Page 264 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

240 Cha pte r T w e l v e

up steep inclines. According to GE, the energy dissipated in
braking a 207-ton locomotive during the course of one year is
enough to power 160 households for that year.
• NetJets, the world leader in fractional jet ownership, intro-
duced a multipronged Climate Initiative in 2007, including
goals to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emis-
sions from aircraft operations. To catalyze technological change
in business aviation, NetJets is sponsoring the Next Genera-
tion Jet Fuel Project at Princeton University along with the
University of California, Davis. The project is addressing tech-
nology and policy issues related to coprocessing coal and bio-
mass along with carbon capture and storage, with the aim of
producing an alternative jet fuel source with near-zero green-
house gas emissions.
• When Airbus recently designed a new long-range airplane
designed to carry up to 800 passengers, achieving the fuel
consumption target posed a major challenge. To reduce the
weight of the aircraft to meet fuel consumption requirements,
engineers needed lightweight composite materials. Airbus
worked with DuPont to develop a new lightweight, high-
®
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strength material made of Kevlar and Nomex aramid pa -
pers. Boeing is also optimizing weight, strength, safety, and
fuel efficiency with this new material in its 787 aircraft. Reduc-
tion of greenhouse gas emissions can be as much as 12 mil-
lion pounds per year based on the industry’s annual fuel
consumption.
• Pratt &Whitney, a division of United Technologies, launched
®
a service business in 2004 called EcoPower that offers envi-
ronmentally friendly on-airframe engine washing. The ser-
vice reduces engine fuel burn by as much as 1.2 percent,
eliminates three pounds of carbon dioxide emissions for every
pound of fuel saved, and decreases exhaust gas temperature
by as much as 15 degrees Celsius, improving both perfor-
mance and flying range. EcoPower uses a closed-loop sys-
®
tem with pure, atomized water, which is more effective and
much faster than traditional engine washing processes and
avoids potential contaminant runoff.
• The concept of car sharing, which began in Europe in the late
1980s, has now cropped up in many U.S. cities. This service
offers a convenient alternative to car ownership and enables
people to use the most effective combination of motor vehi-
cles, walking, biking, or public transportation. The largest
provider in the United States, Zipcar, claims that each of its
cars replaces over 15 privately owned vehicles, thus reliev-
ing congestion and changing the urban landscape. Besides