Biorefinery development, techno-economic evaluation and environmental impact analysis for the conversion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste into succinic acid and value-added fractions.

The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was used for biorefinery development within a circular bioeconomy context towards extraction of lipids/fats and proteins with 100% and 68% recovery yields, respectively, as well as succinic acid (SA) production. A nutrient-rich hydrolysate (89.1 g/L sugars) produced using crude enzymes derived via solid state fermentation of Aspergillus awamori, was employed in Actinobacillus succinogenes fermentation leading to 31.7 gSA/L with 0.68 g/g yield and 0.67 g/L/h productivity. The SA minimum selling price ($1.13-2.39/kgSA) considering 60,000 tSA/year production varied depending on co-product market prices and OFMSW management fees. The biorefinery using 1000 kg OFMSW contributes 35% lower CO2 emissions than conventional processes for the production of 105 kg vegetable oil, 87 kg vegetable protein and 206.4 kg fossil-SA considering also the CO2 emissions due to OFMSW landfilling. The proposed OFMSW biorefinery leads to cost-competitive SA production with lower CO2 emissions for OFMSW treatment.

Techno-economic risk assessment, life cycle analysis and life cycle costing for poly(butylene succinate) and poly(lactic acid) production using renewable resources.

The sustainable production of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) from corn glucose syrup, corn stover and sugar beet pulp (SBP) have been assessed via process design, preliminary techno-economic evaluation, life cycle assessment and life cycle costing (LCC). Cost-competitive PLA and PBS production can be achieved in a SBP-based biorefinery, including separation of crude pectin-rich extract as co-product, leading to minimum selling prices of $1.14/kgPLA and $1.37/kgPBS. Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential and Human Toxicity Potential are lower when SBP is used. The LCC of PLA ($1.42/kgPLA) and PBS ($1.72/kgPBS) production from SBP are lower than biaxial oriented polypropylene (BOPP, $1.66/kg) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS, $2.04/kg) at pectin-rich extract market prices of $3/kg and $4/kg, respectively. Techno-economic risk assessment via Monte-Carlo simulations showed that PLA and PBS could be produced from SBP at the market prices of BOPP ($1.4/kg) and GPPS ($1.72/kg) with 100% probability to achieve a positive Net Present Value at pectin-rich extract market prices of $3/kg and $4/kg, respectively. This study demonstrated that SBP-based biorefinery development ensures sustainable production of PLA and PBS as compared to fossil-derived counterparts and single product bioprocesses using glucose syrup and corn stover.

Techno-economic evaluation and life cycle assessment of a biorefinery using winery waste streams for the production of succinic acid and value-added co-products.

This study presents techno-economic evaluation and life cycle assessment of a novel biorefinery using the three main waste streams generated by wineries for the production of bio-based succinic acid (SA), crude phenolic-rich extract, grape-seed oil, calcium tartrate and crude tannin-rich extract. Process design has been employed for the estimation of material and energy balances and the sizing of unit operations. The Minimum Selling Price of succinic acid production within a winery waste biorefinery ranges from $1.23-2.76/kgSA depending on the market price and the potential end-uses of the extracted fractions. The Global Warming Potential and the Abiotic Depletion Potential of winery waste valorisation through the proposed biorefinery are 1.47 kg CO2-eq per kg dry waste and 25.2 MJ per kg dry waste, respectively. Biorefining of winery waste could lead to the development of a sustainable and novel bioeconomy business model with new market opportunities and efficient waste management.

Techno-economic evaluation and life-cycle assessment of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production within a biorefinery concept using sunflower-based biodiesel industry by-products.

This study presents techno-economic evaluation of a biorefinery concept using biodiesel industry by-products (sunflower meal and crude glycerol) to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), crude phenolic extracts (CPE) and protein isolate (PI). The PHB production cost at two annual production capacities ($12.5/kg for 2,500 t PHB/year and $7.8/kg for 25,000 t PHB/year) was not cost-competitive to current PHB production processes when the revenues derived from co-products were not considered. Sensitivity analysis projected the economic viability of a biorefinery concept that could achieve a minimum selling price of $1.1/kg PHB similar to polypropylene. The annual PHB production capacity and the identification of marketable end-uses with respective market prices for the co-products CPE and PI were crucial in attaining process profitability. Greenhouse gas emissions (ca. 0.64 kg CO2-eq/kg PHB) and abiotic depletion potential (61.7 MJ/kg PHB) were lower than polypropylene. Biorefining of sunflower meal and crude glycerol could lead to sustainable PHB production.

Sustainable production of bio-based chemicals and polymers via integrated biomass refining and bioprocessing in a circular bioeconomy context.

The sustainable production of bio-based chemicals and polymers is highly dependent on the development of viable biorefinery concepts using crude renewable resources for the production of diversified products. Within this concept, this critical review presents the availability of fractionated co-products and fermentable sugars that could be derived from major industrial and food supply chain side streams in EU countries. Fermentable sugars could be used for the production of bio-based chemicals and polymers. The implementation of biorefinery concepts in industry should depend on the evaluation of process efficiency and sustainability including techno-economic, environmental and social impact assessment following circular bioeconomy principles. Relevant sustainability indicators and End-of-Life scenarios have been presented. A case study on the techno-economic evaluation of bio-based succinic acid production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste has been presented focusing on the evaluation of process profitability and feedstock requirements.