Superstructure as a Communication Tool in Pre-Emptive Life Cycle Design Engaging Society: Findings from Case Studies on Battery Chemicals, Plastics, and Regional Resources

Emerging technologies require sophisticated design and optimization due to their rapid advancement and potential to alter material flows and life cycles. However, their future development remains uncertain due to sociotechnical factors such as regulations, infrastructure, and market dynamics. Multiple technologies are often considered simultaneously, but their interactions and synergies are not systematically evaluated. This study addresses pre-emptive life cycle design in social challenges by integrating emerging technologies into superstructures, which help visualize alternative candidates for design problems. Case studies on battery chemistry, plastics, and regional resource circulation demonstrate this approach. For battery technology, nickel-manganese-cobalt lithium batteries have dominated over lithium iron phosphate alternatives. Superstructures were developed to assess recycling technologies and were refined through communication with managers of Japanese national battery projects. In plastics, system designs integrating biomass-derived and recycled carbon sources were explored, and scenario planning with life cycle assessment (LCA) was shared with stakeholders. Regional resource circulation was studied through technological integration and local stakeholder engagement, leading to demonstration tests. Findings suggest that superstructures and technology assessments enhance understanding of applicable technologies and their trade-offs. Given the critical role of social acceptance in technology implementation, computer-aided process engineering (CAPE) tools should facilitate discussions on socio-technical and socio-economic aspects of process systems engineering.