Sustainability metrics of pretreatment processes in a waste derived lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery

Md Khairul Islam; Huaimin Wang; Shazia Rehman; Chengyu Dong; Hsien-Yi Hsu; Carol Sze Ki Lin; Shao-Yuan Leu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122558

Sustainability metrics of pretreatment processes in a waste derived lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery

Bioresour Technol. 2020 Feb:298:122558. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122558. Epub 2019 Dec 10.

Authors

Md Khairul Islam¹, Huaimin Wang², Shazia Rehman³, Chengyu Dong³, Hsien-Yi Hsu⁴, Carol Sze Ki Lin⁵, Shao-Yuan Leu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China; Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
² Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China; School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
⁵ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China; Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: syleu@polyu.edu.hk.

PMID: 31862395
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122558

Abstract

Excessive utilization of fossil fuels has resulted in serious concerns about climate change. Integrating biorefinery technology to convert waste-derived-lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and biopolymers has become an emerging topic toward our sustainable future. Pretreatment to fractionate the building block chemicals from the biomass is a crucial unit operation to ease the downstream processes in biorefinery. However, application of solvents and chemicals in the process can create many operational and environmental challenges in sensitive areas like highly populated cities. To shed light on how to determine a green biorefinery, this study presents the sustainability metrics of various pretreatment techniques and their operational risks during urbanization. The proposed green indexes include fractionation outputs, chemical recyclability, operational profile, and safety factors. In line with the design principles of lignin valorization, the issue of urban biomass and water-and-energy nexus are addressed to support future development and application of urban biorefinery for municipal waste management.

Keywords: Biorefinery; Lignocellulosic biomass; Pretreatment; Sustainability; Urban waste.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Benchmarking*
Biofuels
Biomass
Lignin*

Substances

Biofuels
lignocellulose
Lignin