To the Moon: Using Creative Nonfiction Techniques to Explain Space Technology

I use creative writing to translate highly technical aerospace information to non-specialist audiences. I analyzed scientists’ views concerning their civic responsibility to communicate scientific/technological information. Methods for writing about science and technology were investigated, these analyses were applied to technical information about the Saturn V rocket and Dr. Wernher von Braun. The result was an article written to emphasize the benefits and importance of space programs to the public by exploring the ubiquitous use of developed technologies in ours lives

The Industrial Platinum Cycle for Russia: A Case Study of Materials Accounting

Platinum is a strategic resource for the world economy and appears to be unsubstitutable in many of its uses. As a consequence, establishing its life cycle and quantifying net increases and decreases may serve as a basis for detecting lifecycle wide opportunities for increasing recycling and reuse of platinum. With this aim, we have characterized the platinum cycle for the Russian Federation for the year 2000. It was found that most of the platinum produced in Russia was exported immediately(21,300 kg Pt/yr (82%)), while the remainder was stockpiled (2,200 kg Pt/yr (8.5%)) or used domestically (2,450 kg Pt/yr, (9.4%)). Russia has a continuing reliance on fabricated platinum imports (1,600 kg Pt/yr). Recovery of platinum from waste and scrap is undeveloped, although there are significant domestic sources, particularly the military sector

Life cycle analysis, Carbon footprint, Sustainability

The aim of Life Cycle Analysis is to try and evaluate the environmental impact of a device (or process), taking into account all the important contributing factors over its life. This can include the construction impacts and end of life issues, as well as any impact during the actual “use-phase” of the device. In the context of retail refrigeration, by far the dominant environmental impact results from the use of energy to run the refrigeration plant. This also applies to almost anything that uses a large amount of energy during its operation. It is distinct from, e.g. the environmental impact of a building material (bricks, concrete, etc.) where the major lifetime impact issues from the production processes before use. However, although the “use-phase” of refrigeration plant dominates the lifetime environmental impact, the remaining impacts are still very significant. A detailed breakdown of the impacts is given later in this chapter. An important point to note when talking of environmental impacts is that often these are in fact potential environmental impacts. For example, certain processes generate gases which can be harmful to human health, or perhaps potentially affect the global temperature. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty in many of the mechanisms that are affected by pollution, and whether a pollutant would have the opportunity to cause harm, and it is therefore essential to be aware that what we calculate in LCA are potential environmental impacts. This does not undermine the value of LCA, but recognizes and clarifies the basis on which LCAs are conducted. LCA attempts to include all significant, potential environmental impacts. These impacts can be of a disparate nature, e.g. the effect on the ecological well-being of a forest (for wood production), and the direct impact on human health (e.g. sulphur dioxide’s effect on lung cancer). This leads to the question of how to compare different types of impact and whether a single index of environmental impact can be calculated. It is only by weighting different impact types that we can produce such a single indicator of overall impact. The idea is straightforward, but the weightings are entirely subjective, albeit that they may be decided on by an expert panel. It is important to remember this subjective nature of the single environmental impact index and to be aware of what weightings were used in arriving at it

Mapping supply chain risk by network analysis of product platforms

AbstractModern technology makes use of a variety of materials to allow for its proper functioning. To explore in detail the relationships connecting materials to the products that require them, we map supply chains for five product platforms (a cadmium telluride solar cell, a germanium solar cell, a turbine blade, a lead acid battery, and a hard drive (HD) magnet) using a data ontology that specifies the supply chain actors (nodes) and linkages (e.g., material exchange and contractual relationships) among them. We then propose a set of network indicators (product complexity, producer diversity, supply chain length, and potential bottlenecks) to assess the situation for each platform in the overall supply chain networks. Among the results of interest are the following: (1) the turbine blade displays a high product complexity, defined by the material linkages to the platform; (2) the germanium solar cell is produced by only a few manufacturers globally and requires more physical transformation steps than do the other project platforms; (3) including production quantity and sourcing countries in the assessment shows that a large portion of nodes of the supply chain of the hard-drive magnet are located in potentially unreliable countries. We conclude by discussing how the network analysis of supply chains could be combined with criticality and scenario analyses of abiotic raw materials to comprise a comprehensive picture of product platform risk

Should we mine the deep seafloor?

