Single-use technologies (SUT) can reduce water, energy and cleaning requirements compared with stainless-steel systems, but they also generate more plastic waste and create challenges at the end of the product life cycle. A new review in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology concludes that there is no universally more sustainable manufacturing technology: the environmental impact depends on the process, scale, location, energy supply, logistics and waste management.
The authors argue that sustainability should therefore be incorporated into bioprocess design from the earliest stages rather than addressed after a process has been established. Sustainability-by-Design (SbD) should become part of decisions about materials, equipment, process architecture and manufacturing strategy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and harmonised sustainability metrics are needed to compare alternatives and identify trade-offs between material use, energy consumption, water use and emissions.
Continuous manufacturing
Process intensification and continuous manufacturing can contribute to lower environmental impacts by increasing productivity, reducing facility requirements and improving resource efficiency. However, the benefits depend strongly on the process configuration. For example, higher medium consumption in some perfusion processes can offset the advantages of smaller equipment and higher productivity. Hybrid approaches may therefore provide a practical transition towards more continuous manufacturing.
Process analytical technology
The review also highlights the growing role of digitalisation and process analytical technology (PAT). Real-time monitoring, modelling and digital process optimisation can help identify environmental trade-offs earlier and support more resource-efficient operation. However, the authors point out that quantitative evidence for the sustainability benefits of many emerging digital technologies is still limited.
Challenge
End-of-life management remains one of the biggest challenges for SUT. Most used single-use components are currently incinerated or landfilled, while recycling is restricted by material heterogeneity, contamination, regulatory requirements and fragmented waste streams. Designing components with fewer materials, improving separation and developing coordinated collection and recycling systems could improve circularity. The authors emphasise that end-of-life considerations should be incorporated into product and process design rather than treated as a separate waste-management issue.
Overall, the review calls for a system-level approach to sustainable biomanufacturing. Greater transparency of environmental data, harmonised metrics, collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers, process intensification, digital technologies and appropriate regulatory frameworks will all be needed. The key shift is to move sustainability decisions upstream—where choices about materials, process design and equipment can have the greatest influence on the environmental footprint.
Bron: Springer: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology