Bioconversion of Food Waste to produce Industrial-scale Sophorolipid Syrup and Crystals: dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) of Emerging Biotechnologies

Xiaomeng Hu; Karpagam Subramanian; Huaimin Wang; Sophie L K W Roelants; Wim Soetaert; Guneet Kaur; Carol Sze Ki Lin; Shauhrat S Chopra

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125474

Bioconversion of Food Waste to produce Industrial-scale Sophorolipid Syrup and Crystals: dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) of Emerging Biotechnologies

Bioresour Technol. 2021 Oct:337:125474. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125474. Epub 2021 Jun 27.

Authors

Xiaomeng Hu¹, Karpagam Subramanian¹, Huaimin Wang¹, Sophie L K W Roelants², Wim Soetaert², Guneet Kaur³, Carol Sze Ki Lin¹, Shauhrat S Chopra⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
² Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Ghent, Belgium.
³ Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Toronto, M3J 1P3, Canada.
⁴ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Electronic address: sschopra@cityu.edu.hk.

PMID: 34320754
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125474

Abstract

Bioconversion of food waste into sophorolipid-based biosurfactants is a promising emerging technology. It is important to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the latest advancements in sophorolipid production as it matures to maximize sustainability on scale-up. This study takes a dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) approach to address the inherent uncertainties and evaluate the environmental performances. It demonstrates the dLCA framework by conducting the new traversal of food waste-derived industrial-scale sophorolipid production, with the combination of Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA). A systematic investigation of the environmental-economic implications of the two pathways to produce SL crystals and syrup. The global warming potential (GWP) for 1 kg of SL crystals and syrup was 7.9 kg CO₂ eq. and 5.7 kg CO₂ eq., respectively. The Ashby-like charts based on the LCA and TEA results at the pilot plant highlighted the trade-offs between systemic environmental costs and economic benefits for design decisions.

Keywords: Biosurfactants; Life Cycle Assessment; Sophorolipids; Sustainable Processes; Waste Valorization.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biotechnology
Food
Life Cycle Stages
Oleic Acids
Refuse Disposal*
Waste Management*

Substances

Oleic Acids
sophorolipid