UNS: U.S.-China: Systems-Based Approaches for Sustainable Steel Manufacturing

[1510531]布拉斯，伯特，这个美中合作项目将创建一个基于系统的方法来减少制造业对环境的影响。该方法将以生态工业园区（eip）的设计和运营为中心。要开发的方法侧重于基于系统的建模和分析，以便理解和管理可持续制造的复杂性。一般方法适用于不同工业规模的各种各样的问题。因此，这项研究可以帮助开发在许多应用中有用的方法和途径，美国和中国都将从发展更可持续经济的预期发现中受益。美中研究团队将利用从工厂到市场规模的工具开发这种基于系统的方法，以(a)提高制造业的可持续性，(b)了解各规模之间的相互作用，以确定影响提高制成品生产可持续性能力的协同作用和制约因素。将进行三项重点研究。Thrust 1的重点是在工厂规模上开发基于系统的技术解决方案，以提高水、能源和材料的效率，并减少制造过程对环境的影响。这一推动力包括数据收集、模型开发和典型制造过程的可视化，并允许对美国和中国之间的水、能源和材料流动进行工厂层面的比较。推力2侧重于制定战略，通过与其他公司的工业共生，将制造工厂转变为生态工业园区。从生态系统组织中获得的见解将用于构建生态工业园区规模的工业生态系统，以提高制造业的可持续性和弹性。在推力3中，将开发一个基于耦合剂的集成框架模型和生命周期评估，以评估推力1和推力2中工厂和生态工业园区尺度上提出的解决方案的采用情况。重点研究的一个案例是钢铁制造业，因为它具有巨大的潜在积极环境效益。减少中国炼钢对环境的影响，将直接提高零部件来自中国的美国企业生产和销售的产品的竞争力。关注钢铁行业将为消费者、行业和其他与钢铁生产相关的利益相关者（这是许多工业产品的基础）提供直接利益，但一般方法与不同工业规模的各种问题相关。传统的工艺工程改进将与生态工业园区中钢铁厂的作用结合起来考虑，在生态工业园区中，其他公司可能会从工艺改进中获得协同效益。综合效应将在市场层面上使用基于代理的建模和生命周期分析框架进行评估。这种实现更高程度可持续制造的多尺度方法是独一无二的。该团队将以独特的前沿方式进入中国钢铁行业以及中国的生态工业园区。从这些中国生态工业园区（建设成本非常高）中获得的经验将被用于开发“最佳实践”，用于评估在美国钢铁厂和其他制造企业周围建立此类园区的收益和成本。将对中国和美国的环境可持续钢铁制造实践进行比较。通过集成的基于主体的建模和生命周期分析框架，将与技术相关的生产决策和政策与其对市场和环境的影响相结合，将获得独特的见解。该项目将从美国的角度评估促进中国钢铁行业环境可持续性的政策。例如，该项目将调查对出口到美国市场的电气产品实施严格的环境法规是否会导致中国的钢铁行业更加环保可持续，还是会增加美国公司在该市场的产品需求，或者两者兼而有之。该项目将利用两个有着不同文化和不同钢铁制造技术的国家之间的合作机会，并利用该项目开发新的教育和推广材料。参与学校和组织的综合影响力和规模以及多学科团队提供了独特的培训机会。在课程中纳入项目方法和成果将对中美未来工程师的教育产生重大影响，并提高他们解决可持续发展中复杂挑战的能力。该基金由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程部门（ISE）的全球风险基金（GVF）和CBET/ENG环境可持续性项目共同资助。

1510531 Bras, Bert This U.S. - China project will create a systems-based approach to reducing environmental impacts of manufacturing. The approach will be centered on design and operation of eco-industrial parks (EIPs). The methods to be developed focus on systems-based modeling and analysis in order to understand and manage the complexity of sustainable manufacturing. The general approach is relevant to a wide variety of problems at different industrial scales. Thus, this research can help develop methods and approaches useful in many applications and both the U.S. and China will benefit from the expected findings in developing more sustainable economies. The U.S.- China research team will develop this systems-based approach with tools from plant to market scale in order to (a) improve the sustainability of manufacturing and (b) understand interactions across scales to identify synergies and constraints that affect the ability to enhance sustainability in production of manufactured products. Three research thrusts will be pursued. Thrust 1 is focused on the development of systems-based technology solutions at the plant scale to increase water, energy and material efficiency and reduce environmental impacts for manufacturing processes. This thrust involves data collection, model development and visualization of typical manufacturing processes and allows plant level comparisons of water, energy and material flows between the U.S. and China. Thrust 2 is focused on developing strategies for transforming manufacturing plants into eco-industrial parks by means of industrial symbiosis with other companies. Insights gained from ecological systems organization will be used to build industrial ecosystems at the eco-industrial park scale to increase the sustainability and resilience of manufacturing industries. In Thrust 3, an integrated framework coupling agent-based model and life-cycle assessment will be developed for evaluating the adoption of the solutions proposed at the plant and eco-industrial park scales from Thrusts 1 and 2. A case study of focus is steel manufacturing because of the potential for significant potential positive environmental benefits. Reducing the environmental footprint of China's steelmaking directly improves the competitiveness of goods produced and sold by US companies with parts that are sourced from China. Focusing on the steel industry will provide immediate benefit to consumers, industries, and other stakeholders associated with steel production (which is fundamental to many industrial products), but the general approach is relevant to a wide variety of problems at different industrial scales. Traditional process engineering improvements will be considered in conjunction with the role of steel mills in eco-industrial park settings where other companies may receive synergistic benefits from process improvements. The combined effects will be evaluated at the market level using an agent-based modeling and life-cycle analysis framework. Such a multi-scale approach to achieving higher degrees of sustainable manufacturing is unique. The team will have unique cutting-edge access to the Chinese steel industry as well as eco-industrial parks in China. The insight gained from these Chinese eco-industrial parks (which are very capital intensive to set up) will be used to develop "best practices" that will be used to assess the benefits and costs of pursuing such parks in the U.S. around U.S. steel mills and other manufacturing companies. A comparison of environmentally sustainable steel manufacturing practices in both China and the U.S. will be made. Unique insights will be gained by coupling technology-related production decisions and policies to their effects on the market and environment by means of the integrated agent-based modeling and life-cycle analysis framework. The project will evaluate policies from the U.S. perspective in promoting the environmental sustainability of the Chinese steel industry. For example, the project will investigate whether the enforcement of strict environmental regulations for electrical products exported to the U.S. market will lead to a more environmentally sustainable steel industry in China or increase product demand from U.S. companies in this market, or both. The project will capitalize on the opportunity for collaboration between two different countries with different cultures, as well as different steel manufacturing technologies and leverage the project to develop new educational and outreach materials. The combined influence and size of the participating schools and organizations, and the multidisciplinary team provides a unique training opportunity. Inclusion of project methods and outcomes in coursework will have significant impact on the education of future engineers in the U.S. and China, and enhance their ability to solve complex challenges in sustainability.This grant is co-funded by the Global Venture Fund (GVF) of NSF's International Science and Engineering section (ISE) and the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program.