Life cycle assessment of milk produced in two smallholder dairy systems in the highlands and the coast of Peru

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to two smallholder milk production systems in Peru in order to evaluate the environmental burden of milk produced in each. An Andean highland milk production system where livestock feeding is restricted to permanent pastures supplemented with on farm grown ryegrass-clover was opposed to a coastal system with dairy cows fed a diet consisting of fodder maize and purchased concentrate. Milk production levels (kg/cow day) differed considerably with 2.57 for the highland and 19.54 for the coastal system. A Life Cycle Inventory was calculated for the functional unit of 1 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) and the environmental impacts global warming, acidification and eutrophication were estimated for 1 kg ECM, 1 ha and 1 animal, considering the multi-functionality of the system. The highland system was characterized by a high land use (23.1 m²a/kg ECM vs. 1.71 m²a/kg ECM at the coast). Irrigation water and energy were on the other hand used to a much higher amount at the coast (7291 l/kg ECM and 8791 MJ/kg ECM, respectively) than in the highlands (848 l/kg ECM and 0.20 MJ/kg ECM). Global warming potential, acidification and eutrophication were higher for 1 kg ECM produced in the highlands than at the coast by 10.6 kg CO₂ equivalents, 6.58 g sulfur dioxide equivalents and 10.63 g phosphate equivalents, respectively. Nevertheless, 5220 kg CO₂ equivalents more were emitted per animal at the coast than in the highlands. Also acidification and eutrophication were estimated to be on average 6 and 4 times higher at the coast compared to the highlands when expressed for the functional units of 1 ha and 1 animal.

Results

Whereas livestock is mainly responsible for impacts on the environment in the highlands, at the coast both livestock related emissions and forage cultivation play an important role. Furthermore CO₂ releases from soybean cultivations heavily contribute to total emissions. Sensitivity analysis indicates that for dairy systems relying on crop by-products as feed the choice of the allocation method is a crucial point in a LCA study. Based on the results of this study, strategies in order to reduce the environmental burden of milk production should focus on an increase of production levels and a reduction of methane emissions from enteric fermentation in the highlands and a modification of the concentrate components replacing soya as the protein source at the coast.     

Prospects for carbon-neutral housing: the influence of greater wood use on the carbon footprint of a single-family residence

This paper examines the energy and carbon balance of two residential house alternatives; a typical wood frame home using more conventional materials (brick cladding, vinyl windows, asphalt shingles, and fibreglass insulation) and a similar wood frame house that also maximizes wood use throughout (cedar shingles and siding, wood windows, and cellulose insulation) in place of the more typical materials used – a wood-intensive house. Carbon emission and fossil fuel consumption balances were established for the two homes based on the cumulative total of three subsystems: (1) forest harvesting and regeneration; (2) cradle-to-gate product manufacturing, construction, and replacement effects over a 100-year service life; and (3) end-of-life effects – landfilling with methane capture and combustion or recovery of biomass for energy production.The net carbon balance of the wood-intensive house showed a complete offset of the manufacturing emissions by the credit given to the system for forest re-growth. Including landfill methane emissions, the wood-intensive life cycle yielded 20 tons of CO₂e emissions compared to 72 tons for the typical house. The wood-intensive home's life cycle also consumed only 45% of the fossil fuels used in the typical house.Diverting wood materials from the landfill at the end of life improved the life cycle balances of both the typical and wood-intensive houses. The carbon balance of the wood-intensive house was 5.2 tons of CO₂e permanently removed from the atmosphere (a net carbon sink) as compared to 63.4 of total CO₂e emissions for the typical house. Substitution of wood fuel for natural gas and coal in electricity production led to a net energy balance of the wood-intensive house that was nearly neutral, 87.1 GJ energy use, 88% lower than the scenario in which the materials were landfilled.Allocating biomass generation and carbon sequestration in the forest on an economic basis as opposed to a mass basis significantly improves the life cycle balances of both houses. Employing an economic allocation method to the forest leads to 3–5 times greater carbon sequestration and fossil fuel substitution attributable to the house, which is doubled in forestry regimes that remove stumps and slash as fuel. Thus, wood use has the potential to create a significantly negative carbon footprint for a house up to the point of occupancy and even offset a portion of heating and cooling energy use and carbon emissions; the wood-intensive house is energy and carbon neutral for 34–68 years in Ottawa and has the potential to be a net carbon sink and energy producer in a more temperate climate like San Francisco.     

