Sustainability Indicators for Chemical Processes: II. Data Needs

Abstract

To begin repair of the environmental quality of the planet, there is a need to embrace sustainable development at many levels of the chemical industry and society. One such manner in which the chemical industry is responding to this need is through sustainability evaluations, retrofits, and new process designs. For improving the sustainability of chemical processes, the first contribution of this set of articles presented a taxonomic classification, definition, and scale for measuring sustainability indicators according to the GREENSCOPE (Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for the ENvironmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a multi-Objective Process Evaluator) methodology. To generate a sustainability assessment and yield a more sustainable process in the end, a model must have available data; that is, data are not the final goal but are mandatory to arrive there. This second contribution extends this methodology by identifying data requirements when calculating the indicators. Each indicator is mathematically defined, emphasizing realistic usage, and connecting the mathematical formulas for the indicators with their data requirements. In addition, data-source alternatives to fulfill the input requirements and potential data gaps for the calculation of the sustainability indicators for a new process technology or an existing manufacturing plant are proposed and discussed. This work further provides the practical connection between theoretical definitions of sustainability, data needs, and mathematical definitions of indicators for process sustainability assessment. With the accomplishment of this second contribution, sustainability assessment can be achieved and proposed as a reliable and robust tool for the development and optimization of chemical processes.