No abstract

 Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.  You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain  You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

Companies are increasingly encouraged to frame their sustainability activities and communication around ecological limits, as captured by concepts such as planetary boundaries, climate tipping points or local assimilative capacities. Ecological limits may serve as a scientific basis for defining environmental sustainability targets at the company level and, moreover, inspire companies to align their product portfolios with emerging societal needs related to sustainable transformations. Although corporate environmental reporting is widely researched, little is known about companies' use of the ecological limits concept in their communication.

No abstract

No abstract

Emissions from mould and core sand binders commonly used in the foundry industry have been investigated. Degradation of three different types of binders was investigated: Furfuryl alcohol (FA), phenolic urethane (PU) and resol-CO2 (RC). In each group of binders, at least two different binder compositions were tested. A test method that provides uniform test conditions is described. The method can be used as a general test method to analyse off gases from binders. Moulds, containing a standard size casting, were produced and the amount and type of organic compounds, resulting from thermal degradation of binders, was monitored when cast iron, bronze and aluminium was poured in the moulds. Binder degradation was measured by collecting off gases in a specially designed ventilation hood at a constant flow rate. Samples were taken from the ventilation system and analysed for hydrocarbons and CO content. It is shown how off-gases vary with time after pouring and shake out. Also the composition of off-gases is analysed and shown. It is further shown how the composition of off-gasses varies between different types of binders and with varying composition of the binders as well as function of the thermal load on the moulding sand.

Industrial Robotics (IR) may be envisaged as the key technology to keep the manufacturing industry at the leading edge. Unfortunately, at the current state-of-the-art, IR is intrinsically energy intensive, thus compromising factories sustainability in terms of ecological footprint and economic costs. Within this scenario, this paper presents a new framework called AREUS, focusing on eco-design, eco-programming and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of robotized factories. The objective is to overcome current IR energetic limitations by providing a set of integrated technologies and engineering platforms. In particular, novel energy-saving hardware is firstly introduced, which aim at exchanging/storing/recovering energy at factory level. In parallel, innovative engineering methods and software tools for energy-focused simulation are developed, as well as energy-optimal scheduling of multi-robot stations. At last, LCA methods are briefly described, which are capable to assess both environmental and economic costs, linked to the flows of Material, Energy and Waste (MEW). A selected list of industrially-driven demonstration case studies is finally presented, along with future directions of improvement.

No abstract