The industrial ecology of the iron casting industry

Metal casting is an energy and materials intensive manufacturing process, which is an important U.S. industry. This study analyzes iron casting, in particular, for possible improvements that will result in greater efficiencies and therefore greater global competitiveness. The quantity and types of materials and energy used are dependent on the technologies selected and the cast part parameters. The most energy intensive step is melting, which is explored with an input-output analysis and an exergy comparison of three major technologies: cupola melting and the heel and batch types of coreless electric induction melting. The major goal of this project is the creation of a material and energy flow model of the typical iron casting facility. This input-output process model is used to analyze the effect that different melting technologies will have on energy, materials and pollution, including selected upstream processes. Findings show that energy and the associated carbon dioxide emissions vary widely with melting technology and the relative benefits depend on where the boundaries are drawn in the analysis. An understanding of the current technology then allows for the analysis of new technologies under development and how they will affect the facility in terms of material and energy use, pollution and economics. The model is based on data collected from partner casting companies. The study concludes with a review of the available policy options which can improve the environmental profile of the facilities. Thesis Supervisor: Timothy G. Gutowski Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering

[1]  M. Simmons.  Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy , 2005 .

[2]  Brigitte Stern,et al.  United States Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products , 2006 .

[3]  C K Patel,et al.  Industrial ecology. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[4]  W. Leontief.  Input-output economics , 1967 .

[5]  Edward Cohen-Rosenthal,et al.  Employee participation in pollution reduction: Preliminary analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory , 1996 .

[6]  William Stanley Jevons,et al.  The Coal Question: An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of Our Coal-Mines , 2009 .

[7]  Jan Szargut,et al.  Exergy Analysis of Thermal, Chemical, and Metallurgical Processes , 1988 .

[8]  Nickolas J. Themelis,et al.  RECYCLING METALS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT , 1998 .

[9]  E. N. Lawrence.  Clean Air Act , 1971, Nature.

[10]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  An Application of Exergy Accounting to Five Basic Metal Industries , 2006 .

[11]  James R. Evans,et al.  Principles of Operations Management , 2005 .

[12]  D. J. Kasun,et al.  Cupola emissions controls : Wet scrubber vs. dry baghouse , 1999 .

[13]  Stephen E. Kesler,et al.  Mineral Resources, Economics, and the Environment , 1994 .

[14]  Robert U. Ayres,et al.  Resources, scarcity, technology and growth , 2005 .

[15]  Robert Costanza,et al.  An Introduction to Ecological Economics , 1997 .

[16]  H. Daly,et al.  Natural Capital and Sustainable Development , 1992 .

[17]  Eric Williams,et al.  Energy intensity of computer manufacturing: hybrid assessment combining process and economic input-output methods. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[18]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment , 1995, Environment and Development Economics.

[19]  P. Chapman,et al.  Metal Resources and Energy , 1983 .

[20]  He Huang,et al.  Evaluation of volatile hydrocarbon emission characteristics of carbonaceous additives in green sand foundries. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[21]  Radhica Sastry,et al.  Mercury contamination from metal scrap processing facilities: A study by ohio EPA , 2002 .

[22]  Jeffrey B. Dahmus.  Applications of industrial ecology : manufacturing, recycling, and efficiency , 2007 .

[23]  V. M. Brodyansky,et al.  The Efficiency of Industrial Processes: Exergy Analysis and Optimization , 1994 .

[24]  Robert E. Eppich.  Energy use in selected metal casting facilities - 2003 , 2004 .

[25]  N. Margolis,et al.  Energy and environmental profile of the U.S. iron and steel industry , 1997 .

[26]  Xiannuan Lin,et al.  Input—output modeling of production processes for business management☆ , 1998 .

[27]  Stephanie K. Dalquist,et al.  Life Cycle Analysis of Conventional Manufacturing Techniques: Sand Casting , 2004 .

[28]  G. E. Mosher.  Calculating emission factors for pouring, cooling and shakeout , 1994 .