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<p>This work presents a sustainability assessment approach to evaluate technological innovations in secondary steel production making use of Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology. The assessment covers the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability by combining different tools (Life Cycle Assessment and Analytic Hierarchy Process), and also provides an integrated assessment of the overall sustainability. The approach, which can also be used to support decision-making, has been applied to a real case study of a steel plant located in Northern Italy. In the case study, environmental sustainability is positively impacted mainly by increased metal yield and reduced furnace energy consumption. The greatest social sustainability benefits are mainly related to improved ergonomic and safety conditions for workers (reduced demand for physical effort, manual handling and repetitiveness, and lower risk of accidents), as a consequence of the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies. Regarding economic sustainability, a positive impact related to reduced cycle time, increased metal yield and quality yield, reduced maintenance and quality control costs was observed. The integrated assessment of the overall sustainability has proven to be a viable approach to manage trade-offs between the different dimensions of sustainability.</p>
</abstract>

This work presents a sustainability assessment approach to evaluate technological innovations in secondary steel production making use of Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology. The assessment covers the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability by combining different tools (Life Cycle Assessment and Analytic Hierarchy Process), and also provides an integrated assessment of the overall sustainability. The approach, which can also be used to support decision-making, has been applied to a real case study of a steel plant located in Northern Italy. In the case study, environmental sustainability is positively impacted mainly by increased metal yield and reduced furnace energy consumption. The greatest social sustainability benefits are mainly related to improved ergonomic and safety conditions for workers (reduced demand for physical effort, manual handling and repetitiveness, and lower risk of accidents), as a consequence of the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies. Regarding economic sustainability, a positive impact related to reduced cycle time, increased metal yield and quality yield, reduced maintenance and quality control costs was observed. The integrated assessment of the overall sustainability has proven to be a viable approach to manage trade-offs between the different dimensions of sustainability.

Assessing the Sustainability Impact of Improving Secondary Steel Production: Lessons Learned from an Italian Plant

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Environmental and Climate Technologies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This work presents a sustainability assessment approach to evaluate technological innovations in secondary steel production making use of Electric Arc Furnace...

Assessing the Sustainability Impact of Improving Secondary Steel Production: Lessons Learned from an Italian Plant

Pubblicato online: 10 feb 2024

Pagine: 32 - 44

Ricevuto: 28 lug 2023

Accettato: 09 nov 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2024-0004

Parole chiave
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), industry 4.0, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), process industry, steel production

© 2024 Giuseppe Tomasoni et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Assessing the Sustainability Impact of Improving Secondary Steel Production: Lessons Learned from an Italian Plant

Pubblicato online: 10 feb 2024

Pagine: 32 - 44

Ricevuto: 28 lug 2023

Accettato: 09 nov 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2024-0004

Parole chiaveElectric Arc Furnace (EAF), industry 4.0, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), process industry, steel production

© 2024 Giuseppe Tomasoni et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Parole chiave
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), industry 4.0, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), process industry, steel production