Open Access

Lars Breitung, Sandra Breitung, Sven Grätz, Nicolas Krahn, Victor Marcus Oldhues, Harikumar Shastry Barkur

• Mechanochemical synthesis is frequently identified as a sustainable alternative to solvent-based methods, yet empirical data regarding the energy consumption of various milling platforms remains scarce. This study provides an assessment of the electrical power demand and chemical productivity across five distinct milling modes: vibratory, planetary, media-free, high-energy, and disc milling. We demonstrate that manufacturer reported power specifications consistently overestimate actual operational demand by up to a factor of 3.1x which can lead to inaccuracies in sustainability metrics. Through the investigation of two diagnostic probe reactions, we observed that power consumption is primarily determined by the mechanical inertia and frequency of the hardware-the platform's "Energy Fingerprint"-with the internal chemical payload exerting a negligible effect. The results show that increasing operational frequency beyond a certain threshold results in disproportionately high energy consumption relative to the incremental gains inMechanochemical synthesis is frequently identified as a sustainable alternative to solvent-based methods, yet empirical data regarding the energy consumption of various milling platforms remains scarce. This study provides an assessment of the electrical power demand and chemical productivity across five distinct milling modes: vibratory, planetary, media-free, high-energy, and disc milling. We demonstrate that manufacturer reported power specifications consistently overestimate actual operational demand by up to a factor of 3.1x which can lead to inaccuracies in sustainability metrics. Through the investigation of two diagnostic probe reactions, we observed that power consumption is primarily determined by the mechanical inertia and frequency of the hardware-the platform's "Energy Fingerprint"-with the internal chemical payload exerting a negligible effect. The results show that increasing operational frequency beyond a certain threshold results in disproportionately high energy consumption relative to the incremental gains in chemical yield. By integrating yield and measured power into an energetic return metric (mmol/kWh), we compare the efficiency of different platforms at the laboratory scale. Furthermore, we observe that the fixed electrical overhead of high-capacity hardware, such as disc and planetary mills, becomes more efficient as reaction volumes increase. This work provides a standardized framework of measured energy values, enabling more accurate Life Cycle Assessments and supporting the optimization of mechanochemical processes for industrial applications.…