Standard representations for sustainability characterization of industrial processes

Area of Science:

• Manufacturing Engineering
• Sustainability Science
• Industrial Ecology

Background:

• Accurate resource measurement is crucial for sustainability assessments.
• Manufacturing represents a significant portion of energy consumption in the US.
• Reducing manufacturing energy and material use offers substantial energy independence benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe ASTM's new guide for characterizing environmental aspects of manufacturing processes.
• To demonstrate the guide's utility in structuring data for sustainability analysis.
• To showcase the application of the guide through industrial use cases.

Main Methods:

• Development of a generic representation for manufacturing processes.
• Linking multiple unit process representations for system-level analysis.
• Utilizing a simulation model with composed data to assess manufacturing sustainability.

Main Results:

• The guide provides a structured approach to characterizing manufacturing processes.
• Data composed using the guide is effective for descriptive purposes.
• Simulation models using this data can accurately assess manufacturing system sustainability.

Conclusions:

• The ASTM guide enhances the ability to accurately assess and improve production process sustainability.
• The guide facilitates structured data composition for manufacturing process characterization.
• Simulation based on the guide's principles aids in evaluating manufacturing system sustainability.