Eco-efficiency analysis as a reaction-engineering tool—Case study of a laccase-initiated oxidative C–N coupling

Advantages and drawbacks of life cycle assessment application to the pharmaceuticals: a short critical literature review

Pharmaceuticals are among the most challenging products to assess by life cycle assessment (LCA). The main drawback highlighted by LCA practitioners is the lack of inventory data, both regarding the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) precursors (upstream) and the details concerning the downstream phases (use and end of life). A short critical review of pharma-LCAs found in the literature is here proposed, with discussion of several tools and models used to predict the environmental impacts derived from the life cycle of pharmaceuticals, emphasizing current strengths and weaknesses, and exploring the possibilities for improvements. The case of antibiotics is selected as a representative class of pharmaceuticals, due to their massive use worldwide and the growing related issue of antimicrobial resistance enrichment, which is generally not included in most of LCAs. Also, we comment on drafting product category rules (PCRs) in the relevant field to develop standard methodologies and enhance the comparability of the studies, ultimately advocating collaboration with companies and improving inventory data quality and availability for the whole value chain of products.

Assessing Industrial Biotechnology Products with LCA and Eco-Efficiency

Biotechnology is applied in many industrial areas and uses microorganisms, enzymes, or precursors replacing chemicals to produce goods, including chemicals, plastics, food, agricultural and pharmaceutical products, and energy carriers from renewable raw materials and increasingly also from waste from agriculture and forestry (BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Facts and Figures. Biotechnologie.de. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/dossiers/industrial-biotechnology-biological-resources-for-industrial-processes/ , 2013). In comparison with conventional processes, industrial biotechnology processes often run under relatively mild reaction conditions, moderate temperatures, and the use of aqueous media. They might reduce in general the energy requirements and the number of by-products. Since product concentration and formation rate are often very low, the resulting products need to be purified and recovered in marketable quantities in a process that is referred to as downstream processing. Product quantity can also be increased by optimizing the manufacturing processes or biocatalysts used (OECD, the application of biotechnology to industrial sustainability. www.oecd.org/sti/biotechnology , 2001).In this context, developing a sustainable bio-based economy that uses eco-efficient processes is one of the key strategic challenges for the twenty-first century. Decisions in the technology development are often supported by sustainability assessment results using different types of sustainability assessment methods. In the last decades, we developed different types of sustainability assessment methods evaluating aspects of economy, ecology, and society to support decision-making processes. We show in this chapter how different types of questions can be answered, how more sustainable solutions can be identified, and how this information can be used for marketing and research activities.

Laccase-mediated synthesis of a phenoxazine compound with antioxidative and dyeing properties--the optimisation process

This study demonstrates the optimisation of the main parameters of the laccase-mediated biosynthesis of high-intensity-coloured orange phenoxazine compound, 2-amino-3-oxo-3H-phenoxazine-8-sulfonic acid, and the antioxidative and dyeing properties. Among optimised parameters were the pH value, the activity of laccase, and the high concentration of the precursor as the necessary step in terms of dye synthesis scale-up. The high concentration of the precursor of ca. 10 g/L can be transformed totally by laccase at the activity of 30 U/g during 12 hours, in an optimised and standardised process in nearly 100% yield of synthesis. The obtained dye exhibited good dyeing properties determined according to the ISO standards. Antioxidative activities were detected for phenoxazinone dye using two independent methods, the chemiluminescence assay and the ABTS free radical-scavenging test, with the values of EC50 for the tested phenoxazine dye amounting 189.8 μg/mL and 1428 μg/mL, respectively. Despite the presence of the phenoxazine core in the structure of this dye, no antibacterial capacity was noted.