Eco-Environmental Analysis of Different Routes for the Synthesis of MIL-53(Fe): An Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Approaches

Abstract

MIL-53(Fe) is a highly efficient nanomaterial with considerable application in environmental engineering. Numerous research studies have been conducted on the synthesis methods, characteristics, and applications of MIL-53(Fe); however, the environmental impact and economics of its synthesis routes have not yet been investigated. In this study, to assess the potential and unintended environmental impacts of MIL-53(Fe) production, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to the five synthesis routes of MIL-53(Fe) production. The LCA-ReCiPe2016 model was adopted in SimaPro, and in a joint manner, an analysis of the life cycle costing (LCC) was carried out in the same program to evaluate the internal and external costs for the economic aspects. The interpretation of results at the midpoint level with 18 indicators illustrated that the biggest impacts (more than 70%) come from dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol (EtOH) usage, respectively, for the synthesis and washing stages, and a higher solvent requirement illustrated more considerable environmental impacts. The endpoint-based LCA evaluation also shows that the usage of DMF and EtOH is connected to the highest damage to human health (80.3–88.2%). Materials costs (∼98.5%) are the largest contributor to the LCC, while external environmental costs (∼1.5%) are the lowest contributor. Therefore, it can be concluded that the production scenarios using environmentally friendly reagents/solvents like water help to reduce both the adverse effects on the environment and the internal and external costs. In this case, route 5 would be the most suitable method for producing MIL-53(Fe) owing to its simplicity and the lowest environmental impact and cost. The integrated method of LCA and LCC developed in this study paves a way for the eco-design of MIL-53(Fe). The model framework can be expanded further to test greener solvents and reuse them in production processes.