Synthesis of 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran from various lignocellulosic feedstocks: Sustainability assessment via LCA

Hsien H. Khoo, Loretta L. Wong, Jonathan Tan, Valerio Isoni and Paul Sharratt

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2015, vol. 95, issue C, 174-182

Abstract: This work highlights that bio-based chemicals may not automatically be synonymous with “green”, and efforts to generate the quantitative environmental performance of bio-products via LCA are crucial in ensuring their sustainable attributes. 2-Methyl tetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) is a new solvent derived from natural product sources. A relative LCA comparing 2-MeTHF manufacture originating from different biomass resources was carried out to investigate the sustainability of each feedstock. The biofine process was employed as a model for the production of levulinic acid from a mixture of C5 and C6 sugars before the final synthesis of 2-MeTHF. A new perspective of LCA impact, land footprint (total land area required), is proposed as a result of our evaluation, taking into account the viewpoint of competing land use options in the LCAs of green chemicals.

Keywords: Sustainability; Biomass; LCA; Land footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:95:y:2015:i:c:p:174-182

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.12.013

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