Integrating prospective life cycle assessment and absolute environmental sustainability assessment for biowaste conversion technology into high-value products

• Grant number: 25/23851-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2026
• End date: April 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Aldo Roberto Ometto
• Grantee: José Manuel Alejandro Cerdán Morillo
• Supervisor: Daniel Fozer
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/09865-9 - Life Cycle Assessment of the Production of Volatile Fatty Acids of Economic Interest from Urban Bioresidues in the Context of Biorefineries, BP.DR

Abstract

The production of high-value products, such as acetic (C2), propionic (C3), and butyric (C4) acids and others from biowaste and next-generation feedstocks (NGFs) derived as gaseous byproducts of biowaste conversion, represents a shift beyond traditional end-of-pipe treatments, emphasizing the recovery of valuable resources. To support the transition of these emerging technologies from early-stage research toward early commercial deployment, it is essential to design future-oriented scenarios. In parallel, it is necessary to evaluate whether these pathways remain within the safe operating space (SOS) defined by the planetary boundaries (PB) framework. In this context, the present work develops and applies an integrated framework that combines prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) with absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) to evaluate whether emerging bio-based technologies can operate within the PB when scaled up under diverse future climate scenarios. (AU)