Agricultural residue feedstock selection for polyhydroxyalkanoates production using AHP-GRA

Abstract

© 2018, Department of Science and Technology. All rights reserved. The potential of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) as substitute to durable petroleum-based plastics is currently explored because of its biodegradability and satisfactory properties. However, its high production cost – primarily due to the cost of substrate – limits its commercialization. As a solution, lignocellulosic agricultural residues can be used as feedstock to lower the production cost. To systematically determine the best agricultural residue for PHA production, this study employed the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). Based on the results, it was identified that the feedstock composition criterion was given a higher weight over the economic criterion. Additionally, conversion efficiency was ranked first in terms of the overall weights of all the criteria, followed by cellulose content and processing cost. GRA showed that corn stover was the most preferred lignocellulosic substrate for PHA production, followed by banana pseudostem and sugarcane bagasse. Sensitivity analysis also proved that corn stover is an excellent feedstock candidate, particularly if conversion efficiency and processing cost criteria are given higher weights. Related studies such as economic and life cycle analyses, as well as process improvement, may also be incorporated with the results of this study to provide comprehensive information on selecting a suitable feedstock for sustainable PHA production.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Journal of Science

ISSN

317683

Page

693-704

Document Type

Article

Subject

Agricultural residue, Analytic hierarchy process, Grey relational analysis, Multi-criteria decision analysis, Polyhydroxyalkanoates

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