Life cycle Analysis : "cradle to

grave" designed for

sustainability w.r.t. a major
Indian Petro Chemical
Industry
SOME QUESTIONS FIRST ???
• What are the pollution problems
associated with petrochemical
plants?

• Why are accidents in

petrochemical plants dangerous
to environment?
 Sustainability
• Capacity to endure
• Designing to improve the quality of life today,
without compromising the quality of life of
tomorrow.
 Key Environmental
Considerations
• Use less material or materials with
less environmental impact
• Use fewer resources
• Produce less pollution and waste
• Reduce the impacts of distribution
• Optimise functionality and service life
• Make re-use and recycling easier
• Reduce the environmental impact of
disposal
Life Cycle Analysis
• Investigation and evaluation of the
environmental impacts of a given
product or service caused or
necessitated by its existence.

• Also known as eco-balance, and

cradle-to-grave analysis
 Standardization
• The procedures of life cycle
assessment (LCA) are part of the
ISO 14000 environmental
management standards: in ISO
14040:2006 and 14044:2006. (ISO
14044 replaced earlier versions of
ISO 14041 to ISO 14043.)
Scope of LCA
 Variants of LCA

• Cradle to Grave

• Cradle to Gate

• Cradle to Cradle

• Gate to Gate

• Well to Wheel
 Phases of LCA
• Goal and scope

• Life cycle inventory

• Life cycle impact assessment

• Interpretation
Phases of LCA (contd.)
Goal and Scope Def
Goal & Scope
Definitionn

Inventory
Interpretation
Analysis

Impact
Assessment

Fig. : Illustration of LCA phases.

These are often interdependent in that the results of
one phase will inform how other phases are
completed. Ref: : Wikipedia
LCA Uses and Tools
• GaBi Software developed by PE
International

• SimaPro developed by PRé

Consultants
Cradle to Grave Approach
 Cradle To Grave
• Cradle-to-grave is the full Life Cycle
Assessment from manufacture
• For example, trees produce paper, which can
be recycled into low-energy production
cellulose (fiberised paper) insulation, then
used as an energy-saving device in the ceiling
of a home for 40 years, saving 2,000 times the
fossil-fuel energy used in its production.
• After 40 years the cellulose fibers are replaced
and the old fibers are disposed of, possibly
incinerated. All inputs and outputs are
considered for all the phases of the life cycle...
Design for Sustainability

• Designing to improve the quality of

life today, without compromising
the quality of life of tomorrow”
Importance of “Design for
Sustainability
Design for Sustainability aims:
“to take all global and regional socio-
economic concerns into account in
products and services, meeting the needs
of society now and in the future, moving
from a product to a service oriented
system.”
• In order to design sustainable products
and services, innovation, creativity and
new ideas are required by designers.
Importance of “Design for
Sustainability
On a global scale current design of products are seen
to hinder Sustainability.
Designers ironically increasing focus on disposables.
e.g. razors, nappies, pens, packaging.

4 R’s regarding design for sustainability:

Repair Refine Redesign Rethink

Movement towards rethinking situations and

function radically changing towards achieving
needs through different means.
Repair -> Rethink

Adapted from:
[Thompson and
 CASE STUDY
• GAIL ( Gas Authority of India Ltd )

• RIL ( Reliance India Ltd. )

Controlled Petrochemical Industry
at Jamnagar
Figure 2: Generalized Steps of Processing in
Petrochemical Industry
Figure 3: General Approach for “Cradle to Grave” in
Sustainable development
Raw Material Acquisition
Considerations……
• Use less material

• Use materials with less

environmental impact

• Use fewer resources

• Produce less pollution and waste

Sustainable Design for Raw Materials
Using recycled materials instead of virgin materials
significantly reduces the environmental impact of a
product.
Guidelines for designing with recycled plastics by RIL :
• Specify thicker walls or features that enhance rigidity
in a design where increased strength must
compensate for reduced strength in material.

