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1 - Sustainability Challenges of the Chemical Industry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2022

Bala Subramaniam
Bala Subramaniam
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
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Summary

Demand for chemicals is growing. The chemical industry’s global output is expected to double between 2017 and 2030. Lowering the carbon footprint of such growth requires sustainable alternative technologies. Fortunately, green chemistry and engineering research has made remarkable progress, laying the foundation for developing resource-efficient processes that conserve feedstock and energy as well as reduce adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) plays a key role for identifying environmental hotspots along the supply chain, either within the manufacturing plant (catalysts, solvents, reactors, separators) or upstream during raw material extraction or during the generation of energy at any stage. In concert with traditional techno-economic analysis, LCA is an essential tool for the rational development of sustainable chemical processes.

Keywords

life cycle assessment (LCA)sustainabilitychemical industrycarbon footprintenergyfeedstock
Type
Chapter
Information
Green Catalysis and Reaction Engineering
An Integrated Approach with Industrial Case Studies
 , pp. 1 - 12
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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