Design and performance evaluation of energy efficient biomass gasifier based cookstove on multi fuels

This paper deals with design and performance of energy efficient biomass cookstove suitable for different fuel wood & briquetted fuel. It was tested with babul wood (Prosopis julliflora), goundnut (Arachis hypogaea) shell briquettes, sawdust briquettes and Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) shell. The stove was insulated by refractory cement (Insulyte -11U) to minimize heat losses. The stove has exhibited about 35% thermal efficiency. The CO and CO₂ emission was in the range of 3–6 ppm and 17–25 ppm respectively. The stove works in the range of 1.53 to 1.76 kW of power rating. The maximum flame temperature was recorded as 763°C when Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) shell was used as feed stock.     

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel demand and solar energy conversion efficiency in European bioethanol production for automotive purposes

Crop derived biofuels such as (bio)ethanol are increasingly applied for automotive purposes. They have, however, a relatively low efficiency in converting solar energy into automotive power. The outcome of life cycle studies concerning ethanol as to fossil fuel inputs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with such inputs depend strongly on the assumptions made regarding e.g. allocation, inclusion of upstream processes and estimates of environmentally relevant in- and outputs. Peer reviewed studies suggest that CO₂ emissions linked to life cycle fossil fuel input are typically about 2.1–3.0 kg CO₂ kg⁻¹ starch-derived ethanol. When biofuel production involves agricultural practices that are common in Europe there are net losses of carbon from soil and emissions of the greenhouse gas N₂O. Dependent on choices regarding allocation, they may, for wheat (starch) be in the order of 0.6–2.5 kg CO₂ equivalent kg⁻¹ of ethanol. This makes ethanol derived from starch, or sugar crops, in Europe still less attractive for mitigating climate change. In case of wheat, changes in agricultural practice may reduce or reverse carbon loss from soils. When biofuel production from crops leads to expansion of cropland while reducing forested areas or grassland, added impetus will be given to climate change.     

Greenhouse gas emission and its potential mitigation process from the waste sector in a large-scale exhibition

As one of the largest human activities, World Expo is an important source of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emission (GHG), and the GHG emission and other environmental impacts of the Expo Shanghai 2010, where around 59,397 tons of waste was generated during 184 Expo running days, were assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA). Two scenarios, i.e., the actual and expected figures of the waste sector, were assessed and compared, and 124.01 kg CO₂-equivalent (CO₂-eq.), 4.43 kg SO₂-eq., 4.88 kg NO₃⁻-eq., and 3509 m³ water per ton tourist waste were found to be released in terms of global warming (GW), acidification (AC), nutrient enrichment (NE) and spoiled groundwater resources (SGWR), respectively. The total GHG emission was around 3499 ton CO₂-eq. from the waste sector in Expo Park, among which 86.47% was generated during the waste landfilling at the rate of 107.24 kg CO₂-eq., and CH₄, CO and other hydrocarbons (HC) were the main contributors. If the waste sorting process had been implemented according to the plan scenario, around 497 ton CO₂-eq. savings could have been attained. Unlike municipal solid waste, with more organic matter content, an incineration plant is more suitable for tourist waste disposal due to its high heating value, from the GHG reduction perspective.     

Carbon Dioxide Balance of Wood Substitution: Comparing Concrete- and Wood-Framed Buildings

In this study a method is suggested to compare the net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission from the construction of concrete- and wood-framed buildings. The method is then applied to two buildings in Sweden and Finland constructed with wood frames, compared with functionally equivalent buildings constructed with concrete frames. Carbon accounting includes: emissions due to fossil fuel use in the production of building materials; the replacement of fossil fuels by biomass residues from logging, wood processing, construction and demolition; carbon stock changes in forests and buildings; and cement process reactions. The results show that wood-framed construction requires less energy, and emits less CO₂ to the atmosphere, than concrete-framed construction. The lifecycle emission difference between the wood- and concrete-framed buildings ranges from 30 to 130 kg C per m² of floor area. Hence, a net reduction of CO₂ emission can be obtained by increasing the proportion of wood-based building materials, relative to concrete materials. The benefits would be greatest if the biomass residues resulting from the production of the wood building materials were fully used in energy supply systems. The carbon mitigation efficiency, expressed in terms of biomass used per unit of reduced carbon emission, is considerably better if the wood is used to replace concrete building material than if the wood is used directly as biofuel.     

