Methodology for an Energy and Resource Efficient Process Chain Design

In consequence of rising costs for raw materials and energy, as well as the customers’ increasing awareness of environmental protection the question of a sustainable production is becoming more and more important. A considerable part of the energy and resource demand in manufacturing is determined during the production planning process. Thus the chosen production technique and the consequential process design have a big influence on the consumption values. This paper presents a methodology to assess different manufacturing technologies, analyzing and estimating their energy and resource consumption and finally choosing the process chain that fits the best to the company’s requirements.