Sustainable Process Design Research Articles

Multi-Stage Stochastic Programming Under Endogenous Uncertainty of Integrated Sustainable Chemical Process Design and Expansion Planning

Multi-Stage Stochastic Programming Under Endogenous Uncertainty of Integrated Sustainable Chemical Process Design and Expansion Planning

Widening the Stimuli-Responsiveness of Aqueous Biphasic Systems by Changing the Ionic Liquid Cation Basicity.

Herein we demonstrate the formation of new stimuli-responsive aqueous biphasic systems (ABS), able to respond simultaneously to temperature and pH, or just to one stimulus, therefore allowing the design of more sustainable separation processes. This dual behavior is achieved with ABS formed by mono- or dicationic protic ionic liquids as phase-forming components, being defined by the ionic liquid cation chemical structure or its basicity. While ABS comprising monocationic ionic liquids only respond to the effect of temperature, systems comprising dicationic ionic liquids are simultaneously affected by both temperature and pH variations. Dicationic ionic liquids are here identified as the key to unlock a double response to stimuli, which is due to the presence of two pKa values afforded by the cation. The reported findings contribute to increase the customizability of double stimuli-responsive ABS based on ionic liquids, whose development was up to date limited to ionic liquids bearing pH-responsive anions, opening the door towards the development of more sustainable separation processes.

Assessment of Nylon-6 Depolymerization for Circular Economy: Kinetic Modeling, Purification, Sustainable Process Design, and Industrial Practice

Assessment of Nylon-6 Depolymerization for Circular Economy: Kinetic Modeling, Purification, Sustainable Process Design, and Industrial Practice

Sustainable industrial process design for derived CO2 adsorbent from municipal solid wastes: Scale-up, techno-economic and parametric assessment

Climate change and carbon emissions attributed to anthropogenic activities is getting alarming dimensions. On the other hand, the overwhelming progress of industrialization and urbanization contributed to an explosion in the municipal solid waste (MSW), as one of the other global challenges. However, developing a cost-effective adsorbent with appealing textural properties for CO2 capture is still one of the main challenges. Lately, carbon-based solid waste materials of biogenic origin have received a major interest to this end, owing to the renewability, availability and low-cost. Routinely, academic research mainly focuses on lab-scale development of activated carbons derived from waste materials. However, there is a significant gap concerning the industrial production of activated carbon from such materials. Accordingly, in this work, an industrial plant has been designed for producing activated carbon derived from digestate of MSWs in the industrial scale by presenting all scale-up details, engineering assumptions and process specifications. The results indicated that the plant has a potential to process 90,273 ton MSW annually, which consumes 1367.8 MWh net electricity and 20,134.4 GJ net heat, also produces 4788.10 ton CO2 adsorbent, per year. The economic assessment specified that the plant capital cost is around $14.112 million with the net price of 0.61 $/kg for produced activated carbon. Further, the sensitivity analysis and parametric study determined that the sample level in the drum is the determinative parameter on the energy consumption and net price of adsorbent. Finally, Response Surface Methodology was employed to maximize the plant profitability concerning the designing factors.

Exploring the Development of Photoresists in Lacquer under the Background of Global Carbon Neutrality: A Mini Review

With the establishment of a global carbon-neutral target, green and sustainable design concepts, materials, and processes have become the key to scientific and technological innovation, which highlights the development and utilization of environmentally-friendly materials and renewable energy sources. At present, almost all the raw materials in commercial photoresist are from oil resources. In order to implement the policy of “green chemistry”, there is an urgent need to take the place of petroleum with renewable, biodegradable, and green biomass resources in photoresist production. As a kind of green and natural high polymer material from China, lacquer has excellent physical and chemical properties and has great application potential in the field of electronics. In this paper, the potential connections between photoresist and lacquer, especially in the green development of photoresist, are sorted out. The introduction of lacquer and its derivatives may help to improve the environmentally-friendly production of photoresist and its performance. Therefore, in the context of global carbon neutrality, the study of photoresists in the “lacquer” is of great significance in promoting the application of eco-friendly materials in the field of microelectronics.

