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A Prospective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Monomer Synthesis: Comparison of Biocatalytic and Oxidative Chemistry
Author(s) -
Delgove Marie A. F.,
Laurent AchilleB.,
Woodley John M.,
De Wildeman Stefaan M. A.,
Bernaerts Katrien V.,
van der Meer Yvonne
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201900007
Subject(s) - life cycle assessment , biochemical engineering , chemistry , renewable energy , biocatalysis , environmental science , environmental impact assessment , process engineering , organic chemistry , pulp and paper industry , production (economics) , reaction mechanism , catalysis , engineering , biology , ecology , economics , macroeconomics
Biotechnological processes are typically perceived to be greener than chemical processes. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the chemical and biochemical synthesis of lactones obtained by Baeyer–Villiger oxidation. The LCA is prospective (based on experiments at a small scale with primary data) because the process is at an early stage. The results show that the synthesis route has no significant effect on the climate change impact [(1.65±0.59) kgCO2 g product −1 vs. (1.64±0.67) kgCO2 g product −1 ]. Key process performance metrics affecting the environmental impact were evaluated by performing a sensitivity analysis. Recycling of solvents and enzyme were shown to provide an advantage to the enzymatic synthesis. Additionally, the climate change impact was decreased by 71 % if renewable electricity was used. The study shows that comparative LCAs can be used to usefully support decisions at an early stage of process development.