Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

To simply calculate the reduction effect of a GHG emission coefficient when a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material are blended and used as raw materials.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus that calculates the reduction effect of a GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission coefficient when a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material are blended and used as raw materials for a product, the information processing apparatus comprises: an input unit for receiving a blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material relative to the virgin raw material; an acquisition unit for acquiring the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission coefficient of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material; and a coefficient calculation unit for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient using the ratio of the GHG emission coefficient of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material, and the blending amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosed technology relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

Background Art

[0002] A method for manufacturing steel products in an electric furnace using power defined as non-fossil value or zero-emission value is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, the control unit acquires order information of steel-related products, determines the required power amount necessary for manufacturing the steel-related products in an electric furnace from the order information, reads out the purchased certification information from the storage unit to prove that the power used in the manufacturing is power defined as non-fossil value or zero-emission value, and determines whether the required power amount is within the range of the power amount proved by the certification information. An information processing method including the above is known (for example, Patent Document 2).

[0004] Also, in order to grasp how much carbon dioxide is emitted from which process in a factory that manufactures multiple products, an apparatus that can automatically calculate the carbon dioxide emission amount on the premise of satisfying two specific conditions from the total usage amount of resources and the product manufacturing amount in the factory is known (for example, Patent Document 3).

[0005] Also, a carbon dioxide emission reduction activity support method for causing a computer to execute a first step of calculating an emission index value serving as an index of a user's carbon dioxide emission amount, a second step of calculating a reduction index value serving as an index of a carbon dioxide reduction amount due to the user's carbon dioxide emission reduction activity, and a third step of displaying the emission index value calculated in the first step and the reduction index value calculated in the second step on a screen of a terminal device used by the user is known (for example, Patent Document 4).

[0006] In addition, in a linear programming problem of supplying a plurality of energy demands in a facility to be calculated, inputting demand data including the energy demands, equipment data including the rated efficiency value, initial cost, and maintenance cost of equipment for supplying the energy, and tariff menu data of electricity and gas purchased from outside to operate the equipment, and using cost, primary energy consumption, or CO2 emissions as an objective function, performing an optimization calculation by a mixed integer linear programming method, and calculating an optimal combination of the equipment and a combination of the tariff menus; and inputting the demand data, the equipment data, the tariff menu data, equipment detailed data including partial load efficiency and operation constraints of the equipment, and the combination of the equipment and the combination of the tariff menus, and in a linear programming problem of supplying the energy demands by the equipment group, using cost, primary energy consumption, or CO2 emissions as an objective function, performing an optimization calculation by a mixed integer linear programming method, and calculating an operation plan of the equipment. An energy system optimization method including these steps is known (for example, Patent Document 5).

[0007] In addition, in a linear programming problem of supplying an energy load by a group of devices, an energy system optimization device is known that has a calculation means for inputting data stored by a storage means, performing an optimization calculation using cost, primary energy consumption, or CO2 emissions as an objective function, and calculating an operation plan of the devices during a calculation target period (for example, Patent Document 6).

[0008] In addition, a system is known that identifies parts or unit materials that can be changed by the user himself / herself, and determines the degree of influence of the substitution of the identified materials on the environmental load value by calculating the environmental load value when substitution is performed only on the identified materials, simultaneously with the environmental load value of the product (for example, Patent Document 7).

[0009] In addition, product configuration information, process information, and inventory information in the supply chain leading to the sale, manufacture, and procurement of parts are stored in a storage device. The inventory information is read from the storage device, and the environmental information of the inventory management items indicated in the read inventory information is stored in the storage device. The product configuration information and process information stored in the storage device are read, and the environmental information of the inventory management items is read from the storage device according to the read product configuration information and process information, and an environmental evaluation process of the product in the supply chain is executed. An environmental evaluation method characterized by this is known (for example, Patent Document 8).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0010]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Patent Document 8

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0011] Patent Documents 1 to 8 mentioned above do not disclose a method for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a blend of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials. Here, GHG refers to greenhouse gases, which are gases in the atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect by absorbing a part of the infrared rays radiated from the earth's surface. It refers to water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, etc., and may be a mixture of one or more of them.

[0012] The disclosed technology has been made in view of the above points, and an object is to provide an information processing apparatus, method, and program that can easily calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor when using a blend of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0013] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a blend of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials for a product, the apparatus including: an input unit that receives the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw materials and the bio-derived raw materials with respect to the virgin raw materials; an acquisition unit that acquires the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw materials and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw materials and the bio-derived raw materials; and a coefficient calculation unit that calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw materials and the bio-derived raw materials to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw materials and the blending amount.

