A stochastic programming model for sustainable capacity expansion

Sustainable manufacturing can be expressed as the consideration of economical, environmental, and societal impact during product design for the entire life cycle. Although interest in nanomaterials and nanodevices has been growing rapidly, the uncertainty about human health and environmental impact of the nanomaterials still exits. Moreover, current nanomanufacturing techniques have negative environmental and human health impacts. Therefore, engineers have been working on green design of nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing processes to achieve sustainable manufacturing goals. Companies that compete in the nanotechnology market have to develop a balance among the economic growth, environment protection, and positive social impact to achieve some measure of sustainable manufacturing.