Sensitivity of biorefinery environmental impacts associated with reduced use of sodium phosphate

Sensitivity of biorefinery environmental impacts associated with reduced use of sodium phosphate

Authors

  • Alejandra Gabriela Yáñez Vergara Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav) https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1185-9738
  • Héctor Mario Poggi Varaldo Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav), Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioingeniería https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3222-9945
  • León Felipe Cano Arteaga Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav), Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioingeniería

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56643/rcia.v5i1.246

Keywords:

environmental metrics, environmental sustainability, indices, life cycle assessment

Abstract

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the biorefinery (BRF) showed that sodium phosphate significantly contributed to human carcinogenic toxicity (HCT). The sodium phosphate used serves as a pH control agent and phosphorus nutrient source for the fungus Trichoderma reesei to produce enzymes in the Z stage of the BRF. However, other authors have demonstrated that the fungus could achieve competitive enzyme yields in phosphorus-free culture media. Therefore, sodium phosphate in the Z stage was replaced with carbonate; this new scenario was named BRF-CanoP2. The ReCiPe (H) midpoint 2016 method was used for the LCA in SimaPro. A new system of environmental sustainability (ES) indicators, known as the α, σ, and τ set, was applied. The potential normalized environmental impacts (PIAN) decreased from 40.7 to 28.6 (person*years)/functional unit (FU). The total human consumption (THC) decreased from 13,933 to 6,356 (person*years)/FU. In conclusion, reducing sodium phosphate use and replacing it with sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate improved the environmental performance of the BRF-CanoP2.

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Published

2026-06-15

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How to Cite

Yáñez Vergara, A. G., Poggi Varaldo, H. M. ., & Cano Arteaga, L. F. . (2026). Sensitivity of biorefinery environmental impacts associated with reduced use of sodium phosphate: Sensitivity of biorefinery environmental impacts associated with reduced use of sodium phosphate. Revista Científica De Ingenierías Y Arquitectura, 5(1), 98-119. https://doi.org/10.56643/rcia.v5i1.246

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