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21To attend the growing consumer demand for novel ready-to-eat fresh cut fruits packaging polylactic acid 22 (PLA)-based active packaging was realized. The aim of these packaging is to provide an improved 23 protection and even to extend their shelf-life. PLA-based active packaging was prepared by adding 24 nanoclays and surfactants in its formulation. The evaluation of PLA-nanocomposite packaging was done 25 in comparison to pristine PLA and conventional plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, PET) using fresh-26 cut melons. Physicochemical properties were investigated by the means of weight loss, visual 27 appearance, pH, colour, and firmness. In addition, microbial profile was tested via microbiological 28 assays. In order to evaluate the environmental impact of PLA-based active packaging compared to 29 commonly used PET, life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted. In terms of physicochemical and 30 antimicrobial properties, the results clearly showed that the presence of nanoclays and surfactants in the 31 PLA formulations improved their performance, thus contributing to bring the characteristic and 32 behaviour of PLA packages close to those of PET. Furthermore, assessment of life cycle environmental 33 impacts indicated that PLA packaging with nanoclays had the highest environmental performance. 34 35 Buckley et al. 2007).41Fresh-cut fruits respond to the demand for such healthy and easy products. Procedures such as cutting 42 and peeling expose the surface of the fruit to air and contaminants while also causing mechanical damage 43 to the cells which make the fruit more perishable (Ramos et al. 2013). As consumers tend to select fruit 44 products primarily based on their colour and appearance, fresh-cut fruits must indeed look fresh in order 45 to attract the attention of consumers (Barrett et al. 2010). Such delicate products require much from the 46 packaging. Studies conducted by Grönman et al. (2013) and Silvenius et al. (2014) have revealed that 47 the environmental impacts of the food are of a higher concern when compared to the product-packaging 48 system. Governments and customers have put much focus on the environmental impacts of the packaging 49 (Williams et al. 2008). 50Plastic production for packaging represents the largest application for plastic nowadays (Lagaron and 51 Lopez-Rubio 2010). In particular, petrochemical-based plastics have been increasingly used as packaging 52 materials because of their large availability at relatively low cost and because of their good mechanical 53

This paper suggested multicriteria based evaluation tool to assess the sustainability of three different reaction routes to dimethyl carbonate: direct synthesis from carbon dioxide and methanol, transesterification of methanol and propylene carbonate, and oxidative carbonylation of methanol. The first two routes are CO2-based and in a research and development phase, whereas the last one is a commercial process. The set of environmental, social, and economic indicators selected were renewability of feedstock, energy intensity, waste generation, CO2balance, yield, feedstock price, process costs, health and safety issues of feedstock, process conditions, and innovation potential. The performance in these indicators was evaluated with the normalized scores from 0 to +1; 0 for detrimental and 1 for favorable impacts. The assessment showed that the transesterification route had the best potential toward sustainability, although there is still much development needed to improve yield. Further, the assessment gave clear understanding of the main benefits of each reaction route, as well as the major challenges to sustainability, which can further aid in orienting development efforts to key issues that need improvement. Finally, it was concluded that a multicriteria analysis such as the one presented in this paper was a viable method to be used in the process design stage.

Cite as: Niemistö, J., Saavalainen, P., Pongrácz, E., Keiski ABSTRACTThis paper introduces the production process of an alternative transportation biofuel, biobutanol. European legislation concerning biofuels and their sustainability criteria are also briefly described. The need to develop methods to ensure more sustainable and efficient biofuel production processes is recommended. In addition, the assessment method to evaluate the sustainability of biofuels is considered and sustainability assessment of selected feedstocks for biobutanol production is performed. The benefits and potential of using lignocellulosic and waste materials as feedstocks in the biobutanol production process are also discussed. Sustainability assessment in this paper includes cultivation, harvest/collection and upstream processing (pretreatment) of feedstocks, comparing four main biomass sources: food crops, non-food crops, food industry by-product and wood-based biomass. It can be concluded that the highest sustainable potential in Finland is when biobutanol production is integrated into pulp & paper mills.

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