Comparison of two pharmaceutical production processes using different eco-efficiency measuring methods

Abstract

The rising importance of eco-efficiency in the chemical industry resulted in the development of a huge amount of measuring methods for the assessment of environmental and/or economical sustainability. In this presentation, a limited set of eco-efficiency measuring methods are illustrated for a case in the pharmaceutical industry. Different eco-efficiency measuring methods as, for example, exergy analysis, carbon footprint or ETH's Finechem tool, are used for the evaluation and comparison of a pharmaceutical batch production step and a continuous production step using a micro reactor. Data for both processes are delivered by Janssen Pharmaceutica (Belgium). First, this case allows one to make a comparative evaluation of the eco-efficiency of the pharmaceutical production options. Second, a thorough evaluation of the capabilities and advantages of the different eco-efficiency measuring methods can be made. The evaluation of two pharmaceutical production alternatives based on different eco-efficiency measuring methods is a case study in the Eco2chem project. In this Eco2chem project a structured evaluation of different ecoefficiency measuring methods for the chemical industry is made. The result of this Eco2chem project will be a web based eco-efficiency decision matrix allowing chemical companies to choose those eco-efficiency measuring methods which best fit the companies' needs. © 2012 WIT Press.