Publications

Abstract

Most food manufacturers in industrialised countries produce significant amounts of food waste during their manufacturing activities. Due to the serious environmental consequences of managing these materials, environmental impact analyses have become popular to identify more sustainable practices for food waste management. Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful methodology to assess such environmental impacts. This paper presents the main results obtained using the LCA methodology to analyse the potential environmental impacts of waste management for a brewery in the UK. Initially, the main waste types are identified for this industry: barley straw, malt waste and spent grain, and then barley straw is selected to study its environemental impact in detail. An alternative, more sustainable way to manage barley straw by extracting its wax with supercritical CO2 is discussed. SimaPro software is used to both quantify potential environmental impacts and evaluate the overall environmental performance of this valorisation opportunity, and to compare its modelled environmental impacts to the current impacts of managing barley straw. Results show that valorising barley straw by this method generates a high environmental impact due to the energy requirements of the processes involved, principally for human toxicity (cancer effects), human toxicity (non-cancer effects) and freshwater ecotoxicity impact categories. Using more energy-efficient processes or an alternative energy source would reduce this environmental impact. The analysis used in this paper allows an objective comparison between different scenarios with the final aim of supporting the use of sustainable solutions for waste management in the food industry.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

Food waste is a significant contemporary issue in the UK, with substantial environmental, social and economic costs to the nation. Whilst efforts to reduce food waste are laudable, a significant proportion of food and drink manufacturer waste is unavoidable. On the one hand, there is a drive from industry to reclaim as much value from this waste as possible, for example, by conversion to valuable products in what is known as 'valorisation'. At the same time, growing social and legislative pressures mean that any attempts to valorise food waste must be performed in a sustainable manner. However, for every company and its specific food wastes, there will be multiple valorisation possibilities and few tools exist that allow food and drink manufacturers to identify which is most profitable and sustainable for them. Such a decision would need to not only consider environmental, social and economic performance, but also how ready that technology is and how well it aligns with that company's strategy. In response, this paper develops and presents a hybrid framework that guides a company in modelling the volumes/seasonality of its wastes, identifying potential valorisation options and selecting appropriate indicators for environmental, social and economic performance as well as technological maturity and alignment with company goals. The framework guides users in analyzing economic and environmental performance using Cost-Benefit Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment respectively. The results can then be ranked alongside those for social performance, technological maturity and alignment with company goals using a weighted sum model variant of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to facilitate easy weighted sum model variant of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to facilitate easy visual comparison. This framework is demonstrated in the form of a case study with a major UK fruit consolidator to identify the optimal strategy for managing their citrus waste. Possibilities identified included sale of imperfect but still edible waste via wholesale at a significantly reduced profit and the investment in facilities to extract higher value pectin from the same waste stream using a microwave assisted pectin extraction process. Results suggest that continued sale of waste to wholesale markets is currently the most beneficial in terms of economic viability and environmental performance, but that in the medium to long term, the projected growth in the market for pectin suggests this could become the most viable strategy.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

Energy effieciency in manufacturing is important for overall sustainability of society. This paper combines three observations to improve an overlooked part of the energy efficiency support infrastructure in food and drink manufacturing: innovation capability. First, variations in machine and process design produce significant differences in energy efficiency; second, these differences are not widely known or valued because comparable machine energy data are not gathered for the vast majority of products, so machine and process design is under-used as a route to efficiency improvement; third, peer benchmarking has proved ot be an effective tool for stimulating change in other contexts, but has not been used at machine level in manufacturing. This paper describes and makes the case for a self-sustaining system in which machines would be validly compared on energy consumption and peer benchmarking would stimulate innovation in machine and process design for food manufacturing. The system, to be tested in a feasbility study, would benefit both food manufacturers and stakeholders. It would avoid dependence on public funding and enable stakeholders to provide value from the data. The paper contains the academic underpinning for the system and sets out an effective means of using it to achieve practical change.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Phil Sheppard

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Abstract

Food processing technology research and development activites have historically been driven by large-scale manufacture upscaling drivers to profit from economies of scale. Increasing demand for high-quality food with pioneering texture profiles, consumer needs for personalised products impacting product formulation (i.e., fat, sugar and micronutrient content), and constrained availability of ingredients and resources are pressuring industrialists to utilise alternative technologies to enable a more sustainable food supply. Distributed and localised food manufacturing (DLM) has been identified as a promising strategy towards future sustainable systems wth technology representing one of its cornerstones. Innovative methods and tools to support the selection of the best alternative technologies for DLM are required. This paper provides an overview of food processing technologies and includes a novel classification created to support future assessments. A novel qualitative assessment method encompassing multiple criteria to understand specific food technologies suitability for future DLM systems is presented. Finally, research benefits are explored through the application of the assessment method to several selected technologies with promising potential in future food manufacturing. The results demonstrate that this methodological approach can assist in the adoption of DLM food systems through the selection of the best technologies integrating individual manufacturer requirements.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Pedro Gimenez-Escalante

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Abstract

The food processing and manufacturing industry is the UK's largest manufacturing sector and consequently a large consumer of natural resources and source of environmental impacts. Considerable research effort has been made to quanitfy and characterise food waste and energy consumption from the industry, enabling the sector to set targets for reductions which contribute to national targets and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, and to identify improvement measures to meet the targets. A gap in this research is a detailed estimation of the energy consumption which could automatically be avoided through preventing food waste in food manufacturing. This paper reports research which estimates the energy embodied in preventable manufacturing food waste in the UK using available data for 2014. Whilst the estimate of 106 GW h per year is a tiny proportion of the industry's annual energy consumption, it is 1.75 percentage points of the main 20% energy efficiency improvement target and over half the contribution expected from energy management measures to improve energy efficiency. Preventing food waste in the factory could therefore also contribute significantly to energy efficiency and climate change targets with no extra effort.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Phil Sheppard

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Abstract

Due to large quantities of food waste generated by manufacturers and the associated environmental impact of these waste streams, improving food waste can be complex and the most appropriate methods may not always be selected. There are a range of aspects to consider in order to select the most sustainable option to manage food waste, such as the specific type of food waste generated, characteristics of food companies that generate food waste, features of the management processors that will manage it, and the sustainability implications of dealing with the food waste. To support food waste management decision making, this paper presents a modelling procedure to assist in identifying what type and range of information is needed to model food waste management systems, allowing the user to follow a systematic methodology to make more informed decision. This procudure is based on the identification and analysis of qualitative and quanititative attributes necessary to model food waste management and an assessment of their relationships. Speciically, it describes a process to ensure that all relevant attributes are considered during the decision-making process. A case study with a large UK food and drink manufacturer is used to demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of this procedure. In conclusion, the systematic procedure presented in this paper provides a metholodgy to identify opportunities to improve the sustainability of industrial food waste management. The data obtained can be used to further undertake a life-cycle assessment study and/or to apply existing socio-economic methologies to thoroughly assess impacts and benefits of food waste management.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

Generation of food waste (FW) continues to be a global challenge and high on the political agenda. One of the main reasons for its generation is the absence of detailed data on the amount, timing and reasons for created waste. This paper discusses the design, the application and investigates the Internet of Things (IoT) based FW monitoring system to capture waste data during manufacturing in real-time and make it available to all the stakeholders in a food supply chain (FSC). A case study of ready-meal factory comprises of design and architecture for tracking FW including both hardware and software, its implementation in the factory and the positive data-driven results achieved. The case study demonstrates the benefits of digital FW tracking system including the FW reduction of 60.7%, better real-time visibility of the FW hotspots, reasons for waste generations, reliable data, operational improvements and employee behavioural transformation. Although the system replaced the paper-based manual system of tracking FW in the factory, it still needed human input to confirm the waste and was prone to human errors. Overall, the implementation of an IoT-based FW tracking system resulted in a reduction of FW and created a positive environmental and financial impact.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Sandeep Jagtap

