Cellulose Nanocrystals from Sugar Cane Bagasse Using Organic and/or Inorganic Acids: Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

Author(s)

Bondancia, Thalita J. ; Batista, Gustavo ; de Aguiar, Jessica ; Lorevice, Marcos, V ; Cruz, Antonio J. G. ; Marconcini, Jose M. ; Mattoso, Luiz H. C. ; Farinas, Cristiane S.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING; v. 10, n. 14, p. 17-pg., 2022-04-11.

Abstract

The isolation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) by organic acid hydrolysis can contribute to reducing the extensive use of mineral acids,but aspects related to performance, cost effectiveness, and sustainability stillneed to be addressed. Here, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycleassessment (LCA) were performed to evaluate the production of CNCs usingorganic and/or inorganic acid hydrolysis, in the context of a sugar canebiorefinery. CNCs were extracted from sugar cane bagasse using sulfuric acid(S-CNC), citric acid (Cit-CNC), and their combination (Cit-S-CNC). Thenanodimensional structures were highly dependent on the type of acid used,but all the conditions resulted in nanostructures with CNC characteristics.The minimum product selling price values calculated by TEA for Cit-CNCand Cit-S-CNC were 34.0% and 37.2% higher, respectively, compared to S-CNC, mainly due to the high cost of citric acid recovery. The citric acid hydrolysis and recovery steps had substantial environmentalimpacts, accounting for up to similar to 58% of the gobal warming potential values for Cit-CNC and Cit-S-CNC, which were more than 2-fold higher than for S-CNC. These findings showed the importance of using TEA and LCA tools to support decision making in the selection of nanocellulose isolation routes in future biorefineries (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales
• Grantee: Roberto de Campos Giordano
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/25261-8 - Nanocellulose production from marine macroalgae of Alagoas coast through the enzymatic route: obtention, characterization and economic feasibility
• Grantee: Cristiane Sanchez Farinas
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants