Sustainability Assessment of Chemical Processes: Evaluation of Three Synthesis Routes of DMC

Table 2

The assessed reaction routes for DMC production.

Route A: direct synthesis from carbon dioxide and methanol
CO2 + 2CH3OH (CH3O)2CO + H2O
Route B: transesterification of methanol and propylene carbonate using ionic liquid (IL) as a catalyst
C3H6O + CO2 C4H6O3
C4H6O3 + 2CH3OH (CH3O)2CO + C3H8O2
Route C: oxidative carbonylation of methanol (ENiChem)
2CH3OH + 1/2O2 + CO (CH3O)2CO + H2O