Fermentation 2026, 12(2), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12020087 - 3 Feb 2026
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion under a Waste-to-Energy (WtE-AD) framework represents a sustainable alternative for managing organic waste and generating bioenergy in developing countries. However, most life cycle assessment (LCA) studies implicitly assume stable operation, overlooking the environmental implications of process instability. In practice, large-scale WtE-AD
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Anaerobic digestion under a Waste-to-Energy (WtE-AD) framework represents a sustainable alternative for managing organic waste and generating bioenergy in developing countries. However, most life cycle assessment (LCA) studies implicitly assume stable operation, overlooking the environmental implications of process instability. In practice, large-scale WtE-AD plants are frequently affected by methanogenic inhibition events that reduce methane production and compromise their technical, economic, and environmental performance. This study—Part 2 of a two-paper series—addresses this gap by quantifying, from a life cycle perspective, the environmental consequences of recurrent methanogenic inhibition events in large-scale WtE-AD systems, complementing the techno-economic analysis presented in Part 1. Large-scale WtE-AD plants were modeled using design equations based on treatment capacity (60–200 t d−1), considering scenarios with up to ten inhibition events over a 25-year operational period. The LCA was conducted in accordance with ISO 14040:14044 standards, defining as the functional unit one ton of co-digested fruit and vegetable residues with meat industry wastes, under an attributional approach with system boundary expansion and evaluating midpoint indicators through the ReCiPe 2016 method. Results show that inhibition events increase greenhouse gas emissions by up to 400% (from 28.1 to 138.6 kg CO2 eq t−1 of waste treated), while plants with capacities above 125 t d−1 exhibit environmental credits (negative emission balances), demonstrating greater environmental resilience. Electricity substitution from the Mexican grid generated savings of up to 0.624 kg CO2 eq kWh−1, although the magnitude of the benefits strongly depends on the regional electricity mix. This dependency was further explored through comparative electricity mix scenarios representative of different levels of power sector decarbonization, allowing the sensitivity of WtE-AD environmental performance to regional grid characteristics to be assessed. Compared to landfill disposal (1326 kg CO2 eq t−1), WtE-AD plants significantly reduce impacts across all assessed categories. By explicitly integrating operational instability into an industrial-scale LCA framework, this work highlights the importance of evaluating methanogenic inhibition events from a life cycle perspective, providing key insights for the design of more sustainable and resilient WtE-AD processes within a Latin American context.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Advances in Lignocellulosic Biomass Conversion to Bioenergy)
