Developing and testing a tool for sustainability assessment in an early process design phase – Case study of formic acid production by conventional and carbon dioxide-based routes

Abstract This paper suggests a ‘Sustainability Assessment Tool’ that can be used in early design phases of production processes. “Green Chemistry” principles were considered as a baseline when proposing the sustainability indicators. European chemicals regulations and databases were also applied and used as a baseline in chemicals hazards assessment. The tool is an excel based checklist, with multiple choice answers that are scored based on their severity of impact. This Sustainability Assessment Tool was tested by comparing two formic acid production routes. It is proposed that using the tool as a guideline in the early stages of a chemical process design can provide competitive advantages in research as it provides guidance on the critical target areas of the process that should be further developed. This can further guide researchers and engineers through the piloting and manufacturing stages. In addition it is also expected that the suggested sustainability assessment tool can be used as an educating purpose to foster sustainability in process design work during all the design stages.