Quantifying energy use, carbon dioxide emission, and other environmental loads from island tourism based on a life cycle assessment approach

The main purpose of industrial ecology is to evaluate and minimize impacts from economic activities of human society. Tourism as one economic activity, results in a full range of environmental impacts, but few applications of industrial ecology to tourism management have previously been discussed. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used in this research to explore environmental impacts of island tourism, and then the environmental loads per tourist per trip can be found. Penghu Island in Taiwan is taken as an example to examine this new approach. Various environmental loads in transportation, accommodation, and recreation activity sector are all inventoried and calculated here. In summary, per tourist per trip uses 1606 MJ of energy, 607 L of water, and emits 109,034 g of CO₂, 2660 g of CO, 597 g of HC, 70 g of NO_x. In addition, per tourist per trip also discharges 416 L of wastewater, 83.1 g of BOD, and 1.95 g of solid waste. In terms of energy use, the transportation consumes the largest energy (67%); in particular, the airplane sector. Moreover, per Penghu tourist results in more environmental loads than local people; for example, the amount of solid waste discharge per tourist is 1.95 kg per day, while that of per local people is 1.18 kg. Finally, the advantages and limitations of such LCA approach are also discussed.     

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by anaerobic digestion of cattle slurry

Biogas treatment of animal manures is an upcoming technology because it is a way of producing renewable energy (biogas). However, little is known about effects of this management strategy on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during fermentation, storage, and field application of the substrates compared to untreated slurries. In this study, we compared cattle slurry and cattle slurry with potato starch as additive during the process of fermentation, during storage and after field application. The addition of potato starch strongly enhanced CH₄ production from 4230 l CH₄ m⁻³ to 8625 l CH₄ m⁻³ in the fermenter at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 29 days. Extending the HRT to 56 days had only a small effect on the CH₄ production. Methane emissions from stored slurry depended on storage temperature and were highest from unfermented slurry followed by the slurry/starch mixture. Gas emissions from untreated and fermented slurry during storage were further analyzed in a pilot-scale experiment with different levels of covering such as straw cover, a wooden lid and no cover. Emissions of greenhouse gases (CH₄, N₂O, NH₃) were in the range of 14.3–17.1 kg CO₂ eq. m⁻³ during winter (100 day storage period) and 40.5–90.5 kg CO₂ eq. m⁻³ during summer (140 day storage period). A straw cover reduced NH₃ losses, but not overall GHG emissions, whereas a solid cover reduced CH₄ and NH₃ emissions. After field application, there were no significant differences between slurry types in GHG emissions (4.15–8.12 kg CO₂ eq. m⁻³ a⁻¹). GHG emissions from slurry stores were more important than emissions after field application. Co-digestion of slurry with additives such as starch has a large potential to substitute fossil energy by biogas. On a biogas plant, slurry stores should be covered gas-tight in order to eliminate GHG emissions and collect CH₄ for electricity production.     

Greenhouse gas emission and its potential mitigation process from the waste sector in a large-scale exhibition

As one of the largest human activities, World Expo is an important source of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emission (GHG), and the GHG emission and other environmental impacts of the Expo Shanghai 2010, where around 59,397 tons of waste was generated during 184 Expo running days, were assessed by life cycle assessment (LCA). Two scenarios, i.e., the actual and expected figures of the waste sector, were assessed and compared, and 124.01 kg CO₂-equivalent (CO₂-eq.), 4.43 kg SO₂-eq., 4.88 kg NO₃^--eq., and 3509 m³ water per ton tourist waste were found to be released in terms of global warming (GW), acidification (AC), nutrient enrichment (NE) and spoiled groundwater resources (SGWR), respectively. The total GHG emission was around 3499 ton CO₂-eq. from the waste sector in Expo Park, among which 86.47% was generated during the waste landfilling at the rate of 107.24 kg CO₂-eq., and CH₄, CO and other hydrocarbons (HC) were the main contributors. If the waste sorting process had been implemented according to the plan scenario, around 497 ton CO₂-eq. savings could have been attained. Unlike municipal solid waste, with more organic matter content, an incineration plant is more suitable for tourist waste disposal due to its high heating value, from the GHG reduction perspective.     

