Environmental properties of input mixtures

Abstract

The disclosure relates to the field of sustainability, in particular to the field of feedstocks alternative to fossil feedstocks and usable for industrial operations. The disclosure relates to methods for generating environmental property data for mixtures, methods for preparing an input mixture associated with environmental properties, methods for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture, respective apparatuses, uses of mixture data, input mixtures and computer elements.

Description

[0001] ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES OF INPUT MIXTURES

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The disclosure relates to the field of sustainability, in particular to the field of feedstocks alternative to fossil feedstocks and usable for industrial operations. The disclosure relates to methods for generating environmental property data for mixtures, methods for preparing an input mixture associated with environmental properties, methods for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture, respective apparatuses, uses of mixture data, input mixtures and computer elements.

[0004] TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

[0005] Chemical products for plastic are used in diverse applications and end up in multiple supply chains to produce a diversity of products containing plastics. Recycling of plastic articles is challenging owing to the complexity in sorting the diverse set of waste articles. The refeed of plastics into chemical value chains is particularly difficult since chemical plants such as steam crackers have narrow specification. Chemical producers are hence hampered to recycle and refeed plastics in material value chains.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] In one aspect disclosed is a method, in particular a computer-implemented method, for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, for monitoring and / or controlling a composition of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, wherein the input mixture includes multiple alternative materials for the at least one industrial operation, the method comprising: providing target mixture data associated with one or more technical properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation; providing alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials, wherein the alternative mate rial data includes one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material; generating, based on the target mixture data and the alternative material data, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation; generating, based on the mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture; providing the mixture data for preparing the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation and providing the environmental property data associated with the input mixture for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

[0008] In another aspect disclosed is an apparatus for generating mixture data associated with instructions for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, for monitoring and / or controlling a composition of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, wherein the input mixture includes multiple alternative materials for the at least one industrial operation, the apparatus comprising: a target mixture data providing interface configured to provide target mixture data associated with one or more technical properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation; an alternative material data providing interface configured to provide alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials, wherein the alternative material data includes one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material; a mixture data generator configured to generate, based on the target mixture data and the alternative material data, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation; an environmental property data generator configured to generate, based on the mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture; a data providing interface configured to provide the mixture data for preparing the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation and providing environmental property data associated with the input mixture for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

[0009] In another aspect disclosed is an input mixture including alternative materials and prepared according to mixture data as generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein, wherein the input mixture is associated with a digital asset relating to or including the environmental property data as generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0010] In another aspect disclosed is an input mixture including at least one alternative material and being prepared according to mixture data as generated according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein. In another aspect disclosed is an input mixture associated with a digital asset including at least one decentral identifier and data related to the environmental property data as generated according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein. In yet another aspect disclosed is an input mixture associated with a digital asset relating to or including the environmental property data as generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0011] In another aspect disclosed is the use of mixture data as generated according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation. In another aspect disclosed is a method for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation by using the mixture data as generated according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0012] In another aspect disclosed is the use of environmental property data associated with the input mixture as generated according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein for linking a digital asset to the input mixture for at least one industrial operation. In another aspect disclosed is at least one network node of a decentral communication network associated with the alternative material production, the transport of the alternative material, use of the alternative material and / or storage of the alternative material configured to generate mixture data and environmental property data according to the methods or by the apparatuses disclosed herein.

[0013] In another aspect disclosed is at least one network node of a decentral communication network configured to provide access to a digital asset digital asset associated with an input mixture and relating to or including the environmental property data as generated according to the methods disclosed herein or by the apparatuses disclosed herein

[0014] In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a computer element, such as a computer program or computer readable medium, with instructions, which when executed by one or more computing node(s) e.g. of a decentral network is configured to carry out the steps of the method(s) disclosed herein or is configured to be carried out by the apparatus(es) disclosed herein.

[0015] Any disclosure, embodiments and examples described herein relate to the methods, the systems, apparatuses, input mixtures, uses, network nodes and computer elements lined out above and below. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples equally apply to all other embodiments and examples.

[0016] EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Owing to the diversification of input material streams, e.g. fossil, recycled, renewable and / or bio-based materials, the properties of material streams differ. For example, depending on the waste composition used for recycling the properties of the recycled material can vary. Similarly, depending on the production pathway and / or the renewable input material properties of the renewable and / or bio-based material can vary. This variation leads to challenges for industrial operations, since depending on application the industrial operation is associated with the specification of the feedstocks for the industrial operation that have to be adhered to. By blending alternative materials in a targeted manner based on the requirement of the industrial operation processing the blend, alternative materials can be used more effectively in ecosystems with diverse industrial operations while reliably managing the quality constraints industrial operations impose on feedstocks. In particular, generating the mixture data for blending the alternative materials available to one or more industrial operations based on target mixture data specific to the industrial operation, allows for reliable, effective and efficient usage of alternative materials. Further by generating environmental property data associated with such blends allows for reliable tracking or monitoring of the environmental performance of such blends, for example within production chains involving the production of chemical products and end products.

[0018] In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure will be outlined by ways of examples. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to said embodiments and / or examples.

[0019] The industrial operation may be related to one or more input mixture(s) specified to a target mixture suitable for the industrial operation. The industrial operation may be related to a one or more technical properties of input material(s) suitable for the industrial operation. The industrial operation may by characterized by the industrial operation type. The industrial operation type may relate to chemical, mechanical and / or thermal processing operations. The industrial operation may relate to an entry process of a chemical production network such as stream cracking, refining, synthesis gas production, or partial oxidation. The industrial operation may relate to a recycling process. The industrial operation may relate to an entry or exit process of a recycling system such as mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and / or thermal recycling system. The industrial operation may relate to a storage facility or tank farm. The industrial operation may relate to an entry or exit process of a material stream to or from a storage facility or tank farm such as tank filling or mixing. The industrial operation may relate to a fuel facility. The industrial operation may relate to an entry or exit process of a material stream to or from a fuel facility such as gas station or airplane filling.

[0020] The input mixture for at least one industrial process may comprise one or more alternative material(s), one or more fossil input material(s) and / or one or more diluent(s). The input mixture for at least one industrial process may comprise multiple alternative material(s), one or more fossil input material(s) and / or one or more diluent(s). The input mixture may differ for different industrial operations. The input mixture may relate to a target mixture specifying one technical property or more technical properties of the input mixture to be suitable for the industrial operation. The input mixture may relate to a target mixture specifying one or more grades of input mixtures.

[0021] Alternative materials may include materials that are alternative materials to conventional fossil-based materials. Alternative materials may include materials that are alternative chemical input materials to fossil input materials. Alternative materials may include any type of input material that can replace fossil input materials for chemical processing, such as steam cracking, refining or combustion. Alternative materials may include hydrocarbon mixtures suitable for chemical processing together with or in exchange for fossil input materials. Fossil input materials may include oil, coal or natural gas. Fossil input materials may be non-renewable, non-recycled and / or non-bio-based materials. Examples of alternative materials include recycled, renewable and / or bio-based materials. Recycled materials may be produced from material waste. Renewable materials may be produced by using renewable energy to produce mixtures of hydrocarbons. Bio-based materials may be produced from renewable materials or materials from natural resources such as plants, agricultural residue, or food waste. The multiple alternative input materials may relate to one or more alternative input material type(s), wherein the alternative input material type may include recycled, bio-based and / or renewable input material. The multiple alternative input materials may relate to one or more source material type(s) the multiple alternative input materials are produced from. The source material type may relate to an origin of the source material. The source material type may relate to waste type, natural resource type and / or renewable energy type.

[0022] Alternative material data may be associated with one or more alternative material(s) and respective properties specified per alternative material. The alternative material data may relate to a quantity of alternative material and / or properties of the alternative material. The alternative material data may relate to a type of alternative material and / or properties of the alternative material. The alternative material data may include an alternative material identifier, a type of alternative material, a quantity of alternative material and / or properties of the alternative material, such as technical and / or environmental properties. The type of alternative material, the quantity of alternative material and / or the properties of the alternative material may be provided per alternative material or alternative material identifier. Multiple alternative material identifiers may be provided. The one or more properties specified per alternative material may differ per alternative material. The one or more properties specified per alternative material may differ as per specified property type and / or property value. Alternative material data may include property types.

[0023] The quantity of alternative material may relate to the quantity of alternative material produced and / or accessible for use by the at least one industrial operation. The quantity of alternative material may relate to the quantity of alternative material producible or produced with a specific property or multiple specific properties. The quantity of alternative material may relate to the quantity available for feedstock to be fed to industrial operation. The quantity may specify the mass, the volume, the amount or any other applicable measure relating to the quantity of alternative material produced or to be produced and available for use.

