Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Activated Carbon Production Technologies in China: Comparative Analysis of Coal-Derived versus Biomass-Derived Pathways

In the context of increasingly stringent
energy conservation and
emission reduction (ECER) policies, developing environmentally sustainable
production technologies for activated carbon (AC) has become a priority.
This study conducted a multidimensional evaluation framework of five
AC production technologies (i.e.,
two coal-derived and three biomass-derived activated carbons produced
via physical or chemical activation) through integrated life cycle
assessment (LCA), life cycle cost (LCC), and energy efficiency analysis
(EEA). The LCA results demonstrated that steam-activated kernel shell
AC exhibited the lowest environmental impact, representing merely
13.28% of the impact associated with anthracite-derived AC production.
In contrast, the application of H2SO4 and H3PO4 in biomass-derived AC activation significantly
impacted SO2 and industrial water utilization (IWU) indicators.
The LCC results revealed that straw-based AC exhibited the lowest
economic cost, achieving a 68.65% reduction compared to anthracite-derived
AC. To assess the potential of ECER, the EEA showed that recycling
carbonization byproducts (wood gas, tar, and wood vinegar) enabled
the biomass-derived AC production system to achieve 86.85% energy
recovery efficiency. This approach significantly reduced external
energy demand and its corresponding environmental impacts. Scenario
modeling further revealed that implementing energy recovery and steam
activation substitution reduced the ECER index by 45.31–67.19%,
establishing an optimized pathway for sustainable AC production technologies.