Scalable and Sustainable Biorefinery Development: Coupling Green Chemistry with Life Cycle Thinking

Advancing scalable and sustainable biorefinery technologies is vital for supporting the circular bioeconomy and reducing the reliance on fossil resources. In this study, we introduce a multiscale life cycle assessment (mLCA) framework to evaluate biomass valorization systems by integrating green solvent design, process efficiency, scale-up potential, environmental burdens, and techno-economic implications. Guided by this framework, we developed a ternary deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed of choline chloride, lactic acid, and ethylene glycol for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. Compared to conventional binary DES systems, the ternary DES demonstrated superior selectivity for lignin and hemicellulose removal, achieving a saccharification efficiency of 97.38% while maintaining high process efficiency and solvent recovery. The prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA) predicts that after scaling the processes from laboratory to industrial scale, most environmental impact indicators are significantly reduced (27.84–97.82%), although impacts in some categories, including marine eutrophication, stratospheric ozone depletion, and land use, increased─likely attributable in part to ethylene glycol. Monetized environmental assessment further confirmed that all environmental risk index (ERI) values remained below 1, suggesting overall environmental and regulatory feasibility. These findings underscore the value of coupling green chemistry with life cycle thinking to enable the sustainable industrial deployment of high-efficiency biorefining technologies.