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Abstract

Food manufacturing is comprised of a number of complex processes which generate vast amounts of food waste. Frequently, strategies for dealing with these materials are rudimentary and provide a low economic and environmental value, for instance animal feeding, anaerobic digestion, composting, incineration, landspreading and landfilling. However, food wastes contain numerous chemicals with a wide range of potential commercial applications, which makes these materials suitable feedstocks for valorisation. This paper applies a Waste Flow Modelling methodology to achieve two aims: to provide valuable food manufacturing and waste data in order to better understand current food manufacturing activities, and to analyse existing food waste management practices to lay the foundation for the implementation of alternative food waste valorsiation solutions. Four UK industrial companies have been selected and assessed to represent four different food sectors where food waste valorisation could provide an economic and/or environmental advantage: a fruits supplier, a brewery, a potato supplier and a producer of peas. The production line of each of these four businesses is defined and characterised, which allows the identification of food wastes generated. Next, food wastes are categorised and quantified, and their patterns of generation and current waste management practices are described. Sankey diagrams and performance indicators are used to assess the efficiency of processes, combination of processes and the complete production line in terms of food waste generation. Finally, the results are analysed and used to obtain the main conclusions and provide recommendations for an improved food waste management system, with a focus on valorisation opportunities.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

The first Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an acid-free, microwave-assisted process for pectin production at pilot scale is reported. The properties of the resulting pectin were measured and compared against the criteria for commercial pectin, while the energy consumption of the microwave process was measured to compare its life cycle impacts with that of the current commercial process. Overall, the pectin met all the criteria for food-grade commercial pectin. The microwave unit was estimated to have <25% of the environmental impact of traditional acid-assisted thermal process in all categories measured and provided an improved yield of 5% (wet weight basis) compared to 3% by thermal heating under normalized conditions. The readouts were comparable with each other over three runs indicating a robust and reproducible process, crucial for scale-up purposes. With the product meeting the relevant criteria and the process being robust and more environmentally friendly, this work demonstrates the practical and commercial potential of microwave technology to succeed conventional acid-based extraction of pectin production.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

Use of robots in product disassembly is growing in popularity, mainly due to ever-increasing labour costs in both developed and developing countries. However, currently there are no approaches for assessing the trade-offs between environmental benefits, technological feasibility and economic viability of robotic disassembly. The work presented in this paper aims to justify the future application of robotic disassembly in products end-of-life management by assessing its sustainability through multiple factors (i.e. environmental, technological and economic performance). This paper proposes a framework for the multi-criteria assessment of robotic disassembly to support recycling and recovery, which consists of three main stages: analysis of recycling options, selection of assessment criteria, and evaluation of disassembly operations. A decision support tool has also been developed to compare the results from different recycling scenarios based on manual and automatic disassembly. A number of automotive electronic components have been used as case studies to illustrate the application of the framework and its associate decision support tool.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

To trial the concept of in-plant real-time manufacturing water content characterisation, a commercial optical system for measuring light absoprtion and backscatter intensity was used with samples of food industry wastewater, and the results compared with conventional laboratory based water analysis. It is shown that the instrumentation is capable of coping with the range of turbidities presented by the wastewater and that there is some correlation between the absoprtion and backscatter measurements with the conventional parameters COD and TSS. It is suggested that combining backscatter and absoprtion data may provide an optical fingerprint of effluent that can be used as a management parameter, for example to identify unexpected contamination events. Potential uses of the instrumentation are discussed, including to provide rapid feedback on effects of system changes of effluent production, and in a feedback control loop to allow reuse ot water without compromising product safety.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Patrick Webb

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Abstract

This work investigates the use of a commercial optical product monitor to achieve in-line real-time water content analysis. Test fluids were used and optical measurements of attenuation of light intensity at four colours were made. These measurements were used to identify any relationships between these and the water quality parameters of turbidity and colour. Variation in light attenuation for turbidities up to 1700 NTU was successfully resolved by the instrument, with optical data for turbidities> or = 20 NTU fitting well the Beer-Lambert model. The sensor was also able to clearly identify the effect of filtering out suspended solids with unfiltered samples (apparent colour) exhibiting significantly higher attenuation coefficients than filtered sample (true colour). Futher studies will concentrate on whether the instrument can analyse samples with turbidities higher than 1700 NTU, together with further investigating the variation in the attenuation coefficient seen with turbidity and colour of light.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Patrick Webb

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Abstract

The global food industry is facing many challenges due to the impact of climate change, ever-changing demands by consumers, and increasing legislative pressures by the government, which have resulted in several drivers for change. Current large-scale rigid manufacturing systems are increasingly seen as incapable of supporting the underlining requirements for implementation of such changes. In this context, one of the key requirements is the need for improved flexibility and reconfigurability of production facilities, often provided by adoption of Industrial Robots in other manufacturing sectors. However, despite their recent technological advancements, in particular the advent of the 4th industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), and significant reduction in overall implementation cost over the last two decades, the uptake of industrial robots in food processing has been slow. This paper explores the application of industrial robots in food manufacturing, the benefits of their use and the challenges currently hindering their uptake.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Farah Bader

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Abstract

Existing large-scale centralised food production practices are often unsustainable due to requirements for significant transportation of both raw materials and finished products. These approaches also require substantial concentrated demands on energy and water. In addition, increasing amounts of food waste are being generated worldwide by manufacturers and retailers due to their dependence on unreliable demand forecasting methods as part of centralised production practices. Regulatory pressures and policy requirements as well as consumer demands for increased variety, improved traceability, and healthy diets are forcing manufacturers and retailers to reconsider their ingredient sourcing, production, storage, and distribution strategies. “Distributed and Localised Manufacturing” (DLM) aims to provide the food sector with capabilities to improve the efficiency of production systems, to optimise logistics operations across supply chains, and to extend the shelf life of products. However, to achieve these potential benefits, the implementation of DLM will involve many challenges that need to be carefully considered and addressed. This article explores these challenges and describes four specific implementation models to aid with the development of innovative and appropriate DLM structures for various food products.

Link to Loughborough University Institutional Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/28445

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Pedro Gimenez-Escalante

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Abstract

The food sector is increasingly facing significant challenges throughout the supply chain to become more resource efficient. In this context, three critical areas of focus are the reduction of food waste, energy, and water consumption. One of the key factors identified as an obstacle to improving resource efficiency is the lack of suitable capabilities to collect, exchange and share real-time data among various stakeholders. Having such capabilities would provide improved awareness and visibility of resource use and help make better decisions that drive overall productivity of the supply chain. The principle concept of the ‘Internet of Things' (IoT) has been used in several applications to improve overall monitoring, planning, and management of supply chain activities. This paper explores the feasibility of adopting such IoT concepts to improve the resource efficiency of food supply chains. An IoTbased framework is proposed to support the incorporation of relevant data into supply chain decision-making models for the reduction of food waste, energy and water consumption.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Sandeep Jagtap

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Jamie Stone

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

One of the most prominent challenges commonly acknowledged by modern manufacturing industries is ‘how to produce more with fewer resources?’ Nowhere is this more true than in the food sector due to the recent concerns regarding the long-term availability and security of food products. The unique attributes of food products such as the need for fresh perishable ingredients, health risks associated with inappropriate production environment, stringent storage and distributions requirements together with relatively short post-production shelf-life makes their preparation, production and supply considerably different to other manufactured goods. Furthermore, the impacts of climate change on our ability to produce food, the rapidly increasing global population, as well as changes in demand and dietary behaviours both within developed and developing countries urgently demands a need to change the way we grow, manufacture and consume our food products. This paper discusses a number of key research challenges facing modern food manufacturers, including improved productivity using fewer resources, valorisation of food waste, improving the resilience of food supply chains, localisation of food production, and utilisation of new sustainable sources of nutrition for provision of customised food products.

