Research

To improve the environmental performance of industries, an integral methodology is required that assesses the environmental impacts associated with the product, services or processes from ‘cradle’ to ‘grave’. Currently, the links between the location and duration of activities, their resultant impacts and the responsible parties are poorly characterised. The research in this area develops methodologies that address the complexity of structuring analysis of the product chain at different geographical and time scales and which address the environmental impacts in each of the activities and makes trade-offs between their impacts explicit. Recent research focuses on the effects of coupled industrial networks, in which resources, products or services can have more than one functionality and in which the environmental performance is a function of an expanded and more complex system. Further expansions of this research area include the explicit consideration of economic and social performance of the complex industrial systems and the inclusion of both technical and value uncertainty in the development of modelling tools. The methodologies can be used to inform technology selection, overall process design, optimisation of existing operations within the industry and governmental policy analysis for enhanced resource efficiency.

Complex decisions typically require the consideration of different perspectives, the satisfaction of multiple objectives, and the management of extensive uncertainties of diverse nature.
This calls for more sustainable practices and requires engineers to extend their realm of consideration and influence beyond the technical and economic, to include, amongst others, environmental, social and (even) political aspects, and to extend the boundary for planning and decision making both temporally and spatially.

The aim of this research is to investigate and develop decision support methodology for the resolution of complex decisions of relevance to decision makers in the private sector with a specific focus on “environmental decisions”, i.e. decisions pertaining to activities and their interactions with the social and biophysical environment. Of specific interest are those environmental decisions made by engineers and technical specialists, or those to which they provide input, and which are typically framed in terms of a finite number of alternatives. These decisions typically require the consideration of different perspectives, the satisfaction of multiple objectives, and the management of extensive uncertainties of diverse nature. In doing so, this research field aims to assist private sector decision makers, and engineers/technical specialists in particular, to respond more effectively to the challenges posed by the need for more sustainable practices.

Whereas the DSF project focussed on the development of methodology and tools to support decision making in situations where an industrial or governmental organisation is the sole decision maker (although the perspectives of other parties may be considered), the goal of this research project is to develop methodology and tools to support strategic decision making with regard to situations where the organisation is engaged in or wishes to enter into collaborative and competitive relationships with other parties, and where it may be subject to external pressures which influence strategic decision making, such as legislative pressures or societal expectations.

In order to analyse and assess the complexity of such industrial networks, an aggregated perspective of industry is inadequate and disaggregated approaches are required to develop the necessary understanding of strategic behaviour of the various agents in the networks. However, in such complex situations strategic behaviour is informed by bounded rationality, values and norms and routines developed through previous learning and adaptation. Therefore, an analytical framework is developed that explicitly captures the qualitative features of industrial networks. This framework is integrated with a modelling approach which engages explicitly with both the features of the network, and the objectives of the analysis. In particular, the use of multi-criteria decision analysis to guide decisions by agents within the network is highlighted.

The focus is on the design and operation of processes for waste minimisation and cleaner production over the complete materials' life cycle - i.e., from 'cradle to grave'. Examples of processes under development include improved methods of solids formation by precipitation from aqueous solutions - and improvements in solid/liquid separation, biological processes for metals recovery from aqueous solutions and electrolytic purification of wastewaters. More specifically, deterministic models of leachate generation and mobility for granular minerals processing waste are being developed to assist in the prediction of long term environmental liability associated with waste disposal practices. Secondly, sophisticated modelling tools are developed for the design of industrial processes that allow for maximum flexibility and the incorporation of both environmental and economic considerations.