scholarly journals Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Different Pretreatment and Product Separation Technologies for Butanol Bioprocessing from Oil Palm Frond

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazira Mahmud ◽  
Kurt A. Rosentrater
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Downstream Processing ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Butanol Production ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Anhydrous Ammonia ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuel ◽  
Product Separation

Environmental impact assessment is a crucial aspect of biofuels production to ensure that the process generates emissions within the designated limits. In typical cellulosic biofuel production process, the pretreatment and downstream processing stages were reported to require a high amount of chemicals and energy, thus generating high emissions. Cellulosic butanol production while using low moisture anhydrous ammonia (LMAA) pretreatment was expected to have a low chemical, water, and energy footprint, especially when the process was combined with more efficient downstream processing technologies. In this study, the quantification of environmental impact potentials from cellulosic butanol production plants was conducted with modeled different pretreatment and product separation approaches. The results have shown that LMAA pretreatment possessed a potential for commercialization by having low energy requirements when compared to the other modeled pretreatments. With high safety measures that reduce the possibility of anhydrous ammonia leaking to the air, LMAA pretreatment resulted in GWP of 5.72 kg CO2 eq./L butanol, ecotoxicity potential of 2.84 × 10−6 CTU eco/L butanol, and eutrophication potential of 0.011 kg N eq./L butanol. The lowest energy requirement in biobutanol production (19.43 MJ/L), as well as better life-cycle energy metrics performances (NEV of 24.69 MJ/L and NER of 2.27) and environmental impacts potentials (GWP of 3.92 kg N eq./L butanol and ecotoxicity potential of 2.14 × 10−4 CTU eco/L butanol), were recorded when the LMAA pretreatment was combined with the membrane pervaporation process in the product separation stage.

scholarly journals A Life Cycle Assessment of Biomass Production from Energy Crops in Crop Rotation Using Different Tillage System

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6978
Author(s):  
Anna Vatsanidou ◽  
Christos Kavalaris ◽  
Spyros Fountas ◽  
Nikolaos Katsoulas ◽  
Theofanis Gemtos
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Energy Crops ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Cotton Crop ◽  
Tillage Practices

A three-year experiment was carried out in Central Greece to assess the use of different tillage practices (Conventional, Reduced, and No tillage) for seedbed preparation, in a double cropping per year rotation of irrigated and rainfed energy crops for biomass production for first- and second-generation biofuel production. A life cycle assessment (LCA) study was performed for the first year of crop rotation to evaluate the environmental impact of using different tillage practices, identifying the processes with greater influence on the overall environmental burden (hotspots) and demonstrating the potential environmental benefits from the land management change. LCA results revealed that fertilizer application and diesel fuel consumption, as well as their production stages, were the hot-spot processes for each treatment. In the present study, different tillage treatments compared using mass- and area-based functional unit (FU), revealing that reduced tillage, using strip tillage for spring crop and disc harrow for winter crops, and no tillage treatment had the best environmental performance, respectively. Comparison between the prevailing in the area monoculture cotton crop with the proposed double energy crop rotation adopting conservation tillage practices, using mass and energy value FU, showed that cotton crop had higher environmental impact.

scholarly journals Comparison of acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation and ethanol catalytic upgrading as pathways for butanol production: A techno-economic and environmental assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1384-1399
Author(s):  
Estefanny Carmona-Garcia ◽  
Paula Andrea Marín-Valencia ◽  
Juan Camilo Solarte-Toro ◽  
Konstantinos Moustakas ◽  
Carlos Ariel Cardona-Alzate
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Fermentation Process ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Abe Fermentation ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Butanol Production ◽  
Catalytic Upgrading ◽  
Acetone Butanol Ethanol

Butanol is an important compound used as a building block for producing value-added products and an energy carrier. The main butanol production pathways are conventional acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation and catalytic upgrading of ethanol. On the other hand, the application of biomass as a promising substrate for biofuel production has been widely considered recently. However, few studies have compared different butanol production pathways using biomass as raw material. In light of that, the present work aims (i) to provide a short review of the catalytic ethanol upgrading and (ii) to compare conventional ABE fermentation and catalytic ethanol upgrading processes from the economic and environmental perspectives. Aspen Plus v9.0 was used to simulate both processes. The economic and environmental assessments were carried out considering the Colombian economic context, a gate-to-gate approach, and single impact categories. Considering a processing scale of 1000 ton/d, the conventional ABE fermentation process presented a more favorable technical, economic, and environmental performance for butanol production from biomass. It also offered lower net energy consumption (i.e., 57.9 GJ/ton of butanol) and higher butanol production (i.e., 2.59 ton/h). Nevertheless, the proposed processing scale was insufficient to reach economic feasibility for both processes. To overcome this challenge, the minimum processing scale had to be higher than 1584 ton/d and 1920 ton/d for conventional ABE fermentation and catalytic ethanol upgrading, respectively. Another critical factor in enhancing the economic feasibility of both butanol production pathways was the minimum selling price of butanol. More specifically, prices higher than 1.56 USD/kg and 1.80 USD/kg would be required for conventional ABE fermentation and catalytic ethanol upgrading, respectively. From the environmental impact point of view, the conventional ABE fermentation process led to a lower potential environmental impact than catalytic ethanol upgrading (0.12 PEI/kg vs. 0.18 PEI/kg, respectively).

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Electrochemical Upgrading of CO2 to Fuels and Feedstocks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shariful Nabil ◽  
Sean McCoy ◽  
Md Kibria
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Liquid Product ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Product Separation ◽  
One Step

<p>Development of electrochemical pathways to convert CO<sub>2</sub> into fuels and feedstock is rapidly progressing over the past decade. Here we present a comparative cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of one and two-step electrochemical conversion of CO<sub>2 </sub>to eight major value-added products; wherein we consider CO<sub>2</sub> capture, conversion and product separation in our process model. We measure the carbon intensity (i.e., global warming impact) of one and two-step electrochemical routes with its counterparts – thermochemical CO<sub>2</sub> utilization and fossil-fuel based conventional synthesis routes for those same products. Despite inevitable carbonate formation in one-step CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis, this analysis reveals one-step electrosynthesis would be equally compelling (through the lens of climate benefits) as compared to two-step route. This analysis further reveals that the carbon intensity of electrosynthesis products is due to significant energy requirement for the conversion (70-80% for gas products) and product separation (40-85% for liquid products) phases. Electrochemical route is highly sensitive to the electricity emission factor and is compelling only when coupled with electricity with low emission intensity (<0.25 kg CO<sub>2</sub>e/kWh). As the technology advances, we identify the near-term products that would provide climate benefits over fossil-based routes, including syngas, ethylene and n-propanol. We further identify technological goals required for electrochemical route to be competitive, notably achieving liquid product concentration >20 wt%. It is our hope that this analysis will guide the CO<sub>2</sub> electrosynthesis community to target achieving these technological goals, such that when coupled with low-carbon electricity, electrochemical route would bring climate benefits in near future. </p>

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Electrochemical Upgrading of CO2 to Fuels and Feedstocks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shariful Nabil ◽  
Sean McCoy ◽  
Md Kibria
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Liquid Product ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Product Separation ◽  
One Step

