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Stochastic LCA Model of Upscaling the Production of Microalgal Compounds
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2022-07-19
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Volume
56
Issue
14
Start Page
10454
End Page
10464
Citation
Environmental Science and Technology 56 (14): 10454-10464 (2022-07-19)
Publisher DOI
Scopus ID
PubMed ID
35763500
Microalgae are currently being investigated for their promising metabolites but assessing the environmental impact of producing these compounds remains a challenge. Microalgae cultivation performance results from the complex interaction of biological, technological, geographical, and physical factors, which bioengineers try to optimize during the upscaling process. The path from the discovery of a microalgal compound to its industrial production is therefore highly uncertain. Nonetheless, it is key to anticipate the potential environmental impacts associated with the future production of a microalgal target compound. This is achieved in this study by developing an ex-ante, parameterized, and consequential LCA model that performs dynamic simulations of microalgae cultivation. The model is applied to calculate the environmental impacts of 9000 stochastically generated combinations of photobioreactor geometries and operational setups. The demonstration of the model is done for a fictive microalgal strain, parameterized to resemble Chlorella vulgaris, and a fictive target compound assumed to be a carbohydrate. The simulations are performed in Aalborg, Denmark, and Granada, Spain to appreciate geographical variability, which highly affects the requirements for thermoregulation. Open-source documentation allows full reproducibility and further use of the model for the ex-ante assessment of microalgal products.
Subjects
life cycle assessment
microalgae
photobioreactor
uncertainty
upscaling