Green manufacturing

Unit 3
1. 3 r s in manufacturing (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)
Minimizing the use of resources in the manufacture, distribution and use of
products consumed by society with maximum reuse, recycling and recovery has
embodied as a concept of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).
In recent days, the 3Rs principle has started to gain more attention due to the
depletion of natural resources and increase of pollution level in the environment.
The perspective of waste management has been changed. It is not viewed as a
problem but as an opportunity.
The 3R strategy sets the goal of waste reduction, reuse and recycling and
minimizing waste disposal in open dumps, rivers, flood plains and landfills and
promotes recycling of waste through mandatory segregation of waste at source as
well as creates a market for recycled products and provides incentives for recycling
of wastes.
Ex: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It recognizes waste as a resource and advocates for segregation of waste at source,
encourages emission reducing technology
The National 3R strategy directs the local government authorities to develop their
own action plans with setting up of quantifiable targets and pursue organic waste
recycling through composting, bio-gas and refused derived fuel.

2. 6 r s in sustainable manufacturing
The manufacture of a component starts with the extraction of the different
materials needed and followed by a primary material processing method, for
subsequent manufacture. These two steps, together with the design of the
component or product, integrate the pre-manufacturing (PM).

The manufacturing (M) stage will require several processes such as machining,
welding, forming and assembly.
The use (U) stage refers to the life time of the product while it is used by the
customer, including upgrades, repairs and maintenance to prolong its life time. At
the end, the post-use (PU) stage is the final processing of a product for disposal,
including disassembly and sorting of different materials and components for
further activities (i.e., reduce, recover, reuse, remanufacture, recycle, and/or
redesign). These end-of-life activities or processes identified within the post use
(PU) stage of a product, help create sustainable values for end of life
products/components and materials. Their definitions are the following:

• Reduce focuses on all stages of the product life-cycle, including the reduction on
resources, materials and energy used, and the reduction of the waste generated.

• Reuse of products or components instead of new materials in new products can

reduce, for instance, the energy and water used for the extraction.

• Recycle of products or components that otherwise are considered as waste can

further reduce the use of new/virgin materials.

• Recovery of products involves disassembly, recollection and sorting processes

for further shredding and recovery of the materials.

• Redesign of products or components involves the use of recovered materials and

resources and the knowledge and information to streamline the design of a new
generation product.

• Remanufacture of products or components involves reconditioning, repairs and

subsequent manufacture of similar or different products for reuse.

3. Green design
Design for the Environment (DfE) or EcoDesign. These terms are used
interchangeably for Green Design in practice.

“Green design” is intended to develop more environmentally benign products and

processes. The application of green design involves a particular framework for
considering environmental issues, the application of relevant analysis and synthesis
methods, and a challenge to traditional procedures for design and manufacturing.
In many past situations, environmental effects were ignored during the design
stage for new products and processes. Hazardous wastes were dumped in the most
convenient fashion possible, ignoring possible environmental damage. Inefficient
energy use resulted in high operating costs. Waste was common in material
production, manufacturing and distribution. Consumers cast aside products, usually
with only minimal re-manufacturing or recycling.

Recognition of these problems inspired environmental engineering applications to

clean up past pollution (called remediation) and ongoing waste streams (called
waste treatment). Clean ups are still needed in many cases. But design changes can
often be more effective at reducing environmental burdens and more efficient at
reducing costs than traditional “end-of-the-pipe” clean up strategies.

Some examples of such practices include:

• Solvent substitution in which single use of a toxic solvent is replaced with a

more benign alternative, such as biodegradable solvents or non-toxic
solvents. Water based solvents are preferable to organic based solvents.
• Technology change such as more energy efficient semi-conductors or motor
vehicle engines. For example, the Energy Star program specifies maximum
energy consumption standards for computers, printers and other electronic
devices. Products in compliance can be labeled with the “Energy Star.”
Similarly, “Green Lights” is a program that seeks more light from less
electricity.
• Recycling of toxic wastes can avoid dissipation of the materials into the
environment and avoid new production. For example, rechargeable nickel-
cadmium batteries can be recycled to recover both cadmium and nickel for
other uses. Ex. Accurec in West Germany is routinely recycling such
batteries using pyrometallurgical distillation.

