider their
processes one by one, capturing the
environmental impacts and identifying
opportunities to be more sustainable.
" While previous standards are a useChemiCal
engineering www.Chemengonline.Com july 2016
ful first step and help in developing a
management approach to sustainability,
they fall short of providing specific
guidance for manufacturers to
really dive deeply into their processes
and find opportunities for improvement
at that level, " explains k.C. morris,
leader of the Information modeling
and Testing Group in NIST's engineering
laboratory. The standard, which
was co-developed by manufacturers,
breaks processes into unit manufacturing
process models and promotes
development that can link manufacturing
information and analytics for
calculating desired environmental performance
measures. " The standard
format defined in ASTm e3012-16
provides a basis for ensuring that a
consistent set of details are covered
and that they are covered consistently.
This consistency will allow for
better comparison, more reuse, and,
in the end, more reliable results, "
says morris.
For the CPI, ASTm e3012-16 will
help to provide value in the form of
facilitating communication among
stakeholders and expediting decisionmaking
processes. NIST believes the
standard may be of particular interest
to software providers in the CPI. morris
emphasizes that the standard's
purpose is not to dictate sustainability
goals, but rather to highlight the need
for such goals to be defined specifically
for an individual process. " By establishing
that rigor, one should see
opportunities for improvement and
have a basis for understanding the
implication of using a particular process
in the future. "
It is clear that constant innovation
and evaluation are crucial to ensure
sustainability in the CPI, whether with
regard to environmental and social
concerns, resource efficiency, business
practices or safety. eastman's
Cathy Combs sums it up thusly: " The
bottom line is that sustainability is a
continuous journey, and we are constantly
re-evaluating our current business
practices to determine how we
can improve. "
■
Mary Page Bailey
21
Implementation
Portfolio
Qualification

http://www.aspentech.com http://www.basf.com http://www.lsu.edu http://www.nist.gov http://www.Chemengonline.Com

Chemical Engineering July 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2016