[0014] The second aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a combination of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials for a product. The method includes receiving the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material, obtaining the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, and using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount to calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor, which is executed by a computer.

[0015] The third aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing program for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a combination of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials for a product. The program includes receiving the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material, obtaining the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, and using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount to cause a computer to execute a process of calculating the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] According to the disclosed technology, it is possible to easily calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor when using a combination of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the disclosed technology will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, the same or equivalent components and parts are given the same reference numerals. Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may be different from the actual ratios.

[0019] <Configuration of the Information Processing Apparatus According to the Present Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication interface (I / F) 17. Each configuration is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 19.

[0021] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 11 reads a program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14 and executes the program using the RAM 13 as a working area. The CPU 11 performs control of each of the above configurations and various arithmetic processes according to the program stored in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. In the present embodiment, an information processing program is stored in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. The information processing program may be a single program or a program group composed of a plurality of programs or modules.

[0022] The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores a program or data as a working area. The storage 14 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

[0023] The input unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to perform various inputs including information indicating the type of virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material when blending and using as raw materials a virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, and the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material.

[0024] The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various calculation results including the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor and various information including the derivation result of an appropriate blending amount. The display unit 16 may adopt a touch panel method and function as the input unit 15.

[0025] The communication interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and for example, standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc. are used.

[0026] Next, the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10.

[0027] Functionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 10 includes an acquisition unit 101, a coefficient calculation unit 102, and a blending amount derivation unit 103.

[0028] The acquisition unit 101 acquires the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material to be blended and the GHG emission coefficient of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to be blended. Specifically, the GHG emission coefficient of the corresponding material is acquired from a database (for example, IDEA (Inventory Database for Environmental Analysis)) in which the GHG emission coefficients of each material are stored. Alternatively, the GHG emission coefficient of the material may be calculated from the sales of the company manufacturing the material and the GHG emission amount (for example, the GHG emission amount visualization system "C-Turtle(R)"). As an example, the GHG emission coefficient is the emission coefficient in terms of the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide mass [ton-CO2eq / ton]. This is the emission coefficient expressed in terms of the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide mass for a gas aggregate containing one or more substances having a GHG effect.

[0029] The coefficient calculation unit 102 calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient using the ratio of the GHG emission coefficient of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material and the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material, and the blending amount.

[0030] Specifically, the coefficient calculation unit 102 calculates the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient according to the following formula.

[0031] Y = CFP B / CFP A Formula 1 K = (100 + X × Y) / (100 + X) Formula 2

[0032] However, CFP A is the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material, and CFPB is the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, and X is the weight part of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material blended with respect to 100 weight parts of the virgin raw material. X is an example of the blending amount.

[0033] The coefficient calculation unit 102 further calculates the GHG emission factor at the time of blending according to the following formula.

[0034] GHG emission factor at the time of blending = K × C Q / Q

[0035] However, C Q is the GHG emission amount [ton-CO2eq] when manufacturing the product using only the virgin raw material, and Q is the amount [ton] of the virgin raw material used when manufacturing the product.

[0036] Also, when n types of products are manufactured by blending the virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, the coefficient calculation unit 102 further calculates the GHG emission amount [ton-CO2eq] of the i-th product according to the following formula.

[0037] GHG emission amount of the i-th product = (a i + Xb i / 100)K·C Q Formula 3 JPEG2025110236000002.jpg14106

[0038] However, R is the amount [ton] of the recycled raw material or bio-derived raw material used, a i is the ratio of the virgin raw material used when manufacturing the i-th product, a i is the ratio of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material used when manufacturing the i-th product, A i = Q × a i 、Σa i = 1、B i = R × b i 、Σb i = 1. That is, Ai is the amount of product and the amount of generated substances [ton] obtained in this reaction when using virgin raw materials, and B i is the production amount and the amount of generated substances [ton] obtained in this reaction when using recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials.

[0039] Here, FIG. 3 shows a curve representing the relationship between the reduction effect K and the blending amount X for various Y values obtained from the above formula (2). From this, it is confirmed that the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient due to the use of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials gradually weakens with an increase in the blending amount X. That is, it can be seen that there is an optimal blending amount based on the procurement amount, cost, and reduction amount of the GHG emission coefficient of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials. For example, it is desirable to determine the blending formulation (the amount of recycled raw materials used, etc.) by combining the X value and the Y value so that the K value becomes 0.5 or less.

[0040] Therefore, in the present embodiment, the blending amount derivation unit 103 derives the blending amount so that the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient during blending is equal to or less than an effect threshold value (for example, 0.5).

