ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Comparative Cradle-to-Gate LCA of Bio-
Indigo Production Processes - Conventional
Fermentation vs Enzymatic: Environmental
Sustainability and Economic Benchmarking
More details
Hide details
1
Green Chemistry and Sustainability, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University,
Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
2
Research Centre for Bioorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University,
Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Submission date: 2025-03-19
Final revision date: 2025-05-11
Acceptance date: 2025-06-02
Online publication date: 2025-07-14
Corresponding author
Surachai Pornpakakul
Research Centre for Bioorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University,
Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Bio-indigo is one of the oldest natural dyes known for its classical blue hue and excellent
biocompatibility. Traditionally, bio-indigo is extracted from indigo plants via a conventional fermentation
process that suffers from low yield, poor quality, and long processing time. Current work presents an
enzymatic process using Trichoderma cellulase on Indigofera tinctoria (I. tinctoria) that experimentally
demonstrated bio-indigo yield enhancement to 12.6 g/kg, whereas conventional process yield is limited
to 6.4 g/kg. Comparative cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of bio-indigo production from
conventional fermentation and integrated enzymatic hydrolysis processes were performed for pathway
benchmarking. Environmental sustainability aspects for 14 environmental impact categories were
exemplified using CML 2001, EF 3.0, ReCiPe 2016, and TRACI 2.1 methodologies. Comprehensive LCA
using GaBi software demonstrated that the proposed enzymatic process had superior environmental
compliance. A lower product carbon footprint is the preference of both manufacturers and customers
today, and it can only be sought through environmentally friendly extraction processes. Results showed
that production via an enzymatic process, compared to conventional fermentation, has ~49% lower
environmental impact for almost all the assessed indicators. Additionally, the economic model indicated
promising profitability and viable insight into the production route, revealing that sustainable practices
can significantly enhance profitability.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (35)
1.
AMATO I. Chemistry with a thousand faces: bacterial indigo gives the blues to industrial chemists. Science (New York, NY). 253 (5025), 1213, 1991.
https://doi.org/10.1126/scienc....
3.
SÁNCHEZ-VIESCA F., GÓMEZ R. On the Baeyer-Emmerling synthesis of indigo. World Journal of Organic Chemistry. 6 (1), 6, 2018.
5.
MISHRA D., GOMARE K., SHEELWANT S. GC-MS Analysis and phytochemical screening of Indigofera tinctoria (Linn.) leaf extract characterizing its medicinal use. International Journal of Ayurvedic Medicine. 11 (2), 289, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.47552/ijam.....
6.
QI-YUE Y., TING Z., YA-NAN H., SHENG-JIE H., XUAN D., LI H., CHUN-GUANG X. From natural dye to herbal medicine: A systematic review of chemical constituents, pharmacological effects and clinical applications of indigo naturalis. Chinese Medicine. 15, 1, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13020....
9.
JAMEE R., SIDDIQUE R. Biodegradation of synthetic dyes of textile effluent by microorganisms: an environmentally and economically sustainable approach. European journal of microbiology and immunology. 9 (4), 114, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1556/1886.2....
10.
YUSUF M., SHABBIR M., MOHAMMAD F. Natural colorants: Historical, processing and sustainable prospects. Natural Products and Bioprospecting. 7, 123, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13659....
11.
MAHIAT T., ALAM M.A.A., ARGHO M., CORLETT J., CHOWDHURY R.B., BISWAS K.F., HOSSAIN M.M., SUJAUDDIN M. Modeling the environmental and social impacts of the handloom industry in Bangladesh through life cycle assessment. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment. 9 (1), 239, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808....
13.
SLAMA H.B., CHENARI BOUKET A., POURHASSAN Z., ALENEZI F.N., SILINI A., CHERIF-SILINI H., OSZAKO T., LUPTAKOVA L., GOLIŃSKA P., BELBAHRI L. Diversity of synthetic dyes from textile industries, discharge impacts and treatment methods. Applied Sciences. 11 (14), 6255, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.3390/app111....
14.
PERIYASAMY A.P., PERIYASAMI S. Critical review on sustainability in denim: A step toward sustainable production and consumption of denim. ACS Omega. 8 (5), 4472, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsome....
15.
DUTTA S., ROYCHOUDHARY S., SARANGI B.K. Effect of different physico-chemical parameters for natural indigo production during fermentation of Indigofera plant biomass. 3 Biotech. 7, 1, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205....
16.
PATTANAIK L., NAIK S.N., HARIPRASAD P., PADHI S.K. Influence of various oxidation parameter (s) for natural indigo dye formation from Indigofera tinctoria L. biomass. Environmental Challenges. 4, 100157, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc....
