Natural capitalism and the engineer

Chemical Engineering Progress, Jun 2001 by Zagoria, Alan

The Chicago Section was honored to have Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute speak at its May meeting. Lovins' out-of-the-box thinking has earned him six-- honorary doctorates, and consultation to 15 heads of state, while publishing 27 books and hundreds of papers. What is most impressive is that he has taken his cutting edge ideas and brought them to reality through the founding of four for-profit ventures in such diverse areas as architecture, energy, and the Hypercar (http://www.hypercar.com).

The premise of the talk was that we have entered a new age of capitalism, where the rules and rewards have changed. Three hundred years ago the ability to produce goods, and thereby raise the standard of living, was limited by human capital, labor. Ever since, America has invested in increasing productivity (producing more with the same labor). The entrepreneur and society have benefited from powered machinery, assembly line production, robotics, and more. However, things are starting to change. The fishing industry finds the number of fish--not the number of boats or fishermen--limit its production. The number of healthy trees limits the lumber industry. The amount of fertile soil and water, and not the number of tractors, limits farmers. It's not a big stretch to see when energy, water, raw materials will limit most industries. The economic incentive, as well as social imperative, is to invest in natural capital, since it has replaced human productivity as the primary constraint on production. Companies that don't see this will simply lose to those that do.

How does this affect the industries chemical engineers are most familiar with? The most direct ways Institute members can invest in natural capital is in modifying processes to require less energy, less raw materials (including water and other natural resources) and less wastes at the plant site and throughout the life cycle of the product. When waste and emissions are classified as "unsaleable products," the process begins. While readers may think this is already being done, here are some examples of Lovins' that should expand the thinking of AIChE members:

* When cost justifying the expense of super insulation in your house, don't just trade off the additional cost of insulation against the marginal savings in heating cost; consider trading it off against avoiding the capital cost of a heating system altogether. Lovins' house in Colorado, utilizing 1980's technology, has no heating system and cost no more than typical construction in his neighborhood.

When specifying pipe diameter, don't trade off additional pipe cost vs. marginal savings in power (pressure drop); consider all the capital savings associated with a smaller pump.

* The new natural capital economy will reward those that put the least stress on the natural world. Today, carpet may be replaced every 10 years, then lie in a landfill, decomposing, for thousands of years. Replacement carpet is manufactured of all new raw materials (typically fossil fuels). The new capitalist will have to adopt a new business model. One company is already thriving by selling a floor-- covering service. The new carpet company is responsible for inspecting and replacing carpet that is worn, and only the portion of the carpet that is unsatisfactory is replaced (it is installed in panels). It does, of course, have the incentive to make carpet that lasts as long as possible and capable of being fully recycled. In addition, the customer gets to expense the floor covering service instead of capitalize the carpet. Good economics all around.

* Similar business models have been developed for a people-lifting service (elevator), dissolving service (solvents), and even an ambient comfort service (air conditioning). In each case, good business lines up with investing in natural capital.

Here are some more chemical engineering examples offered by Lovins:

* In the design phase, lay out the piping first, then the major equipment. Major savings can be realized in piping costs, pumping costs, pump costs, more effective insulation and maintenance, less noise, etc.

* How often do you see a running pump and its spare sitting next to each other with the typical T-shape piping? Wouldn't it make more sense to lay out a straight run of pipe from the primary pump to the process and take all the extra pressure drop on the line from the second pump?

* If only one tenth of the energy contained in gasoline goes to the cars drive train, then saving 1 % efficiency in the drive train/tires/ vehicle weight is worth a saving of 10% in the engine. Lovins contends the minivan-sized Hypercar can save as much gasoline as OPEC now sells worldwide.

* Similarly, one unit of power saved through reducing friction loss saves 10 units at the power plant, and the capital cost reduction that goes with it.

* Lovins says new buildings can be built ten times more efficient than today's typical construction at the same or lower cost, while being more conducive to human comfort and efficiency. Engineering can be improved by treating nature as a model, measure, and mentor.