[0041] Specifically, based on the curve of FIG. 3 obtained from the above formulas (1) and (2), the blending amount is derived when the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient during blending becomes the effect threshold value (for example, 0.5).

[0042] Also, in the curve of FIG. 3, there may be a case where the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient during blending does not become equal to or less than the effect threshold value. In the region where the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient during blending is greater than 0.5 (for example, when Y = 0.5 to 0.9 in FIG. 3), increasing the X value, that is, increasing the blending amount of recycled raw materials, etc., does not contribute much to the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient. Since the change in the K value with respect to the X value gradually converges in character from the graph, in the curve of a certain Y value, the point where the change amount ΔK value of K when the X value is increased becomes 0.05 or more can be set as the maximum value of the preferable X value.

[0043] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor during blending does not fall below the effect threshold value, the blending amount derivation unit 103 derives the blending amount such that the change amount ΔK of the GHG emission factor during blending with respect to the change in the blending amount is equal to or greater than a change threshold value (for example, 0.05) and the blending amount is maximized.

[0044] <Operation of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment> Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 will be described.

[0045] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the emission factor calculation process by the information processing apparatus 10. The emission factor calculation process is performed by the CPU 11 reading an information processing program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14, expanding it in the RAM 13, and executing it. Note that the emission factor calculation process is an example of an information processing method.

[0046] First, in step S100, the CPU 11, as the acquisition unit 101, receives information indicating the type of virgin raw material and at least one of the types of recycled raw material and bio-derived raw material when blending and using, as raw materials, the virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material input by the input unit 15, and the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material.

[0047] In step S102, the CPU 11, as the acquisition unit 101, acquires the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material to be blended and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to be blended.

[0048] In step S104, the CPU 11, acting as the coefficient calculation unit 102, calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient using the ratio between the GHG emission coefficient of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material and the GHG emission coefficient of the virgin raw material, and the blending amount. Also, the CPU 11, acting as the coefficient calculation unit 102, calculates the GHG emission coefficient at the time of blending. Further, when n types of products are manufactured by blending the virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, the CPU 11, acting as the coefficient calculation unit 102, calculates the GHG emission amount of the i-th product.

[0049] The CPU 11 outputs the calculated reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient, the GHG emission coefficient at the time of blending, and the GHG emission amount of the i-th product to the display unit 16.

[0050] In step S106, the CPU 11 determines whether to derive a blending amount at which the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient calculated in step S104 is equal to or less than the effect threshold value. For example, when it is selected by the user to derive a blending amount at which the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient calculated in step S104 is equal to or less than the effect threshold value, the process proceeds to step S108; otherwise, the emission coefficient calculation process ends.

[0051] In step S108, the CPU 11, acting as the blending amount derivation unit 103, derives a blending amount such that the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient is equal to or less than the effect threshold value. Also, when the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient does not become equal to or less than the effect threshold value, the CPU 11, acting as the blending amount derivation unit 103, derives a blending amount such that the change amount ΔK of the reduction effect of the GHG emission coefficient with respect to the change in the blending amount is equal to or greater than the change threshold value (for example, 0.05) and the blending amount is maximized.

[0052] In step S110, the CPU 11 outputs the derivation result of the blending amount to the display unit 16 and ends the emission coefficient calculation process.

[0053] As described above, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment can easily calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor when using a combination of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials, as well as the GHG emission factor at the time of blending, using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials to the GHG emission factor of virgin raw materials and the blending amount.

[0054] Further, by deriving the blending amount so that the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor is equal to or less than the threshold for the effect, it is possible to easily derive an appropriate blending amount when using a combination of virgin raw materials and at least one of recycled raw materials and bio-derived raw materials as raw materials. Also, even when the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor is not equal to or less than the threshold for the effect, an appropriate blending amount can be derived.

[0055] <Example> An example of implementing the method for deriving an appropriate blending amount of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials for reducing the GHG emission factor described in the above embodiment will be described.

[0056] For example, in the case of plastics, the quantity of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials that can be procured in the market is still limited. Also, they are often expensive compared to virgin raw materials in terms of cost. Furthermore, in the case of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials, there are often problems in terms of function expression, such as a decrease in their expressed physical properties compared to virgin raw materials. Therefore, considering the reduction of the GHG emission factor of the raw materials to be used, it is important to consider the usage ratio of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials to virgin raw materials from the graph of FIG. 3 above.

[0057] Therefore, among the four quadrants (FIG. 5) considering the GHG emissions of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials relative to virgin raw materials and the presence or absence of usage restrictions on recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials, Examples of deriving the usage blending amount of recycled raw materials and / or bio-derived raw materials for reducing the GHG emission factor will be described using Cases 2 to 4.

