Engineers' guide to cleaner productiontechnologies

Industrial facilities are increasingly recognizing the need to minimize the amount of pollutants generated on-site. Significant benefits (including cost savings, reduced physical hazards, decreased regulatory burdens, and improved occupational and environmental health and safety) can be achieved by substituting cleaner technologies in the production process. Moreover, as manufacturers invest in pollution prevention, they often make changes that enable them to compete more effectively in the global marketplace.This book is a guide for the practicing engineer who has the responsibility for process improvements to reduce or eliminate wastes in the environment. The "cleaner production technologies" described here are categorized as either commercially available or emerging. The text addresses pollution prevention benefits, operating features, applications, limitations, and regulatory features for each technology. Schematics illustrate processes and equipment, and extensive reference data is provided in tables and figures.The process change descriptions within this book allow engineers to evaluate alternatives so that cleaner technologies can be considered for existing plants, or factored into the design of new operations. Detailed information is presented to select one or more candidate technologies for further analysis and in-plant testing. The book does not recommend any one technology over another, but rather presents concise summaries of applications and operating information to support preliminary selection of cleaner technology options for testing in specific processes.This accessible book provides practical information that will help small and medium-sized businesses implement cleaner production technologies. Production engineers, process engineers, and system design engineers will find it invaluable in selecting cleaner technologies and strategies for process improvement.