Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Eco-Manufacturing'

Eco-efficiency improvements in manufacturing is a controversial subject for researchers, practitioners as well as policy makers. The widely accepted definition of "doing more with less" is not accurate enough to guide the design of improvements that can deliver products in a sustainable way. The outcome of these challenges is evident through significant environmental performance variations across various levels of manufacturing operations. The study is driven by the complexity of manufacturing systems and sought to offer design support for practitioners that aim to improve eco-efficiency. A maturity model has been developed in this work that simulates the influence of manufacturing practices on eco-efficiency. The model takes the form of a maturity grid (PMGE) that overlooks practices at process, management systems and top-management levels and incorporates 15 dimensions of performance overall. Evidence shows that practices tend to evolve from reactive to proactive as manufacturing systems mature and embrace eco- efficiency as a systemic property. It was also found that mature companies achieve improvements in energy and resources by relying on existing internal capabilities. Tools to facilitate research and intervene with practitioners in real-life problems were developed and tested. The researcher combined research findings and tools into a maturity-based method (PMGEM) for eco-efficiency improvements. The method intends to help practitioners plan and design eco- efficiency improvements aligned to existing internal capabilities and adopt a more proactive behaviour to environmental challenges. PMGEM was ultimately applied in two case studies with ultimate goal to help practitioners resolve real-life challenges. The applications were positively commented and encourage further work in this field. The researcher envisages that methods such as PMGEM are deeply needed in manufacturing to support practitioners approach complex concepts such as eco-efficiency. Simplification and decomposition techniques with a clear intended use can facilitate the implementation of ambitious improvement strategies for sustainable development.

Over the last decades the concept of eco-innovation has increased its relevance among academics, practitioners and policy makers. The majority of prior literature has concerned eco-innovations and their drivers. Research concerning the barriers to eco-innovation is however scarce, especially among large companies. The purpose with this thesis is therefore to extract further information regarding the field of the barriers to eco-innovation. The aim is to contribute with enhanced knowledge and expand the current literature, as focus is placed on large companies and their barriers. This has been done by implementing a qualitative approach. Twelve semi-structured interviews have been performed with respondents in nine large Swedish manufacturing companies. Secondary data has also been collected in order to triangulate the primary data. The findings show that the main barriers for the large companies to be eco-innovative are related to the awareness in the organization, the quality requirements for the products and production process as well as the regulations affecting the company.

Increasingly, services are utilised by manufacturing companies to satisfy demand. This trend is thought by a number of authors to provide opportunities to develop products that satisfy demand at increased resource efficiencies. This thesis considers a special category of services which have been conceptualised by academics and policy makers to realise this - Eco-services Eco-services have been the focus of a number of research projects lead by those practicing and associated with cleaner product design. This work has mainly focused on product policy and whilst a considerable body of knowledge has been accumulated, the array of factors that would lead to the successful transfer (from academia and to UK manufacturing companies) of this exogenous concept were unknown. This thesis sought to identify and understand these. Two inter linked phases of research were initiated and completed. The first was inductive in nature and was comprised of a Pilot Study. In this data was elicited from a variety of sources so as to provide a robust foundation of knowledge upon which subsequent enquiry could be initiated. It concluded with the construction of an initial conceptual framework which described the attributes of receptivity that were found in UK manufacturing firms to be specific to the Eco-service concept. Also, a number of research propositions were generated so as to guide research in phase two. The second deductive phase of research was undertaken so as to test the initial conceptual framework. A Main Study was carried out in order to elicit primary qualitative data from two UK manufacturing companies. This work was guided by the research propositions and a more in-depth understanding of the attributes of receptivity was gained. This body of knowledge was utilised to refine the initial conceptual framework. This research identified and understood the range of factors that give rise to the successful inward transfer of the Eco-service concept in U manufacturing companies. Eight attributes of receptivity were identified and described in the final conceptual framework. The intention of this work was not to refute current trajectories of research within the Eco-service domain, but rather to provide an additional body of knowledge that can be thought to enable those authors in the Eco-service domain to realise the opportunity that the emergent trajectory of services provides to significantly improve resource efficiencies.

L'industrialisation d'un produit de rupture dans le contexte spécifique d'une startup Deeptech est difficile, stressante et risquée. Elle nécessite un processus bien structuré, aligné sur la R&D du produit et le développement des procédés, le développement de la startup elle-même, et le développement ou l'adaptation d'outils et de méthodes spécifiques. Cette thèse aborde la question de l'industrialisation et de la mise à l'échelle de la production d'un produit innovant avec des objectifs de durabilité ambitieux. Une startup se distingue par ses ressources limitées qui se développent rapidement et sa maturité hétérogène des défis de processus/production.La recherche a été effectuée dans le cadre d'un contrat CIFRE au sein d'une start-up qui conçoit une pile à combustible bio-enzymatique. Le travail de recherche a été effectué simultanément à un travail d'ingénieur, permettant de tester les décisions théoriques et académiques et les décisions pratiques de l'entreprise pour faire progresser le processus d'industrialisation, telles que le développement de machines feuille-à-feuille et rouleau-à-rouleau.Les principaux résultats sont de nouveaux outils de prise de décision et de gestion de projet utiles dans un tel contexte. En particulier, les concepts de Minimum Viable Product (MVP) et de conception intégrée sont proposés pour soutenir une approche systémique et une prise de décision holistique. Un modèle permettant de piloter simultanément le développement de la startup et du produit a été développé et un outil de pilotage pratique est proposé. Il est basé sur les TRL et MRL, une version adaptée du DRL ainsi qu’un un nouveau niveau de préparation à la durabilité (SRL), afin de définir l'effort (concept de Delta) nécessaire pour atteindre l'objectif
Industrializing a disruptive product in the specific context of a Deeptech startup is challenging, stressing, and risky. It requires a well-structured process, aligned with the product R&D and process developments and the development of the startup itself, and the development/adaptation of specific tools and methods. This thesis addresses the question of industrializing and scaling up the production of an innovative product with ambitious sustainability targets. A startup differs from by its limited resources that develops quickly and its heterogeneous maturity of process/production challenges.The research was carried out in a CIFRE position at a startup designing an innovative bio-enzymatic fuel cell. The research work was done simultaneously of an engineering work, allowing tests of theoretical and academic-based decisions and practical company decisions to make the industrialization process progress such as development of sheet-to-sheet and roll-to-roll machines.The main results are new decision-making and project management tools useful in such a context. In particular, the concepts of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and Integrated Design are proposed to support a systemic approach and a holistic decision-making. A model to pilot both the startup and product developments simultaneously has been developed and a practical steering tool is proposed. It is based on the well-known TRL and MRL, an adapted Demand Readiness Level (DRL) and a new Sustainability Readiness Level (SRL), to define the effort (concept of delta) required to achieve the objective