[0024] The alternative material type may relate to recycled, bio-based and / or renewable material. The alternative material type may relate to one or more source material type(s) the alternative material is produced from. The source material type may relate to waste type, natural resource type and / or renewable energy type. The alternative material type may relate to one or more origin(s) of the source material the alternative material is produced from.

[0025] In one embodiment the target mixture data relates to or is associated with or includes target environmental properties of the input mixture. The one or more technical properties of the input mixture may relate to or be associated with or include target environmental properties of the input mixture. Target environmental properties may include given or predefined environmental properties for the input mixture. Target environmental properties may include environmental properties required for the input mixture. Target environmental property / ies may include value(s) and / or range(s) and / or threshold(s). The use of target environmental property / ies may allow to generate mixture data considering such target environmental property / ies as constraints. This may ensure that the input mixture prepared based on the generated mixture data fulfils given target environmental property / ies. By using target environmental property / ies, the environmental impact of the input mixture may be adjusted to the needs of the operator operating the industrial operation.

[0026] In another embodiment, the target mixture data is associated with one or more properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation may include technical properties of the at least one industrial operation.

[0027] Alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials may include one or more technical properties specified per alternative material. The alternative material data may be associated with one or more technical properties. In another embodiment the one or more technical properties of the alternative material data relate to a quantity of alternative material, wherein the quantity of alternative material relates to the quantity of alternative material accessible for use by the at least one industrial operation or accessible for preparation of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation. In another embodiment the one or more technical properties of the alternative material data relate to one or more operation and / or composition properties of the one or more alternative material(s), wherein the composition property is associated with at least one or more substance(s) critical for the input mixture to the industrial operation, wherein the operation property is associated with one or more input mixture characteristics critical to processing the input mixture by the industrial operation. Critical to the processing may relate to contaminations for the specific industrial operation. Contaminations may lead to malfunctions, yield losses or other loss effects yielding to the industrial process being less efficient or degrade.

[0028] In another embodiment at least one environmental property of the alternative material data relates to a type of alternative material. The alternative material type may relate to recycled, bio-based and / or renewable material. At least one environmental property of the alternative material may relate to a measure quantifying the impact of using the alternative material associated with the alternative material type for the industrial operation rather than conventional or fossil materials.

[0029] In another embodiment generating environmental property data associated with the input mixture includes aggregating one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material. The environmental property may relate to a measure related to the alternative material type. The measure may relate to mass equivalents, weight equivalents, hydrogen atom equivalents, carbon atom equivalents, methane equivalents or any other suitable measure for quantifying the environmental property of the alternative material.

[0030] The aggregation may relate to one or more alternative material types. The aggregation may relate to all alternative material types included in the input mixture. The aggregation may relate to all alternative material types included in the input mixture in relation to fossil and / or diluent materials contained in the input mixture. For example, the quantity or content of alternative materials contained in an input mixture also including conventional material may be determined and provided as environmental property data. For example, the quantity or content of different alternative material types contained in an input mixture may be determined per alternative material type and provided as environmental property data. The quantity may relate to an amount of alternative material as measure. The quantity may relate to equivalent amount of alternative material, e.g. based on mass equivalents, weight equivalents, hydrogen atom equivalents, carbon atom equivalents, methane equivalents or any other suitable measure for quantifying the environmental property of alternative material.

[0031] By using measure(s) it can be ensured that environmental properties of alternative materials can be counted. If the environmental property is measured by a common measure per environmental property type, the measures or values may be aggregated by summing the environmental properties. If the environmental property is not measured by a common measure per environmental property type, the measures or values may be converted to a common measure prior to summing the environmental properties. In another embodiment generating environmental property data associated with the mixture includes converting one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material to one or more balancing unit(s) based on a conversion factor relating conventional material(s) to alternative material(s), relating the use of conventional material(s) to the use of alternative material(s) and / or relating to a difference in chemical and / or physical properties between conventional material(s) and alternative material(s). The balancing unit(s) may signify a quantitative measure of the respective environmental property of the alternative material. The relation between conventional material(s) to alternative material(s) may depend on the industrial operation. Different conversion factors may be used for different alternative materials, different alternative material types and / or industrial operations. By using balancing unit(s) the environmental properties can be counted in a common measure related to conventional materials while taking the difference to conventional materials into account. The reference to conventional materials hence allows for a more nuanced generation of environmental property data. The conventional material providing the reference environmental property may relate to conventional material used for the specific industrial operation. For example, in case of a steam cracker as industrial operation, the conventional reference material may relate to fossil naphtha and the reference environmental property may refer to its heating value.

[0032] In another embodiment generating environmental property data associated with the mixture includes converting one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material to one or more balancing unit(s) based on an - e.g. equivalent - quantity of conventional material(s) and / or an - e.g. equivalent - quantity of alternative material(s) in relation to the industrial process. Additionally or alternatively, generating environmental property data associated with the input mixture includes converting the one or more environmental properties to one or more balancing unit(s) based on a feedstock equivalent in relation to the industrial operation, such as hydrogen or carbon feedstock equivalent. The feedstock equivalent may relate conventional material(s) to alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties and / or the use of conventional input material(s) to the use of alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties.

[0033] Converting the one or more environmental properties to one or more balancing unit(s) may include determining the equivalent quantity and / or feedstock equivalent, such as hydrogen or carbon feedstock equivalent.

[0034] Converting the one or more environmental properties to one or more balancing unit(s) may relate to an amount of conventional material(s) and an amount of alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties. Converting the one or more environmental properties to one or more balancing unit(s) may include deriving the balancing unit from an amount of conventional material(s) and an amount of alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties. The conversion factor may be based on carbon feedstock equivalent, methane equivalent, mass equivalent, energy property equivalent or any other suitable measure quantifying the impact of using alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental attribute(s). The conversion to balancing units may include the conversion of the alternative material amount in view of an energy property including material losses that occur during the industrial operation. Converting the one or more environmental properties to one or more balancing unit(s) may relate to an energy property of conventional material(s) and an energy property of alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties. Converting may include deriving the balancing unit from an energy property of conventional material(s) and an energy property of the alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties. For example, the energy property may be a lower or a higher heating value.

[0035] Mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation may be generated based on the technical properties of the target mixture and the technical properties of the alternative material data. In another embodiment the mixture data is associated with instructions for preparing the input mixture for at least one industrial operation. The prepared mixture may be used within the at least one industrial operation. For instance, the prepared input mixture may be used as input material for the at least one industrial operation.

[0036] In another embodiment the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation is prepared based on the mixture data.

[0037] The mixture data may relate to one or more fossil input material(s) and / or one or more diluent(s). In another embodiment mixture data is generated by determining from the alternative material data the mixture that lies within the constraints provided by the target mixture data. The property, in particular technical property, or the multiple properties, in particular technical properties, of the alternative materials may correspond at least in part to the property, in particular technical property, or the multiple properties, in particular technical properties, of the input mixture as specified by the target mixture data for the at least one industrial operation. The property, in particular technical property, or the multiple properties, in particular technical properties, of the alternative materials may correspond at least in part to the property, in particular technical property, or the multiple properties, in particular technical properties, of the input mixture as specified by the target mixture data for the at least one industrial operation. The property, in particular technical property, or the multiple properties, in particular technical properties, of the alternative materials may include composition and / or operation property e.g. per alternative material.

[0038] In another embodiment linking the digital asset to the prepared input mixture includes assigning the environmental property data associated with the input mixture to at least one decentral identifier associated with the input mixture and to data related to the environmental property data. Assigning environmental property data associated with alternative material(s) to input mixtures may include the linking of the decentral identifier with the environmental property data. The decentral identifier may be a virtual identifier. The decentral identifier may be associated with the physical entity of the input mixture. This way the virtual identifier of the input material may be uniquely linked to the physical entity of the input mixture. Such linking may include a physical or virtual link of identifiers uniquely associated with the physical input mixture. For physical linking a physical identifier element such as a tag or code may be physically connected to the input mixture, e.g., by printing a QR code on the packaging unit containing the input mixture and linked to the decentral identifier. For virtual linking different identifiers associated with the physical input mixture may be linked to each other. For example, an order number, a batch number, LOT number or a combination thereof may be linked to each other. In one embodiment the target mixture data specifies constraints or boundaries for the one technical property or more technical properties of the input mixture to be used by the industrial process. The target mixture data may be associated with one technical property or more technical properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation. The target mixture data may be pre-defined per industrial process. The target mixture data may specify one technical property or more technical properties of the input mixture for at least one industrial operation type.

[0039] In one embodiment the mixture data includes machine-readable instructions for monitoring and / or controlling the preparation of the input mixture, wherein the input mixture is prepared based on the mixture data. The mixture data may specify multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation. The mixture data may relate to instructions for preparing the input mixture.

