ib design and technology - topic 2

Renewability

The ability of resources to be renewed, typically associated with natural or living resources and closely tied to sustainability.

waste mitigation strategies…

can reduce or eliminate the volume of material disposal to landfill

Re-use

Repetitive use of products or parts in alternative ways to extend their lifespan.

Repair

Restoring products to good working condition after failure, aiming to extend their life.

Recycling

Collecting, separating and processing materials to manufacture new products.

Recondition

Returning used products to their original specifications or upgrading components.

Re-engineer

Revising designs to improve them in some form - such as: cost, performance, safety and reducing waste.

Waste Management Hierarchy

1. Prevention

2. Minimisation

3. Reuse

4. Recycling

5. Energy Recovery

6. Disposal

Design for Manufacture

Designing products for easy manufacturing to create better products at lower costs, involving simplification and optimisation

Dematerialisation

Progressive reduction in energy and material used in production, linked to waste minimisation.

Jevons' Paradox

In the long term, an increase in efficiency in resource use will generate an increase in resource consumption rather than a decrease

Circular Economy

An economy based on renewable energy and recyclable materials to create a sustainable cycle

Embodied Energy

Total energy required to produce and maintain a product or service, including → material extraction, transport, assembly and recycling.

Electricity Grid Scheme

Regional or national grid system for energy distribution, with smart grids enabling real-time monitoring and sustainable energy integration.

Local Combined Heat + Power (CHP)

Technology producing heat and electricity from a single fuel source, reducing costs and emissions.

Quantification & Mitigation of Carbon Emissions

Measuring and reducing carbon emissions in product life cycles, focusing on carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Characteristics of battteries

• they convert chemical energy into electrical energy

• The allow devices and machines to be portable

• They contain heavy metals → bad

Clean Technology

Aims to reduce waste and pollution through incremental or radical development - driven by social, economic and political factors.

End-of-Pipe Technologies (EOP)

Focus on reducing already formed pollutants at the end of the process

Green Design

Focuses on re-engineering a design to reduce its environmental impact and increase its sustainability through incremental changes

Eco-Design

approach to sustainability that considers the entire life cycle of a product - fitting into a system such as cradle-to-cradle or circular economies, with a focus on long timescales and high complexity.

prevention principle

aims to minimise waste in all forms

Strategies for Green Design

1. incremental changes - like material and manufacturing process improvements

2. radical changes - like completely altering the manufacturing process to create new sustainable products.

what drives green design and examples

Consumer pressure and legislation

• demanding environmentally friendly products

• imposing requirements like emissions standards or bans on harmful substances.

Cradle to Grave

considers a product's environmental effects from manufacture to disposal

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Assesses a product's environmental impact through its life stages:

1. Pre-production

2. Production

3. Distribution (including packaging)

4. Use

5. Disposal

3 methods to reduce embodied energy

• Use less materials

• Use durable materials and components

• Use naturally available materials

4 methods of waste reduction

1. Product recovery and reuse

2. Avoid unnecessary packaging

3. Produce to order - eliminate oversupply

4. increase product lifespan

3 benefits and drawbacks for individual energy generation

benefits

1. Supplement to grid-power systems

2. Lower environmental impact

3. Can be scaled to meet the needs of a single user

drawbacks

1. High initial costs

2. Aesthetic drawbacks to homes

3. Needs planning approval of listed buildings

batteries vs capacitors

Capacitors store electrostatic energy in an electric field. Both serve similar functions by storing and charging energy

3 benefits and drawbacks to incremental solutions

benefits

1. Able to exploit existing technologies

2. Low risk

3. Minimal changes to the production process

drawbacks

1. Need to make small changes frequently to comply with evolving regulations

2. Low potential for market growth

   • cause the market is full of competition offering similar solutions

3 benefits and drawbacks to radical solutions

benefits

1. Opportunity to innovate with associate benefits - patents, fewer competitors

2. High potential for market growth

3. Innovative approaches can develop new tech

drawbacks

1. High risk

2. R&D can be costly and lengthy

the 3 drivers for cleaning up manufacturing

1. Social

2. Economic

3. Political

the 4 background responses

1. Passive - pollution is ignored

2. Reactive - lower level of pollution is produced and released into the environment

3. Constructive- EOPs are used to reduce the impact

4. Proactive - production methods change to reduce waste and pollution before production

system level solutions

solutions that address the whole system - not just the components

Cradle to Cradle

aiming to eliminate waste by designing products for reuse in a circular economy, considering the entire lifecycle of a product.

precautionary principle

anticipates and mitigates environmental problems related to a product's production, use, and disposal.

3 objectives for green design: materials

• increasing the efficient use of materials by reducing quantity required

• environmentally friendly

• Minimising material used in a product

2 objectives for green design: energy

• reduce in use and manufacuring

• switching to sustainable or renewable energy sources

3 objectives in green design: pollution + waste

• reducing the negative impacts of manufacturing (clean tech)

• Consider EOL - designing to maximise sustainability goals

• Improving durability