Projects per year
Abstract
The biorefinery industry is witnessing a transition from fossil and chemical-based processes to more sustainable practices, with a growing emphasis on using renewable resources. Sophorolipids, a promising group of biosurfactants, present a viable substitute for conventionally produced surfactants. This study focuses on microbial fermentation using yeast and lipid substrate for sophorolipid production. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was employed to identify environmental hotspots of the process and to assess the environmental benefits resulting from the replacement of raw rapeseed cooking oil (base scenario) with waste cooking oil, reduction of process electricity consumption, and increased sophorolipid yield. By compiling scenarios with the lowest environmental impact, a best-case scenario was created. The results revealed that the environmental impact of sophorolipid production could be reduced by 50% in the best-case scenario compared to the base scenario. This research provides valuable insights into the environmental optimization of the fermentation process and through the application of LCA highlights the potential for the reduction of negative environmental impact of sophorolipid production, contributing to the ongoing transition from petroleum oil and petrochemical refineries to sustainable biorefineries.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 839 |
Journal | Fermentation |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2023 |
Keywords*
- biotechnology
- environmental impact
- glycolipid surfactants
- life cycle assessment
- Starmerella bombicola
- waste cooking oil
Field of Science*
- 2.7 Environmental engineering
- 2.9 Industrial biotechnology
Publication Type*
- 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Microbial Sophorolipid Fermentation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Waste2Surf: Sustainable Microbial Valorisation of Waste Lipids into Biosurfactants
Dāce, E. (Project leader), Bāliņa, K. (Leading expert), Soloha, R. (Expert (PhD student)), Stalidzāns, E. (Work package leader), Bērziņš, K. (Expert (PhD student)), Liepins, J. (Work package leader), Berzina, I. (Expert (PhD student)), Vanags, J. (Work package leader), Šuleiko, A. (Leading expert) & Dubencovs, K. (Leading expert)
1/10/20 → 30/09/23
Project: Projects outside RSU
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Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of Microbial Sophorolipid Fermentation
Dāce, E. (Speaker), Bāliņa, K. (Co-author), Soloha, R. (Co-author), Suleiko, A. (Co-author), Dubencovs, K. (Co-author) & Liepins, J. (Co-author)
4 Oct 2023 → 5 Oct 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Environmental impact of the food waste utilization instead of raw material: the potential and limitations
Bāliņa, K. (Speaker), Soloha, R. (Co-author) & Dāce, E. (Co-author)
12 Oct 2022 → 14 Oct 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Poster presentation
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An insight into challenges of conducting an LCA study for a food waste biorefinery
Bāliņa, K. (Speaker) & Dāce, E. (Co-author)
27 Apr 2022 → 29 Apr 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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