scholarly journals Economic and Environmental Assessment of Catalytic and Thermal Pyrolysis Routes for Fuel Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1612
Author(s):  
Akshay D. Patel ◽  
Masoud Zabeti ◽  
K. Seshan ◽  
Martin K. Patel
Keyword(s):  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
World Population ◽  
Abatement Costs ◽  
Thermal Pyrolysis ◽  
Production Route ◽  
Trade Offs

Meeting the transport needs of a growing world population makes it imperative to develop renewable and sustainable routes to production of liquid fuels. With a market-driven economic structure and pressing environmental issues, it is essential that these new routes provide environmental benefits while being economically viable. Conversion of second-generation lignocellulosic biomass resources to fuels via pyrolysis represents an important technological route. In this article, we report comparative assessment of the economic and lifecycle environmental aspects for catalytic and thermal pyrolysis. The goal of this assessment is two-fold: one is to understand the potential of this conversion route via the catalytic and thermal processes and second is to provide feedback for further development of catalysts for various stages of this conversion. The complete assessment is interdisciplinary in nature and connects the laboratory experiments with contextual sustainability assessment. Three catalytic and one thermal pyrolysis processes are analyzed using this assessment approach. Subject to the model choices and data inputs, the results, which consider quality of the oil product, show that biofuels produced using catalytic and thermal routes are rather expensive compared to gasoline. But at the same time, they provide significant greenhouse gas emission savings and can lead to lower CO2 abatement costs compared to the first-generation ethanol that is used currently. With one of the product scenarios of hydrotreated (HT) oil, the abatements costs are estimated to be 51% of those associated with first-generation ethanol. Additional product scenarios with developments in catalysts show potential to further reduce abatement costs significantly to below 100 EUR per metric tonne of CO2 equivalents. Using scenario analysis, the results help us to understand specific areas for development of novel catalysts. At the same time, the results demonstrate the trade-offs associated with the variety and complexity of technical factors associated with the pyrolysis routes. The study highlights the challenges and the promises of catalytic and thermal pyrolysis for production of high-quality biofuels produced via a sustainable production route.

scholarly journals A review on bioethanol production using lignocellulosic biomass

2021 ◽  
pp. 189-203
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Transportation Fuels ◽  
Density Values ◽  
Lignocellulosic Fuel

Declining supplies of fossil fuels, increasing population, global industrialization, and demand for transportation fuels have triggered an increase in the demand for renewable energy sources. To address such problems most of the green research in recent years has focused on the development of bioethanol (23 MJ/L) as a substitute to conventional gasoline (34.3 MJ/L) based fuels owing to the similarity in energy density values in addition to several other advantages (American Council on renewable energy, 2010). Second-generation biofuels are derived from lignocellulosic biomass or woody crops, mostly coming from agricultural residues. Extraction of fuel from such biomass is difficult because of their recalcitrant nature (corn stover, rice straw, wheat straw, sugar cane, and sweet sorghum). Lignocellulosic fuel has the potential to solve several problems (food competing with fuel) that are currently associated with first-generation biofuels. Moreover, lignocellulosic fuels can supply a larger proportion of the global fuel leading to sustainability at a lower cost, and with greater environmental benefits (Liz Marsall, 2009). The production of ethanol from the complex sugars in leaves and stalks is a promising strategy to radically broaden the range of possible ethanol feedstock.

scholarly journals Challenges in bioethanol production: Utilization of cotton fabrics as a feedstock

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Nikolic ◽  
Jelena Pejin ◽  
Ljiljana Mojovic
Keyword(s):  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Fermentation Process ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Cotton Fabrics ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Bioethanol Production ◽  
Renewable Fuel ◽  
Renewable Feedstocks

Bioethanol, as a clean and renewable fuel with its major environmental benefits, represents a promising biofuel today which is mostly used in combination with gasoline. It can be produced from different kinds of renewable feedstocks. Whereas the first generation of processes (saccharide-based) have been well documented and are largely applied, the second and third generation of bioethanol processes (cellulose- or algae-based) need further research and development since bioethanol yields are still too low to be economically viable. In this study, the possibilities of bioethanol production from cotton fabrics as valuable cellulosic raw material were investigated and presented. Potential lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production and their characteristics, especially cotton-based materials, were analyzed. Available lignocellulosic biomass, the production of textile and clothing and potential for sustainable bioethanol production in Serbia is presented. The progress possibilities are discussed in the domain of different pretreatment methods, optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis and different ethanol fermentation process modes.

scholarly journals Strategies to Improve the Energy Performance of Buildings: A Review of Their Life Cycle Impact

