Integrating enzyme fermentation in lignocellulosic ethanol production: life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis

Olofsson, Johanna; Barta, Zsolt; Börjesson, Pål; Wallberg, Ola

doi:10.1186/s13068-017-0733-0

Cited by 97 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Data regarding the environmental performance of the enzyme product were provided by the enzyme supplier after personal communication and were estimated to be 39 MJ of primary energy demand and 0.64 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 eq) per kg of enzyme product. 29 These values are considerably lower compared to data found in previous publications 7,30,31 due to continuous process improvements as well as geographical variations in enzyme production. The current energy used during enzyme production in Denmark is primarily based on renewable sources.…”

Section: Pathway A: 2-eh Through Biomass Fermentation and Ethanolmentioning

confidence: 85%

Lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions analysis of biomass‐based 2‐ethylhexanol as an alternative transportation fuel

Poulikidou

Heyne

Grahn

et al. 2019

Energy Science & Engineering

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This study investigates the environmental performance of 2‐ethylhexanol (2‐EH), as a potential drop‐in transport fuel alternative. Three different biomass‐based production pathways are evaluated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The environmental impact of 2‐EH is assessed in terms of cumulative energy demand (CED) and global warming potential (GWP). Among the three alternative pathways, 2‐EH produced via syngas results in the lowest primary energy demand and GHG emissions under the baseline assumptions of this work. The two biochemical production pathways (via ethanol and butanol) exhibit higher CED and GWP during biomass conversion steps mainly due to process materials and chemicals used. Process specifications such as transport distance to production facility or the fate of the obtained by‐products are shown to influence the overall environmental impact of the fuel for all studied pathways. The use phase performance of 2‐EH was also considered in this work, as part of a 100% renewable blend and was compared to existing fossil and renewable fuels. The studied blend has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by more than 85% compared to fossil diesel while when certain production pathways are followed, it exhibits lower GWP than renewable fuels already in the market such as ethanol blends and biodiesel. 2‐EH can therefore provide a competitive alternative to fossil transport fuels increasing the share of renewable content in the current vehicle fleet, thus enhancing the efforts for a sustainable transport sector.

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Section: Pathway A: 2-eh Through Biomass Fermentation and Ethanolmentioning

confidence: 85%

Lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions analysis of biomass‐based 2‐ethylhexanol as an alternative transportation fuel

Poulikidou

Heyne

Grahn

et al. 2019

Energy Science & Engineering

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“…However, environmental results are aligned with the cost of enzyme production. Other studies have demonstrated the implications that enzyme production has on total costs and emissions for the production of lignocellulosic ethanol . The further integration of enzyme production into the biorefinery is expected to result in a reduction of the total impacts aiming for a scenario in which total environmental burdens can be reduced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies have demonstrated the implications that enzyme production has on total costs and emissions for the production of lignocellulosic ethanol. 71 The further integration of enzyme production into the biorefinery is be used to determine the eco-efficiency of a product or process. In general, the environmental impact and value of the system are the general concepts analyzed.…”

Section: Enzyme Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative evaluation of lignocellulosic biorefinery scenarios under a life‐cycle assessment approach

Bello

Ríos

Feijoo

et al. 2018

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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The exploitation of lignocellulosic materials with the aim of producing high value‐added products will potentially counteract concerns such as depletion of fossil resources or exponential population growth. The present study focuses on the assessment of an integrated process based on organosolv fractionation of residual beech woodchips, with the objective of implementing concepts such as circular economy or process integration. The life‐cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the eco‐efficiency concept allow for a holistic analysis of sustainability in terms of the system's environmental approach. The results show that the pre‐treatment of biomass together with the energy demands of the process and enzyme production constitute the hotspots of the system. Analyzing the system by means of the ecoefficiency indicator demonstrates that broadening the multi‐production spectrum of a biorefinery provides better results when production volume and processing steps fit environmental and techno‐economical requirements. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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“…TEAs and LCAs commonly incorporate uncertainties in performance indicators based on rough estimates of increasing or decreasing performance (Olofsson et al, 2017). Very few studies have based their uncertainty estimates on laboratory data (Vicari et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Scale Variability Analysis of Wheat Straw-Based Ethanol Biorefineries Identifies Bioprocess Designs Robust Against Process Input Variations

et al. 2020

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Bioprocesses based on (ligno-)cellulosic biomass are highly prone to batch-to-batch variations. Varying raw material compositions and enzyme activities hamper the prediction of process yields, economic feasibility and environmental impacts. Commonly, these performance indicators are averaged over several experiments to select suitable process designs. The variabilities in performance indicators resulting from variable process inputs are often neglected, causing a risk for faulty performance predictions and poor process design choices during scale-up. In this paper, a multi-scale variability analysis framework is presented that quantifies the effects of process input variations on performance indicators. Using the framework, a kinetic model describing simultaneous saccharification and ethanol fermentation was integrated with a flowsheet process model, techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment in order to evaluate a wheat straw-based ethanol biorefinery. Hydrolytic activities reported in the literature for the enzyme cocktail Cellic ® CTec2, ranging from 62 to 266 FPU·mL −1 , were used as inputs to the multi-scale model to compare the variability in performance indicators under batch and multi-feed operation for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Bioprocess simulations were stopped at ethanol productivities ≤0.1 g·L −1 ·h −1 . The resulting spreads in process times, hydrolysis yields, and fermentation yields were incorporated into flowsheet, techno-economic and life cycle scales. At median enzymatic activities the payback time was 7%, equal to 0.6 years, shorter under multi-feed conditions. All other performance indicators showed insignificant differences. However, batch operation is simpler to control and well-established in industry. Thus, an analysis at median conditions might favor batch conditions despite the disadvantage in payback time. Contrary to median conditions, analyzing the input variability favored multi-feed operation due to a lower variability in all performance indicators. Variabilities in performance indicators were at least 50% lower under multi-feed operation. Counteracting the variability in enzymatic activities by adjusting the amount of added enzyme instead resulted in Nickel et al.Multi-Scale Variability Analysis of Biorefineries higher uncertainties in environmental impacts. The results show that the robustness of performance indicators against input variations must be considered during process development. Based on the multi-scale variability analysis process designs can be selected which deliver more precise performance indicators at multiple system levels.

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Integrating enzyme fermentation in lignocellulosic ethanol production: life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis

Cited by 97 publications

References 54 publications

Lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions analysis of biomass‐based 2‐ethylhexanol as an alternative transportation fuel

Lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas emissions analysis of biomass‐based 2‐ethylhexanol as an alternative transportation fuel

Comparative evaluation of lignocellulosic biorefinery scenarios under a life‐cycle assessment approach

Multi-Scale Variability Analysis of Wheat Straw-Based Ethanol Biorefineries Identifies Bioprocess Designs Robust Against Process Input Variations

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