LAUSR

Abstract The increasing need for mitigating environmental impacts has led the industries to develop more sustainable processes, which may represent an arduous task since economic, safety, social and environmental factors must be considered. Hence, this paper demonstrates the relevance of using sustainability indicators in developing cleaner industrial processes. Such metrics were used to design a more sustainable butane-based maleic anhydride manufacturing technology, which was compared to the benzene-based route in terms of economic, safety and environmental indicators. The analysis showed that, although the latter consumes approximately 2.8% less water, generates about 3.1% less wastewater and is 70 times less hazardous in terms of fire/explosion risks, the former is not only 33.8% more profitable but also consumes 28% less energy and, consequently, emits approximately 42.9% less CO2. After grouping the fifteen sustainability metrics in a composite evaluation index, the butane-based process proved to be about 34% more eco-efficient than the benzene-based technology.