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Introduction: In the gas fractionation unit of Cienfuegos refinery, the production of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Stable Light Virgin Naphtha are produced with the highest possible quality. However, this process residual does not have the appropriate treatment yet, so waste disposal regulations are not met. Objetive: To evaluate the sustainability of gas fractionation unit process at Refinería Cienfuegos S.A through an emergent analysis. Materials y Methods: During the research development, the emergy methodology developed by (Odum, 1996) was applied making it some adjustments Results y Discussion: It was determined that 57.75% of fractionation process depends on economy materials and 42.25% is based on natural resources. The transformability of LPG (such as 1.4984 E+13 seJ/J) and that of NVLE (such as 9.0531 E+12 seJ/J) was quantified, demonstrating with these results a sulfur products correct removal; this fractionation system particularization has special relevance for emergy studies replication in similar processes in the country. The index of emergent sustainability (ESI) calculated was 1.21 which indicates that the process is not sustainable in the long term, but it contribute to local development. Conclusions: Therefore, the system must be restructured to improve its efficiency and allow efficient resources use, in addition to proposing possible alternatives that can contribute to better system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Environmental protection has become an important factor in the performance indicators of modern industries due to the growing demand for more sustainable manufacturing processes. Considering the accelerated urbanization process in Cuba, the construction materials industry is of special interest, especially the production of aggregates, which, in addition to the pressure to which it is subjected, has suffered decades of exploitation. Objective: To analyze the potential environmental impacts of different aggregate production schemes in Cuba, taking as a case study the El Canal factory located in Cienfuegos province. Materials and Methods: Emergy analysis was used for its ability to evaluate the influence of different types of resources on the economic system. Results and Discussion: The production process of the El Canal factory can be improved through different technological changes, with the most suitable being the introduction of hydrocyclone plants in the classification process, as it mitigates environmental impacts with a considerably lower emergy investment. Conclusions: Although the aggregate production process has a moderate economic impact, it is not sustainable in the long term (ESI=0.0011) as it incurs marked environmental impacts due to the intensive use of non-renewable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]