Systematic assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies: sustainability assessment using multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM)

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Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is a non‐food energy crop with potential as a biorefinery feedstock. In addition to technical, economical, and commercial risks, it is of critical importance that environmental issues be considered in the decision‐making process regarding the development of the triticale‐based biorefinery. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used for this purpose. To facilitate overall decision‐making including economic and other metrics, the number of environmental indicators should be minimized, and yet at the same time, these indicators should be representative, comprehensive, and easy to interpret. To identify such a set of environmental indicators from LCA results, a multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) panel study was carried out and an external set of normalization factors used to assist in this decision‐making context. The influence of eight technology choices on the environmental impacts resulting from the production of ethanol, polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS) blend was assessed. Moreover, the environmental benefits of improved triticale yield and its ability to grow on marginal land were assessed. Although the complete spectrum of environmental impact categories was evaluated, the MCDM panel selected four criteria to be brought forward to an overall decision‐making panel. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions metric was judged as the most important, followed by non‐renewable resource depletion, cropland occupation, and human health. Moreover, it was shown that certain technology choices such as ultra‐filtration and cogeneration significantly influence the environmental impacts of the triticale biorefinery. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Section: Implication Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies: environmental evaluation using life cycle assessment

Liard

Lesage

Samson

et al. 2018

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“…For similar reasons, the criterion on technology strategy (TSMC) obtained the lowest weight. Considering the set of criteria defined, CAB, CPC, and MPV were selected as ‘important’ for addressing the market competitiveness aspect in the overall sustainability assessment . As the three criteria consider issues upstream and downstream to the production process in the value chain, as well as issues relative to the process itself, decision‐makers considered that set exhaustive enough regarding competitiveness‐related issues in the context of the PLA platform.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…have presented a practical methodology for identifying a set of decision criteria for the purpose of selecting the most promising product‐process combinations in a triticale‐based biorefinery context. The competitiveness criteria identified in this study were subsequently integrated into the sustainability assessment of triticale product platforms …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies: market competitive analysis for business model development

Téguia

Chambost²,

Stuart

2018

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Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is a high‐productivity cereal crop that holds great promise as an industrial feedstock for agricultural biorefineries, as it can grow on marginal lands. Several product derivatives can be envisioned; however, they need to be systematically explored and assessed using a sustainability perspective, in order to define a business model that would lead to a long‐term competitive position. This study presents a competitive analysis of triticale‐based product‐process alternatives defined on ethanol, polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch polymer blends (TPS/PLA) product platforms. As part of the analysis framework, we sought to identify a set of important market‐oriented criteria for multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM), prior to an overall sustainability assessment in which techno‐economic and environmental criteria are considered as well. From an initial set of necessary competitiveness criteria, three ‘most‐important’ competitiveness criteria for the sustainability assessment of the PLA platform were identified including competitive access to biomass, competitiveness on production costs, and the potential to manage market price volatility. Certain key factors have been highlighted for each platform as an outcome of the competitiveness assessment, such as the impact of value‐added co‐products on the competitive position of commodity‐based product portfolios, and the advantage of combining grain and straw process lines for specialty‐based product portfolios leading to improved competitive potential. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

“…Therefore, the two objectives of conducting the MCDM analysis were as follows: To identify the most economically‐promising design alternatives using a purely economic perspective (Step VIII). To identify a set of important techno‐economic criteria (Step VII) by screening out the less important criteria. This refined set of criteria will later be combined with environmental and competitiveness criteria in another MCDM analysis, to assess the sustainability of the process alternatives. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aside from the economic pillar, the sustainability assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies must consider other aspects, including the environmental, and competitiveness performance of biorefinery strategies. These three pillars can be considered simultaneously using MCDM to assess the overall sustainability of the various triticale‐based biorefinery strategies . The European Network of Biosynergy has applied MCDM for assessing biorefinery sustainability, but with a narrow range of criteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies: techno‐economic analysis to identify investment opportunities

Sanaei

Stuart

2018

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In recent years, interest has increased in biorefineries that use a variety of biomass residues and non‐food crops. Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is a human‐developed crop that has the potential to become a preferred industrial energy crop for the biorefinery because of its capacity to grow on marginal land, its higher yields compared to existing cereal crops such as wheat, and its non‐competition with food‐based crops. However, implementation of the triticale‐based biorefinery will require the identification of sustainable strategies and as its sustainability pillar, the identification of economically promising strategies. In this study, the economic performance of several triticale‐based product‐process scenarios, including the production of ethanol, polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch polymer, has been assessed through the evaluation of six economic criteria. These conflicting criteria have been evaluated in a multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) panel, demonstrated for PLA platform, which has made it possible (i) to rank the alternatives by their economic performance, and (ii) to identify a set of the most important criteria to be used in a sustainability study. The MCDM results show that the alternatives with the best performance on profitability‐oriented criteria do not necessarily achieve the highest overall economic score. This suggests the need to consider both business‐strategy‐oriented criteria and profitability‐oriented criteria in strategic decision‐making. The MCDM results show that the internal rate of return, the downside internal rate of return, and the resistance to supply market uncertainty with relative weights of 24.8%, 23.6%, and 18.1% respectively, are the most important of the criteria assessed. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd