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Sustainability Indicators for Chemical Processes : II. Data Needs
Citation:
Ruiz-Mercado, G. J., R. L. SMITH, AND M. A. GONZALEZ. Sustainability Indicators for Chemical Processes : II. Data Needs. INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 51(5):2329-2353, (2012).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
In order 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 way that 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 methodology. To generate a sustainability assessment and yield a sustainable process in the end, a model must have available data, that is to say data is not the final goal, but it is mandatory to get there. This second contribution extends this methodology by indentifying 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 provides the practical connection between heoretical 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.