[0058] <case2> Case 2 is a case where the GHG emissions of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials are low (Y < 0.2), but there are functional usage restrictions.

[0059] Case 2 will be described using the material recycling by adding waste plastics to a coke oven as a specific example.

[0060] Since the waste plastics are plastics recovered from general household waste, the CO2 emission coefficient at this stage is zero. However, when recycling and using this waste plastic, a slight energy load is generated due to processes such as sorting and pulverization. Therefore, here, the emission coefficient of general waste plastics used for coke oven recycling is set to 10% (Y = 0.1) of the emission coefficient of coal used in the coke oven. On the other hand, for the material recycling by adding general waste plastics to a coke oven, there are limitations on the addition amount of waste plastics to coal in terms of coke strength, and an addition of 1 to 2% is preferably made with respect to 100% of coal (Kato et al. (2006), Nippon Steel Technology, 384, 69 - 73.). From Equation 2, when calculating the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient of the coke oven product when adding 1% and 2% of waste plastics with respect to 100% of coal, in the case of adding 1% of waste plastics, K = 0.991, and in the case of adding 2% of waste plastics, K = 0.982. Even though there are limitations on the addition of the waste plastics as the recycled raw material, it has been easily calculated by this information processing method and information processing program that the addition can surely reduce the GHG emissions.

[0061] Next, we will consider the crude coal tar obtained from a coke oven when waste plastic is added to coal. In coke production using only coal, 72 - 75% coke, 3% coal tar, and 22 - 28% COG (Coke Oven Gas) are produced (Kato et al. (2006), Nippon Steel Technology, 384, 69 - 73.). However, when only waste plastic is treated in a coke oven, the ratio of the obtained products is different from that of using only coal, being 20% coke, 40% coal tar, and 40% COG (Shimoyama et al. (2008), Carbon, No. 235, 316 - 324.).

[0062] The current IDEA database calculates the GHG emissions in a coke oven using only two types, coke and crude coal tar, and does not consider the generated COG. Therefore, adding the concept of COG generation and considering the effect of the composition change of the products obtained by adding 1 phr of waste plastic, which is a recycled raw material, and substituting each parameter into Equation 1 with the product ratio in coke production using only coal being 75% coke, 3% coal tar, and 22% COG, the calculation of GHG emissions was performed using a computer. As a result, the reduction effect K of the GHG emission coefficient of the coke oven products when waste plastic, which is a recycled raw material, is added to the coal raw material was calculated to be 0.773, and it was confirmed that this is 22.7% lower than the current IDEA database value of general coke oven products. Also, substituting each parameter into Equation 3 using this K value, the GHG emissions of the crude coal tar derived from recycled waste plastic were calculated, and the result was that the GHG emissions were 87.6% (a reduction of 12.4%). It was easily calculated by this information processing method and information processing program that effective reduction of GHG emissions is achieved by using waste plastic, which is a recycled raw material.

[0063] <case3> Case 3 is a case where the GHG emissions of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials are high (Y > 0.5), but there are no functional usage restrictions.

[0064] In Case 3, the recycling of flame-retardant polystyrene resin will be described as a specific example.

[0065] There are examples in the published literature for the recycling of flame-retardant polystyrene resin (Miyane (2004), Journal of the Waste Management Society, Vol. 14, No. 4, 236 - 241). In the case of flame-retardant polystyrene resin, the ratio of the GHG emission coefficient calculated from the numerical values on IDEA of virgin resin and recycled raw materials (flame-retardant HIPS, recycled PS 50%) is about 65% (Y = 0.65). At this time, the GHG emission reduction effect K is 0.883 from Equation 1. However, it is not the case that the blending amount of recycled raw materials can be increased randomly. Even if 500 parts by weight of recycled raw materials are blended with respect to 100 important parts of virgin raw materials, the K value is 0.708, and the reduction contribution effect from the K value of 0.883 when 50 parts by weight of recycled raw materials are blended with respect to 100 important parts of virgin raw materials is very small compared to the blending amount of recycled raw materials (Table 1). That is, by using this information processing method and information processing program, it was possible to evaluate in advance that the effect of blending a large amount of recycled raw materials is small.

[0066]

Table 1

[0067] <case4> Case 4 is a case where the GHG emissions of recycled raw materials or bio-derived raw materials are low (Y < 0.2) and there are no functional usage restrictions.

[0068] As an example of Case 4, the recycling of general-purpose polystyrene resin alone will be described.

