Life cycle assessment of hydrogen peroxide produced from mainstream hydrogen sources in China

Abstract

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a mild chemical synthetic oxidant, which has gained wide importance in industrial and research fields. However, systematic assessment of its environmental performance during H2O2 production is limited worldwide. In this regard, a life cycle assessment was conducted to quantify the environmental impacts of H2O2 produced by four mainstream hydrogen production technologies in the upstream, identify the optimization potential, and provide a basis for chemical product research. Results illustrated that compared with the hydrogen from coal, petroleum, and natural gas, the utilization of chlor-alkali by-product hydrogen to produce H2O2 could prevent 27%, 11%, and 25% environmental contamination throughout the national life cycle, respectively. Fossil depletion, global warming, water depletion, and non-carcinogens categories are the main areas of concern for H2O2 production. The potential environmental impacts of H2O2 production are primarily ascribed to energy (i.e., electricity and steam) consumption and direct water consumption. Therefore, several suggestions are provided for the critical environmental impact factors of H2O2 production toward the achievement of sustainable development requirements. The recommendations are to develop renewable energy sources, change the fuel composition, optimize the steam heat recovery systems, and apply air–water coupled cooling technology in the H2O2 production process to achieve cleaner production and improve environmental performance. From the perspective of industrial layout, China's western region should consider the promotion of H2O2 production from the chlor-alkali industry given the abundant renewable energy and raw material resources to enhance inter-regional coordination and sustainability.