Industrial ecology at factory level: A prototype methodology

TY - JOUR

T1 - Industrial ecology at factory level

T2 - A prototype methodology

AU - Despeisse, Mélanie

AU - Ball, Peter D.

AU - Evans, Steve

AU - Levers, Andy

N1 - © IMechE 2012. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2012/10/1

Y1 - 2012/10/1

N2 - The concept of sustainable manufacturing is a form of pollution prevention that integrates environmental considerations in the production of goods while focusing on efficient resource use. Taking the industrial ecology perspective, this efficiency comes from improved resource flow management. The assessment of material, energy and waste resource flows, therefore, offers a route to viewing and analysing a manufacturing system as an ecosystem using industrial ecology biological analogy and can, in turn, support the identification of improvement opportunities in the material, energy and waste flows. This application of industrial ecology at factory level is absent from the literature. This article provides a prototype methodology to apply the concepts of industrial ecology using material, energy and waste process flows to address this gap in the literature. Various modelling techniques were reviewed and candidates selected to test the prototype methodology in an industrial case. The application of the prototype methodology showed the possibility of using the material, energy and waste resource flows through the factory to link manufacturing operations and supporting facilities, and to identify potential improvements in resource use. The outcomes of the work provide a basis to build the specifications for a modelling tool that can support those analysing their manufacturing system to improve their environmental performance and move towards sustainable manufacturing.

AB - The concept of sustainable manufacturing is a form of pollution prevention that integrates environmental considerations in the production of goods while focusing on efficient resource use. Taking the industrial ecology perspective, this efficiency comes from improved resource flow management. The assessment of material, energy and waste resource flows, therefore, offers a route to viewing and analysing a manufacturing system as an ecosystem using industrial ecology biological analogy and can, in turn, support the identification of improvement opportunities in the material, energy and waste flows. This application of industrial ecology at factory level is absent from the literature. This article provides a prototype methodology to apply the concepts of industrial ecology using material, energy and waste process flows to address this gap in the literature. Various modelling techniques were reviewed and candidates selected to test the prototype methodology in an industrial case. The application of the prototype methodology showed the possibility of using the material, energy and waste resource flows through the factory to link manufacturing operations and supporting facilities, and to identify potential improvements in resource use. The outcomes of the work provide a basis to build the specifications for a modelling tool that can support those analysing their manufacturing system to improve their environmental performance and move towards sustainable manufacturing.

KW - energy

KW - industrial ecology

KW - manufacturing ecosystem

KW - material flow

KW - modelling methodology

KW - resource flow

KW - Sustainable manufacturing

KW - waste

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870461035&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0954405412449937

DO - 10.1177/0954405412449937

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84870461035

SN - 0954-4054

VL - 226

SP - 1648

EP - 1664

JO - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture

JF - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture

IS - 10

ER -