Review on Process Optimization considering LCA Methodology

CARLA PIERAGOSTINI; MIGUEL MUSSATI; PÍO AGUIRRE

Lisboa

Conferencia; EngOpt 2010 - 2nd International Conference on Engineering Optimization; 2010

Instituto de Engenharia Mecánica (IDMEC) of Instituto Superior Técnico

The development of industrial technology has caused the transformation of the environment in different ways, changing the nature and extent of the environmental impacts of industrial activities. One of the main problems associated with these activities is that they may not have an immediate effect and some may have a more global impact on the environment to make their assessment difficult. The general objective of the project, in which this paper is inserted in, is to address the modeling, simulation and optimization of chemical and biotechnological processes considering life cycle analysis LCA methodology. In doing that, the state-of-the-art on process optimization techniques and tools based on LCA is required, which is the goal of the present work. Simulation and optimization methods, which are valuable tools mainly in process systems engineering, are successfully being applied since several decades ago. On the other hand, the LCA methodology is an accepted environmental Management tool to holistically, systematically and multidisciplinarily quantify environmental burdens and their potential impacts over the whole life cycle of a product, process or activity. The LCA methodology has been generally applied for (i) strategic planning or environmental strategy development for choosing Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) e.g. comparison of the environmental impacts of different products with the same function and comparison of the environmental impacts of alternative manufacturing processes for the same product; (ii) comparison of (regional, economical, cultural) scenarios for a given product, process and/or activity; (iii) identification of environmental improvements opportunities such as identifying hot spots i.e. parts of the life cycle that are critical to the total environmental impact; and (iv) creating a Framework for environmental audits, among others. However, it is well known that the LCA methodology has a subjective component in several aspects, such as the system boundaries, goal definition and scoping. On the other hand, the LCA results are often determined by limited data with unknown reliability. In this context, integration of mathematical optimization techniques with LCA methodology for conceiving environmentally friendly processes, products and/or activities from cradle to grave , in an efficient and flexible way, with less subjectivism as possible, is an ambitious challenge. Here, an exhaustive literature review on (i) mathematical optimization techniques suitable for process synthesis and design, (ii) LCA applications in process industry, (iii) proposed frameworks and progress made towards integration of both, (iv) specific case studies, will be presented and discussed.