Preocupações com sustentabilidade ambiental são recorrentes tanto no meio acadêmico, como no meio empresarial. Elas ecoam ao se pensar no crescimento econômico chinês e nos impactos das atividades produtivas no meio ambiente. A China é o país emergente com as maiores taxas de crescimento econômico no mundo, porém sua imagem também reflete sua vulnerabilidade com relação à ecologia. Tendo isso em consideração e procurando compreender como isso repercute nas operações internacionais, esta tese estuda os determinantes estratégicos das empresas chinesas em operação no Brasil, pelas lentes teóricas do tripé da estratégia. A sustentabilidade ambiental se operacionalizou em ecoeficiência, termo desdobrado em eco-inovação, eco-reputação e manufatura verde. Dado que os aspectos estratégicos direcionam as ações empresariais, isto se torna ainda mais complexo ao se analisar a operação internacional, uma vez que além dos aspectos internos e de mercado, a empresa é influenciada por forças institucionais relacionados com seu mercado de origem e com o mercado de destino das vendas externas. Esta tese inova ao relacionar aspectos do tripé da estratégia com as estratégias de ecoeficiência de empresas chinesas no Brasil. São utilizadas técnicas quantitativas para testar as hipóteses. A análise é feita utilizando modelo de equações estruturais, com o software SmartPLS v3. Os resultados indicam que há associação positiva entre os recursos internos da empresa e ações de ecoeficiência nos seus três desdobramentos (eco-inovação, eco-reputação e manufatura verde). No caso da visão baseada na indústria, encontrou-se associação positiva com manufatura verde e eco-reputação, mas não com as iniciativas de eco-inovação. Os aspectos institucionais do mercado brasileiro não puderam ser associados com nenhuma das iniciativas de ecoeficiência. Esta tese contribui para o entendimento de determinantes estratégicos na adoção de iniciativas ambientais, ao indicar a importância dos recursos na implantação dessas estratégias. Não se confirma a importância da vertente institucional no modelo teórico-conceitual, o que mostra limitação à extensão dessa teoria. Os resultados, do ponto de vista gerencial, mostram que as forças de mercado estimulam as empresas a empreender em iniciativas de eco-reputação e os processos de manufatura. Contudo, verifica-se que os aspectos de eco-inovação nas empresas chinesas ainda não foram influenciados pelas demandas do mercado brasileiro.
Concerns about environmental sustainability are recurrent both in academy and in business. This concern echoes especially because of the impact of Chinese productive activities on the environment. China is an emerging country with the highest economic growth rates in the world, but its image also reflects their vulnerability on ecological issues. Taking this into consideration, this thesis studies the strategic determinants of Chinese companies operating in Brazil by the theoretical lenses of strategic tripod. Environmental sustainability is operationalized into eco-efficiency, a term translated into eco-innovation, eco-reputation and green manufacturing. To the extent that strategy directs business actions, it becomes even more complex when analyzing the international operation, as well as internal aspects and market, the company is influenced by institutional forces from home market and the target market of foreign sales. This thesis contributes to relate aspects of the strategy tripod with the eco-efficiency strategies of Chinese companies in Brazil. This thesis contributes to relate the strategy tripod with the eco-efficiency strategies of Chinese companies. To this end, methodology was quantitative, with data collected and examined in order to confirm or refute the hypothesis. They were analyzed by structural equation model, with SmartPLS v3 software. The results indicate that there is a positive association between the internal resources and eco-efficiency in its three developments (eco-innovation, eco-green reputation and manufacturing). About the industry-based view, there is a positive association with green manufacturing and eco-reputation, but not with eco-innovation initiatives. Brazilian institutional aspects could not be associated with any of the eco-efficiency strategies. To literature, this thesis contributes to the understanding of strategic determinants on adopting environmental initiatives. It highlights the importance of resources in the implementation of eco strategies. However, tests do not confirm the importance of institutional aspects in the theoretical-conceptual model, which exposes the limited extent of this theory. From the managerial side results show that market forces encourage companies to engage in eco-reputation and green manufacturing process initiatives. However, it appears, according to the data, which aspects of eco-innovation in Chinese companies have not been influenced by the Brazilian market demands.

This thesis describes the process of making a new engine for the car DNV Fuel Fighter 2 that participated in the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe 2012 in Rotterdam. The decision was made to construct a new engine based on an optimized design by Lubna Nasrin. The engine is an ironless axial flux permanent magnet machine with Hallbach array. As a contingency plan there was the possibility to modify the engine used in 2010 and 2011 built by André Dahl-Jacobsen. The result of the process is that the new engine is operational and it has displayed an efficiency of 68 %. However the old engine has displayed an efficiency of 86 %. Because of this, the car raced with the old engine and had an energy consumption of 163 km/kWh. It is still believed that the new engine can be a very successful engine given that it is modified. The new engine has room for improvement especially with regards to stator production and wiring connections. Suggestions are made for how to achieve a higher efficiency. This thesis describes some of the practical engineering challenges that arise when constructing a novel motor. The construction of the Hallbach array is well described here.This work has been a part of a larger project where the end goal was to participate in and win the Shell Eco Marathon Europe. This means that the engine must not only perform well on its own. The engine must also function well with the other components technically and it must be possible to make it with the time and resources available. The development of new technology is expensive and it has therefore been a priority to find funding for this project. This will also be described.

I noticed that the workers had the same itinerary when emptying trashcans, meanwhile trashcans needed urgently to be emptied. Traditionally, ETSU maintenance operate on daily routes to pick trash on designated time, regardless the level of the containers. This leads to overflown trashcan in busy areas or during rush hours in certain areas. This overflown trashcan result in an unclean environment for the community and an unpleasant look of our beautiful campus. The time, resources and labor invested in collecting the trash could be saved. Therefore, I decided to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to create a device that will optimize trash collection, to reduce costs and pollution. The Eco-Smart Can will contain a renewable source of energy such as the solar panel. Furthermore, it will have a compactor as well to decrease the trash volume. The system in the Eco-Smart can will give prior information of the trash level to maintenance facility so that they can empty the trash in a timely manner and preserve the environment.

L'objectif principal de cette thèse a été d'évaluer le potentiel de valorisation des cendres volantes de charbon issues de centrales thermiques Spreader Stoker (Cendres Volantes Spreader Stoker), dans la fabrication d'éco-ciments sur l'île de La Réunion. Nous avons dans un premier temps effectué une caractérisation physico-chimique des CVSS et vérifié leur réactivité. Deux voies de valorisation ont ensuite été retenues, l'une qui ne présente pas de valeur ajoutée mais qui permet de valoriser un volume important de CVSS par une stabilisation dans des matrices à base de ciment, l'autre qui offre une valeur ajoutée aux CVSS par une incorporation dans la fabrication de ciments composés. Le relargage en lixiviation a été étudié pour la première voie de valorisation retenue, puis, les effets des CVSS dans les matrices à base de ciment, notamment le rôle des imbrûlés contenus dans les cendres, ont été évalués aux états frais, durcissant et durci, suivi d'une petite exploitation numérique des données expérimentales. Enfin, une étude de durabilité sur des bétons à base de ciments de laboratoire a été faite par une approche comparative avec la pouzzolane naturelle, qui est actuellement utilisée pour la fabrication de ciments composés sur l'île de la Réunion
The main objective of this project was to evaluate the potential of coal fly ash from Spreader Stoker thermal power plants (Spreader Stoker Coal Fly Ash) in the manufacture of eco-cements in Reunion Island. We first performed a physico-chemical characterization SSCFA and verified its reactivity. Two valorisation paths were chosen, one of which did not present any added value but which permit to value a large quantity of SSCFA by stabilization in cement-based matrices, the other which offers added value to SSCFA by incorporating it in the manufacture of composed cements. Leachate release was studied for the first path of valorisation, and then the effects of SSCFA in the cement matrices, especially the unburned particles contained in SSFCA, were evaluated in fresh, hardening and hardened states, followed by a small numerical exploitation of the experimental data. Finally, a sustainability study on concretes based on laboratory cements was made using a comparative approach with natural pozzolana, which is currently used for the manufacture of composite cements in Réunion Island

L'industrie microélectronique est engagée depuis longtemps dans des mesures visant à réduire ses impacts sur l'environnement, et ce sur toutes les phases du cycle de vie de ses produits. Sur les sites de fabrication, la suite logique à la mise en place de système de traitement des pollutions est l'anticipation de ces dernières. L'éco-conception des technologies microélectroniques, c'est-à-dire l'intégration de paramètres environnementaux dans leur processus de développement, permet de répondre à cet objectif. Notre travail de recherche a pour but de caractériser environnementalement les procédés de fabrication microélectronique afin de proposer des outils et méthodes pour leurs concepteurs. Nous avons donc modélisé une technologie microélectronique, et associé des impacts environnementaux aux flux entrants et sortants. Cela nous a permis de proposer des indicateurs environnementaux destinés à la R&D et adaptés à un site de développement et de production microélectronique.

