Credit: Purdue University/Shweta Singh
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University engineering innovator has developed a cloud-based platform aimed at mapping inter-industry dependence networks for materials and waste generation among manufacturers in sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other industries tied to biobased economies.
Shweta Singh, an assistant professor in Purdue’s College of Engineering, led a team that developed a new method for automated creation of physical input-output tables to track flows in manufacturing networks.
PIOTs provide a detailed mapping of inter-industrial dependence to meet a manufacturing target that can help determine economic and environmental outcomes for various manufacturing pathways based on material requirements.
“Unlike current technologies that use tiered data flow systems or time series approximations to fill data bandgaps, our new platform allows for dynamic changes in manufacturing network via mechanistic models developed as computer codes or simulation systems to update network structure for industrial interactions,” Singh said. “The goal of this technology is to assist manufacturers to track the materials flow and supply network demand to optimize the process and reduce overall waste, as well as assist in the decision-making process to pick the most sustainable and resilient technology in any supplier network.”
Singh said the algorithms in this bottom-up modular model help to map resource flows with enhanced accuracy and reliability as data can be more easily reconciled based on mechanistic models through this approach. She added that the platform offers a collaborative, cloud-based environment that may have applications for the pharmaceutical, food and chemical processing industries.
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Singh leads Purdue’s Sustainable Industrial Natural Coupled Systems (SINCS) Group. The mission of the SINCS group is to enable sustainable growth of biobased economies and industries along with ensuring local and global ecological sustainability.
The work is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport System. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. CBET- 1805741.
Singh and her team worked with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the technology. The innovators are looking for partners to continue developing and commercializing their platform technology for various industries. For more information on licensing and other opportunities, contact Abhi Karve of OTC at aakarve@prf.org and mention track code 2020-SING-68956.
About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization
The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. The office is located in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District, adjacent to the Purdue campus. In fiscal year 2020, the office reported 148 deals finalized with 225 technologies signed, 408 disclosures received and 180 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.
Writer:
Chris Adam,
cladam@prf.org
Source:
Shweta Singh,
singh294@purdue.edu
Media Contact
Chris Adam
cladam@prf.org
