Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that has great potential in reducing energy consumption, environmental burdens, and operational risks of chemical production. However, large-scale applications of AI are still limited. One barrier is the lack of quantitative understandings of the potential benefits and risks of different AI applications. This study reviewed relevant AI literature and categorized those case studies by application types, impact categories, and application modes. Most studies assessed the energy, economic, and safety implications of AI applications, while few of them have evaluated the environmental impacts of AI, given the large data gaps and difficulties in choosing appropriate assessment methods. Based on the reviewed case studies in the chemical industry, we proposed a conceptual framework that encompasses approaches from industrial ecology, economics, and engineering to guide the selection of performance indicators and evaluation methods for a holistic assessment of AI's impacts. This framework could be a valuable tool to support the decision-making related to AI in the fundamental research and practical production of chemicals. Although this study focuses on the chemical industry, the insights of the literature review and the proposed framework could be applied to AI applications in other industries and broad industrial ecology fields. In the end, this study highlights future research directions for addressing the data challenges in assessing AI's impacts and developing AI-enhanced tools to support the sustainable development of the chemical industry.
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This content will become publicly available on June 7, 2025
Models for Decarbonization in the Chemical Industry
Various technologies and strategies have been proposed to decarbonize the chemical industry. Assessing the decarbonization, environmental, and economic implications of these technologies and strategies is critical to identifying pathways to a more sustainable industrial future. This study reviews recent advancements and integration of systems analysis models, including process analysis, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and machine learning. These models are categorized based on analytical methods and application scales (i.e., micro-, meso-, and macroscale) for promising decarbonization technologies (e.g., carbon capture, storage, and utilization, biomass feedstock, and electrification) and circular economy strategies. Incorporating forward-looking, data-driven approaches into existing models allows for optimizing complex industrial systems and assessing future impacts. Although advances in industrial ecology–, economic-, and planetary boundary–based modeling support a more holistic systems-level assessment, more effects are needed to consider impacts on ecosystems. Effective applications of these advanced, integrated models require cross-disciplinary collaborations across chemical engineering, industrial ecology, and economics.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Volume 15 is June 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2038439
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10497632
- Publisher / Repository:
- Annual Reviews
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1947-5438
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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