Unlike the fossil-based alternatives, many emerging bio-based technologies are still at the early lab or pilot scale and are not representative of optimized industrial conditions. This makes a robust comparison of their environmental performances via life-cycle assessment (LCA) challenging.
In an article published in "Sustainable Production and Consumption" the authors, including Bio4Fuels SP1 leader Francesco Cherubini (NTNU), propose a framework based on process simulations and inventory modelling to combine scaling-up projections of early-stage technologies (ex-ante LCA) with the influence of future socio-economic scenarios (prospective LCA).
This framework secures a more robust comparison of bio-based technologies at low TRL levels with conventional fossil-based alternatives, and it helps the identification of improvements in both the bio-based technological processes and background supply chains that make bio-based systems outperform their fossil counterparts. A consistent integration of ex-ante and prospective LCA is instrumental to prioritize research and investments for upscaling the early-stage technologies that are most promising from a sustainability perspective, and ultimately guide a sustainable transition towards a circular bioeconomy.
For more information: de Souza, N. R. D., L. Matt, R. Sedrik, L. Vares and F. Cherubini (2023). "Integrating ex-ante and prospective life-cycle assessment for advancing the environmental impact analysis of emerging bio-based technologies." Sustainable Production and Consumption 43: 319-332; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.11.002.