Cette thèse se focalise sur la proposition et l’application des approches pour la modélisation de l’éco-fabrication. Ces approches permettent de préparer et simuler une démarche de fabrication des produits en assurant le couplage entre les objectifs écologiques et économiques.Les approches développées dans cette thèse sont basées sur les notions d’aide à la décision ainsi que l’optimisation multi objectifs. L’aide à la décision permet l’intervention en deux différents niveaux : le choix des impacts environnementaux à quantifier ainsi que le choix du scénario final de fabrication. Pour l’optimisation multi objectifs, elle assure le couplage entre les deux piliers principaux de l’éco-fabrication : l’écologie et l’économie. Au niveau de l’aide à la décision multi critères, les méthodes Evamix et Promethee ont été appliqués, tandis que les essaims particulaires ont été développés dans le cadre de l’optimisation multi objectifs.Ces approches ont été appliquées tout d’abord aux quelques opérations d’usinage : tournage et fraisage. Finalement, la chaîne de fabrication de l’acide phosphorique ainsi que celle d’acide sulfurique ont été le sujet de l’application des deux approches développées
This thesis focuses on the proposal and implementation of approaches for modeling sustainable manufacturing. These approaches are used to prepare and simulate a process of manufacturing products providing coupling between environmental and economic objectives.The approaches developed in this thesis are based on the concepts of decision support as well as multi-objective optimization. The decision support allows intervention in two different levels: the choice of indicator to quantify the environmental impacts and the choice of the final manufacturing scenario. For multi-objective optimization, it provides the coupling between the two main pillars of sustainable manufacturing: ecology and economy. In terms of multi criteria decision aid methods, Evamix and Promethee were applied, while particulate swarms were developed as part of the multi-objective optimization. These approaches have been applied initially to some machining operations: turning and milling. Finally, the production line of phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid were the subject of application of the two approaches developed