[0040] In one embodiment the alternative material data relates to a quantity of alternative material, a type of alternative material and / or properties of the alternative material. The quantity of alternative material may relate to the quantity of alternative material accessible for use by the at least one industrial operation. The alternative material type may relate to recycled, bio-based and / or renewable material. At least one property of the alternative material or property type may include composition and / or operation. The alternative material data may relate to one or more operation and / or composition properties or types of the one or more alternative material (s). The composition property may be associated with at least one or more substance(s) critical for the input mixture to the industrial operation.

[0041] The composition property may specify at least one or more critical substance(s) and their respective critical quantity, such as a threshold or range quantity, for the input mixture. The operation property may be associated with one or more input mixture characteristics critical to processing the input mixture by the industrial operation. The operation property may specify one or more critical limit(s) of input mixture characteristics. Critical may refer to any characteristic or substance that may impede the processing of the mixture, negatively affect the processing of the mixture, e.g. by reducing yields, and / or the negatively impact the equipment the input mixture is processed by, e.g. through degradation.

[0042] The alternative material data may be provided per alternative material. The alternative material data per alternative material may be associated with the alternative input material type. The alternative material data may be provided per alternative material for multiple alternative materials. The alternative material data may be provided per alternative material for multiple alternative materials of different types. The one property or more properties may be associated with one or more substances critical for the input stream mixture for the industrial operation. The one property or more properties per alternative material may specify one or more critical substance(s) for one or more industrial processes. The one property or more properties per alternative material may specify one or more input mixture characteristics critical to processing the input mixture.

[0043] The alternative material data e.g. per alternative material may be associated with available quantities of alternative material to be fed to the at least one industrial process. The target mixture data e.g. per industrial process may be associated with capacity of input mixture to be fed to the industrial process per time interval. Mixture data may be generated based on available quantities of alternative material and / or capacity of input mixture. Mixture data may be generated depending on the industrial process, capacity of input mixture and / or available quantities of alternative material.

[0044] In one embodiment mixture data is generated by determining weighted quantities of alternative material(s) depending on the one property or more properties per alternative material and the target mixture data. Generating mixture data may include determining weighted quantities of alternative material(s) depending on the one property or more properties per alternative material. Generating mixture data may include determining weighted quantities of alternative materials) depending on the target mixture data for multiple industrial operations(s), wherein mixture data is provided per industrial operation. The weighted sum of at least part of the one property or more properties per alternative material may be lower than or equal to at least part of the target composition for at least one industrial operation. The mixture data may be provided for multiple industrial processes, wherein mixture data is provided per industrial process.

[0045] In one embodiment diluent data is retrieved and / or accessed to generate mixture data, if based on the alternative material data no mixture data associated with the input mixture is generated that lies in the constraints or boundaries specified by the target mixture data. Diluent data may be provided for generation of the mixture data. The diluent data may be associated with the properties of one or more diluent(s) including fossil input material or specific chemical compounds. The mixture data may be generated based on the alternative material data, the target mixture data and / or the diluent data.

[0046] The target mixture data may be provided by one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the industrial operation. The target mixture data may be provided to one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the mixture generation or the alternative material provider or producer. The alternative material data may be provided by one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the alternative material provider or producer. The alternative material data may be provided to one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the input mixture generation or the industrial operation. The environmental property data may be provided to one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the input mixture generation and / or the industrial operation. The mixture generation service may be implemented by one or more node(s) of the decentral network associated with the industrial operation and / or the alternative material producer. The mixture generation service may be implemented by one or more mixture generation node(s) of the decentral network, wherein the target mixture data and / or the alternative material data may be provided to the one or more mixture generation node(s) by one or more node(s) associated with the industrial operation and / or the alternative material producer.

[0047] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] In the following, the present disclosure is further described with reference to the enclosed figures. The embodiments and examples are illustrative embodiments and examples to further line out the concepts lined out herein. The figures include schematic illustrations and shall not be considered limiting. Other embodiments and examples that fall under the concepts lined out herein are possible and may not be explicitly described herein.

[0049] Fig. 1 illustrates schematically an example of recycled, renewable and bio-based material flows from production and / or storage of the materials to using the materials as feedstocks for industrial operations.

[0050] Fig. 2 illustrates schematically a flow chart of a method for blending a feedstock mixture including one or more alternative input material(s) and / or for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or controlling a composition of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation.

[0051] Fig. 3a illustrates schematically an example of a data structure for a feedstock specification of one industrial operation.

[0052] Fig. 3b illustrates schematically an example of a data structure for alternative material data.

[0053] Fig. 3c illustrates schematically an example of a data structure for mixing data.

[0054] Fig. 4 illustrates schematically a flow chart of a method for blending a feedstock mixture including alternative materials and / or dilutants.

[0055] Fig. 5 illustrates schematically an operating system including a mixture generator configured to access target mixture data and alternative material data for generating mixture data.

[0056] Fig. 6 illustrates schematically a user interface for generating mixture data and blending.

[0057] Figs. 7a, b illustrate schematically blending profiles for different industrial operations.

[0058] Fig. 8 illustrates schematically a decentral network including a mixture generator service implemented by a node associated with an industrial operation performer.

[0059] Fig. 9 illustrates schematically a decentral network including a mixture generator service implemented by a node associated with an alternative material producer or provider.

[0060] Fig. 10 illustrates schematically a decentral network including industrial operation node(s), alternative material provider node(s) and an additional node implementing the mixture generator service. Fig. 11 illustrates schematically an example protocol for a peer-to-peer communication between different nodes of the decentral network.

[0061] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The following embodiments are mere examples for implementing the method, the apparatus, the system or applications disclosed herein and shall not be considered limiting.

[0063] Fig. 1 illustrates schematically an example of recycled, renewable and bio-based material flows from production and / or storage of the materials to using the materials as feedstocks for industrial operations.

[0064] To reduce fossil material depletion and to establish carbon neutral material streams, alternative material streams are increasingly replacing fossil or conventional material streams. In this context conventional or fossil material streams may refer to materials produced from fossil inputs. Alternative material streams may refer to material streams produced from recycled, renewable and / or bio-based inputs. Such materials streams may be particularly relevant for industrial operations such as chemical production or fuels, such as automotive fuels, aviation fuels or turbine fuels.

[0065] Recycled, renewable and / or bio-based materials may be used as alternative materials to fossil materials. Recycled materials may be produced from material waste collected at the end-of-life of products, such as plastic waste, textile waste, tire waste or the like. The waste product may be mechanically, chemically and / or thermally recycled to produce recycled material such as pyrolysis oil, electro-jet fuels, liquefied methane, hydrogen or ammonia. Renewable materials may be produced by using renewable energy to produce liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons. Production pathways may include Power to Liquid (PtL) or Sun-to-Liquid (StL), which are based on the conversion of renewable energy to liquid fuels and chemicals such as methanol, oxymethylene ether (OME), ammonia, and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) products. The renewable energy may include wind, hydro and / or solar energy. For example, wind, hydro and / or solar generated electricity may be used for hydrogen production through methane pyrolysis or water electrolysis which combined with carbon captured from air may be processed to synthesis gas for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. Further for example, wind, hydro and / or solar generated thermal heat may be used for thermochemical processes to convert H2O and CO2 to synthesis gas for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. Bio-based materials may be produced from renewable materials or materials from natural resources such as plants, agricultural residue, or food waste. The renewable materials may be chemically and / or biologically converted e.g. through fermentation to produce bio-based feedstock such as bio-ethanol, bio-naphtha or bio-methanol.

[0066] Owing to the diversification of input material streams including fossil, recycled, renewable and / or bio-based materials, the properties of material streams differ. For example, depending on the waste composition used for recycling the properties of the recycled material can vary. Similarly, depending on the production pathway and / or the renewable input material properties the renewable and / or bio-based material can vary. This variation leads to challenges for industrial operations, since depending on application the industrial operation is associated with feedstock specifications that have to be adhered to. This for example concerns operation properties like density, heating value, melting point, freeze point, or flash point, and composition properties like impurity concentration such as sulfur content by weight, or hydrocarbon content by volume, such as branched- and straight-chain alkanes (hydrocarbon chains) by volume, naphthenes (cycloalkanes) by volume, olefins by volume or aromatic hydrocarbons, such as alkylbenzenes (single ring) or alkylnaphthalenes (double ring), by volume.

[0067] For the industrial operation different grades specifying different operation properties and / or composition properties may be defined. Aviation fuels, turbine fuels or automotive fuels for example have to adhere to certain specifications that fuels have to fulfill.

