An environmental and economic assessment of bioplastic from urban biowaste. The example of polyhydroxyalkanoate

Bassi, Susanna Andreasi; Boldrin, Alessio; Frenna, Giammarco; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.124813

Cited by 56 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In the starch pathway, impacts related to the extraction of starch from food waste were higher than the avoided production of first-generation starch and the corresponding land use changes. In the PHA pathway, the production process, especially the extraction process, outweighed savings related to energy and material substitution (Figure e). Finally, lactic acid (600 kg CO 2 -eq.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

Albizzati

Tonini

Astrup

2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In an endeavor to make Europe carbon-neutral, and to foster a circular economy, improving food waste management has been identified by the European Union (EU) as a key factor. In this study, we consider 21 pathways, covering: (i) prevention; (ii) reuse for both human consumption and animal feed; (iii) material recycling as an input into the food and chemical industries; (iv) nutrient recycling; and (v) energy/fuel recovery. To include all types of impact, a sustainability assessment, encompassing environmental, economic, and social pillars, is performed and complemented with societal life cycle costing. The results indicate that after prevention, reuse for human consumption and animal feed is the most preferred option, and, in most cases, nutrient recycling and energy recovery are favored over material recycling for chemical production. While highlighting that the food waste management hierarchy should be supported with quantitative sustainability analyses, the findings also illustrate that biochemical pathways should be improved to be competitive despite the fact that food waste valorization has the potential to satisfy the EU demand for the chemicals investigated. Yet, the results clearly show that the potential benefits of improving emerging technologies would still not eclipse the benefits related to food waste prevention and its redistribution.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

Albizzati

Tonini

Astrup

2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Stimulated by environmental concerns, the great demand for biodegradable and compostable plastic materials is partially hampered by economic reasons. In fact, although suitable alternatives to oil-based commodity polymers are available, the cost to produce bio-based polymers is higher than that of conventional plastics [ 1 ]. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a class of biodegradable polyesters that can be obtained from renewable sources and, according to the composition and processing conditions, have suitable properties able to replace in some applications widespread materials, like polyethylene or polypropylene.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethylic Esters as Green Solvents for the Extraction of Intracellular Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced by Mixed Microbial Culture

et al. 2021

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Volatile fatty acids obtained from the fermentation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste can be used as raw materials for non-toxic ethyl ester (EE) synthesis as well as feedstock for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Taking advantage of the concept of an integrated process of a bio-refinery, in the present paper, a systematic investigation on the extraction of intracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), produced by mixed microbial culture by using EEs was reported. Among the tested EEs, ethyl acetate (EA) was the best solvent, dissolving the copolymer at the lowest temperature. Then, extraction experiments were carried out by EA at different temperatures on two biomass samples containing PHAs with different average molecular weights. The parallel characterization of the extracted and non-extracted PHAs evidenced that at the lower temperature (100 °C) EA solubilizes preferentially the polymer fractions richer in 3HV comonomers and with the lower molecular weight. By increasing the extraction temperature from 100 °C to 125 °C, an increase of recovery from about 50 to 80 wt% and a molecular weight reduction from 48% to 65% was observed. The results highlighted that the extracted polymer purity is always above 90 wt% and that it is possible to choose the proper extraction condition to maximize the recovery yield at the expense of polymer fractionation and degradation at high temperatures or use milder conditions to maintain the original properties of a polymer.

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“…The food waste is transported to a PHA plant where PHA and pure organic residues are obtained. The process consists of a first pretreatment followed by an acid fermentation, a first centrifuge with a membrane, an aerobic step, a second centrifuge, and the extraction process from which PHA is obtained 63 . The pure organic residues are transported to an anaerobic digestion plant, where digestate and biogas are generated.…”

Section: Inventorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the study, it was assumed that the marginal K fertilizer was potassium chloride, as assumed in Tonini et al 83 . The marginal N and P fertilizers mixes (Table S26) were modelled according to the approach presented in Andreasi Bassi et al 63 . By displacing NPK mineral fertilizers, the emissions related to their application are avoided.…”

Section: System Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

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An environmental and economic assessment of bioplastic from urban biowaste. The example of polyhydroxyalkanoate

Cited by 56 publications

References 31 publications

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

Ethylic Esters as Green Solvents for the Extraction of Intracellular Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced by Mixed Microbial Culture

A Quantitative Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Management in the European Union

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