International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is currently seen as one of the most avantgarde concepts embracing circularity and business cooperation in almost all economic sectors. Industrial Symbiosis processes are novel concepts compared to traditional business models with profit based and business oriented. This paper aims to present key findings and insights from Poland and Albania, both in early stages of IS implementation, as a study within LIAISE COST Action framework. Since the industrialization process for both countries have had similar patterns from their centralized past, they face nowadays similar challenges and barriers. Using a comparative quantitative approach, the findings highlight shared obstacles, including high investments costs, limited awareness of IS benefits, low trust among firms, insufficient coordination mechanisms, and constrained access to finance for collaborative investments. This paper also suggests the importance of tailored policies for each country, as well as the importance of support from public institutions.

The aim of this report is to demonstrate feasible regenerative practices in accordance with the requirements underlying the EC regulations and the package of measures introduced in December 2015 to implement the “circular economy”. The reviewed regenerative practices achieve the principles of resource restoration, introduction of integrated production practices for soil regeneration and recarbonization. The ecological importance and control of soil microorganisms, the retention and restoration of soil moisture to ensure sustainable soil fertility is shown.

The purpose of this report is to present the possibilities, goals and benefits of implementing integrated low-carbon practices for managing basic resources in agriculture, soil and water and achieving the main goals of the EU programs – “circular economy” and “green deal”, as well as and mitigating the causes of climate change.

The transformation of industrial enterprises to a circular economy in the conditions of Industry 4.0 is a key step towards sustainable development and reducing the carbon footprint on the nature. The main objective of the circular economy is to reduce the waste and utilize resources as efficiently as possible by reusing, recycling and extending the life cycle of products. This transformation requires changes to both the production processes and the business models of enterprises. The transition of industrial enterprises to a circular business model will have a beneficial effect on the environment, increase their financial results and improve their competitiveness. The circular business model requires a rethinking of internal processes, products and strategies. This research aims to analyse the opportunities of industrial enterprises to rethink their product strategies, optimize resources, effectively manage waste and promote a circular organizational culture.

The growing environmental concern about plastic waste has prompted research into sustainable recycling of polymer, particularly for widely used polymers such as polyethylene from the spools used in the textile industry in the second half of the 20th century. This study investigates the feasibility and optimization of recycling Polypropylene to make filaments suited for 3D printing applications, notably Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). The study is divided into three phases: collecting and preparing post-consumer Polypropylene spools, extruding recycled Polypropylene into filaments, and optimizing the filament for 3d printing using FDM Technology.
Polyethylene spools are cleaned, shredded, and treated to ensure consistent feedstock quality. The extrusion process entailed controlling factors like temperature, screw speed, and cooling rate to produce filaments with constant diameter with less distortion. Following material characterisation, the printability of recycled Polypropylene filaments was evaluated using an FDM 3D printer. The Taguchi method is used to carefully study the influence of printing parameters such as nozzle temperature, bed temperature, print speed, and layer height to determine optimal parameters. The printed examples showed reasonable dimensional accuracy and layer adhesion, with surface roughness values within acceptable limits for practical applications.
This thorough study plan focuses on recycled Polypropylene as a feasible and sustainable material for FDM 3D printing. The findings indicate that with proper optimization, recycled Polypropylene can match the performance requirements of a variety of applications, helping to reduce waste and promote the circular economy in additive manufacturing. Long-term performance testing and the development of recycling processes will be the primary focus of future research to improve the material’s characteristics and broaden its application range.

This publication analyses the process of transforming the online economy into a circular one. The focus of the analysis is on the progress of the European Union member states in reducing waste. Member States’ progress towards a circular economy is slow. The circular business model should not be seen as wishful thinking, because it will be crucial for companies in the future. The circular economy is at the heart of the European Green Deal and plays a key role in decarbonisation and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and in the fight against pollution. Circular economy means smarter use of resources. The circular economy is built using sustainable economic models based on innovation and technology to allow the repeated use of the same resources. Achieving a zero carbon footprint on the natural environment by 2050. is the top priority. This would only be possible if the world moves towards a circular economy, and this is one of the highlights of the Green Deal, while also aiming to increase the competitiveness of the economy.

