A process planning method for reduced carbon emissions

Abstract

Consumers, industry, and government entities are becoming increasingly concerned about the issue of environmental sustainability. With this in mind, manufacturers have begun to explore proactive means for reducing their level of resource consumption, and the amount and impact of their generated waste streams. Little research has been conducted on the development of process planning methods that consider environmental factors. In this paper, a new process planning method based on a carbon emission function model is presented that integrates both economic and environmental considerations. The proposed method consists of four steps: (1) component feature identification, (2) generation of alternative operations, (3) selection of operations with lower carbon emissions, and (4) generation of process plan based on a genetic algorithm. This method produces a comparatively ‘green’ and economical process plan. The method is demonstrated using an example part and the benefits of the method in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions are evaluated. This paper concludes with a discussion of potential approaches that can facilitate seamless integration of environmental considerations into process planning.

Keywords:

• low carbon manufacturing
• carbon emissions
• process planning
• life cycle assessment