An integrated lignocellulosic biorefinery design for nanomaterial and biochemical production using oil palm biomass

• Published in: Clean technologies and environmental policy 2021-12, Vol.23 (10), p.2955-2973
• Main Authors: Teh, Khai Chyi, Tan, Jully, Chew, Irene Mei Leng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonia; Biomass; Biorefineries; Cellulose; Crystals; Earth and Environmental Science; Economics; Electric power generation; Electricity generation; Environment; Environmental Economics; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Environmental impact; Environmental performance; Environmental policy; Gasification; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Lignocellulose; Nanocrystals; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Original Paper; Palm oil; Petroleum; Power plants; Production; Production costs; Refining; Sustainable Development; Synthesis gas; Value; Vegetable oils
• ISSN: 1618-954X; 1618-9558
• DOI: 10.1007/s10098-021-02215-8

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) biomass valorisation for high-value applications has been a current focus in research due to the vast amount of biomass generated from the daily operation of palm oil mills. EFBs can be utilized to produce high-value nanomaterials such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals (LCNCs) and nanolignin (NL), as well as value-added products such as syngas, ammonia, methanol and electricity. More often, a single product processing pathway from EFBs entails a higher production cost relative to conventional petroleum feedstock. Therefore, the biorefinery concept is exploited to liberate the huge economic potentials of these products. However, different biorefinery schemes would have different environmental and economic performances. Thus, the evaluation of environmental and economic performances associated with various schemes of oil palm biorefineries is carried out in a two-step approach to provide future guidance in selecting suitable schemes for oil palm biorefineries. In the first step, a comparison of the environmental and economic performances of three different nanomaterial plants—CNC, LCNC and NL plants—was performed, and the results showed that the LCNC plant had the best environmental performance, while the NL plant had the highest profit margin. These nanomaterials serve as the core products for the development of biorefineries. In the second step, various nanomaterials, chemical products and power plants are integrated together to form a biorefinery. The scheme with LCNC and NL plants and power generation pathways via gasification yields the lowest environmental impact and highest profit margin. This analysis provides an early stage evaluation for future nanomaterial biorefineries from environmental and economic perspectives. Graphic abstract