Abstract
The urgent need for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions to mitigate climate change calls for accelerated biorefinery development and biochemical deployment to the market as structural or functional replacements for chemicals produced from fossil-derived feedstocks. This study evaluated the energy and environmental impacts of 15 biochemicals with clear near-term market potential and their fossil-based counterparts, when applicable, on a cradle-to-gate basis. Three of these chemicals are produced exclusively from biomass; eight are predominantly produced from fossil-derived feedstocks; and four are predominantly produced from biomass. For the 12 cases that can be produced from either feedstock, eight exhibited fossil energy consumption and GHG emission reductions when produced from biomass instead of fossil-derived feedstocks between 41%-85% and 35%-350%, respectively. Water consumption results were mixed because several of the biobased pathways consumed more water. Annually, replacing the predominantly fossil-fuel-based chemicals with biobased alternatives could avoid 120 MMT CO2e emissions and save 1,500 PJ of fossil energy. The potential of these chemicals as coproducts in integrated biorefineries was analyzed in terms of market, economics, and environmental effects with an emphasis on GHG emissions. Adipic acid, succinic acid, acrylic acid, propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-butadiene, furfural, and fatty alcohol are promising coproduct candidates based on their low life-cycle GHG emissions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2773-2783 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 20 2023 |
Funding
Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory were supported by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contracts DE-EE0008928 and DE-AC02-06CH11357, respectively. We are grateful to Nichole Fitzgerald and Andrea Bailey of the Bioenergy Technologies Office for their support and guidance. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof or of any commercial entity. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees or employees of contributing companies, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
Keywords
- Biochemicals
- Carbon credit
- Fossil-based chemicals
- GHG mitigation
- Integrated biorefinery
- Life-cycle assessment
- Market analysis
- Supply chain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