A multi reaction kinetic model to describe the enzymatic transesterification reaction of jatropha oil using a fermented solid containing lipases

The advancement of more precise tools for sustainable process design in enzymatic biodiesel synthesis from renewable sources is crucial. Kinetics of solvent-free transesterification reactions were conducted across a temperature spectrum from 30 °C to 60 °C, utilizing Jatropha curcas oil (TG) and ethanol as substrates, alongside a fermented solid by Rhizopus homothallicus as the biocatalyst. The dynamics of chemical species concentrations were monitored through High-performance Thin-Layer Chromatography. Maximum productivities were achieved at 35 °C and 60 °C for biodiesel (293.24 and 299.02 g kg biocat−1 h−1, respectively), at 40 °C for diglycerides (1018.36 g kg biocat−1 h−1), and at 35 °C for monoglycerides (560.75 g kg biocat−1 h−1). Maximum yields were determined at 30 °C for fatty acid ethyl esters (0.56 g gTG−1), and at 40 °C for diglycerides (0.53 g gTG−1) and monoglycerides (0.30 g gTG−1). Based on the experimental findings, a kinetic model was formulated encompassing three reversible transesterification reactions. Individual reactions were structured following classical biochemical kinetics, inclusive of ethanol inhibition. Model fitting was executed through non-linear multivariable regression techniques, with the minimum of the average coefficient of variation of the residuals (ACVR) serving as the objective function. The resulting fit of the kinetic model to the experimental data proved satisfactory, with an ACVR of less than 5 % across all instances. Notably, the maximum biodiesel productivity, obtained in this work, represented the highest value, compared to other related studies, using a fermented solid as a biocatalyst.

Innovation through co-creation: a case study on the creation of new sustainable healthcare PPE clothing designs, integrating 3D digital technologies

Purpose The purpose of this study was to address a gap in the current literature by examining the integration of 3D digital prototyping technology in the co-creation process of new sustainable and multi-functional healthcare PPE clothing design in collaboration with real users. Design/methodology/approach Within the user-centered design framework, 35 participants from major hospitals, along with fashion college students in New York City, actively engaged in the co-creation innovation process for this research. Data collection and analysis were conducted through interview-based qualitative analysis, using the content analysis method. Findings The results highlight the effectiveness of integrating 3D digital prototyping technologies in the co-creation innovation process in achieving all research objectives, including fulfilling users’ health care PPE clothing needs. Originality/value This case study presents an example of co-creation innovation in collaboration with actual industry users, exploring the effectiveness of 3D digital prototyping for the co-creation process. The findings of this study can be used to formulate future research studies.

Sustainable process design and multi-objective optimization of efficient and energy-saving separation of xylene isomers via extractive distillation based on double extractants

The focus of the chemical industry on environmental protection and energy conservation has driven the development of green distillation technology. Xylene isomers are extensively utilized industrial raw materials, whose separation is challenging and energy-intensive due to their closely similar boiling points. Therefore, it is urgent to develop energy-saving and environmental protection technology. In this paper, an energy-saving and environmental protection process for separating the xylene isomers by extractive distillation was designed combing the vapor recompression process with feed preheating (VRAPFP). The parameters of extractive distillation processes were synthetically optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) with total annual cost (TAC), CO2 emission (ECO2) and separation efficiency (Eext) as the objective evaluation indexes. The economical optimal process was used further for VRAPFP design through heat integration to reduce energy consumption, and all the designed candidate processes were synthetically analyzed, compared and evaluated with performance indexes. Results show that the VRAPFP process has superior economic efficiency and ecological sustainability compared with the existing distillation process, wherein the TAC and ECO2 are reduced by 14.2 % and 30.2 %, respectively. This work provides a new reference and idea for separating xylene isomers with the economy and developing new processes for energy conservation and environmental protection.

