Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the available methodologies to measure
this sustainability holistically, although few LCAs applied to bioactive compounds
and pharmaceutical ingredients are found in literature [2–4]. In the case of blue (i.e.
marine) biotechnology, which involves the exploration and exploitation of new
products from marine organisms, the LCA studies conducted to date mainly analysed the cultivation and extraction of fractions from microalgae and seaweed. They
focus on relatively low value commodities, namely biofuels [5]. Most of the work
dealt with the production of biodiesel by transesterification, although other bioenergy sources (bioethanol, biogas …) have also been evaluated. Few examples of
LCA studies addressing the production of high-value chemicals and bioactive
compounds from marine sources are available, due to the lack of information from
commercial-scale facilities [4, 5]. The studies generally rely on extrapolations and
simulation models rather than field data from operating systems [5].
According to the principles of sustainable development, measuring sustainability
for supply chain decision-making requires the integration of social and economic
dimensions together with environmental aspects [6]. To this end, an integrated
framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is proposed. It
combines conventional LCA with social LCA (SLCA) and Life Cycle Costing
(LCC) [7], based on UNEP/SETAC guidelines [8] for SLCA and [9, 10] for LCC.
In this work, the sustainability of a blue biotechnology process, namely the
production of the red carotenoid astaxanthin by the green microalga
Haematococcus pluvialis, is evaluated. Astaxanthin is a high-value red carotenoid
with numerous applications in food and feed industries, nutraceuticals and cosmetics [11]. Given its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, astaxanthin is
suggested to play a beneficial role in human health for the protection of skin cells
against UV-light photo-oxidation, slowing of age-related diseases and even control
of carcinogenic processes [11, 12]. Astaxanthin can be obtained from microalgae in
a two-stage process: in the first stage the biomass is cultivated in a photo-bioreactor
(PBR) under favourable growth conditions whereas in the second stage, adverse
conditions are promoted to induce the accumulation of astaxanthin within the
biomass [13].
A comprehensive sustainability assessment is here presented, based on process
data from real facilities for algae cultivation and astaxanthin extraction at lab,
semi-pilot and pilot scale. An environmental LCA jointly with a socio-economic
assessment was conducted following SLCA existing guidelines and a Cost-Benefit
Analysis (CBA) approach to complete the evaluation by taking the three dimensions of sustainability into account.
2 Methodology
The three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) are
evaluated in this work according to a cradle-to-gate perspective based on the
Life Cycle Thinking principles. The environmental LCA followed ISO14040
476
P. Pérez-López et al.
this sustainability holistically, although few LCAs applied to bioactive compounds
and pharmaceutical ingredients are found in literature [2–4]. In the case of blue (i.e.
marine) biotechnology, which involves the exploration and exploitation of new
products from marine organisms, the LCA studies conducted to date mainly analysed the cultivation and extraction of fractions from microalgae and seaweed. They
focus on relatively low value commodities, namely biofuels [5]. Most of the work
dealt with the production of biodiesel by transesterification, although other bioenergy sources (bioethanol, biogas …) have also been evaluated. Few examples of
LCA studies addressing the production of high-value chemicals and bioactive
compounds from marine sources are available, due to the lack of information from
commercial-scale facilities [4, 5]. The studies generally rely on extrapolations and
simulation models rather than field data from operating systems [5].
According to the principles of sustainable development, measuring sustainability
for supply chain decision-making requires the integration of social and economic
dimensions together with environmental aspects [6]. To this end, an integrated
framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is proposed. It
combines conventional LCA with social LCA (SLCA) and Life Cycle Costing
(LCC) [7], based on UNEP/SETAC guidelines [8] for SLCA and [9, 10] for LCC.
In this work, the sustainability of a blue biotechnology process, namely the
production of the red carotenoid astaxanthin by the green microalga
Haematococcus pluvialis, is evaluated. Astaxanthin is a high-value red carotenoid
with numerous applications in food and feed industries, nutraceuticals and cosmetics [11]. Given its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, astaxanthin is
suggested to play a beneficial role in human health for the protection of skin cells
against UV-light photo-oxidation, slowing of age-related diseases and even control
of carcinogenic processes [11, 12]. Astaxanthin can be obtained from microalgae in
a two-stage process: in the first stage the biomass is cultivated in a photo-bioreactor
(PBR) under favourable growth conditions whereas in the second stage, adverse
conditions are promoted to induce the accumulation of astaxanthin within the
biomass [13].
A comprehensive sustainability assessment is here presented, based on process
data from real facilities for algae cultivation and astaxanthin extraction at lab,
semi-pilot and pilot scale. An environmental LCA jointly with a socio-economic
assessment was conducted following SLCA existing guidelines and a Cost-Benefit
Analysis (CBA) approach to complete the evaluation by taking the three dimensions of sustainability into account.
2 Methodology
The three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) are
evaluated in this work according to a cradle-to-gate perspective based on the
Life Cycle Thinking principles. The environmental LCA followed ISO14040
476
P. Pérez-López et al.