Buildings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia MIRABELLA ◽  
Martin RÖCK ◽  
Marcella Ruschi Mendes SAADE ◽  
Carolin SPIRINCKX ◽  
Marc BOSMANS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Operational Energy

Globally, the building sector is responsible for more than 40% of energy use and it contributes approximately 30% of the global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This high contribution stimulates research and policies to reduce the operational energy use and related GHG emissions of buildings. However, the environmental impacts of buildings can extend wide beyond the operational phase, and the portion of impacts related to the embodied energy of the building becomes relatively more important in low energy buildings. Therefore, the goal of the research is gaining insights into the environmental impacts of various building strategies for energy efficiency requirements compared to the life cycle environmental impacts of the whole building. The goal is to detect and investigate existing trade-offs in current approaches and solutions proposed by the research community. A literature review is driven by six fundamental and specific research questions (RQs), and performed based on two main tasks: (i) selection of literature studies, and (ii) critical analysis of the selected studies in line with the RQs. A final sample of 59 papers and 178 case studies has been collected, and key criteria are systematically analysed in a matrix. The study reveals that the high heterogeneity of the case studies makes it difficult to compare these in a straightforward way, but it allows to provide an overview of current methodological challenges and research gaps. Furthermore, the most complete studies provide valuable insights in the environmental benefits of the identified energy performance strategies over the building life cycle, but also shows the risk of burden shifting if only operational energy use is focused on, or when a limited number of environmental impact categories are assessed.

scholarly journals Bio-Based Products

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39
Author(s):  
Simone Wurster ◽  
Luana Ladu ◽  
Dhandy Arisaktiwardhana
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Biobased Products ◽  
Type I ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Expert Consultation ◽  
Automotive Components ◽  
Mulch Film

Communicating the related environmental benefits of bio-based products to consumers represents a key component of their market uptake. In this regard, the use of ecolabels ISO 14024 Type I play a crucial role. This article identifies and analyzes different criteria proposed by ecolabels for conducting a sustainability assessment of bio-based products considering its entire lifecycle. A comparison of the selected criteria with existing indicators ruled out by the SDGs is proposed. Through expert consultation, the suitability of existing ecolabel criteria for bio-based products has been tested for four applications of biobased products: food packaging from PLA; biobased automotive components; bio-based mulch film; and bio-based insulation material.

Water-Energy-Food Nexus Review for Biofuels Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-205
Author(s):  
Abass A. Gazal ◽  
Napat Jakrawatana ◽  
Thapat Silalertruksa ◽  
Shabbir H. Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Basic Human Needs

The appropriate use of limited natural resources for generating basic human needs such as energy, food, and water, is essential to help the society function efficiently. Hence, a new approach called nexus is being considered to resolve the effects of intrinsic trade-offs between the essential needs. A review of different methods and frameworks of the water-energy-food nexus was done in this article to give a detailed repository of information on existing approaches and advocate the development of a more holistic quantitative nexus method. Assessing biofuels under the water-energy-food nexus perspective, this review addresses the sustainability of bioenergy production. The results show the countries that can sustainably produce first-generation biofuels. Only a few methods have varied interdisciplinary procedures to analyse the nexus, and more analytical software and data on resource availability/use are needed to address trade-offs between these interacting resource sectors constituting the nexus. Also, “land” is suggested as an additional sector to consider in future studies using both the nexus index and life cycle assessment methodology. The review reveals that to tackle composite challenges related to resource management, cross-disciplinary methods are essential to integrate environmental, socio-political facets of water, energy, and food; employ collaborative frameworks; and seek the engagement of decision-makers.

Bio-Based Products

2022 ◽  
pp. 316-334
Author(s):  
Simone Wurster ◽  
Luana Ladu ◽  
Dhandy Arisaktiwardhana
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Biobased Products ◽  
Type I ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Expert Consultation ◽  
Automotive Components ◽  
Mulch Film

Communicating the related environmental benefits of bio-based products to consumers represents a key component of their market uptake. In this regard, the use of ecolabels ISO 14024 Type I play a crucial role. This article identifies and analyzes different criteria proposed by ecolabels for conducting a sustainability assessment of bio-based products considering its entire lifecycle. A comparison of the selected criteria with existing indicators ruled out by the SDGs is proposed. Through expert consultation, the suitability of existing ecolabel criteria for bio-based products has been tested for four applications of biobased products: food packaging from PLA; biobased automotive components; bio-based mulch film; and bio-based insulation material.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment of Using Recycled Aggregates in Concrete Block Pavements

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Simon Beecham ◽  
Asif Iqbal ◽  
Md Rajibul Karim ◽  
Abu Taher Zillur Rabbi
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Concrete Block ◽  
Empirical Method ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Traffic Load ◽  
Recycled Aggregates ◽  
Financial Benefit ◽  
Base Materials ◽  
Material Stiffness ◽  
Base Course

