Life cycle assessment of simultaneous pyrethroid extraction in soil matrices: A comparative study with QuEChERS method

Abstract

The gate-to-gate system boundary was employed to determine the greenness of sample preparation methods for simultaneous pyrethroids analysis using life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA of an established QuEChERS method was assessed and compared to the proposed modified QuEChERS method. A comparative LCA was carried out with a functional unit defined as the amount of pyrethroid recovered (80-110%) from a 5 g soil. The life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) were performed on Open LCA 1.10.3 software. The inventory analysis shows that the amount of equipment, material, and energy input were greater in the proposed modified QuEChERS method than the established QuEChERS method, except for chemicals used. The life cycle assessment impact shows that among the nine impact parameters generated, the established QuEChERS method was more environmentally benign than the proposed modified QuEChERS method. However, in term of carcinogenic toxicity impact on humans, the proposed modified QuEChERS method outperformed the established QuEChERS method. This study confirmed the contribution of life cycle assessment to assess the environmental impact for the analytical procedure.