Other language confidence: 0.9705512643125185
technologyComment of silicon production, electronics grade (DE, RoW): In practice, EG-silicon is a product from complex chemical production plants. The conventional route for production of EG-silicon comprises three process steps: 1) the MG-silicon is converted into a gas, either trichlorosilane (SiHCl3) or silane (SiH4), 2) this gas is purified by means of distillation, 3) silicon in solid form is deposited in a Siemens reactor. Reference: Jungbluth N., Stucki M, and Frischknecht R. (2009) Photovoltaics. In Dones, R. (Ed.) et al., Sachbilanzen von Energiesystemen: Grundlagen für den ökologischen Vergleich von Energiesystemen und den Einbezug von Energiesystemen in Ökobilanzen für die Schweiz. ecoinvent report No. 6-XII, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, CH, 2009.
technologyComment of methanol production (GLO): For normal methanol synthesis, reforming is performed in one step in a tubular reactor at 850 – 900 °C in order to leave as little methane as possible in the synthesis gas. For large methanol synthesis plants, Lurgi has introduced a two-step combination (combined reforming process) that gives better results. In the primary tubular reformer, lower temperature (ca. 800 °C) but higher pressure (2.5-4.0 MPa instead of 1.5-2.5 MPa) are applied. More recently, Lurgi developed another two-step gas production scheme. It is based on catalytic autothermal reforming with an adiabatic performer and has economical advantages for very large methanol plants. At locations where no carbon dioxide is available most of the methanol plants are based on the following gas production technologies, depending on their capacities: steam reforming for capacities up to 2000 t d-1 or combined reforming from 1800 to 2500 t d-1 (Ullmann 2001). For the energy and resource flows in this inventory a modern steam reforming process was taken as average technology. To estimate best and worst case values, also values from combined reforming and autothermal reforming were investigated. Methanol produced using a low pressure steam reforming process (ICI LPM) accounts for approximately 60% of the world capacity (Synetix 2000a). Besides steam reforming, combined reforming has gained importance due to the production of methanol in large plants at remote locations. The reaction of the steam-reforming route can be formulated for methane, the major constituent of natural gas, as follows: Synthesis gas preparation: CH4 + H2O → CO + 3 H2; ΔH = 206 kJ mol-1 CO + H2O → CO2 + H2; ΔH = - 41 kJ mol-1 Methanol synthesis: CO + 2 H2 → CH3OH; ΔH = -98 kJ mol-1 CO2 + 3 H2 → CH3OH + H2O; ΔH = -58 kJ mol-1 For an average plant the total carbon efficiency is around 75%, 81% for the synthesis gas preparation and 93% for the methanol synthesis (Le Blanc et al. 1994, p. 114). For steam reformers usually a steam to carbon ratio of 3:1 to 3.5:1 is used. As methanol production is a highly integrated process with a complicated steam system, heat recovery and often also internal electricity production (out of excess steam), there were only data of the efficiency and energy consumption of the total process available. Therefore the process was not divided into a reforming process, a synthesis process and a purification process for estimating the energy and resource flows. Also the energy and resource flows in the methanol production plants are site specific (dependent on the local availability of resources such as CO2, O2, or electricity). In this inventory typical values for a methanol plant using steam-reforming technology were used. The main resource for methanol production is natural gas, which acts as feedstock and fuel. A natural gas based methanol plant consumes typically 29-37 MJ (LHV) of natural gas per kg of methanol. This gas is needed as feedstock for the produced methanol (20 MJ kg-1 LHV) and also used as fuel for the utilities of the plant. From the converted feed, 1 kg methanol and 0.06 kg hydrogen is yielded. It was assumed that the purged hydrogen was also burned in the furnace. The only emission to air considered from burning hydrogen is NOX. The energy amount generated is not considered, because the process of the furnace is specified for natural gas as fuel. The NOX emissions of the hydrogen burning were therefore calculated separately. References: Althaus H.-J., Chudacoff M., Hischier R., Jungbluth N., Osses M. and Primas A. (2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals. ecoinvent report No. 8, v2.0. EMPA Dübendorf, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, CH. technologyComment of synthetic fuel production, from coal, high temperature Fisher-Tropsch operations (ZA): SECUNDA SYNFUEL OPERATIONS: Secunda Synfuels Operations operates the world’s only commercial coal-based synthetic fuels manufacturing facility of its kind, producing synthesis gas (syngas) through coal gasification and natural gas reforming. They make use of their proprietary technology to convert syngas into synthetic fuel components, pipeline gas and chemical feedstock for the downstream production of solvents, polymers, comonomers and other chemicals. Primary internal customers are Sasol Chemicals Operations, Sasol Exploration and Production International and other chemical companies. Carbon is produced for the recarburiser, aluminium, electrode and cathodic production markets. Secunda Synfuels Operations receives coal from five mines in Mpumalanga (see figure attached). After being crushed, the coal is blended to obtain an even quality distribution. Electricity is generated by both steam and gas and used to gasify the coal at a temperature of 1300°C. This produces syngas from which two types of reactor - circulating fluidised bed and Sasol Advanced SynthoTM reactors – produce components for making synthetic fuels as well as a number of downstream chemicals. Gas water and tar oil streams emanating from the gasification process are refined to produce ammonia and various grades of coke respectively. imageUrlTagReplacea79dc0c2-0dda-47ec-94e0-6f076bc8cdb6 SECUNDA CHEMICAL OPERATIONS: The Secunda Chemicals Operations hub forms part of the Southern African Operations and is the consolidation of all the chemical operating facilities in Secunda, along with Site Services activities. The Secunda Chemicals hub produces a diverse range of products that include industrial explosives, fertilisers; polypropylene, ethylene and propylene; solvents (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), ethanol, n-Propanol, iso-propanol, SABUTOL-TM, PROPYLOL-TM, mixed C3 and C4 alcohols, mixed C5 and C6 alcohols, High Purity Ethanol, and Ethyl Acetate) as well as the co-monomers, 1-hexene, 1-pentene and 1-octene and detergent alcohol (SafolTM).
