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Using Green Chemistry and Engineering Principles to Design, Assess, and Retrofit Chemical Processes for Sustainability
Citation:
Ruiz-Mercado, G., A. Carvahlo, AND H. Cabezas. Using Green Chemistry and Engineering Principles to Design, Assess, and Retrofit Chemical Processes for Sustainability. 7th International Congress on Sustainability Science and Engineering, Cincinnati,OH, August 12, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this work is to outline the method for analyzing the human health and environmental impact of chemical manufacturing processes, and retrofitting them to reduce impacts on human health and the environment. The International Congress on Sustainability Science & Engineering 2018 conference serves as the international platform for innovation in sustainability science and engineering.
Description:
The concepts of green chemistry and engineering (GC&E) have been promoted as an effective qualitative framework for developing more sustainable chemical syntheses, processes, and material management techniques. This has been demonstrated by many theoretical and practical cases. In addition, there are several approaches and frameworks focused on demonstrating that improvements were achieved through GC&E technologies. However, the application of these principles is not always straightforward. We propose using systematic frameworks and tools that help practitioners when deciding which principles can be applied, the levels of implementation, prospective of obtaining simultaneous improvements in all sustainability aspects, and ways to deal with multiobjective problems. Therefore, this contribution aims to provide a systematic combination of three different and complementary design tools for assisting designers in evaluating, developing, and improving chemical manufacturing and materials management systems under GC&E perspectives. The WAR Algorithm, GREENSCOPE, and SustainPro were employed for this synergistic approach of incorporating sustainability at early stages of process development. In this demonstration, simulated ammonia production is used as a case study to illustrate this advancement. Results show how to identify process design areas for improvements, key factors, multicriteria decision-making solutions, and optimal trade-offs. Finally, conclusions were presented regarding the tools’ use in more robust sustainable process and material management designs. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.