The "Synthesis of p-methoxyacetophenone from anisole" using scandium triflate as catalyst is an experiment of medium difficulty, which gives the product only in low yield and with acceptable selectivity. The purity of the end product is very high.

The mass efficiency is average when compared to that of the other NOP experiments. Thus we evaluate it as good enough. . The energy efficiency is quite low. This is largely caused by the energy-consuming recycling of the catalyst. (The recycling of the catalyst needs almost 6 times as much energy as the rest of the experiment.)

(Eco)toxicological data for the educt anisole, the product p-methoxyacetophenone and the proven by-product o-methoxyacetophenone are incomplete. Experimental research on chronic toxicity is missing for these substances, but theoretical prediction methods do not suggest possible chronic toxicity . In the case of the catalyst scandium triflate neither toxicological nor ecotoxicological data are available. An evaluation of the hazard potential of this salt by theoretical methods is not possible. The second educt acetic anhydride is a dangerous substance because of it's corrosive properties, but appropriate safety precautions can minimize this hazard effectively. However, the solvent nitromethane is of low acute toxicity but shows carcinogenic potential (the classification by the EU and thus also the hazard assessment according to the effect factor model does not yet reflect this). The extraction solvent tert-butyl methyl ether does not pose a significant risk to human health . Elution solvents used in thin layer chromatography, acetic acid ethyl ester and n-heptane are both of low acute toxicity.

Both educts and producte in this experiment are biologically easily degradable substances, which also exhibit only low or medium toxicity to aquatic organisms . The solvents used like nitromethane and acetic acid ethyl ester are only slightly toxic to aquatic organisms and biologically easily degradable. The solvents tert-butyl methyl ether and n-heptane in contrast are not readily biologically degradable and have been classified as dangerous to the environment. The ecotoxicity of scandium triflate cannot be assessed.

Summed up we evaluate this experiment with a quite low economic efficiency and low, but partly unknown (eco)toxicological risks with the "yellow light".