| Title | An assessment of sustainability metrics for waste-to-liquid fuel pathways for a low carbon circular economy |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 21315 |
| Authors | Sarma, RN; Vinu, R |
| Title | An assessment of sustainability metrics for waste-to-liquid fuel pathways for a low carbon circular economy |
| Year | 2023 |
| Published | |
| Abstract | The nexus of solid waste management problems and energy crisis necessitates the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass agro residues and municipal solid wastes for fuel and energy generation. Thermochemical technologies like pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction and gasification are promising options to produce bio-oil, bio-crude and syngas from biomass, which can be further catalytically upgraded to hydrocarbon fuels. While there are technical merits associated with these processes and the products derived from them, the sustainability analysis of the processes from a systems level is imperative to evaluate their commercial viability. This perspective article presents fundamental understanding, importance and analysis of the different sustainability metrics based on mass and energy. The salient properties of biomass and wastes, and that of various fuels derived from them are presented. The three technologies are evaluated based on key metrics such as energy recovery/efficiency, E-factor, process mass intensity and CO2 footprint. The E-factor for different technologies follows the trend: hydrothermal liquefaction (0.14) approximate to gasification (0.13) < pyrolysis (0.5). However, it is clear from the analysis that the E-factor and GHG emissions of the HTL process, a promising feedstock-agnostic pathway, can be further reduced by valorizing the organic-laden aqueous phase and upgrading the bio-crude to hydrocarbons. The key results of process technoeconomics are presented and assessed from a sustainability viewpoint. This study recommends the use of simple sustainability metrics in research works on thermochemical conversion so that the results from different studies can be compared on a common sustainability platform. |
| https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2023.100254 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
22590
|
Okolie, JA; Epelle, EI; Tabat, ME; Orivri, U; Amenaghawon, AN; Okoye, PU; Gunes, B Waste biomass valorization for the production of biofuels and value-added products: A comprehensive review of thermochemical, biological and integrated processes(2022) | |
| 6979
|
Begum, YA; Kumari, S; Jain, SK; Garg, MC A review on waste biomass-to-energy: integrated thermochemical and biochemical conversion for resource recovery(2024)Environmental Science-Advances, 3, 9 | |
| 12389
|
Osman, AI; Mehta, N; Elgarahy, AM; Al-Hinai, A; Al-Muhtaseb, AH; Rooney, DW Conversion of biomass to biofuels and life cycle assessment: a review(2021)Environmental Chemistry Letters, 19.0, 6 | |
| 24662
|
Angulo-Mosquera, LS; Alvarado-Alvarado, AA; Rivas-Arrieta, MJ; Cattaneo, CR; Rene, ER; García-Depraect, O Production of solid biofuels from organic waste in developing countries: A review from sustainability and economic feasibility perspectives(2021) | |
| 9951
|
Zhang, B; Biswal, BK; Zhang, JJ; Balasubramanian, R Hydrothermal Treatment of Biomass Feedstocks for Sustainable Production of Chemicals, Fuels, and Materials: Progress and Perspectives(2023)Chemical Reviews, 123.0, 11 | |
| 15180
|
Kowalski, Z; Kulczycka, J; Verhé, R; Desender, L; De Clercq, G; Makara, A; Generowicz, N; Harazin, P Second-generation biofuel production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste(2022) | |
| 64686
|
Lozano, EM; Petersen, SB; Paulsen, MM; Rosendahl, LA; Pedersen, TH Techno-economic evaluation of carbon capture via physical absorption from HTL gas phase derived from woody biomass and sewage sludge(2021) | |
| 8424
|
Clauser, NM; González, G; Mendieta, CM; Kruyeniski, J; Area, MC; Vallejos, ME Biomass Waste as Sustainable Raw Material for Energy and Fuels(2021)Sustainability, 13.0, 2 | |
| 14890
|
Williams, JM; Bourtsalas, AC Assessment of Co-Gasification Methods for Hydrogen Production from Biomass and Plastic Wastes(2023)Energies, 16, 22 | |
| 17677
|
Pacheco-López, A; Lechtenberg, F; Somoza-Tornos, A; Graells, M; Espuña, A Economic and Environmental Assessment of Plastic Waste Pyrolysis Products and Biofuels as Substitutes for Fossil-Based Fuels(2021) |