MEE30001

MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING

2
SUSTAINABILITY ASSIGNMENT

Don kushan Wijemanne(Student ID:4311019)

Assen Jabbar(Student ID: 4324927)
Product

Kettle

Objectives
To design two different kettles using SolidWorks.
Use SolidWorks Sustainability and generate a LCA report.
To assess the environmental impacts of the kettle throughout its life cycle to reduce the
impacts and for changes to be made.

Introduction

Water is one the basic necessities of human life. The access to clean water is vital and the kettle
is a way to obtain it. The main purpose of a kettle is to boil water. As the bottom of the kettle is
heated using a gas stove fire or an electric induction cooker the water inside keeps getting heated
and eventually reaches boiling point. Many developed countries have clean water accessible
straight from the taps but there are still many rural areas that cannot access clean water and
hence kettles are still being widely used. A kettle plays an essential part in any household and is a
simple design but in todays world we need products that are not only easy or cheap but products
that are environmentally friendly and durable.

Design

India is chosen as the region of use and region of manufacture. India has a vast population of
over 1 billion people, not everyone can afford heaters hence kettles are widely used. For many
people especially in the rural areas where access to clean water can be sparse a kettle is essential
to boil the water to make it cleaner. India also produces and manufactures many aluminum and
stainless steel products.
Stainless steel is the metal chosen for the production of kettle 1(Design 1). Stainless steel is rust
resistant, durable and easier to clean but it is expensive and heavy.

Aluminum is the metal chosen for the production of the kettle 2(Design 2). It was chosen as it is
light in weight, cheap and a good conductor of heat but it is harder to clean and less durable.
 Design 1 Design 2
The dimensions of design 1 radius of 8cm and a height of 8cm
The dimensions of design 2 radius of 8cm and a height of 24cm

Manufacturing of Kettles

The manufacturing process used to produce the kettle is die casting. Die casting is a metal
casting process, molten metal is forced into a cavity mold using high pressure. Manufacture of
parts using die casting is relatively simple, which keeps the incremental cost per item low. It is
suited for a large quantity of small to medium sized castings.

India has the 5th largest bauxite reserves; bauxite is an aluminum ore which is the main source of
aluminum. Hence India has aluminum in abundance for manufacturing.
India is also currently the 8th largest steel producing country in the world, therefore like
aluminum India has large reserves of stainless steel to be used in the manufacturing of kettles.
Therefore the transportation aspect of the aluminum design and stainless steel design should be
relatively low as there is no need to import them.

Life Cycle Assessment

Life cycle assessment gives us an output of our designs in the form of environmental impacts.
The kettles are built to last 5 years and the duration of use is also 5 years. The method of
transportation around India is by truck.

Design 1:

As shown the carbon footprint is largest in the manufacturing section of the whole process.

The main contributor to the acidification of air is the manufacturing section.

The total energy consumed is concentrated mainly in the manufacturing section. The
manufacturing aspect of Design 1 has high energy consumption due to stainless steel being a
hard metal to work with.

Design 2:

As shown the carbon footprint is largest in the materials section of the whole process.

The main contributor to the acidification of air is the materials section.

The total energy consumed is concentrated mainly in the materials section. The materials aspect
of design 2 is high due to high amounts of energy required to get aluminum from bauxite.
Discussion

Design 1(Stainless Steel) has a lower carbon foot print of 65kg of CO 2 when compared with
Design 2(Aluminum) which has a carbon foot print of 86kg of CO 2 The carbon footprint for the
aluminum kettle is large in the materials section because greenhouse gases are emitted indirectly
during the electrolysis process and greenhouse gases are emitted directly during the alumina
calcination process as fossil fuels are used. Whereas the carbon footprint of stainless steel is low
because stainless steel has a recycled content of up to 60%. The carbon footprint for design 1 is
large in the manufacturing section because a large amount of heat among other emissions is
released during the manufacturing process of kettles.

Air acidification is high in design 1 in the manufacturing section due to the combustion of fuels
to produce electricity. Whereas in design 2 the air acidification is larger in the materials section
as the production of aluminum uses up a lot of power which leads to combustion of fuels
therefore leading to higher emissions compared to the manufacturing of the kettles itself. There is
a contrasting difference in the materials section for the air acidification in design 1(0.045 kgSO 2)
and design 2(0.438 kgSO2) which shows that stainless steel impacts the air much less than
aluminum during the material production.