technologyComment of dimethyl carbonate production (RER): Dimethyl carbonate has been historically produced through the reaction of phosgene and methanol. Because of the toxicity of phosgene, a greener route of production has been developed (Tundo and Selva 2002). Today it is mostly produced through the reaction of ethylene or propylene carbonate with methanol. This activity models the production of dimethyl carbonate as the result of the reaction of ethylene carbonate and methanol. Chemical reaction: C3H4O3 + CH3OH -> C3H6O3 + CH2O This inventory representing production of a particular chemical compound is at least partially based on a generic model on the production of chemicals. The data generated by this model have been improved by compound-specific data when available. The model on production of chemicals is using specific industry or literature data wherever possible and more generic data on chemical production processes to fill compound-specific data gaps when necessary. The basic principles of the model have been published in literature (Hischier 2005, Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability). The model has been updated and extended with newly available data from the chemical industry. In the model, unreacted fractions are treated in a waste treatment process, and emissions reported are after a waste treatment process that is included in the scope of this dataset. For volatile reactants, a small level of evaporation is assumed. Solvents and catalysts are mostly recycled in closed-loop systems within the scope of the dataset and reported flows are for losses from this system. The main source of information for the values for heat, electricity, water (process and cooling), nitrogen, chemical factory is industry data from Gendorf. The values are a 5-year average of data (2011 - 2015) published by the Gendorf factory (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2015, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2014, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de). The Gendorf factory is based in Germany, it produces a wide range of chemical substances. The factory produced 1657400 tonnes of chemical substances in the year 2015 (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de) and 740000 tonnes of intermediate products. Reference(s): Hischier, R. (2005) Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability (9 pp). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 59–67. 10.1065/lca2004.10.181.7 Gendorf (2016) Umwelterklärung 2015, Werk Gendorf Industriepark, www.gendorf.de Tundo, P. and Selva, M. 2002. The Chemistry of Dimethyl Carbonate. Acc. Chem. Res. Vol.9, 35, pp. 706–716 For more information on the model please refer to the dedicate ecoinvent report, access it in the Report section of ecoQuery (http://www.ecoinvent.org/login-databases.html) technologyComment of oxidation of methanol (RER): Represents a current cross-section of actual plants in Europe. The inventory is based on 100% formaldehyde production. The inputs and outputs are an average of the Silver and Formox processes. Silver process: Initially, methanol is dehydrogenated and subsequently there is combustion of hydrogen overall resulting in the production of formaldehyde and water. The raction takes place with air over a crystalline silver catalyst. Formox process: Methanol is directly oxidized by air over a metal oxide catalyst at a temperature of 470 °C. excess heat is removed with an oil-transfer medium. The product gases are cooled, absorbed in water, and an aqueous 37% formaldehyde solution is obtained. (Wells, 1999) References: G. Margaret Wells, “Handbook of Petrochemicals and Processes”, 2nd edition, Ashgate, 1999 Althaus H.-J., Chudacoff M., Hischier R., Jungbluth N., Osses M. and Primas A. (2007) Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals. Final report ecoinvent data v2.0 No. 8. Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, CH.
Refers to typical maize starch production in Germany. This technology includes the following manufacturing steps: mechanical separation of impurities; soaking of the maize grains for about 40 hours in 50 °C warm process water; milling of the soaked maize and separation of the germ. The germ is dried and pressed into corn oil; mechanical separation of starch from other components; mechanical desiccation and thermal drying of the extracted starch to obtain a final product with a maximum water content of 14% by weight; evaporation of the process water to obtain the by-products of maize such as gluten and maize-gluten feed. References Würdinger E., Roth U., Wegener A. & Peche R. (2003) Kunststoffe aus Nachwachsenden Rohstoffen: Vergleichende Ökobilanz für Loose-fill-Packmittel aus Stärke bzw. aus Polystyrol". Final report. BIfA, IFEU, Flo-Pak (eds.), Projektförderung: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt; Augsburg, März 2003, 514 p.
Production mix technologyComment of decarboxylative cyclization of adipic acid (RER): decarboxylative cyclization of adipic acid technologyComment of formic acid production, methyl formate route (RER): The worldwide installed capacity for producing formic acid was about 330 000 t/a in 1988. Synthesis of formic acid by hydrolysis of methyl formate is based on a two-stage process: in the first stage, methanol is carbonylated with carbon monoxide; in the second stage, methyl formate is hydrolyzed to formic acid and methanol. The methanol is returned to the first stage. Although the carbonylation of methanol is relatively problem-free and has been carried out industrially for a long time, only recently has the hydrolysis of methyl formate been developed into an economically feasible process. The main problems are associated with work-up of the hydrolysis mixture. Because of the unfavorable position of the equilibrium, reesterification of methanol and formic acid to methyl formate occurs rapidly during the separation of unreacted methyl formate. Problems also arise in the selection of sufficiently corrosion-resistant materials Carbonylation of Methanol In the two processes mentioned, the first stage involves carbonylation of methanol in the liquid phase with carbon monoxide, in the presence of a basic catalyst: imageUrlTagReplacea0ec6e15-92c8-4d44-82bb-84e90e58b171 As a rule, the catalyst is sodium methoxide. Potassium methoxide has also been proposed as a catalyst; it is more soluble in methyl formate and gives a higher reaction rate. Although fairly high pressures were initially preferred, carbonylation is carried out in new plants at lower pressure. Under these conditions, reaction temperature and catalyst concentration must be increased to achieve acceptable conversion. According to published data, ca. 4.5 MPa, 80 °C, and 2.5 wt % sodium methoxide are employed. About 95 % carbon monoxide, but only about 30 % methanol, is converted under these circumstances. Nearly quantitative conversion of methanol to methyl formate can, nevertheless, be achieved by recycling the unreacted methanol. The carbonylation of methanol is an equilibrium reaction. The reaction rate can be raised by increasing the temperature, the carbon monoxide partial pressure, the catalyst concentration, and the interface between gas and liquid. To synthesize methyl formate, gas mixtures with a low proportion of carbon monoxide must first be concentrated. In a side reaction, sodium methoxide reacts with methyl formate to form sodium formate and dimethyl ether, and becomes inactivated. The substances used must be anhydrous; otherwise, sodium formate is precipitated to an increasing extent. Sodium formate is considerably less soluble in methyl formate than in methanol. The risk of encrustation and blockage due to precipitation of sodium formate can be reduced by adding poly(ethylene glycol). The carbon monoxide used must contain only a small amount of carbon dioxide; otherwise, the catalytically inactive carbonate is precipitated. Basic catalysts may reverse the reaction, and methyl formate decomposes into methanol and carbon monoxide. Therefore, undecomposed sodium methoxide in the methyl formate must be neutralized. Hydrolysis of Methyl Formate In the second stage, the methyl formate obtained is hydrolyzed: imageUrlTagReplace2ddc19c0-905f-42c3-b14c-e68332befec9 The equilibrium constant for methyl formate hydrolysis depends on the water: ester ratio. With a molar ratio of 1, the constant is 0.14, but with a water: methyl formate molar ratio of 15, it is 0.24. Because of the unfavorable position of this equilibrium, a large excess of either water or methyl formate must be used to obtain an economically worthwhile methyl formate conversion. If methyl formate and water are used in a molar ratio of 1 : 1, the conversion is only 30 %, but if the molar ratio of water to methyl formate is increased to 5 – 6, the conversion of methyl formate rises to 60 %. However, a dilute aqueous solution of formic acid is obtained this way, and excess water must be removed from the formic acid with the expenditure of as little energy as possible. Another way to overcome the unfavorable position of the equilibrium is to hydrolyze methyl formate in the presence of a tertiary amine, e.g., 1-(n-pentyl)imidazole. The base forms a salt-like compound with formic acid; therefore, the concentration of free formic acid decreases and the hydrolysis equilibrium is shifted in the direction of products. In a subsequent step formic acid can be distilled from the base without decomposition. A two-stage hydrolysis has been suggested, in which a water-soluble formamide is used in the second stage; this forms a salt-like compound with formic acid. It also shifts the equilibrium in the direction of formic acid. To keep undesirable reesterification as low as possible, the time of direct contact between methanol and formic acid must be as short as possible, and separation must be carried out at the lowest possible temperature. Introduction of methyl formate into the lower part of the column in which lower boiling methyl formate and methanol are separated from water and formic acid, has also been suggested. This largely prevents reesterification because of the excess methyl formate present in the critical region of the column. Dehydration of the Hydrolysis Mixture Formic acid is marketed in concentrations exceeding 85 wt %; therefore, dehydration of the hydrolysis mixture is an important step in the production of formic acid from methyl formate. For dehydration, the azeotropic point must be overcome. The concentration of formic acid in the azeotropic mixture increases if distillation is carried out under pressure, but the higher boiling point at high pressure also increases the decomposition rate of formic acid. At the same time, the selection of sufficiently corrosion-resistant materials presents considerable problems. A number of entrainers have been proposed for azeotropic distillation. Reference: Gräfje, H., Körnig, W., Weitz, H.-M., Reiß, W.: Butanediols, Butenediol, and Butynediol, Chapter 1. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Sev-enth Edition, 2004 Electronic Release (ed. Fiedler E., Grossmann G., Kersebohm D., Weiss G. and Witte C.). 7 th Electronic Release Edition. WileyInterScience, New York, Online-Version under: http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/ueic/articles/a04_455/frame.html technologyComment of oxidation of butane (RER): The liquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons is an important process to produce acetic acid, formic acid or methyl acetate. About 43 kg of formic acid is produced per ton of acetic acid. Unreacted hydrocarbons, volatile neutral constituents, and water are separated first from the oxidation product. Formic acid is separated in the next column; azeotropic distillation is generally used for this purpose. The formic acid contains about 2 wt % acetic acid, 5 wt % water, and 3 wt % benzene. Formic acid with a content of about 98 wt % can be produced by further distillation. Reference: Gräfje, H., Körnig, W., Weitz, H.-M., Reiß, W.: Butanediols, Butenediol, and Butynediol, Chapter 1. In: Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Sev-enth Edition, 2004 Electronic Release (ed. Fiedler E., Grossmann G., Kersebohm D., Weiss G. and Witte C.). 7 th Electronic Release Edition. WileyInterScience, New York, Online-Version under: http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/ueic/articles/a04_455/frame.html
