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Despite the emergence of eco-friendly solvents and scalable methods for polymeric membrane fabrication, studies on the impacts of solvent synthesis and manufacturing scale-up have not been conducted. To this end, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was developed with the goal of determining the global environmental and health impacts of producing polysulfone (PSf) membranes with the solvents PolarClean and γ-valerolactone (GVL) via doctor blade extrusion (DBE) and slot die coating (SDC). Along with PolarClean and GVL, dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N-methyl-2-pyyrolidone (NMP) were included in the LCA as conventional solvents for comparison. The dope solution viscosity had a major influence on the material inventories; to produce a normalized membrane unit on a surface area basis, a larger quantity of PSf-PolarClean-GVL materials was required due to its high viscosity. The life cycle impact assessment found electricity and PolarClean to be major contributing parameters to multiple impact categories during membrane fabrication. The commercial synthesis route of PolarClean selected in this study required hazardous materials derived from petrochemicals, which increased its impact on membrane fabrication. Due to more materials being required to fabricate membranes via SDC to account for tool fluid priming, the PSf-PolarClean-GVL membrane fabricated via SDC exhibited the highest impacts. The amount of electricity and concentration of PolarClean were the most sensitive parameters according to Spearman’s rank coefficient analysis. A scenario analysis in which the regional energy grid was substituted found that using the Swedish grid, which comprises far more renewable technologies than the global and US energy grids, significantly lowered impacts in most categories. Despite the reported eco-friendly benefits of using PolarClean and GVL as alternatives to conventional organic solvents, the results in this study provide a wider perspective of membrane fabrication process impacts, highlighting that upstream impacts can counterbalance the beneficial properties of alternative materials. 

Next-generation polymeric membranes must be derived from more environmentally friendly materials that have similar solubility and miscibility properties as their predecessors to form permeable and selective membranes. Bio-derived polymers, recycled plastics, and eco-friendly solvents have been demonstrated to produce membranes with similar permeability and selectivity as conventional counterparts, though matching membrane durability and cost-effectiveness remain as future research challenges. Slot die coating and 3D printing have been demonstrated to show the scalability of membrane fabrication. Life cycle assessments have become valuable tools in estimating the total environmental impacts of the manufacturing process and characterizing the sustainability of new materials. Recent advances have shortened the gap between materials innovation research and commercial application.