Application of participatory design and open source to a sustainable proposal for sorption reactor design

An implementation proposal that seeks to globalize the scope of the sustainable technologies developed in the University laboratories is presented. This approach uses the generation of triple-impact projects placing people at the center of technological development to bring technical and scientific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental management 2023-10, Vol.344, p.118630-118630, Article 118630
Main Authors: Suárez Peña, S., Willson, V., Alonso, A., Caracciolo, N., Boeykens, S., Piol, M.N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Human scale development
Parametric design
Participatory design
Service design
Technology transfer
Water treatment
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Summary:An implementation proposal that seeks to globalize the scope of the sustainable technologies developed in the University laboratories is presented. This approach uses the generation of triple-impact projects placing people at the center of technological development to bring technical and scientific knowledge into a service design oriented to global sustainable solutions. This research is an approach to what a hub for scientific research, technological implementation, and human needs would look like by designing common environments in which to interact and expand knowledge in an iterated way through the experience of all the actors involved in technological implementation. As a control case, a new technology developed at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, consisting of using sustainable materials as tubular reactor fillers for water treatment was chosen. Based on data obtained within the framework of a University extension project, in which the water quality diagnosis for human consumption was carried out and cross-examined with the mathematical analysis of sorption, design parameters of the reactor, participatory design, and open source concepts application, different virtual environments were generated with distinct objectives: i) open design environment: publishing and mapping of installed sorption reactors, reactor model plans, and useful information related to drinking water quality (aimed at contributors of the open source design environment); ii) platform for academic actors linking: connecting data between prototyping lab for participatory design of sorption reactors (aimed at university research users); iii) information disclosure page: space where the implemented technology impact is displayed and shows options to contact researchers and request a reactor design diagnosis for another community (aimed at beneficiary users). A technological service designed to link the University with the community was proposed, by resolving one of the main gaps related to the possibility for communities to access public financing for self-managed improvement projects, increasing the appropriation of the adopted technology and democratizing public investment, making it sustainable over time. [Display omitted] •A sustainable technology implementation requires a human-centered design vision.•Participatory design of sorption reactors increases the growth and adaptability of the technology developed in academia.•For sustainable technology implementation, active participat
ISSN:0301-4797
1095-8630
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118630