technologyComment of gold mine operation and refining (SE): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. HEAP LEACHING: The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: Some types of ore require further processing before gold is recovered. In this case, the slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. References: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp technologyComment of primary lead production from concentrate (GLO): There are two basic pyrometallurgical processes available for the production of lead from lead or mixed lead-zinc-sulphide concentrates: sinter oxidation / blast furnace reduction route or Direct Smelting Reduction Processes. Both processes are followed by a refining step to produce the final product with the required purity, and may also be used for concentrates mixed with secondary raw materials. SINTER OXIDATION / BLAST FURNACE REDUCTION: The sinter oxidation / blast furnace reduction involves two steps: 1) A sintering oxidative roast to remove sulphur with production of PbO; and 2) Blast furnace reduction of the sinter product. The objective of sintering lead concentrates is to remove as much sulphur as possible from the galena and the accompanying iron, zinc, and copper sulphides, while producing lump agglomerate with appropriate properties for subsequent reduction in the blast furnace (a type of a shaft furnace). As raw material feed, lead concentrates are blended with recycled sinter fines, secondary material and other process materials and pelletised in rotating drums. Pellets are fed onto sinter machine and ignited. The burning pellets are conveyed over a series of wind-boxes through which air is blown. Sulphur is oxidised to sulphur dioxide and the reaction generates enough heat to fuse and agglomerate the pellets. Sinter is charged to the blast furnace with metallurgical coke. Air and/or oxygen enriched air is injected and reacts with the coke to produce carbon monoxide. This generates sufficient heat to melt the charge. The gangue content of the furnace charge combines with the added fluxes or reagents to form a slag. For smelting bulk lead-zinc-concentrates and secondary material, frequently the Imperial Smelting Furnace is used. Here, hot sinter and pre-heated coke as well as hot briquettes are charged. Hot air is injected. The reduction of the metal oxides not only produces lead and slag but also zinc, which is volatile at the furnace operating temperature and passes out of the ISF with the furnace off-gases. The gases also contain some cadmium and lead. The furnace gases pass through a splash condenser in which a shower of molten lead quenches them and the metals are absorbed into the liquid lead, the zinc is refined by distillation. DIRECT SMELTING REDUCTION: The Direct Smelting Reduction Process does not carry out the sintering stage separately. Lead sulphide concentrates and secondary materials are charged directly to a furnace and are then melted and oxidised. Sulphur dioxide is formed and is collected, cleaned and converted to sulphuric acid. Carbon (coke or gas) and fluxing agents are added to the molten charge and lead oxide is reduced to lead, a slag is formed. Some zinc and cadmium are “fumed” off in the furnace, their oxides are captured in the abatement plant and recovered. Several processes are used for direct smelting of lead concentrates and some secondary material to produce crude lead and slag. Bath smelting processes are used: the ISA Smelt/Ausmelt furnaces (sometimes in combination with blast furnaces), Kaldo (TBRC) and QSL integrated processes are used in EU and Worldwide. The Kivcet integrated process is also used and is a flash smelting process. The ISA Smelt/Ausmelt furnaces and the QSL take moist, pelletised feed and the Kaldo and Kivcet use dried feed. REFINING: Lead bullion may contain varying amounts of copper, silver, bismuth, antimony, arsenic and tin. Lead recovered from secondary sources may contain similar impurities, but generally antimony and calcium dominate. There are two methods of refining crude lead: electrolytic refining and pyrometallurgical refining. Electrolytic refining uses anodes of de-copperised lead bullion and starter cathodes of pure lead. This is a high-cost process and is used infrequently. A pyrometallurgical refinery consists of a series of kettles, which are indirectly heated by oil or gas. Over a series of separation processes impurities and metal values are separated from the lead bouillon. Overall waste: The production of metals is related to the generation of several by-products, residues and wastes, which are also listed in the European Waste Catalogue (Council Decision 94/3/EEC). The ISF or direct smelting furnaces also are significant sources of solid slag. This slag has been subjected to high temperatures and generally contains low levels of leachable metals, consequently it may be used in construction. Solid residues also arise as the result of the treatment of liquid effluents. The main waste stream is gypsum waste (CaSO4) and metal hydroxides that are produced at the wastewater neutralisation plant. These wastes are considered to be a cross-media effect of these treatment techniques but many are recycled to pyrometallurgical process to recover the metals. Dust or sludge from the treatment of gases are used as raw materials for the production of other metals such as Ge, Ga, In and As, etc or can be returned to the smelter or into the leach circuit for the recovery of lead and zinc. Hg/Se residues arise at the pre-treatment of mercury or selenium streams from the gas cleaning stage. This solid waste stream amounts to approximately 40 - 120 t/y in a typical plant. Hg and Se can be recovered from these residues depending on the market for these metals. Overall emissions: The main emissions to air from zinc and lead production are sulphur dioxide, other sulphur compounds and acid mists; nitrogen oxides and other nitrogen compounds, metals and their compounds; dust; VOC and dioxins. Other pollutants are considered to be of negligible importance for the industry, partly because they are not present in the production process and partly because they are immediately neutralised (e.g. chlorine) or occur in very low concentrations. Emissions are to a large extent bound to dust (except cadmium, arsenic and mercury that can be present in the vapour phase). Metals and their compounds and materials in suspension are the main pollutants emitted to water. The metals concerned are Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, Se, Cu, Ni, As, Co and Cr. Other significant substances are fluorides, chlorides and sulphates. Wastewater from the gas cleaning of the smelter and fluid-bed roasting stages are the most important sources. References: Sutherland C. A., Milner E. F., Kerby R. C., Teindl H. and Melin A. (1997) Lead. In: Ullmann's encyclopedia of industrial chemistry (ed. Anonymous). 