Sustainability assessment of suspension PVC production proces

In this work, a sustainability performance assessment of the industrial-scale suspension PVC production process was carried out through an integrated approach that considers representative aspects of sustainability’s dimensions. This process is characterized by high efficiency and flexibility; however, it faces several challenges, ranging from intensive resource consumption to significant environmental impacts, among others. Previous studies have addressed these issues individually; however, these criteria have not been examined collectively, including the social dimension. Therefore, the Sustainable Weighted Return on Investment (SWROIM) metric was employed, along with a sensitivity analysis, to identify critical aspects. The analyzed process produces 418,000 tons of PVC per year, previously studied by the authors. The return on investment (% ROI), potential environmental impact (PEI per day), exergetic efficiency (%), total inherent safety index (ITI), and social performance index were used as indicators. The results showed that the PVC process has good economic and energy performance, with an ROI of 14% and an exergetic efficiency of 79%, but moderate safety (34), environmental performance (6,340 PEI/day), and social performance (51%). The metric indicated that the process has a good return on investment when considering sustainability aspects, with a value of 54%. It is reasonable to assume that the process exhibits positive sustainability performance but with room for improvement. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the environmental indicator is the most critical factor, with a low contribution compared to the other indicators. Finally, it is recommended to rigorously establish the weighting factors of the metric to more accurately reflect the actual relevance of the criteria studied.