• Select applications where color is not critical when

recycled plastics come with a variety of colorants.
Additional colorants may mask the original color of
the material.
Product Manufacturing
Considerations……
• LCA analyses…
• Is the process energy
intensive?
• Does it produce a lot of
waste?
• Are natural resources (eg
water and fossil fuels) used?
• Can resource use be
reduced?
Actual process flow diagram
RIL Results of Product Manufacture
( Polyester )
• The amount of energy use to produce the polyester
fabric was 171.5 mega Joules
• Oil and gas usage for polyester fabric production was
1.5kg compared
• Emissions produced in polyester production account
for 3.8kg of carbon dioxide and 0.2g of sulfur dioxide
• polyester fabric production uses 1,900 liters of water
• wastewater tainted with antimony trioxide
Figure 4: Flow diagram for the manufacture,
consumer use, and disposal of a polyester sheet

http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/LCA-Chapter
%201.htm#INTRODUCTION
Sustainable Approach
• Polyester produces highly toxic
agents and harmful waste materials
Cannot be used for other processes
Released in environment causing
degradation
• Eco-Intelligent Polyester Technique
is employed by other countries for
clean production
Origins of Sustainable Manufacturing:
Sustainability
Manufacturing

Consumables

Workforce

Tools

Product
Complexity

Facilities

Impacts Part Precision

Sustainable Design By RIL
• Effluent treatment plant, low NOX
burners in Furnaces
• and zero liquid effluent discharge
ensure the safety of the environment.
• Treated sewage, industrial effluent and
stack emissions are extensively
monitored to ensure no harm is done to
the environment.
• Reliance is committed to transform the
arid land in and around the complex
into a lush green belt
 Major Achievements by RIL
• Reduction in Emission of CO2 (Tons/Kilotons of
Crude processed) to 10.25
• Planting of 4.0 million trees in and around the
complex has already been done till 2004 which
includes planting of 25,000 Nos of additional Trees
during last year.
• Reduction of plastic cup consumption from 5.1 Lakhs
cup (In 2000) per month to 3.2 Lakh (2003) per
month.
• Construction of landfill facility for the disposal of
hazardous waste
 Sustainable Packaging
– Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities
throughout its life cycle;
– Meets market criteria for performance and cost;
– Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using
renewable energy;
– Maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source
materials;
– Is manufactured using clean production technologies and
best practices;
– Is made from materials healthy in all probable end of life
scenarios;
– Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy;
– Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or
industrial cradle to cradle cycles.
 How is the product distributed?

• What type of packaging is

used?
• Could less packaging be
used?
• Could re-usable packaging
be used?
• How is the product stored
before dispatch?
• How far are the products
32
transported?
 How is the product used?

• Talk to consumers to find out if they have

developed ‘product habits’

• Do customers feel that any components or

functions are unnecessary?

33
Final Disposition Considerations
• Optimise functionality and service
life

• Make re-use and recycling easier

• Reduce the environmental impact

of disposal
 What happens at the end of the
product’s life?
Does the product typically go to landfill?
• Could the recycling potential be
increased?
- material selection
- stamping and labelling
• Can modules or parts be re-used?
• Service potential

35
 Sustainable Design Recyclability
Product design can make a significant contribution to
recyclability. Use materials which can be easily
recycled.
• Reduce the quantity of different types of materials.
• Select materials that are in mutually compatible
groups, e.g. for plastics – ABS, PET or PVC
• To aid recycling, avoid materials which are difficult
to separate such as laminates, fire-retardants and
fiberglass reinforcements.
• Avoid polluting elements such as stickers that
interfere with recycling, or glues.
An optimized view….
• Cradle to cradle approach……
• From personal hygiene products to buildings, demand for
environmentally-conscious consumption is increasing. In
fact, whether consumer purchases are rooted in health
concerns, moral obligation to future generations, or the
desire to showcase a trendy commitment to the
environment.
• More than 35% of American consumers claim to have a
higher interest in the environment and 34% claim they
are more likely to buy environmentally friendly products
today versus one year ago. When priced within their
budget, this number increases to 69% of American
consumers. (Cone, Inc. 2009).
Material flows in the context of an Intelligent Materials
Pooling
community.
 Conclusion
• Every product has an environmental impact.
Firms must aim to mitigate these impacts
when marketing green products. Since trade-
offs exist in each stage of the product
lifecycle, green products must be underpinned
by continuous improvement towards the
various methods given above and thus
achieve sustainable growth.
THANK YOU
QUESTIONS ?
 REFERENCES
• http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/design/review5.php
• http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/LCA-Chapter%201.htm#INTRODUCTI
ON
• http://www.envis-icpe.com/about.html
• Hawken, Paul; Lovins, Amory B. and Lovins, L. Hunter, 1999, Natural
capitalism: the next Industrial Revolution. London: Earthscan, p. 81. In:
Thackara, John. 2006, pbk ed. In the bubble: designing in a complex world.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press p.12.
• EPA (2005), “Emissions facts: average carbon dioxide emissions resulting
from gasoline and diesel fuel,” February. Accessed at:
http://www.epa.gov/OMS/climate/420f05001.htm.
• McDonough, William and Michael Braungart (2002), Cradle to Cradle.
New York: North Point Press.