RT Journal Article
T1 Enzyme-Driven Pathways for FDCA Production: Environmental Insights into a Scalable and Sustainable Bioprocess
A1 Carballido Nogueira, Aroa
A1 Arias Calvo, Ana
A1 Feijoo Costa, Gumersindo
A1 Moreira Vilar, María Teresa
K1 Enzymatic production
K1 Biotechnology
K1 Life cycle assessment
K1 Techno-economic analysis
K1 Modelling Bioplastics PEF
AB The growing demand for sustainable alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics has positioned 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) as a promising monomer for next-generation bioplastics like polyethylene furanoate (PEF). Among the available routes, enzymatic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidase (HMFO) stands out for its selectivity and mild operational conditions. This study aims to assess the sustainability potential of FDCA production via HMFO (including also the analysis of the enzyme production), integrating both techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Four fermentation volumes were evaluated for the HMFO production (5 L–1 m³), showing that the environmental loads decrease with scale-up, being the 1 m3 scenario the most promising one under an environmental perspective. Regarding the main contributors of the environmental profiles, glucose and cellulose are the process inputs that stand out, while renewable energy and reduced solvent input showed significant improvements in lowering burdens. Regarding the FDCA production, it was modelled both at lab and scale-up levels, including ethanol recycling as a mitigation strategy. In this case, HMF was identified as the primary hotspot across all scenarios and impact categories. On the other hand, the TEA revealed that a minimum selling price of $33.56/kg is needed to ensure that the process is economically viable, with enzyme reuse offering significant potential for cost reduction. Even though the sustainability potential has been demonstrated, both environmentally and economically, further research is needed in terms of enzyme reuse and recovery.
PB Elsevier
SN 0926-6690
YR 2026
FD 2026-01-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44978
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44978
LA eng
NO Industrial Crops and Products Volume 240, February 2026, 122625
NO This study was supported by the STAR4BBS project (No. 101060588), funded by the European Commission under Horizon-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01, and by FURENPOL project (Grant Agreement PLEC2021–007690), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the European Union through the Next Generation EU/PRTR initiative. A. Arias also thanks the Galician Government for financial support (Grant reference ED481B-2023–072). A. Arias, G. Feijoo and M.T. Moreira authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (ED431C-2025/19) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS, ED431G 2023/12).
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026