Dear Colleagues,

Manufacturing is an important activity that satisfies human development; however, it necessarily consumes a lot of resources, generates carbon emissions and pollution emissions. Manufacturing sector consumes more than 70% of the total energy shares of industrial sector only. Machine tools are widely used in the manufacturing industry to cut the material into various complex shapes. Machine tool accessories such as control panels, hydraulic pumps, and coolant pumps, etc., consume a considerable amount of energy. However, the actual cutting of material consumes a little portion of energy by the machine tool. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that quantification of energy should be determined and optimized. Nowadays, the advanced manufacturing sector is seeking sustainable alternatives to reduce the manufacturing cost, Eco-benign cutting fluids, product quality, and enhance productivity. Therefore, emerging sustainability trends are leading towards low-cost, less waste, and environmental damage in terms of mineral oil consumption. The biodegradable oil-based MQL, cryogenic-LN₂, and CO₂ are some of the sustainable lubrication techniques that provide pressurize cooling/lubrication medium to provide cooling and lubrication. Natural contamination and client requests for high quality goods have forced manufacturing sectors to come out from the traditional cutting approaches to sustainable cooling/lubrication to cope the productivity and carbon neutral production. Although, conventional cutting fluids reduce surface roughness, enhance tool wear, and improve the overall machinability for difficult to cut materials. However, immoderate use of mineral-based cutting fluids is hazardous for soil and water, and it results in multifarious health and ecological complexities. The global consumption of mineral-based non-biodegradable cutting lubricants was 13,726 million tons in 2016 with 1% annual increment in consumption depicting an alarming situation. In addition, the continuous reduction of natural energy resources with the danger of loss proportion varies between 13~50% of natural lubricants in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. Most of the previous researchers have manifested that around 15~17% of total machining cost is associated with the cooling cost. Among the cardinal environmental goals, set for the advancement of the machining practices, Horizon 2020 has aimed to reduce 20% of EU CO₂ emissions from the level of last decade, produced from renewable resources, as well as a 20% reduction in the EU resource utilization. The need for green and ecological cutting fluids has become inevitable to unlock ways for adopting biodegradable oils as a probable alternative to mineral-based fluids.

Thus, with the goal of developing sustainable cleaner production, we are interested to collect latest research trends on the application of latest cooling technologies, manufacturing processes/strategies, and sustainability pillars (energy consumption, carbon emission, and cost analysis).

Research articles and reviews in this area of study are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.