Simultaneous Life Cycle Assessment and Process Simulation for Sustainable Process Design

Simultaneous Life Cycle Assessment and Process Simulation for Sustainable Process Design

Advanced sustainable interior design concept as methodological approach in the process of architectural design

Implementation of sustainable interior design in contemporary buildings is one of the most important parts of architectural design. Scientific research has shown that there is a meaning of incorporation of sustainable advanced interior design, and that the sociocultural, environmental, biophilic effects that this type of interior design has, can be manifested by physiological and emotional aspects of people in the interior design. In the analysis of the sustainable advanced interior design process, it is necessary to identify and define the phases and methods in interior design. The methods in the design process are focused on: divergence (exploration of possibilities and limitations by critical thinking, through qualitative and quantitative research methods for creating new activities towards better sustainable interior design solutions, transformation (redefining specifications for sustainable design solutions for traditional and contemporary design), convergence (analysis of prototypes of possible scenarios for better design solutions leading to gradual or significantly improved design solutions), sustainability (managing the research process, and redefining sustainable design solution prototypes over time), articulation (visual relationships between parts and the whole unit). Sustainable interior design includes several phases, such as information phase, analysis of specific requirements, specification, problem solving, presentation, idea development, implementation and evaluation of the project. Specific attention in this research has been paid to analysis of sustainable advanced interior design, as a concept of combining natural environment with interior design organization by minimal interior design, flexible interior design, ecological interior design and green interior design, The concept and the principles of sustainable interior design, sustainable green wall system and its benefits in aesthetics and usability of green space, natural look in sustainable advanced interior design, environmental values, biophilia, that create natural environment, increase productivity for the workers and costumers of interior design, define cultural and social values as integral part of the cultural environment, social interaction and artistic presentation. The expected outcome in this scientific paper is to identify contemporary design approaches in sustainable interior architectural design with specific emphasis on green technologies that contribute to the aesthetics and architectural concept of buildings and create application in international educational processes.

An Integrated Building Information Modeling and Life-Cycle Assessment Approach to Facilitate Design Decisions on Sustainable Building Projects in Canada

In the context of the digital and sustainable transformation of building projects, the integrated approach of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely studied. Recent advancements in such integrated modeling processes and techniques have not yet provided reliable and robust decision-making capabilities for designers to intuitively choose between material alternatives. This study develops a new design framework that integrates BIM, LCA, and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) algorithms to facilitate sustainable design processes in building projects. A case study using a single-family housing project in the British Columbia province of Canada was implemented to test the designs to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed integrated framework, including a three-way comparison of design scenarios—conventional hot-roll steel, recycled steel, and timber. The results indicate a significant performance improvement with the adoption of recycled structural steel materials, surpassing conventional steel designs and demonstrating a similar performance to that of timber designs. The study underscores the importance of informed decision-making in material selection, driven by the quantitative analysis of digital designs and multi-criteria evaluation (e.g., social carbon cost). This integrated framework offers a valuable tool for designers, engineers, and builders to achieve sustainability when designing building projects through the systematic and rapid comparison of environmental performance.

Design of 3D-Printed Heterogeneous Reactor Systems To Overcome Incompatibility Hurdles when Combining Metal and Enzyme Catalysis in a One-Pot Process.

Combining chemo- and biocatalysis enables the design of novel economic and sustainable one-pot processes for the preparation of industrial chemicals, preferably proceeding in water. While a range of proofs-of-concept for the compatibility of such catalysts from these two different "worlds of catalysis" have recently been demonstrated, merging noncompatible chemo- and biocatalysts for joint applications within one reactor remained a challenge. A conceptual solution is compartmentalization of the catalytic moieties by heterogenization of critical catalyst components, thus "shielding" them from the complementary noncompatible catalyst, substrate or reagent. Exemplified for a one-pot process consisting of a metal-catalyzed Wacker oxidation and enzymatic reduction as noncompatible individual reactions steps, we demonstrate that making use of 3D printing of heterogeneous materials containing Cu as a critical metal component can overcome such incompatibility hurdles. The application of a 3D-printed Cu-ceramic device as metal catalyst component allows an efficient combination with the enzyme and the desired two-step transformation of styrene into the chiral alcohol product with high overall conversion and excellent enantioselectivity. This compartmentalization concept based on 3D printing of heterogenized metal catalysts represents a scalable methodology and opens up numerous perspectives to be used as a general tool also for other related chemoenzymatic research challenges.

