ISSN: 1304-7191 | E-ISSN: 1304-7205
Assessing Environmental Hotspots of Tire Curing Press: A Life Cycle Perspective
1Department of Environmental Engineering, Kocaeli University, KOCAELI
Sigma J Eng Nat Sci 2020; 38(4): 1825-1836
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Abstract

The machinery manufacturing sector is thought to be in a key position to achieve sustainable manufacturing because it uses large amounts of energy and raw materials. The aim of this study is to determine the environmental hotspots of manufacturing the tire curing press (hydraulic) through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA methodology based on the ISO 14040 standard was conducted with SimaPro 8.0.4 software and the IMPACT 2002+ method. A “cradle-to-gate” approach was performed and functional unit was selected as manufacturing of one piece of product. In the scope of the sensitivity anaylsis, different impact assessment methods (ReCiPe Midpoint (H), TRACI, CML-IA, and ILCD 2011 Midpoint) were also performed to verify and compare the results. Results showed that the significant environmental impacts were respiratory inorganics, global warming, and non-renewable energy during the manufacturing of tire curing press. When the manufacturing stages were taken into account, it is important to state that raw material consumption has the highest adverse effect on environment. The study also reveals that the importance of the supply chain and lightweight design in LCA.