Journal: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

Abbreviation

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. Note

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Journal Volumes

ISSN

2168-0485

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2013 - 2019302020 - 202561
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Publications 1 - 10 of 91
  • Determining Bio-Oil Composition via Chemometric Tools Based on Infrared Spectroscopy
    Item type: Journal Article
    Garcia, Tomas; Veses, Alberto; Lopez, Jose M.; et al. (2017)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
  • Fiber-Reinforced PET Composites: Characterization of a Sustainable and Circular Processing Route
    Item type: Journal Article
    Vetterli, Oliver; Pappas, Georgios A.; Krüger, Reto; et al. (2025)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    In this study, a fully circular processing method based on solid-state polymerization at the composite level (in situ SSP), tackling viscosity issues in thermoplastic composites’ impregnation, was demonstrated on carbon fiber (CF)-poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) composites. Initially, the effects of attained intrinsic viscosity (IV) on the transverse tensile properties were evaluated, showing an ultimate strength saturation at ∼69 MPa for PET IV = 0.82 dL/g, reaching failure strains of ∼1.18%. The latter improved further at higher IVs. Moreover, PET from used bottles, processed via the in situ SSP method, showed properties identical to those of virgin grade, with performance reaching/outperforming that of typical epoxy-based systems. Then, composites’ recycling via glycolysis was studied on the aforementioned CF-PET, along with glass fiber-PET ones. The results showed that glycolysis advances unhindered by the presence of fibers, removing ≥99% of the polymer, which was recovered as pure, crystalline bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET), i.e., the starting material for PET synthesis. During the process, fiber alignment and length are intact, enabling the constituent materials’ usage in applications equally demanding as those of the starting material. Polymer residue is a function of parameters such as depolymerization time, constituent polymer crystallinity, and IV, while some polymer residue on fibers may anyhow replace the need for sizing, contributing further to process’s circularity.
  • Sustainable One-Pot Production and Scale-Up of the New Platform Chemical Diformylxylose (DFX) from Agricultural Biomass
    Item type: Journal Article
    Komarova, Anastasia O.; Li, Zezhong John; Jones, Marie J.; et al. (2024)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    The large-scale production of platform chemicals from biomass requires efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable methods. Here, we present three one-pot synthesis routes for producing diformylxylose (DFX), a sugar-based solvent and platform chemical, using d-xylose or corncobs as feedstocks. With yields of approximately 80%, these routes were seamlessly scaled from lab to kilogram-scale in a 15 L batch reactor. Techno-economic assessment demonstrates the competitiveness of the proposed methods against fossil- and biobased analogues. Life-cycle analysis shows the potential of these processes to reduce environmental and societal impacts from cradle to gate. At the "end of life", DFX is demonstrated to be inherently biodegradable. Overall, we present a compelling case study of scaling a novel platform chemical guided by techno-economic and environmental concerns leading to balanced cost-competitiveness and life-cycle sustainability.
  • Highly Efficient, Easily Recoverable, and Recyclable Re–SiO2–Fe3O4 Catalyst for the Fragmentation of Lignin
    Item type: Journal Article
    Tudorache, Madalina; Opris, Cristina; Cojocaru, Bogdan; et al. (2018)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
  • 3D Printed Cellulose-Based Fungal Battery
    Item type: Journal Article
    Reyes, Carolina; Fivaz, Erika; Sajó, Zsófia; et al. (2024)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    Growing e-waste and the dwindling of nonrenewable materials underscore the urgency to develop electronics based on renewable natural resources. Using cellulose as a material for 3D printing living fungal electrodes is a novel way to harness their metabolic activity for potential use in electrochemical devices. This study shows that the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the white-rot fungus Trametes pubescens in combination with cellulose nanocrystals and cellulose nanofibrils can be 3D-printed and that both fungi grow inside the inks. Adding carbon black and graphite flakes to the inks makes them electronically conductive for potential use as electrodes in fungal batteries, specifically microbial fuel cells (MFCs). A single battery produces a maximum power density of 12.5 mu W/cm(2) and a maximum current density of 49.2 mu A/cm(2) (22 k Omega). These fungal biobatteries can produce between 300 and 600 mV for several days, delivering 3-20 mu A for external loads between 10 and 100 k Omega. Attaching four batteries in parallel can power a small sensor for 65 h. Also, a fully biodegradable fungal MFC can be constructed with beeswax and a customized cellulose proton exchange membrane. This is the first study that reports on 3D-printed cellulose-based fungal electrodes in an MFC.
  • Absolute Sustainability Assessment of Flue Gas Valorization to Ammonia and Synthetic Natural Gas
    Item type: Journal Article