Fin dagli inizi degli anni ’90, il deterioramento ambientale ha ricevuto un’attenzione sempre maggiore ed è diventato uno dei problemi più dibattuti a livello internazionale. Grossi passi avanti sono stati fatti in quanto gli effetti negativi sulla salute umana e sulla sopravvivenza degli ecosistemi sono scientificamente accertati. Considerando questo scenario, le autorità internazionali si stanno coordinando per porre in essere delle politiche che promuovano uno sviluppo sostenibile, attraverso un utilizzo più efficiente delle risorse naturali e una riduzione delle emissioni. Tale processo prevede un meccanismo di adattamento del consumo e della produzione di lungo termine. Dal lato della produzione, molte ricerche hanno studiato la relazione che intercorre tra problemi ambientali, politiche ambientali e aspetti economici e molte ipotesi sono state formulate (Porter Hypothesis, Pollution Haven, ecc.). Tra i fattori economici più rilevanti, un ruolo importante è giocato dal commercio internazionale e dall’innovazione; infatti, i governi stanno emanando politiche che incentivino l’implementazione del commercio e dell’innovazione in un’ottica sostenibile da parte delle imprese, le quali devono anche prendere in considerazione aspetti economici e finanziari. Alla luce di questo, è comprensibile quanto la relazione tra commercio, innovazione e sostenibilità sia complesso e richieda una intensa collaborazione tra tutti i portatori di interesse, dai governi ai consumatori e alle imprese. Considerando l’importanza che tale relazione ha a livello globale, questa tesi mira a investigare l’interconnessione delle politiche ambientali con l’adozione di eco-innovazioni e la decisione di esportare da parte delle imprese. Inoltre, si prefigge di analizzare l’effetto del commercio internazionale e dell’innovazione sulle emissioni a livello aggregato. La tesi si suddivide in tre capitoli. Nei primi due, viene effettuata e descritta un’analisi teorica ed empirica della relazione suddetta con riferimento all’impresa; mentre nel terzo capitolo, tale relazione viene studiata a livello macroeconomico. Il primo capitolo tratta del ruolo dell’eterogeneità tra imprese all’interno delle dinamiche concernenti la Porter Hypothesis. Nello specifico, l’effetto di una tassa Pigouviana sulle decisioni tecnologiche e commerciali di un’impresa viene trattato adottando la versione del modello di commercio internazionale di Melitz proposta da Helpman nel 2006. Le imprese, alla luce dell’introduzione della tassa da parte dei governi, possono decidere se adottare una tecnologia green o meno. Nel dettaglio, esistono tre tipologie di tecnologie: dirty, clean 1 e clean 2, ognuna delle quali richiede diversi livelli di costi fissi e costi variabili. Le tecnologie clean permettono di abbattere completamente l’inquinamento prodotto, quindi non richiedono il pagamento della tassa da parte dell’impresa; inoltre, l’innovazione di tipo 2 è più complessa di quella di tipo 1. La decisione relativa alla tecnologia da adottare ha un forte impatto sulla produttività e, conseguentemente, sulla propensione ad esportare delle imprese. L’analisi teorica condotta suggerisce quattro risultati importanti. Primo, se tutte le imprese decidessero di non adottare una innovazione di tipo clean, le autorità potrebbero sfruttare la tassa come uno strumento efficiente per ridurre l’inquinamento; questo perché le imprese meno produttive lascerebbero il mercato e ciò comporterebbe una riduzione delle emissioni e un miglioramento della produttività media. Secondo, se le imprese potessero scegliere tra due tecnologie solamente, dirty o clean, esse adotteranno la seconda solamente se l’entità della tassa è particolarmente elevata. Terzo, se si considera uno scenario in cui solamente le tecnologie clean possono essere scelte, le imprese sceglieranno quella più complessa solo se sono molto efficienti e, quindi, se è economicamente conveniente introdurla. Infine, se le imprese hanno la possibilità di scegliere tra tutte e tre le tipologie di innovazione, la scelta dipenderà da diversi aspetti tra cui il valore della tassa e la relazione tra costi variabili e fissi che ciascuna tecnologia richiede. Il secondo capitolo riporta l’applicazione empirica del modello teorico presentato nel capitolo precedente. Specificatamente, con riferimento ai dataset CIS2008 e CIS2014 e alle imprese tedesche, vengono testati l’impatto negativo delle politiche ambientali sulla propensione ad esportare e l’effetto positivo delle stesse politiche sull’adozione di innovazioni ambientali. Lo studio ha evidenziato come l’ipotesi denominata Pollution Haven Effect sia confermata per i dati CIS2014. Dato che ci si aspetta un impatto superiore della politica ambientale sui settori più inquinanti, il coefficiente relativo alla regolamentazione è stato differenziato sulla base dell’intensità di inquinamento prodotto da ciascun settore. I settori sono stati classificati come green, grey e brown e i risultati riportano un effetto negativo della regolamentazione sulla propensione ad esportare dei settori brown. È stato, inoltre, messo in luce che l’adozione di innovazioni ambientali spinge le imprese ad aprirsi ai mercati esteri e che, queste ultime, siano incentivate dalle politiche ambientali (weak Porter Hypothesis). Dato che i governi devono considerare che le imprese possono reagire diversamente all’introduzione di nuove politiche, l’analisi è stata condotta anche su tre sotto campioni: piccole, medie e grandi imprese. Questo ha permesso di evidenziare le differenze in termini di efficienza e competitività. Con riferimento alle piccole imprese, le politiche ambientali non impattano sulla loro propensione ad esportare ma sono rilevanti per l’introduzione di eco-innovazioni. Le imprese di medie e grandi dimensioni sono disincentivate dal diventare esportatrici se una regolamentazione viene introdotta, quindi sono meno competitive. La tesi viene conclusa con il terzo capitolo all’interno del quale si analizza l’environmental Kuznets curve per diversi Paesi dell’Unione Europea. Nello specifico, si studiano le diverse cause che possono impattare sull’emissione di inquinanti aerei da parte dei paesi (livello di internazionalizzazione, innovazione, ecc.). Il livello aggregato delle emissioni viene decomposto attraverso l’indice Log Mean Divisia in tre effetti separati (scale, composition e technique) e successivamente si analizzano le determinanti di ciascuno di essi attraverso una stima Seemingly Unrelated Regression. L’analisi è condotta attraverso tre step. Primo, viene testata l’ipotesi di l’environmental Kuznets curve. Come secondo step, viene analizzato l’impatto di diversi fattori economici su ciascun effetto ottenuto attraverso la decomposizione: commercio internazionale, eco-innovazione, dotazione relativa di fattori produttivi e l’utilizzo di energia rinnovabile. L’uso di energia rinnovabile e l’adozione di ecoinnovazioni servono per catturate il progresso tecnologico di un paese e le sue modalità di utilizzo delle risorse; mentre, l’apertura al commercio internazionale viene considerata in quanto può avere un effetto ambiguo sul livello aggregato di emissioni, può incentivarne la produzione o ridurla. Come fase finale si considera il fatto che il commercio possa avere un effetto indiretto sull’inquinamento, quindi si prendono in considerazione variabili di interazione. L’analisi dei Paesi Europei nel periodo 2008-2014 ha evidenziato come le variabili adottate impattino diversamente sui tre effetti sopra citati e che tale diversità sia collegata al tipo di inquinante studiato. Innanzitutto, l’ipotesi della environmental Kuznets curve non è mai verificata. Il grado di apertura del mercato agisce attraverso l’effetto scale e incrementa l’inquinamento aereo; esso agisce attraverso un aumento dell’attività economica dovuta all’espansione del mercato. Il commercio influenza le emissioni anche in modo indiretto e lo fa attraverso il tasso di crescita, la dotazione di fattori produttivi e l’uso di rinnovabili.
Since 1990’s, environmental deterioration has obtained an increasing interest and it is one of the most important issue in the policy debate at the international level. Nevertheless, improvements have been made through, though this kind of problems still have negative effects on human and natural survival. Considering this scenario, governments have done important efforts in order to coordinate their policies towards the promotion of a sustainable development, by fostering an efficient use of natural resources and a reduction of emissions. This process is a long-term mechanism that needs changes in both consumption and production behaviours. Concerning production side, many studies have investigated the relationship between environmental issues, green policies and different economic factors, and many hypotheses have been formulated (Porter Hypothesis, Pollution Haven, etc.). Among these factors, trade and innovation have a relevant effect, so authorities should apply policies that encourage trade and innovation in a sustainable perspective. It is also true that empirical researches have underlined that the relationship among trade, innovation and environment is multidirectional. This means that producers have to manage trade and innovation by considering the environmental scenario but they should also take economic advantage from being green. In view of this, it is evident that the relationship among trade, innovation and sustainability is complex and requires an intensive collaboration between all stakeholders, from governments to consumers and firms. By considering the worldwide importance of this relation, the present thesis aims at deeply investigating the interplay of environmental policies with the adoption of innovation and trade decision at firm level. It also has the objective of analysing the effect of trade and innovation on country level emissions. The thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first two chapters, micro level analyses have been conducted, both from theoretical and empirical perspectives, while in the third one a cross-country study has been done. The three chapters are hereafter described. The first essay theoretically investigates the role of firm heterogeneity into the Porter Hypothesis dynamics. By using the version of Melitz's international trade model proposed by Helpman (2006), we study the effects of the introduction of an environmental tax on technology and trade decisions of firms. Specifically, we suppose that firms could be dirty or clean, depending on the adopted technology, when the government introduces an environmental tax. Clean firms adopt a total abatement technology so that they do not pay the tax. Firms can choose among three types of technology (dirty-type, clean-type 1 and clean-type 2), which require a different amount of fixed and variable costs. Clean-type 2 technology is more complex than clean-type 1 one. Technology decision has an impact on firms’ productivity, which subsequently affects their exporting propensity. This chapter suggests four important results. First, in a situation where all firms are dirty, governments could use the environmental tax as a good instrument for reducing pollution because it forces the least productive firms to leave the market, with a reduction of emissions and an improvement of the average productivity. Second, if firms may choose between a dirty and a clean technology, they are encouraged to adopt a clean technology when the value of the tax is sufficiently high. Since this kind of technology requires a higher level of fixed costs for its implementation, these costs can be compensated by some tax savings. Third, if we consider a scenario with clean-type 1 and clean-type 2 technologies, firms will opt for a more advanced technology if it is economically convenient. This means that firms introduce a complex abatement technology only when a highly-efficient firm is able to cope with it. Finally, in a scenario where all types of technology can be chosen by firms, the international organisation of production and technology adoption will depend on different aspects, such as the amount of the environmental tax, the relationship between variable and fixed costs that each technology requires. The second study is conducted in order to empirically analyse Pollution Havens and Porter Hypothesis by accounting for the role of firm heterogeneity in trade, innovation and environmental regulation. Specifically, we econometrically test, with reference to CIS2008 and CIS2014 manufacturing German firms, the hypothesis of a negative impact of environmental regulation on exporting propensity and the vision of a positive effect of regulation on innovation and, indirectly, on trade performance. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the hypothesis of the Pollution Haven Effect is confirmed for German firms in CIS2014 and when an environmental taxation is implemented. Differently from the existing literature, which suggests that the introduction of an ecoregulation entails some additional compliance costs and, correspondingly, a decreases competitiveness, a not significant effect of policy on exporting propensity of firms is obtained for CIS2008 and CIS2014. Since we expect that regulations have a higher impact on firms’ competitiveness in more pollutant sectors, we admit heterogeneous coefficients of the eco-regulation variable by sector emission intensity. Specifically, sectors are classified as green, grey and brown and results suggest that eco-regulation has a negative effect on exporting propensity in brown sectors only, though losing robustness over time from CIS2008 to CIS2014. Moreover, we have found that eco-innovation positively affects the probability of exporting. Another important result concerns the effect of environmental regulation on eco-innovation adoption. In line with the related literature on the well-known weak Porter Hypothesis, we find that regulation is a fundamental driver of innovation; the introduction of a new or a stringent environmental policy represents an incentive for firms to be innovative. Since policy makers should consider that firms could react differently to regulation in the ecoregulation drawing process, the two perspectives are also tested on three subsamples: small, medium and large firms. This analysis is important because size represents another measure of firm’s productivity, so of its efficiency level and competitive capacity. Concerning small firms, environmental policies do not affect trade propensity but are relevant for the introduction of ecoinnovation. However, the latter positive effect of regulations must be associated with public financial incentives. For medium and large firms, we can state that the existence of a green policy brings firms to be non-exporters. In other words, medium, either brown or grey, firms are less competitive if an eco-regulation is imposed. However, environmental innovation adoption is driven by eco-regulation and is itself a driver for being an exporter. The thesis is completed by a third macroeconomic level study, that aims at analysing different country characteristics, such as internationalisation and innovation profiles, which affect greenhouse gases and acidifying gases emissions in European Union countries. We decompose the overall level of emissions in scale, composition and technique effects by the Log Mean Divisia Index method. Then we investigate the determinants of each component by implementing a fixed effect Seemingly Unrelated Regression estimation. The analysis of different components is conducted through three steps. First, we investigate the effect of per capita income on air emissions. Specifically, we test the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, which underlines an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and pollution. By following the literature, as a second step, we account for the direct impact of other important economic factors in affecting the shape and turning point of the Kuznets curve, such as trade, eco-innovation, relative factor abundance and renewable energy use. Ecoinnovation and renewable energy use can capture the technological progress of a country and the efficient use of resources. We expect that both variables positively contribute to the reduction of pollution. Furthermore, relative factor endowments, together with eco-innovation, is a fundamental measure of country comparative advantage. Trade has been taken into account because, as the existing empirical evidence shows, its effect on emission can be ambiguous, it could either increase or decrease pollution. Finally, as a third step, since trade has also an indirect effect on pollution through scale, composition and technique effects, we measure the trade-induced impact by adding some interaction terms. The econometric analysis of European Union countries data over 2008-2014 years show that all described economic factors differently affect the three above-mentioned effects and results are strictly related to the analysed type of pollutant. For greenhouse gases, the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis cannot be rejected and is totally driven by the scale effect. This result is not verified for acidifying gases emissions. Furthermore, trade directly increases the level of both air pollutants and this is connected with the scale effect. This means that trade contributes to an increase of domestic economic activity which is reflected into an expansion of production and emissions. Trade also has an indirect impact through income, relative factors endowments and renewable energy use on air emissions, which may be either positive or negative. As a final important result, we obtain that both pollutants show a general reduction over time, common to all European Union countries, and this trend is mainly driven by the technique effect. Thus, we can argue that the European Union common policy tools fostering environmental friendly technology have contributed to improve air quality, although the 2008 worldwide crisis has certainly contributed to this decreasing trend.

