How green is a chemical reaction? Application of LCA to green chemistry.
In the present work Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used in order to evaluate a chemical reaction from an environmental point of view. The objective is to assess the usefulness of this methodology as an environmental tool to be applied to green chemistry. As an example, two routes of obtaining maleic anhydride are compared using LCA, to ascertain which one is the most environmentally friendly. From the results obtained in this work it can be concluded that LCA seems to be a valuable tool for the environmental assessment of a chemical reaction, because it takes into account all the life cycle stages of the process and discusses the impact of the environmental burdens inventoried according to a diversity of impact categories.
Domènech
Xavier
X
Departament de Química, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain. xavier.domenech@uab.es
Ayllón
José A
JA
Peral
José
J
Rieradevall
Joan
J
D001554:Benzene / Q000737:chemistry; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry
D008299:Maleic Anhydrides; D001554:Benzene; D010100:Oxygen