A manufacturing system analysis combined with waste management

This thesis presents an environmentally integrated manufacturing system analysis for companies looking for the benefits of environmental management in achieving high efficiency levels. When the relationship between environmental costs and manufacturing decisions is examined, it can be seen that the productivity of the company can be increased by using an environmentally integrated manufacturing system analysis methodology. Therefore, such a methodology is proposed and the roadmap for generating environmentally friendly and economically favorable alternative waste management solutions is elaborated. The methodology consists of data collection, operational analyses of the processes, identification of wastes and evaluation of waste reduction alternatives proposed both technically and economically. The proposed methodology is examined in a car battery manufacturing company, which generates hazardous wastes composed of lead (Pb). The main focus was on the wet-charged lead-acid battery manufacturing. It is aimed to decrease the wastes derived from the production so that the efficiency in raw materials usage is increased and the need for recycling the hazardous wastes is decreased. Following the identification of waste production points, at least one alternative is proposed for the reduction of waste. Two different alternatives are proposed for the reduction of dross formation based on the results obtained from the experiments carried out. The applicability of alternative waste management solutions is investigated from operational, technical and economical point of views and benefits and limitations are identified for each of the alternatives.