5th edition on CD-ROM Edition. Wiley & Sons, London. IPPC (2001) Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC); Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Non Ferrous Metals Industries. European Commission. Retrieved from http://www.jrc.es/pub/english.cgi/ 0/733169 technologyComment of primary zinc production from concentrate (RoW): The technological representativeness of this dataset is considered to be high as smelting methods for zinc are consistent in all regions. Refined zinc produced pyro-metallurgically represents less than 5% of global zinc production and less than 2% of this dataset. Electrometallurgical Smelting The main unit processes for electrometallurgical zinc smelting are roasting, leaching, purification, electrolysis, and melting. In both electrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical zinc production routes, the first step is to remove the sulfur from the concentrate. Roasting or sintering achieves this. The concentrate is heated in a furnace with operating temperature above 900 °C (exothermic, autogenous process) to convert the zinc sulfide to calcine (zinc oxide). Simultaneously, sulfur reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide, which is subsequently converted to sulfuric acid in acid plants, usually located with zinc-smelting facilities. During the leaching process, the calcine is dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid solution (re-circulated back from the electrolysis cells) to produce aqueous zinc sulfate solution. The iron impurities dissolve as well and are precipitated out as jarosite or goethite in the presence of calcine and possibly ammonia. Jarosite and goethite are usually disposed of in tailing ponds. Adding zinc dust to the zinc sulfate solution facilitates purification. The purification of leachate leads to precipitation of cadmium, copper, and cobalt as metals. In electrolysis, the purified solution is electrolyzed between lead alloy anodes and aluminum cathodes. The high-purity zinc deposited on aluminum cathodes is stripped off, dried, melted, and cast into SHG zinc ingots (99.99 % zinc). Pyro-metallurgical Smelting The pyro-metallurgical smelting process is based on the reduction of zinc and lead oxides into metal with carbon in an imperial smelting furnace. The sinter, along with pre-heated coke, is charged from the top of the furnace and injected from below with pre-heated air. This ensures that temperature in the center of the furnace remains in the range of 1000-1500 °C. The coke is converted to carbon monoxide, and zinc and lead oxides are reduced to metallic zinc and lead. The liquid lead bullion is collected at the bottom of the furnace along with other metal impurities (copper, silver, and gold). Zinc in vapor form is collected from the top of the furnace along with other gases. Zinc vapor is then condensed into liquid zinc. The lead and cadmium impurities in zinc bullion are removed through a distillation process. The imperial smelting process is an energy-intensive process and produces zinc of lower purity than the electrometallurgical process. technologyComment of treatment of electronics scrap, metals recovery in copper smelter (SE, RoW): Conversion of Copper in a Kaldo Converter and treatment in converter aisle. technologyComment of treatment of scrap lead acid battery, remelting (RoW): The referred operation uses a shaft furnace with post combustion, which is the usual technology for secondary smelters. technologyComment of treatment of scrap lead acid battery, remelting (RER): The referred operation uses a shaft furnace with post combustion, which is the usual technology for secondary smelters. Typically this technology produces 5000 t / a sulphuric acid (15% concentration), 25’000 t lead bullion (98% Pb), 1200 t / a slags (1% Pb) and 3000 t / a raw lead matte (10% Pb) to be shipped to primary smelters. Overall Pb yield is typically 98.8% at the plant level and 99.8% after reworking the matte. The operation treats junk batteries and plates but also lead cable sheathing, drosses and sludges, leaded glass and balancing weights. From this feed it manufactures mainly antimonial lead up to 10% Sb, calcium-aluminium lead alloys with or without tin and soft lead with low and high copper content. All these products are the result of a refining and alloying step to meet the compliance with the designations desired. The following by products are reused in the process: fine dust, slag, and sulfuric acid. References: Quirijnen L. (1999) How to implement efficient local lead-acid battery recycling. In: Journal of Power Sources, 78(1-2), pp. 267-269.
technologyComment of ammonia production, steam reforming, liquid (RER w/o RU): This datasets corresponds to the technology used in European ammonia plants with natural gas based fuel and feedstock. The most efficient way of ammonia synthesis gas production is natural gas reforming with steam and air. The ammonia production process consists of several steps: desulphurization, primary production, secondary reforming, shift conversion, CO2 removal, methanation, synthesis gas compression and ammonia synthesis. technologyComment of ammonia production, steam reforming, liquid (RU): This datasets corresponds to the technology used in Russian ammonia plants with natural gas based fuel and feedstock. The most efficient way of ammonia synthesis gas production is natural gas reforming with steam and air. The ammonia production process consists of several steps: desulphurization, primary production, secondary reforming, shift conversion, CO2 removal, methanation, synthesis gas compression and ammonia synthesis. technologyComment of cocamide diethanolamine production (RER): Cocamide diethanolamine can be produced from different reaction of diethanolamine with methyl cocoate, coconut oil, whole coconut acids, stripped coconut fatty acids. Cocamide diethanolamine is modelled here as the 1:1 reaction of coconut oil and diethanolamine. The reaction occurs at a maximum temperature of 170 degrees Celcius with the aid of an alkaline catalyst. The catalyst in not consider significant in terms of emissions for the reaction and it is therefore not included in this dataset and it is assumed to be taken into consideration in the input of chemical factory. The production process can also be a 1:2 fatty acids reaction. This results in a lower quality product with output of free diethanolamine and ethylene glycol (Elbers 2013). Coconut oil composition varies, here it assumed an average composition CH3(CH2)12CONH2. This inventory representing production of a particular chemical compound is at least partially based on a generic model on the production of chemicals. The data generated by this model have been improved by compound-specific data when available. The model on production of chemicals is using specific industry or literature data wherever possible and more generic data on chemical production processes to fill compound-specific data gaps when necessary. The basic principles of the model have been published in literature (Hischier 2005, Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability). The model has been updated and extended with newly available data from the chemical industry. In the model, unreacted fractions are treated in a waste treatment process, and emissions reported are after a waste treatment process that is included in the scope of this dataset. For volatile reactants, a small level of evaporation is assumed. Solvents and catalysts are mostly recycled in closed-loop systems within the scope of the dataset and reported flows are for losses from this system. The main source of information for the values for heat, electricity, water (process and cooling), nitrogen, chemical factory is industry data from Gendorf. The values are a 5-year average of data (2011 - 2015) published by the Gendorf factory (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2015, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2014, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de). The Gendorf factory is based in Germany, it produces a wide range of chemical substances. The factory produced 1657400 tonnes of chemical substances in the year 2015 (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de) and 740000 tonnes of intermediate products. Reference(s): Hischier, R. (2005) Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability (9 pp). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 59–67. 10.1065/lca2004.10.181.7 Gendorf (2016) Umwelterklärung 2015, Werk Gendorf Industriepark, www.gendorf.de Elbers, E. 2013. Some Chemicals Present in Industrial and Consumer Products, Food and Drinking-water. In IARC MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF CARCINOGENIC RISKS TO HUMANS, Vol.101, pp.141-148 WHO Press, Geneva. For more information on the model please refer to the dedicate ecoinvent report, access it in the Report section of ecoQuery (http://www.ecoinvent.org/login-databases.html)
