Sustainability Assessment during Early Stage Chemical Process Design: Comparing Two Different Methods of Synthesizing Noroxymorphone

Assessing the sustainability of chemical processes in terms of environmental, economic, and social aspects, especially during the early stages of development, is crucial to designing sustainable manufacturing routes. In this study, we compared the sustainability performance of an electrochemical route for synthesizing noroxymorphone, an intermediate in the synthesis of opioid antagonists, with that of a conventional process. For that purpose, we followed the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework of the European Commission and applied selected sustainability indicators from the literature. Compared to the conventional procedure, the electrochemical process has the potential to offer advantages in all three dimensions of sustainability, primarily due to the lower environmental impacts of the employed reagents in the upstream supply chain and their reduced hazards during the production process. Furthermore, it was found that further steering the electrochemical process toward sustainability is possible by optimizing the solvents and reducing the use of hazardous reagents.

Comparative early stage sustainability assessment of an electrochemical flow process and a conventional route for the synthesis of noroxymorphone.