简介:本研究使用生命周期评估(LCA)评估甘露糖赤藓糖醇脂质(MEL)生产对工艺优化的环境影响。MEL是糖脂型微生物生物表面活性剂,基于其表面活性性质具有许多可能的应用。它们通常由乌草科的真菌通过在充气生物反应器中的发酵产生。我们工作的目的是在早期阶段伴随生物技术产品的开发,以实现环境可持续的工艺优化。方法:这是通过基于对环境影响的可靠量化来识别热点和改进潜力来完成的。使用环境足迹(EF)3.1影响评估方法,以从摇篮到门的方法评估MEL的生产过程。LCA模型基于发酵和纯化的放大实验数据,假设产量为10立方米。在分析的案例中,MEL是由菜籽油和葡萄糖生产的,并通过分离纯化,溶剂萃取,和色谱。结果:LCA的结果表明,底物的提供是环境影响的主要来源,占对气候变化的影响的20%,在酸化和富营养化类别中占70%以上。此外,33%的气候变化影响是由生物反应器曝气的能量需求引起的。而净化分别占影响的42%。为了净化,溶剂被确定为大多数影响类别中的主要贡献者。讨论:结果说明了工艺优化以减少基材要求对环境的影响的潜力,增强的生物反应器曝气,和下游加工中有效的溶剂使用。通过情景分析,考虑到实验适应和过程的预期变化,实验室的发展可以得到进一步的发现,从而有效地优化环境的可持续性。此外,在发酵持续时间内,动力学LCA结果的呈现显示了一种计算和可视化结果的新方法,该方法与使用已建立的环境指标和详细的系统分析的过程工程师的思维方式相对应。总之,这项LCA研究支持并证明了进一步改进更环保的表面活性剂的潜力。
Introduction: This study assesses the environmental impacts of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) production for process optimization using life cycle assessment (LCA). MELs are glycolipid-type microbial biosurfactants with many possible applications based on their surface-active properties. They are generally produced by fungi from the family of Ustilaginaceae via fermentation in aerated bioreactors. The aim of our work is to accompany the development of biotechnological products at an early stage to enable environmentally sustainable process optimization. Methods: This is done by identifying hotspots and potentials for improvement based on a reliable quantification of the environmental impacts. The production processes of MELs are evaluated in a cradle-to-gate approach using the Environmental Footprint (EF) 3.1 impact assessment method. The LCA model is based on upscaled experimental data for the fermentation and purification, assuming the production at a 10 m³ scale. In the
case analyzed, MELs are produced from rapeseed oil and glucose, and purified by separation, solvent extraction, and chromatography. Results: The results of the LCA show that the provision of substrates is a major source of environmental impacts and accounts for 20% of the impacts on Climate Change and more than 70% in the categories Acidification and Eutrophication. Moreover, 33% of the impacts on Climate Change is caused by the energy requirements for aeration of the bioreactor, while purification accounts for 42% of the impacts respectively. For the purification, solvents are identified as the main contributors in most impact categories. Discussion: The results illustrate the potentials for process optimization to reduce the environmental impacts of substrate requirements, enhanced bioreactor aeration, and efficient solvent use in downstream processing. By a scenario analysis, considering both experimental adaptations and prospective variations of the process, the laboratory development can be supported with further findings and hence efficiently optimized towards environmental sustainability. Moreover, the presentation of kinetic LCA results over the fermentation duration shows a novel way of calculating and visualizing results that corresponds to the way of thinking of process engineers using established environmental indicators and a detailed system analysis. Altogether, this LCA study supports and demonstrates the potential for further improvements towards more environmentally friendly produced surfactants.