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Energy cycle assessment of bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse by life cycle approach using the fermentation conversion process

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Abstract

Researchers are developing new techniques for clean fuel production due to environmental problems such as global warming. In this respect, bioethanol is considered among the most important renewable fuels. This study aims to investigate the energy cycle and estimate the potential environmental effects of ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse in Iran. To this end, ethanol’s life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted based on the “cradle to gate” approach. This assessment includes three stages of sugarcane farming, transportation to the factory, and bioethanol production. This study defines three scenarios for bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse using the fermentation conversion process: fermentation, bagasse burning for electricity, and combined bioethanol and electricity production. The third scenario was chosen as the best. However, in environmental analysis, it showed the most negative effects on environmental indicators, especially in cases of abiotic depletion and global warming potential. Scenario 1 showed better results than the others. The results showed that electricity, diesel fuel, and nitrogen fertilizer had the greatest environmental impact in the mentioned process. Moreover, by replacing fossil fuels with clean energies, more energy efficiency and less environmental consequences can be achieved because fossil fuels cause air pollution leading to acid rain, eutrophication, damage to forests, and harm to wildlife. Our results show that the bioethanol production process using sugarcane bagasse as feedstock requires 27.13 MJ/L input energy, while the total output energy is 40.44 MJ/L. Energy indices were calculated, with values of 1.49, 0.037, 27.13, and 13.31 for energy ratio, efficiency, intensity, and net energy addition, respectively.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical concerns but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environment, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

    Arman Satari Dibazar, Aria Shakiba & Maryam Pazoki

  2. Department of Civil, Environmental & Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA

    Arash Aliasghar

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA

    Asal Behzadnezhad

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  1. Arman Satari Dibazar
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  2. Arash Aliasghar
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  4. Aria Shakiba
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Contributions

Arman Satari Dibazar, Arash Aliasghar, Asal Behzadnezhad, Aria Shakiba, and Maryam Pazoki contributed to the design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results, and to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Asal Behzadnezhad.

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Dibazar, A.S., Aliasghar, A., Behzadnezhad, A. et al. Energy cycle assessment of bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse by life cycle approach using the fermentation conversion process. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04288-5

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