Eco-Environmental Analysis of Different Routes for the Synthesis of MIL-53(Fe): An Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Approaches

MIL-53(Fe) is a highly efficientnanomaterial with considerableapplication in environmental engineering. Numerous research studieshave been conducted on the synthesis methods, characteristics, andapplications of MIL-53(Fe); however, the environmental impact andeconomics of its synthesis routes have not yet been investigated.In this study, to assess the potential and unintended environmentalimpacts of MIL-53(Fe) production, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment(LCA) was applied to the five synthesis routes of MIL-53(Fe) production.The LCA-ReCiPe2016 model was adopted in SimaPro, and in a joint manner,an analysis of the life cycle costing (LCC) was carried out in thesame program to evaluate the internal and external costs for the economicaspects. The interpretation of results at the midpoint level with18 indicators illustrated that the biggest impacts (more than 70%)come from dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol (EtOH) usage, respectively,for the synthesis and washing stages, and a higher solvent requirementillustrated more considerable environmental impacts. The endpoint-basedLCA evaluation also shows that the usage of DMF and EtOH is connectedto the highest damage to human health (80.3-88.2%). Materialscosts (& SIM;98.5%) are the largest contributor to the LCC, whileexternal environmental costs (& SIM;1.5%) are the lowest contributor.Therefore, it can be concluded that the production scenarios usingenvironmentally friendly reagents/solvents like water help to reduceboth the adverse effects on the environment and the internal and externalcosts. In this case, route 5 would be the most suitable method forproducing MIL-53(Fe) owing to its simplicity and the lowest environmentalimpact and cost. The integrated method of LCA and LCC developed inthis study paves a way for the eco-design of MIL-53(Fe). The modelframework can be expanded further to test greener solvents and reusethem in production processes. Inthis study, a cradle-to-gate LCA as well as LCC of fiveMIL-53(Fe) synthesis routes has been conducted.