    D'Angelo, Sebastiano Carlo; Mache, Julian; Guillén Gosálbez, Gonzalo (2023)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    Carbon capture and utilization has gained attention to potentially curb CO₂ emissions while generating valuable chemicals. These technologies will coexist with fossil analogs, creating synergies to leverage circular economy principles. In this context, flue gas valorization from power plants can assist in the transition. Here, we assessed the absolute sustainability of a simulated integrated facility producing ammonia and synthetic natural gas from flue gas from a combined-cycle natural gas power plant based in Germany, using hydrogen from three water electrolysis technologies (proton exchange membrane, alkaline, and solid oxide cells), nitrogen, and CO₂. For the first time, we applied the planetary boundaries (PBs) framework to a circular integrated system, evaluating its performance relative to the safe operating space. The PB-LCA assessment showed that the alternative technologies could significantly reduce, among others, the impact on climate change and biosphere integrity when compared to their fossil counterparts, which could be deemed unsustainable in climate change. Nevertheless, these alternative technologies could also lead to burden shifting and are not yet economically viable. Overall, the investigated process could smoothen the transition toward low-carbon technologies, but its potential collateral damages should be carefully considered. Furthermore, the application of the PBs provides an appealing framework to quantify the absolute sustainability level of integrated circular systems.
  • Toughening Starch-Based Bioplastics with Soy Amyloid Fibrils Produced from Tofu Wastewater
    Item type: Journal Article
    Roy Goswami, Shrestha; Mykolenko, Svitlana; Kong, Xiang; et al. (2025)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    The present study explores the potential of soy amyloid fibrils produced from tofu wastewater as sustainable reinforcements for starch-based edible bioplastics. The soy amyloid fibrils, exhibiting a persistence length of 1.2 μm and β-sheet structures, were incorporated into an aqueous solution containing starch, pectin, and plasticizers (glycerol/sorbitol = 2:1), which was subsequently cast into films. The soy amyloid fibrils could interact with plasticized starch and pectin chains, yielding a difference in glass transition temperature per percentage of plasticizer content of 1.7 °C and forming microvoids, which were found to be beneficial for toughening the films. Under tensile stress, soy amyloid fibril-reinforced starch-pectin films featured a 3-fold enhancement in their ductile toughness relative to the control films, with the elongation at break increasing from 11.7 to 34.5% and the toughness increasing from ≈411 to 1141 MJ/m$^3$, respectively. These films also demonstrated oxygen and water barrier performances comparable to nonbiodegradable films based on polyamide-6. In addition, the blends introduced in this work could be processed both into films by casting and into filaments via extrusion. Importantly, a basic cost analysis of the soy amyloid fibril-reinforced starch-pectin composites revealed that they fall within the same cost range as other bioplastics, providing a versatile solution to expanding bioplastic processing using tofu wastewater as the starting feedstock.
  • Biomass Conversion into Fuels, Chemicals, or Electricity? A Network-Based Life Cycle Optimization Approach Applied to the European Union
    Item type: Journal Article
    Calvo-Serrano, Raul; Guo, Miao; Pozo, Carlos; et al. (2019)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
  • Biodegradable and Flexible Wood-Gelatin Composites for Soft Actuating Systems
    Item type: Journal Article
    Koch, Sophie; Dreimol, Christopher; Goldhahn, Christian; et al. (2024)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    Compliant materials are indispensable for many emerging soft robotics applications. Hence, concerns regarding sustainability and end-of-life options for these materials are growing, given that they are predominantly petroleum-based and non-recyclable. Despite efforts to explore alternative bio-derived soft materials like gelatin, they frequently fall short in delivering the mechanical performance required for soft actuating systems. To address this issue, we reinforced a compliant and transparent gelatin-glycerol matrix with structure-retained delignified wood, resulting in a flexible and entirely biobased composite (DW-flex). This DW-flex composite exhibits highly anisotropic mechanical behavior, possessing higher strength and stiffness in the fiber direction and high deformability perpendicular to it. Implementing a distinct anisotropy in otherwise isotropic soft materials unlocks new possibilities for more complex movement patterns. To demonstrate the capability and potential of DW-flex, we built and modeled a fin ray-inspired gripper finger, which deforms based on a twist-bending-coupled motion that is tailorable by adjusting the fiber direction. Moreover, we designed a demonstrator for a proof-of-concept suitable for gripping a soft object with a complex shape, i.e., a strawberry. We show that this composite is entirely biodegradable in soil, enabling more sustainable approaches for soft actuators in robotics applications.
  • Sugar-to-What? An Environmental Merit Order Curve for Biobased Chemicals and Plastics
    Item type: Journal Article
    Winter, Benedikt; Meys, Raoul; Sternberg, André; et al. (2022)
    ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
    The chemical industry aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by adopting biomass as a renewable carbon feedstock. However, biomass is a limited resource. Thus, biomass should preferentially be used in processes that most reduce GHG emissions. However, a lack of harmonization in current life cycle assessment (LCA) literature makes the identification of efficient processes difficult. In this study, 46 fermentation processes from literature are harmonized and analyzed on the basis of their GHG reduction compared with fossil benchmarks. The GHG reduction per amount of sugar used is defined as Sugar-to-X efficiency and used as a performance metric in the following. The analyzed processes span a wide range of Sugar-to-X efficiencies from −3.3 to 6.7 kg of CO2 equiv per kg of sugar input. Diverting sugar from bioethanol production for fuels to the fermentation and bioconversion processes with the highest Sugar-to-X efficiency could reduce the chemical industry’s GHG emissions by an additional 130 MT of CO2 equiv without requiring any more biobased feedstocks.
Publications 1 - 10 of 91