17.
SANDA B., LILIANA I. Natural dye extraction and dyeing of different fibers: a review. In: Innovative and Emerging Technologies for Textile Dyeing and Finishing, p. 113, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1002/978111....
18.
JIN Z., HU K., YANG F., NAWAZ M., WEI H., JIANG Y., XIAO Y., LI J., HU J., GAO M.-T. Integrated process for the production of indigo and indirubin in an anaerobic environment at laboratory and pilot level. Journal of Cleaner Production. 364, 132610, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
19.
HSU T.M., WELNER D.H., RUSS Z.N., CERVANTES B., PRATHURI R.L., ADAMS P.D., DUEBER J.E. Employing a biochemical protecting group for a sustainable indigo dyeing strategy. Nature Chemical Biology. 14 (3), 256, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nchemb....
20.
JIANG Y., XIAO Y., WANG Z., YU H., HU K., ZHANG T.-A., HU J., GAO M.-T. A two-step process for indigo production from Baphicacanthus cusia stem. Journal of Cleaner Production. 374, 133935, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
21.
KIM H.-J., JANG S., KIM J., YANG Y.-H., KIM Y.-G., KIM B.-G., CHOI K.-Y. Biosynthesis of indigo in Escherichia coli expressing self-sufficient CYP102A from Streptomyces cattleya. Dyes and Pigments. 140, 29, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyep....
22.
YAO C., CHENG Z., CHEN Z., LUO P., LIU K., ZHANG T.-A., HU J., GAO M.-T. A bioeconomy approach for Strobilanthes cusia valorization: Effect of cellulase on integrated production of ethanol and indigo. Industrial Crops and Products. 225, 120481, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indc....
23.
SEIDU R.K., EGHAN B., ACQUAYE R. A review of circular fashion and bio-based materials in the fashion industry. Circular Economy and Sustainability. 4 (1), 693, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615....
24.
YOUSAF A.M., AQSA R. Integrating circular economy, SBTI, digital LCA, and ESG benchmarks for sustainable textile dyeing: a critical review of industrial textile practices. Global NEST Journal. 25, 39, 2023.
25.
SZAJCZYK M., WÓJCIK-AUGUSTYNIAK M., GANCZEWSKI G. Striving for a less toxic production of metallized textiles-Environmental impact assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production. 394, 136265, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
26.
PROTOCOL G.G. Product life cycle accounting and reporting standard. World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Resource Institute, 2011.
27.
HU K., JIANG Y., XIAO Y., WANG Z., YU H., CHEN Z., YAO C., CHENG Z., ZHANG T.-A., HU J. All-Season Production of Plant Indigo Based on Insights into Heat Stress for Strobilanthes cusia Leaves. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 11 (1), 426, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acssus....
28.
Rising CSR standards throughout the chemical industry. Together for Sustainability, Activity Report, 2023.
29.
PATTANAIK L., PADHI S.K., HARIPRASAD P., NAIK S.N. Life cycle cost analysis of natural indigo dye production from Indigofera tinctoria L. plant biomass: a case study of India. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 22, 1639, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098....
30.
WENNER N. The production of indigo dye from plants. Fibershed Chennai, India, 2017.
31.
LAITONJAM W.S., WANGKHEIRAKPAM S.D. Comparative study of the major components of the indigo dye obtained from Strobilanthes flaccidifolius Nees. and Indigofera tinctoria Linn. International Journal of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 3 (7), 108, 2011.
32.
CHANAYATH N., LHIEOCHAIPHANT S., PHUTRAKUL S. Pigment extraction techniques from the leaves of Indigofera tinctoria Linn. and Baphicacanthus cusia Brem. and chemical structure analysis of their major components. CMU Journal of Science. 1 (2), 149, 2002.
33.
COSTA J.R., TONON R.V., CABRAL L., GOTTSCHALK L., PASTRANA L., PINTADO M.E. Valorization of agricultural lignocellulosic plant byproducts through enzymatic and enzyme-assisted extraction of high-value-added compounds: A Review. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 8 (35), 13112, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acssus....
34.
KARIM I., PARNPAKAKUL S. Process Intensification and Optimization of Bio-Indigo Production from Indigofera tinctoria using Trichoderma Cellulase. Journal of Applied Science and Engineering. 29 (1), 161, 2025.
35.
VAN FAN Y., CHIN H.H., KLEMEŠ J.J., VARBANOV P.S., LIU X. Optimisation and process design tools for cleaner production. Journal of Cleaner Production. 247, 119181, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....