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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Chun Yang Yin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2024 by the authors. This study investigates the extraction of cellulose from Saudi Arabia-based date palm biomass utilizing a natural deep eutectic solvent (NaDES) integrated with a microwave-assisted process. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted in accordance with the ISO 14040 standard, encompassing four key stages: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and interpretation. The analysis was confined to a gate-to-gate boundary in which two impact assessment methods, namely, ReCiPe Midpoint (H) 2016 and ILCD 2011 Midpoint, were used to assess the environmental impacts. The OpenLCA software (version 2.1.1) with the European Life Cycle Database 3.2 (ELCD 3.2) was used in the study. The ReCiPe method identified impact categories such as fossil resource scarcity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, water consumption, human carcinogenic toxicity and marine ecotoxicity. Conversely, the ILCD method identified freshwater ecotoxicity, water resource depletion, mineral, fossil and resource depletion, human toxicity and cancer effects. The results indicate that freshwater ecotoxicity presents the most substantial environmental impact across both assessment methods, surpassing other categories. Fossil resource scarcity, even though originally appearing impactful, demonstrated a relatively lower normalized score compared to freshwater ecotoxicity. Terrestrial ecotoxicity and water consumption were found to be negligible in their impact. Our findings provide important insights into sustainable material science and waste management, affording potential applications for biomass utilization in the Gulf region.
Author(s): Alanazi YM, Yin C-Y, Ragib AA, El-Harbawi M, Sivapragasam M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Applied Sciences
Year: 2024
Volume: 14
Issue: 20
Online publication date: 21/10/2024
Acceptance date: 15/10/2024
Date deposited: 11/11/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2076-3417
Publisher: MDPI
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/app14209583
DOI: 10.3390/app14209583
Data Access Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author (accurately indicate status).
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