生命周期评价在我国乙烯行业环境评估中的应用

采用IMPACT 2002+方法对我国的乙烯行业进行了生命周期评价(LCA)研究,分析了包括原油生产、原煤生产、原料生产、乙烯生产和电力生产5个环节在内的13种污染物排放对乙烯行业的环境影响.结果表明,乙烯工业对不可再生能源原油的消耗,对温室效应、呼吸效应和水体酸化等的环境影响潜值最为严重.减少乙烯生产环节和原料生产环节(炼油过程)的SO2、NOx、CO2等气体的排放,以及原油开采过程的CH4逸放,是改善环境影响的关键因素.同时,以石脑油为原料裂解乙烯工艺比以轻烃为原料制乙烯工艺对环境的影响要小.而煤制烯烃工艺对环境影响较大,仍具有一定改进空间.总体来看,经过近十年发展,我国乙烯行业对资源利用效率和缓解尾气排放两方面都有显著的提升.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation and offset options for suckler cow farms: an economic comparison for the Swiss case

We assessed the economic suitability of 4 greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options and one GHG offset option for an improvement of the GHG balance of a representative Swiss suckler cow farm housing 35 Livestock units and cultivating 25 ha grassland. GHG emissions per kilogram meat in the economic optimum differ between the production systems and range from 18 to 21.9 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat. Only GHG offset by agroforestry systems showed the potential to significantly reduce these emissions. Depending on the production system agroforestry systems could reduce net GHG emissions by 66% to 7.3 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat in the most intensive system and by 100% in the most extensive system. In this calculation a carbon sequestration rate of 8 t CO₂/ha/year was assumed. The potential of a combination of the addition of lipids to the diet, a cover of the slurry tank and the application of nitrification inhibitors only had the potential to reduce GHG emissions by 12% thereby marginal abatement costs are increasing much faster than for agroforestry systems. A reduction of the GHG emissions to 7.5 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat—possible with agroforestry only—raised costs between 0.03 CHF/kg meat and 0.38 CHF/kg meat depending on the production system and the state of the system before the reduction. If GHG emissions were reduced maximally average costs ranged between 0.37 CHF/kg meat, if agroforestry had the potential to reduce net GHG emissions to 0 kg CO₂-eq., to 1.17 CHF/kg meat if also other options had to be applied.     

Carbon footprint of sugar produced from sugarcane in eastern Thailand

Carbon footprint (CFP) of sugar produced from sugarcane in eastern Thailand was estimated from greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) during the sugarcane cultivation and milling process. The use of fossil fuels, chemical and organic fertilizer and sugarcane biomass data during cultivation were collected from field surveys, questionnaires and interviews. Sugar mill emissions, fossil fuel utilization and greenhouse gas emission from wastewater treatments were included. The results show that sugar production has a carbon footprint of 0.55 kg CO₂e kg^?1 sugar. This carbon footprint was a sum of 0.49 kg CO₂e kg^?1 sugar from sugarcane cultivation and 0.06 kg CO₂e kg^?1 sugar from the milling process. For the cultivation part, most of the GHGs emissions were from fertilizer, fossil fuel use and biomass burning. The CFP in eastern Thailand is sensitive to the type of data selected for calculation and of variations of farm inputs during sugarcane cultivation. There was no significant difference of CFP among farm sizes, although small farms tended to give a relatively higher CFP than that of medium and large farms.     

Experimental investigation of open core downdraft biomass gasifier for food processing industry

This paper deals with field related experience of a low temperature industrial heat application through biomass gasification. The gasification system is essentially consists of an open top down draft reactor lined with ceramic. The experiment reveals that 6.5 kg of liquefy petroleum gas (LPG) is fully replaced by 38 kg of sized wood on hourly basis. The maximum temperature attained was 367°C in 130 min at 100.7 Nm³ h⁻¹ gas flow rate. This system has resulted a saving of about 19.5 tons of LPG over 3,000 h of operation, implying a saving of about 33 tons of CO₂ emission, thus a promising candidate for clean development mechanism. Fuel economic analysis of gasifier system showed that the saving was about 13,850 US$ for 3,000 h of baking operation.     