Les défauts récurrents apparaissant dans des contextes particuliers ont un impact non négligeable sur le rendement, lors de la fabrication des noeuds technologiques nanométriques. C'est pourquoi une nouvelle méthode de contrôle du procédé de fabrication in-situ est développée, en vue d'améliorer la performance globale de l'outil de production. Elle se veut complémentaire des techniques d'analyses de défaillance classique, notamment en cas de crise. Le principe est de transformer un circuit de production en un véhicule de test en réutilisant des éléments qui le composent. Le circuit perd alors sa fonctionnalité originale au profit de fonctions de contrôle du procédé de fabrication réalisées uniquement à base de cellules logiques disponibles en grand nombre dans les circuits. Cette transformation, baptisée «échange topologique», implique la modification de certains niveaux de métallisation et nécessite la création d'un flot de conception particulier, basé sur des techniques d'Engineering Change Order (ECO). Comme plusieurs fonctions doivent pouvoir cohabiter ensemble sur un même véhicule, un système de multiplexage a été évalué. La faisabilité est montrée au travers d'un circuit de test réalisé de manière analogue à un circuit en production. Il est transformé pour l'exemple en un système intégré de contrôle d'épaisseur de diélectrique
Recurrent defects appearing in specific contexts have a significant impact on nanoscale technology nodes manufacturing process yield. Therefore, a new in-situ process monitoring method is developed to improve the overall performance of the production tool. It is complementary to classical failure analysis techniques, especially when a yield crisis occurs. The idea is to transform a production circuit into a test vehicle by reusing its components. The circuit loses its original functionality in favor of process monitoring functions, carried out only with standard cells widely available in circuits. This transformation, called "topological exchange" involves modifying some levels of metallization and requires the creation of a particular design flow, based on Engineering Change Order (ECO) techniques. As several functions must be able to cohabit on the same vehicle, a multiplexing system is evaluated. Feasibility is shown through a test circuit designed analogously to a production circuit. It is transformed for the example into an integrated dielectric thickness control system

Thesis (M.S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004.
Matthew J. Realff, Committee Member ; Farrokh Mistree, Committee Member ; Berdinus A. Bras, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-195).

Eco-design is relatively new and fast growing field of research due to its vital importance to the manufacturing industry and its related environmental issues such as reducing waste, and CO2 emission. A major EU programme relating to the environment is the waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. The (WEEE) directive specifies ten categories and a voltage range which is up to 1.000 volts AC or 1.500volts DC. The developed framework came for the implementation of Eco-design principles that helps to take into account the adaption of the (WEEE) directive and the restriction of hazard substances (RoHS) used in electrical and electronic equipments. As a result of identify gaps and needs such as a lack of a comprehensive Eco-design framework and the need to integrate it to the normal business operation. In this research the PDCA framework for Eco-design and WEEE directive will be discussed. The framework will encompass all of the Eco-design¿s implementation and integration factors and activities such as WEEE and RoHS directives, Eco-design management, Environmental legislations, Eco-design tools and considerations. The literature review covers the topic of Eco-design¿s related issues, and WEEE and RoHS directives rules. Based on comprehensive questionnaire survey of Eco-design, WEEE and RoHS issues and activities among a sample of environmentally aware companies, statistical analysis is carried out using SPSS software. Then the findings of the survey triangulated with the findings of the literature review formed the basis of the design and implementation plan of the proposed framework

Purpose: The main purpose is to investigate how the two companies in a cross-national context pursue innovation particularly in the process of achieving eco-innovations practices in manufacturing operation Method: An in-depth interviewing approach was used conducting a face-to-face interview and an online video conference. Research question: " What are the key differences in the process of achieving eco-innovations in the production systems between two household refrigerator manufacturing companies in a cross-national context? " Sub-questions: 1. Why do the companies pursue eco-innovations? 2. How do the companies manage eco-innovations? 3. Who in the companies is involved in achieving eco-innovations? 4. What measurements are used to determine the success of eco-innovations? Findings: The results suggest that the organizations in each country respond to different demand and orientation. They also deploy differences in approach and involving actors towards achieving eco-innovation journey Limitations While the findings are induced from a case study of two companies in a particular industry in Thailand and Sweden, the generalizability of the findings is somehow limited

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products are among other SMEs in the world meeting increasingly stringent legal and customer requirements related to environmental issues. Obstacles for the SMEs around the world to meet these requirements are almost the same in form of lack of knowledge, budget and resources. The differences between SMEs in Thailand and SMEs in the EU, Japan or even Korea are that these countries have been developed the eco-design concept and SMEs have been involved in eco-design activities for many years. This process and activities are new both for the SMEs and for the supporting institutes and organisations in Thailand. Thailand has just started to build up the infrastructure to support the SMEs to implement the eco-design concept and to work more with product related environmental issues. The focus right now for the SMEs in this research is to comply with the EU Directives, RoHS and WEEE, and this is where the main investments are made, e.g. in order to be able to export to the demanding EU market.

This research is investigating what kind of environment demands that SMEs in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products have on their products, how they handle these requirements and also what obstacles there are for implementing a more product related environmental concept, also known as eco-design, Design for the Environment (DfE), Green Design or Environmentally Oriented Design. A research in form of interviews and factory visits has been done with five different SMEs in Thailand. These five SMEs have also participated in the first official eco-design projects in Thailand with funding from the government in Thailand and also some from the EU. Interviews have been conducted with involved parties in these project such as institutes and experts provided by Universities. These interviews were made in order to get their opinion and experience about the present situation for SMEs in Thailand that develop and manufacture electrical and electronic products to work with product related green issues.

The research shows that these companies have the possibilities and conditions to work further on with the eco-design concept in the future. Their participation in the eco-design projects has been a good experience and there is evidence of strong support from the management and owners, environmental awareness, pro-active work and motivation among the companies. The obstacles are as mentioned above concerning lack of resources, knowledge and experience of how these environmental demands and requirements will affect the product development process. This lack of experience depends mostly on the fact that these eco-design projects are the first projects in this field for the companies. These five companies have now built up a fundamental knowledge but are still in need of further support. The communication between the SMEs and supporting parties are important and also one factor these five companies think is functioning well.

The increase of trading has created many environmental, ecological, social and ethical problems. The main concern across all industries is to create more sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical manufacturing processes. Only by influence consumer's purchasing behavior there might be the demand for eco-green products. The fashion and textile industry as one of the main contributor to the world's economy is one of the main environmental polluter (e.g.: soil, lakes, river and air). Recently, many young fashion designers started to offer eco-green fashion to the market. This new phenomenon might change the course of the world fashion industry. The goal of this research is to find out the real demand for eco-green products and its impacts on the traditional methods of fashion manufacturing. Three geographical areas where chosen to represent consumption side (US and EU (UK)) and manufacturing side (China). The specific fashion garment was chosen to demonstrate detailed analysis of the manufacturing processes and its new eco-green formula -- the denim jeans. The primary and secondary research approaches were chosen to cover the whole industrial view on this phenomenon. The outcome of the research showed that the major impact was on the general consumer's purchasing behavior and their life style. It is a new trend and concept that is reshaping the traditional fashion business models. Denim jeans industry leaders such as Levi's Strauss are in process of implementing eco-green, ethical and fair-trade factors into their long-term strategy.

Denna rapport är resultatet av ett examensarbete utfört vid Institutionen för industriell och ekonomisk utveckling vid Linköpings universitet på uppdrag av konsultbolaget Sustainia AB. Lean produktion, ofta benämnt Lean, har det senaste decenniet blivit en allt mer attraktiv produktionsfilosofi för att minska kostnader och öka kundnöjdhet genom förbättrad leveransservice och effektivare flöde. Ett flertal författare har påpekat att införandet av Lean direkt kan förbättra ett företags miljöprestanda, främst till följd av det minskade slöseri som Lean avser ge upphov till. Vidare finns studier som visar att vissa möjligheter till förbättringar och kostnadsbesparingar riskerar att gå oupptäckta om verksamheten ses ur ett strikt Lean-perspektiv. Med ett miljösynsätt finns dock chans att dessa blir upptäckta. Detta indikerar att såväl kostnads- som miljömässiga fördelar kan nås genom en integration av arbetet med Lean och miljöaspekter.

Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka hur ett företags arbete med Lean respektive miljöaspekter påverkar varandra för att ta reda på om och hur väl de båda arbetssätten skulle kunna fungera tillsammans. Om det visade sig att en integration av Lean och miljö vore möjlig och fördelaktig ur affärsmässig synvinkel skulle sedermera ett förslag tas fram på hur en sådan modell skulle kunna se ut. Arbetets syfte har uppfyllts genom en kombination av litteraturstudier och intervjuer. Fyra svenska företag som arbetar enligt Lean och även har ett uttalat aktivt miljöarbete intervjuades gällande sitt sätt att arbeta med Lean och miljöfrågor samt hur de såg på en eventuell integration av de två arbetssätten.

Utifrån resultaten från litteratur- och intervjustudien kan konstateras att flera av grundtankarna inom såväl Lean som miljöarbete stöder varandra. Inom båda arbetssätten ses kontinuerliga förbättringar och eliminering av slöseri som viktiga inslag, och båda främjar en organisationskultur där personalen uppmuntras att lösa problem och förbättra företagets prestation. Vissa enskilda verktyg inom Lean riskerar emellertid att ha en negativ inverkan på företagets miljöprestanda, något som i många fall dock kan avhjälpas genom god planering.

Till ett företags miljöarbete kan Lean bidra med ett proaktivt förhållningssätt och strukturerat arbetssätt och därmed få organisationen att arbeta mer förebyggande och långsiktigt med miljöfrågor. De intervjuade företagen ansåg att Lean generellt hade en positiv inverkan på deras miljöarbete, även om de inte hade gjort någon utvärdering av hur arbetet med Lean påverkat deras miljönyckeltal. De kvantitativa data som erhölls från litteraturstudien pekade på att arbete med Lean kan leda till en direkt minskning av företagets miljöpåverkan inom flera områden. Med utgångspunkt i dessa kvantitativa och kvalitativa data anser författarna således att det finns starka och tydliga tecken som visar på att Lean kan ha en positiv inverkan på miljörelaterade nyckeltal. Ett aktivt miljöarbete kan å sin sida bidra till arbetet med Lean genom att besparingsmöjligheter, som annars skulle riskerat att förbli oupptäckta, uppdagas.

Studien visade vidare att det inte bara är möjligt att integrera arbete med Lean och miljö, utan att en sådan integration dessutom har potential att vara fördelaktigt ur såväl ett ekonomiskt som ett miljömässigt perspektiv. En integrering kan minska risken för suboptimeringar, och synergieffekter kan erhållas som innebär att större framgångar kan uppnås än vad som skulle ha varit möjligt om arbetet med Lean och miljö hade bedrivits isolerat. Med vetskapen om att en integration är möjlig och har potential att vara fördelaktig ur företagsekonomisk och miljömässig synvinkel utarbetade författarna en modell för hur Lean och miljöarbete kan bedrivas integrerat. I samråd med Sustainia AB bestämdes att denna modell skulle kallas Green Lean, vilket således åsyftar en miljöanpassad, ”grön” form av Lean.

This report is the result of a master thesis written at the Department of Management and Engineering at Linköping University commissioned by the consultancy firm Sustainia AB.

Lean production, also known as Lean, has during the last decade increasingly become a more attractive production philosophy for decreasing costs and increasing customer satisfaction by improving customer service and obtaining more efficient production flows. Several authors have pointed out that Lean has the potential to directly improve the environmental performance of a company, mostly by decreasing waste generation. Further, there are studies showing that some possibilities for improvement and cost savings risk not being discovered if the operations are seen strictly from a Lean perspective. When an environmental perspective is included there is a chance that these improvements and cost savings are discovered. This indicates that both environmental and cost related advantages might be achieved by integrating the Lean approach with that of the environment.

The purpose of this master thesis was to investigate how the work with Lean and environmental aspects affect one another. If applying the two principles together was shown to be both possible and beneficial from a business point of view, the authors would propose how these two concepts could be integrated into a single model. A combination of literature studies and interviews were used to fulfill the purpose. Four Swedish enterprises, which work according to the Lean principles and also have an active environmental profile, were interviewed about their way of working with the two approaches, as well their views on an integration of these.

From the findings in this study the authors concluded that several of the fundamental concepts concerning Lean and environmental aspects support each other. Within both, continuous improvements and waste elimination are seen as important components, and they both support an organisational culture where the personnel are encouraged to solve problems and improve the performance of the company. Conversely the authors found that there is a risk that certain of the Lean tools risk having a negative influence on the company’s environmental performance. However, in many cases this can be avoided by proactive planning.

Lean can contribute to a company’s environmental work by its proactive approach, structured way of operating and long-term way of thinking. In general the interviewed companies regarded Lean as having a positive influence on their environmental work, even though none of them had carried out an evaluation on how their work with Lean affected their environmental key performance indicators. The quantitative data obtained from the literature study indicates that Lean can lead to a direct decrease of a company’s environmental impact within several areas. As a result of these qualitative and quantitative data the authors of this thesis have found clear indications showing that Lean might have a positive impact on environmental key performance indicators. An active environmental work can also contribute to the work with Lean. Potential cost saving, which might not have been discovered with the Lean perspective, can be revealed when the organisation is studied from an environmental point of view.

The study further showed that it not only is possible to integrate Lean and environmental work, but that it also has potential to be beneficial from both a business and an environmental standpoint. An integration of Lean and environmental issues can reduce the risk of sub optimisations, and synergies can be achieved, meaning that the two systems can accomplish more together than they would in isolation. With this knowledge, the authors composed a model for how Lean and environmental work can be practised and integrated. In consultation with Sustainia AB it was decided that this model should be called Green Lean, which hence refers to an environmentally favourable, “green”, version of Lean.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
營建工程系碩士班
94
Due to the improvement of living standard, municipal waste has been increasing dramatically in the recent years. The government of Taiwan is promoting the use of incinerators to reduce the volume of wastes. However, the incinerated ashes have been becoming one of the environmental issues due to the shortage of land supply. Therefore recycling and reuse of incinerated ashes is now an urgent issue to be tackled. In this study, incinerated fly ashes and bottom ashes were been used as raw materials in producing so called Eco-Cement by high temperature oven. In the manufacturing, limestone powder was also added to the raw material to control the properties of the cement. The proportion of raw materials was calculated based on the cement parameters and boundary conditions. Six prototypes of Eco-cement were produced by experiments. Among them, Type V has the highest compressive strength, Type I has the second highest, and Type IV has the lowest strength among all types of Eco-Cement. Type I and V can fulfill the requisitions of CNS in compressive strength of 3 days, 7 days, and 28 days. In the experiments of cement setting, it was shown that for Type I, II, III, and IV setting time is longer for more addition of fly ashes. For all types of Eco-Cement, concentration of chloride increases as addition of fly ashes increasing. It was also shown that hydration and curing may fix the chloride and prevent its release. It is quite promising in treating incinerated ashes that manufacturing Eco-Cement can be achieved by replacing some fraction of natural raw materials by incinerated ashes.

碩士
朝陽科技大學
環境工程與管理系碩士班
93
In recent years, a roaring markets in the digital camera ,image mobile, and projector products bloomed a vigorous development of relative industries. An optical lens becomes the most important component in these products. The photo-electricity or image products contain different components to function well, which they should be. In Taiwan, the optics components will play the most important role in the development of digital camera, image mobile and projector-related industries. However, should we think about the influence of the environment at the same time? This study adopted the concepts of LCA and eco-efficiency to evaluate which way is fitting with ecological benefits. Currently, the sustainable development concept has become a new paradigm to run the businesses. For companies, the managers should increase their economic performance as well as environmental performance. There are so-called triple bottom lines, including economic, environmental, and social considerations, to be the basic requirements for current companies. This study inquired into the effect of environment that in each manufacture phase of optical element products and evaluated their effects on the ecology by practical investigation, coordination, analysis, and model simulation. To understand the environment impacts and identify its hot spots, a kilogram of optical element products was selected as the functional unit in this study. The investigation was constrained in the boundary of a manufacturing plant. Three production lines, i.e. spherical lens, precise coating lens, and plastic lens, were selected in the study. Based on the eco-indicator 99 method, the results show that the process of plano-parallel plate lens got the highest score of avg. 1.62 Pt with a range of 1.54 ~ 1.73 Pt. The process of plastic lens had average of 1.34 Pt with a range of 1.29 ~ 1.54 Pt. The lowest score was the process of spherical lens that was 1.23 Pt and a range of 1.16 ~ 1.30 Pt. The case study showed that the unit of secondary clean production in the spherical lens process contributed the highest impact score of 5.75 kPt during the survey period. The chuck production unit got total score of 2.70 kPt. For the process of plano-parallel plate, the hottest spot was the secondary clean unit that contributed the total score of 8.88 kPt. The coating unit contributed a total score of 1.42 kPt. For plastic lens, the hot spots were the injection forming unit with a score of 6.30 kPt and the molding unit with a score of 2.82 kPt. To calculate the eco-efficiency for three processes, they were 2,011 (1,650~2,699), 1,374 (1,158~1,893), and 1,051 (883~1,249) NTD/Pt, for spherical lens, plastic lens, and plano-parallel plate processes respectively.