The challenge of green design is to alter conventional design and

manufacturing procedures to incorporate environmental considerations
systematically and effectively. This requires change in these existing
 procedures. Change for any existing process is difficult. Changing design
procedures is particularly difficult because designers face many conflicting
objectives, uncertainties, and a work environment demanding speed and cost
effectiveness. Environmental concerns must be introduced in practical and
meaningful fashions into these complicated design processes. For the future,
we wish to prepare consumers and designers to think proactively about the
environment.

Some Green Design Methods and Tools

Mass balance analysis involves tracing the materials or energy in and out of an
analysis area such as a manufacturing station, a plant or a watershed. Ideally, mass
balances are based on measurements of inflows, inventories, and outflows
(including products, wastes and emissions). In actuality, all the data needed is
rarely available or even consistent.

Green Indices: How can an analyst compare a pound of mercury dumped into the
environment with a pound of dioxin? Green indices or ranking systems attempt to
summarize various environmental impacts into a simple scale. The designer or
decision-maker can then compare the green score of alternatives (materials,
processes, etc.) and choose the one with the minimal environmental impact. This
would contribute to products with reduced environmental impacts.

Design for disassembly and recycling aids Design for disassembly and recycling
(DFD/R) means making products that can be taken apart easily for subsequent
recycling and parts reuse. For example, Kodak’s ‘disposal’ cameras snap apart,
allowing 87% of the parts (by weight) to be reused or recycled. Unfortunately, the
economic costs associated with physically taking apart products to get at valuable
components and materials often exceeds the value of the materials. Reducing the
time (and thus cost) of disassembly might reverse this balance. Thus DFD/R acts
as a driver for recycling and reuse. DFD/R software tools generally calculate
potential disassembly pathways, point out the fastest pathway, and reveal obstacles
to disassembly that can be “designed out”.

Risk analysis is a means for tracing through the chances of different effects
occurring. For example, the risk of toxic emissions is estimated by estimating the
amount and type of emissions, the transport in the environment, the ecological and
human exposure, and the likely damage. All of these analysis steps are likely to be
uncertain. Risk is a useful concept for integrating effects over several media (such
as air, water and land). However, we have difficulty judging and measuring risk
particularly for low risk/high consequence actions.

Material selection and label advisors Any of several materials can produce a
particular quality component or product. However, they have different
environmental implications. Material selection guidelines attempt to guide
designers towards the environmentally preferred material. For example, Graedel
and Allenby [1995] present the following guiding principles for materials
selection:

· Choose abundant, non-toxic materials where possible.

· Choose materials familiar to nature (e.g. cellulose), rather than man-made

materials (e.g. chlorinated aromatics).

· Minimize the number of materials used in a product or process.

· Try to use materials that have an existing recycling infrastructure.

· Use recycled materials where possible. In addition to these generic guidelines,

4. Life Cycle Assessment is a systematic analysis of the environmental effects

of a new product or process. A traditional LCA consists of i) defining a
system boundary, ii) carrying out an inventory of all the materials and
energy used and all the environmental discharges resulting from the
product’s manufacture, use, and disposal within the defined boundary, iii)
carrying out an assessment of the environmental implications resulting from
the discharges and materials use identified in the inventory, and finally, iv)
carrying out an assessment of the opportunities for improvement.
 5. Green supply chain management

Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of managing the flow of goods,
data, and finances from the sourcing of raw materials to the delivery of a finished
product to the customer. The goal of SCM is to improve efficiency, quality, and
customer satisfaction.
SCM involves many activities, including:
• Sourcing: Gathering raw materials
• Design: Creating the product
• Production: Manufacturing the product
• Warehousing: Storing the product
• Shipping: Transporting the product
• Distribution: Getting the product to the customer

GSCM is defined to be the addition of green issues into supply chain management.

GSCM supply chain involves from suppliers to manufacturers, customers

and reverse logistics throughout the so called closed-loop supply chain.

Green supply chain in manufacturing industry has become the main interest.
Because evaluation and measurement of its performance is essential when
environmental issues have been addressed all over the world.

Hence, applying green concepts into manufacturing is essential to reduce

environmental impacts, enhance market competition.
.
Green sourcing

Green design
Green
marketing

Green supply chain

management

Green
Green production
distribution

Green Green
transportation warehousing