Life cycle assessment of spray dried soluble coffee and comparison with alternatives (drip filter and capsule espresso)

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with spray dried soluble coffee over its entire life cycle and compare it with drip filter coffee and capsule espresso coffee. It particularly aims to identify critical environmental issues and responsibilities along the whole life cycle chain of spray dried coffee. This life cycle assessment (LCA) specifically uses foreground data obtained directly from coffee manufacturers and suppliers. Aside from energy consumption and greenhouse gases emissions, water footprint is also studied in detail, including regionalization of water impacts based on the ecological scarcity method 2006. Other impact categories are screened using the IMPACT 2002+ impact assessment method.The overall LCA results for a 1 dl cup of spray dried soluble coffee amounts approximately to 1 MJ of primary non-renewable energy consumption, to emissions of 0.07 kg of CO_2-eq, and between 3 and 10 l of non-turbined water use, depending on whether or not the coffee cultivation is irrigated and wet treated. When considering turbined water, use can be up to 400 l of water per cup. Pouch – and to a lesser extent metal can packaging alternatives – show lower environmental burdens than glass or sticks.On average, about one half of the environmental footprint occurs at a life cycle stage under the control of the coffee producer or its suppliers (i.e., during cultivation, treatment, processing, packaging up to distribution, along with advertising) and the other half at a stage controlled by the user (shopping, appliances manufacturing, use and waste disposal). Key environmental parameters of spray dried soluble coffee are the amount of extra water boiled and the efficiency of cup cleaning during use phase, whether the coffee is irrigated or not, as well as the type and amount of fertilizer used in the coffee field. The packaging contributes to 10% of the overall life cycle impacts.Compared to other coffee alternatives, spray dried soluble coffee uses less energy and has a lower environmental footprint than capsule espresso coffee or drip filter coffee, the latter having the highest environmental impacts on a per cup basis. This study shows that a broad LCA approach is needed to help industry to minimize the environmental burdens directly related to their products. Including all processes of the entire system is necessary i) to get a comprehensive environmental footprint of the product system with respect to sustainable production and consumption, ii) to share stakeholders responsibility along the entire product life cycle, and iii) to avoid problem shifting between different life cycle stages.     

Avoiding CO2 capture effort and cost for negative CO2 emissions using industrial waste in chemical-looping combustion/gasification of biomass

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a combustion process with inherent separation of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is achieved by oxidizing the fuel with a solid oxygen carrier rather than with air. As fuel and combustion air are never mixed, no gas separation is necessary and, consequently, there is no direct cost or energy penalty for the separation of gases. The most common form of design of chemical-looping combustion systems uses circulating fluidized beds, which is an established and widely spread technology. Experiments were conducted in two different laboratory-scale CLC reactors with continuous fuel feeding and nominal fuel inputs of 300 W_th and 10 kW_th, respectively. As an oxygen carrier material, ground steel converter slag from the Linz–Donawitz process was used. This material is the second largest flow in an integrated steel mill and it is available in huge quantities, for which there is currently limited demand. Steel converter slag consists mainly of oxides of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), and manganese (Mn). In the 300 W unit, chemical-looping combustion experiments were conducted with model fuels syngas (50 vol% hydrogen (H₂) in carbon monoxide (CO)) and methane (CH₄) at varied reactor temperature, fuel input, and oxygen-carrier circulation. Further, the ability of the oxygen-carrier material to release oxygen to the gas phase was investigated. In the 10 kW unit, the fuels used for combustion tests were steam-exploded pellets and wood char. The purpose of these experiments was to study more realistic biomass fuels and to assess the lifetime of the slag when employed as oxygen carrier. In addition, chemical-looping gasification was investigated in the 10 kW unit using both steam-exploded pellets and regular wood pellets as fuels. In the 300 W unit, up to 99.9% of syngas conversion was achieved at 280 kg/MW_th and 900 °C, while the highest conversion achieved with methane was 60% at 280 kg/MW_th and 950 °C. The material’s ability to release oxygen to the gas phase, i.e., CLOU property, was developed during the initial hours with fuel operation and the activated material released 1–2 vol% of O₂ into a flow of argon between 850 and 950 °C. The material’s initial low density decreased somewhat during CLC operation. In the 10 kW, CO₂ yields of 75–82% were achieved with all three fuels tested in CLC conditions, while carbon leakage was very low in most cases, i.e., below 1%. With wood char as fuel, at a fuel input of 1.8 kW_th, a CO₂ yield of 92% could be achieved. The carbon fraction of C₂-species was usually below 2.5% and no C₃-species were detected. During chemical-looping gasification investigation a raw gas was produced that contained mostly H₂. The oxygen carrier lifetime was estimated to be about 110–170 h. However, due to its high availability and potentially low cost, this type of slag could be suitable for large-scale operation. The study also includes a discussion on the potential advantages of this technology over other technologies available for Bio-Energy Carbon Capture and Storage, BECCS. Furthermore, the paper calls for the use of adequate policy instruments to foster the development of this kind of technologies, with great potential for cost reduction but presently without commercial application because of lack of incentives.

