Life Cycle Assessment Of Cemented Carbide Cutting Tool Production: Environmental Hotspots And Improvement Strategies

Abstract

To meet the EU’s 2050 carbon-neutrality target and ensure value-chain transparency and traceability, all industrial sectors must adopt appropriate practices. In the cutting tool sector, where quality, productivity, and sustainability are key performance metrics, life-cycle assessment is crucial for identifying which processes contribute most to global warming potential, measured in CO2 equivalent (CO2e). In this work, a life cycle assessment is applied through the use of SimaPro software to identify environmental hotspots in the cemented carbide production process and possible improvements. For such purpose, a cutting tool geometry was selected (CNMG) and the LCA of the actual process is achieved. Powder milling dominates the environmental impact, driven by raw materials mining, refining, powder production and transportation. Potential improvements include increasing recycling contents and greener electricity sources.