A Framework to Compute Carbon Emissions Generated from Additive Manufacturing Processes

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an emerging and promising technology increasingly adopted from Industry. However, Industry is responsible for the majority of global carbon emissions (CEs), heavily contributing to greenhouse effect. Therefore, it is important to define the environmental impact of all processes, including AM carbon footprint. This work aims at reviewing literature for the equations for CE calculations of AM and developing a framework for CEs calculations generated from all the types of AM. Literature was found for some AM types, with each type of AM described stepwise and categorized per Process, Machine and System level. At each step, the equations for CEs, based on carbon emission factor and energy spent, were allocated. At process level, CEs come exclusively from the energy spent for curing. At the machine level, CEs are related to the process, auxiliary equipment and consumables. At system level, additional CEs are derived from material used, pre-processing and post-processing steps. Total carbon emissions are the sum of CEs at machine level and additional CEs from system level. Generalization of this approach led to a framework that can be used for all types of AM, to calculate CEs of each AM type based on the steps included.