Machine Learning: The Key To Sustainable Manufacturing

The issue of sustainability has never been more prominent. Around the world, headlines are full of warnings on the dangers of climate change as companies, people and governments campaign for greener policies and practices. One of the sectors most affected by this drive is chemical processing and manufacturing. Every year, more than a thousand new chemical substances are introduced into the U.S. For each one, the potential applications need to be weighed against myriad potential health and environmental impacts across a broad range of metrics, such as energy consumption, toxicity or biodegradability across product lifecycles. If chemical processors and manufacturers are able to shift toward more sustainable practices – e.g., processes that are more energy efficient, require lower input volumes and are more environmentally and biologically-friendly – the benefits for both the industry and the environment would be significant.