Incorporating life cycle assessment and ecodesign tools for green chemical engineering: A case study of competences and learning outcomes assessment

Abstract

Chemical engineers assume a broad range of functions in industry, spanning the development of new process designs, the maintenance and optimization of incumbent systems, and the production of intermediate materials, final products and new technologies. The technical aptitude that enables chemical engineers to fulfill these various roles along the value chain makes them compelling participants in the environmental assessment of the product in question. Therefore, the introduction of life cycle assessment (LCA) and ecodesign concepts into the chemical engineering curriculum is essential to help these future professionals to face design problems with a holistic view of the technical, economic, social and environmental impacts of their solutions. The teaching of these and other disciplines by means of student-centered methods, based on a holistic structure, have demonstrate better teamwork and communication skills. For that reason, this paper proposes a Micro (Assess-Analyze-Act) (M-3A) model of assessment mainly focused on closing the loop of learning activities. This model has been applied to an ecodesign case study of the Master of Chemical

Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

“…This mirrors the outcome of the literature review in Section 3.1, where several authors (e.g. Margallo et al 2019;Sriraman et al 2017a, b) emphasize the importance of project-and problem-based learning approaches and others provide examples of real-life company cases being the core element of their teaching concepts (see Cosme et al 2019;Lockrey and Bissett Johnson 2013;Piekarski et al 2019).…”

“…Different authors reported the relevance of project-based learning (e.g. Lockrey and Bissett Johnson 2013 ; Margallo et al 2019 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ; Sriraman et al 2017a , b ), most of the time through a life cycle assessment project developed by the students and using one or different LCA commercial software. Some studies presented experiences with cases developed in partnership with industrial partners (Cosme et al 2019 ; Piekarski et al 2019 ).…”

“…Regarding the structure of the courses, only a few studies presented the content of the lectures in details, and/or the learning outcomes (e.g. Cosme et al 2019 ; Gilmore 2016 ; Margallo et al 2019 ; Olsen 2010 ; Roure et al 2018 ). Gilmore ( 2016 ) highlights the importance to adjust the content and level of complexity to the audience and the background of the students, but there is an evident absence of generic LCA course framework based on specific learning outcomes and teaching methods.…”

Needs Analysis of Project Based Learning (PjBL) Teaching Materials on Engineering Materials and Evaluation Procedures

“…Teachers and learning tools play an important role in students' understanding. This PjBL learning tool improves students' ability to solve science problems in everyday life [19,20].…”

Facilitation of team communication skill among engineers: an empirical study

“…Researchers like Margallo et al (2019); Zhang et al (2019) and Walther et al (2020) have raised the increasing need of improvement in interpersonal skills, communication skills and other soft skills among students of the different branches of engineering. Professional organizations like Confederation of Business Industry, Council for Higher Education (CHE), World Chemical Engineering Council (WCEC); alumni of the institution, employers' dissatisfaction and teachers' assessments all equivocate the findings of researchers.…”