Page 60 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

46 N. E. Korres

Fig. 5 Flowchart of lignocellulosic bioethanol production (based on Di Nicola et al. 2011)

Sustainability issues concern the effects of agricultural crop residues removal
on soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, texture, and moisture (Nelson 2007). The
actual potential to produce cellulosic ethanol is multifaceted. Large-scale pro-
duction, transport, processing, and conversion of cellulosic materials have not been
attempted to any real degree anywhere in the world although demonstration plants
for commercial-scale production of cellulosic ethanol are under development in
EU and USA. In addition, a number of pilot plants are developing thermochemical/
biochemical routes to create bioethanol from commercial waste and MSW.

4 Life Cycle Assessment

4.1 General Principles

LCA is a process used for the evaluation of the environmental burdens associated
with products and processes. It seeks to identify and quantify energy and materials
consumed and waste released to the environment, thereby enabling the evaluation
and comparison of environmental improvement options. The assessment includes
the entire life cycle of the product, process, or activity (SETAC 1993). A product’s
life cycle is generally broken down into stages. The number of stages can vary; six
stages are often distinguished, namely (1) product design; (2) raw material
extraction and processing; (3) manufacturing of the product; (4) packaging and