Valorizing Biodiesel and Bioethanol Side-Streams: Sustainability Potential Assessment through a Multicriteria Decision Analysis Framework and Appraisal of Valuable Compound Recovery Prospects

A framework for assessing, from a sustainability and circular bioeconomy point of view, the best valorization approach for biorefineries side-streams has been developed and validated. Two biorefinery side streams are considered as case-studies for validation: rapeseed meal from biodiesel and corn oi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnergies (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 176
Main Authors Macias Aragonés, Marta, Ondrejíčková, Petra, Ugarte Lodeiro, Raul, Arroyo Torralvo, Fátima
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2023
Subjects
Alternative energy sources
biodiesel
Biodiesel fuels
bioethanol
Biofuels
biomass
biorefinery
Carotenoids
circular bioeconomy
Corn
Corn oil
Decision making
Diesel
Economic analysis
Edible oils
Ethanol
Externality
Impact analysis
Ion exchange
Methods
Multiple criterion
Oils & fats
Operations research
Rapeseed
Sodium hydroxide
Streams
Sustainability
Sustainable development
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Summary:A framework for assessing, from a sustainability and circular bioeconomy point of view, the best valorization approach for biorefineries side-streams has been developed and validated. Two biorefinery side streams are considered as case-studies for validation: rapeseed meal from biodiesel and corn oil from bioethanol production. Firstly, a methodology to evaluate different valorization scenarios has been developed following a holistic approach that addresses technical aspects, environmental impact, and economic analysis. This way, a framework (inspired by the Battelle Method and using insights from Multicriteria Decision Analysis) has been produced where the sustainability potential of each scenario can be assessed. Such framework has been validated for five valorization scenarios for rapeseed meal and seven scenarios for corn oil. It can be concluded that protein extraction through alkaline (NaOH) hydrolysis is the best approach for rapeseed meal valorization while carotenoids recovery through ion exchange extraction is the most suitable strategy for corn oil. Secondly, for the selected scenarios, an estimation of the maximum recoverable amount of valuable compounds is conducted at the European and country-level. The use of this framework substantially aids in the best choice of the cutting-edge conversion technologies, supporting industry practitioners in the selection of processes to be further scaled-up.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en16010176