A Prospective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Monomer Synthesis: Comparison of Biocatalytic and Oxidative Chemistry

Abstract

Biotechnological processes are typically perceived to be greener than chemical processes. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the chemical and biochemical synthesis of lactones obtained by Baeyer–Villiger oxidation. The LCA is prospective (based on experiments at a small scale with primary data) because the process is at an early stage. The results show that the synthesis route has no significant effect on the climate change impact [(1.65±0.59) kgCO2 gproduct−1 vs. (1.64±0.67) kgCO2 gproduct−1]. Key process performance metrics affecting the environmental impact were evaluated by performing a sensitivity analysis. Recycling of solvents and enzyme were shown to provide an advantage to the enzymatic synthesis. Additionally, the climate change impact was decreased by 71 % if renewable electricity was used. The study shows that comparative LCAs can be used to usefully support decisions at an early stage of process development.

Life Cycle Assessment for the Design of Chemical Processes, Products, and Supply Chains

“…Still, LCA for process selection has been applied for important problems such as the selection of feedstocks (74), catalysts (75), products (76,77), and process routes (78,79). Major interest in comparing process alternatives arises from the assessment of novel process designs to conventional processes, e.g., recently in the area of bio-based production of chemicals (80) or carbon capture and utilization (27).…”

New frontiers in biocatalysis for sustainable synthesis

“…Several comparisons between enzymatic and chemical conversions have now been reported, although a recurring challenge is the limited data on enzyme production, which can be of great importance in enzymatic reactions that have a low yield of product on biocatalyst. Meanwhile a prospective LCA was recently published showing the value of comparisons between alternative processes at an early stage, with a view to guiding further research and development [54].…”

Route efficiency assessment and review of the synthesis of β-nucleosides via N-glycosylation of nucleobases

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