We Have Met the Future and It Is Green - Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering - page 317

low impact on the environment during extraction, manufacturing, and disposal,
be totally compostable, and be returned to the earth at the end of the life cycle.
A review of nonwood natural fibers led to research on polylactic acid (PLA).
PLA is made of glucose from agricultural crops such as corn and potatoes and
is fully biodegradable and amenable to composting. The process to produce PLA
breaks down the plant starches into natural sugars. Carbon and other elements
are used to make polylactide in a simple fermentation and separation process.
Advantages of PLA noted in Saul's research:
PLA is made of annually renewable plant resources.
Fewer fossil-fuel resources are required to produce PLA, resulting in lower
greenhouse gas emissions and lower amounts of the air and water emissions
associated with traditional plastics.
PLA is compostable and degrades fully in municipal composting facilities.
Saul identified Agri-Mixx as a potential source derived from plant residue that
is biodegradable, pliable, and malleable, is heat resistant to 150 ◦ C, and is rigid in
structure and hygienic. The rate of the biodegrading process can be controlled
in the manufacturing process to range from 12 hours to 18 months upon contact
with various fluids. [see Fig. 8.10(a)].
Substituting Agri-Mixx for cardboard as a material for toilet paper rolls provides
a biodegradable material when exposed to water, that disintegrates physically.
When crushed or broken, it can be composted in a commercial facility or in the
backyard [Fig. 8.10(b)].
HUMAN FACTORS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Several students choose to look at what can be termed “human factors” in-
novations, including strategies for addressing social justice concerns, conceiving
government incentive programs to stimulate creation of more sustainable com-
munities by the development community, and authoring educational programs
to advance sustainable practices by building awareness and knowledge. One of
these projects examined the challenge of collecting and purifying water and the
production of palm oil on the African continent and related health concerns
given current practices. Junior Civil engineering major Chinyere chose to begin
by researching the role of the palm trees native to West Africa, Elaeis guineensis ,
in everything from water collection to medicinal uses. The entire tree plays an
important role: from fronds used to cover and protect human-made wells, to
palm leaves as a food source for animals and the production of black soap, to
palm oil used in cooking, candle production, and lamps, to palm kernels as a