Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2021.03.023

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 236-244.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.03.023

Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

Suisui Zhang^1,2,3,4,5, Jingying Li^1,2,3,4,5, Yan Nie¹, Luyao Qiang^1,2,3,4,5, Boyang Bai^1,2,3,4,5, Zhiwei Peng^1,2,3,4,5, Xiaoxun Ma^1,2,3,4,5

1. School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China;
2. Chemical Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education (MOE) for Advanced Use Technology of Shanbei Energy, Xi'an 710069, China;
3. Shaanxi Research Center of Engineering Technology for Clean Coal Conversion, Xi'an 710069, China;
4. Collaborative Innovation Center for Development of Energy and Chemical Industry in Northern Shaanxi, Xi'an 710069, China;
5. International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) for Clean Utilization of Hydrocarbon Resources, Xi'an 710069, China

Received:2021-01-07 Revised:2021-03-10 Online:2022-03-30 Published:2022-02-28
Contact: Xiaoxun Ma,E-mail:maxym@nwu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22008198) and (21536009), Science and Technology Plan Projects of Shaanxi Province, China (2017ZDCXL-GY-10-03), and Industrialization Cultivation Project of Education Ministry of Shaanxi province, China (19JK0854).

Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

Suisui Zhang^1,2,3,4,5, Jingying Li^1,2,3,4,5, Yan Nie¹, Luyao Qiang^1,2,3,4,5, Boyang Bai^1,2,3,4,5, Zhiwei Peng^1,2,3,4,5, Xiaoxun Ma^1,2,3,4,5

1. School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China;
2. Chemical Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education (MOE) for Advanced Use Technology of Shanbei Energy, Xi'an 710069, China;
3. Shaanxi Research Center of Engineering Technology for Clean Coal Conversion, Xi'an 710069, China;
4. Collaborative Innovation Center for Development of Energy and Chemical Industry in Northern Shaanxi, Xi'an 710069, China;
5. International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) for Clean Utilization of Hydrocarbon Resources, Xi'an 710069, China

通讯作者: Xiaoxun Ma,E-mail:maxym@nwu.edu.cn
基金资助:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22008198) and (21536009), Science and Technology Plan Projects of Shaanxi Province, China (2017ZDCXL-GY-10-03), and Industrialization Cultivation Project of Education Ministry of Shaanxi province, China (19JK0854).

Abstract

Abstract: HFC-134a is a widely used environment-friendly refrigerant. At present, China is the largest producer of HFC-134a in the world. The production of HFC-134a in China mainly adopts the calcium carbide acetylene route. However, the production route has high resource and energy consumption and large waste emission, and few of the studies addressed on the environmental performance of its production process. This study quantified the environmental performance of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide route via carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA) using the CML 2001 method. And uncertainty analysis by Monte-Carlo simulation was also carried out. The results showed that electricity had the most impact on the environment, followed by steam, hydrogen fluoride and chlorine, and the impact of direct CO₂ emissions in calcium carbide production stage on the global warming effect also could not be ignored. Therefore, the clean energy (e.g., wind, solar, biomass, and natural gas) was used to replace coal-based electricity and coal-fired steam in this study, showing considerable environmental benefits. At the same time, the use of advanced production technologies could also improve environmental benefits, and the environmental impact of the global warming category could be reduced by 4.1% via using CO₂ capture and purification technology. The Chinese database of HFC-134a production established in this study provides convenience for the relevant study of scholars. For the production of HFC-134a, this study helps to better identify the specific environmental hotspots and proposes useful ways to improve the environmental benefits.

Key words: HFC-134a, Calcium carbide, Life cycle assessment, Environmental impact, Carbon capture

摘要： HFC-134a is a widely used environment-friendly refrigerant. At present, China is the largest producer of HFC-134a in the world. The production of HFC-134a in China mainly adopts the calcium carbide acetylene route. However, the production route has high resource and energy consumption and large waste emission, and few of the studies addressed on the environmental performance of its production process. This study quantified the environmental performance of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide route via carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA) using the CML 2001 method. And uncertainty analysis by Monte-Carlo simulation was also carried out. The results showed that electricity had the most impact on the environment, followed by steam, hydrogen fluoride and chlorine, and the impact of direct CO₂ emissions in calcium carbide production stage on the global warming effect also could not be ignored. Therefore, the clean energy (e.g., wind, solar, biomass, and natural gas) was used to replace coal-based electricity and coal-fired steam in this study, showing considerable environmental benefits. At the same time, the use of advanced production technologies could also improve environmental benefits, and the environmental impact of the global warming category could be reduced by 4.1% via using CO₂ capture and purification technology. The Chinese database of HFC-134a production established in this study provides convenience for the relevant study of scholars. For the production of HFC-134a, this study helps to better identify the specific environmental hotspots and proposes useful ways to improve the environmental benefits.

关键词: HFC-134a, Calcium carbide, Life cycle assessment, Environmental impact, Carbon capture

Suisui Zhang, Jingying Li, Yan Nie, Luyao Qiang, Boyang Bai, Zhiwei Peng, Xiaoxun Ma. Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2022, 42(2): 236-244.

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Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

Life cycle assessment of HFC-134a production by calcium carbide acetylene route in China

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