碩士
朝陽科技大學
環境工程與管理系碩士班
94
This study adapted the concept of life cycle assessment and investigated the environmental impacts associated with the STN-LCD manufacturing. It focused on the inventory of the raw material usage, electricity, water quantity, as well as the emission of pollutants during the manufacturing of STN-LCD products. The data, then, input into the models of Simapro 5.0 and Eco-indicator 99 to simulate the degree of impacts from the cradle to gate of the STN-LCD manufacturing. The results showed that in the gray STN-LCD production the impact scores are 0.026, 2.58, and 1.08 Pt/m2 for the stages of raw material transport, component processing, and assembly, respectively. For the color STN-LCD production, the relative scores are 0.032, 7.32, and 0.87 Pt/m2, respectively. To identify the environmental hot spots, we found that the highest impact occurred in the ITO platter unit for both products, which contributed 2.16 Pt/m2 and 2.37 Pt/m2 in gray and color STN-LCD products, respectively. The color filter preparation unit contributed 1.41 Pt/m2 and R-process unit contributed 0.76 Pt/m2. They are the other important hot spots in the color STN-LCD product. The overall impact scores for two products showed that color STN-LCD was higher than the gray one. In the analysis of eco-efficiency for two products, the estimation of gray STN-LCD was 145.07 NTD/Pt in average with the range of 133~202 NTD/Pt. for color STN-LCD, it was a litter higher. The average eco-efficiency was calculated as 200.84 NTD/Pt with the range of 172~229 NTD/Pt.

Canada is the world's largest producer of flax. However, most of the flax fibers are used either for food production or to weave into clothing and blankets. So, by developing rein-forcements of flax fibers to be used in polymeric composites, there is an opportunity to not only produce value-added products, but also be more environmentally friendly. Flax fibers are characterized by a higher specific stiffness (stiffness divided by density) than glass fibers and therefore can be considered as a potential replacement of glass fiber in composite parts. In order to develop flax fiber composites that can be used in load-bearing structures unidi-rectional reinforcement of flax fibers must be developed. This thesis aims at developing a new unidirectional flax/paper reinforcement with inter-esting properties in terms of permeability, tensile mechanical properties and bonding strength between paper and flax fibers in the dry reinforcement. To study and model the important reinforcement parameters on the concerned properties, the classical robust parameter design approach is considered. Moreover, high quality fabrication and characterization methods are developed to yield consistent results. Feasibility of mass scale production of the hybrid uni-directional flax/paper reinforcement on the pilot paper machine of Innofibre is also studied. To study the reinforcement on a laboratory scale two material parameters, including sur-face density of the paper sheet and the surface density of the flax layer, as well as two fabri-cation parameters, including forming pressure and drying temperature, are considered. Ef-fects of these parameters are studied on three properties of the material, comprising the co-hesion between the two reinforcement layers (flax and paper), reinforcement permeability and mechanical properties of the final eco-composite. For the modeling aspect, the design of experiment followed by statistical modeling are used. In addition, effects of different rein-forcement architectures as well as the fiber volume fraction are studied through comparative studies. Effect of temperature on improving the flax- paper cohesion and decreasing its standard deviation in the dry reinforcement was identified. Mean and standard deviation of the per-meability along the yarns’ direction (K1) is mainly influenced by surface density of the flax layer. So, this parameter must be adjusted to its maximum value to reduce the standard deviation. It has been shown that the temperature has a statistically significant effect on the rein-forcement surface density as well as strength of the eco-composite. Although temperature effect on mean values of surface density and strength could be marginal from an engineering point of view, it is concluded that it should be adequately controlled during manufacturing process of the reinforcement to minimize variance of mechanical properties results. Through comparative studies, it was shown that the paper layer reduces the standard deviation of the K1 permeability and tensile properties of eco-composite. These results show that the flax/pa-per reinforcement has a robust architecture compared to sole layer of unidirectional flax. Specific stiffness of the final eco-composite is found to be higher than that of a UD glass fiber composite, at the same fiber volume fraction. This very important finding paves the way for industrial applications of the studied reinforcement. This material could be potentially used in the automotive industry, aerospace, sports as well as the building sector. The flax yarns are fed into the pilot paper machine of Innofibre and then at the exit of the machine, the paper sheet reinforced by unidirectional flax yarns was rolled up successfully. This result, proves that the mass scale fabrication of reinforcement is feasible and therefore paves the way for attracting industrial interest and also reducing its production costs. Les travaux de cette thèse visent à développer et caractériser un renfort unidirectionnel (UD) lin/papier contenant une couche UD de fils de lin alignés dont la cohésion est assurée par une couche de papier de fibres courtes de Kraft (fibres de bois). Les performances de ce nouveau renfort comprennent sa perméabilité à l'écoulement de résine liquide, le comporte-ment en traction du composite qui en résulte une fois imprégné, ainsi que sa résistance au cisaillement (cohésion à sec entre les fibres de lin et de papier). La résistance au cisaillement du renfort est un indice de qualité assurant que les fils restent autant que possible intacts (alignés) lors de la manipulation du renfort et autant que possible pendant l'injection de la résine. La perméabilité et la performance à la traction du composite (particulièrement sa rigidité spécifique) constituent pour leur part les bases permettant d'évaluer si des pièces composites fabriquées à partir de ce renfort peuvent concurrencer les composites à fibres de verre. Les paramètres étudiés du renfort comprennent la densité surfacique (ou grammage) des couches de lin et de papier, la pression de formation de renfort, ainsi que sa température de séchage. De plus les effets des différents taux de fibres et des différentes configurations (architectures) du renfort sont aussi étudiés. La possibilité de produire le renfort hybride UD lin/papier à grande échelle (machine d'Innofibre du Cégep de Trois-Rivières) est finalement évaluée. Selon la définition théorique de la conception robuste, un produit ou un procédé est ro-buste s’il est peu sensible aux effets des sources de variabilité rencontrées dans son cycle de vie, même si les sources elles-mêmes n’ont pas été éliminées. Considérant que les propriétés des fibres naturelles ont une variabilité inhérente, un objectif important de cette thèse consiste à étudier l'influence des différents paramètres sur la variation des propriétés pour ainsi appliquer une méthode de conception paramétrique robuste du nouveau renfort. À plus long terme le projet consiste à fabriquer des pièces composites de géométries et dimensions arbitraires en utilisant le renfort hybride UD lin/papier. Ce projet, lancé au laboratoire de mécanique et éco-matériaux (LMEM) en 2010, se compose de quatre phases : choix des constituants, conception de renforts, étude du comportement de composites plans, et finalement moulage et conception de pièces composites plus complexes. Toutes ces phases ne peuvent bien sûr être adressées dans un seul projet de thèse. Pour cette raison, dans cette thèse seule les phases de conception (paramétrique robuste) du renfort et d’analyse de son comportement sur des échantillons planaires sont adressées.

