Abstract:Policymakers worldwide are promoting the use of bio-based products as part of sustainable development. Nonetheless, there are concerns that the bio-based economy may undermine the sustainability of the transition, e.g., from the overexploitation of biomass resources and indirect impacts of land use. Adequate assessment methods with a broad systems perspective are thus required in order to ensure a transition to a sustainable, bio-based economy. We review the scientifically published life cycle studies of bio-based products in order to investigate the extent to which they include important sustainability indicators. To define which indicators are important, we refer to established frameworks for sustainability assessment, and include an Open Space workshop with academics and industrial experts. The results suggest that there is a discrepancy between the indicators that we found to be important, and the indicators that are frequently included in the studies. This indicates a need for the development and dissemination of improved methods in order to model several important environmental impacts, such as: water depletion, indirect land use change, and impacts on ecosystem quality and biological diversity. The small number of published social life cycle assessments (SLCAs) and life cycle sustainability assessments (LCSAs) indicate that these are still immature tools; as such, there is a need for improved methods and more case studies.
The production of concrete is one of the most significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. This work focuses on bio-cementation-based products and their potential to reduce global warming potential (GWP). In particular, we address a proposed bio-cementation method employing bacterial metabolism in a two-step process of limestone dissolution and recrystallisation (BioZEment). A scenario-based techno-economic analysis (TEA) is combined with a life cycle assessment (LCA), a market model and a literature review of consumers’ willingness to pay, to compute the expected reduction of global GWP. Based on the LCA, the GWP of 1 ton of BioZEment is found to be 70–83% lower than conventional concrete. In the TEA, three scenarios are investigated: brick, precast and onsite production. The results indicate that brick production may be the easiest way to implement the products, but that due to high cost, the impact on global GWP will be marginal. For precast production the expected 10% higher material cost of BioZEment only produces a marginal increase in total cost. Thus, precast production has the potential to reduce global GWP from concrete production by 0–20%. Significant technological hurdles remain before BioZEment-based products can be used in onsite construction scenarios, but in this scenario, the potential GWP reduction ranges from 1 to 26%. While the potential to reduce global GWP is substantial, significant efforts need to be made both in regard to public acceptance and production methods for this potential to be unlocked.
Symbiotic linkages in industry clusters in the form of interconnected materials, energy and information flows, and close proximity provide unique opportunities to develop efficient environmental strategies. The purpose of our study is to examine the practical potential of applying a life cycle approach in strategy evaluations, as the environmental impact caused by industrial symbiosis systems outside the company gates has been scarcely addressed. This is done by evaluating two strategies for an industry cluster in Sweden: (1) to replace a share of the fossil feedstock used in the industry cluster with forest-based feedstock and (2) to improve energy efficiency through thermal energy integration. The environmental impact reduction potential of the strategies is evaluated using life cycle assessment. The ratio between investment cost and reduced global warming potential is used as an indicator to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the strategies. Results demonstrate the importance of applying a life cycle perspective as the assessment outcome depends heavily on whether only on-site consequences are assessed or if upstream and downstream processes are also included. 20% of the greenhouse gas emission reduction of the energy integration strategy occurs off-site, whereas the forest strategy has the largest reduction potential off-site, >80%.Volume 22, Number 4 enhance their resource and energy efficiency through symbiotic exchanges of materials and energy. Eckelman and Chertow (2013) reviewed ten studies from four continents where interlinked company formations were compared with stand-alone companies. All the studies concluded that co-location was environmentally beneficial. Examples of advantages were cascades
A systems perspective on chemical production from mixed food waste: The case of bio-succinate in Sweden The option of producing the chemical succinic acid from bio-based resources is well in line with current political and industrial ambitions for a bio-based economy. A little explored but intriguing biomass feedstock opportunity is food waste. Mixed food waste is especially appealing as it represents less resource competition than more homogenous food waste fractions. The feasibility of producing succinic acid from mixed food waste depends on both technical and societal system structures. Therefore, to assess the production prospect, it is important to investigate all relevant system components. This study explores from such multiple perspectives the feasibility of chemical production as a viable added pathway for mixed food waste, using microbial production of succinic acid from municipal solid waste in Sweden as an example. The perspectives explored are: 1) feedstock feasibility, 2) societal drivers and barriers for technology progress, and 3) resource availability. Findings show that even though, from a technical feasibility and resource availability perspective, production seems possible, it lacks institutional support and actor commitment and alignment for development in Sweden. Findings also show that a holistic and interdisciplinary systems perspective contributes valuable insight when assessing prospects for bio-based chemicals.
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