Feeding a sustainable chemical industry: do we have the bioproducts cart before the feedstocks horse?

2017 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 11-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Dale
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Research Focus ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Feedstock Production

A sustainable chemical industry cannot exist at scale without both sustainable feedstocks and feedstock supply chains to provide the raw materials. However, most current research focus is on producing the sustainable chemicals and materials. Little attention is given to how and by whom sustainable feedstocks will be supplied. In effect, we have put the bioproducts cart before the sustainable feedstocks horse. For example, bulky, unstable, non-commodity feedstocks such as crop residues probably cannot supply a large-scale sustainable industry. Likewise, those who manage land to produce feedstocks must benefit significantly from feedstock production, otherwise they will not participate in this industry and it will never grow. However, given real markets that properly reward farmers, demand for sustainable bioproducts and bioenergy can drive the adoption of more sustainable agricultural and forestry practices, providing many societal “win–win” opportunities. Three case studies are presented to show how this “win–win” process might unfold.

scholarly journals Transparency with Blockchain and Physical Tracking Technologies: Enabling Traceability in Raw Material Supply Chains

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Angela v. Beckh Bacchetta ◽  
Volker Krümpel ◽  
Ella Cullen
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Material Supply ◽  
Digital World

By combining blockchain with physical tracking technologies, raw materials can potentially be traced throughout their global supply chains. Physical tracking technologies enable observing how raw materials move within the physical world, whereas blockchain translates these events into the digital world with an immutable record. This paper presents a taxonomy of different physical tracking technologies and examines if and how the combination of these technologies render raw material supply chains more transparent. Although academic literature highlights the theoretical benefits of combining these transformative technologies, large scale projects are still in their early stages. Following a brief literature review, this paper leverages an empirical approach to classify different tracking technologies, their fields of application and limitations, as well as how these technologies can enable supply chain transparency. Obviously, there is no single technology that can fulfil all requirements along complex supply chains. However, the relevant combination of respective technologies can help bridge gaps by increasing transparency within supply chains.

Large-Scale Automatic New Energy Resources System Controlling Temperature and Pressure

2015 ◽  
Vol 737 ◽  
pp. 30-32
Author(s):  
Xiu Xia Zhang ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Guan Nan Du ◽  
Shu Yi Wei ◽  
Rong Fan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Control Unit ◽  
Single Chip ◽  
Transmission Chain ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Mesh Cage ◽  
Temperature And Pressure ◽  
Grid Mesh

At present, the efficiency of livestock manure and crop residues is low in our country compared with international level. A massive array of automatic methane pond system is presented with controlled temperature and pressure. A single chip Micyoco( SCM) is the control unit. The motor is connected to the SCM; the transmission mechanism connected with the motor, the transmission chain is surrounded by a ring-shaped motor drive; loading of raw materials like iron grid mesh cage, rotates with the transmission chain.

The sugar and alcohol industry in the biofuels and cogeneration era: a paradigm change (part II)

2014 ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Electo Eduardo Silv Lora ◽  
Mateus Henrique Rocha ◽  
José Carlos Escobar Palacio ◽  
Osvaldo José Venturini ◽  
Maria Luiza Grillo Renó ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Process Integration ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Alcohol Industry ◽  
Feed Production ◽  
Steam Parameters

The aim of this paper is to discuss the major technological changes related to the implementation of large-scale cogeneration and biofuel production in the sugar and alcohol industry. The reduction of the process steam consumption, implementation of new alternatives in driving mills, the widespread practice of high steam parameters use in cogeneration facilities, the insertion of new technologies for biofuels production (hydrolysis and gasification), the energy conversion of sugarcane trash and vinasse, animal feed production, process integration and implementation of the biorefinery concept are considered. Another new paradigm consists in the wide spreading of sustainability studies of products and processes using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the implementation of sustainability indexes. Every approach to this issue has as an objective to increase the economic efficiency and the possibilities of the sugarcane as a main source of two basic raw materials: fibres and sugar. The paper briefly presents the concepts, indicators, state-of-the-art and perspectives of each of the referred issues.

scholarly journals Potential Benefits and Constraints of Development of Critical Raw Materials’ Production in the EU: Analysis of Selected Case Studies

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Guzik ◽  
Krzysztof Galos ◽  
Alicja Kot-Niewiadomska ◽  
Toni Eerola ◽  
Pasi Eilu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Ore Deposits ◽  
Abandoned Mines ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Cost And Benefit Analysis ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Critical Raw Materials

Major benefits and constraints related to mineral extraction within the EU have been identified on the examples of selected critical raw materials’ deposits. Analyzed case studies include the following ore deposits: Myszków Mo-W-Cu (Poland), Juomasuo Au-Co (Finland), S. Pedro das Águias W-Sn (Portugal), Penouta Nb-Ta-Sn (Spain), Norra Kärr REEs (Sweden) and Trælen graphite (Norway). They represent different stages of development, from the early/grassroot exploration stage, through advanced exploration and active mining, up to reopening of abandoned mines, and refer to different problems and constraints related to the possibility of exploitation commencement. The multi-criteria analysis of the cases has included geological and economic factors as well as environmental, land use, social acceptance and infrastructure factors. These factors, in terms of cost and benefit analysis, have been considered at three levels: local, country and EU levels. The analyzed cases indicated the major obstacles that occur in different stages of deposit development and need to be overcome in order to enable a new deposit exploitation commencement. These are environmental (Juomasuo and Myszków), spatial (Juomasuo) as well as social constraints (Norra Kärr, Juomasuo). In the analyzed cases, the most important constraints related to future deposit extraction occur primarily at a local level, while some important benefits are identified mainly at the country and the EU levels. These major benefits are related to securing long-term supplies for the national industries and strategically important EU industry sectors.

