Using system dynamics to assess the environmental management of cement industry in streaming data context.

ABSTRACT

The cement industry can be regarded as one of the major sources of anthropogenic air pollution. It uses a significant amount of energy while creating substantial amount of potentially health-threatening carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust particles. Hence, the cement industry can be regarded as a primary area for study in the development of green manufacturing. In this study, an urban cement factory is analyzed. The major contribution of the article is the development of a holistic approach to identify the variables impacting cement production and environmental factors creating air pollution in the area, a system dynamics model has been developed incorporating streaming data. To understand the effect of a cement factory on an urban area, some strategic level decisions are also analyzed with the study in order to reveal their impact on environment. The impact of cement production on air pollution cannot be evaluated separately from other air quality factors; therefore, the contribution of each factor has to be identified in order to understand the specific issues affecting a region. With the use of the model, future implications of various air quality factors on environmental sustainability can be assessed. According to the results, PM10 value, which is currently above the World Health Organization (WHO) air pollution critical level of 50 µg/m3 for 30% of the days in a year, will climb to more than 50% in 2023. Moreover, governments can also recognize the severe impacts of location selection for cement industries, unplanned and excessive building licensing, and uncontrolled immigration on environment of an urban living. Therefore, output of the study is potentially beneficial in guiding governmental decisions to ensure the sustainability of air quality.