Link to Loughborough University Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/24925

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García , Jamie Stone , Patrick Webb , Aicha Jellil , Sandeep Jagtap , Pedro Gimenez-Escalante

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Abstract

Manufacturing decisions are currently made based on considerations of cost, time and quality. However there is increasing pressure to also routinely incorporate environmental considerations into the decision making processes. Despite the existence of a number of tools for environmental analysis of manufacturing activities, there does not appear to be a structured approach for generating relevant environmental information that can be fed into manufacturing decision making. This research proposes an overarching structure that leads to three approaches, pertaining to different timescales that enable the generation of environmental information, suitable for consideration during decision making. The approaches are demonstrated through three industrial case studies.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Alessandro Simeone

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Abstract

Global levels of food waste are attracting growing concern and require immediate action to mitigate their negative ecological and socio-economic ramifications. In the developed world, of the order of 20-40% of food waste is generated at the manufacturing stage of supply chains and is often managed in non-optimised ways leading to additional environmental impacts. This research describes a novel decision-support tool to enable food manufacturers to evaluate a range of waste management options and identify the most sustainable solution. A nine-stage qualitative evaluation tool is used in conjunction with a number of quantitative parameters to assess industrial food waste, which is then used to generate performance factors that enable the evaluation of economic, environmental and social implications of a range of food-waste management alternatives. The applicability of this process in a software-based decision-support tool is discussed in the context of two industrial case studies.

Link to Loughborough University Institutional Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/23785

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

Clean-in-place (CIP) is a widely used technique applied to clean industrial equipment without disassembly. Cleaning protocols are currently defined arbitrarily from offline measurements. This can lead to excessive resource (water and chemicals) consumption and downtime, further increasing environmental impacts. An optical monitoring system has been developed to assist eco-intelligent CIP process control and improve resource efficiency. The system includes a UV optical fouling monitor designed for real-time image acquisition and processing. The output of the monitoring is such that it can support further intelligent decision support tools for automatic cleaning assessment during CIP phases. This system reduces energy and water consumption, whilst minimising non-productive time: the largest economic cost for CIP.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Alessandro Simeone

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Pedro Gimenez-Escalante

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Abstract

Globally, one third of food produced is wasted. In the UK, 47% of the food waste is post-consumer revealing a need to encourage more efficient consumption. This research asserts that manufacturers and retailers can play a crucial role in minimising consumer food waste (CFW) through consumer engagement and provision of smart solutions that ensure more efficient use of food products. Supporting manufacturers and retailers to minimise CFW can be achieved via two stages: a) understanding and evaluating CFW, and b) identifying improvements to manufacturing and retail activities that would reduce CFW. Onsite waste audits have identified that the percentage of edible CFW from domestic environments (77%) is greater than that disposed of in public areas (14%) supporting the hypothesis that improving the full food provisioning process (e.g. packaging, storage, guidance) would be beneficial. This paper proposes a number of mechanisms to support manufacturing and retail in reducing CFW.

Link to Loughborough University Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/22780

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García , Aicha Jellil

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Abstract

Increasing pressures on freshwater supplies, continuity of supply uncertainties, and costs linked to legislative compliance, such as for wastewater treatment, are driving water use reduction up the agenda of manufacturing businesses. A survey is presented of current analysis methods and tools generally available to industry to analyze environmental impact of, and to manage, water use. These include life cycle analysis, water footprinting, strategic planning, water auditing, and process integration. It is identified that the methods surveyed do not provide insight into the operational requirements from individual process steps for water, instead taking such requirements as a given. We argue that such understanding is required for a proactive approach to long-term water usage reduction, in which sustainability is taken into account at the design stage for both process and product. As a first step to achieving this, we propose a concept of water usage efficiency which can be used to evaluate current and proposed processes and products. Three measures of efficiency are defined, supported by a framework of a detailed categorization and representation of water flows within a production system. The calculation of the efficiency measures is illustrated using the example of a tomato sauce production line. Finally, the elements required to create a useable tool based on the efficiency measures are discussed

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Patrick Webb

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Abstract

DOI 10.1007/s12649-016-9720-0

As much as one-third of the food intentionally grown for human consumption is never consumed and is therefore wasted, with significant environmental, social and economic ramifications. An increasing number of publications in this area currently consider different aspects of this critical issue, and generally focus on proactive approaches to reduce food waste, or reactive solutions for more efficient waste management. In this context, this paper takes a holistic approach with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the different types of food waste, and using this knowledge to support informed decisions for more sustainable management of food waste. With this aim, existing food waste categorizations are reviewed and their usefulness are analysed. A systematic methodology to identify types of food waste through a nine-stage categorization is used in conjunction with a version of the waste hierarchy applied to food products. For each type of food waste characterized, a set of waste management alternatives are suggested in order to minimize environmental impacts and maximize social and economic benefits. This decision-support process is demonstrated for two case studies from the UK food manufacturing sector. As a result, types of food waste which could be managed in a more sustainable manner are identified and recommendations are given. The applicability of the categorisation process for industrial food waste management is discussed.

Link to Loughborough University Institutional Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/22695

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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Abstract

The combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation has contributed considerably to the effects of climate change. In order to reduce fossil fuel consumption, designers are increasingly seeking to reduce the energy consumption of products over their life cycle. To achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption, it is essential that energy considerations are incorporated within the design phase of a product, since the majority a product's environmental impact is determined during this phase. This work proposes a new ‘Design for Energy Minimization’ (DfEM) approach, which is intended to provide increased transparency with respect to the energy consumed during manufacture in order to help inform design decisions. An energy simulation model based on this approach is then presented to aid designers during the design phase. The application of this novel design tool is demonstrated in two cases: That of a simple product (designed by a single Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) through a centralized approach); and a complex product (designed by a number of designers within a supply chain using a distributed approach). The subsequent benefits to energy minimization are then discussed and conclusions drawn.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Nick Goffin

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One third of energy consumption is attributable to the industrial sector, with as much as half ultimately wasted as heat. Consequently, research has focused on technologies for harvesting this waste heat energy, however, the adoption of such technologies can be costly with long payback time. A decision support tool is presented which computes the compatibility of waste heat source(s) and sink(s), namely the exergy balance and temporal availability, along with economic and environmental benefits of available heat exchanger technologies to propose a streamlined and optimised heat recovery strategy. Substantial improvement in plant energy efficiency together with reduction in the payback time for heat recovery has been demonstrated in the included case study.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Alessandro Simeone

