Junli Shi

Bio: Junli Shi is an academic researcher from Dalian University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Remanufacturing & Life-cycle assessment. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 14 publications receiving 212 citations. Previous affiliations of Junli Shi include Dalian Polytechnic University.

Toward a Sustainable Impeller Production: Environmental Impact Comparison of Different Impeller Manufacturing Methods

Abstract: Summary Impellers are the core components of turbomachinery in petrochemical and aeronautical engineering. In addition to conventional manufacturing (CM), additive manufacturing (AM) and remanufacturing (RM) can also be used in impeller production. This article presents a life cycle assessment method comparing the environmental impacts of different impeller manufacturing methods, including plunge milling (CM), laser cladding forming (AM combined with CM), and additive remanufacturing (RM). Results show that RM is the most environmentally favorable option, followed by AM and CM, in terms of global warming potential (GWP), Chinese resource depletion potential (CADP), water eutrophication potential (EP), and acidification potential. However, AM is not always more environmentally friendly than CM. The comparison of impeller production by CM and pure AM, in this case, indicates that the environmental burden of production using pure AM is approximately twice than that of CM. Compared with CM, the RM of impellers would reduce GWP, CADP, and EP by 64.7%, 66.1%, and 75.4%, respectively. The results of this study contribute to a scientific basis for the selection of manufacturing methods and the sustainable manufacturing of impeller production enterprises.

Green and Sustainable Solvents in Chemical Processes

Abstract: Sustainable solvents are a topic of growing interest in both the research community and the chemical industry due to a growing awareness of the impact of solvents on pollution, energy usage, and contributions to air quality and climate change. Solvent losses represent a major portion of organic pollution, and solvent removal represents a large proportion of process energy consumption. To counter these issues, a range of greener or more sustainable solvents have been proposed and developed over the past three decades. Much of the focus has been on the environmental credentials of the solvent itself, although how a substance is deployed is as important to sustainability as what it is made from. In this Review, we consider several aspects of the most prominent sustainable organic solvents in use today, ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, supercritical fluids, switchable solvents, liquid polymers, and renewable solvents. We examine not only the performance of each class of solvent within the context of the...

Environmental Dimensions of Additive Manufacturing: Mapping Application Domains and Their Environmental Implications

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM) proposes a novel paradigm for engineering design and manufacturing, which has profound economic, environmental, and security implications. The design freedom offered by this category of manufacturing processes and its ability to locally print almost each designable object will have important repercussions across society. While AM applications are progressing from rapid prototyping to the production of end-use products, the environmental dimensions and related impacts of these evolving manufacturing processes have yet to be extensively examined. Only limited quantitative data are available on how AM manufactured products compare to conventionally manufactured ones in terms of energy and material consumption, transportation costs, pollution and waste, health and safety issues, as well as other environmental impacts over their full lifetime. Reported research indicates that the specific energy of current AM systems is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher compared to that of conventional manufacturing processes. However, only part of the AM process taxonomy is yet documented in terms of its environmental performance, and most life cycle inventory (LCI) efforts mainly focus on energy consumption. From an environmental perspective, AM manufactured parts can be beneficial for very small batches, or in cases where AM-based redesigns offer substantial functional advantages during the product use phase (e.g., lightweight part designs and part remanufacturing). Important pending research questions include the LCI of AM feedstock production, supply-chain consequences, and health and safety issues relating to AM.

Research needs and recommendations on environmental implications of additive manufacturing

Abstract: Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as “three-dimensional (3D) printing,” is the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer by layer. AM provides a cost-effective and time-efficient way to fabricate products with complicated geometries and advanced material properties and functionality. Based on the 2014 National Science Foundation (NSF) Workshop on Environmental Implications of Additive Manufacturing, this paper outlines potential environmental implications of AM related to key issues including energy use, occupational health, waste, lifecycle impact, and cross-cutting and policy issues, in terms of their current state-of-the-art, research needs, and recommendations, respectively.