AFYREN announces a significant improvement in the environmental assessment of its biobased organic acids

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

The latest update of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), using data from 2020, gives a more complete environmental assessment of the future biorefinery under construction in Carling-Saint-Avold, showing that AFYREN's biobased acids have on average a carbon footprint 81% lower than equivalent petroleum-based products.
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Figure 1. Sphera conducted the first environmental study of AFYREN’s products through "cradle-to-gate"

AFYREN is working hard to make its process even more efficient and environmentally sound. Measurement of the footprint is a crucial part of this effort, which is why AFYREN partnered three years ago with Sphera. This company conducted the first environmental study of AFYREN’s products through "cradle-to-gate" LCA (standardized method according to ISO 14040-14044) for the 2018-2019 period, based on pre-industrial data. The LCA was updated in 2020 and prefigures the environmental assessment of the future Carling biorefinery.

A carbon footprint reduced by 81% compared to homologous products on the market means that AFYREN's production (16,500 tons of biobased acids) will allow savings of more than 30,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. AFYREN and Sphera, through the AFTER-BIOCHEM European project, will proceed with a critical review of the LCA analysis and plan further iterations to create other sustainability assessments in an effort to continually minimize the environmental impact of its products.

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