In this first issue for 2011, we would like to extend our gratitude to all our readers, reviewers and contributors for their continuing support and encouragement, and to report that, due to a sustained growth in the submission of high quality papers, our publishers have increased the number of papers that we can include in each issue. Therefore, we are publishing eight papers on a variety of themes in the first issue of volume 4 of the Journal.
We open with a paper by Ghazalli and Murata which considers the development of an evaluation system for an end-of-life selection strategy for remanufacturing. This is followed by a paper by Alimoradi et al. which considers the optimum location of a remanufacturing facility in a closed loop supply chain. The supply chain features in the paper by Bevilacqua et al., but from the perspective of a carbon footprint analysis for a textile supply chain. In the fourth paper, Shaik and Abdul-Kader consider the selection of ‘green’ suppliers from the perspective of environmental and social criteria by applying a multi-attribute utility theory approach.
Wang and Yang present an integrated intuitive system for assembly operators training and assembly process planning by combining virtual reality with motion tracking technologies in paper five. This is followed by a paper by Ghorbannezhad et al. which considers the environmental performance of a paper mill with a specific emphasis on cleaner production. The seventh paper describes the preparation of cellulose acetate ultrafiltration membranes using methyl lactate as a bio-solvent. The authors, Medina-Gonzalez et al. claim that this approach provides a ‘greener’ alternative to the current processes. In the final paper, Combe et al. assess the design of programming devices for domestic heating control from the perspective of ease of use to minimise energy consumption.
The papers are complemented by a review of the book entitled: ‘Solar thermal and biomass energy’, edited by G. Lorenzini, C. Biserni and G. Flacco.