Current Production Operations - Sustainable Solutions Abound

Our previous article was a first step, as it presented a compelling case study on transforming a legacy waste site, like spent mine tailings, into a valuable source of construction materials through geopolymerization. That example provided the first step basics of our current exploration into the potential of waste conversion into usable resources.

This broader article focuses on current production operations, wastes from those operations, and the available and sustainable solutions that can minimize or reuse those wastes. The waste streams that often occur from production operations are the following:

• Solid waste (municipal, industrial, bio-medical, demolition, etc.)
• Air Emissions (Particulates, Carbon Monoxide, Sulfur Dioxide, etc.)
• Wastewater Discharges (Industrial sewage, Stormwater sewage, Sludge, etc.)
• Energy Waste (Standby consumption, curtailed energy, etc.)
• Knowledge Capital Waste (Inadequate Measurement, Solution Blindness, etc.)

Across many industry verticals, current production operations produce numerous waste streams (externalities). These externalities often impact the quality of the air, water, and communities we reside and the cost of living.

Organizations have the potential and, in some cases, are already taking steps to implement a wide range of sustainable solutions and innovations. These initiatives offer significant potential to reduce and, in some cases, completely eliminate the various waste streams from production operations. This not only mitigates their environmental impact but also reduces their cost implications and, in some cases, paves the way for creating new revenue streams.

Sustainable Solutions for Solid Waste

Production operations can generate solid waste from by-products, expired materials, and contaminated containers. However, forward-thinking organizations embrace a “No Waste to Landfill” policy, a strategic approach that spurs innovative methods to handle production by-products.

For example, the textile industry recycles fabric scraps and offcuts into new yarns, fibers, or fabrics, reducing the need for virgin materials and saving water and energy. Some examples of brands that use recycled textiles are Patagonia and Eileen Fisher.

Another example is the food industry and food waste. Food waste can be converted into biogas, compost, animal feed, or new food products. In the construction industry, concrete, wood, metal, and glass waste can be reused or recycled into new building materials. Reusing and recycling construction material waste reduces the need for additional natural resource extraction.

Sustainable Solutions for Air Emissions

Air emissions have received considerable attention due to the #ESG standards, financial accounting, and reporting requirements. Many organizations have been challenged to rethink their production operations and air externalities to reduce emissions identified as “Green House Gases” (GHG).

One way to reduce, reuse, or recycle air emissions is to capture them and use them as raw materials for other processes. Carbon dioxide emissions can be captured and used to produce synthetic fuels, chemicals, or building materials.

Another way to reduce, reuse, or recycle air emissions is to prevent their release in the first place. This can be done by switching to cleaner energy sources, such as decentralized renewable energy, or by improving the efficiency and performance of industrial equipment and vehicles. Decentralized renewable energy and intelligent microgrids can significantly reduce current GHG emissions, cost of operations, and the risk of future environmental liabilities.

Sustainable Solutions for Wastewater Discharges

Operational wastewater discharges are either into holding ponds (for treatment) or directly into ground and surface water. Holding ponds are either treated to meet clean water standards or transported to a local wastewater treatment facility. Treatment at the holding pond or the regional wastewater treatment facilities is often effective in meeting the standards established per the respective permits and regulations.

However, as we addressed in "Institutional Challenges to Sustainable Solutions", those regulations were defined outside the context of the impacted ecosystems and the ecosystem’s biogeochemical processing capacities. In addition to the regulations not respecting the ecosystems the treated water is released into, many treatment facilities are outdated and need significant upgrades.

There are viable decentralized wastewater treatment alternatives that are mobile, modernized, and can be calibrated to cleanse wastewater to a level on par with the ecosystem's needs. Companies such as BioMicrobics, Ecofluid, and OriginClear offer these decentralized solutions. Their solutions not only provide a decentralized and scalable solution, but they are also much more energy efficient.

Sustainable Solutions for Energy Waste

Energy waste is one of the most significant waste streams from current operations. It is the energy available but not productively utilized due to linear-based mechanisms. The types of energy waste include the following:

• Standby Consumption: Vampire power or phantom load refers to the electricity consumed by electronic and electrical appliances, even when switched off or not actively used.
• Curtailed Energy: Reducing electricity generation from a power source, typically renewable energy sources like solar or wind, to maintain balance and stability within an electrical grid (or facility that operates off-grid).
• Energy Transfer Waste: The energy lost or wasted while converting one form of energy to another or transferring power from one location to another.

In addition to these energy waste types, current United States national grid systems are highly inefficient, lack resiliency, and can be high-value targets for terrorist attacks. Solutions exist to address and minimize energy waste. These solutions include decentralized renewable energy sources combined with a smart grid and circular reuse solutions.

Renewable energy solutions are growing and becoming cheaper, smart grid capabilities have been available for at least two decades, and circular reuse solutions are increasing. “Power to Gas” (P2G) solutions can convert excess electricity from any renewable resource into a gaseous fuel like hydrogen.

I have been exploring P2G solutions for my off-grid home, specifically replacing the current propane fuel tanks and backup generators with hydrogen tanks and backup generators.

Sustainable Solutions for Knowledge Capital Waste

Production operations personnel, including production operators, maintenance crews, manufacturing engineers, and plant engineers, are aware of production inefficiencies and waste.

Ensuring these people know the current and growing list of alternative energy, waste reuse, and recycling solutions can open and accelerate the adoption of sustainable solutions and innovations. No one desires to work in a role that pollutes the water and air they and their loved ones consume.

Yet layers of top-down management often stifle innovations and improvement opportunities due to how people are measured for that next promotion. In these large organizations, one wins while many lose for the next step up. People frequently give up because they realize their ideas or insights are not being heard. Organizations must shift the monarch-based, top-down and win-lose management paradigm to accelerate adoption and innovation in sustainable solutions.

Conclusion

We, as stakeholders, have the capability to migrate multiple industries' production operations to sustainable operations. The most critical requirement to accelerate that migration is courage from the executive and political leadership. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of momentum is lost due to executives' more focused focus on when their vestments fully mature, who controls their board of directors, or when the political leader's next election cycle is.

A more sustainable world necessitates technological innovations, organizational, and cultural transformations. Organizations can leverage their creativity, motivation, and expertise to devise and implement better solutions by empowering the stakeholders who work on the frontlines of environmental challenges.

This holistic community approach can also engender a sense of ownership, accountability among all stakeholders, and a shared vision for a greener future for them and their heirs. This is a shift to a win-win approach.

Organizations need to reexamine their management structures and practices to facilitate and incentivize more participation and collaboration from all levels of the workforce, business partners, and communities they operate within (or impact). Only then can they fully utilize the potential of their human capital, maximize the value of their organization and sustainable investments, and contribute to the global efforts for a sustainable future.