[0068] For Kerosine for example ASTM D3699-19 defines two grades no. 1-K and no. 2-K (version Jan 06, 2020). Similarly chemical processes like refining, steam cracking or gasification are sensitive to certain levels of impurities like hydrogen that can lead to corrosion in the process equipment. Other properties relevant to the operation may include density, initial and final boiling points, fuel evaporated, evaporation temperatures, recovery, residue, loss volume, vapor pressure, freezing point, sulfur content, net heat of combustion, lower heating value, copper strip corrosion, oxidation stability (potential gum and lead precipitate), volume change during water reaction, or electrical conductivity.

[0069] To use alternative materials effectively and to manage the quality constraints industrial operations impose on feedstocks, a method for blending feedstock mixtures including alternative input materials is proposed. In addition, a method for monitoring and / or controlling feeds to specific industrial processes is proposed. The proposed methods allow for efficient usage of alternative materials thus reducing fossil material depletion and effective distribution of alternative materials available to different industrial operations depending on their technical requirements for the feedstocks. To track the environmental properties of blended feedstocks or input mixtures reliably, further proposed are methods for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of such input mixtures.

[0070] Fig. 2 illustrates schematically a flow chart of a method for blending a feedstock mixture including one or more alternative input material(s) and / or for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or controlling a composition of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation and / or for preparing an input mixture for at least one industrial operation.

[0071] The target mixture associated with one or more property / ies of the feedstock for at least one industrial operation may be provided. Target mixture data associated with one or more property / ies of the feedstock for at least one industrial operation may be provided. The property / ies of the feedstock may be pre-defined per industrial operation. The properties of the feedstock may relate to operational properties, such as density, heating value or the like, composition properties, such as impurities, specific molecule or atom content or the like, or any combination thereof. Target mixture(s) or target mixture data may be provided for multiple industrial operations including one or more type(s) of industrial operations. For example, the target mixture or target mixture data may be provided per industrial operation. Further for example, the target mixture or target mixture data may be provided per industrial operation for the multiple industrial operations. The industrial operation type may include one or more chemical operation(s) like refining, steam cracking or gasification, one or more transport operation(s) like aviation, public transport or automotive fuels, one or more power generation operation(s) like gas turbine fuels for power generation, or any combinations thereof.

[0072] Depending on the industrial operation one or more target mixture(s) or target mixture data may be applicable to specific industrial operation. The target mixture or target mixture data may specify properties of the feedstock mixture related to technical requirements the input mixture has to fulfill in order to be used as feedstock for the respective industrial operation. The target mixture or target mixture data may specify properties of the feedstock mixture, such as threshold level (s) and / or ranges for properties, the input mixture has to fulfill in order to be used as feedstock for the respective industrial operation. Such target mixtures or target mixture data may vary depending e.g. on the process layout, the equipment layout, the operation conditions, the operation location, or other factors characterizing the industrial operation. The target mixture or target mixture data may specify required properties of the feedstock mixture and optional properties of the feedstock mixture. This way the most important properties may be flagged to ensure suitability for the respective industrial operation. The target mixture or target mixture data may specify required environmental prop- erty / ies.

[0073] Target mixtures or target mixture data may specify thresholds, such as upper and / or lower limits, relating to the composition and / or operation properties of the feedstock and / or to the environmental property / les of the input mixture. For example, the composition properties may relate to impurity levels for the specific industrial operation such as hydrogen content, sulfur content or metal content. Further for example, the operation properties may relate to operation characteristics for the specific industrial operation such as density, boiling point or heating value. Further for example, the environmental property / ies may relate to target environmental property / ies the prepared input mixture is required to have.

[0074] An example of a data structure for feedstock specification (e.g. target mixture data) of one industrial operation is illustrated in Fig. 3a. The industrial operations specified by the target mixture or target mixture data may be a chemical operation like refining, steam cracking and gasification. This is one example of industrial operations and other operations may be similarly applicable.

[0075] The data structure illustrates the target mixture for two different chemical operations, such as refining, steam cracking and synthesized gas generation. Synthesized gas, or syngas, may relate to a mixture composed primarily of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which may be produced via gasification or decomposition of carbonaceous feedstock such as biomass, or landfill wastes. The data structure of Fig. 3a illustrates the target mixture for both processes. The target mixture specifies as an example three impurities and two operation properties. The target mixture for refining process and steam cracking process may be sensitive to different impurities and operation properties. For example, refining may be sensitive to water content as impurity (impurity 2). Steam cracking may be sensitive to heteroatoms as impurity (impurity 3) leading to fouling, coke formation, corrosion or downstream catalyst poisoning. Further for example, refining may require an upper density threshold, while steam cracking may require a lower density threshold. The target mixture specifications may hence be different for the two chemical operations illustrated schematically by the data structure of Fig. 3a.

[0076] Turning back to Fig, 2, the alternative material data associated with one or more alternative materials and their properties may be provided. The properties of the alternative materials may be measured and / or derived from measurement before, during and / or after their production process. The alternative material data may relate to an alternative material identifier, a type of alternative material, a quantity of alternative material and / or properties of the alternative material. The type of alternative material, the quantity of alternative material and / or the properties of the alternative material may be provided per alternative material or alternative material identifier. Multiple alternative material identifiers may be provided. The type of alternative material, the quantity of alternative material and / or the properties of the alternative material may be provided per alternative material identifier. Multiple alternative material identifiers and type per identifier may be provided. The quantity of alternative material and / or the properties of the alternative material may be provided per alternative material identifier and type.

[0077] The alternative material type may relate to recycled, bio-based and / or renewable material. The alternative material type may relate to one or more source material type(s) the alternative material is produced from. The source material type may relate to recycled waste type such as plastic waste or food waste. The source material type may relate to natural resources such as sugarcane or algae. Source material type may relate to renewable energy types used to produce the source material such as wind, solar, and / or hydro, which in turn was used to produce the alternative material. The alternative material type may relate to one or more origin(s) of the source material the alternative material is produced from. Origin may relate to the origin of the source material such as municipal, post-consumer or industrial waste. Origin may relate to the industry or the brand the source material originates from. Origin may relate to the agricultural farm or processor the source material originates from. Origin may relate to the renewable energy source such as off-shore or on-shore wind farms, solar parks or hydropower stations the energy to produce the material originates from.

[0078] The quantity of alternative material may relate to the quantity available for feedstock to be fed to industrial operation. The quantity may specify the mass, the volume, the amount or any other applicable measure relating to the quantity of alternative material produced or to be produced and available for use.

[0079] The properties of the alternative materials may reassemble at least in part the properties of the feedstock as specified by the target mixtures for different industrial operations. The properties may include composition and / or operation per alternative material as described above. The properties of the alternative materials may differ per alternative material. An example of a data structure for alternative material data is illustrated in Fig. 3b. The alternative material in the illustrated example relates to two different types of pyrolysis oil with differing properties relating to impurities and operation properties including density and lower heating value. The properties of the pyrolysis oils may reassemble at least in part the properties of the feedstock as specified by the target mixture.

[0080] Turning back to Fig. 2, based on the target mixture or target mixture data and the alternative material data, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation is generated. Multiple alternative materials may refer to at least two alternative materials.

[0081] The mixture data may be generated based on the full set or a subset of alternative material data. For example, the alternative material data may be checked with regard to the properties provided by the material data per alternative material identifier and the properties specified by the target mixture or target mixture data per industrial operation. The alternative material identifiers relating to properties specified by the target mixture or target mixture data per industrial operation may be selected for the mixture generation. The alternative material identifiers relating to specified properties required according to the target mixture or target mixture data per industrial operation may be selected for the mixture generation. This way unsuitable alternative materials signified by the alternative material data or incomplete data sets may be disregarded from the mixture generation making the method more reliable and speeding up the mixture generation. In other words, the alternative material data may be validated with respect to the properties provided per alternative material identifier. Such validation may include the matching of properties specified per alternative material identifier and the target mixture or target mixture data per industrial operation. The alternative material identifiers relating to specified properties required according to the target mixture or target mixture data per industrial operation may be validated and selected for the mixture generation.

[0082] For generating the mixture data different approaches and options exist. The mixture data may be generated based on scoring approaches, optimization approaches, physiochemical modelling approaches, data-driven modelling approaches and / or hybrid approaches combining physiochemical and data-driven modeling.

[0083] The scoring approach may include determining a score per alternative material and per industrial operation. In addition, a score per environmental property per input mixture may be determined. For the scoring, the properties required for the industrial operation may be selected and optionally prioritized. The score per alternative material may include determining a score per property of the alternative material and the perspective property specified by the target mixture that measures the distance of the property of the alternative material to the respective property specified by the target mixture. Based on the per property score an accumulated and optionally normalized score per alternative material identifier and industrial operation may be determined. The per property scores may further include a penalty depending on the relevance of the specific property for the industrial operation, e.g. if the property is required or optional. The per environmental property score may be determined by determining environmental property data associated with a candidate set of mixture data and comparing the environmental property data per candidate set with the target environmental property data. Based on the penalized score the accumulated score may be determined. Based on the accumulated score the alternative materials suitable for the industrial operation may be selected for mixing. The scores may be normalized e.g. to a relative scale of percentage.

