The ImpEE Project: Improving Engineering Education

Slide

To deal with environmental impact at the production phase properly we must seek to minimize the energy, the CO₂ burden or some other eco-indicator value per unit of function.
The masses of five competing container-types, the material of which they are made, and the specific energy content of each are listed in this frame Their production involves moulding or deformation; approximate energies for each are listed. All five of the materials can be recycled.
The bottom row gives the result, calculated from the data in the rows above. The steel can is the most energy-efficient, followed by polyethylene. Glass, although it has the lowest energy per kg of material, has a much higher energy per unit of function (almost as high as aluminum) because glass bottles are so heavy.

The ImpEE Project