The supercritical antisolvent precipitation from a sustainable perspective: A Life Cycle Assessment

The life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/prednisolone (PDS) powders obtained by supercritical antisolvent (SAS) precipitation was performed to direct the production with a view to greater environmental sustainability. A 180 mg tablet containing the therapeutic dose of PDS (30 mg) was chosen as the functional unit, to which the emissions to air, water, and soil were reported. The analysis conducted with the aid of the SimaPro 9.1.1 software using primary data obtained by an Italian processor showed that the steps most impacting the environmental categories under study are the stabilization of the operating conditions, the injection step, and the washing step. An improved scenario aimed at lowering the impacts of these steps without altering the product was proposed, and a reduction of the global impact equal to 85.8 % is attainable.

Automated summary

This study conducted a life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of producing PVP/PDS powders by supercritical antisolvent precipitation. The analysis identified the stabilizing of operating conditions, injection step, and washing step as the most impactful processes on the environment. An improved scenario was proposed to reduce the global impact by 85.8%.