LCA of 1,4-Butanediol Produced via Direct Fermentation of Sugars from Wheat Straw Feedstock within a Territorial Biorefinery.

Annachiara Forte,Amalia Zucaro,Angelo Fierro,Riccardo Basosi

doi:10.3390/ma9070563

Annachiara Forte, Amalia Zucaro + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9070563

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Jul 12, 2016
Citations: 58	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Naples Federico II, University of Siena

Abstract

The bio-based industrial sector has been recognized by the European Union as a priority area toward sustainability, however, the environmental profile of bio-based products needs to be further addressed. This study investigated, through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, the environmental performance of bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO) produced via direct fermentation of sugars from wheat straw, within a hypothetical regional biorefinery (Campania Region, Southern Italy). The aim was: (i) to identify the hotspots along the production chain; and (ii) to assess the potential environmental benefits of this bio-based polymer versus the reference conventional product (fossil-based BDO). Results identified the prevailing contribution to the total environmental load of bio-based BDO in the feedstock production and in the heat requirement at the biorefinery plant. The modeled industrial bio-based BDO supply chain, showed a general reduction of the environmental impacts compared to the fossil-based BDO. The lowest benefits were gained in terms of acidification and eutrophication, due to the environmental load of the crop phase for feedstock cultivation.

Highlights

In the last decades global policy decisions have been orienting toward sustainable strategies aiming to: (i) reduce fossil fuel dependency and linked environmental impacts; and (ii) generate new economy
The interpretation includes a critical reflection about the study, through sensitivity check and/or parameters on the evaluated impact categories, both an uncertainty analysis and a sensitivity check uncertainty analysis related to representativeness of input data and adequacy of methodological were carried out
On the whole, observed variance mostly came from the uncertainty linked to the foreground input of additional heat and lignocellulosic feedstock conversion at the biorefinery plant, in their turn affected by the range of BDO recovery efficiency through C5 and C6 sugars co-fermentation

Summary

Introduction

In the last decades global policy decisions have been orienting toward sustainable strategies aiming to: (i) reduce fossil fuel dependency and linked environmental impacts; and (ii) generate new economy. As it relates to the latter key point, i.e., “the sustainable products”, the EU has recognized the bio-based sector as a priority area with high potential for: Sustainable economy (lower dependency on fossil fuels), future growth, re-industrialization and societal challenges [8]. Industrial sectors are increasingly involved in developing environmentally-friendly supply chains from renewable feedstocks, through substitution and energetic implementation of traditional petroleum-based routes still dominating our overall standard of living [9,10,11,12,13]. To this end, the bio-based materials, entirely or partlyproduced from biological feedstocks, such as food

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