Search Results (10)

Manufacturing companies strive to minimize costs, maximize efficiency and improve production quality, which is crucial for market competitiveness. As companies grow and technologies evolve, increasingly complex challenges arise in effectively managing and improving production processes. One of the tools that helps companies improve their processes is value-stream mapping (VSM). The article focuses on the use of VSM in the production process of hand tools used in the construction industry. The paper presents selected aspects of the optimization of the production process using the mapping concept. The research identified and characterized the most important processes occurring in the production of hand tools used in construction. Then, basic data on the value stream was collected and the need for improvements and actions aimed at optimizing the value stream was indicated. Financial results, key performance indicators (KPIs), machine operation and reliability, energy consumption in the production process and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) before and after improvements were calculated. The analysis carried out allowed for the optimization of the production process in terms of economy and energy consumption. As a result of the improvements, the productivity of injection-molding workers increased by 9.4% and the overall equipment efficiency by 18%. The machine availability rate increased from 70.3% to 85.2%. After implementing the improvements, the company is able to save approximately 295,488 kWh annually, i.e., approximately EUR 53,253, while 1 kWh currently costs producers in Poland EUR 0.18. The conclusions and results described in the paper constitute a solid basis for further development of an improvement project for the selected company. Full article

One of the main challenges of seawater desalination is a large volume of waste brine production that is commonly discharged into the sea and may threaten the marine ecosystem. This is critical in regions where conventional water resources are scarce and desalinated seawater is an alternative to meet water demand. Especially in regions where the mining industry is a key player in the economic development. The novelty of this research consists in the determination of the potential use of waste brine, discharged from the reverse osmosis process, as a source of industrial water in copper mining industry. To enable the waste brine applicability, there should be reduced calcium and magnesium ions concentration for improving copper recovery in the froth flotation process. The flotation tests were conducted in a batch cell with synthetic minerals composed of chalcopyrite, kaolinite, and quartz using different water qualities. The results showed that treated waste brine significantly improved copper recovery compared to untreated waste brine and seawater. Similar copper recovery was achieved when flotation test was performed with tap water and treated waste brine. Therefore, treated waste brine could provide a suitable water quality required in the froth flotation process as an alternative non-conventional water resource. Full article

The implementation of Product-Service Systems (PSS) calls for the modification of existing business models. The goal of the paper is to work out an analysis and a classification of PSS design methods used in the development of new business models. Using a systematic review method, we identified 60 PSS design methods. Following the examination of the major business model templates, we selected the Business Canvas Model for further studies. Then, coding rules were adopted to specify what elements of the Business Model Canvas impacts individual PSS design methods and an analysis was performed. In the final stage, methods were broken down by Business Model Canvas domains. Various PSS design methods presented in the literature address different areas of Business Model Canvas. The available PPS methods can be classified into three main groups: Group 1—including infrastructure and offering; Group 2—including infrastructure, offering and customers; and Group 3—including infrastructure, offering, customers and finance. Very few methods consider areas such as Key Partners, Customer Segments, Cost Structure and Revenue Streams. Nevertheless, there is no PPS design method that would address all of Business Model Canvas building blocks. The paper discusses PSS design in business model context. Classification of PSS design methods was proposed together with new possibilities to develop business models based on this classification. The proposed approach illustrates the combination of PSS design methods applied in food processing and agricultural machines industry. Full article

Minerals and metals are essential to the economic and social development of our society, and they are critical to modern life. The continuous exploitation of mineral resources has led to a large amount of waste, which has a large impact on the environment. One of the main streams of wastes in mining is mine tailings, which are produced in mineral processing plants. The mining industry must enhance its contribution to achieving sustainable development by incorporating the sustainable development goals into its operations. The objective of this article is to define targets and indicators for mine tailings management to achieve the sustainable development goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations. The result of this study is a collection of indicators proposed to measure the progress of mine tailings management towards sustainable development. Full article

Crowdfunding (CF) is considered to be an innovative source of funding, and research into its effects on CF participants is being conducted from many different angles. In our article, we propose a qualitative analysis of CF’s impact on creating added value for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper is a conceptual study based on the theory of value co-creation, the Norton–Kaplan value model, and the concept of economic value added (EVA) to identify the areas (perspectives) of business activity where crowdfunding may stimulate the growth of company value. Based on the map of co-relations in crowdfunding that we have created, we propose a new model of crowdfunding value analysis from the entrepreneur’s point of view. Our research demonstrates that crowdfunding not only presents an alternative financing option, but also affects all perspectives relevant to value creation. As compared to the existing literature, this analysis is the most comprehensive take on the importance of crowdfunding for increasing the value of small and medium enterprises to date, thus offering a material contribution to the fuller understanding of crowdfunding from the financial standpoint, as well as pointing to the importance of crowdfunding as a financing method influencing sustainable decision-making by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The added value of the study is the proposed method of analysing the impact of CF on the value of enterprises by using the Norton–Kaplan model and EVA. Full article

