The High-Value Product, Bio-Waste, and Eco-Friendly Energy as the Tripod of the Microalgae Biorefinery: Connecting the Dots

Rosangela Rodrigues Dias, Mariany Costa Deprá, Cristiano Ragagnin de Menezes, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes ()
Additional contact information
Rosangela Rodrigues Dias: Bioprocess Intensification Group, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Roraima Avenue 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil
Mariany Costa Deprá: Bioprocess Intensification Group, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Roraima Avenue 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil
Cristiano Ragagnin de Menezes: Bioprocess Intensification Group, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Roraima Avenue 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil
Leila Queiroz Zepka: Bioprocess Intensification Group, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Roraima Avenue 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil
Eduardo Jacob-Lopes: Bioprocess Intensification Group, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Roraima Avenue 1000, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: A bio-based circular economy is fundamental to catalyzing the transition to a new economic model that thrives well within the planet’s ecological limits. The microalgae biorefinery, which consists of converting biomass into multiple products, operates in light of the principles of a circular economy. Therefore, as the pivot of a new economic paradigm that aims to promote ecological robustness, the main scope and motivation of this article are to use life cycle assessment to scrutinize the environmental sustainability of a microalgae-based biorefinery system. We assume β-carotene as the flagship of the microalgae industry and evaluate the sustainability metrics and indicators of two residual products: bulk oil and defatted biomass. The role of the use of renewable energy in the unit operations of the biorefinery was also evaluated. The results of this study show that waste products contribute an almost insignificant fraction of the ecological footprint and the cost and energy demand of the microalgae-based biorefinery. It is also confirmed from the results that the transition from coal-based energy to renewable is the most realistic path to production with significantly lower emissions. In sum, the consolidation of the microalgae biorefinery seems to be just around the corner, and our highlights can help make this a successful route.

Keywords: algae; circular bioeconomy; environmental sustainability; green electricity; waste valorization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11494/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/15/11494/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:15:p:11494-:d:1201953

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().