Sustainability Metrics, Indicators, and Indices for the Process Industries

Powell, Joseph B.

doi:10.1002/9780470586099.ch2

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…The widely used definition of sustainable development is that of the United Nations' Brundtland Commission [1]: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. " In corporate terms, sustainability can be summarized as the "triple bottom line" (TBL) success [2], which implies that firms have to maintain and grow their economic, social, and environmental capital base, while actively contributing to sustainability in the political domain [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Processes: Evaluation of Three Synthesis Routes of DMC

Saavalainen

Kabra

Turpeinen

et al. 2015

Journal of Chemistry

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This paper suggested multicriteria based evaluation tool to assess the sustainability of three different reaction routes to dimethyl carbonate: direct synthesis from carbon dioxide and methanol, transesterification of methanol and propylene carbonate, and oxidative carbonylation of methanol. The first two routes are CO2-based and in a research and development phase, whereas the last one is a commercial process. The set of environmental, social, and economic indicators selected were renewability of feedstock, energy intensity, waste generation, CO2balance, yield, feedstock price, process costs, health and safety issues of feedstock, process conditions, and innovation potential. The performance in these indicators was evaluated with the normalized scores from 0 to +1; 0 for detrimental and 1 for favorable impacts. The assessment showed that the transesterification route had the best potential toward sustainability, although there is still much development needed to improve yield. Further, the assessment gave clear understanding of the main benefits of each reaction route, as well as the major challenges to sustainability, which can further aid in orienting development efforts to key issues that need improvement. Finally, it was concluded that a multicriteria analysis such as the one presented in this paper was a viable method to be used in the process design stage.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Processes: Evaluation of Three Synthesis Routes of DMC

Saavalainen

Kabra

Turpeinen

et al. 2015

Journal of Chemistry

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Sustainable Design of Batch Processes

Pinto‐Varela

Carvalho

2018

Handbook of Green Chemistry

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The batch process industry is intimately related to the production of high‐value products. The global market for these types of products is strongly competitive, imposing severe burdens to succeed in this industry. It is critical to adopt an innovative culture, which keeps pace with the shifting requirements of customers. Sustainability is becoming a priority in customers' choice and therefore promotes making batch processes more efficient and competitive in the marketplace. This chapter outlines a proposed framework that may be used to design and retrofit sustainable batch processes. The framework provides a new methodology for sustainable batch design, called Sustainable Batch Design – Framework ( SBD ‐ FRAME ). SBD ‐ FRAME guides a user toward a more sustainable batch process. The framework incorporates sustainability aspects (economic, environmental, and social) that should be considered in order to assess sustainability across different levels of sustainable batch design. Use of the framework is highlighted through two case studies.

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