Jinshin no hana as a communication strategy in batik tulis community development

Communication is of utmost importance in community development. Frequently, local community members find themselves marginalised from the communication processes integral to the advancement of their respective regions. As a result, they may fail to derive advantages from developmental initiatives and could fall prey to these transformations' repercussions. Employing the Jinshin no Hana approach as a communication strategy, the batik community in Pengilon Village is cultivated with a predominant emphasis on the local populace as the primary agents of change. Researchers serve as supporting components and facilitators for positive change. This approach is implemented through the utilisation of analytic area mapping and stakeholder analysis. Area mapping begins with assessing existing potentials by touring the village alongside local stakeholders to collect valuable initial data to be discussed with the stakeholders to formulate development ideas, followed by prioritisation using the pairwise method to be employed in the implementation phase. The implementation of Jinshin no Hana in Pengilon Village provides opportunities for the local community to actively engage in conveying ideas and the community's vision to the target audience. This serves as the groundwork for establishing a sustainable visual communication design process for Pengilon Village. This research can serve as a reference for future studies, emphasising the importance of not side-lining the local community as the primary figures in village development and the necessity to avoid assuming the role of instructors for them.

Editorial: Artificial intelligence-assisted design of sustainable processes

Editorial: Artificial intelligence-assisted design of sustainable processes

Virtual Laboratory in Mixed Reality with 3D Modelling for Sustainable Design

Immersive experiences through Mixed Reality (MR) are revolutionizing the way people connect and interact with each other and things around them. MR is the umbrella term that binds all spatial computing technologies which blends real and virtual environments. It holds the potential to provide things beyond imagination while simultaneously making deeper and more meaningful engagement possible. A new engineer to be equipped with the know-how of an OP (Operational Procedure) of machinery, this virtual laboratory helps to know the intricate details of the machinery and tools. The virtual laboratory combines the use of MR technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), with advanced 3D modeling tools. This virtual laboratory has the potential to revolutionize the sustainable design process by providing an immersive and flexible platform for experimentation, analysis, and collaboration. This project focuses on helping the user to visualize the machine (i.e., Single Drum Piston) and its functionalities through an immersive experience and understand the visual empathy of it. Through 3D Modelling technology, Plane detection and algorithms written with C# script we built this solution with the incorporation of Autodesk Maya and Unity Game Engine. The built solution can be experienced immersive by viewing it through a mobile placed in a headset (Aryzon Headset). This MR experience provides realistic virtual presentations which eases learning of complex modules while analytics ensure understanding of outcomes. It can empower designers and researchers to explore innovative design solutions, optimize resource utilization, and ultimately contribute to the development of more sustainable built environments. This can be incorporated in various other fields like automobile manufacturing, machine industries, construction tool manufacturing, real estate buildings & landscapes, home appliances and furniture, interior design, medical institution, and educational institutions.

Forward to the Primitive. New Sustainable Design Processes Characterized by Primitive Aesthetic

What will Design become if the object disappears, sublimating itself into the most sustain-able expression of form, that is its absence? As part of a wider theoretical research on new models of effective product design, we want to emphasize how the growing integration of ethical and environmental sensibilities leads to an often-primitive approach to design that is capable of catalyzing concrete actions and triggering a new accessible aesthetic for the public. What emerges is a process of progressive disappearance of the object in user practices, replaced by more intangible qualities and value components (ethical, cultural, ideological dimensions of the project), which are also investigated and enjoyed through new unexpected media supports such as videos, films, ambient happenings. This process sees the center of content production shift toward the market or the public and its “peripheries,” where a more natural instinctive and direct approach is often expressed in an essential, primitive language.