<p>Development of electrochemical pathways to convert CO<sub>2</sub> into fuels and feedstock is rapidly progressing over the past decade. Here we present a comparative cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) of one and two-step electrochemical conversion of CO<sub>2 </sub>to eight major value-added products; wherein we consider CO<sub>2</sub> capture, conversion and product separation in our process model. We measure the carbon intensity (i.e., global warming impact) of one and two-step electrochemical routes with its counterparts – thermochemical CO<sub>2</sub> utilization and fossil-fuel based conventional synthesis routes for those same products. Despite inevitable carbonate formation in one-step CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis, this analysis reveals one-step electrosynthesis would be equally compelling (through the lens of climate benefits) as compared to two-step route. This analysis further reveals that the carbon intensity of electrosynthesis products is due to significant energy requirement for the conversion (70-80% for gas products) and product separation (40-85% for liquid products) phases. Electrochemical route is highly sensitive to the electricity emission factor and is compelling only when coupled with electricity with low emission intensity (<0.25 kg CO<sub>2</sub>e/kWh). As the technology advances, we identify the near-term products that would provide climate benefits over fossil-based routes, including syngas, ethylene and n-propanol. We further identify technological goals required for electrochemical route to be competitive, notably achieving liquid product concentration >20 wt%. It is our hope that this analysis will guide the CO<sub>2</sub> electrosynthesis community to target achieving these technological goals, such that when coupled with low-carbon electricity, electrochemical route would bring climate benefits in near future. </p>

Industrial Metabolism

2010 ◽  
pp. 16-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J.D. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Process Chain ◽  
Industrial Metabolism ◽  
Gross Energy

This chapter introduces the concept of quantitative physical flow analysis, known as industrial metabolism, which is a basis for modeling the environmental impact of products in the course of their lifecycles. This also includes a discussion of the reverse product-process chain, which includes reuse and recycling. Apart from transformation of materials, also transformation of energy is discussed. This is followed by the introduction of gross energy requirement. After this, the life-cycle assessment method is explained. After this, a section on available types of software is presented, followed by some examples from practice that illustrate the value of quantitative modeling. Finally, some future trends are discussed and a conclusion is given.

scholarly journals Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas and Water Intensity of Cellulosic Biofuel Production Using Cholinium Lysinate Ionic Liquid Pretreatment

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 10176-10185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binod Neupane ◽  
N. V. S. N. Murthy Konda ◽  
Seema Singh ◽  
Blake A. Simmons ◽  
Corinne D. Scown
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Liquid ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Ionic Liquid Pretreatment ◽  
Cellulosic Biofuel ◽  
Water Intensity

Excellent environmental performance of beet sugar production in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
pp. 161-165
Author(s):  
Bertram de Crom ◽  
Jasper Scholten ◽  
Janjoris van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Cane Sugar ◽  
Sugar Production ◽  
Beet Sugar ◽  
Glucose Syrup

To get more insight in the environmental performance of the Suiker Unie beet sugar, Blonk Consultants performed a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on beet sugar, cane sugar and glucose syrup. The system boundaries of the sugar life cycle are set from cradle to regional storage at the Dutch market. For this study 8 different scenarios were evaluated. The first scenario is the actual sugar production at Suiker Unie. Scenario 2 until 7 are different cane sugar scenarios (different countries of origin, surplus electricity production and pre-harvest burning of leaves are considered). Scenario 8 concerns the glucose syrup scenario. An important factor in the environmental impact of 1kg of sugar is the sugar yield per ha. Total sugar yield per ha differs from 9t/ha sugar for sugarcane to 15t/ha sugar for sugar beet (in 2017). Main conclusion is that the production of beet sugar at Suiker Unie has in general a lower impact on climate change, fine particulate matter, land use and water consumption, compared to cane sugar production (in Brazil and India) and glucose syrup. The impact of cane sugar production on climate change and water consumption is highly dependent on the country of origin, especially when land use change is taken into account. The environmental impact of sugar production is highly dependent on the co-production of bioenergy, both for beet and cane sugar.

Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheila Almeida ◽  
Philippe Loubet ◽  
Tamíris Pacheco da Costa ◽  
Paula Quinteiro ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Supply Chains

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electrical Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

Life cycle assessment of peach transportation considering trade-off between food loss and environmental impact

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuma Sasaki ◽  
Takahiro Orikasa ◽  
Nobutaka Nakamura ◽  
Kiyotada Hayashi ◽  
Yoshihito Yasaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Food Loss
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