Cher Kian Lee, Hsien Hui Khoo, R. Tan
Oct 28, 2016
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Influential Citations
27
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Journal
Organic Process Research & Development
Abstract
Continuous processing, as a form of process intensification, is one of the keys of green engineering research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. It has the potential to reduce solvent use and cost of production as well as increase production quality and operational safety. In light of the increased research interest surrounding continuous processing, the goal of this work is to compare the environmental performances of batch (BP) and continuous (CP) processing of 4-d-erythronolactone (4-DEL) at pilot plant scale as case study. The processing systems are evaluated using green chemistry metrics and a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The processing serves as the case study for this article’s goal. The LCA system boundary includes raw material extraction, transportation, synthesis of 4-DEL (as part of primary pharmaceutical manufacturing), equipment cleaning, plant utilities, and off-site waste management. In order to obtain life cycle inventories to support the LCA study of the BP and...