technologyComment of styrene production (RoW): Styrene is mainly produced by the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EBS process) and via ethylbenzene hydroperoxide (POSM process) with propylene oxide as a by-product (James and Castor 2011). This dataset reflects only the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EBS). Close to the entire production of ethylbenzene is produced via the alkylation of ethylene and benzene (Welch et al. 2005). This production route has been used since the mid-nineties (James and Castor 2011). Chemical reaction: C6H6 + C2H4 -> C8H10 C8H10 -> C8H8 + H2 The reaction from ethylbenzene to styrene is reversible. The reaction is endothermic with a heat delta of 600 degrees Celcius and 124.0 kJ/mol (James and Castor 2011). The production of styrene is mostly performed (ca. 75% of production), by running ethylbenzene (the input includes recycled ethylbenzene) through subsequent reactors / reactors beds. Steam is used to dehydrogenate the input product. Steam has been found to ensure a high yield, provide the necessary conditions for the reaction to happen and at the same time cleaning the used catalyst (James and Castor 2011). The use of a catalyst boosts the efficiency of the reaction, otherwise low temperature and low pressure are enough to ensure the reaction but with lower yield. Usual reaction conditions are 620 degrees Celsius combined with very low pressure, this ensures a yield between 88 and 95% (James and Castor 2011). According to James and Castor (2011) one of the most used catalyst for this reaction is composed by 84.3% iron (Fe2O3), 2.4% chromium (Cr2O3), and 13.3% potassium (K2CO3) (James and Castor 2011). The average lifespan of catalysts for this reaction is assumed to be 2 years (James and Castor 2011). The catalyst in not consider significant in terms of emissions for the reaction and it is therefore not included in this dataset and it is assumed to be taken into consideration in the input of chemical factory. The main source of information for the values for water (process and cooling), nitrogen and chemical factory is industry data from Gendorf. The values are a 5-year average of data (2011 - 2015) published by the Gendorf factory (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2015, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2014, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de). The Gendorf factory is based in Germany, it produces a wide range of chemical substances. The factory produced 1657400 tonnes of chemical substances in the year 2015 (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de) and 740000 tonnes of intermediate products. Reference(s): Hischier, R. (2005) Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability (9 pp). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 59–67. 10.1065/lca2004.10.181.7 Gendorf (2016) Umwelterklärung 2015, Werk Gendorf Industriepark, www.gendorf.de James, D.H. and Castor, W.M. 2011. Styrene. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Electronic Release, Vol.34, pp.529-544. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Welch, V.A. et al. 2005. Ethylbenzene. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Electronic Release, Vol.13, pp.451-464. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. technologyComment of styrene production (RER): Styrene is mainly produced by the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EBS process) and via ethylbenzene hydroperoxide (POSM process) with propylene oxide as a by-product (James and Castor 2011). This dataset reflects only the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EBS). Close to the entire production of ethylbenzene is produced via the alkylation of ethylene and benzene (Welch et al. 2005). This production route has been used since the mid-nineties (James and Castor 2011). Chemical reaction: C6H6 + C2H4 -> C8H10 C8H10 -> C8H8 + H2 The reaction from ethylbenzene to styrene is reversible. The reaction is endothermic with a heat delta of 600 degrees Celcius and 124.0 kJ/mol (James and Castor 2011). The production of styrene is mostly performed (ca. 75% of production), by running ethylbenzene (the input includes recycled ethylbenzene) through subsequent reactors / reactors beds. Steam is used to dehydrogenate the input product. Steam has been found to ensure a high yield, provide the necessary conditions for the reaction to happen and at the same time cleaning the used catalyst (James and Castor 2011). The use of a catalyst boosts the efficiency of the reaction, otherwise low temperature and low pressure are enough to ensure the reaction but with lower yield. Usual reaction conditions are 620 degrees Celsius combined with very low pressure, this ensures a yield between 88 and 95% (James and Castor 2011). According to James and Castor (2011) one of the most used catalyst for this reaction is composed by 84.3% iron (Fe2O3), 2.4% chromium (Cr2O3), and 13.3% potassium (K2CO3) (James and Castor 2011). The average lifespan of catalysts for this reaction is assumed to be 2 years (James and Castor 2011). The catalyst in not consider significant in terms of emissions for the reaction and it is therefore not included in this dataset and it is assumed to be taken into consideration in the input of chemical factory. The main source of information for the values for water (process and cooling), nitrogen and chemical factory is industry data from Gendorf. The values are a 5-year average of data (2011 - 2015) published by the Gendorf factory (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2015, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de), (Gendorf, 2014, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de). The Gendorf factory is based in Germany, it produces a wide range of chemical substances. The factory produced 1657400 tonnes of chemical substances in the year 2015 (Gendorf, 2016, Umwelterklärung, www.gendorf.de) and 740000 tonnes of intermediate products. Reference(s): Hischier, R. (2005) Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability (9 pp). The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 59–67. 10.1065/lca2004.10.181.7 Gendorf (2016) Umwelterklärung 2015, Werk Gendorf Industriepark, www.gendorf.de James, D.H. and Castor, W.M. 2011. Styrene. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Electronic Release, Vol.34, pp.529-544. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Welch, V.A. et al. 2005. Ethylbenzene. In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Electronic Release, Vol.13, pp.451-464. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Certain data points from a company survey by PlasticsEurope (three companies and four production sites).