The purpose of this report is to present the objectives and the legal framework laid down in the EU strategies for introducing carbon farming practices in soil management, for introducing the principles of the circular economy, as well as for achieving the objectives laid down in the European Green Deal.

Sustainability is topic of great concern since the last decade and still today does not lose of its popularity. Reason for that is that the contemporary way of living is causing great damages to the environment. Designers have been talking about changing the ways in which the products are designed in order to have sustainable product. But, for achieving sustainability many aspects need to be addressed, such as: cultural, social, economical and technological. Nowadays, we believe that these aspects are on higher level and we can talk about sustainable design.
Every product development process starts with the design phase and this is why we believe that it is most important for making improvements of the products. In this paper we have the premise that good and appropriate design can have positive influence on the sustainability. In order to check the validity of the premise we are reviewing paper dealing with sustainability, eco design, and engineering materials.

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the recycling of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) [1, 2]. However, there are only few economic assessments on the recycling of LIBs even if, by 2030, it is possible to reach 2 million tons of spent LIBs/year worldwide [3, 4]. In this context, the present work aims to present a viable business model that is feasible and economically efficient and can be framed in a circular economic recycling technology of spent LIBs. The proposed business model uses literature data on the hydrometallurgical processing (HP) of spent LIBs. The business plan contains estimates of costs and revenues, and, also, estimates or projections concerning the state of the relevant markets and industries for the products resulting from spent LIBs.
Our work proposes a feasible and sustainable circular economy solution able to deliver critical materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper for the supply chain of the LIBs manufacturing. From our estimate, valorising all recovered materials, the annual profit can reach around 600,000 $ for a commercial recycling plant that processes 125 tons/year of spent LIBs.

The use of mathematical models of control processes in foundry such as: K-test and Chemical spectral analysis is a good set of mathematics (thermal conductivity theory) and theoretical physics (first-order phase transition) are important elements for ensuring high quality castings in micro-foundries.
The idea of estimating the overheating of a liquid metal alloy based on the appearance of a curing process upon filling has been developed. These control processes combined with zone refining are an important opportunity to create a waste-free foundry in a circular economy in Industry 4.0.

The concept of a circular economy is a model of production and consumption that minimizes waste in the environment. It brings benefits not only to nature but also to the economy and society as a whole. This is a model aimed at extending the product life cycle. When a product reaches the end of its life, the materials of which it is composed continue to be reused. This is repeated many times to minimize waste disposal. In practice, this means sharing, borrowing, reusing, repairing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. The bio- economy in the European Union is growing much faster than the rest of the economy, which will lead to the creation of more jobs and the continuation of the digital transformation of the European economy. Bio-economy covers all sectors and systems that use biological resources. It is one of the largest and most important sectors of the EU and includes agriculture and forestry, fisheries, agro-food, biomass and bio-based products. Its annual turnover is about 2 trillion euros, and it employs about 18 million people. Bio-economy is also a key area for stimulating growth in rural and coastal areas. The new bio-economy strategy fits in with the Commission’s efforts to further boost jobs, growth and investment. It aims to improve and expand the sustainable use of renewable sources to overcome global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. The purpose of the study is to analyze the situation in Bulgaria for the development of the bio- sector in terms of production capacity, potential for growth of the bio-production sector, to study the conditions, difficulties and prospects for the development of exports of bio- products. The analysis will serve to evaluate the opportunities for Bulgarian bioeconomy development, the innovation encouraging measures in this sector and the diversification of this sector. The results of the Bioeconomy research distinguish strategic areas: sustainable consumption and production through responsible consumers and producers; knowledge society through information development and training; government to help adapting to new business realities; climate change and energy; sustainable transport and mobility; conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources; public health and risk prevention with an emphasis on environmental quality; demography and migration and social inclusion; challenges in the field of sustainable development; global poverty reduction.