Prospektiv livscykelanalys av en elektrokemisk hydrogeneringsprocess över en nickelskumkatod

The need for a safe and sustainable chemical industry has called for the development of emerging technologies with improved environmental performance. In this study, an emerging electrochemical hydrogenation process over Ni foam is being developed at the laboratory scale with an expectation of less environmental impacts than a conventional palladium on carbon hydrogenation process. To understand better the potential environmental performance of the process at the matured scale, a prospective life cycle assessment was conducted to identify environmental hotspots for early process improvement. There is no standardised method for prospective life cycle assessment, hence a methodological recommendation in conducting a prospective LCA was proposed through a literature review. The proposed methodology consists of three steps which are a pre-inventory stage, an inventory stage, and a post-inventory stage. These steps have been connected to the ISO 14044 standard methodology for conducting an LCA where the pre-inventory stage relates to the goal and scope definition, the inventory stage to inventory analysis, and the post-inventory connected to both the inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation stages of the ISO methodology. The proposed methodology was applied to the electrochemical hydrogenation process over nickel foam cathode where a three-case scenario (lab, worst- and best-case scenarios) was investigated to identify hotspots for early process improvement. The theoretical upscaled process had a better environmental performance compared to the lab process. The identified hotspots in the upscaled process (worst-case) include electricity process, evaporation process, and solvent recycling process for ecotoxicity (freshwater), human toxicity (cancer), human toxicity (non-cancer), climate change and resource use (minerals and metals) impact categories. The best-case scenario had its identified hotspots in the electricity process, solvent recycling process, and distillation process. This shows the importance of circularity, recycling, and lean manufacturing to the pillars of sustainability. Reducing resource consumption per unit product while increasing the recycling efficiency of process waste will be imperative towards ensuring a green chemical industry. Based on the results, a reduction of electricity demand for the process, utilisation of an alternative less energy-consuming processes, or cleaner energy sourcing could further improve the potential environmental performance of the process. Based on the quality of the data used, it is recommended that the outcome of the study be cautiously interpreted