Bioethanol from autoclaved municipal solid waste: Assessment of environmental and financial viability under policy contexts

TY - JOUR

T1 - Bioethanol from autoclaved municipal solid waste

T2 - Assessment of environmental and financial viability under policy contexts

AU - Meng, Fanran

AU - Dornau, Aritha

AU - Mcqueen Mason, Simon J.

AU - Thomas, Gavin H.

AU - Conradie, Alex

AU - McKechnie, Jon

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the funding from the Bioenergy Sustaining the Future 2 MSWBH Project 620103 and the Industrial Biotechnology (IB) Catalyst project ConBioChem funded by Innovate UK, BBSRC and EPSRC (grant BB/N023773/1).to support the translation, development and commercialisation of innovative Industrial Biotechnology processes. Fermentation studies were supported by a BBSRC industrial Collaborative Award in Science and Engineering (iCASE) studentship with Grant No. BB/M014916/1. Funding Information: This work was supported by the funding from the Bioenergy Sustaining the Future 2 MSWBH Project 620103 and the Industrial Biotechnology (IB) Catalyst project ConBioChem funded by Innovate UK, BBSRC and EPSRC (grant BB/N023773/1).to support the translation, development and commercialisation of innovative Industrial Biotechnology processes. Fermentation studies were supported by a BBSRC industrial Collaborative Award in Science and Engineering (iCASE) studentship with Grant No. BB/M014916/1. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy.

PY - 2021/9/15

Y1 - 2021/9/15

N2 - Globally, 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) were generated in 2016, about 37% of which was disposed of into landfills. This study evaluates the environmental and financial viability of producing ethanol from autoclaved MSW via fermentation. Experimental screening of four different microorganisms (i.e., S. cerevisiae, Z. mobilis, E. coli, and S. pombe) and process modelling indicate that MSW-derived ethanol can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline (84% reduction following EU Renewable Energy Directive accounting methodology, and by 156–231% reduction following the US Energy Independence and Security Act methodology). Utilisation of wastes for biofuel production in the UK benefits from policy support and financial support for renewable fuels (Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates). Financial analysis highlights that microorganisms achieving higher ethanol yield and productivity (S. cerevisiae and Z. mobilis) can achieve financial viability with higher cumulative net present value than E. coli, S. pombe. However, the positive net present value can be achieved primarily due to the benefit of gate fees received by diverting wastes to autoclave and ethanol production (64% of total revenues), rather than from revenues from ethanol sales (7% of total revenues). Key process improvements must be achieved to improve the financial viability of ethanol production from MSW and deliver a clear advantage over waste incineration, specifically improving hydrolysis yield, reducing enzyme loading rate and, to a lesser extent, increasing solid loading rate. The results provide significant insights into the role of policy and technology development to achieve viable waste-to-biofuel systems.

AB - Globally, 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) were generated in 2016, about 37% of which was disposed of into landfills. This study evaluates the environmental and financial viability of producing ethanol from autoclaved MSW via fermentation. Experimental screening of four different microorganisms (i.e., S. cerevisiae, Z. mobilis, E. coli, and S. pombe) and process modelling indicate that MSW-derived ethanol can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline (84% reduction following EU Renewable Energy Directive accounting methodology, and by 156–231% reduction following the US Energy Independence and Security Act methodology). Utilisation of wastes for biofuel production in the UK benefits from policy support and financial support for renewable fuels (Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates). Financial analysis highlights that microorganisms achieving higher ethanol yield and productivity (S. cerevisiae and Z. mobilis) can achieve financial viability with higher cumulative net present value than E. coli, S. pombe. However, the positive net present value can be achieved primarily due to the benefit of gate fees received by diverting wastes to autoclave and ethanol production (64% of total revenues), rather than from revenues from ethanol sales (7% of total revenues). Key process improvements must be achieved to improve the financial viability of ethanol production from MSW and deliver a clear advantage over waste incineration, specifically improving hydrolysis yield, reducing enzyme loading rate and, to a lesser extent, increasing solid loading rate. The results provide significant insights into the role of policy and technology development to achieve viable waste-to-biofuel systems.

KW - Ethanol

KW - Fermentation

KW - Incineration

KW - Life cycle assessment

KW - Municipal solid waste

KW - Techno-economic analysis

KW - Waste autoclaving

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107648771&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117118

DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117118

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85107648771

SN - 0306-2619

VL - 298

JO - Applied Energy

JF - Applied Energy

M1 - 117118

ER -