MANUFACTURING PROCESSES MODELING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Pursuing clean production and the manufacturing of green products are very beneficial in the alleviation of environmental burdens. In order to reap such benefits, a life-cycle analysis should be applied for all products and processes. Thus, establishing an assessment model for ma nufacturing processes in terms of environmental impact is necessary fo r quantitative evaluation of product design. In this paper, an assessm ent methodology is developed on the basis of the 'material balance' of a process and the relationship amongst different processes. As a resu lt, the amount of solid waste generated, the energy consumed, the wast e-water incurred as well as the level of noise are obtained. A case st udy of the production of a toy train with twelve scenarios is performe d to illustrate and examine the assessment model, this study showing t hat the number of components, the selection of materials and processes , and recyclability are the essential factors to determine whether the products are environmentally-oriented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.