https://www.mdu.se/

mdu.sePublications
System disruptions
There are recurring service disruptions on some of the search portals due to high traffic. We are working to resolve the issue, you may temporarily encounter an error message.
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Life cycle analysis of apple pomace biorefining for biofuel and pectin production
Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
Mälardalen University, School of Business, Society and Engineering, Future Energy Center.
Department of Green Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.
Show others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Science of the Total Environment, ISSN 0048-9697, E-ISSN 1879-1026, Vol. 951, article id 175780Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This study investigated the environmental impacts associated with converting apple pomace, a globally abundant resource, into biofuels and high-value products using a comparative consequential life cycle assessment. In three developed scenarios, an acid pretreatment method was applied and the pretreated liquid was used for ethanol and pectin production. The pretreated solids were utilized to produce different products: scenario 1 produced biogas, scenario 2 generated butanol, and scenario 3 yielded both biogas and butanol from the solids. The results demonstrated that scenario 1 exhibited the best performance compared to the other two scenarios, imposing the lowest environmental burdens across all damage categories, including human health, ecosystems, and resources. Despite the induced impacts, the benefits of avoided products, i.e., ethanol, natural gas, butanol, acetone, and pectin, compensated for these induced environmental impacts to some extent. The results also revealed that among all products generated through the biorefineries, first-generation ethanol substitution had the most significant positive environmental impacts. Overall, the biorefinery developed in scenario 1 represents the most feasible strategy for a circular bioeconomy. It performs 84.38 % and 72.98 % better than scenarios 2 and 3 in terms of human health, 85.34 % and 74.54 % better in terms of ecosystems, and more than 100 % better in terms of resources. Conversely, scenario 2 resulted in the highest net impacts across all damage categories. Furthermore, in scenario 1, the midpoint results showed 83.10 % and 71.08 % lower impacts on global warming, 85.15 % and 74.17 % lower impacts on terrestrial acidification, and 99.26 % and 98.53 % lower impacts on fossil resource scarcity compared to scenarios 2 and 3, respectively. In conclusion, the first scenario shows promise for the sustainable valorization of apple pomace.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier B.V. , 2024. Vol. 951, article id 175780
Keywords [en]
Biofuels, Circular bioeconomy, High-value products, Resource conservation, Sustainability analysis, Apple pomace, Biorefineries, Biorefining, High-value product, Human health, Life cycle analysis, Low impacts, Life cycle assessment
National Category
Environmental Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-68348DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175780ISI: 001307622600001PubMedID: 39187078Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85202345338OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-68348DiVA, id: diva2:1895348
Available from: 2024-09-05 Created: 2024-09-05 Last updated: 2025-10-10Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full textPubMedScopus

Authority records

Ebrahimian, Farinaz

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Ebrahimian, Farinaz
By organisation
Future Energy Center
In the same journal
Science of the Total Environment
Environmental Engineering

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
pubmed
urn-nbn
Total: 310 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf