Environmental and economic analysis of bioethanol production from sugarcane molasses and agave juice
In this article, sugarcane molasses and agave juice were compared as potential feedstocks for producing bioethanol in Mexico in terms of their environmental impact and economic factors. Life cycle assessment (LCA) using SimaPro was carried out to calculate environmental impacts by using a cradle-to-...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | TECNALIA Research & Innovation |
| Repositorio: | TECNALIA Publications |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dsp.tecnalia.com:11556/5229 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/11556/5229 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Agave bagasse Bioethanol Economic analysis Life cycle assessment Sugarcane bagasse Environmental Chemistry Pollution Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals |
| Sumario: | In this article, sugarcane molasses and agave juice were compared as potential feedstocks for producing bioethanol in Mexico in terms of their environmental impact and economic factors. Life cycle assessment (LCA) using SimaPro was carried out to calculate environmental impacts by using a cradle-to-gate approach. A preliminary economic analysis was performed to determine the economic feasibility of the studied options. Also, capital goods costs were obtained using the Aspen Plus economy package. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was involved to compare the environmental and economic viability of producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice. LCA results revealed that cultivation and fermentation were the most harmful stages when producing bioethanol from sugarcane molasses and agave juice, respectively. Furthermore, when it was derived from agave juice rather than sugarcane molasses, it had more environmental benefits. This was ascribed to the lower consumption rate of fertilizers, pesticides, and emissions given off from the former. Regarding financial aspects, the preliminary analysis showed that producing bioethanol was not economically viable when grid energy alone was used. However, if power from the grid is partially replaced with renewable energy, producing bioethanol becomes economically feasible, and sugarcane molasses is the most suitable feedstock. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. |
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