EcoScale, a semi- quantitative tool to select an organic preparation based on economical and ecological parameters

• Koen Van Aken,
• Lucjan Strekowski and
• Luc Patiny

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2006, 2, No. 3, doi:10.1186/1860-5397-2-3

• not take into account the nature and environmental impact of the generated waste. In order to arrive at a more meaningful prediction, the E-factor is multiplied by a environmentally hazardous quotient Q. For example, a Q value of 1 can be attributed to NaCl, while heavy metals can be assigned a value

• new products are fully characterized. Finally, one should never forget that the combination of certain individual compounds can create a hazardous situation (e.g. exothermic reaction between acids and bases). For assessing these hazards, a wide variety of information is readily available, such as the