Virtual Balancing of Environmental Attributes in Chemical Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of common data standards and trusted data platforms hinders the sharing of environmental impact data in supply chains, making it difficult to track and reduce environmental impacts collectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for producing chemical products with environmental attributes, involving the provision of input materials with associated environmental attributes, allocation of these attributes to a virtual balancing system, and assignment of these attributes to the chemical products, enabling transparent tracking and assignment of environmental impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If environmental impact data is shared across supply chain participants, then transparency and collective reduction of environmental impacts are improved, but data sharing is hindered by lack of common data standards and trusted data platforms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments environmental impact data into distinct environmental attributes (e.g., carbon footprint, water usage, energy consumption) that can be independently tracked and managed. This segmentation allows different supply chain participants to share only relevant attributes without requiring complete data standardization across all participants, thereby improving transparency while reducing the complexity of implementing universal data standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual balancing system as an intermediary layer between supply chain participants. This system uses balancing accounts to mediate the tracking and assignment of environmental attributes, enabling transparent data sharing without requiring direct integration between different participants' data systems. The intermediary handles the complexity of data standardization centrally, allowing participants to benefit from transparency without individually implementing complex data platforms.
2Loss of information
If environmental attributes are tracked through chemical production networks, then environmental impact transparency is improved, but the highly specific and centralized setup of data systems makes exchange and sharing laborious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal virtual balancing system that can handle multiple environmental attributes and serve different supply chain participants through a common platform. The balancing accounts are designed to be multi-functional, accommodating various types of environmental data (carbon, water, energy) and different production networks. This universality enables easy data exchange and sharing across participants without requiring highly specific centralized setups for each participant, as the single system performs all tracking functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital representations (balancing accounts) that copy and represent physical environmental attributes without requiring physical material tracking. Environmental attributes are copied into virtual balancing accounts that can be easily exchanged and shared through digital interfaces. This copying approach eliminates the laborious nature of physical data exchange while maintaining accurate tracking of environmental impacts through the chemical production network.
3Ease of manufacture
If environmental attributes are allocated to virtual balancing accounts, then assignment and tracking of environmental impacts to chemical products is simplified, but requires a new virtual balancing system infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual balancing system acts as an intermediary infrastructure that simplifies the assignment of environmental attributes to chemical products. Instead of requiring complex direct tracking between physical materials and products, the balancing accounts mediate this assignment process. The system handles the complexity of tracking environmental attributes through production networks internally, while providing simplified interfaces for assigning attributes to final products. This mediator approach reduces the ease of manufacture for individual participants while the overall system complexity is managed centrally.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods, apparatuses, and systems for producing at least one chemical product associated with one or more environmental attribute(s) and for assigning at least one environmental attribute to at least one chemical product produced by a chemical production network.