Chemical conversions have been a cornerstone of industrial revolution and societal progress. Continuing this progress in a resource constrained world poses a critical challenge which demands the development of innovative chemical processes to meet our energy and material needs in a sustainable way. This challenge forms the basis for this article. We report a method for quick preliminary assessment of chemical processes at the laboratory stage. The proposed method enables a review of chemical processes within a broader sustainability context. It is inspired by green chemistry principles, techno-economic analysis and some elements of environmental life-cycle assessment (LCA). This method evaluates a proposed chemical process against comparable existing processes using a multi-criteria approach that integrates various economic and environmental indicators. An effort has been made to incorporate quantitative and qualitative information about the processes while making the method transparent and easy to implement based on information available at an early stage in process development. The idea is to provide a data-based assessment tool for chemists and engineers to develop sustainable chemistry. This paper describes the method in detail and examines plausibility of the results. A biobased process for the production of but-1,3-diene has been analyzed using this method. This biobased process is compared with a conventional process for the production of but-1,3-diene from petroleum sources. The effects of uncertainty in the underlying model parameters and assumptions are also analyzed, along with the effect of system boundary selection on the assessment outcome. Analysis and testing of the method shows that it can be used as a valuable tool for sustainable process development
Our increasing demand for materials and energy has put critical roadblocks on our path towards a sustainable society. To remove these roadblocks, it is important to engage in smart research and development (R&D). We present an early-stage sustainability assessment framework that is used to analyze eight new bio-based process alternatives developed within the CatchBio research consortium in the Netherlands. This assessment relies on a multi-criteria approach, integrating the performance of chemical conversions based on five indicators into an index value. These indicators encompass economics, environmental impact, hazards and risks thereby incorporating elements of green chemistry principles, and techno-economic and life cycle assessments. The analyzed bio-based options target the production of fuels and chemicals through chemical catalysis. For each bio-based process, two R&D stages (current laboratory and expected future) are assessed against a comparable conventional process. The multi-criteria assessment in combination with the uncertainty and scenario analysis shows that the chemical production processes using biomass as feedstock can provide potential sustainability benefits over conventional alternatives. However, further development is necessary to realize the potential benefits from biomass gasification and pyrolysis processes for fuel production. This early stage assessment is intended as an input for R&D decision making to support optimal allocation and utilization of resources to further develop promising bio-based processes.
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