UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Intensified production of zeolite A: Life cycle assessment of a continuous flow pilot plant and comparison with a conventional batch plant

Grimaldi, F; Ramirez, H; Lutz, C; Lettieri, P; (2021) Intensified production of zeolite A: Life cycle assessment of a continuous flow pilot plant and comparison with a conventional batch plant. Journal of Industrial Ecology 10.1111/jiec.13180. Green open access

[thumbnail of jiec.13180.pdf]
Preview
Text
jiec.13180.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This study investigates on the environmental impact of an intensified technology for the manufacturing of Zeolite A, one of the largest zeolites employed worldwide by volume and value. The technology under consideration is an oscillatory continuous-flow synthesis, developed industrially by Arkema, and currently at pilot-scale. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used in this work to measure the sustainability of this emerging technology in an anticipatory fashion, before its full deployment, with the aim of driving the process development toward the minimization of the environmental footprint. The assessment explores the full life-cycle of the production system and comprises comparative analysis, scenario analysis, and a hotspot analysis. Finally, the continuous-flow technology is benchmarked against the environmental impact of a conventional batch production of zeolite A, based on a full-scale commercial plant. The results evidence that significant benefits would stem from shifting from batch to continuous-flow production. The comparative analysis reveals that the extent of the latter advantages depends on the impact category under consideration and directs the next steps of CF system's process development toward pivotal aspects such as the recirculation system to further reduce the system's environmental impacts. Regardless of the chosen production technology, a large share of the total environmental impact hinges on the production of NaOH, a building block of the synthesis, and hence is hardly mitigatable. On the whole, the findings of this work emphasize the need of prioritizing LCA during the development phase of emerging technologies and underline its efficacy to prevent waste of resources and capitals.

Type: Article
Title: Intensified production of zeolite A: Life cycle assessment of a continuous flow pilot plant and comparison with a conventional batch plant
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.13180
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13180
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Science & Technology, Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Green & Sustainable Science & Technology, Engineering, Environmental, Environmental Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, Engineering, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, continuous-flow, industrial ecology, life cycle assessment (LCA), prospective assessment, process intensification, zeolites, DEHYDRATION, TECHNOLOGY, MEMBRANES, NAA
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133450
Downloads since deposit
148Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item