- Topic 6: Clean Technology and Green Design
- The addition of clean-up technologies to the end of the manufacturing
- process is termed “end-of-pipe” approach.
- Outline that an initial response to reducing emission of pollutants is
adding
- clean-up technologies to the end of the manufacturing process.
6.1.5 Reasons include promoting positive impacts; ensuring neutral impact
or minimizing negative impacts through conserving natural resources, reducing
pollution and use of energy; and wastage of energy or resources.
6.1.4 Outline the reasons for clean technology. Clean technologies emerged
as a result of greater pressure for environmental protection. They generate
less pollution and waste and adopt more efficient use of energy and materials.
Smokestack industries, such as iron and steel manufacture, are heavy consumers
of raw materials and energy and are heavy polluters. State that initially
clean technology was aimed mainly at developing cleaner manufacturing
processes.
6.1.3
Examples include:
• climate changes as a result of production of greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels
• sulfur dioxide from British power stations blowing across the North Sea
to Scandinavia causing acid rain which damages forests
• the destruction of the ozone layer by the use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
gases as propellants for aerosols, as refrigerants and in the manufacture of
plastic foams, thus reducing the protection from harmful ultraviolet radiation
and increasing the incidence of skin cancer. Outline three examples of damage
to the natural environment caused by the use of technology.
6.1.2
6.1.1 Define clean technology.
6.1 Clean Technology (3h)