# Investigation on Ontology-Driven Semantic Simulation of PVC Composite Sustainable Manufacturing: Lifecycle Assessment Approach and Industrial Case Study with Reinforced Agro-Industrial Waste Fillers

## TL;DR

This paper explores using agro-industrial waste in PVC composites and ontology-based LCA to improve sustainability and circular economy practices in manufacturing.

## Contribution

A novel ontology-driven semantic simulation framework is introduced for sustainable PVC composite manufacturing with agro-industrial waste fillers.

## Key findings

- PVC composites with agro-waste fillers showed lower embodied energy and CO2 emissions than glass fibre systems.
- The PVC + 30% wood flour formulation achieved the highest environmental efficiency.
- An ontology framework with 25 classes and 218 axioms enabled semantic interoperability and consistent validation.

## Abstract

This study develops and assesses sustainable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites reinforced with agro-industrial waste fillers, integrating an ontology-based lifecycle assessment (LCA) framework to enhance sustainability evaluation. Agro-waste reinforcements, including rice husk ash (RHA), coir, bamboo fibre, and wood flour, were examined for their capacity to improve the mechanical and environmental performance of PVC and to advance circular economy objectives. Empirical data from UK PVC window manufacturing were integrated with Granta EduPack, Eco Design, Eco Audit, OpenLCA, and Protégé within a multi-layered semantic pipeline that links materials, processes, and environmental indicators. The agro-filler composites exhibited lower embodied energy and CO2 emissions than glass fibre systems, with the PVC + 30% wood flour formulation achieving the highest efficiency. The ontology framework, comprising 25 classes, 7 object properties, 26 individuals, 16 data properties, and 218 axioms (generated automatically by Protégé’s metrics feature and verified with the Pellet reasoner), ensured semantic interoperability and consistent validation across datasets, enabling transparent and traceable sustainability analysis. Overall, coupling industrial data with digital LCA and ontology reasoning provides a reproducible pathway toward net zero-aligned, sustainable PVC composite manufacturing.