EPFL researcher develops LCA for biorefineries including co-products

In Switzerland, new EU regulation aims to shrink the environmental footprint of biofuels starting in 2021. But an EPFL scientist thinks we should go one step further and take into account all compounds produced at biorefineries, not just biofuel. And he has developed a model for doing just that.

The hitch is that until now, no computer model existed for analyzing the entire life cycle of each product and coming up with a single emissions figure subject to environmental requirements.

One major challenge is the many different variables involved in calculating the emissions of biofuels and their various coproducts. But after five years of research, researchers came up with a model that incorporates all the various data.