Supporting data for publication: Environmental impact of upstream processing strategies for E. coli-based antibody fragment production

Context and methodology

This dataset contains research data underlying the publication “Environmental impact of upstream processing strategies for E. coli-based antibody fragment production: green metrics versus life cycle assessment”.

The study investigates the environmental impact of different upstream processing strategies for microbial production of the fragment antigen-binding (Fab) ranibizumab using Escherichia coli. Four bioreactor operation strategies were compared: fed-batch (FB), repetitive fed-batch (RFB), Chemostat cultivation, and a cascaded continuous setup.

The purpose of the dataset is to provide the underlying experimental and calculated data used for the sustainability assessment presented in the publication. The assessment combines process-based green metrics, namely process mass intensity (PMI), manufacturing mass intensity (MMI), and energetic footprint (EF), with a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA considers global warming potential (GWP) and water consumption footprint (WF).

Material consumption data were derived from the experimentally performed laboratory-scale cultivation processes and associated upstream unit operations. Electrical energy consumption of laboratory equipment was experimentally monitored where applicable. Additional energy demands, including purified-water production and conditioning as well as scale-dependent aeration and stirring scenarios, were calculated using literature data and process assumptions. LCA calculations were performed using SimaPro 9.6.0.1 with the ecoinvent 3.10 database and the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) impact assessment method. The functional unit of the sustainability assessment was 1 g of produced Fab.

Sensitivity and scenario analyses include variations in product titer (±20%), electricity supply mix, and scale-dependent stirring energy demand.

Technical details

The dataset consists of three Microsoft Excel workbooks:

PMI_MMI_data.xlsx contains the material input data and calculations used to determine PMI and MMI for the four upstream processing configurations. Data are provided by material category and unit operation, together with the corresponding product-normalized results and sensitivity calculations.

Energy_data.xlsx contains experimentally measured electrical energy data and calculated energy demands used to determine the energetic footprint (EF). Separate worksheets contain data for sterilization-in-place (SIP), pre-culture/incubation, bioreactor operation, centrifugation, purified-water production and conditioning, and aeration/stirring calculations. The summary_data worksheet combines these contributions and reports absolute and product-specific energy demands for the four process configurations.

LCA_data.xlsx contains the resulting life-cycle-assessment data for global warming potential and water consumption footprint, including contributions from individual process and material categories. The workbook additionally contains the data used for the scenario and sensitivity analyses.

The files can be opened with Microsoft Excel or compatible spreadsheet software. No specialized software is required to inspect the deposited data. Reproduction of the original LCA modelling from the underlying life-cycle inventory databases requires access to SimaPro and the corresponding ecoinvent database.

Further details

The four process configurations are abbreviated as FB (fed-batch), RFB (repetitive fed-batch), Chemostat, and Cascaded setup. Additional abbreviations used throughout the dataset include PMI (process mass intensity), MMI (manufacturing mass intensity), EF (energetic footprint), GWP (global warming potential), WF (water consumption footprint), SIP (sterilization-in-place), CIP (cleaning-in-place), PW (purified water), and Fab (fragment antigen-binding).

The system boundaries, process assumptions, experimental procedures, calculation methodology, and interpretation of the data are described in detail in the associated publication. The deposited spreadsheets contain both primary experimental measurements and derived/calculated values.