     

Biomass-based carbon capture and utilization in kraft pulp mills

Corporate image, European Emission Trading System and Environmental Regulations, encourage pulp industry to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Kraft pulp mills produce CO₂ mainly in combustion processes. The largest sources are the recovery boiler, the biomass boiler, and the lime kiln. Due to utilizing mostly biomass-based fuels, the CO₂ is largely biogenic. Capture and storage of CO₂ (CCS) could offer pulp and paper industry the possibility to act as site for negative CO₂ emissions. In addition, captured biogenic CO₂ can be used as a raw material for bioproducts. Possibilities for CO₂ utilization include tall oil manufacturing, lignin extraction, and production of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), depending on local conditions and mill-specific details. In this study, total biomass-based CO₂ capture and storage potential (BECCS) and potential to implement capture and utilization of biomass-based CO₂ (BECCU) in kraft pulp mills were estimated by analyzing the impacts of the processes on the operation of two modern reference mills, a Nordic softwood kraft pulp mill with integrated paper production and a Southern eucalyptus kraft pulp mill. CO₂ capture is energy-intensive, and thus the effects on the energy balances of the mills were estimated. When papermaking is integrated in the mill operations, energy adequacy can be a limiting factor for carbon capture implementation. Global carbon capture potential was estimated based on pulp production data. Kraft pulp mills have notable CO₂ capture potential, while the on-site utilization potential using currently available technologies is lower. The future of these processes depends on technology development, desire to reuse CO₂, and prospective changes in legislation.

     

Fertilization trajectory of the root crop Raphanus sativus across atmospheric pCO2 estimates of the next 300 years

Plant biomass is known to increase in response to elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration (pCO₂); however, no experiments have quantified the trajectory of crop fertilization across the full range of pCO₂ levels estimated for the next 300 years. Here we quantify the above- and below-ground biomass response of Raphanus sativus (common radish) across eight pCO₂ levels ranging from 348 to 1791 ppmv. We observed a large net biomass increase of 58% above ground and 279% below ground. A large part of the net increase (38% of the above-ground and 53% of the below-ground) represented biomass fertilization at the high levels of pCO₂ (700–1791 ppmv) predicted if fossil fuel emissions continue unabated. The trajectory of below-ground fertilization in R. sativus greatly exceeded a trajectory based on extrapolation of previous experiments for plants grown at pCO₂ < 800 ppmv. Based on the experimental parameters used to grow these plants, we hypothesize that these experiments represent the maximum CO₂ fertilization that can be achieved for this plant growing under low light levels. If the below-ground biomass enhancement that we have quantified for R. sativus represents a generalized root-crop response that can be extrapolated to agricultural systems, below-ground fertilization under very high pCO₂ levels could dramatically augment crop production in some of the poorest nations of the world, provided that water resources are sufficient and sustainable.     

