scholarly journals Opportunities for Industry 4.0 to Support Remanufacturing

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 1177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Yang ◽  
Aravind M. R. ◽  
Jacek Kaminski ◽  
Helene Pepin

Remanufacturing is the process of bringing end-of-life products back to good-as-new. It plays a critical role in decoupling economic growth from growth in resource use, and in accelerating the circular economy. However, the uptake of remanufacturing activities faces obstacles. This paper reviews the challenges encountered by the remanufacturing sector and discusses how the Industry 4.0 revolution could help to effectively address these issues and unlock the potential of remanufacturing. Two case studies are included in this paper to exemplify how technology enablers from Industry 4.0 can increase efficiency, reliability, and digitization of the remanufacturing process.

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seeram Ramakrishna ◽  
Alfred Ngowi ◽  
Henk De Jager ◽  
Bankole O. Awuzie

Growing consumerism and population worldwide raises concerns about society’s sustainability aspirations. This has led to calls for concerted efforts to shift from the linear economy to a circular economy (CE), which are gaining momentum globally. CE approaches lead to a zero-waste scenario of economic growth and sustainable development. These approaches are based on semi-scientific and empirical concepts with technologies enabling 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and 6Rs (reuse, recycle, redesign, remanufacture, reduce, recover). Studies estimate that the transition to a CE would save the world in excess of a trillion dollars annually while creating new jobs, business opportunities and economic growth. The emerging industrial revolution will enhance the symbiotic pursuit of new technologies and CE to transform extant production systems and business models for sustainability. This article examines the trends, availability and readiness of fourth industrial revolution (4IR or industry 4.0) technologies (for example, Internet of Things [IoT], artificial intelligence [AI] and nanotechnology) to support and promote CE transitions within the higher education institutional context. Furthermore, it elucidates the role of universities as living laboratories for experimenting the utility of industry 4.0 technologies in driving the shift towards CE futures. The article concludes that universities should play a pivotal role in engendering CE transitions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9781
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Viles ◽  
Javier Santos ◽  
Tamara Fernández Arévalo ◽  
Martín Tanco ◽  
Florencia Kalemkerian

In a circular economy (CE) environment, it is important to make good and efficient use of resources and consider that the waste generated in production processes can be a valuable resource. However, the tools and methodologies conventionally used to analyze and evaluate production systems are based on techniques focused on linear production management models, where the primary purpose is to reduce the treatment and management of waste as much as possible and where productive and environmental efficiency are not evaluated simultaneously. Changing the paradigm from a linear to a circular economy requires that a new strategy for production systems be defined, one that makes production processes simultaneously circular and efficient (in terms of quality and productivity). In this context, a holistic vision is needed when implementing CE strategies. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to provide evidence, through two real case studies in the use of water, that the management of this resource without considering systemic thinking may not be the most circular solution. Main results showed that improvements based on the traditional approach of reducing resource use cannot provide the best results if they are supported only by current process consumption without considering the circularity of resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 1440-1446
Author(s):  
Kannikar Khaw-ngern Et al.

Circular economy (CE) was first introduced in the 1970s as an alternative economic model for replacing the traditional linear industrial economy, the take-make-use-throw approach. However, transition to a more circular economy can be challenging due to the untenable assumptions. It is viewed as a strategy enabling the ‘decoupling’ of resource use from economic growth, but there are still questions whether the CE can decouple resource use from economic growth. The purpose of this article is to study the evolution of the circular economy and the synthesis of the 10Rs hierarchy, to examine the circular economy roadmap and to review the strategies of 9Rs and the benefits of circular economy. Documentary study and literature review were used for data collection. It is found that the history of circular economy started as early as before World War II, known as closed economy. Then, the concept of circular economy evolved to CE 1.0, CE 2.0, and CE 3.0 since 2010 onward. Although 10R hierarchy (from R0-R9) was proposed to solve confusion around new conceptions of circularity, the waste-to-energy (Recovery) does not promote resource efficiency when considering the loss of value of potentially recyclable materials through combustion. Circular Economy, when successfully implemented, can clearly bring environmental, social and economic benefits. However, a CE roadmap should integrate the key stakeholders’ views on the essential developments and actions required for the transition as well as clarifies their own role in the transition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9668
Author(s):  
Divya Tiwari ◽  
Jill Miscandlon ◽  
Ashutosh Tiwari ◽  
Geraint W. Jewell

