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Analysis of institutional authors

Moreno, JCorresponding AuthorIglesias, JAuthorBlanco, JAuthorMontero, MAuthorMorales, GAuthorMelero, JaAuthor

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September 27, 2022
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Life-cycle sustainability of biomass-derived sorbitol: Proposing technological alternatives for improving the environmental profile of a bio-refinery platform molecule

Publicated to: Journal Of Cleaner Production. 250 (119568): 119568- - 2020-03-20 250(119568), DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119568

Authors: Moreno, J; Iglesias, J; Blanco, J; Montero, M; Morales, G; Melero, JA

Affiliations

Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Chem & Environm Engn Grp, Tulipan S-N, Madrid 28933, Spain - Author

Abstract

Improving the environmental performance of the industrial processes for the production of biomass-derived platform molecules is nowadays mandatory to achieve real sustainable bio-refineries. In this work, the sorbitol production starting from corn starch has been evaluated using a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The objective is figuring out the most impacting operations from an energy and environmental point of view and proposing ways for improving them. Two different alternatives for the production of the starting glucose, enzymatic and acid hydrolysis of corn starch, were studied for the first step. In a second stage, a plant for glucose hydrogenation based on a continuous fixed-bed reactor loaded with Raney nickel has also been considered. Finally, the different stages were integrated into a global process to quantify total environmental impacts. All the stages were implemented in Aspen Plus V10 for variables calculation to get the necessary information for process life cycle inventory. Results revealed that the acid hydrolysis is a better alternative for glucose production, mainly due to its lower energy requirements in comparison with the enzymatic pathway. In the second step, the hydrogenation of glucose, the purification of sorbitol and the compression of hydrogen provided important environmental impacts because of their high consumption of both electricity and heat. Analysis of the integrated process evidence that glucose involves an important relative contribution, higher than 60%, to all of the environmental impact categories. Interestingly, including biogenic carbon for calculations makes that CO2 fixed during corn cultivation almost compensates the emissions of the rest of the process steps, highlighting the importance of using autotrophic biomass as raw materials. Finally, based on these LCA results, technological alternatives for improving sorbitol environmental performance have been proposed and detailed. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

AlcoholsBiomassCatalystsChemical reactorsCornEnergyEnvironmental impactEnvironmental impactsEnvironmental managementEnvironmental performanceEnvironmental profileEnzymatic hydrolysisGlucoseGlucose hydrogenationGlucose-productionHydrogenationLcaLife cycleLife cycle assessment (lca)MoleculesProcess life cyclesRelative contributionSorbitolSorbitol productionStarchSugarsSustainabilitySustainable developmentTechnological alternativesTransfer hydrogenationTransformation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal Of Cleaner Production due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 3/44, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-12-06:

  • WoS: 23
  • Scopus: 25

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-12-06:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 106 (PlumX).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Moreno Vozmediano, Jovita) and Last Author (Melero Hernández, Juan Antonio).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Moreno Vozmediano, Jovita.

Awards linked to the item

Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (project RTI2018-094918-B-C4), and from the Regional Government of Madrid (project BIOTRES-CM P2018/EMT-4344) is gratefully acknowledged. J. Blanco kindly acknowledges the Regional Government of Madrid for a research contract (PEJD-2017-PRE/AMB-4510) funded through the European Social Fund.