technologyComment of gold mine operation and refining (SE): OPEN PIT MINING: The ore is mined in four steps: drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. In the case of a surface mine, a pattern of holes is drilled in the pit and filled with explosives. The explosives are detonated in order to break up the ground so large shovels or front-end loaders can load it into haul trucks. ORE AND WASTE HAULAGE: The haul trucks transport the ore to various areas for processing. The grade and type of ore determine the processing method used. Higher-grade ores are taken to a mill. Lower grade ores are taken to leach pads. Some ores may be stockpiled for later processing. HEAP LEACHING: The ore is crushed or placed directly on lined leach pads where a dilute cyanide solution is applied to the surface of the heap. The solution percolates down through the ore, where it leaches the gold and flows to a central collection location. The solution is recovered in this closed system. The pregnant leach solution is fed to electrowinning cells and undergoes the same steps as described below from Electro-winning. ORE PROCESSING: Milling: The ore is fed into a series of grinding mills where steel balls grind the ore to a fine slurry or powder. Oxidization and leaching: Some types of ore require further processing before gold is recovered. In this case, the slurry is pressure-oxidized in an autoclave before going to the leaching tanks or a dry powder is fed through a roaster in which it is oxidized using heat before being sent to the leaching tanks as a slurry. The slurry is thickened and runs through a series of leaching tanks. The gold in the slurry adheres to carbon in the tanks. Stripping: The carbon is then moved into a stripping vessel where the gold is removed from the carbon by pumping a hot caustic solution through the carbon. The carbon is later recycled. Electro-winning: The gold-bearing solution is pumped through electro-winning cells or through a zinc precipitation circuit where the gold is recovered from the solution. Smelting: The gold is then melted in a furnace at about 1’064°C and poured into moulds, creating doré bars. Doré bars are unrefined gold bullion bars containing between 60% and 95% gold. References: Newmont (2004) How gold is mined. Newmont. Retrieved from http://www.newmont.com/en/gold/howmined/index.asp technologyComment of primary zinc production from concentrate (CA-QC): Hydrometallurgical process Sulphide concentrates are roasted first in fluidized bed roasters to produce zinc oxide (calcine) and sulphur dioxide. Roasting is an exothermic process and no additional fuel is used to sustain the reaction, the heat generated is recovered to produce steam. Calcine is then sent to the leaching step. Roaster gases are treated in hot electrostatics precipitators to remove dust. The remaining dust and volatile metals such as mercury and selenium are removed in the wet section of the acid plant through a cooling tour, a mist precipitator and a mercury tower (Boliden mercury removal processs). The sulphur dioxide is then converted to sulphuric acid in a conventional recovery system (converted and absorbing tower). Leaching of the calcine is carried out in a number of successive stages using a gradually increasing strength of hot sulphuric acid. The initial stages dissolve the major part of the zinc oxide and the other stages dissolve the zinc ferrite (ZnO.Fe2O3) and convert iron into Jarosite (sodium Jarosite). Zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) entering the electrolysis stage produce electrolyte (H2SO4) that is returned to leaching plant. Other metals are also dissolved during the process and are removed after leaching. Iron is the major impurity, which is precipitated in the form of Jarosite. Overall waste: The production of metals is related to the generation of several by-products, residues and wastes. Relatively large quantities of iron based solids, depending on the iron content, are generated by the leaching process (6.14E-1 kg Jarosite/kg zinc). Cement is added to the Jarosite to produce Jarofix (an inert waste). Solid residues also arise as the result of the liquid effluents treatment. The main waste stream is gypsum (CaSO4) and metal hydroxides that are produced at the wastewater neutralization plant. Mercury and selenium residues arise from the weak acid bleed treatment from the acid plant. Selenium can be recovered from these residues depending on the market demand for this metal. Overall emissions: The emissions to air can either be stack emissions or fugitive emissions. Stack emissions are normally monitored continuously (SO2) or periodically (other emissions) and reported. The main emissions to air from zinc production are sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matters including metals. Main emissions to water are metals and their compounds. The monitored metals are zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, copper and arsenic. technologyComment of primary zinc production from concentrate (RoW): The technological representativeness of this dataset is considered to be high as smelting methods for zinc are consistent in all regions. Refined zinc produced pyro-metallurgically represents less than 5% of global zinc production and less than 2% of this dataset. Electrometallurgical Smelting The main unit processes for electrometallurgical zinc smelting are roasting, leaching, purification, electrolysis, and melting. In both electrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical zinc production routes, the first step is to remove the sulfur from the concentrate. Roasting or sintering achieves this. The concentrate is heated in a furnace with operating temperature above 900 °C (exothermic, autogenous process) to convert the zinc sulfide to calcine (zinc oxide). Simultaneously, sulfur reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide, which is subsequently converted to sulfuric acid in acid plants, usually located with zinc-smelting facilities. During the leaching process, the calcine is dissolved in dilute sulfuric acid solution (re-circulated back from the electrolysis cells) to produce aqueous zinc sulfate solution. The iron impurities dissolve as well and are precipitated out as jarosite or goethite in the presence of calcine and possibly ammonia. Jarosite and goethite are usually disposed of in tailing ponds. Adding zinc dust to the zinc sulfate solution facilitates purification. The purification of leachate leads to precipitation of cadmium, copper, and cobalt as metals. In electrolysis, the purified solution is electrolyzed between lead alloy anodes and aluminum cathodes. The high-purity zinc deposited on aluminum cathodes is stripped off, dried, melted, and cast into SHG zinc ingots (99.99 % zinc). Pyro-metallurgical Smelting The pyro-metallurgical smelting process is based on the reduction of zinc and lead oxides into metal with carbon in an imperial smelting furnace. The sinter, along with pre-heated coke, is charged from the top of the furnace and injected from below with pre-heated air. This ensures that temperature in the center of the furnace remains in the range of 1000-1500 °C. The coke is converted to carbon monoxide, and zinc and lead oxides are reduced to metallic zinc and lead. The liquid lead bullion is collected at the bottom of the furnace along with other metal impurities (copper, silver, and gold). Zinc in vapor form is collected from the top of the furnace along with other gases. Zinc vapor is then condensed into liquid zinc. The lead and cadmium impurities in zinc bullion are removed through a distillation process. The imperial smelting process is an energy-intensive process and produces zinc of lower purity than the electrometallurgical process.
