Background
Life cycle of a product begins with the raw material extraction and then goes through various manufacturing activities until the product is delivered to customer. During product life cycle, energy is consumed at various stages along with generation of waste and emission gases that causes pollution. This waste and emissions cause environmental degradation which is one of the ten threats officially cautioned by the high level threat panel of the United Nations (Moy 2004). Environmental degradation means destruction of natural habitats, depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution. The main cause of environmental damage is excessive industrial activities and non-judicious use of natural resources. Environmental policies, aimed at limiting the environmental impact due to industrial activities, are pushing the industries to take preventive actions to minimize the environmental impacts. Therefore, development of sustainable products is one of the key challenges faced by the industry in the 21st century.
Sustainable manufacturing is defined as, manufacturing the products by the use of processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources (Leahu 2008). To fulfill objectives of sustainable production companies must minimize all kinds of wastes as well as use of natural resources, raw materials and energy throughout the product life cycle. Hence, fundamental re-think in the design of a product at all stages of a product life cycle is required.
Industrial sectors like pulp and paper sector, chemical industries and the metal industries are a step ahead in improving their environmental performance. However, a large number of studies have been conducted on metal industries with focus on primary and secondary metals industry. Only a few studies have been reported for metal casting industry (Neto 2007). Therefore the focus of present study is to analyze the environmental aspects of Sand Casting process. In the next section Sand Casting process has been discussed which is followed by discussion on the present state of Sand Casting and environment.