Browsing by Author "Rahimifard, Shahin"

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    Capability evaluation of real-time inline COD detection technique for dynamic water footprint management in the beverage manufacturing industry
    (Elsevier, 2023-06-20) Cui, Xinyue; Webb, D. Patrick; Rahimifard, Shahin
    This paper reports the development of a real-time inline Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) detection technique in a beverage manufacturing plant in England and the evaluation of its capability for dynamic Water Footprint (WF) management. The inline technique employed Ultraviolet–Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy and Moving Window Partial Least Squares (mwPLS), which was then applied to calculating Grey WF for the production activities in the plant, referred to here as WFrt. A traditional offline COD measurement method was also utilised for the Grey WF calculation, to act as the reference method, referred to here as WFtrad. In a method-comparison study (Bland-Altman Plot), the results showed that WFrt detected the order of magnitude variation of WFtrad, and WFtrad was on average between 0.897 and 1.243 times WFrt with no systematic bias. This indicates that WFrt may be used for both short-time frame (minutes to hours) WF monitoring and long-term (weeks to months) analysis of trends and the effect of WF optimisation strategies.
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    A concept of water usage efficiency to support water reduction in manufacturing industry
    (MDPI, 2016-11-25) Sachidananda, Madhu; Webb, D. Patrick; Rahimifard, Shahin
    Increasing pressures on freshwater supplies, continuity of supply uncertainties, and costs linked to legislative compliance, such as for wastewater treatment, are driving water use reduction up the agenda of manufacturing businesses. A survey is presented of current analysis methods and tools generally available to industry to analyze environmental impact of, and to manage, water use. These include life cycle analysis, water footprinting, strategic planning, water auditing, and process integration. It is identified that the methods surveyed do not provide insight into the operational requirements from individual process steps for water, instead taking such requirements as a given. We argue that such understanding is required for a proactive approach to long-term water usage reduction, in which sustainability is taken into account at the design stage for both process and product. As a first step to achieving this, we propose a concept of water usage efficiency which can be used to evaluate current and proposed processes and products. Three measures of efficiency are defined, supported by a framework of a detailed categorization and representation of water flows within a production system. The calculation of the efficiency measures is illustrated using the example of a tomato sauce production line. Finally, the elements required to create a useable tool based on the efficiency measures are discussed.
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    Digitalising food manufacturing
    (Wiley, 2022-09-01) Rahimifard, Shahin; Brewer, Steve; Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo; Jagtap, Sandeep
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    Improving water efficiency in the beverage industry with the internet of things
    (IGI Global, 2021-08-31) Jagtap, Sandeep; Skouteris, George; Choudhari, Vilendra; Rahimifard, Shahin
    The food and beverage industry is one of the most water-intensive industries, with water required for various processes (e.g., washing, cooking, cleaning) at almost every stage of the production, as well as being a key constituent in many food and drink products. Therefore, a real-time efficient water management strategy is imperative, and the novel internet of things (IoT)-based technologies can be of significant help in developing it. This chapter presents the architecture of an IoT-based water-monitoring system followed by the demonstration of a case study of a beverage factory wherein the monitoring system helped understand the detailed water usage as well as finding solutions and addressing overconsumption of water during the manufacturing processes. The successful deployment of IoT helped reduce the annual water consumption by 6.7%, monitor water usage in real-time, and improve it.
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    An Internet of Things approach for water efficiency: a case study of the beverage factory
    (MDPI, 2021-03-18) Jagtap, Sandeep; Skouteris, George; Choudhari, Vilendra; Rahimifard, Shahin; Duong, Linh Nguyen Khanh
    There is a lack of knowledge among food manufacturers about adopting the Internet of Things (IoT)-based water monitoring system and its ability to support water minimisation activities. It is therefore necessary to investigate the applicability of IoT-based real-time water monitoring systems in a real food manufacturing environment to pursue water-saving opportunities accordingly. This article aims to propose an architecture of an IoT-based water-monitoring system needed for real-time monitoring of water usage, and address any water inefficiencies within food manufacturing. This article looks at a study conducted in a food beverage factory where an IoT-based real-time water monitoring system is implemented to analyse the complete water usage in order to devise solutions and address water overconsumption/wastage during the manufacturing process. The successful implementation of an IoT-based real-time water monitoring system offered the beverage factory a detailed analysis of the water consumption and insights into the water hotspots that needed attention. This action initiated several water-saving project opportunities, which contributed to the improvement of water sustainability and led to an 11% reduction in the beverage factory’s daily water usage
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    Optimisation of the resource efficiency of food manufacturing via the Internet of Things
    (Elsevier, 2021-02-05) Jagtap, Sandeep; Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo; Rahimifard, Shahin
    The food sector is currently very inefficient due to a large amount of food waste it generates, and the volumes of water and energy used. This problem is aggravated by increasing economic costs and stricter regulations associated with the disposal and treatment of food waste, carbon emissions and wastewater discharge. Because of this, resource efficiency is key to a sustainable food system. In this context, it is essential to reduce food waste, energy and water through transparent and accurate real-time monitoring to be able to understand the real reasons behind their generation/use. Understanding these reasons would help food manufacturers to redesign their processes and achieve operational improvements. The Internet of Things (IoT), a relatively new manufacturing concept within Industry 4.0, can support this. IoT consists of an information technology infrastructure for data collection and distribution, that can significantly influence the efficiency and performance of manufacturing systems. This article presents an IoT-based framework for monitoring the generation of food waste and the use of energy and water in the food sector. The framework supports the identification of improvements to optimise the resource efficiency of food manufacturing through the design and implementation of a number of IoT-based tools