A4 - Process system analysis & sustainability

Yield of a stream

Yield for a whole process

Yield of a stream

Yield for a whole process

Purity of substance

Waste valorization

Example pomelo pee ls:

• Normally when making juice you remove the peel and its waste

• Waste valorization means you use the peels for other things such as:

  • Pectin

  • Essential oil

  • Polysaccharide

  • Activated carbon

  • Adsorbent

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

• Evaluating and assessing the chain systematically.

• Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.

• From cradle to grave

How is an LCA made?

• Find the goal and scope.

• Inventory analysis: Make an inventory of:

  • System inputs (energy, raw materials)

  • System output (waste, emission)

• Impact assessment: what has the largest impact?

  • Impact on:

    • Global warming potential

    • Eutrophication

Use of LCA

• LCA involves judgments, assumptions and uncertainties

• Application:

  • Comparing 2 different products

  • Find out how to make production process/chain more efficient

• Use of footprints

Use of footprints in a LCA

• Footprint: metric to quantify the environmental impact by measuring the consumption of resources, and the production of emission and waste streams

• Can be calculated (see equation)

  • Top of equation: everything going in and Mp is product

Different name for footprint

Material intensity per serving (MIPS)

Equivalent footprint

Converting emission into the equivalent amount of one type of emission so that you can summarize a footprint.

• can be done using equivalency factors.

• e.g. NO into CO2