Environmental and energy perspectives of a sustainable shrimp shell waste biorefinery processPuhar, Jan (Avtor) Pučnik, Rok (Avtor) Vicente, Filipa A. (Avtor) Čuček, Lidija (Avtor) Likozar, Blaž (Avtor) Vujanović, Annamaria (Avtor) biorefineryshrimp shellsprocess designlife cycle assessmentenergy analysisscale-upSeafood processing generates large volumes of waste, particularly crustacean shells, which are often discarded or incinerated despite containing valuable compounds. This study evaluates the environmental impact and energy consumption of a shrimp shell biorefinery using sustainable solvents to produce high-value products like proteins, chitin, astaxanthin, and calcium carbonate. The laboratory-scale process was scaled up to pilot scale (1 t/day) using two approaches for evaluating energy consumption at different scales – (1) calculations using equations from literature and (2) process simulation software modelling, and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed for both scales. Energy analysis showed a significant difference: 5882.2 kWh/kg chitin at laboratory-scale vs. 36.0 kWh/kg at pilot-scale. LCA results show substantially lower environmental impacts at pilot scale across all categories, primarily due to reduced energy demand. Shell valorisation reduces the overall environmental impacts by minimising waste and avoiding waste treatment. Importantly, the solvents used showed comparatively lower environmental contributions than dominant process drivers such as energy consumption and shrimp production, supporting their suitability for use in sustainable biorefinery systems.Elsevier B.V.20262026-05-15 09:54:51Članek v reviji98094sl© 2026 The Authors