[0084] The optimization approach may include determining weighted quantities of alternative material(s) depending on the properties per alternative material identifier depending on or under the constraints of the target mixture. Depending on or under the constraints of the target mixture may refer to the weighted sum of at least part of the properties of the alternative materials complying at least in part with the target properties of the feedstock for the at least one industrial operation. Based on the weights the alternative materials suitable for the industrial operation and the quantity of alternative material determined by the weight may be selected for mixing. In mathematical terms an objective function or cost function may be minimized under defined constraints:

[0085] Cost function with ct= 1 / t;, wy = 1, 'lWjXij < ti Vi and 0 < Wj < Uj

[0086] Default value for U =1

[0087] Output: vector wy of weights i=1 ,..,N_m denote the measured analytical properties j=1 ,..,N_s denote the alternative material samples xjj : Matrix of measured properties for alternative material samples t_j: Vector of allowed properties in the mixture according to the target specification

[0088] Outputs: wj: fraction of alternative materials for input mixture

[0089] The physiochemical modelling approach may include determining mixture data by using a first principles calculation to determine based on the properties per alternative material the properties of the alternative material mixture. The data- driven approach may include determining the mixture data by providing the properties per alternative material to a data-driven model parametrized based on historical data including mixture data, target mixture data and alternative material data, such as properties per alternative material.

[0090] Additionally or alternatively, hybrid approaches or multi-criterial approaches may be used to determine mixture data. In addition to the properties per alternative material, further parameters such as the available quantity per alternative material may be included in any of the approaches for generating mixture data as lined out herein. The generated mixture data for blending of preparing the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation may be provided. An example of a data structure for mixture data is illustrated in Fig. 3c. The mixture data may specify the alternative material identifier and the quantity of alternative material to be included in the mixture. The mixture data may be provided for monitoring and / or controlling a feed of the input mixture to the respective industrial operation the mixture is generated for. The mixture data may be provided to an operator e.g. via a display for monitoring and / or controlling the feed. The mixture data may be provided to a monitoring and / or controlling interface of the feed. The mixture data may include monitoring and / or controlling instructions that specify the feed operation to blend or prepare the input mixture prior to or on feeding the alternative materials to the industrial operation.

[0091] The feedstock mixture may be blended for feeding to the industrial operation. The industrial operation may include storing the blend for later use by the industrial operation. For example, on operating a tank farm or an airplane fuel facility a tank or storage may be filled with blends according to the mixture data. The industrial operation may include using the blend by the industrial operation. For example, on operating the chemical process or filling the airplane alternative materials may be blended on feeding to the chemical process or airplane according to the mixture data.

[0092] For monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of input mixtures the alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials may include one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material. To track the environmental property of the input mixture environmental property data associated with the mixture may be generated by aggregating one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material based on the generated mixture data. The aggregation may relate to one or more alternative material types. The aggregation may relate to all alternative material types included in the input mixture. The aggregation may relate to all alternative material types included in the input mixture in relation to fossil and / or dilutant materials contained in the input mixture.

[0093] The environmental property per alternative material may relate to the mass and energy value of the alternative material. As an example, the alternative material data may include:

[0094] Input material 1 : bio-naphtha

[0095] Input material 1 mass: x1 Kt

[0096] Input material 1 LHV: x1 MJ / kg

[0097] Input material 2: pyrolysis oil

[0098] Input material 2 quantity: x2 Kt

[0099] Input material 2 LHV: x2 MJ / kg

[0100] If the aggregation is provided per alternative material, the quantity values of materials 1 and 2 may be used in relation to the alternative material types bio-based and recycled respectively. The environmental property data of the mixture may hence specify the quantity values of materials 1 and 2 may be used in relation to the alternative material types bio-based and recycled respectively. If the aggregation is provided over all alternative material types, the one or more environmental properties related to the alternative material type recycled and bio-based may be converted to one or more balancing unit(s). In the example above, the environmental property associated with the input materials 1 and 2 may relate to the equivalent amount of fossil-base naphtha. The conversion of the environmental property to balancing units may be based on the conversion factor relating conventional material(s) to alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties. In the example above, the conversion factor may relate conventional naphtha to the bio-naphtha and pyrolysis oil. The conversion factor may relate to the use of conventional material(s) to the use of alternative material(s) associated with one or more environmental properties e.g., via mass or energy property. The conversion factor may hence consider the difference between industrial operations based on conventional material(s) and based on non-conventional or alternative material(s) or a mix of conventional and alternative materials. The conversion factor may relate to differences in chemical and / or physical properties of conventional and alternative material(s).

[0101] Recycled, renewable or bio-based input materials may have the same or similar chemical and / or physical properties as their fossil counterparts. They may be totally interchangeable and the material quantities of e.g., naphtha or natural gas, may be substituted with the quantities of alternative materials. For instance, Naphtha is commonly cited with a lower heating value (LHV) of about 44.3 M J / kg and bio-naphtha is commonly cited with a similar LHV, i.e. with up 2, 5, 10% error. In such scenario the energy based balancing unit may be about 1, meaning one unit naphtha corresponds to one unit bio-naphtha. The equivalent amount of materials such as bio-naphtha may be in this case be aggregated in one-to-one correspondence, such as summing the quantities.

[0102] However, some recycled, renewable, or bio-based input materials may have different carbon content, energetic value, or other chemical properties different to the fossil feedstocks to be replaced. This may lead to higher or lower requirements for recycled, renewable or bio-based input materials compared to the quantities of fossil feedstocks. In such situations, equivalent quantities of recycled, renewable, or bio-based input materials may not adhere to a one-to-one correspondence. For instance, a conversion factor based on the lower heating value (LHV) of fossil and bio-feedstocks as an approximation of the chemical and / or physical properties may be used. Bio-methane for example is commonly cited with an LHV of 50 M J / kg. In such scenario the balancing unit may be about 0.88, meaning one unit naphtha corresponds to 0.88 unit bio-naphtha. Hence the equivalent amount of alternative material(s) to the industrial process may be accounted for according to the conversion factor of 0.88 in this scenario. The equivalent amount of materials associated with the environmental property may be aggregated taking the conversion factor into account.

[0103] Different approaches exist to determine the conversion factor from conventional material unit to balancing unit or equivalent assignable to the input mixture for the industrial operation. Conversion may depend on mass such as mass of material, mass equivalent of a molecular unit such as methane or a molecular weight, an element, such as a number or a mole of one or more element(s) or molecular unit(s) or an energy property such as heating value like lower or higher heating value.

[0104] By way of balancing units, the environmental property associated with the input mixture may be determined for all alternative material types. Based on the mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture may be generated.

[0105] The environmental property data associated with the input mixture may be provided for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture. The digital asset may include a decentral identifier associated with the input material and data related to the environmental property data. The digital asset may include a digital identifier and data related to the environmental property data. The digital identifier may be a decentral identifier. Data related to the environmental property data may include the environmental property data. Data related to the environmental property data may include a digital representation pointing to the environmental property data. The digital representation may be a pointer or locator, such as a URI or URL, pointing to the storage location storing the environmental property data.

[0106] Fig. 4 illustrates schematically a flow chart of a method for blending a feedstock mixture including alternative materials and / or dilutants (also denoted as diluents).

[0107] The target mixture associated with one or more property / les of the feedstock for the at least on industrial operation and alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials and properties specified per alternative material may be provided as e.g. described in the context of Figs. 2 and 3. Based on the target mixture and the alternative material data, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation may be generated as e.g. described in the context of Figs. 2 and 3.

[0108] For generation of the mixture data dilutant data may be provided. The dilutant data may be associated with the properties of one or more dilutant(s). For example, properties of one or more dilutant may be provided per dilutant identifier. The dilutant identifier may relate to fossil material such as naphtha, methane, diesel, high viscous vacuum residue (HVR), crude oil, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) or specific chemical compounds.

[0109] The mixture data may be generated based on alternative material data as described herein, e.g. in the context of Figs. 2 and 3. If the generation of mixture data based on with the alternative material data leads to results that do not fulfills the target mixture for the feedstock to be fed to the industrial operation, the generation of mixture data may be extended to include dilutant data, e.g. fossil material data or chemical compound data. Dilutant data may be associated with any material that fulfills the relate to properties of the target mixture or per target mixture. The dilutant data may be associated with multiple materials and properties specified per material. Based on the target mixture, the alternative material data, and / or dilutant data, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials, and / or dilutant to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation may be generated as e.g. described in the context of Figs. 2 and 3.

