Advancing the Circular Economy Through Organic by-Product Valorisation : A Multi-criteria Assessment of a Wheat-Based Biorefinery

The transition toward a circular and biobased economy requires the biorefineries and bio-based industries to become more resource efficient with regards to their waste and by-product management. Organic by-products and waste streams can be an important source of value if used in feasible pathways that not only have a low environmental impact but also preserve or recover their energy, nutrients, and other potentially valuable components. Through development of a multi-criteria assessment framework and its application on a real case, this article provides methodological and practical insights on decision making for enhanced by-product management. Our framework includes 8 key areas and 18 well-defined indicators for assessing the environmental performance, feasibility, and long-term risk of each alternative. We studied six different management options for the stillage by-product of a Swedish wheat-based biorefinery and our results shows that the most suitable options for this biorefinery are to use the stillage either as animal fodder or as feedstock for local biogas production for vehicle fuel. This multi-criteria approach can be used by bio-based industrial actors to systematically investigate options for by-product management and valorisation for a circular and bio-based economy.Funding: Linkoping University; Biogas Research Center (BRC) - Swedish Energy Agency