Evaluation of the social impacts of small- and medium-sized biorefineries in the Southern Coast Territory of Bahia considering the selection of technologies for bioactives: an MCDA model

The social impact assessment (SIA) is considered by the literature to be as important as the assessment of economic impacts, as it allows decision-makers to anticipate the possible social consequences of proposed projects. However, to guide the technology selection process in the context of biorefineries, the evaluation models mostly consider technical, economic, and environmental indicators. The objective of the research is to propose a multicriteria decision model to evaluate the social impact of bioconversion technologies in small- and medium-sized biorefineries. Three phases were considered: (1) technological prospecting, which identified eight bioconversion technologies; (2) application of the SODA method (Strategic Options Development and Analysis), which identified nine basic social criteria; and (3) the PROMETHEE-ROC method, which used the structured model to identify the most appropriate bioconversion technology, considering aspects related to SIA. From a theoretical point of view, the proposed model is the only one to consider in depth the social dimension in decision-making on the adoption of bioconversion technologies. From a managerial point of view, the proposed model allows for optimizing the investment decision process in technologies in the context of small- and medium-sized biorefineries. The results point to the existence of a lack of research aimed at investigating the social aspects of small- and medium-sized biorefineries, which use different technological routes for the production of multiproducts. In addition, the technologies of hydrodynamic cavitation and heterogeneous catalysis are presented as those that can positively impact social issues in territories and consequently generate new business opportunities and healthy living. It is concluded that the absence of an updated and efficient national policy for the development of technologies oriented to the use of biomass, which aim to promote positive social impacts, has caused the impoverishment of communities as well as a proliferation of work analogous to slavery in the different regions of the country. Therefore, the proposed model can be used by decision-makers to simplify the process of evaluating technologies to be used for the bioconversion of raw materials into several high-added-value products in small- and medium-sized biorefineries, as well as to support the implementation of strategies that favor the technological and human development of communities.