I.

Industrial Ecology and

Sustainability Frameworks

Industrial Ecology:
Metaphor and Systems
Analysis for Sustainability
 Biomimicry
• Nature as model
– study nature’s models and imitate designs and processes to
solve human problems
• emulating 3.8 billion years of well-adapted technology
• Nature as measure
– ecological standard to judge our innovations
• Nature as mentor
– new way of viewing and valuing nature (era based on we what
we can learn not what we can extract from nature)
• http://www.biomimicry.net/
• Case studies

Janine Benyus Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

 Nature as a model
• “The industrial ecosystem would function as an analogue of biological
ecosystems. (Plants synthesize nutrients that feed herbivores, which
in turn feed a chain of carnivores whose wastes and bodies eventually
feed further generations of plants.)” Frosch and Gallopoulous, 1989
The Story behind Velcro
 Inside the termite mound,
insects farm fungus for
consumption. This fungus must
be kept at an optimum
temperature. By carefully
adjusted convection currents
air is sucked in at the lower
part of the mound, down into
enclosures with muddy walls
and up through a channel to
the peak of the termite mound.
The termites constantly dig
new vents and plug old ones to
regulate the temperature. So, if
the air from outside the termite
mound is warmer it should
warm up the inside of the
termite mound. On the other
hand if the air is cooler it cools
the termite mound. That way,
the fungus in the mound should
be kept at an optimum
temperature and the insects in
the mound will not starve.

http://naturaledgeproject.net/BenyusTour06.aspx
Termite mounds and natural passive cooling
The Eastgate Complex, located in Harare , Zimbabwe , is a 324,000 square-foot commercial/office and shopping complex, the
largest in the country. The building is designed with two nine-story office buildings and a glazed atrium – amazingly enough
in Zimbabwe 's hot climate the buildings primary cooling system is naturally ventilated. Engineers from environmental
engineering firm Arup, led by Mick Pearce, sought inspiration for the naturally ventilated marvel from termite mounds – these
creatures require their home to remain at an exact temperature of 87 degrees Fahrenheit throughout a 24 hour daily
temperature range of 35-104 degrees Fahrenheit (night and day respectively). The solution was a passive-cooling structure
with specially designed hooded windows, variable thickness walls and light colored paints to reduce heat absorption.
Bullet Trains and birds
The 500-Series Shinkansen Japanese bullet train that runs between Tokyo and Hakata is one of the fastest trains in
the world. The challenge for the design of the Shinkansen was how to make it run quietly, learning that the owl
family is the most silent and stealthy fliers of all birds, the Shinkansen design team discovered the bird's secret in
its wing plumage. Another problem to be overcome was the noise occurring from tunnel exiting, looking into nature
for a solution to the sudden changes in air resistance creating such noise, the design team came across the
kingfisher bird. The kingfisher's specially designed beak enables it to dive from air to water (low to high resistance
mediums respectively) without splashing. Using computer modeling techniques to determine what style nose for the
Shinkansen would reduce sonic-booms in tunnels, it revealed the kingfisher beak shape to be the most ideal shape.
Learning From Chimpanzees How to Heal Ourselves

By observing how chimps and other species cope with illness,

researchers have acquired leads on plants with promising medical
applications to human health. Trees from the Vernonia genus, for
example, which chimpanzees regularly seek out when ill, have
been found to contain chemical compounds that show promise in
treating parasites such as pinworm, hookworm, and giardia in
humans.
http://www.thepaxgroup.com/technology/index.html
Solar energy capture
efficiency

= biomass energy/ solar energy

• Upper limit of 7.2% for terrestrial plants and 9.7% for aquatic
• Green algae in Thailand = 4.9%
– Annual yield of 164 t/ha-year
• Willow/hybrid poplar = 0.31 – 0.41 %
– Annual yield of 8-11 t/ha-year
 40
Multijunction
Concentrators
• Best “lab cells” shown Spectrolab NREL
36
Three-junction (2- • Modules typically ~ 60% Spectrolab
terminal, monolithic) Japan
32 Two-junction (2-terminal, of best lab cells NREL
Energy NREL/
Spectrolab
monolithic) NREL
28 Crystalline Si Cells
Efficiency (%)

Single crystal
UNSW
2 Multicrystalline Spire UNSW UNSW
Thin Film Technologies UNSW NREL
4 Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Spire Stanford
UNSW Cu(In,Ga)Se2

20 CdTe ARCO Georgia TechSharp

Georgia Tech UNSW 14x concentration
NREL
Westing- NREL NREL NREL
Varian
Amorphous Si:H house NREL
16 (stabilized) No. Carolina
University
So. Florida
NREL
NREL
Emerging PV State University Euro-CIS
ARCO Boeing
Kodak Solarex Boeing
12 Dye cells Boeing
AMETEK Photon Energy
United Solar
Organic
Matsushita cells University of
Kodak
(variousMonosolar
technologies) Boeing United Solar Lausanne
8 RCA
Boeing Solarex
Groningen
Siemens
University University of Princeton*
4 of Maine RCA
RCA Lausanne NREL
RCA RCA Cambridge*
RCA RCA Kodak* *Not NREL-confirmed UCSB* University LinzUniversity
0 Berkeley*
Linz*

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Bolko von Roedern
National Center for Photovoltaics

Efficiency = electricity generated/

solar energy input
Spider Silk
• Inputs
– flies and crickets
• Outputs
– six different silks
• draglines
• sometimes used for shrouds to wrap dead
• Processes
– raw material converted into soluble liquid protein
– extruded through spinneret as a insoluble highly
ordered fiber
Properties
• Stronger than steel
– 5x on a per mass basis
• Tougher than Kevlar
– able to absorb 5x the impact force without
breaking
• Highly elastic
– can stretch 40% in strong wind
– bungees 30% farther than nylon