As land-based mineral resources become increasingly difficult and expensive to acquire, the potential for mining resources from the deep seafloor has become widely discussed and debated. Exploration leases are being granted, and technologies are under development. However, the quantity and quality of the resources are uncertain, and many worry about risks to vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. Deep-sea mining has become part of the discussion of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this article we provide a summary of benefits, costs, and uncertainties that surround this potentially attractive but contentious topic

Implications of Emerging Vehicle Technologies on Rare Earth Supply and Demand in the United States

We explore the long-term demand and supply potentials of rare earth elements in alternative energy vehicles (AEVs) in the United States until 2050. Using a stock-flow model, we compare a baseline scenario with scenarios that incorporate an exemplary technological innovation: a novel aluminum–cerium–magnesium alloy. We find that the introduction of the novel alloy demonstrates that even low penetration rates can exceed domestic cerium production capacity, illustrating possible consequences of technological innovations to material supply and demand. End-of-life vehicles can, however, overtake domestic mining as a source of materials, calling for proper technologies and policies to utilize this emerging source. The long-term importing of critical materials in manufactured and semi-manufactured products shifts the location of material stocks and hence future secondary supply of high-value materials, culminating in a double benefit to the importing country. This modeling approach is adaptable to the study of varied scenarios and materials, linking technologies with supply and demand dynamics in order to understand their potential economic and environmental consequence

Flow and Fates of Discarded Copper in Sofia, Bulgaria, and New Haven CT, USA

In order to better understand the fate of copper following its use, the discard flows of copper were analyzed in Sofia, Bulgaria, and New Haven, CT, USA. These cities were chosen to compare discard copper generation and recovery between a city in a developed country and a city in a developing country. The comparison between these two cities can be problematic due to their different relative sizes, and generalizing the results to other cities cannot be done without some error. However, as the first study of its kind, this study provides insights into the relative copper recovery rates indifferent socioeconomic contexts. The total yearly per capita copper discards from in-use stocks in Sofia were found to be about 1.9 kg/person (for year 2003), while New Haven has total yearly per capita copper discards from in-use stocks of about 4.7kg/person (for year 2000). The associated recovery rates for copper in both cities are quite high, at about 87% in New Haven, and 97% in Sofia. The higher per capita copper discards and the lower recovery rate in New Haven is thought to be attributable to the higher average income level relative to Sofia

Addressing decision making for remanufacturing operations and design-for-remanufacture

Remanufacturing is a process of returning a used product to at least original equipment manufacturer original performance specification from the customers' perspective and giving the resultant product a warranty that is at least equal to that of a newly manufactured equivalent. This paper explains the need to combine ecological concerns and economic growth and the significance of remanufacturing in this. Using the experience of an international aero-engine manufacturer it discusses the impact of the need for sustainable manufacturing on organisational business models. It explains some key decision-making issues that hinder remanufacturing and suggests effective solutions. It presents a peer-validated, high-level design guideline to assist decision-making in design in order to support remanufacturing. The design guide was developed in the UK through the analysis of selections of products during case studies and workshops involving remanufacturing and conventional manufacturing practitioners as well as academics. It is one of the initial stages in the development of a robust design for remanufacture guideline

Digital Palace Explorers: An On-site Storytelling Application for Families at the Tower of London

Our team adapted key elements of The Palace Explorers Program, an activity that combines online and on-site sessions to teach Key Stage 2 pupils about the Tower of London, to create an on-site, mobile digital application for families. We also provided the Education Department of Historic Royal Palaces a framework for our design process and a template for programming the application so that it could be modified and replicated at other sites overseen by Historic Royal Palaces