[0069] In the case of general-purpose polystyrene resin, the IDEA ratio of recycled polystyrene resin to virgin resin is approximately 15% (Y = 0.15). The GHG emission reduction effect at this time is shown in Table 2. In this case, the K value when 50 parts by weight of recycled polystyrene resin, which is a recycled raw material, is blended with 100 parts by weight of virgin raw material is 0.717. Furthermore, the K value when 50 parts by weight of recycled polystyrene resin, which is a recycled raw material, is blended with 100 parts by weight of virgin raw material is 0.292, and the K value is significantly reduced, confirming a large reduction contribution effect by the blending of recycled raw materials (Table 2). From this result, it was possible to pre-evaluate that the more recycled polystyrene resin, which is a recycled raw material, is blended, the more effective it is by using this information processing method and information processing program.

[0070]

Table 2

[0071] In this way, by performing calculations with a computer using the formulas 1, 2, and 3 of the present invention, it is also possible to predict in advance with evidence how much recycled raw material should be blended with virgin raw material to efficiently reduce GHG emissions. Also, the numerical values used in the calculations of each example are shown in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 3

Table 4

[0072] <Modification example> Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0073] For example, in each of the above embodiments, various processes in which the CPU reads and executes software (program) may be executed by various processors other than the CPU. In this case, examples of the processor include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and a dedicated electric circuit which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed specifically for executing specific processes, such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Further, the discharge coefficient calculation process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same type or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, and a combination of a CPU and an FPGA, etc.). Further, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit combining circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0074] In each of the above embodiments, the mode in which the information processing program is stored (installed) in the storage 14 in advance has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The program may be provided in a form stored in a non-transitory storage medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. Further, the program may be in a form downloaded from an external device via a network.

[0075] Regarding the above embodiments, the following additional remarks are further disclosed.

[0076] (Additional Item 1) An information processing apparatus for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material as raw materials for a product, a memory, at least one processor connected to the memory, and includes The processor receives the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material, acquires the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount An information processing apparatus configured as described above.

[0077] (Appended Claim 2) A non-transitory storage medium storing a program executable by a computer to execute an emission factor calculation process for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material as raw materials for a product, The emission factor calculation process receives the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material, acquires the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount A non-transitory storage medium.

Explanation of Reference Signs

[0078] 10 Information processing apparatus 11 CPU 14 Storage 15 Input unit 16 Display unit 101 Acquisition unit 102 Coefficient calculation unit 103 Blending amount derivation unit

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material as raw materials for a product, comprising: an input unit that receives the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material; an acquisition unit that acquires the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material; a coefficient calculation unit that calculates the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount; an information processing apparatus including the above.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient calculation unit calculates the reduction effect K of the GHG emission factor according to the following formula. K = (100 + X × Y) / (100 + X) Y = CFP Ｂ / CFP Ａ / However, CFP Ａ is the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material, and CFP Ｂ is the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, and X is the weight part of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material blended with respect to 100 weight parts of the virgin raw material.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the coefficient calculation unit further calculates the GHG emission factor at the time of blending according to the following formula. GHG emission factor during cooperation = K × C Ｑ / Q However, C Ｑ is the GHG emissions when manufacturing the product using only the virgin raw materials, and Q is the amount of virgin raw materials used when manufacturing the product.

4. When n products are manufactured by blending the virgin raw material and at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material, the coefficient calculation unit further: The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, which calculates the GHG emission amount of the i-th product according to the following formula. GHG emissions of the i-th product = (a ｉ + Xb ｉ / 100) K・C Ｑ However, a ｉ is the proportion of the virgin raw material used when the i-th product is manufactured, and b ｉ is the proportion of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material used when the i-th product is manufactured. A ｉ = Q × a ｉ , Σa ｉ = 1, B ｉ = R × b ｉ , Σb ｉ = 1.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blending amount derivation unit that derives the blending amount so that the reduction effect is equal to or less than an effect threshold value.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the reduction effect is not less than or equal to the effect threshold value, the blending amount derivation unit derives the blending amount such that the change amount of the reduction effect with respect to the change in the blending amount is equal to or greater than a change threshold value and the blending amount is maximized.

7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the GHG emission factor is an emission factor in terms of the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide mass.

8. An information processing method for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material as raw materials for a product, comprising: receiving the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material; Obtain the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material. Calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount. An information processing method in which a computer executes the process.

9. An information processing program for calculating the reduction effect of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission factor when using a virgin raw material and at least one of a recycled raw material and a bio-derived raw material as raw materials for a product, Accept the blending amount of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material with respect to the virgin raw material. Obtain the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material. Calculate the reduction effect of the GHG emission factor using the ratio of the GHG emission factor of at least one of the recycled raw material and the bio-derived raw material to the GHG emission factor of the virgin raw material and the blending amount. An information processing program for causing a computer to execute the process.

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