sustainability assessment of a biorefinery complex in thailand在泰国可持续性评估生物炼油厂的复杂.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2011, 3, 518-530; doi:10.3390/su3030518 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Sustainability Assessment of a Biorefinery Complex in Thailand Shabbir H. Gheewala 1,2,*, Sébastien Bonnet 1,2, Kritana Prueksakorn 1,2 and Pariyapat Nilsalab 1,2 1 The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand; E-Mails: sebastien@jgsee.kmutt.ac.th (S.B.); k.prueksakorn@ (K.P.); pariyapat.nil@kmutt.ac.th (P.N.) 2 Center for Energy Technology and Environment, Ministry of Education, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: shabbir_g@jgsee.kmutt.ac.th; Tel.: +662-470-8309; Fax: +662-872-9805. Received: 1 February 2011; in revised form: 16 February 2011 / Accepted: 28 February 2011 / Published: 21 March 2011 Abstract: In this paper, a biorefinery complex in Thailand was assessed vis-à-vis sustainability. The complex studied includes plantations of sugarcane and a biorefinery system composed of several units including, a sugar mill, power plant, ethanol factory and fertilizer plant. The assessment aimed at evaluating the environmental and socio-economic implications relating to molasses-based ethanol production and use, and maximized utilization of the biomass materials produced as part of the biorefinery complex. Global warming potential, human development index and total value a