@article{brito_suarez_pifano_reisinger_wright_saloni_kelley_gonzalez_venditti_jameel_2023, title={Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Premium and Ultra Hygiene Tissue Products in the United States}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1930-2126"]}, DOI={10.15376/biores.18.2.4006-4031}, abstractNote={Under the controversial concern of using virgin fibers in hygiene tissue products, mostly Bleached Eucalyptus Kraft (BEK) and Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK), consumers are responding by purchasing self-labeled sustainable products. As of today, there are no established sustainability reported results to inform consumers about the carbon footprint of hygiene tissue. To fill this gap, this study used Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts across the supply chain (cradle to gate) to produce Premium and Ultra grades of bath tissue, including the production of feedstock, pulp production, and tissue production stages, with focus on Global Warming Potential (GWP). The results showed that one air-dried metric ton (ADmt) of BEK pulp had an associated GWP of 388 kgCO2eq, whereas one ADmt of NBSK pulp presented values ranging between 448 and 596 kgCO2eq, depending on the emissions allocation methodology used. It was estimated that the GWP of one finished metric ton of tissue weighted average could range from 1,392 to 3,075 kgCO2eq depending on mill location, electricity source, and machine technology. These results provide an understanding of the factors affecting the environmental impact of hygiene tissue products, which could guide manufacturers and consumers on decisions that impact their carbon footprint.}, number={2}, journal={BIORESOURCES}, author={Brito, Amelys and Suarez, Antonio and Pifano, Alonzo and Reisinger, Lee and Wright, Jeff and Saloni, Daniel and Kelley, Stephen and Gonzalez, Ronalds and Venditti, Richard and Jameel, Hasan}, year={2023}, month={May}, pages={4006–4031} }
 @article{vera_suarez_zambrano_marquez_bedard_vivas_pifano_farrell_ankeny_jameel_et al._2023, title={Upcycling cotton textile waste into bio-based building blocks through an environmentally friendly and high-yield conversion process}, volume={189}, ISSN={["1879-0658"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106715}, DOI={10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106715}, abstractNote={This work presents mechanical refining as a chemical-free pretreatment of cotton textile waste to be converted into glucose via enzymatic hydrolysis. Both Cellic® CTec2 and CTec3 cellulase enzymes were evaluated to perform the enzymatic hydrolysis. Mechanical refining enabled cotton fiber fibrillation, thus increasing its specific surface area, water swellability, enzyme adsorption, and the efficiency of cotton conversion into sugars. Compared to conventional pretreatments, mechanical refining promoted sugar yields above 90% after enzymatic hydrolysis at lower enzyme usage (4–6 FPU/O.D g). From experimental data, a non-linear model was developed to predict cotton conversion. The predictive model allowed the optimization of the conversion process, which resulted in maximum yields of 89.3 and 98.3% when CTec2 and CTec3 were respectively used. Results from this work open the window to deploy mechanical refining as a promising and more sustainable transformation approach to produce sugar-based building blocks within the circular economy framework of textile waste.}, journal={RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Suarez, Antonio and Zambrano, Franklin and Marquez, Ronald and Bedard, John and Vivas, Keren A. and Pifano, Alonzo and Farrell, Matthew and Ankeny, Mary and Jameel, Hasan and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Feb} }
 @article{suarez_ford_venditti_kelley_saloni_gonzalez_2022, title={Rethinking the use of bio-based plastics to accelerate the decarbonization of our society}, volume={186}, ISSN={0921-3449}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106593}, DOI={10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106593}, abstractNote={The need to tackle the current environmental impact of plastics is driving the development of new bio-based materials. Although these bioplastics offer carbon footprint reductions, their role in a more sustainable economy is still unclear. Herein, a systematic review was performed to understand the impact of producing bioplastics. This information was used to perform a life cycle assessment considering different end-of-life scenarios. Then a Smart Use of Materials based on the assumption of only using certain materials in targeted applications was proposed. It was found that the dedicated use of bio-polyethylene terephthalate for packaging and polylactic acid for textiles can offer a carbon footprint reduction of up to 67% and 80% respectively. Therefore, we present a major opportunity to decarbonize our society using current technologies and supply chains. This concept contributes to building a society that understands the place of bio-based materials and addresses pollution from a material selection perspective.}, journal={Resources, Conservation and Recycling}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Suarez, Antonio and Ford, Ericka and Venditti, Richard and Kelley, Stephen and Saloni, Daniel and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={Nov}, pages={106593} }