The total energy consumed during in the material aspect of design 1 and 2 shows a large
difference, this is because aluminum production in nature is an energy intensive process.
Indian roads are highly congested so the transportation medium also uses large up a lot of energy
and cause a significant amount of air acidification which results in higher carbon footprint.

Recommendations to reduce impacts and the results

Design 1
The manufacturing method influences the carbon footprint, air acidification and total energy
consumed. Therefore, to reduce the effects of manufacturing method the following can be
considered:
Since, steel is a unique material that can be recycled without loss of properties or
performance; recycled steel can be used to make kettles.
Increasing the efficiency of manufacturing kettles will reduce the carbon footprint.
Manufacturing facilities should be powered by renewable energy sources to reduce the
carbon footprint related to electricity emission.
Manufacturing facilities should conduct emissions monitoring and proper maintenance to
reduce the air acidification from manufacturing steel kettles.
 The heat that is generated from manufacturing steel kettles can be used to provide air
conditioning.
Switching from coal or oil to natural gas, which reduces operating costs, extends the
plants lifetime and air acidification.
Fluids lost in various points during the production process could be reclaimed and used to
produce electricity.
Weight of a kettle should be reduced. As a result of that, fuel consumption will be
reduced and carbon footprint will also be reduced.
The method of transportation should be changed.

Design 2
The materials aspect influences the carbon footprint, air acidification and total energy consumed.
Therefore, to reduce the effects the following can be considered:
Productivity of Aluminum kettles should be maximized
Better anode effect quenching methodology in order to minimize the duration of
manufacturing Aluminum kettles.
Kettles should be manufactured from recycled Aluminum so, that could reduce the
carbon footprint and total energy consumed significantly when it is compared with
manufacturing kettles from raw Aluminum.
Increased recycling of aluminum continues to be the best way to improve energy
efficiency.
To improve the air acidification which is mainly affected from the materials section of the
process the exhaust air can be converted to steam and then emitted.
Finding new refractory materials that can withstand the corrosive conditions and keep the
heat in will decrease the energy consumption.
Finding new methods to make Aluminum products from raw material or ingots, because
current methods are highly energy intensive.

Alumina calcination process

This method is used to manufacture aluminum. In general, calcination is a heating process which
combines chemically with water and removes the alumina hydrate. When the calcined alumina is
hydrated it is referred to as anhydrous alumina. The aluminum industry situated in the heart of India can
be classified as ample bauxite reserves and amongst the most competitive Al production India has the
largest production globally.
The main raw material used is bauxite. There are various other forms of materials used such as caustic
soda, petroleum coke and coal. The bauxite is mixed with caustic liquor to produce alumina. It is then
smelted by the process of electrolysis to obtain the required aluminum. The following chart below will
show the process of the aluminum materials.

The only drawback on this process is that it requires a lot of power as

breaking the bond of aluminum and oxygen takes a lot of
power thus energy consumed is more. Since power is an issue
major Indian companies have their own incarcerated power
plants which in return will give them power in a less cost
effective way. For example, production costs between nalcos
and Hindalco companies are the lowest in the world. They both
have the opportunity to get 100 % captive power. This is rather an
advantage as it is a power intensive industry and power is really vital in India and makes India one of the
most competitive low cost Al productions globally. The pictures below shows how the aluminum is
extracted.

Conclusion
 Carbon Footprint Air Acidification Total Energy
Consumed

Design 1(Stainless 65 kg/CO2 0.48kg/SO2 690MJ

Steel)
Design 2(Aluminium) 86kg/CO2 0.612kg/SO2 1000MJ
Table 1: Comparison between two designs

Although, Aluminum is light in weight, cheap and a good conductor of heat and Stainless steel is
expensive and heavy, but from the above table, it can be clearly seen that, as a long term
solution, Design 1 is more practical due to sustainable issues. In addition, to reduce CO 2 emission
mass production of kettles would help to reduce the CO2 emission. Moreover, Manufacturing
methods influence more on carbon footprint, air acidification and total energy consumed in both
Aluminum and Stainless Steel kettles. The reason for that is the strength of the chemical bond
between Aluminum and Oxygen is significantly stronger than the same bond between Iron and
Oxygen. As a result, much more energy is required to split the bond and form the metal.
Therefore, it would be more economical and energy saving if manufactures could find other
ways to break these bonds. Further, manufacturing facilities should be equipped with emissions
monitoring devices and proper maintenance should be carried out regularly.

References
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