Technology Integration for Sustainable Manufacturing: An Applied Study on Integrated Profitable Pollution Prevention in Surface Finishing Systems

Technology improvement and innovation are of utmost importance in achieving greenness while ensuring economic incentives in manufacturing. Aiming at Profitable Pollution Prevention (P3), design and operation technologies can be developed to enhance manufacturing sustainability through energy and material efficiency increment, source waste reduction, production efficiency improvement, safety assurance, etc. This paper explores opportunities for an effective integration of P3-oriented technologies in a systematic way. It will be shown that the integrated P3 (IP3) technology can be identified through a technology implementation approach based on process fundamentals and engineering practicability needed for process design modification and operational strategy development. A successful application of an IP3 technology in an electroplating process, a main type of surface finishing system, demonstrates the methodological efficacy.