Reproducible and Fast Mapping of Material Flows in Industrial Networks Using Piot Hub: A Novel Cloud Based Computational Tool

An important goal of industrial ecology is to ensure a balance is maintained between economic and environmental sustainability. Facilitation of this balance requires an understanding of the structure of the material economy and the material flows/waste generation in industrial networks in order to minimize the environmental consequences of these industrial systems. Physical Input-Output Tables (PIOTs) are uniquely suited for this purpose by mapping physical flows between industrial sectors. In previous work, PIOT-Hub was developed to automate the generation of both Physical Supply Tables (PSTs) and Physical Use Tables (PUTs) as well as their conversion into PIOTs by integrating the strength of mechanistic models and macroeconomic Input-Output framework [1]. Hence, PIOT-Hub, a cloud-based tool can be used to generate the PST and PUT for a region using a bottom-up approach where relevant industrial processes are simulated via mechanistic models to determine steady-state material input and output requirements. Thus, the tool establishes a connection between engineering and economic model in such a way that it is insightful for transitioning to a low carbon and zero waste circular economy. In past work, PIOT-Hub was applied to 11 agro-based economic sectors in Illinois, thus capturing elemental flows across the economy, demonstrating the automation aspect. Here we evaluate the reproducibility and time aspect of PIOT-Hub to map the material flows of equivalent economic sectors in Indiana. We develop simulation models for industries in Indiana and utilize PIOT-Hub for mapping the industrial network, thus evaluating the functionality of this novel computational platform. This work not only demonstrates the reproducibility of the tool’s utilization to other geographic regions, but also serves as a case study of how the fast generation of PSTs, PUTs, and PIOTs by PIOT-Hub can be used to compare the material economies of multiple regions. We perform a comparative analysis of material flows in Illinois and Indiana using our work and the PIOT generated for Illinois in previous work. We will also demonstrate the collaborative aspect of this computational tool by live demo of the tool during this talk, thus highlighting the scaling impact of collaboration through cloud-based platform in making sustainable manufacturing decisions.

References

[1] Shweta Singh; Lan Zhao; Jaewoo Shin; Venkata Sai Gargeya Vunnava (2021), "PIOT hub for Automated Generation of Regional PIOTs," https://mygeohub.org/resources/piotpy.