technologyComment of platinum group metal mine operation, ore with high palladium content (RU): imageUrlTagReplace6250302f-4c86-4605-a56f-03197a7811f2 technologyComment of platinum group metal, extraction and refinery operations (ZA): The ores from the different ore bodies are processed in concentrators where a PGM concentrate is produced with a tailing by product. The PGM base metal concentrate product from the different concentrators processing the different ores are blended during the smelting phase to balance the sulphur content in the final matte product. Smelter operators also carry out toll smelting from third part concentrators. The smelter product is send to the Base metal refinery where the PGMs are separated from the Base Metals. Precious metal refinery is carried out on PGM concentrate from the Base metal refinery to split the PGMs into individual metal products. Water analyses measurements for Anglo Platinum obtained from literature (Slatter et.al, 2009). Mudd, G., 2010. Platinum group metals: a unique case study in the sustainability of mineral resources, in: The 4th International Platinum Conference, Platinum in Transition “Boom or Bust.” Water share between MC and EC from Mudd (2010). Mudd, G., 2010. Platinum group metals: a unique case study in the sustainability of mineral resources, in: The 4th International Platinum Conference, Platinum in Transition “Boom or Bust.” technologyComment of treatment of automobile catalyst (RoW): After collection and transportation to the intermediary dealer, the scrap is ground in a mill. The resulting material is fed to specialised refineries. The metallurgical step consists of an arc-furnace. Same refining process as in primary production assumed (selective precipitation) technologyComment of treatment of automobile catalyst (RER): The production process consists of three steps: Collection, Beneficiation and Refining. COLLECTION: Spoiled automotive catalysts are bought by specialised enterprises from different origins. Part of it originates from scrap dealer recycling end-of-life cars. Further more during the cars operating phase, defective catalysts are exchanged in garages. The third sources is the production waste, i. e. defective catalysts which do not reach market. In most cases, there are fix agreements between the different supplier and the intermediary trade. Although the trade with PGM containing scrap is risky. Motor car manufacturer built up their own internal recycling systems with their contractor garages and gained access to exchanged catalysts. Emissions: Emissions during collection are gases from transportation and dust from dismantling. Also in this step the combustion leads to emissions of SO2. No serious water emissions are reported. BENEFICIATION: The catalysts are dismantled and then sold to refining companies. Refineries too have long-term contracts with the intermediary trade. Emissions: Emissions during beneficiation are gases from transportation and dust from dismantling. Also in this step the combustion leads to emissions of SO2. No serious water emissions are reported. REFINING: The scrap first is shredded and then pyrometallurgicaly processed: The scrap is smelted in an electric arc furnace, and the ceramic wafer is slagged. The PGMs are concentrated in the collector metal, usually copper. Low-content PGM scrap is often smelted together with other non-ferrous metal matte. This is cheap, but effects a high loss in PGM. The collector matte from the furnace then is treated hydrometallurgically by re-precipitation. In this step usually production scrap from other industries (glass, chemical laboratories) is joined. The overall PGM-yield is 98 % for platinum and 85 % for rhodium. Emissions: Dust and metals are generally emitted from incinerators and furnaces. VOC can be emitted from solvent extraction processes, while organic compounds, namely dioxins, can be emitted from smelting stages resulting from the poor combustion of oil and plastic in the feed material. All these emissions are subject to abatement technologies and controlling. Effluents from refining contain considerable amounts of metals and organic substances. Waste: Solid residues from pyrometallurgical step are usually re-used in copper facilities, final residues generally comprise hydroxide filter cakes. References: Hagelücken C. (2001b) Die Märkte der Katalysatormetalle Platin, Palladium und Rhodium. In: Autoabgaskatalysatoren, Vol. 612. pp. 95-115. Expert Verlag, Renningen. Online-Version under: http://www.dmc-2.de/pmc_eng/Veroeffentlichungen_2/Die%20M%C3%A4rkte%20der%20Katalysatormetalle%20Pt%20Pd%20Rh.pdf. technologyComment of treatment of precious metal from electronics scrap, in anode slime, precious metal extraction (SE, RoW): Anode slime treatment by pressure leaching and top blown rotary converter. Production of Silver by Möbius Electrolysis, Gold by Wohlwill electrolysis, Palladium to further processing
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