ArticleBiotechnology and bioengineering2026
Revisiting the Carbon Footprint of Single-Use Technologies in Biomanufacturing: A Bottom-Up Analysis Reveals a Paradigm Shift.
Article in Biotechnology and bioengineering, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
The biopharmaceutical industry increasingly relies on single-use technologies (SUT) for operational flexibility. For a long time, SUT was considered more sustainable than stainless-steel (SST) systems due to water and energy savings. This study re-evaluates this paradigm via a detailed bottom-up analysis of the SUT carbon footprint at the 2000 L scale. Our analysis, based on two real-world facility case studies (a full-SUT and a hybrid-SUT model), shows that the CO2 footprint of SUT is significantly higher than previously assumed. This granular analysis, based on physical disassembly and updated "cradle-to-gate" factors, identifies filters and bags as key emission hotspots. A separate comparative analysis also shows that key SST process steps-favored by the progressive decarbonization of electricity grids-can now have a lower carbon footprint than their SUT counterparts. Our data demonstrates that an operationally optimized hybrid facility design, which combines SUT with SST, can significantly reduce plastic waste and associated emissions. These findings compel a reassessment of sustainability strategies in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and highlight the potential of fit-for-purpose hybrid models as an effective lever for reducing the ecological footprint.
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