The market for electric motors is experiencing a step-growth due to their adoption across a range of industrial sectors. This increased demand also highlights the importance of end-of-life management of electric motors and a requirement for appropriate strategies for the high value materials embedded in them. This paper aims to offer a holistic view on the circular economy research for electric motors and the role of Industry 4.0 technologies by presenting the state-of-the-art available in literature and comparing it with the industrial perspective. The literature review revealed the absence of a methodology for selecting the best end-of-life scenario for industrial electric motors. Recycling, which is an end-of-product-life strategy, was found to be the key focus area of research. Reuse, which is a better strategy in terms of waste hierarchy, was the least researched area due to lack of information about the condition and availability of returned products. In order to capture the current landscape within the UK for the repair, remanufacture and recycling of electrical machines, a structured survey of UK based companies was conducted. The survey revealed that nearly half of the companies do not undertake any repair strategies for electrical machine components; however, there was an aspiration from the respondents to migrate their companies towards more sustainable activities. The industry survey and the review of existing literature led to the identification of research trends, challenges and recommendations for future research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Hinson ◽  
Aaron J. Goldsmith ◽  
Joseph Murray

This article addresses the unique roles of social work and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in end-of-life and hospice care settings. The four levels of hospice care are explained. Suggested social work and SLP interventions for end-of-life nutrition and approaches to patient communication are offered. Case studies are used to illustrate the specialized roles that social work and SLP have in end-of-life care settings.


Author(s):  
Hui Peng Ng ◽  
Ghim Boon Ang ◽  
Chang Qing Chen ◽  
Alfred Quah ◽  
Angela Teo ◽  
...  

Abstract With the evolution of advanced process technology, failure analysis is becoming much more challenging and difficult particularly with an increase in more erratic defect types arising from non-visual failure mechanisms. Conventional FA techniques work well in failure analysis on defectively related issue. However, for soft defect localization such as S/D leakage or short due to design related, it may not be simple to identify it. AFP and its applications have been successfully engaged to overcome such shortcoming, In this paper, two case studies on systematic issues due to soft failures were discussed to illustrate the AFP critical role in current failure analysis field on these areas. In other words, these two case studies will demonstrate how Atomic Force Probing combined with Scanning Capacitance Microscopy were used to characterize failing transistors in non-volatile memory, identify possible failure mechanisms and enable device/ process engineers to make adjustment on process based on the electrical characterization result. [1]


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo-Duk Kang ◽  
Cheol-Won Lee ◽  
Tae Hyun Oh ◽  
Hyun Jean Lee ◽  
Junyup Kim

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo-Duk Kang ◽  
Cheol-Won Lee ◽  
Tae Hyun Oh ◽  
Hyun Jean Lee ◽  
Junyup Kim

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 764
Author(s):  
Renato Sarc

ReWaste4.0 is an innovative and cooperative K-Project in the period 2017–2021. Through ReWaste4.0 the transformation of the non-hazardous mixed municipal and commercial waste treatment industry towards a circular economy has started by investigating and applying the new approaches of the Industry 4.0. Vision of the ReWaste4.0 is, among others, the development of treatment plants for non-hazardous waste into a “Smart Waste Factory” in which a digital communication and interconnection between material quality and machine as well as plant performance is reached. After four years of research and development, various results have been gained and the present review article summarizes, links and discuss the outputs (especially from peer-reviewed papers) of seven sub-projects, in total, within the K-project and discusses the main findings and their relevance and importance for further development of the waste treatment sector. Results are allocated into three areas, namely: contaminants in mixed waste and technical possibilities for their reduction as well as removal; secondary raw and energy materials in mixed waste and digitalization in waste characterization and treatment processes for mixed waste. The research conducted in ReWaste4.0 will be continued in ReWaste F for further development towards a particle-, sensor- and data-based circular economy in the period 2021–2025.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4109
Author(s):  
Bożena Gajdzik ◽  
Radosław Wolniak

The publication presents a picture of modern steelworks that is evolving from steelworks 3.0 to steelworks 4.0. The paper was created on the basis of secondary sources of information (desk research). The entire publication concerns the emerging opportunities for the development of the steel producers to Industry 4.0 and the changes already implemented in the steel plants. The collected information shows the support environment for changes in the steel sector (EU programs), the levels of evolution of steel mills, along with the areas of change in the steel industry and implemented investment projects. The work consists of a theoretical part based on a literature review and a practical part based on case studies. The work ends with a discussion in which the staged and segmented nature of the changes introduced in the analyzed sector is emphasized. Based on the three case studies described in the paper, a comparative analysis was conducted between them. When we tried to compare methods used in the three analyzed steel producers (capital groups): ArcelorMittal, Thyssenkrupp, and Tata Steel Group, it can be seen that in all organizations, the main problem connected with steelworks 4.0 transition is the digitalization of all processes within an organization and in the entire supply chain. This is realized using various tools and methods but they are concentrated on using technologies and methods such as artificial intelligence, drones, virtual reality, full automatization, and industrial robots. The effects are connected to better relations with customers, which leads to an increase in customer satisfaction and the organizations’ profit. The steel industry will undergo further strong changes, bringing it closer to Industry 4.0 because it occupies an important place in the economies of many countries due to the strong dependence of steel producers on the markets of the recipients (steel consumers). Steel is the basic material needed to make many products, and its properties have been valued for centuries. In addition, steel mills with positive economic, social, and environmental aspects are part of the concept of sustainability for industries and economies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document