Bioconversion of Food Waste to produce Industrial-scale Sophorolipid Syrup and Crystals: dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) of Emerging Biotechnologies

Bioconversion of food waste into sophorolipid-based biosurfactants is a promising emerging technology. It is important to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the latest advancements in sophorolipid production as it matures to maximize sustainability on scale-up. This study takes a dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) approach to address the inherent uncertainties and evaluate the environmental performances. It demonstrates the dLCA framework by conducting the new traversal of food waste-derived industrial-scale sophorolipid production, with the combination of Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA). A systematic investigation of the environmental-economic implications of the two pathways to produce SL crystals and syrup. The global warming potential (GWP) for 1 kg of SL crystals and syrup was 7.9 kg CO2 eq. and 5.7 kg CO2 eq., respectively. The Ashbylike charts based on the LCA and TEA results at the pilot plant highlighted the trade-offs between systemic environmental costs and economic benefits for design decisions.

Automated summary

The study explores the environmental-economic implications of producing SL crystals and syrup from food waste through a dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) approach. The results showed the global warming potential (GWP) for 1 kg of SL crystals and syrup. The study also highlights the trade-offs between systemic environmental costs and economic benefits for design decisions based on the LCA and TEA results at the pilot plant.