LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT Environmental Assessment of Green Chemicals LCA of bio-based chemicals produced using biocatalysis Linda Tufvesson Environmental and Energy System Studies Lund University

What is ”green”? Q 1 : Are chemicals based on renewable resources better than their fossil counterparts? Q 2 : Are biocatalytic processes better than conventional chemical processes? Q 3 : What defines a “green” chemicals?

The LCA method Raw material extraction Raw material preparation Manufacturing Transportation Use Disposal Recycling/Reuse Material Energy Emissions to air Emissions to water Waste Other emissions The life-cycle of the product OutflowInflow

Methodological aspects and key parameters What defines a green chemical? Methodological aspects and key parameters !

Methodological aspects Functional unit State-of-the-art or future technology Choice of environmental parameters Allocation method Optimisation Mature conventional technology Emerging alternative technology Mature alternative technology Time

Methodological aspects - Allocation Coal Heat Electricity Transport Heat and power plant More than one product is produced in the same production process. The environmental impact from the processes (half-green boxes) then must be shared (allocated) to the two products (electricity and heat).

Methodological aspects - Allocation Physical or economic allocation System expansion + More accurate result, recommended by ISO - More LCI data needed CropProductsPhysical allocation %Economical allocation % RapeseedOil Rape meal Rape seed cultivation Soybean cultivation Resulting system Meal Soybean meal Rape seed oil Oil

Raw material production – key parameters Type of biomass and removal of crop residues N 2 O emissions from fertiliser production Biogenic N 2 O emissions from soil CO 2 emissions from the se of fossil fuels CO 2 emissions due to land use change

Allocation method Type of biomass Removal of crop residues N 2 O emissions Land use change Raw material production - key parameters Reference: Börjesson and Tufvesson (2010) J. Clean. Prod., doi: /j.jclepro !

Process – key parameters Yield Process energy demand and primary energy source Use of solvent Toxicity Environmental impact of enzymes

Process - key parameters Fatty acid esters for cosmetic applications Enzymatic vs. conventional production process –Superior quality –34-62% less energy –80% less waste –Less hazardous solvents and toxic materials –Less reaction steps References: Hills (2003) Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 105: Petersson et al. (2005) Green Chem., 7: Thum and Oxenbøll (2006) IFCCC Congress, Osaka, Japan.

Reference: Tufvesson and Börjesson (2008) Int. J. of LCA, 13(4): Yield Process - key parameters !

Primary energy source Reference: Börjesson and Tufvesson (2010) J. Clean. Prod., doi: /j.jclepro Process - key parameters !

Conclusions Renewable often better than fossil-based chemicals regarding contribution to climate change, higher for AP and EP Biocatalysis often better than conventional chemical processes Bulk chemicals – raw material production Fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals – process A few key parameters have high impact on the overall environmental performance of chemicals

Success factors Cooperation along the whole supply chain Manufacturing UseDisposalTransport Materials Cooperation with several disciplines - Environmental engineers - Process engineers - Toxicologists

Thank you for your attention!