[0110] The mixture data for blending the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation may be provided as described e.g. in the context of Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 5 illustrates schematically an operating system including a mixture generator configured to access target mixture data and alternative material data for generating mixture data.

[0111] The operating system may be communicatively connected to operation equipment configured for blending, e.g. through a communication interface. The operation equipment may include for example a mixing station, a tank farm, a mixing unit and / or a feed control of the industrial process. This list is non exhaustive and other equipment configured for blending may be used. The communication may be a wired or wire-less communication configured to transfer mixture data to the operation equipment for blending.

[0112] The mixture generator may be configured to blend the feedstock mixture including one or more alternative input materials) and / or to monitor and / or control the blending of the feedstock mixture including one or more alternative input material(s). The mixture generator may be configured to access target mixture data associated with one or more industrial operation(s). The target mixture data may be retrieved from a data base storing target mixture data. The data base storing target mixture data may be associated with the industrial operation the target mixture data relates to. The mixture generator may be configured to access alternative material data associated with one or more alternative materials). The target mixture data may be retrieved from a data base storing alternative material data. The data base storing alternative material data may be associated with the alternative material available for blending.

[0113] The mixture generator may be configured to generate mixture data for one or more industrial operation(s) e.g. as described in the context of Figs. 2-4. The mixture generator may be configured to generate mixture data associated with one or more alternative materials to be mixed for each industrial operation. The mixture generator may be configured to generate mixture data including one or more alternative material identifier(s) per industrial operation. The generated mixture data may be provided or transferred to the operation equipment associated with the industrial operation. The mixture data may include the industrial operation identifier and per industrial operation identifier the alternative material identifier(s) and the respective quantity of alternative material, e.g. per alternative material identifier.

[0114] The mixture data generator may be configured to generate, based on the generated mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture. The environmental property data may be generated as described in the context of Fig. 2. The environmental property data may include the environmental property / ies and a mixture data identifier included in the mixture data. The environmental property data may include the environmental property / ies and an input material identifier associated with the input material produced or to be produced based on the mixture data. The environmental property data may be provided for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

[0115] Based on the mixture data received by the operation equipment the feedstock mixture may be blended e.g. as described in the context of Figs. 2-4.

[0116] Fig. 6 illustrates schematically a user interface for generating mixture data. The user interface includes a selection of industrial operations to specify one or more industrial operations the mixture data is to be generated for. One or more industrial operation(s) may be selected. Based on the selection target mixture data may be provided or accessed per selected industrial operation. Such providing or accessing may include sending a request to one or more nodes associated with industrial operation performers and retrieving alternative material data available per producer. Such data retrieval may be implemented via a peer-to-peer communication in a decentral network e.g. as will be described in more detail in the context of Figs. 8-11 .

[0117] One or more alternative materials may be selected for the selected industrial operation(s) or per industrial operation. Based on the selection the alternative material data may be provided or accessed per alternative material. Such providing or accessing may include sending a request to one or more nodes associated with alternative material producers and retrieving alternative material data available per performer. Such data retrieval may be implemented via a peer-to- peer communication in a decentral network e.g. as will be described in more detail in the context of Figs. 8-11 .

[0118] One or more type(s), origin(s) and / or property / ies of the alternative material may be selected. Based on the selected one or more type(s), origin(s) and / or property / ies the alternative material data may be filtered. The filtered alternative material data may be provided for generating mixture data.

[0119] The mixture data may be generated and provided based on the target mixture data associated with the specification of the feedstock per industrial operation and the alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials and properties specified per alternative material e.g. as described in the context of Figs. 2 and 4. Based on the result, the properties of the mixture and contributions to such properties per alternative material may be displayed.

[0120] On confirmation by the user the mixture data may be provided e.g. to trigger providing of the alternative materials from the alternative material producers, to trigger blending of the alternative materials and / or to trigger feeding of the alternative materials to the industrial operation according to the mixture data e.g. as detailed in the context of Figs. 2-4, 8- 11.

[0121] Figs. 7a, b illustrate schematically blending profiles for different industrial operations.

[0122] The blending profile of Fig. 7a illustrates the alternative material components AM1-5 of the mixture on the x-axis and the quantity of the respective component as fraction in weight-%. The blending profile of Fig. 7b illustrates the alternative material components AM 1-AM3, the fossil material component(s) FM1 and the compound-specific dilutant components) CD1 of the mixture on the x-axis and the quantity of the respective component as fraction in weight-%. Other profiles may show the property contributions per component for one or more selected properties. Yet other profiles may show the alternative material contributions and the fossil material contributions per industrial operation. Fig. 8 illustrates schematically a decentral network including a mixture generator service implemented by a node associated with an industrial operation performer. The decentral network may include the industrial operation node(s) implementing the mixture generator and alternative material provider node(s) implementing alternative material data providing services.

[0123] The mixture generator may be configured to access target mixture data and alternative material data or other data packages e.g. as described in the context of Figs. 2-5. The mixture generator may be configured to access target mixture data and alternative material data in a central network e.g. as described in the context of Fig. 5 or an at least partially decentral network as shown in Fig. 8.

[0124] Fig. 5 illustrates the central network architecture by way of example for a node associated with the industrial operation. In the central network setup, the mixture generator may be configured to access a database storing the target mixture data and the alternative material data. The mixture generator may be configured to generate mixture data as described for example in the context of Figs. 2-4. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the mixture data for blending or monitoring and / or controlling the feed to the specific industrial operation the mixture is generated for. The mixture generator may be configured to generate environmental property data as described for example in the context of Fig. 2. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the environmental property data for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

[0125] The decentral network environment may include one or more network node(s) associated with the upstream production of alternative materials, the industrial operation using the alternative materials, the intermediate storage of the alternative materials and / or the transport of the alternative materials. Fig. 8 illustrates one network node per player type participating via the decentral network. This is only illustrative and more player types or multiple network nodes of one player type may be present in decentral network.

[0126] In the example of Fig. 8, the network node(s) associated with the production of alternative material(s) may be configured to provide alternative material data. The network node(s) associated with the storage or transport alternative material(s) may be configured to provide alternative material data. The network node(s) associated with the industrial operation(s) may be configured to retrieve alternative material data, to generate mixture data and to provide such mixture data for preparing the alternative material mixture to be fed to the specific industrial operation or monitoring and / or controlling the feed to the specific industrial operation the mixture is generated for. The network node(s) associated with the industrial operation(s) may further be configured to generate environmental property data based on the generated mixture data and the retrieved alternative material data and to provide such environmental property data for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

[0127] For communication, particularly peer-to-peer communication, the network node(s) may be associated with data providing service(s) comprising computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data to be transferred the data consuming service of a network node requesting access to the data. For communication, particularly peer-to-peer communication, the network node(s) may be associated with one or more data consuming service(s) comprising computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data provided by a network node associated with the data provider or generating. The data generating node may be coupled to the data owner or the entity owning or producing physical products from or for which data is generated. The data may be generated by a third-party entity on behalf of the entity owning or producing physical products from or for which data is generated. The data generating node for the alternative material data may be associated with the alternative material producer or the alternative material produced. The alternative material producer may in this example be associated with the alternative material producer producing the respective alternative material. The data generating node for the target mixture data may be associated with the industrial operation using the alternative material. The industrial operation may in this example be associated with the industrial operation performer. The data generating node for the mixture data may be associated with the industrial operation using the alternative material. The industrial operation using the alternative material may in this example be associated with the industrial operation performer storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material. Storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material may include storing the alternative material to be blended, storing the blended input mixture, transporting the alternative material to be blended, transporting the blended input mixture, using the alternative material to be blended and / or using the blended input mixture.

[0128] In the decentral setup, the mixture generator may be configured to access the target mixture data and / or the alternative material data via a decentral network protocol. The mixture generator may be configured to access the target mixture data and / or the alternative material data by way of a peer-to-peer communication based on authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. In one example the peer-to-peer communication may be implemented based on the IDSA Reference Architecture model, version 4.0 published 2022 and the IDSA Rulebook, version 2 published 2023. The international data space (IDS) framework is only one example framework for a peer-to-peer communication protocol. Many other examples exist that may or may not use distributed ledger technology and may or may not use smart contract implementations running on the distributed ledger. Distributed ledger technologies include, but are not limited to, technology stacks like Bitcoin (see e.g. Bitcoin documentation of November 11 , 2022 published https: / / en.bitcoin.it / wiki / Protocol documentation), Ethereum (see e.g. Ethereum documentation of August 15, 2022 published on https: / / ethereum.org / en / developers / docs / ), Solana (see e.g. Solana documentation of November 11 , 2022 published on https: / / spl.solana.com / ), Polygon (see e.g. Polygon documentation of November 11 , 2022 published https: / / wiki. polygon. technology / ) or other implementations with varying degree of data transactions performed on the distributed ledger. The description of the example framework is only for illustrative purposes and shall not be considered limiting.