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Tegan Pringle

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

Resource efficiency is recognized as one of the greatest sustainability challenges facing the manufacturing industry in the future. Materials are a resource of primary importance, making a significant contribution to the economic costs and environmental impacts of production. During the manufacturing phase the majority of resource efficiency initiatives and management methodologies have been concerned primarily with improvements measured on an economic basis. More recently, the need for even greater levels of resource efficiency has extended the scope of these initiatives to consider complete manufacturing and industrial systems at an economic and environmental level. The flow of materials at each system level relates directly to material efficiency, which in turn influences the consumption of other resources such as water and energy. Initial research by the authors in material efficiency focused on material flow, proposing a material flow assessment approach, comprising a systematic framework for the analysis of quantitative and qualitative flow in manufacturing systems. The framework was designed to provide greater understanding of material flow through identification of strengths, weaknesses, constraints and opportunities for improvement, facilitating the implementation of improvement measures for greater efficiency in both environmental and economic terms. This paper presents an extension of this work, applying the material flow assessment framework to a complex multi-product and multi-site manufacturing system scenario. It begins with a description of the Resource Efficient Scheduling (RES) tool that supports the implementation of this framework. The tool models the interactions of quantitative and qualitative material flow factors associated with production planning and the resulting impacts on resource efficiency. This provides a more detailed understanding of the economic and resource impacts of different production plans, enabling greater flexibility and the ability to make better informed decisions. Finally a case study is presented, highlighting the application of the tool and its potential benefits.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill , Alessandro Simeone , Oliver Gould

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The ability to feed 9 billion people by 2050 will rely on processed foods being delivered through complex and dispersed international supply chains. Currently as much as a third of all food grown is lost as waste at various points along existing supply chains, with roughly half of food waste in the developed world occurring after purchase by the end consumer. For the long-term resilience of the food industry, and as holders of critical information, manufacturers need to play a part in reducing this waste. Using a novel method of food waste categorization, this research describes how the prevention of food waste for certain categories can be facilitated using a Smart Phone App that enables industrial inventory management for the domestic environment, providing the consumer with supporting information about food condition and appropriate preparation processes. Data availability issues and the benefits in terms of resource efficiency and consumer loyalty are discussed.

Link to Loughborough University Institutional Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/19396

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Jamie Stone

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A considerable amount of waste is generated in the food supply chains of both developing and developed countries. In an increasingly resource constrained world, it is imperative to reduce the high environmental, social and economic impacts associated with this type of waste. This necessitates the development and implementation of improved, targeted management practices. This paper discusses the various definitions and categorizations of food waste according to different international organizations, reviews the most up-to-date data on waste generated in the food supply chains as well as its environmental impact and assess the applicability of current waste management options. This analysis provides the basis for the development of a framework for increasing the effectiveness of food waste management practices through structured assessment and better informed selection of waste management methodologies for each food waste category. The usability of this novel framework is discussed.

Link to Loughborough University Institutional Repository:

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/18195

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Guillermo García García

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Alessandro Simeone

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Barwood, M., Li, J., Pringle, T., and Rahimifard, S., 2015, Utilisation of reconfigurable recycling systems for improved value recovery from e-waste, 22nd CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, Sydney, Australia.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Jie Li , Michael Barwood , Tegan Pringle

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Alessandro Simeone , Yang Luo

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Electric Vehicles (EVs) are now seen as one of future solutions for sustainable transportation, and therefore their market share is annually increasing. However, due to their more sophisticated technologies and complex material mixture, EVs cannot efficiently be recycled using existing automotive recycling facilities. This paper presents the challenges involved in recycling EVs, and describes a systematic framework for developing an automated approach for disassembly and recycling of EV components. The initial results from application of such automated approach to disassembly of EV have also been presented.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

The majority of the environmental impact of a product is decided during the design phase, and as such there has been a rapid growth in generation of methodologies and tools that aim to improve design and include sustainability considerations in product development. Although these methodologies and tolls and have introduced measurable benefits, in most cases they have been incremental in nature as opposed to producing radical `Factor X` improvements. The highlights the need for a careful analysis of existing sustainable design methods to identify their shortcomings and to enable a greater understanding of ecodesign and its extension into sustainable design improvement. This paper provides a brief overview of the evolution of ecodesign and its extension into sustainable design. It assesses the key influencing factors of current practice and identifies a number of future research challenges, promoting the next stage in its development in which sustainability will become a ubiquitous part of the design process.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Leila Sheldrick

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There is a growing body of evidence which increasingly points to serious and irreversible ecological consequences if current unsustainable manufacturing practices ad consumption patterns continue. Recent years have seen a rising awareness leading to the generation of both national and international regulations, resulting in modest improvements in manufacturing practices. These incremental changes however are not making the necessary progress toward eliminating or even reversing the environmental impacts of global industry. Therefore, a fundamental research question is `how can future of manufacturing industry` A common approach adopted in such cases is to utilize exercises to develop a number of alternative future scenarios to aid with long-term strategic planning. This paper presents the results of one such study to create a set of `SMART Manufacturing Scenarios` for 2050.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill , Leila Sheldrick

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Manufacturers are responsible for about one third of global energy demand, and thus have a responsibility for reducing their reliance on rapidly depleting non-renewable energy sources. Consequently, a plethora of research has arisen to develop novel ways of improving energy efficiency in factories by focusing on changes to energy intensive production processes and other energy using systems that support manufacturing activities. However, the ultimate goal of manufacturing companies is to maximise profit by refining their business strategy, highlighting the importance of assessing the impact of different business strategies on energy demand. Therefore, one of the key research challenges is to assign anticipated energy demand to various decisions within a business. This paper presents a hierarchical approach to attribute the potential energy demand of manufacturing activities to alternative business decisions, thus informing selection of the most energy efficient business strategies. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Leila Sheldrick

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Abstract

Energy rationalisation, the elimination of unnecessary energy consumption, is becoming increasingly important in a resource constrained world. The use of energy is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and much research has been done to reduce energy use in manufacturing. So as to enable the rationalisation of energy consumption, it is essential that it is understood where energy is being used. This paper describes the design and implementation of a simulation model that has been generated to support the modelling of energy consumption within manufacturing systems. The simulation model allows various ‘what-if’ scenarios to be investigated thereby enabling engineers to understand the impact of various manufacturing parameters on energy consumption and thus reduce reliance on energy and the production of greenhouse gas emissions.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The use of renewable materials has attracted interest from a wide range of manufacturing industries looking to reduce their environmental and carbon footprints. As such, the development and use of biopolymers has been largely driven by their perceived environmental benefits over conventional polymers. However, often these environmental claims, when challenged, are lacking in substance. One reason for this is the lack of quality data for all life cycle stages. This applies to the manufacturing stages of packaging, otherwise known as ‘packaging conversion’, where for certain product/production types, a reduction in energy consumption of 25–30% from lower processing temperatures can be offset by an increase in pressure, cycle times and reject rates. The ambiguity of the overall environmental benefit achieved during this stage of the life cycle, when this is the main driver for their use, highlights the need for a clearer understanding of impact that such materials have on the manufacturing processes.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill

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Fuel cells offer attractive possibilities for efficiency generation across many applications. Within the context of Extended Producer Responsibility legislation and increasing concerns regarding material scarcity and waste, it is important that preparation for end-of-life management of the technology is made, prior to mass commercialization. Using a case study approach, life cycle environmental impact assessment, cost analysis and evaluation of legislative requirements are shown to support strategic development of end-of-life strategies for fuel cells. The findings highlight how the early identification of priorities for recycling of high impact, high value materials may help to avoid future detrimental impacts at end-of-life.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Recent trends in the bio-plastics industry indicate a rapid shift towards the use of bio-derived conventional plastics such as polyethylene (bio-PE). Whereas historically a significant driver for bio-plastics development has been their biodegradability, the adoption of plastics such as bio-PE is driven by the renewability of the raw materials from which they are produced. The production of these renewable resources requires the use of agricultural land, which is limited in its availability. Land is also an essential requirement for food production and is becoming increasingly important for fuel production. The research presented in this paper envisages a situation, in the year 2050, where all plastics and liquid fuels are produced from renewable resources. Through the development of different consumption and productivity scenarios, projected using current and historic data, the feasibility of meeting global demands for food, liquid fuels and plastics is investigated, based on total agricultural land availability. A range of results, comparing low-to-high consumption with low-to-high productivity, are reported. However, it is from the analysis of the mid-point scenario combinations, where consumption and productivity are both moderate, that the most significant conclusions can be drawn. It is clear that while bio-plastics offer attractive opportunities for the use of renewable materials, development activities to 2050 should continue to focus on the search for alternative feed stocks that do not compete with food production, and should prioritise the efficient use of materials through good design and effective end-of-life management.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill

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The growing interest in bio-polymers as a packaging material, particularly from companies looking to reduce their environmental footprint, has resulted in wider adoption. Traditionally the selection and specicification of packaging materials was based on aesthetic, technical and financial factors, for which established metrics exist. 