scholarly journals Using Enterprise Architecture to Integrate Lean Manufacturing, Digitalization, and Sustainability: A Lean Enterprise Case Study in the Chemical Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4851
Author(s):  
Ming-Hui Liao ◽  
Chi-Tai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Enterprise Architecture ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Business Transformation ◽  
Lean Enterprise ◽  
Architecture Framework

The chemical industry has sustained the development of global economies by providing an astonishing variety of products and services, while also consuming massive amounts of raw materials and energy. Chemical firms are currently under tremendous pressure to become lean enterprises capable of executing not only traditional lean manufacturing practices but also emerging competing strategies of digitalization and sustainability. All of these are core competencies required for chemical firms to compete and thrive in future markets. Unfortunately, reports of successful transformation are so rare among chemical firms that acquiring the details of these cases would seem an almost impossible mission. The severe lack of knowledge about these business transformations thus provided a strong motivation for this research. Using The Open Group Architecture Framework, we performed an in-depth study on a real business transformation occurring at a major international chemical corporation, extracting the architecture framework possibly adopted by this firm to become a lean enterprise. This comprehensive case study resulted in two major contributions to the field of sustainable business transformation: (1) a custom lean enterprise architecture framework applicable to common chemical firms making a similar transformation, and (2) a lean enterprise model developed to assist chemical firms in comprehending the intricate and complicated dynamics between lean manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainability.

scholarly journals Synthesis of Metal Organic Frameworks by Ball-Milling

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Cheng-An Tao ◽  
Jian-Fang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Ball Milling ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Metal Organic Frameworks ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Mass Ratio ◽  
Time Consumption ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Made In

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been used in adsorption, separation, catalysis, sensing, photo/electro/magnetics, and biomedical fields because of their unique periodic pore structure and excellent properties and have become a hot research topic in recent years. Ball milling is a method of small pollution, short time-consumption, and large-scale synthesis of MOFs. In recent years, many important advances have been made. In this paper, the influencing factors of MOFs synthesized by grinding were reviewed systematically from four aspects: auxiliary additives, metal sources, organic linkers, and reaction specific conditions (such as frequency, reaction time, and mass ratio of ball and raw materials). The prospect for the future development of the synthesis of MOFs by grinding was proposed.

scholarly journals Modeling regional impacts and resilience to water service disruptions in urban economies

2021 ◽  
pp. 239980832199870
Author(s):  
Sheree A Pagsuyoin ◽  
Joost R Santos
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Urban Region ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
National Capital Region ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
The Impact

Water is a critical natural resource that sustains the productivity of many economic sectors, whether directly or indirectly. Climate change alongside rapid growth and development are a threat to water sustainability and regional productivity. In this paper, we develop an extension to the economic input-output model to assess the impact of water supply disruptions to regional economies. The model utilizes the inoperability variable, which measures the extent to which an infrastructure system or economic sector is unable to deliver its intended output. While the inoperability concept has been utilized in previous applications, this paper offers extensions that capture the time-varying nature of inoperability as the sectors recover from a disruptive event, such as drought. The model extension is capable of inserting inoperability adjustments within the drought timeline to capture time-varying likelihoods and severities, as well as the dependencies of various economic sectors on water. The model was applied to case studies of severe drought in two regions: (1) the state of Massachusetts (MA) and (2) the US National Capital Region (NCR). These regions were selected to contrast drought resilience between a mixed urban–rural region (MA) and a highly urban region (NCR). These regions also have comparable overall gross domestic products despite significant differences in the distribution and share of the economic sectors comprising each region. The results of the case studies indicate that in both regions, the utility and real estate sectors suffer the largest economic loss; nonetheless, results also identify region-specific sectors that incur significant losses. For the NCR, three sectors in the top 10 ranking of highest economic losses are government-related, whereas in the MA, four sectors in the top 10 are manufacturing sectors. Furthermore, the accommodation sector has also been included in the NCR case intuitively because of the high concentration of museums and famous landmarks. In contrast, the Wholesale Trade sector was among the sectors with the highest economic losses in the MA case study because of its large geographic size conducive for warehouses used as nodes for large-scale supply chain networks. Future modeling extensions could potentially include analysis of water demand and supply management strategies that can enhance regional resilience against droughts. Other regional case studies can also be pursued in future efforts to analyze various categories of drought severity beyond the case studies featured in this paper.

scholarly journals A robust-heuristic optimization approach to a green supply chain design with consideration of assorted vehicle types and carbon policies under uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Homayouni ◽  
Mir Saman Pishvaee ◽  
Hamed Jahani ◽  
Dmitry Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Programming Model ◽  
Supply Chain Design ◽  
Heuristic Optimization ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Economic Uncertainty ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Sustainable Logistics ◽  
Goal Programming Model

AbstractAdoption of carbon regulation mechanisms facilitates an evolution toward green and sustainable supply chains followed by an increased complexity. Through the development and usage of a multi-choice goal programming model solved by an improved algorithm, this article investigates sustainability strategies for carbon regulations mechanisms. We first propose a sustainable logistics model that considers assorted vehicle types and gas emissions involved with product transportation. We then construct a bi-objective model that minimizes total cost as the first objective function and follows environmental considerations in the second one. With our novel robust-heuristic optimization approach, we seek to support the decision-makers in comparison and selection of carbon emission policies in supply chains in complex settings with assorted vehicle types, demand and economic uncertainty. We deploy our model in a case-study to evaluate and analyse two carbon reduction policies, i.e., carbon-tax and cap-and-trade policies. The results demonstrate that our robust-heuristic methodology can efficiently deal with demand and economic uncertainty, especially in large-scale problems. Our findings suggest that governmental incentives for a cap-and-trade policy would be more effective for supply chains in lowering pollution by investing in cleaner technologies and adopting greener practices.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document