As the focus of process synthesis

reaction path synthesis plays a key role in reducing environmental impact of processes and improving process safety.In this paper

the current status of research in reaction path synthesis is reviewed

especially the synthesis techniques involving environment and safety.The implementation process of such techniques is presented

and their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed.Several important reaction path synthesis methods are evaluated.Three areas of future research on reaction path synthesis are proposed as follows.To achieve inherent safety of reaction path by integrating strategies with inherent safety

based on existing reaction path synthesis methods.To obtain multi-objective optimal solution of reaction path by applying multi-objective optimization methods.To integrate reaction paths with minimum impact on environment from the global perspective of processes system

application research and realization of reaction path synthesis focusing on minimizing environmental impact is of great practical significance.