An application of the Life Cycle Thinking: Green refinery enhancements

The present work describes an example Life Cycle Thinking (LCT), focused on environmental aspects of LCT. More in details, for biofuels, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is compulsory for certification of industrial sites since their sustainability must be in line with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) requirements. Eni's Green Refinery is an example of the application of LCT. The paper describes a process, at R&D level, for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass deriving from crops not in conflict with the food sector. In particular, the process allows to obtain sugars from these lignocellulosic biomasses (saccharification section) and, once recovered, these sugars are used by oleaginous microrganisms (yeasts) in fermentations (fermentation section) for their growth. The lipids contained in yeast cells are recovered to produce a microbial oil that could be processed in an EcofiningTM plant, producing HVO (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil). The environmental impact of advanced HVO has been compared with other biofuels pathways and with RED to prove its environmental sustainability.

Automated summary

The paper presents an example of applying Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) to environmental aspects in the production of biofuels, focusing on the sustainability requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). It showcases the process of biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass at R&D level, emphasizing the environmental impact and sustainable practices. The study compares the environmental sustainability of advanced HVO produced from microbial oil to other biofuels pathways and compliance with RED regulations.