Abstract
For a new carbonylation technology using ionic liquid as catalyst to produce DMC (dimethyl carbonate) and EG (ethylene glycol) by CO2 and EO (ethylene oxide), ROI (Return on Investment) was chosen to evaluate the economic efficiency with the raw material and product price fluctuation. Meanwhile, ROI can be helpful to select suitable catalysts as a reasonable economic assessment method. Based on tech-economic analysis, inherent safety assessment was performed using the combination chemical safety index relying on physical properties and process safety index relying on operating condition. Finally, when conflicts with economic and safety metrics were observed, a new approach compromising the economic efficiency and safety to determine profitable mole ratio of ethanol to ethylene carbonate is presented based on SWROI.
