The carbon emission comparison between hybrid manufacturing and conventional processes based on bionic computing of industrial metabolism

Abstract

Hybrid Deposition and Micro Rolling (HDMR) is a hybrid technology combining in-situ rolling with Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). With better performance in products than the conventional approach, the advantages in environmental contribution remain to be studied. Traditional methods in environmental evaluation are mostly based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which can have further refinement in a short process like HDMR. This paper proposed a bionic computing method of industrial metabolism, proactively designed the ecological index, and comprehensively evaluated the environmental impact of manufacturing system. Material and energy flows in whole processes were tracked to obtain accurate quantitative data on the energy efficiency and carbon emission scenarios of long and short process manufacturing systems. This paper took the manufacture of a titanium alloy part as an example, the CO2 metabolism and energy metabolism produced by HDMR and Conventional Manufacturing (CM) with a long process were compared. The results show that CO2 emissions of the given part deposited by HDMR is 181.29kg, and that of the same part fabricated by CM is 2612.81kg. The CO2 emission intensities of the given part by HDMR and CM are 7.17kg/kg and 95.32kg/kg respectively. The total carbon emission and emission intensity of CM are 14.41 times and 13.29 times than that of HDMR respectively. In addition, the manufacturing time of HDMR is reduced by approximately 67% comparing with CM. The material utilization rate of HDMR is 2.6 times higher than that of CM. Therefore, it can be proved that HDMR has huge advantages over conventional manufacturing processes in terms of CO2 emission efficiency and emission intensity, specific energy consumption, energy efficiency, and material utilization. It is an energy-saving, emission-reducing, sustainable green manufacturing process.