With every dawning day, there are increasing calls for sustainability, given the climate crisis we are currently facing across different parts of the globe. Experts are continuously calling for stakeholders of various industries to adopt measures that are friendlier to Mother Earth.
For instance, in the gambling scene, iGaming platforms like Mr Bet have less environmental impact than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Nonetheless, online casinos are still encouraged to do more to increase sustainability by using renewable energy sources to power their operations and using more energy-efficient software and hardware.
Well, of all the industries that power the modern world, manufacturing is often seen as an unsustainable process, and for good reason. According to the latest data, nearly 25% of carbon emissions in the United States come from this sector. Fortunately, there is still time to fix these troubling numbers in the said industry. With that in mind, sustainable manufacturing is among the most effective steps toward improvement.
What Is Sustainable Manufacturing?
Creating products using environmentally friendly and resource-efficient strategies is a must nowadays, and that’s what this approach is all about. While some business leaders might see this approach as expensive and foresee possible challenges, the corporations that integrate it into their processes enjoy many benefits.
For example, energy efficiency efforts have saved nearly $800 billion in annual energy costs in the US and reduced energy use per household by 16% since 1980. Sustainable factories benefit Industry 4.0 by using technologies like the Internet of Things and big data to improve operations. These cutting-edge digital tools help with waste management, quality control, and better decisions.
How Is Technology Enabling Sustainability in Manufacturing
Here’s a glance at the waste-reducing innovations making the transition to sustainable processes a reality:
Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing
Chemical produces many emissions that can damage the environment. Thus, chemical industry companies are reducing carbon emissions by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
Sunthetics, a startup based in the US, is a great example. The company is working on sustainable reactor designs for chemical production. They use machine learning to boost the energy efficiency of the processes involved in making adiponitrile. This approach also helps lower greenhouse gas emissions throughout the production process. Other ground-breaking chemical industrial companies that are changing the game through sustainability include:
- Anodyne Chemistries (Canada);
- Again (Denmark);
- Oxylum (Belgium);
- DUDE CHEM (Germany).
Advanced Thermal Waste-To-Energy Technologies
Advanced thermal technologies are similar to gasification but differ in oxygen levels, heat sources, or temperatures. These adjustments make them more effective at managing certain types of waste. Pyrolysis is among the newer waste-to-energy technologies on the scene, where waste is heated to high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. However, at around 300°C (572°F), its operating temperatures are much lower than the 1,000°C (1,832°F) range for traditional gasification.
Pyrolysis creates a mix of biochar, syngas, and bio-oil. Biochar can improve farm soil, but the main product is bio-oil. This thick liquid has about half the energy of petroleum. It could be refined into renewable diesel, gasoline, or jet fuel. Moreover, while bio-oil is unstable and hard to refine, innovators in the US Department of Agriculture, for instance, are slowly but surely breaking new ground with this element.
Supercritical water gasification is another waste-to-energy technology that’s revolutionizing the industry. It’s also called hydrothermal gasification, and it essentially turns liquid waste into gas at high temperatures and pressures. This process creates a gas rich in methane, hydrogen, or both. It is particularly useful for waste with too much water for regular gasification, like sewage sludge.
Factory-As-A-Service (FaaS)
Starting a factory requires a lot of investment in capital, labor, and expertise. These requirements lead companies to outsource their manufacturing operations to stay profitable. Additionally, additive manufacturing (AM) offers a chance to reduce production time and lower costs. Startups are now creating AM-enhanced solutions known as Factory as a Service (FaaS) to improve efficiency, cut expenses, and make the industry more sustainable.
For instance, Britain-based AI Build uses additive manufacturing technologies to provide Factory-as-a-service (FaaS) solutions. The company integrates AiSync, a 3D design software, with AiMaker, a robotic tool that can 3D print quickly. AiSync also keeps everything updated in real-time with the hardware. On the other hand, the company uses AiSync to create multi-axis toolpaths and avoid slow and inefficient layer slicing.
Paperless Manufacturing
The concept of paperless industrial processes is often misunderstood. It’s not just about stopping paper use; it involves adopting paperless software and digital tools to improve efficiency and diminish waste. Manufacturers are using this method to apportion resources more wisely as it also supports broader social, environmental, and governance goals. The industrial machinery and equipment sector uses digitalization to enhance efficiency and transparency.
The Future of Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing Is Here!
Sustainable manufacturing intersects modern business practices with environmental responsibility. Companies looking to grasp the future of industry must understand the key challenges, goals, and technologies necessary for digitizing the industry. Innovations such as sustainable chemical manufacturing, waste-to-energy technologies, and paperless factories are already facilitating significant changes in how production is approached and managed.