 @article{mccance_suarez_mcalexander_davis_blanchard_venditti_2021, title={Modeling a Biorefinery: Converting Pineapple Waste to Bioproducts and Biofuel}, volume={98}, ISSN={0021-9584 1938-1328}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00020}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00020}, abstractNote={Many students may not be aware that renewable biological materials can be converted into multiple bioproducts and biofuels using a biorefinery process, a more sustainable alternative to conventional crude oil refineries. By using waste from pineapple, a plant material that most students are familiar with, a biorefinery can be modeled to demonstrate the benefits of a circular bioeconomy. Pineapple waste consists of the peel, core, and leaves that are often discarded after the fruit is processed for consumption. These “leftovers” or “residues” are rich sources of sugars and lignocellulosic biomass, which can be converted to value-added bioproducts and biofuel. In this article, the development and implementation of a high school laboratory activity that simulates a pineapple biorefinery is described. It was field tested with an Environmental Science class, in which students converted pineapple leaves into paper, and they fermented the sugars from the core and peel into bioethanol for fuel. Students investigated how different process variables influenced the tensile strength of their paper and the quantity of bioethanol produced. This lab introduces students to the potential of a circular bioeconomy and challenges them to integrate prior chemistry and biology knowledge to generate solutions to real-world sustainability problems. It can be used in chemistry classes to demonstrate stoichiometry, chemical reaction yield, chemical bonds, and the effect of reactant concentration on the rate of product formation.}, number={6}, journal={Journal of Chemical Education}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={McCance, Katherine R. and Suarez, Antonio and McAlexander, Shana L. and Davis, Georganna and Blanchard, Margaret R. and Venditti, Richard A.}, year={2021}, month={May}, pages={2047–2054} }
 @article{assis_suarez_prestemon_stonebraker_carrillo_dasmohapatra_jameel_gonzalez_2021, title={Risk Analysis, Practice, and Considerations in Capital Budgeting: Evidence from the Field for the Bio-based Industry}, volume={16}, ISSN={["1930-2126"]}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.15376/biores.16.1.19-45}, DOI={10.15376/biores.16.1.19-45}, abstractNote={This study aims to examine how organizations in the bio-based industry perceive risks and perform risk analysis within the capital investment decision-making process. More specifically, this study aims to assess sources of uncertainty commonly considered, identify tools and methods used for risk assessment, and understand how risk analysis is considered in capital budgeting. Eighty-six respondents were electronically surveyed on practices for capital investment risk analysis, including C-suite and upper management from different organization sizes and segments in the bio-based industry. It was found that some forms of risk analysis are utilized either in project assessment and/or for decision making by most respondents; however, qualitative and deterministic assessment practices dominate over probabilistic methods. In addition, risk assessment is most commonly performed in the later stages of a project, with less than 50% of adoption at the earlier stages. Overall, the main sources of uncertainties considered when performing risk assessment are financial, market and sales, and technology, with competition being considered mostly by upper management levels. Additionally, consistent with previous studies in other industry sectors, Internal Rate of Return, Return on Investment, and Net Present Value are the preferred financial indicators used to evaluate capital investments.}, number={1}, journal={BIORESOURCES}, publisher={BioResources}, author={Assis, Camilla Abbati and Suarez, Antonio and Prestemon, Jeffrey P. and Stonebraker, Jeffrey and Carrillo, Carlos and Dasmohapatra, Sudipta and Jameel, Hasan and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2021}, month={Feb}, pages={19–45} }