Critical issues in promotion of environmentally benign manufacturing and materials processing

Regional differences on the strategy against crisis to environment make a common frame invisible to promote the effective directions toward significant reduction of total mass requirement or dematerialization. This overview summarizes the intimate discussions, proposals and advisable comments at the first US-Japan Workshop on the Environmentally Benign Manufacturing and Materials Processing at Hawaii on the October 5th, 2001, in order to integrate the state-of-the-art research activities in both countries. In the discussion over the recyclable materials, value/cost-quality diagram is used to redefine the recycling process and to characterize various processes in the environmentally benign manufacturing. Influence of light-weight material selection on the dematerialization is discussed to find out a new direction. Importance of the trade-off-balancing on the high performance for long term use is reconsidered to search for a solution in the design of innovative manufacturing and materials processing. Mass flow analysis in the life cycle assessment is recognized as a tool to make eco-system design for industrial ecology. Several issues for further research are also argued to promote the related activities to the environmentally benign manufacturing and materials processing.