A Chemical Process Design Framework Including Different Stages of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Assessment

In this work, we present a novel framework that comprises four stages of process modeling and multiobjective decision-makings considering monetary and non-monetary aspects. Four stages in early design phases are considered and characterized by the available information for process modeling and assessment. Appropriate modeling methods, and evaluation indicators for economy, life-cycle environmental impacts, EHS hazard and technical aspects are selected for each defined stage. The framework is demonstrated in the case study of methyl methacylrate (MMA) process design. 17 reaction routes are screened step-by-step up to generating optimal flowsheet of a promising route. As a validation, evaluation profiles of 6 routes are compared over stages to identify key factors that should be well estimated in earlier stages.