Currently, the generation of resources and the problems associated with them are considered to be concern issues for mankind. Acetylene is an essential resource for industrial activities in the Cuban economy and lacks an environmental assessment that establishes the potential impacts of the activities involved in the process. The present study carried out an environmental evaluation of impacts associated with the acetylene process via calcium carbide (CaC2) at the Sancti Spíritus Industrial Gases Company, Cuba. For this purpose, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied, considering a cradle-to-gate perspective. The results showed that the activity with the greatest impact was related to CaC2 (impacts up to 99.31%), followed by acetonation (impacts up to 48.84%). This behavior is due to the contribution of CaC2 and acetone production processes respectively. In the Ecosystem Quality damage category was found the highest impact. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of the purity variation in the environmental profile on the damage categories, showing that electricity consumption is considered a hotspot in the process and should be controlled more effectively. The present study reports valuable information for the identification of possible environmental improvements to reduce the potential impacts of obtaining acetylene in the Cuban scenario.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.