substance

Formic acid

Formula: CH2O2
CAS: 64-18-6
InChIKey: BDAGIHXWWSANSR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
ChEBI: CHEBI:30751

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Made by

Formic acid 85 wt% by methanol carbonylation and methyl formate hydrolysis (50 kt/a)Main productConcept · not reviewed

Used by

No process in the Atlas uses this yet.

When a process with this chemical is added to the library, it appears here.

Takes part in

C₂H₄O₂+H₂Oin equilibrium withCH₂O₂+CH₄OProduct · one process

Routes compared

One route in the Atlas makes Formic acid: nothing to compare yet. A comparison appears when a second route is added.

Per 1 kg of Formic acid: inventory from each route's LCI dataset, unallocated; footprints per the functional unit of their own LCA.

Route	Tier, design maturity, review status	Geography, year	Energy	Feedstocks	Key emissions	Footprint	Comparability
Formic acid 85 wt% by methanol carbonylation and methyl formate hydrolysis (50 kt/a)Methanol carbonylation over sodium methoxide (353 K, 4.5 MPa), methyl formate hydrolysis autocatalysed by formic acid (393 K), methyl formate and methanol recycle, pressure-swing distillation (203 / 12 kPa(a)) to 85 wt%; CO-rich vent burnt; 6.25 t/h	flowsheet or hand-writtenDesign maturity: Concept (research)Not independently reviewedDataset review: unreviewed	GLO, 2026	Electric power: 0.0843 kWh Low-pressure steam (450 kPa(a), saturated): 4.46 kWh	Carbon monoxide (from a syngas cold box outside the boundary): 0.568 kg Methanol make-up (methanol-1): 0.0125 kg Sodium methoxide 30 wt% in methanol: 0.00232 kg Process water (demineralised): 0.483 kg Combustion air: 0.235 kg (free)	CO to the environment: 0.0000449 kg CO2 to the environment: 0.0724 kg MEOH to the environment: 0.000000318 kg MF to the environment: 0.000000982 kg	not published	–

ISO 14044 requires a critical review (by a panel of interested parties, ISO/TS 14071) of a comparative assertion intended to be disclosed to the public. These routes are listed side by side for screening; a statement that one is better than another needs that review. None of these routes has had such a review.