碩士
國立交通大學
經營管理研究所
92
The topic of global environmental protection is paid attention to day by day, since the leader all around the world signed Rio Declaration and Implementing 21 Agenda together in Brazil Rio Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The environmental consciousness of the height makes the entrepreneur expect to undertake the responsibility of environmental protection. In the global investigation at the end of 2002, the total amount of enterprises in Taiwan that have already obtained ISO 14000 environmental administrative system authentication rank the 15th in the whole world, only lag behind Japan, China, Korea S. in the whole Asia. But if consider the total amount of enterprises in the whole country, the enterprises rate that our country have already obtained authentication has been already comparable to Japan of the world. So this research adopts Data Envelopment Analysis, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, and Tobit regression model to analysis the listed companies in our country that have already obtained ISO 14000 environmental administrative system authentication, whether there are apparent differences in its performance of obtaining ISO 14000 before and after verifying. The result of this research can be found obviously, no matter pollution is prevented or resources are saved, ISO 14000 environmental administrative system has very great essence contribution in environmental protection. Make use of this, we will understand further that every enterprise promotes benefit that ISO will be verified, and propose the suggestion on the management tactics.

The aim of this work is to present the NanoTechnology Usability (NTU) index tool, created and developed in order to reduce the gap between nanotechnologybased products developed in R & D centers and their effective application and utilization, promoting the optimized selection of materials and the use of ecoefficient production techniques. In this sense, the doctoral work contextualizes the current market of the types of commercially available nanomaterials, the most used synthesis methods, their current and potential market applications, current standards, obstacles and uncertainties with regard to the production, manipulation and assembling of nano-based products. Existing models and tools currently in the market, particularly that address ecodesign and nanotechnology, are also presented. Based on the diversity of the nano-based product, specific application, maturity level, type of nanomaterials used and synthesis methods, the NTU is applied to four case studies for further discussion and analysis of the results.
O presente trabalho propõe-se a apresentar a ferramenta índice de utilização de nanotecnologia (NTU) criada e desenvolvida com o intuito de diminuir o hiato existente entre os produtos baseados em nanotecnologia desenvolvidos nos centros de I&D e a sua aplicação e utilização efetiva, promovendo a seleção otimizada dos materiais e a utilização de técnicas de produção eco-eficientes. Desta forma, o trabalho de doutoramento contextualiza o mercado atual dos tipos de nanomateriais disponíveis comercialmente, os métodos de síntese mais utilizados, as suas aplicações atuais e potenciais no mercado, as normas vigentes, os obstáculos e incertezas no que diz respeito à produção, manipulação e assemblagem de produtos baseados em nanotecnologia. Os modelos e ferramentas existentes atualmente, em particular, que endereçam o ecodesign e nanotecnologia são também apresentados. Baseado na diversidade no que concerne o tipo de produto baseado em nanotecnologia, aplicação específica, nível de maturidade, nanomateriais usados e método de síntese, o NTU é aplicado a quatro casos de estudo para sua discussão e análise de resultados.
Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Mecânica

碩士
長庚大學
企業管理研究所
89
Although the development of manufacturing industry has made the great contributions to Taiwan’s economy, it has also made significant impact on Taiwan’s nature environment. This research uses both the Ecological Footprint Method and DEA （Data Envelopment Analysis） Method to measure the ecological footprint, Eco-efficiency and production efficiency for Taiwan’s manufacturing industry. It not only estimates the impact on Taiwan’s nature environment resulting from industrial development but also compare, among each sector of the manufacturing industry, the relative performance on ecological footprints, eco-efficiency and production efficiency. And point to the direction of improvement by DEA Method. The ecological footprints of manufacture industry, with the annual increase of 5﹪per year on the average. The top three sectors are chemical products, basic metal and non-metallic mining. The top four sectors with most serious impact on Taiwan’s environment are pulp paper ＆paper products, food, chemical materials, and textile mill products. Since The pollution of the three sectors of chemical materials, basic metal and non-metallic mining are 62.07﹪of total pollution, this three sectors can be considered heavy pollution. The top four sectors of added value by each ecological footprint are electrical ＆electronic machinery ,transport equipment, machinery ＆equipment and printing processings. This indicates they are more efficient in utilizing nature resources. Comparing each sector’s utilization of resources with the improvement in production efficiency, we can see that, even thought production efficiency has bee improving, the aggregate ecological footprints have also been increasing persistently. Particularly for the sectors of electrical power and electronic machinery, petroleum and coal products, chemical materials, and basic metal. It is clear that, in addition to technical factor, human attitude toward consumption plays an important role in conserving nature resources. By the use of DEA method, we can conclude that only printing processings, electrical ＆electronic machinery are the truly relative efficient units. The first orders of potential improvement are 「add value item 」. It can also be seen from the relationship chart between eco-efficiency and technological efficiency, the differences in performance among sectors are great but yearly differences in performance are small. This lead to the conclusion that, at least to some extent, the differences are due to each sector’s special character. Therefore, Taiwan must proceed with the adjustment in the direction of industrial development in the viewpoint of eco-efficiency.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes which include Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) have experienced tremendous growth and development since their introduction over 20 years ago. It becomes highly important at this stage to evaluate the sustainability of the process and refine it to reduce energy and material consumption. In this study, a sustainability analysis was performed on the SLS process with Nylon-12 using the Environmental and Resource Management Data (ERMD) known as Eco-Indicators. The energy perspective alone was considered and a Total Energy Indicator (TEI) value was calculated using various parameters to quantify process sustainability: process productivity, energy consumption rate, etc. Precise thermal control of selective laser sintering (SLS) is desirable for improving geometric accuracy, mechanical properties, and surface finish of parts produced. An experimental setup to monitor the temperature distribution was designed using Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD) as a part of this study. Discrepancies in temperature profiles were investigated and recommendations were made to improve thermal characteristics of the SLS process.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate how work with Lean and environmental aspects affect one another, and if possible and beneficial from a business point-of-view, how they could be integrated into a single model. It was found that several of the fundamental concepts concerning Lean and environmental aspects support one another. Further, Lean has the potential to improve the environmental performance of a company, and can contributeto the environmental work by its proactive approach, structured way of operating and long-term way of thinking. The environmental perspective can contribute to Lean with its more holistic view; additional cost savingsand improvements might be found when looking at the operations from an environmental point-of-view. The study showed that it is not only possible to integrate Lean and environmental work, but that it also has the potential to be beneficial from both a business and an environmental standpoint. Integration can reduce the risk of sub-optimization, and synergies can be achieved. With this knowledge, the authors composed a model for how Lean and environmental work can be practised and integrated.

An ‘environmentally-benign design’ is defined as that which causes little or no harm to the natural environment and may be achieved by reducing the environmental impact of the design solutions conceptualised, to be eventually embodied into a product. During the early stages of design, iterative design activities of generation, evaluation, modification and selection are performed to affirm alternatives to a design solution from several fragmented and highly abstract ideas. Thus, the designer takes critical decisions with respect to the various criteria, such as, cost, aesthetics, ergonomics, environment, etc., and these cannot be easily rectified at later stages. Therefore, it is imperative to support sound decisionmaking at this stage of design, as it is at the conceptual stage that most number of decisions are taken and in turn, the environmental footprint of a design is committed. Thus, to support environmentally-benign design decisions at conceptual stage, appropriate selection of concept from a number of solution-variants is critical, and requires the support of evaluation of these solution-variants with respect to its environmental impact. However, these solution-variants are characterised as being highly abstract, lacking concrete descriptions and having incomplete information with respect to life cycle, making it challenging to estimate environmental impact with accuracy. This dissertation illustrates, through empirical study, the merit in making available environmental impact values of solutions for concept selection at an early stage which in turn, improves the design decisions and the environmentalbenignity of the overall design. The contributions of this research are towards (i) design domain, through ontological description of conceptual solutions grounded in quantifiable constructs (of SAPPhIRE), while capturing the inherent abstraction of this stage; (ii) evaluation with respect to environment, by identifying uncertainty prevalent in conceptual stage with respect to LCA and estimating the EI of a solution, with associated uncertainty, and (iii) supporting real-time design decision-making by the prescribed ‘concepTe’ tool. An acronym for ‘conceptual design Tool for environmentally-benign design’, the tool aims to support designer’s in taking real-time design decisions during conceptualisation by aiding in the evaluation of the solutions being designed, by a proposed method for estimating Environmental Impact (EI) of a solution, with uncertainty association. A ‘proof of concept’ of the intended tool is further evaluated for its effectiveness, through empirical studies, and is found to show promise in supporting environmentally benign design at conceptual stage