Room: Amazon
Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session code 2CO.8
Advancing sustainable bioprocesses: life cycle and techno-economic perspectives
Sustainable Pathways for Alternative Petrochemical Production from Residual Biomass, A Comparative Consequential Life Cycle Assessment of the Ethanol Versus Bio-Based Methanol to Olefins Routes.
Short Introductive summary
This research compares two pathways for producing ethylene and propylene from cereal crop residues: fermentation to ethanol and gasification to methanol. Both intermediates are established at pilot scale and serve as key precursors to numerous petrochemicals. A consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to evaluate environmental impacts, considering marginal suppliers and system expansion to capture environmental consequences of diverting biomass from current uses. The study uses state-of-the-art data and assesses avoided impacts of fossil-based production using marginal data rather than averages. Unlike previous work, which focused on wood feedstock with an attributional approach, this work provides new insights to support industrial and policy decisions on the optimal use of agricultural residues.
Presenter
Nicolas LIENART
Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, Bio & Chemical Engineering Dpt., FRANCE
Presenter's biography
Life cycle assessment (LCA) of bio-based chemicals and materials from residual biomass for climate mitigation. PhD Candidate in Industrial Ecology (University of Toulouse, France). Master in Environmental Science (University of Toulouse). Master in Computer Science (Gustave Eiffel University).
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
L. Shen, Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, THE NETHERLANDS
T. Lecompte, IRDL, Université Bretagne Sud, Lorient, FRANCE
L. Hamelin, Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, Bio & Chemical Engineering Dpt., FRANCE
Session reference: 2CO.8.1