@article{35646, author = {Yan Wang and Nawa Raj Baral and Minliang Yang and Corinne D Scown}, title = {Co-Processing Agricultural Residues and Wet Organic Waste Can Produce Lower-Cost Carbon-Negative Fuels and Bioplastics}, abstract = {

Scalable, low-cost biofuel and biochemical production can accelerate progress on the path to a more circular carbon economy and reduced dependence on crude oil. Rather than producing a single fuel product, lignocellulosic biorefineries have the potential to serve as hubs for the production of fuels, production of petrochemical replacements, and treatment of high-moisture organic waste. A detailed techno-economic analysis and life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment are developed to explore the cost and emission impacts of integrated corn stover-to-ethanol biorefineries that incorporate both codigestion of organic wastes and different strategies for utilizing biogas, including onsite energy generation, upgrading to bio-compressed natural gas (bioCNG), conversion to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) bioplastic, and conversion to single-cell protein (SCP). We find that codigesting manure or a combination of manure and food waste alongside process wastewater can reduce the biorefinery{\textquoteright}s total costs per metric ton of CO2\ equivalent mitigated by half or more. Upgrading biogas to bioCNG is the most cost-effective climate mitigation strategy, while upgrading biogas to PHB or SCP is competitive with combusting biogas onsite.

}, year = {2023}, booktitle = {Environmental Science \& Technology}, journal = {Environmental Science \& Technology}, series = {Environmental Science \& Technology}, month = {02/2023}, issn = {0013-936X}, url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c06674}, doi = {10.1021/acs.est.2c06674}, language = {eng}, }