However with bio-polymers, where the primary rationale for their use is environmental, alternative metrics are required. Furthermoe, there is a significant stratgeic element to the decision process that requires a broader range of horizontal and vertical inputs, both within the business and the wider supply chain. It is therefore essential that a holistic approach is taken to the bio-polymer based packaging design process to ensure that the final packaging meets the original strategic intent and overall requirements of the business. Current ecopackaging design tools are generally limited to professional users, such as designers or packing engineers, and generally provide tactical rather than strategic support. This disconnect, between the need for inclusivity and greater strategic support in holistic design, and the exclusivity and largely tactical support of current eco-design support tools, indicates a clear need for a new decision support tool for sustainable pack design using bio-polymers. 

This paper proposes a framework for an eco-design decision support tool for bio-polymer based packaging that has been developed using a predominantly qualitative research approach based on reviews, interviews and industrial packaging design experience and is an extension of previously published work. This research investigatesfurther how existing eco-design methods, such as the 'Balanced score card', can be applied within the tool and how the shortcomings associated with incorporating social and environmental aspects can be partly resolved, through a simplified set of metrics tailored specifically for bio-polymer packaging decisions. The results of this research is a framework for the development of a three tier eco-design tool for bio-polymer packaging that provides decision support at the three critical stages of the design process: stratgic fit, Feasbility assessment and concept/pack development. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill

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Abstract

The freshwater consumption within domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors has significantly increased over the last two decades, resulting in severe shortages particularly in many arid regions. The manufacturing industry consumes between 20-40% of annual freshwater abstracted in various developed countries. The challenges in efficient use of water are exacerbated by lack of transparency in water usage and waste management in majority of existing manufacturing applications, in particular within SMEs. This paper outlines an integrated methodology for systematic modelling of water consumption within manufacturing applications, and describes a simulation tool developed to improve water usage efficiency.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , Madhu Sachidananda

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The use of automated product recycling based upon fragmentation and separation processes is rapidly increasing due to the high economic feasibility. Air-classifiers are key low-cost technologies employed in these processes; however their efficiency can be highly variable due to inhomogeneous particle sizes as separation largely relies upon the difference in particle terminal velocity. In this paper a pulsing aircolumn classifier is introduced in which particles are constantly accelerated and decelerated to provide higher separation efficiency regardless of particle sizes. Experimentation with inhomogeneous granulated leather, foam and rubber from footwear waste products demonstrates a separation improvement of 10–25% compared to existing technologies and ability to reclaim rubber with above 90% purity.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The worldwide consumption of footwear is estimated to be in excess of 20 billion pairs of shoes per year. To date very little work has been done to develop material recycling solutions for mixed footwear products. In fact less than 5% of end-of-life shoes are being recycled, with most being disposed of in landfill sites around the globe. One of the primary reasons is that most modern footwear products contain a complex mixture of leather, rubber, textile, polymers and metallic materials, that makes it difficult to perform complete separation and reclamation of material streams in an economically sustainable manner. This paper discusses the development of an economically feasible automated material recycling process for mixed postconsumer footwear waste. Central to this process are bespoke air-based separation technologies that separate granulated shoe particles based upon the difference in size and weight. Experimental studies with three different types of postconsumer footwear products show that it is possible to reclaim four usable material streams; leathers, textiles, foams and rubbers. For each of the reclaimed materials there are a vareity of applications such as surfacing materials, insulation boards and underlay products. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The industrial sector consumes a significant amount of the world’s energy supply; the rationalisation of energy consumption would provide the most effective method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions attributed to manufacturing and use of products. Energy consumed across the various stages of a product’s lifecycle varies significantly depending on the product design and its application. In non-energy using products such as furniture, food, and clothing, the material preparation and production phases represent a significant proportion of energy consumption over the product lifecycle. This paper proposes a new design methodology targeted at these products to minimise energy consumption during ‘production’ phase. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Bioplastics derived from renewable polymers such as sugars, starches and cellulose, have attracted significant interest from companies looking to reduce their environmental footprint. New production capacity and improved materials have resulted in their increasing adoption for mainstream consumer products packaging. However questions remain regarding their overall environmental benefits and how the maximum environmental gain can be achieved. These uncertainties highlight the need for a decision support tool to aid the packaging design process. This paper examines the issues surrounding bio-derived polymer use and discusses the development of an eco-design tool to assist in their rapid and efficient adoption.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill

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Energy is an inextricable part of life in the 21st century, thus its availability and utilisation will become increasingly important with the concerns over climate change and the escalation in worldwide population. This highlights the need for manufacturing businesses to adopt the concept of ‘lean energy’ based on the use of the most energy efficient processes and activities within their production facilities. The energy consumption in manufacturing facilities can be reduced by either using more efficient technologies and equipment, and/or through improved monitoring and control of energy used in infrastructure and technical services. The research reported in this paper adopts a novel approach to modelling energy flows within a manufacturing system based on a ‘product’ viewpoint, and utilises the energy consumption data at ‘plant’ and ‘process’ levels to provide a breakdown of energy used during production.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Green sources of power generation and efficient management of energy demand are among the greatest challenges facing manufacturing businesses. A significant proportion of energy used in manufactuirng is currently generated through fossil fuels. Therefore in the foreseeable future, the rationalistion of nergy consumption still provides the greatest opportunity for the reduction of greenhouse gases. A novel approach to energy efficient manufacturing is proposed through modelling the detailed breakdown of energy required to produce a single product. This approach provides greater transparency on energy inefficiencies throughout a manufacturing system and enables a 20-50% reduction of energy consumption through combined improvements in production and product design. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Ongoing development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology coincides with a rapid increase in legislation aiming to control the environmental impacts of products across their life cycle. A risk-based method is used to explore the potential future impacts of this body of legislation on the technology. Legislation controlling the use of hazardous materials is one area of significance. Under the new European REACH Regulation some nickel compounds, used widely throughout general industry but also in the fabrication of anode structures, may fall under the classification of a substance of very high concern (SVHC) in future, which presents a risk of restrictions being placed on their continued use. This risk must drive the development of alternative anode materials, or requires the SOFC industry to identify a socio-economic argument justifying exemption from any future restrictions. A legislative trend establishing recycling requirements for end-of-life products is also identified as having a potential future impact on the technology. Recycling strategies for SOFC products must be considered, prior to commercialisation. It is proposed that failure to meet these future environmental requirements may be detrimental to the perception of SOFC technology, the demand for which is substantially driven by the environmental benefits offered over incumbent power generation technologies. The consideration of these issues in the design of commercial products will mitigate this risk.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Oil-derived plastics have become well established as a packaging material over the past 75 years due to their many technical and commercial advantages. However, the disposal of plastic packaging waste, a large proportion of which still goes to landfill, continues to raise increasing environmental concerns. Meanwhile, the price of oil continues to rise as demand outstrips supply. In response, biodegradable polymers made from renewable resources have risen to greater prominence, with a variety of materials currently being developed from plant starch, cellulose, sugars and proteins. Whilst the polymer science continues apace, the real ecological impacts and benefits of these materials remain uncertain. Although life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to provide comparisons with oil-derived plastics, published studies are often limited in scope, allowing the validity of their conclusions to be challenged. The literature appears to support the popular assumption that the end-of-life management of these materials requires little consideration, since their biodegradable properties provide inherent ecological benefits. Opportunities for conserving resources through the recycling of biopolymers are rarely addressed. Through a review of current academic, industrial and commercial progress in the field of biopolymers, a number of LCA case studies are proposed which will address this weakness in existing research, related to the recycling of biopolymers. These, or similar, studies are required to provide a more complete picture of the potential effects of a transition from non-renewable to renewable polymers, thus allowing material selection decisions to be made with greater confidence throughout the packaging supply chain.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard , James Colwill

