Sustainability assessment of welding processes: a review

Abstract

Over the past several years, sustainability has become an important performance metric in industry and a significant driver for the development of innovative concepts and technologies, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects. Welding is one of the major techniques used in manufacturing industries that requires a large amount of energy and resources and also it is considered dangerous to health and the environment. Energy-saving and constraints in carbon emissions have become a priority in the manufacturing sector therefore, the minimum energy-oriented sustainable welding processes are highly recommended. This paper aims to provide a structured overview of the wide field of research in sustainable production with a focus on the sustainability assessment of welding processes. It describes and outlines the available methodologies used and explores the most recent advances in the field. Based on a broad literature review, research gaps are identified and the scope of future work is discussed. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the advancement of current practices in measuring and assessing the sustainability of welding processes.