Volume 13, Number 1

ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS

DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING RESEARCH

MOHSEN SHAHINPOOR

Editor-In-Chief

KWANG J. KIM

Executive Editor

Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Cutting fluids are a source of environmental hazard and internationally, increasingly strict legislations are coming up with regard to its use and disposal. It also incurs a significant share of total manufacturing cost. Minimization and possibly elimination of cutting fluids, by substituting their functions by some other means, is of current research interest. Cutting fluids play a decisive role in grinding, because of the intense heat generation and the consequent thermal damage associated with the process. Conventionally, liquid coolants in flood form are employed in grinding. Solid lubricants can be used in grinding, as a means to reduce the heat generated due to friction at the grinding zone, towards the attempt for eliminating cutting fluid. This paper deals with an investigation on using calcium fluoride as a lubricating medium in surface grinding. A detailed performance analysis has been done in terms of forces, specific energy, temperature, surface finish and wheel wear. A comparative study with dry and coolant grinding has shown some interesting trends.

As manufacturing industries become more cognizant of the ecological effects that their firms have on the surrounding environment, their waste streams are increasingly becoming viewed not as materials in need of disposal, but rather as resources that can be reused, recycled, or reprocessed into valuable products. Within the food processing sector there are many examples of value-added use of processing residues, although many of these focus solely on utilization as livestock feed ingredients. In addition to livestock feed, though, many other potential avenues exist for food processing waste streams, including food grade as well as industrial products. Unfortunately, the challenge to food processors is actually conducting the byproduct development work. In fact, no clear delineation exists that describes necessary components for an effective byproduct development program. This paper describes one such strategic methodology that could help fill this void. It consists of identifying, quantifying, characterizing, developing, analyzing, optimizing, and modeling the waste stream of interest. This approach to byproduct development represents an inclusive strategy that can be used to more effectively implement value-added utilization programs. Not only is this methodology applicable to food processing operations, but any industrial or manufacturing firm could benefit from instituting the formal components described here. Thus, this methodology, if implemented by a manufacturer, could hold the potential for increasing the probability of meeting the goals of industrial ecology, namely, that of developing and operating sustainable systems.

Keywords: Byproducts, Development, Food, Organics, Recycling, Residuals, Residues, Waste Management