Sustainable process design for heat exchanger network considering inherent safety and process economics

AbstractProcess lifecycle has several stages, including process design covered in multiple stages. Process economics is a vital factor in finalizing the process design. Besides economics, inherent safety is an important concept contributing to sustainable process design generation. The inherent safety concept has been applied via equipment characteristics for individual equipment. Since a method considering inherent safety with equipment aspects and process economics has not been available, therefore, a new method has been proposed, namely sustainable process design for heat exchanger network (SPDHEN), to integrate inherent safety, equipment aspects, and process economics. SPDHEN uses indexing to identify the critical heat exchanger, which is then examined via hazard analysis for an explosion. For unacceptable hazards, inherent safety principles are engaged to generate design alternatives for which process economics is examined too. The final design would be inherently safer with the best profit margin. The proposed method has been studied for the ammonia synthesis loop. It is concluded that the explosion hazard has been reduced to a tolerable level by using inherent guide words with a marginal compromise on quantity of ammonia produced, that is, 0.32%. This method is straightforward and can be useful for process engineers to generate sustainable process designs for heat exchanger networks considering safety and process economics simultaneously.

Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Steam-Free and Steam-Based Specimens Made of Expanded Polypropylene Beads.

Reducing the CO2 emissions of plastic parts is crucial in terms of sustainable product and process designs. Approaches include the use of recycled materials and reducing the energy demands of processes through more efficient technologies. In this context, this study shows the potential of the steam-free processing of particle foam beads into thin-walled moulded parts. Expanded polypropylene (EPP) particle foam beads have been processed in both a steam-free and steam-based process. For this purpose, specimens with different part densities and thicknesses were produced, the mechanical properties were investigated, and the surface quality was discussed. Specimens made of EPP with a part thickness of 5 to 20 mm and part densities of 60 to 185 g/L were produced steam-free. Lower part thicknesses and higher densities increase the mechanical properties. As the density increased, the homogeneity of the surfaces of the steam-free specimens also increased. In comparison, specimens with a thickness of 10 mm and part densities of 35 to 90 g/L were produced on a steam-based process. The results of the mechanical test were compared with those of the steam-free specimens. The steam-based specimens showed higher mechanical properties for the same density.

Sustainable Design Process Management in a VUCA-World – A Survey on Risk and Technical Change Management in Automotive Industry

Being sustainable is one of today’s greatest challenges in the design process for the automotive industry. Upcoming trends in market and technology, disruptive changes (i.e., autonomous driving) as well as VUCA-factors aggravate the demand for flexibility, resilience, and sustainability in a system development. Sustainability in engineering and product design also requires corresponding processes to establish a framework and moreover a guideline.This exploration represents results out of a survey as part of a wider research. The investigation is based on state-of-the-art literature resulting in an empirical study. Objective is the development of a sustainable process orientated method for risk and technical change management for system development projects in a VUCA-world. The considered aspects are complexity, (re-) action, quality, Generic Systems Engineering, and VUCA. The involvement of a transdisciplinary system development team supports the creation of a powerful method: Combining experiences, different perspectives, as well as considering existing pain points and hints of optimisation potentials. In summary, this elaboration presents information on the current situation as well as applicability of defined aspects for a powerful method.Concluding, this publication provides information on the considering elements to design a sustainable process model for risk and technical change management, for system developments in automotive industry.

Defect-Engineering-Mediated Long-Lived Charge-Transfer Excited-State in Fe-Gallate Complex Improves Iron Cycle and Enables Sustainable Fenton-Like Reaction.

Fenton reactions are inefficient because the Fe(II) catalyst cannot be recycled in time due to the lack of a rapid electron transport pathway. This results in huge H2 O2 wastage in industrial applications. Here, it is shown that a sustainable heterogeneous Fenton system is attainable by enhancing the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) excited-state lifetime in Fe-gallate complex. By engineering oxygen defects in the complex, the lifetime is improved from 10-90 ps. The lengthened lifetime ensures sufficient concentrations of excited-states for an efficient Fe cycle, realizing previously unattainable H2 O2 activation kinetics and hydroxyl radical (• OH) productivity. Spectroscopic and electrochemical studies show the cyclic reaction mechanism involves in situ Fe(II) regeneration and synchronous supply of oxygen atoms from water to recover dissociated Fe─O bonds. Trace amounts of this catalyst effectively destroy two drug-resistant bacteria even after eight reaction cycles. This work reveals the link among LMCT excited-state lifetime, Fe cycle, and catalytic activity and stability, with implications for de novo design of efficient and sustainable Fenton-like processes.