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Abstract

Ongoing development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology coincides with a rapid increase in legislation aiming to control the environmental impacts of products across their life cycle. A risk-based method is used to explore the potential future impacts of this body of legislation on the technology. Legislation controlling the use of hazardous materials is one area of significance. Under the new European REACH Regulation some nickel compounds, used widely throughout general industry but also in the fabrication of anode structures, may fall under the classification of a substance of very high concern (SVHC) in future, which presents a risk of restrictions being placed on their continued use. This risk must drive the development of alternative anode materials, or requires the SOFC industry to identify a socio-economic argument justifying exemption from any future restrictions. A legislative trend establishing recycling requirements for end-of-life products is also identified as having a potential future impact on the technology. Recycling strategies for SOFC products must be considered, prior to commercialisation. It is proposed that failure to meet these future environmental requirements may be detrimental to the perception of SOFC technology, the demand for which is substantially driven by the environmental benefits offered over incumbent power generation technologies. The consideration of these issues in the design of commercial products will mitigate this risk.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The ever-increasing amount of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become a common problem due to the significant environmental and health impacts associated with inappropriate End-of-Life (EoL) management. The current ad hoc applications of WEEE recycling are often based on limited knowledge and cannot cope with the complex range of materials and products in such waste. A knowledge-based approach has been utilised to investigate the realisation of a recycling process planner which aims to determine the most suitable EoL options for WEEE. A number of case studies have been used to show that a 20–30% improvement on economical and environmental performance could be achieved through adoption of such a systematic approach to recycling process planning.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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There has been a significant growth in research and applications of product recovery and recycling over the last two decades, in particular with the view of recent product take-back legislation which has extended the responsibility of manufacturers to include the recovery and safe disposal of their products. However, at present, the global scale of product recovery applications is significantly disproportional to the total manufacturing output. Hence, to achieve the idealistic goal of ‘zero landfill’, there is a need to significantly improve and extend both the scale of product recovery activities and the range of manufacturing applications in which such activities have yet to be implemented. This paper examines a range of barriers, drivers and challenges in research and development for the next generation of product recovery initiatives. A range of existing applications and case studies undertaken for the UK market has been used to analyse issues related to: the need for improvement and expansion of current legislation on producer responsibility; product take-back and reverse logistic models for collection of used products; knowledge-based approaches for end-of-life considerations during the design phase; improved technologies and increased automation in pre- and post-fragmentation recycling processes and most importantly, the requirement for sustainable business models for establishing value recovery chains which can be based on the provision of services rather than products. The paper concludes by summarising the results of this analysis to bridge the gap between existing and future sustainable solutions for product recovery.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Waste creation in some sectors of the food industry is substantial, and while much of the used material is non-hazardous and biodegradable, it is often poorly dealt with and simply sent to landfill mixed with other types of waste. In this context, overproduction wastes were found in a number of cases to account for 20-40% of the material wastes generated by convenience food manufacturers (such as ready-meals and sandwiches), often simply just to meet the challenging demands placed on the manufacturer due to the short order reaction time provided by the supermarkets. Identyfying specific classes of waste helps to minimise their creation, through consideration of what the materials constitute and why they were generated. This paper aims to provide means by which food industry wastes can be identified, and demonstrate these mechanisms through a practical example. The research reported in this paper investigated the various categories of waste and generated three analytical methods for the support of waste minimisation activities by food maufacturers. The waste classficiations and analyses are intended to complement exisiting waste minimisation approaches and are described through consideration of a case study convenience manufacturer that realised significant financial savings through waste measurement analysis and reduction. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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With the introduction of producer responsibility legislation within the UK (i.e waste electrical and electronic equipment directive and end-of-life vehicles directive), specific recycling and recovery targets have been imposed to improve the sustainability of end-of-life products. With the introduction of these targets, and the increases investment in pos-fragmentation facilities, automated material separation technologies are playing an integral role within the UK's end-of-life waste management strategy. Post-fragmentation facilities utilise a range of purification technologies that target certain material attributes (e.g. density, magnetism, volume) to isolate materials from the shredded waste stream. High ferrous prices have historically meant that UK facilities have been primarily interested in recovering iron and steel, establishing processing routes that are very effective at removing these material types, but as a consequence are extremely rigid and inflexible. With the proliferation of more exotic materials within end-of-life products, combined with more stringent recycling targets, there is therefore a need to optimise the current aste reclamation processes to better realise effort-to-value returns. 

