Integrating input–output models with pinch technology for enterprise sustainability analysis

• Main Authors: Jia, Xiaoping, Li, Zhiwei, Wang, Fang, Foo, Dominic C.Y., Tan, Raymond Girard R.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2015
• Subjects: Coal mines and mining > China; Water consumption > China; Sustainability > China; Chemical Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2766
• Institution: De La Salle University

This article proposes an integrated framework for enterprise sustainability assessment by integrating enterprise input–output modeling with water pinch analysis. Firstly, material metabolism of an enterprise is investigated to establish a baseline; then, potential for resource conservation and waste minimization is evaluated. The environmental performance and economic feasibility of modifications are then assessed based on identification of key processes. Thus, the framework provides a method to connect material metabolism analysis of enterprises with the implementation of specific actions for resource conservation and waste minimization. The case of the water utilization system at Wangpo coal mine in China is used to illustrate the framework developed. Two process integration scenarios, involving direct reuse/recycle and regeneration, are presented. The corresponding revised input–output models for each scenario are illustrated. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015.