[0129] The gist of data providing, data consuming and decentral applications in decentral networks may be implemented on any technology stack forming a decentral network including e.g. peer-to-peer communication based on authentication and / or authorization mechanisms. The decentral network protocol may be configured to establish a peer-to-peer communication between network nodes. For accessing data packages via the decentral network, a network node implementing a data consuming service may provide a request including at least one decentral identifier associated with the data package requested.

[0130] The at least one decentral identifier may be uniquely associated with the data package requested. The at least one decentral identifier may be connected to at least one digital representation of the data package. The at least one digital representation may include a representation for accessing the data package or parts thereof. The at least one decentral identifier may include a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) or a Digital Identifier (DID). The at least one decentral identifier may include any unique identifier uniquely associated with the target mixture data, the alternative material data, the data owner, the material, the mixture data generation and / or the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material. Via the at least one decentral identifier and its unique association with the target mixture data, the alternative material data, the data owner, the material, the digital asset, the mixture data generation and / or the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material access to the data package may be controlled by the network node or data owner. The at least one decentral identifier may further relate to authentication and / or authorization information linked or related to the data package. The authentication and / or authorization information may be provided for authentication and / or authorization of the data providing and / or data consuming service.

[0131] The request by the data consuming service may be authenticated and / or authorized to access the data package associated with the at least one decentral identifier via the data providing service and / or vice versa. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication access to the data package or parts thereof may be granted. For access the at least one decentral identifier may be provided to the data providing service. The data providing service may use the received decentral identifier to retrieve the data package or parts thereof from the data base associated with or accessible by the data providing service. The data base associated with or accessible by the data providing service may include a data base related to the data providing service, such as a backend data base solely accessible by the data providing service or accessible by the data providing service and not the data consuming service. The data base associated with or accessible by the data providing service may be included or connected to the network node the data providing service is associated with, such as a backend data base associated with the network node the data providing service is associated with. The data package or parts thereof may be provided to the data consuming service requesting the data. The data package or parts thereof may be transferred from the data providing service to the data consuming service. Through the decentral network the data package or parts thereof may be transferred between network nodes e.g. of the producer of the alternative material to the industrial operation performer and / or the mixture data generator. This way the data packages required for mixture data generation can be shared without central intermediary directly between the network node(s). This allows for transparency of alternative material data, alternative material availability and more efficient use of alternative materials by industrial operation performers.

[0132] The alternative material data may be provided by one or more network node(s) associated with the production of the alternative material(s), e.g. through peer-to-peer communication via the decentral network. The network node configured to generate the mixture data may be associated with the industrial operation performer storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material. In other words, the mixture generator may be provided by the network node associated with the industrial operation performer storing, transporting and / or using. In the example of Fig. 8 the network node configured to generate the mixture data may be associated with the industrial operation node using the alternative materials e.g. for chemical production or for plane filling.

[0133] The mixture generator may be configured to generate the mixture data e.g. as lined out in the context of Figs. 2-7. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated mixture data for preparing the alternative material(s) mixture. Providing the mixture data may include providing a request to one or more network node(s) associated with the production of the alternative material(s) and triggering the providing of alternative material to the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material(s). Providing the mixture data may include providing monitoring and / or control instructions to prepare the alternative material(s) mixture. The mixture data may be provided to an operator e.g. via a display for monitoring and / or controlling the feed to the industrial operation or an associated storage tank. The mixture data may be provided to a monitoring and / or controlling interface of the feed to the industrial operation or an associated storage tank. The mixture data may include monitoring and / or controlling instructions that specify the feed operation to prepare the mixture on feeding the alternative materials to the industrial operation.

[0134] The mixture generator may be configured to generate the environmental property data e.g. as lined out in the context of Figs. 2-5. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated environmental property data for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture. The digital asset may be stored in a database associated with or under control of the entity producing the input mixture.

[0135] Fig. 9 illustrates schematically a decentral network including a mixture generator service implemented by the node associated with the alternative material producer or provider. The decentral network may include the industrial operation node(s) implementing a target mixture data providing service and a mixture data for blending consuming service. The alternative material provider node(s) may implement the mixture generator, a target mixture data consuming service and / or the mixture data for blending providing for blending service.

[0136] The alternative material data may be provided by a data base associated with the network node(s) associated with alternative material provider or producer. The mixture data generator may be associated with the network node(s) associated with alternative material provider or producer. The alternative material data may be provided to the mixture data generator.

[0137] The target mixture data may be requested by the network node(s) associated with alternative material provider or producer. The target mixture data may be requested from the network node(s) associated with industrial operation using one or more alternative material(s) or the alternative material mixture(s). The network node(s) associated with alternative material provider(s) or producer(s) may implement a target mixture data consuming service requesting access and / or transfer of target mixture data from data consuming service implemented by network node(s) associated with alternative material provider or producer(s).

[0138] Based on the alternative material data and the target mixture data, the mixture generator may be configured to generate the mixture data for blending e.g. as lined out in the context of Figs. 2-7. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated mixture data for preparing the alternative material(s) mixture to the data consuming service associated with industrial operation. Providing the mixture data may include providing a request to one or more network node(s) associated with the production of the alternative material(s) and triggering the providing of alternative material to the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material(s). Providing the mixture data may include providing monitoring and / or control instructions to prepare the alternative material(s) mixture. The mixture data may be provided to an operator e.g. via a display for monitoring and / or controlling the feed to the associated operation or associated storage tank. The mixture data may be provided to a monitoring and / or controlling interface of the feed to the industrial operation or an associated storage tank. The mixture data may include monitoring and / or controlling instructions that specify the feed operation to prepare the mixture on feeding the alternative materials to the industrial operation.

[0139] Based on the mixture data, the mixture data generator may be configured to generate environmental property data associated with the input mixture, for example as described in the context of Fig. 2. The mixture data generator may be configured to provide the environmental property data associated with the input mixture for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture. The environmental property data may be provided to a monitoring and / or controlling interface of the feed to the industrial operation.

[0140] In other words, the target mixture data may be provided by one or more network node(s) associated with one or more industrial operation(s) using one or more alternative material(s) or the alternative material mixture(s), e.g. through peer- to-peer communication via the decentral network. The network node associated with the alternative material provider(s) or producer(s) may be configured to generate the mixture data. The mixture generator may hence be associated with the alternative material provider or producer. The mixture generator may be provided by the network node implementing a mixture data generation service. The node or the mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated mixture data for blending via the decentral network. The node or the mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated mixture data for blending to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials. The mixture data may be provided e.g. as described above. The node or the mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated environmental property data for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials.

[0141] Fig. 10 illustrates schematically a decentral network including industrial operation node(s), alternative material provider node(s) and an additional node implementing the mixture generator service. The mixture generator may be provided by the network node implementing a mixture data generation service. The mixture generator may be configured to request alternative material data and / or target mixture data from respective nodes providing such data packages. The mixture generator may be configured to generate mixture data for blending based on the received alternative material data and the target mixture data e.g. as lined out in the context of Figs. 2- 7. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated mixture data for blending via the decentral network. The mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated mixture data for blending to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials. Providing the mixture data may include providing a request to one or more network node(s) associated with the production of the alternative material(s) and triggering the providing of alternative material to the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative material(s). Providing the mixture data may include providing monitoring and / or control instructions to prepare the alternative material(s) mixture. The mixture data may be provided to an operator e.g. via a display for monitoring and / or controlling the feed to the industrial operation or an associated storage tank. The mixture data may be provided to a monitoring and / or controlling interface of the feed to the industrial operation or an associated storage tank. The mixture data may include monitoring and / or controlling instructions that specify the feed operation to prepare the mixture on feeding the alternative materials to the industrial operation.

[0142] The mixture generator may be configured to generate environmental property data for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture based on the received alternative material data and the generated mixture data e.g. as lined out in the context of Fig. 2. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated environmental property data for linking via the decentral network. The mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated environmental property data for linking to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials.

[0143] In other words, the alternative material data and the target mixture data may be provided to the network node configured to generate the mixture data and the environmental property data associated with the input material. The network node configured to generate the mixture data may be associated with a service node implementing the mixture generator service. The mixture generator may be provided by the network node implementing a mixture data generation service. The mixture generator may be configured to provide the generated mixture data for blending and the environmental property data for linking via the decentral network. The mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated mixture data for blending to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials. The mixture generator may be configured to provide and / or transfer the generated environmental property data for linking to the node associated with the industrial operation storing, transporting and / or using the alternative materials. The mixture data and environmental property data may be provided e.g. as described in the context of Figs. 8 and 9.

