Inclusion of Environmental Impact Parameters in Radial Pentagon Material Efficiency Metrics Analysis: Using Benign Indices as a Step Towards a Complete Assessment of “Greenness” for Chemical Reactions and Synthesis Plans

Abstract

A new benign index (BI) parameter is developed and applied to assess the overall “greenness” of chemical reactions and synthesis plans. Previously described radial pentagon green metrics based solely on material efficiency are extended to include BI which takes into account the following potentials for environmental harm: acidification–basification (ABP), ozone depletion (ODP), global warming (GWP), smog formation (SFP), inhalation toxicity (INHTP), ingestion toxicity (INGTP), inhalation carcinogenicity (INHCP), ingestion carcinogenicity (INGCP), bioconcentration (BCP), abiotic resource depletion (ARDP), cancer potency (CPP), persistence (PER), and endocrine disruption (EDP). As with other material efficiency metrics, the benign index is defined as a fraction between 0 and 1 so that it may be added as another radial axis to produce an overall radial hexagon diagram that can be used to evaluate the “green” merits of any given chemical reaction. The utility of the method is demonstrated for industrial chemi...