This paper provides a background as to the current post-fragmentation processing adopted within the UK, and describes the development of a post-fragmentation modelling approach, capable of simulating the value-added processing that a piece of automated separation equipment can have on a fragmented waste stream. These include the modelling of the inefficiences of the technology, the effects of material entanglement on separation, determination of typical material sizing and an appreciation for compositional value. The implementation of this approach within a software decision-suuport system is described, before the limitations, calibration and further validation of the approach are discussed. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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There has been a significant growth in research and applications of product recovery and recycling over the last two decades, in particular with the view of recent product take-back legislation which has extended the responsibility of manufacturers to include the recovery and safe disposal of their products. However, at present, the global scale of product recovery applications is significantly disproportional to the total manufacturing output. Hence, to achieve the idealistic goal of ‘zero landfill’, there is a need to significantly improve and extend both the scale of product recovery activities and the range of manufacturing applications in which such activities have yet to be implemented. This paper examines a range of barriers, drivers and challenges in research and development for the next generation of product recovery initiatives. A range of existing applications and case studies undertaken for the UK market has been used to analyse issues related to: the need for improvement and expansion of current legislation on producer responsibility; product take-back and reverse logistic models for collection of used products; knowledge-based approaches for end-of-life considerations during the design phase; improved technologies and increased automation in pre- and post-fragmentation recycling processes and most importantly, the requirement for sustainable business models for establishing value recovery chains which can be based on the provision of services rather than products. The paper concludes by summarising the results of this analysis to bridge the gap between existing and future sustainable solutions for product recovery.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Technological innovation and shorter product life cycles of electrical and electronic equipment coupled with their rapidly growing applications have resulted in the generation of an enormous amount of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). To address the potential environmental problems that could stem from improper end‐of‐life management of WEEE, many countries have drafted national legislation to improve the reuse, remanufacture and material recycling from WEEE, and to reduce the amount of such waste going to landfills. With the introduction of such legislation comes an increased need for the recovery operators to evaluate the recycling costs and environmental benefits of reclaimed products and materials in order to select the most appropriate end‐of‐life options for individual products in WEEE. This paper presents a systematic methodology for ecological and economical assessment to provide a holistic understanding of the impacts associated with different end‐of‐life options for such waste. This assessment, in addition to providing decision‐support for the selection of the best possible end‐of‐life option for a particular product in WEEE, could also generate vital information to support the design and material selection processes during the initial product development activities. The assertion made is that the detailed considerations of the ecological and economical impacts associated with different end‐of‐life options will significantly improve the recovery and recycling of WEEE.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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In Europe 7.3 million tonnes of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) were created in 2002, and the fact that growth rate of WEEE is 3-5% per annum with a significant amount of this waste used to be dumped into landfills without any pre-treatment, has resulted in the introduction of European WEEE directive. The directive requires companies who manufacture or import electrical and electronic equipment to take financial and legal responsibility for its environmental-friendly recovery and recycling. The current recycling applications of WEEE are often developed on ad hoc basis and mainly attributable to the hidden economic value within used products. However, at present the recycling facilities are faced with the challenge to improve WEEE recycling activities to ensure that a larger proportion of components and materials are being recovered at a reasonable cost and yet at the same time legislative requirements are being met. A major assertion made in the research reported in this paper is that a systematic framework is needed to aid the decision making involved in adopting the best possible end-of-life strategies for WEEE. The paper presents one such integrated framework for the planning of the processes involved in the recycling of WEEE. Based on this framework a Computer-Aided Recycling Process Planning (CARPP) system which generates bespoke recycling process plans for WEEE has been developed which is also described and its functionality demonstrated using a typical WEEE product. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The imminent introduction of the European Directive relating to the recovery and recycling of two million end-of-life vehicles per annum has resulted in significant developments and changes within the UK vehicles recovery chain. The economic ramifications of this conformance have left many end-of-life stakeholders in a uniquely different market, based on contract negotiations, investment, and very challenging targets. The archaic and reactive nature of the recovery industry has meant that the demands of being part of the extended enterprice have never been present, and as such waste reduction and value improvement have never been major industry concerns. With th introduction of this legislation comes an increased need for the recovery chain to understand the economics of its own operations, to better support any investment or processing decisions within the new market. This paper provides and overview to the stakeholders and their rlelationships within th UK recovery chain, and discusses the development of an end-of-life vehicle costing framework based on the current direct and indirect costs and revenues affecting vehicles retirement, to facilitate increased value recovery to an array of end-of-life operators. Each of the costing techniques adopted or developed within the framework are then further discussed, before the intended industrial applications of the framework is highlighted. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Many manufacturing organizations while doing business either directly or indirectly with other industrial sectors often encounter interoperability problems among software systems. This increases the business cost and reduces the efficiency. Research communities are exploring ways to reduce this cost. Incompatibility amongst the syntaxes and the semantics of the languages of application systems is the most common cause to this problem. The process specification language (PSL), an ISO standard (18629), has the potential to overcome some of these difficulties by acting as a neutral communication language. The current paper has therefore focused on exploring this aspect of the PSL within a cross-disciplinary supply chain environment.

 The paper explores a specific cross-disciplinary supply chain scenario in order to understand the mechanisms of communications within the system. Interoperability of processes supporting those communications are analysed against PSL. A strategy is proposed for sharing process information amongst the supply chain nodes using the ‘PSL 20 questions wizard and it is concluded that, although there is a need to develop more effective methods for mapping systems to PSL, it can still be seen as a powerful tool to aid the communications between processes in the supply chain. The paper uses a supply chain scenario that cuts across the construction and manufacturing business sectors in order to provide a breadth to the types of disciplines involved in communication.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems offer an alternative technology for power generation in stationary plants. The environmental benefits of this technology in the use phase are well understood and stem from improved fuel efficiencies when compared with combustion-based systems. These benefits have driven technology development towards commercialisation. Recent trends in environmental policy have highlighted the need to manage products responsibly throughout their entire life-cycle, including the end-of life (EoL) phase. At present EoL management of SOFC stacks is not well understood and requires consideration prior to market entry. Using the waste management hierarchy as a framework for the development of an EoL strategy a methodology is proposed to move from a reactive approach to a proactive approach. This paper presents results from the initial steps of this methodology. Analysis of existing SOFC stack design has provided an initial definition of the EoL problem. By drawing parallels with EoL problems faced by other more mature product streams and existing waste management solutions, a body of knowledge is built. This knowledge will support the development of a reactive short-term solution to EoL management of SOFC stacks, and will provide input to the longer term development of a proactive approach to minimising the environmental burden of this future waste stream. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Currently, more than 19 billion pairs of shoes are consumed worldwide every year, and this figure continues to rise. This creates an enormous amount of post-consumer (end-of-life) shoe waste that is currently being disposed in landfill sites around the world. The research reported in this working paper is an initial investigation in realisation of a holistic approach to application of product recovery and recycling in the footwear industry. The paper provides a brief review of the trends in the footwear sector regarding the amount of end-of-life waste produced together with existing reuse and recycling activities. It also presents an integrated waste management framework by combining a mix of design and material improvements as well as reuse, recycling and energy recovery activities and concludes by examining the challenges in establishing end-of-life product recovery procedures for post-consumer shoes.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Concerns for the enviroment are currently dominated by global warming and climate change, caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. A significant factor is the consumption of energy by manufactured products during their use phase. The production of these products is also a focus of attention because of the inefficient way that society in general and industry in particular manages resources. A responsible approach to design and manufacture of products should embrace efficient resource use by reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources throughout a product's life-cycle. This provides tremendous opportunities for practicing a whole raft og concepts and practices that embrace, for example: design for environment, environmentally benign/conscious manufacture, waste minimization, dematerialization and product service system, energy conservation and management, green/sustainable supply chain management, product end-of-life management and reverse logistics. 

