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Environments
Special Issues
Improving the Sustainability of Industrial Operations Through Cleaner Production and...
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Improving the Sustainability of Industrial Operations Through Cleaner Production and Energy Efficiency

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 4014

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Bruce Dvorak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Interests: pollution prevention and cleaner production for industry; life cycle assessment of industrial processes; water/wastewater treatment; barriers to implementation of pollution prevention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Robert Williams

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Interests: energy efficiency; industrial assessments; sustainable manufacturing; nontraditional manufacturing processes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been 30 years since in the United States, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 focused attention on reducing pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use. The pollution prevention approach came as there was an increased emphasis on using energy more efficiently in industry. The pollution prevention approach was novel in focusing on increasing the efficiency of a process and reducing the amount of pollution generated at its source. Worldwide, industrial organizations embraced cleaner production approaches that result in reducing pollution at the source. Since that time, the industry has successfully applied the three pillars of sustainability, economic, environmental, and social, to minimize waste and emissions, reduce negative social impacts, improve profitability, and gain a competitive edge. This Special Issue seeks original, unpublished papers that describe recent advances in improving the sustainability of industrial operations. 

Papers may relate to technical topics associated with energy efficiency, cleaner production, and sustainability in industry. Both theoretical and case study papers are welcome. Example of topics include (i) novel methods of reducing energy use in industry, (ii) practice approaches to decarbonization, (iii) innovations for material substitution and for increasing the life of auxiliary materials and process liquids, (iv) novel reuse of wastes, (v) innovative processes and technologies, (vi) applications of lifecycle assessment, (vii) assessment of barriers to implementation within industry, (viii) business management tools, (ix) case studies of successful programs that result in for energy efficiency/sustainability implementation, and (x) innovative educational approaches related to energy efficiency and sustainability in industry. We especially invite papers that take an interdisciplinary approach to considering the social and economic aspects of successful application of pollution prevention and sustainability in industry.

Prof. Dr. Bruce Dvorak
Prof. Dr. Robert Williams
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • industrial energy efficiency
  • industrial decarbonization
  • cleaner production/pollution prevention
  • sustainability assessments of industry
  • lifecycle assessment
  • education for industrial sustainability

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2173 KiB  
Article
Predicting the Impact of Utility Lighting Rebate Programs on Promoting Industrial Energy Efficiency: A Machine Learning Approach
by Phillip Shook and Jun-Ki Choi
Environments 2022, 9(8), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments9080100 - 6 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3497
Abstract
Implementation costs are a major factor in manufacturers’ decisions to invest in energy-efficient technologies. Emerging technologies in lighting systems, however, typically require small investment costs and offer short, simple payback periods, due, in part, to federal, state, and utility incentive programs. Recently, however, [...] Read more.
Implementation costs are a major factor in manufacturers’ decisions to invest in energy-efficient technologies. Emerging technologies in lighting systems, however, typically require small investment costs and offer short, simple payback periods, due, in part, to federal, state, and utility incentive programs. Recently, however, certain state and federal mandates have reduced the support for and efficacy of electricity utility incentivizing programs. To determine the impact of such support programs, this study examined historical data regarding lighting retrofit savings, implementation costs, and utility rebates gathered from 13 years of industrial energy audits by a U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Assessment Center in a midwestern state. It uses a machine learning approach to evaluate the industrial energy and cost-saving opportunities that may have been lost due to decisions attributable to legislative mandates, utility policies, and manufacturers’ calculations and to evaluate the potential effect of lighting rebates on manufacturers’ decisions to implement industrial energy-efficient lighting retrofits. The results indicate that the decision not to implement lighting energy efficiency recommendations resulted in a loss of more than USD800,000 in potential rebates by industries during the study period and that the implementation of lighting energy assessment recommendations could have increased by about 50% if electric utility rebates had been available. These findings can help industries evaluate the benefits of implementing lighting efficiency improvements, and help utilities determine feasible lighting retrofit rebate values for incentivizing such changes by the industries they serve. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving the Sustainability of Industrial Operations Through Cleaner Production and Energy Efficiency)
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