The mechanistic design of a concrete block pavement (CBP) can be very complicated and often requires the use of computer programs. This paper presents a new mechanistic-empirical method, which is implemented in a computer program (DesignPave) that calculates base course/sub-base thicknesses for a range of design inputs such as traffic load, interlocking properties, and material stiffness. A range of virgin and recycled unbound granular materials were also experimentally tested to characterize them for possible use as base course or sub-base materials. Combining the new mechanistic-empirical method and the range of base course/sub-base course materials (virgin and recycled aggregates), it was found that while a CBP containing recycled aggregates did not offer a significant direct financial benefit based on the characteristics or material costs, the associated environmental benefits were very high.

scholarly journals Multi-Criteria Decision Making for Sustainability and Value Assessment in Early PSS Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Bertoni
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Value Assessment ◽  
A Value ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Product Service ◽  
Multiple Case

Sustainability is increasingly recognized as a key innovation capability in the organization. However, it is not always evident for manufacturers how sustainability targets shall be “mixed and matched” with more traditional objectives—such as quality, time, cost, and performances—when designing and developing solutions. The emergence of “servitization” and product-service systems (PSS) further emphasizes the need for making thoughtful trade-offs between technical aspects, business strategies, and environmental benefits of a design. The objective of this paper is to investigate how multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) models shall be applied to down-select PSS concepts from a value perspective, by considering sustainability as one of the attributes of a design contributing to the overall value of a solution. Emerging from the findings of a multiple case study in the aerospace and construction sector, the paper presents a five-step iterative process to support decision making for sustainable PSS design, which was further applied to design an electrical load carrier. The findings show that the proposed approach creates a “hub” where argumentations related to “value” and “sustainability” of PSS solution concepts can be systematically captured in a way that supports the discussion on the appropriate quantification strategy.

scholarly journals Collaborating constructively for sustainable biotechnology

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Matthews ◽  
Carrie A. Cizauskas ◽  
Donovan S. Layton ◽  
Laurence Stamford ◽  
Philip Shapira
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Analytical Approaches

AbstractTackling the pressing sustainability needs of society will require the development and application of new technologies. Biotechnology, emboldened by recent advances in synthetic biology, offers to generate sustainable biologically-based routes to chemicals and materials as alternatives to fossil-derived incumbents. Yet, the sustainability potential of biotechnology is not without trade-offs. Here, we probe this capacity for sustainability for the case of bio-based nylon using both deliberative and analytical approaches within a framework of Constructive Sustainability Assessment. We highlight the potential for life cycle CO2 and N2O savings with bio-based processes, but report mixed results in other environmental and social impact categories. Importantly, we demonstrate how this knowledge can be generated collaboratively and constructively within companies at an early stage to anticipate consequences and to inform the modification of designs and applications. Application of the approach demonstrated here provides an avenue for technological actors to better understand and become responsive to the sustainability implications of their products, systems and actions.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Biomass Gasification and Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis Integrated to Sugarcane Biorefineries

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jéssica Marcon Bressanin ◽  
Bruno Colling Klein ◽  
Mateus Ferreira Chagas ◽  
Marcos Djun Barbosa Watanabe ◽  
Isabelle Lobo de Mesquita Sampaio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Biomass Gasification ◽  
Tropsch Synthesis ◽  
Fischer Tropsch ◽  
Fischer Tropsch Synthesis ◽  
Energy Cane ◽  
Thermochemical Processes ◽  
Economic Analyses

Large-scale deployment of both biochemical and thermochemical routes for advanced biofuels production is seen as a key climate change mitigation option. This study addresses techno-economic and environmental aspects of advanced liquid biofuels production alternatives via biomass gasification and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis integrated to a typical sugarcane distillery. The thermochemical route comprises the conversion of the residual lignocellulosic fraction of conventional sugarcane (bagasse and straw), together with eucalyptus and energy-cane as emerging lignocellulosic biomass options. This work promotes an integrated framework to simulate the mass and energy balances of process alternatives and incorporates techno-economic analyses and sustainability assessment methods based on a life-cycle perspective. Results show that integrated biorefineries provide greenhouse gas emission reduction between 85–95% compared to the fossil equivalent, higher than that expected from a typical sugarcane biorefinery. When considering avoided emissions by cultivated area, biorefinery scenarios processing energy-cane are favored, however at lower economic performance. Thermochemical processes may take advantage of the integration with the typical sugarcane mills and novel biofuels policies (e.g., RenovaBio) to mitigate some of the risks linked to the implementation of new biofuel technologies.

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