Smart Sustainable Production Management for City Multifloor Manufacturing Clusters: An Energy-Efficient Approach to the Choice of Ceramic Filter Sintering Technology

Abstract

The development of environmentally friendly technologies, including additive technologies, contributes to the formation of sustainable production in city multifloor manufacturing clusters (CMFMCs). This paper discusses an approach to the implementation of energy-intensive technological processes in such clusters using examples of the manufacturing of ceramic and metal–ceramic products. The manufacturing of ceramic and metal–ceramic products in high-temperature furnaces is associated with an increased electricity consumption. The use of modern ceramic micro- and nanopowders makes it possible to switch to more energy-saving technologies by reducing the sintering temperature and shortening the technological cycle. This requires the use of additional activating and inhibiting additives in the initial powder mixtures to obtain products with the necessary physical and mechanical properties. The purpose of this paper is to present a model and indicators to assess the energy efficiency of the choice of sintering technology of foam ceramic filters for smart sustainable production management within CMFMCs. The use of the proposed indicators for assessing the energy efficiency of sintering foam ceramic filters makes it possible to improve the technological process and reduce the completion time of its thermal cycle by 19%, and reduce the maximum heating temperature by 20% to 1350 °C. The adoption of a different oxide technological alternative and the use of the proposed model and indicators to assess the energy efficiency of the sintering technology of foam ceramic filters allows to choose less energy-intensive equipment and save up to 40% in electricity. The proposed model to assess the energy efficiency of the sintering technology of foam ceramic filters can be used to control their production under the power consumption limitations within the CMFMCs.