Techno-economics and life-cycle assessment of biological and thermochemical treatment of bio-waste

The energy sector contributed to three-fourth of overall global emissions in the past decade. Biological wastes can be converted to useful energy and other byproducts via biological or thermo-chemical routes. However, issues such as techno-economic feasibility and lack of understanding on the overal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Renewable & sustainable energy reviews 2021-07, Vol.144, p.110837, Article 110837
Main Authors: Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar, Sarsaiya, Surendra, Wainaina, Steven, Rajendran, Karthik, Awasthi, Sanjeev Kumar, Liu, Tao, Duan, Yumin, Jain, Archana, Sindhu, Raveendran, Binod, Parameswaran, Pandey, Ashok, Zhang, Zengqiang, Taherzadeh, Mohammad J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bio-waste
Biological treatment
Biowastes
Chemical routes
Circular economy
Commercialisation
Economics
Industrial research
Life cycle
Life cycle assessment
Policy support
Resource Recovery
Resursåtervinning
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Techno-economics
Thermo-chemical
Thermochemical-biological conversion
Value added products
Waste treatment
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Summary:The energy sector contributed to three-fourth of overall global emissions in the past decade. Biological wastes can be converted to useful energy and other byproducts via biological or thermo-chemical routes. However, issues such as techno-economic feasibility and lack of understanding on the overall lifecycle of a product have hindered commercialization. It is needed to recognize these inter-disciplinary factors. This review attempts to critically evaluate the role of technology, economics and lifecycle assessment of bio-waste in two processing types. This includes: 1. biological and, 2. thermo-chemical route. The key findings of this work are: 1. Policy support is essential for commercialization of a waste treatment technology; 2. adequate emphasis is necessary on the social dimensions in creating awareness; and 3. from a product development perspective, research should focus on industrial needs. The choice of the treatment and their commercialization depends on the regional demand of a product, policy support, and technology maturity. Utilization of bio-wastes to produce value-added products will enhance circular economy, which in turn improves sustainability. •Technologies for biological and thermochemical treatment of bio-wastes are reviewed.•Bio-wastes are important sources of biogas and other value-added products.•Complex bio-wastes are appropriate for thermochemical treatments.•Biological and thermochemical treatments of bio-wastes can achieve circular economy.•Selection of bio-wastes treatment technologies requires life cycle assessment study.
ISSN:1364-0321
1879-0690
1879-0690
DOI:10.1016/j.rser.2021.110837