The cocnerns for the environment are intrinsic to the concept of sustainable development but this concept also embraces the economic and social context within which concern for the environment is exercised. Whilst the broad concept of sustainable development is commonly accepted, it is the emphasis on resource use and conservation that most strongly permeate legislation. Governments have recognized theur responsibility to the environment and exercised their authority through legislation that directly affects manufacturing businesses. Such legislation requires that businesses reduce their consumption of resources, especially energy, minimize their waste and accept their responsibility for their products when they reach the end of the their working life. It is within this context that the proposal for a special issue was generated. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Convenience food manufacture generates considerable waste due to the planning of production being undertaken based upon forecasted orders. This problem is particularly acute for products that have a very short shelf-life and are subject to considerable volatility in demand, such as ready-meals. Overproduction wastes (OPWs) typically result in finished products being disposed of through commercial waste channels, which is both costly for manufacturers and represents poor and unsustainable use of resources. This paper reports on a hybrid two-stage planning technique for the reduction of OPW by utilizing the advantages offered through both static and dynamic approaches to production scheduling. The application of this planning approach to a case study ready-meal manufacturer through the development of commercially available planning software is also described.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The footwear industry, over the last years, has placed significant effort in improving energy and material efficiency, but in comparison little effort has been directed at the recovery and recycling of shoes at the end of their funtional life. In reality, most worn and discarded (end-of-life) shoes are disposed of in landfills. Producer responsibility issues and forthcoming legislation as well as increasing environmental consumer demands are expected to challenge the way the global footwear industry deal with its end-of-life waste. This paper presents an investigation into the steps required to consider the end-of-life implication of shoes and promote post-consumer recycling practices in the footwear industry. The paper describes the design and specification of a decision-making model to identifiy the most appropriate reuse, recovery and recycling option for post-consumer shoes. Such a tool in addition to supporting design and material selection processes could also provide benchmark information for the selection of a best end-of-life practice for a selected range of shoe types. The paper concludes by providing a case study for shoe wast managemene to demonstrate the practicality of this decision-making model. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The significant environmental cost associated with management of products at the end-of-life has resulted in the emergence of 'producer responsibility' legislations to encourage increase in recovery and recycling practices. In the case of electrical and electronic equipment, one such legislation, namely the 'Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive', requires manufacturers to assume financial and legal liability for recovery and recycling of their products at the end-of-life. The current recycling applications of electrical and electronic waste are often developed on ad hoc bases and mainly attributable to the hideen economic value within used products. However, owing to stricter regulations on end-of-life product recycling, it is now essential to evaluate the recycling costs and environmental benefits of reclaimed products and materials as well as the selection of appropriate recycling strategy. The present paper describes the initial investigation in the realisation of a computer-aided recycling process planner for electrical and electronic products. The assertion made is that such a systemaic approach to producin bespoke eco-efficient recycling process plans for individual products will significantly improve the value recovery from recycling activities. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The footwear factory is manufacturing sector that utilizes a wide variety of materials and processes to produce a range of distinctly different products, from sandals to more specialized footwear. Currently, more than 19 billion pairs of shoes are produced worldwide every year. This creates a large waste stream at the end of the functional life of shoes, which are often disposed of in landfills. 

Producer responsibility concerns, forthcoming legislation and increasingly environmentally conscious consumers are expected to challenge the way the gloabl footwear industry is dealing with its end-of-life (EoL) products. This paper highlights the potential benefits of developing a footwear product recovery methodology and an associated software tool to suport decision-making to determine the most suitable (in environmental, economic and social-technical terms) manner in which to treat post-consumer shoe waste. Such a methodology, in addition to supporting design and material selection processes, could also provide benchmark information for the selection of the best EoL practice for a selected range of different shoe types. The paper concludes by providing a computational viewpoint of an EoL shoe recovery decision support tool. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The 2006 end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) directive target for the recycled and reused material content of an ELV has been undertaken using the current recovery infrastructure within the UK. The current expectation is that the conformance for the 2006 recycling target will be mainly achieved using existing post-fragmentation separation tecnologies rather than manually disassembling vehicles into their constituent materials. With the economic pressure of the current legislative targets weighing heavily on end-of-life stakeholders, and the further increase of recycling levels for 2015, it is important to understand 'when' and 'if' manual dismantling activities become economically viable within a dramatically changing vehicles recovery industry. This paper describes a method of costing the dismantling of specific makes and models of vehicle due for retirement in 2015, and discusses the economic implications of such practice and possible strategic directions for pre-fragmentation vehicle recovery.  

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Currently, 17 billion pairs of shoes are produced worldwide every year, and this figure continues to rise. This creates an enormous amount of post-consumer (end-of-life) shoe waste that is currently being disposed of in landfill sites around the world. The research reported in this paper is an intial investigation into realization of a holistic approach to application of recovery and recycling in the footwear industry. The paper provides a brief review of the trends in the footwear sector regarding the amount of end-of-lfie waste produced, togther with existing reuse and recycling activities. It also presents an integrated waste management framework by combining a mix of design and material improvements, as well as reuse, recycling, and energy recovery activities, and concludes by examining the challenges in establishing end-of-life product recovery procedures for post-consuemr shoes. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

A sustainable approach to a products End-of-life processing needs to be a balance between the environmental impacts of a particular course of action, and it’s economic viability. The research reported in this paper has investigated a structured costing framework to be used in conjunction with improved environmental practises, to provide an economic understanding of varying End-of-Life Vehicle processing routes. The paper presents an holistic end-of-life cost model for the vehicle recovery sector and focuses on the potential applications of this model to support both high and low level decisions, in terms of a processes economic merits and its influence on the ELV Directives recycling and recovery targets. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

The paper reviews the trends in the footwear sector regarding the amount of end-of-life waste produced and ways in which it is tackled. Existing reuse and recycling activities in the footwear sector are examined, and the use of biodegradable materials is investigated. The paper presents an integrated waste management framework by combining a mix of design and material improvements as well as reuse, recycling and energy recovery activities. The paper also discusses the implications of using biodegradable materials as a means of reducing the amount of end-of-life waste in the footwear industry and how this proactive approach compared against traditional end-of-life management approaches. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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Abstract

Convenience food manufacture generates considerable waste through poor planning of production. This problem is particularly acute for products that have very short shelf-life and will be disposed of as waste should their shelf-life expire. Chilled ready-meals are convenience foods with relatively short shelf-lives and volatile consumer demands; their manufacture is based on forecasted volumes and when demand has been over-predicted, considerable wastes are created. This is referred to as overproduction waste( OPW), which typically sees finished products disposed of through commericial waste channels as a result of lack of demand. The research reported in this paper has investigated the generation of a reponsive demand management framework for the reduction of OPW's. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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To cope with the environmental effects of 9 million tonnes of vehicles that reach the end of their useful lives each year in Europe, the EC have created the End-of-Life Vehciles (ELVs) Directive. Two of the most radical measures included in the directive are to provide free takeback to last owners and to achieve targeted levels for the recycling and recovery of material by set dates. 

This paper aims to provide a basis for future research by evaluating the potential direction of the recovery industry. This is achieved firstly by assessing the origins of the directive and previous research surroungs the subject. The paper then describes the current recovery infrastructure and practices in the UK, highlighting all the stakeholders involved in the recovery industry. This paper also highlights the issues related to the provision of takeback and the attainment of targets through two stages, namely the implementation and management of takeback, and the use of new technology to achieve the recovery targets. The paper concludes by identifying key aims for future research to support the objectives of the implemented legislation and the financial stability of all stakeholders. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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This report is the concluding document summating the project results from the IMCRC project entitled, “cost-oriented approach to design and recovery of vehicles to meet the requirements for the end-of-life (ELV) Directive”, which was undertaken from Oct 2004-Oct 2006. The report contains a brief overview of the research undertaken, the systems developed and the results that were obtained. The appendix contains 4 of the papers produced, which give further insight into the research conducted. 

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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The European shoe industry has experienced significant challenges in the last 20 years, mainly due to the pressures of modern global markets in which the industry has to compete with competitors from low labour cost countries in Asia and the Far East. A new trend is now forecast concerning the mass customisation of shoes, where customers choose and order customised shoes from a range of predefined materials and designs. This is to be achieved through the ‘shoe shop of the future’ with combined capabilities of obtaining 3D models of customer’s feet together with the exciting developments offered through the latest advancement in e-commerce. However, such a novel approach for the customisation of shoe design and production will have a significant influence on the batch sizes and expected lead times, and will reduce the average batch size of shoe production from 500–1000 pairs to about 10–20 pairs per batch. Consequently, customised shoes will result in an enormous increase in the number of batches, leading to an increase in the complexity of planning, scheduling and tracking of orders both across the supply chain and internally within various production departments of a shoe factory. This research proposes a distributed scheduling approach to provide the required autonomy in decision making and flexibility in job sequencing at departmental level to deal with the complexity of planning a large number of small batch production orders.

SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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SMART authors: Shahin Rahimifard

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