Environmental Insights into Single-Cell Protein Production: A Life Cycle Assessment Framework

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and Sustainable Food Production
• Environmental Science and Life Cycle Assessment

Background:

• Single cell protein (SCP) offers an innovative solution to global food scarcity.
• Fish industry waste can be converted to biomethane for SCP production.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is crucial for evaluating emerging food technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the environmental impacts of scaling up SCP production from fish waste-derived biomethane.
• To compare different biomethane valorization scenarios using an ex-ante LCA.
• To identify optimal configurations for sustainable SCP production.

Main Methods:

• An ex-ante Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted.
• Cradle-to-gate analysis included recovered materials and energy.
• Scenarios evaluated SCP production with biofertilizer recovery and biomethane valorization (grid gas, electricity, heat).

Main Results:

• Scaling up from lab to industrial scale reduced environmental impacts by 60-96%.
• The baseline scenario (biofertilizer only) had the poorest performance due to unutilized biogas.
• Modified scenarios with biomethane, heat, and electricity recovery showed substantial environmental benefits.

Conclusions:

• Industrial-scale SCP production from fish waste biomethane offers significant environmental advantages over lab-scale.
• Optimal system configuration involves comprehensive biomethane, heat, and electricity recovery.
• LCA is vital for guiding early-stage development of sustainable food technologies.