Environmental consequences of different beef production systems in the EU

The aim of this paper is to examine the environmental consequences of beef meat production in the EU, using a life cycle approach. Four beef production systems were studied – three from intensively reared dairy calves and one from suckler herds. According to the results of the analysis, the contributions from the production of 1 kg beef meat (slaughter weight) to global warming, acidification, eutrophication, land use and non-renewable energy use were lower for beef from dairy calves than from suckler herds (16.0–19.9 versus 27.3 kg CO₂e, 101–173 versus 210 g SO₂e, 622–1140 versus 1651 g NO₃e, 16.5–22.7 versus 42.9 m²year, and 41.3–48.2 versus 59.2 MJ, respectively). The breakdown analysis helped identify the key areas in the “cradle to farm gate” beef production system where sustainable management strategies are needed to improve environmental performance. The study also included a sensitivity analysis to preliminarily estimate GHG emissions from beef production systems if land opportunity cost and land use change related to grazing and feed crop production for beef were taken into account. If so, the contribution from the production of 1 kg beef to global warming would increase by a factor of 3.1–3.9, based on a depreciation period of 20 years. This highlights the importance of taking into account the impacts of land use in assessing the environmental impacts of livestock production.     

基于复配改性木质素磺酸铵的环保型木质材料的生命周期评价

利用改性木质素制备的木质材料其生产过程对生态环境有重要的影响.为探讨该环保型木质材料的可行性,利用Ga Bi 6.0软件,对基于复配改性木质素磺酸铵的环保型木质材料(HMIL/WF)进行生命周期评价,比较分析生命周期各生产环节的非生物资源耗竭、酸化效应、富营养化、全球变暖潜值、臭氧层破坏潜能以及光化学臭氧生成潜力等主要环境影响类型.结果表明:在HMIL/WF材料生命周期的3个子系统中,纤维制造子系统对各环境影响贡献值最大,此次是产品成型子系统,后期加工子系统对环境影响最小.全球变暖潜值是HMIL/WF材料环境影响的主要类型,占总环境影响值的73.09%,环境影响大小依次为全球变暖潜值、酸化效应、光化学臭氧生成潜力、富营养化、非生物资源耗竭和臭氧层破坏潜能.热能消耗的环境影响最为严重,占HMIL/WF材料生命周期总环境影响的44.77%.各生产环节的环境影响大小顺序依次为热能消耗、电能消耗、H_2O_2生产、木质素磺酸铵(AL)制备和运输阶段.热能消耗环节的全球变暖潜值、酸化效应、光化学臭氧生成潜力、富营养化和非生物资源耗竭的影响值为HMIL/WF材料生产各环节的最高值;运输阶段产生了最高的臭氧层破坏潜能.与传统中密度纤维板的生命周期环境影响潜值总值(4.71×10~(-9))相比,HMIL/WF材料的环境影响总值(4.22×10~(-9))减少了10.4%.     

Biomass-based negative emission technology options with combined heat and power generation

Biomass-based combined heat and power (CHP) generation with different carbon capture approaches is investigated in this study. Only direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are considered. The selected processes are (i) a circulating fluidized bed boiler for wood chips connected to an extraction/condensation steam cycle CHP plant without carbon capture; (ii) plant (i), but with post-combustion CO₂ capture; (iii) chemical looping combustion (CLC) of solid biomass connected to the steam cycle CHP plant; (iv) rotary kiln slow pyrolysis of biomass for biochar soil storage and direct combustion of volatiles supplying the steam cycle CHP plant with the CO₂ from volatiles combustion escaping to the atmosphere; (v) case (iv) with additional post-combustion CO₂ capture; and (vi) case (iv) with CLC of volatiles. Reasonable assumptions based on literature data are taken for the performance effects of the CO₂ capture systems and the six process options are compared. CO₂ compression to pipeline pressure is considered. The results show that both bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and biochar qualify as negative emission technologies (NETs) and that there is an energy-based performance advantage of BECCS over biochar because of the unreleased fuel energy in the biochar case. Additional aspects of biomass fuels (ash content and ash melting behavior) and sustainable soil management (nutrient cycles) for biomass production should be quantitatively considered in more detailed future assessments, as there may be certain biomass fuels, and environmental and economic settings where biochar application to soils is indicated rather than the full conversion of the biomass to energy and CO₂.