Tackling sustainability challenges in Latin America and Caribbean from the chemical engineering perspective: A literature review in the last 25 years

Abstract

Although in Latin America there is the presence of many developing countries, the chemical industry is highly competitive in today's globalized world, due to its availability of natural resources and raw materials. The production of highly profitable chemicals, high value-added metals, petroleum and its derivatives, cosmetics, perfumes and pharmaceutical products have placed Latin America as an interesting option for the global chemical industry in the 21st century. However, given the inefficiency of various processes and the growing production of various industrial areas, the daily production of 430,000 tons of waste materials is recorded in the region. In recent years, in Latin America there has been a growing interest in increasing energy efficiency and reducing waste. An example of such a situation is the development in relevant research areas that are reflected in energy, environmental, economic and inherent security aspects; in short, applications of chemical engineering. In a context of growing population, Latin America's chemical and petrochemical industries are well positioned for significant growth, if the logistical and political challenges characteristic of the geographic area can be addressed. The upcoming challenges associated with achieving sustainable operations in conjunction with the dynamics of global trade are key issues that the industry must face, in addition to the particularities of each country in this diverse, multicultural and dynamic part of the world. Consolidation through increased merger and acquisition activity and an increasingly blurred line between logistics service providers and distributors are notable trends across the value chain that suggest competition is intensifying in Latin America. The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of the current status of the application of sustainability tools in chemical processes in research in Latin America and to forecast what additional beneficial contributions might be on the horizon. We present here a brief literature review of the actions that are already being carried out, in Latin America, in the pertinent topics in sustainability where Chemical Engineering is involved, in the last 25 years.