Why should the chemical manufacturing industries modernise their manufacturing processes? Afterall, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. There are decades of tried and tested methods of manufacturing and chemistries that have produced some of the most important products for humanity. It is also the case that existing technology often produces the most efficient manufacturing processes.
Every day we hear about new technology being utilised to address some of the most challenging issues, not least climate change and pollution. We are aware of the need to switch from diesel to electric vehicles or to ditch the car altogether and use public transport. We know it’s better to switch from oil or gas to electric heat pumps to heat our homes in a more environmentally friendly manner. Even a simple cup of coffee brings with it a technology consideration where we are reminded to use reusable or at least biodegradable cups. Government incentives in the form of energy grants or tax incentives are often used to persuade people to adopt green technology. However, oftentimes it is the case that the investment required to adopt these technologies is prohibitive from a cost, resource or time perspective. Economic drivers often win out over environmental concerns. There is a certain amount of inertia when it comes to implementing change, especially when it directly impacts those required to make the change! For example, how many of us are prepared to forego our foreign holiday in the interests of climate change? People are aware of the impact of their choices on the environment, on their health and other areas. Despite this and even with incentives, change is slow and difficult.
The environmental impact of the chemical industries is well understood.
Many of our processes use enormous solvent volumes, consume vast amounts of energy and generate large volumes of waste. There have been many technological advancements within the industry and there are talented scientists and engineers capable of finding innovative solutions to these problems. However, many competing priorities especially speed to market considerations, puts pressure on timelines and resources and often yields less efficient “dirtier” processes.
Expertise in green chemistry is essential to address the impact of the chemical industry and design more environmentally friending processes. Continued training in undergraduate courses should provide green chemistry fundamentals and an awareness of the responsibilities to the environment for the next generation. A willingness to implement previously undesirable steps is also required. For example, mother liquor recycling and solvent recovery will help to significantly reduce virgin solvent demand. Previously these steps have been undesirable due to impurity concerns and regulatory risks. Good process development and ultimately impurity control can enable these steps to be implemented with the associated benefits.
The field of continuous manufacturing and flow chemistry offers potential solutions. A range of different reactor types have been developed for different applications. The availability of greener solvents such as ionic liquids and supercritical fluids and the development of heterogenous catalysts provides access to greener chemistry. In combination with flow reactors, intensified chemical processes with lower PMI can be implemented. Continuous technology can reduce the number of unit operations and even enable end to processing where changeovers between steps are eliminated resulting in less material and energy use than may otherwise be expended in cleaning and set-up steps. Mobile flexible technology platforms are also possible where plants and equipment can be moved from location to location as required to optimise equipment, utility and energy efficiency.
Digital transformation within the industry will provide additional tools to tackle the environmental challenges we face. For example, digital analytics will allow holistic monitoring and analysis of manufacturing processes all the way from raw materials, processing conditions, equipment and final product quality attributes. Impurity and contamination issues can be minimised. Waste can be minimised and yields maximised. Within supply chains demand for raw materials, equipment capacity and manufacturing time can be optimally balanced to allow companies to maximise resources and minimise waste. Pressures during the development phase often have the consequence of producing less than optimum processes. To address this time and resources are required but that luxury is often not forthcoming. Data science and analytics and process models will help scientists and engineers perform the key experiments, generate the data and optimise processes in faster time. Automated chemistry platforms will enable higher throughout experiments and help to generate key data faster.
Incentives, regulatory acceptance and supports for development are required to support industry to implement greener processes. However, do customers really care about the environmental impact of the processes used to make their products? Public awareness about the processes used to manufacture a product may help people decide on which products they want to consume. Finally, mindset changes and an awareness of how we make our products are required if we are to have any chance of addressing the environmental impact of the chemical industry in the future.
