Introducing new green machining technology to enhance process performance and reduce environmental pollution in the metal processing industry

The pursuit of enhanced cooling and lubrication methods for machining processes that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective is receiving significant attention from both academia and industry. The reduction of CO2 emissions is closely tied to electrical and embodied energy consumption. This study introduces a novel LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) cooling/lubrication (lubricooling) approach for the machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Machinability aspects, energy-related aspects, environmental-related aspects, and economic aspects are measured and compared. More specifically, surface quality, electrical energy, cutting forces, and tool wear were measured in machinability aspects. Similarly, specific total energy and specific cumulative Energy Demand (S_CED), specific carbon emission, and production costs were measured to investigate the energy and environmental and economic aspects, respectively. The LNOoW provided the best machinability results compared with other approaches. Result found that LNOoW produced 37.5% better surface quality, removed 159.17% more material, and reduced 50.56% specific cutting energy and 53.63% specific costs as compared to traditional dry cutting conditions. The 39% increment in specific carbon emissions observed in the LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) approach in comparison to the dry-cutting method can be mitigated through the implementation of sustainable practices in the production of liquid nitrogen (LN2). The information provided in this study serves as a valuable resource for the development of environmentally friendly machining processes. The study also helps get the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.