[0144] Fig. 11 illustrates schematically an example protocol for peer-to-peer communication between different nodes of the decentral network. The data consuming service implemented by node 103.1 may comprise computer-executable instructions for accessing and / or processing data, such as alternative material data, target mixture data and / or mixture data, associated with the data owner. The data providing service implemented by node 103.6 may comprise computer-executable instructions for providing and / or processing data, such as alternative material data, target mixture data and / or mixture data, associated with the data owner for accessing and / or processing by the data consuming service implementing node 103.1. Fig. 11 illustrates the communication protocol based on one example transaction between the decentral network node associated with alternative material producer 103.6 and the decentral network node associated with mixture data generator 103.1.

[0145] The alternative materials available through participants of the decentral network may be made discoverable to participants of the decentral network e.g. though a decentral network data base 910. The identifier per alternative material available and the representation relating to the alternative material may be provided by the data base 910. Multiple alternative material producers and / or providers may in this way offer their alternative materials to the market.

[0146] The alternative material users or services generating mixture data may access such alternative material identifiers. Based on the received alternative material identifier a request to access the alternative material data may be triggered by the data consuming service implemented by node 103.1 as signified by arrow 912. The alternative material identifier may be provided to the data providing service implemented by node 103.6 associated with or of the alternative material producer or provider. In addition, authentication and / or authorization information may be provided. The request may be authenticated and / or authorized to access the alternative material data related to the alternative material identifier. Based on successful authorization and / or authentication access to the alternative material data related to the alternative material identifier may be granted.

[0147] For access the alternative material identifier may be provided to the data providing service implemented by node 103.6 as signified by arrow 912. The data providing service implemented by node 103.6 may use the received alternative material identifier to retrieve the alternative material data associated with the alternative material from a dedicated storage 902 as signified by arrows 918 and 920. The alternative material data associated with the alternative material 904 provided to the data providing service implemented by node 103.6 may be provided to the data consuming service implemented by node 103.1 as signified by arrow 916. The alternative material data associated with the alternative material may be stored in the dedicated storage or data base 908 associated with the mixture material generator as signified by arrow 922.

[0148] Through the alternative material identifier or decentral identifier, the alternative material data can be uniquely associated with the alternative material and the mixture. Through the decentral network the alternative material data may be transferred between the producer of the alternative material and the user of the alternative material. This way the alternative material data can be shared with unique association to the alternative material and without central intermediary directly between the players of the decentral network. Similarly the target mixture data may be provided for access by the data providing service associated with the industrial operation and the mixture data may be provided to the data consuming service associated with the industrial operation. Other data transfers as e.g. described in Figs. 5, 8-11 may follow the principles of the communication protocol described above. Other communication protocols that allow for decentral data exchange may similarly applicable. This allows for controlled transparency of alternative material data to optimize mixtures to industrial operations.

[0149] The invention relates to the field of sustainable industrialization, in particular the blending, controlling and / or monitoring of alternative materials as feedstock for industrial manufacturing processes. Production networks undergo dynamic change to reduce environmental impact. Industrial operations are hence exposed to dynamic changes on the input materials fed to such operations. The methods disclosed herein allow for reliable and effective use of alternative input materials. In addition, the decentral network setup allows for more efficient handling and monitoring across industrial operation performers and alternative material producers.

[0150] The present disclosure has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments and examples as well. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed invention, from the studies of the drawings, this dis-closure and the claims.

[0151] Any steps presented herein can be performed in any order. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to a specific order of these steps. It is also not required that the different steps are per-formed at a certain place or in a certain computing node of a distributed system, i.e. each of the steps may be performed at different computing nodes using different equipment / data processing.

[0152] As used herein ..determining" also includes ..initiating or causing to determine", "generating" also includes ..initiating and / or causing to generate" and "providing” also includes "initiating or causing to determine, generate, select, send and / or receive”. "Initiating or causing to perform an action” includes any processing signal that triggers a computing node or device to perform the respective action.

[0153] In the claims as well as in the description the word "comprising” or "including” or similar wording does not exclude other elements or steps and shall not be construed limiting to the elements or steps lined out. The indefinite article "a” or "an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation or further elements may be included.

[0154] Providing in the scope of this disclosure may include any interface configured to provide data. This may include an application programming interface, a human-machine interface such as a display and / or a software module interface. Providing may include communication of data or submission of data to the interface, in particular display to a user or use of the data by the receiving entity. Any disclosure and embodiments described herein relate to methods, systems, apparatuses, devices, chemicals, materials, services, uses, computer program elements lined out above and vice versa. Advantageously, the benefits provided by any of the embodiments and examples equally apply to all other embodiments and examples and vice versa. All terms and definitions used herein are understood broadly and have their general meaning.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, wherein the input mixture includes multiple alternative materials for the at least one industrial operation, the method comprising: providing target mixture data associated with one or more technical properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation; providing alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials, wherein the alternative material data includes one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material; generating, based on the technical properties of the target mixture, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation; generating, based on the mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture; providing the mixture data for preparing the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation and providing the environmental property data associated with the input mixture for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more technical properties of the alternative material data relate to a quantity of alternative material, wherein the quantity of alternative material relates to the quantity of alternative material accessible for use by the at least one industrial operation.

3. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more technical properties of the alternative material data relate to one or more operation and / or composition properties of the one or more alternative material(s), wherein the composition property is associated with at least one or more substance(s) critical for the input mixture to the industrial operation, wherein the operation property is associated with one or more input mixture characteristics critical to processing the input mixture by the industrial operation.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one environmental property of the alternative material data relates to a type of alternative material, wherein the alternative material type relates to recycled, bio-based and / or renewable material, wherein at least one environmental property of the alternative material relates to a measure quantifying the impact of using the alternative material associated with the alternative material type for the industrial operation.

5. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein generating environmental property data associated with the input mixture includes aggregating one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein generating the environmental property data associated with the input mixture includes converting one or more environmental properties specified per alternativematerial to one or more balancing unit(s) based on a conversion factor relating conventional material(s) to alternative material(s), relating the use of conventional material(s) to the use of alternative material(s) and / or relating to a difference in chemical and / or physical properties of conventional material(s) and alternative material (s).

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein generating the environmental property data associated with the input mixture includes converting one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material to one or more balancing unit(s) based on a quantity of conventional material(s), a quantity of alternative material(s) and / or a feedstock equivalent in relation to the industrial process.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation is prepared based on the mixture data.

9. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein linking the digital asset to the prepared input mixture includes assigning the environmental property data associated with the input mixture to at least one decentral identifier associated with the input mixture and to data related to the environmental property data.

10. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the target mixture data is provided by one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with the industrial operation, wherein the target mixture data is provided to one or more node(s) of the decentral network associated with the alternative material provider or producer.11 . The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the alternative material data is provided by one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with an alternative material provider or producer, wherein a mixture generation service may be implemented by one or more node(s) of the decentral network associated with the industrial operation and / or the alternative material producer.

12. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the alternative material data is provided by one or more node(s) of a decentral network associated with an alternative material provider or producer, wherein the alternative material data is provided to one or more node(s) of the decentral network associated with the mixture generation or the industrial operation.

13. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein a mixture generation service is implemented by one or more mixture generation node(s) of the decentral network, wherein the target mixture data and / or the alternative material data are provided to the one or more mixture generation node(s) by one or more node(s) associated with the industrial operation and / or an alternative material provider or producer.

14. An apparatus for monitoring and / or controlling environmental properties of an input mixture for at least one industrial operation, wherein the input mixture includes multiple alternative materials for the at least one industrial operation, the apparatus comprising: a target mixture data providing interface configured to provide target mixture data associated with one or more technical properties of the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation; an alternative material data providing interface configured to provide alternative material data associated with multiple alternative materials, wherein the alternative material data includes one or more environmental properties specified per alternative material; a mixture data generator configured to generate, based on the technical properties of the target mixture, mixture data specifying at least multiple alternative materials to be mixed and provided to the at least one industrial operation; an environmental property data generator configured to generate, based on the mixture data and the one or more environmental properties of the alternative material data, environmental property data associated with the input mixture; a data providing interface configured to provide the input mixture for the at least one industrial operation and the environmental property data associated with the input mixture for linking a digital asset to the prepared input mixture.

15. An input mixture including alternative materials and prepared according to mixture data as generated according to the method of any of claims 1 to 13 or by the apparatus of claim 14, wherein the input mixture is associated with a digital asset relating to the environmental property data as generated according to the method of any of claims 1 to 13 or by the apparatus of claim 14.

Images