In this study, the potential of copper tailing deposits in Chile for the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) via ex-situ mineral carbonation integrating the recovery of valuable metals was assessed. An inventory of tailing deposits and CO₂ sources existing in Chile was constructed to determine the most suitable site for the installation of a future mineral carbonation plant and to evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of CO₂ capture, separation, and transport from the source to the mineral carbonation plant. The data of the inventory of tailings deposits in Chile were obtained from the National Service of Geology and Mining. For the thermoelectric plants installed in Chile, data of energy production were obtained from the Energy National Commission. Through the use of the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method and sensitivity analysis, the optimum location in the region of Antofagasta to install a mineral carbonation plant was identified. In addition, the results show that in the region of Antofagasta five tailing deposits have the potential to sequester between 66 to 99 Mt of CO₂. Meanwhile, thermoelectric plants in 2018 produced about 9.4 Mt of CO₂ that is available to be sequestered, with a maximum generation potential of 21.9 Mt of CO_2eq per year. The methodology and the study presented can be considered as a preliminary study to identify tailings that require further analysis. Full article

The development of markets for low-carbon energy sources requires reconsideration of issues related to extraction and use of oil and gas. Significant reserves of hydrocarbons are concentrated in Arctic territories, e.g., 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas reserves and 13% of oil. Associated petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate could be able to expand the scope of their applications. Natural gas is the main raw material for the production of hydrogen and ammonia, which are considered promising primary energy resources of the future, the oxidation of which does not release CO₂. Complex components contained in associated petroleum gas and gas condensate are valuable chemical raw materials to be used in a wide range of applications. This article presents conceptual Gas-To-Chem solutions for the development of Arctic oil and gas condensate fields, taking into account the current trends to reduce the carbon footprint of products, the formation of commodity exchanges for gas chemistry products, as well as the course towards the creation of hydrogen energy. The concept is based on modern gas chemical technologies with an emphasis on the production of products with high added value and low carbon footprint. Full article

The recycling of scrap is one of the common approaches aiming at reduction of mining-based production of critical metals and mitigation of their supply risk as well as processing-related environmental impact. The number of currently available end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) indicates—significant potential for critical metals recycling, especially niobium (Nb). Therefore, the quantification of environmental impact of niobium recovery starts to be an important issue in assessment of sustainability of large-scale recycling processes. In this paper, we assess energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in individual stages of niobium supply chain in the automotive industry over the period 2010–2050. The different stages including mining, production and recycling are analyzed using dynamic simulation. The results show the majority of the consumed energy (45% of energy demand in niobium supply chain) is used in the primary production stage. This stage also contributes to 72% of total gas emissions of supply chain over the period 2010–2050. Mining of niobium consumes up to 36% of energy and generates ca. 21% of GHG emissions. While, in recycling stage, the secondary production of niobium requires 19% of supply chain energy and generates 7% of gas emissions. The detailed calculations show that recycling of niobium could save around 133–161 m GJ energy between 2010 and 2050. The recycling would also contribute to the reduction of 44–53 mt CO₂-eq in the same period. It shows around 18% reduction of annual emissions between 2010 and 2050 thanks to reuse of niobium in secondary production rather than primary production. Full article

The concept of social sustainability is gaining attention within the field of supply chain relationships and international business. There are conflicting arguments regarding the effectiveness of contract governance and collaboration in an interfirm relationship. Previous studies have investigated the effect of a national culture on contract governance and opportunism. This study examines the effects of contract governance on collaboration, incorporating the moderating influence of cultural intelligence. Survey data were collected from 239 export manufacturing firms in different industries. The current authors suggest that contract governance might be more effective under conditions of a greater level of firm cultural intelligence capabilities. Cultural intelligence plays an important role in the shaping and implementation of collaboration and is the key to manage cross-culture relationship management in a supply chain. Cultural intelligence constitutes one potential way for the export industry to manage intercultural differences and profitably achieve an increase in collaboration. Collaboration with a socially responsible partner brings about improved social performance. The social dimensions of sustainability, such as fair labor practices and decent worker conditions, health and safety, no child labor, and employee empowerment must be addressed to accomplish the most sustainable growth. Managers also need to take advantage of cultural intelligence to adapt, collaborate, and share cultural knowledge. Full article

The paper assesses the techno-economic potential of Russia to implement carbon capture and storage technologies that imply the capture of anthropogenic CO₂ and its injection into geologic reservoirs for long-term storage. The focus is on CO₂ enhanced oil recovery projects that seem to be the most economically promising option of carbon capture and storage. The novelty of the work lies in the formulation of a potential assessment method of CO₂ enhanced oil recovery, which allows for establishing a connection between energy production and oil extraction from the viewpoint of CO₂ supply and demand. Using linear optimization, the most promising combinations of CO₂ sources and sinks are identified and an economic evaluation of these projects is carried out. Based on this information, regions of Russia are ranked according to their prospects in regards to CO₂ capture and enhanced oil recovery storage. The results indicate that Russia has a significant potential to utilize its power plants as CO₂ sources for enhanced oil recovery projects. It has been estimated that 71 coal-fired power plants, and 185 of the gas-fired power plants of Russia annually produce 297.1 and 309.6 Mt of CO₂ that can cover 553.4 Mt of the demand of 322 Russian oil fields. At the same time, the total CO₂ storage capacity of the Russian fields is estimated at 7382.6 Mt, however, due to geological and technical factors, only 22.6% can be used for CO₂-EOR projects. Of the 183 potential projects identified in the regional analysis phase, 99 were found to be cost-effective, with an average unit cost of € 19.07 per ton of CO₂ and a payback period of 8.71 years. The most promising of the estimated regions is characterized by a well-developed energy industry, relatively low transportation costs, numerous large and medium-sized oil fields at the final stages of development, and favorable geological conditions that minimize the cost of injection. Geographically, they are located in the North-Western, Volga, and Ural Federal districts. Full article