A life cycle based method to minimise environmental impact of dairy production through product sequencing

The trend of increasing the number of dairy products for sale affects their environmental impact in a life cycle perspective. During dairy processing, the production schedule is affected by more frequent product changes, hence also cleaning operations. This causes more milk waste, use of cleaning agents and water. The amount of milk waste depends on the product change technique used, which is determined by the characteristics of the product. A method was designed to calculate the sequence, which, for a given set of yoghurt products, minimises milk waste. A heuristic method, based on the strive to minimise production waste combined with production rules, was worked out. To determine whether the heuristic solution gives the best possible sequence from an environmental perspective, an optimisation was also made. The analytical method used for optimisation was able to handle 21 products and verified the heuristic method for a waste minimised sequence up to that level. It is also highly probable that for sequences including a greater number of items waste can be minimised with the same heuristic method. A successful demonstration of the possibility to make a more complete environmental assessment was fulfilled by connecting the sequencing model to conventional life cycle assessment methodology.     

Minimising environmental impact by sequencing cultured dairy products: two case studies

The increased production of cultured milk products has environmental consequences. To counteract the environmental impact from the dairy industry, it is important to process the products in a sequence designed to minimise waste. In a previous study a model was constructed to minimise the waste caused by a sequence for a given set of products and to calculate the environmental impact of a waste minimised sequence. This study applies successfully the model in case studies at two dairies. The number of products to be sequenced varied: Dairy A had 34 products and Dairy B had 16. The sequenced products were yoghurt, sour cream, cold sauce and crème fraiche, all with multiple flavours. The difference in number of products to be sequenced offered the opportunity to use both of the two model sequencing solutions: the heuristic and the optimised. The role of frequency of each product to be sequenced was investigated. Scenarios with differing frequencies were used in the case studies. The result showed clearly that the waste caused by a sequence decreased when product frequency was reduced. From a life cycle perspective, the environmental impact of processing cultured milk products can be greatly reduced by adopting sequences with fewer changes of product.     

Environmental evaluation of localising production as a strategy for sustainable development: a case study of two consumer goods in Jamaica

The objective of this study was to compare the life-cycle environmental impacts of changed production structures for two consumer goods (high-density polyethylene (HDPE) shopping bags and beds) in Jamaica. A scenario technique was used to construct three alternative production structures for each product; each scenario reflecting an increase in local production in Jamaica which depended on an increased supply of input materials which may be sourced: (1) externally from overseas suppliers, (2) from post-consumer recycling, and (3) locally on the island of Jamaica. These three constructed scenarios were then compared to the existing supply chain or reference scenarios of the products. The results showed that for both case products the recycling scenario was most preferable for localising production, resulting in the lowest environmental impact. This was because the production of raw materials accounted for the largest effect on total environmental impact. As such, the most immediate environmental improvements were realised by lowering the production of virgin materials.     

Environmental rebound effects of high-speed transport technologies: a case study of climate change rebound effects of a future underground maglev train system

The implementation of new high-speed transport technologies re-shapes the demand balance between transport modes and rebound effects may occur. In this paper first a definition of environmental rebound effects of high-speed transport is presented and various cases are discussed. Second, a method is developed to determine and quantify the environmental rebound effects employing life cycle assessment. The method is illustrated in a case study by investigating the greenhouse gas emissions of a frequently discussed future underground maglev train system for Switzerland.The environmental rebound effect expresses the size of environmental impact changes due to demand corrections in relation to the plain substitution effect. The latter expresses efficiency substitution effects due to the substitution of existing transport services with a high-speed transport service; i.e. passenger-kilometre performance remains constant in a world with and without the new transport service. Demand corrections are determined employing the notion of the constant travel time budget, assuming that if travel speed increases, the time saved will be exclusively used to travel more and further.In order to quantify the environmental rebound effect we determined the environmental efficiency – including operation, energy supply, vehicle supply and infrastructure supply – for all important transport services of the current passenger transport system as well as for the new transport technology. In addition, we generated and quantified a set of cornerstone scenarios to address possible changes in mobility patterns and technological options of passenger car transport at the time when the new high-speed transport technology would be in operation.The results show an increase of per capita environmental impact for all considered scenarios even without accounting for additional transport demand due to time saving effects. All scenarios show additional environmental impacts due to rebound effects on top of pure substitution effects.The case study demonstrates that taking into account demand changes, i.e. rebound effects is essential to evaluate emerging transport technologies. New technologies allowing for higher travel speed, even if energy-efficient on a passenger-kilometre basis, might lead to higher environmental impacts. This is ignored by the traditional approach of environmental transport assessment, which compares environmental efficiency of each transport mode separately. The presented approach allows to better understand the consequences of new transport services, and facilitates the assessment of future transport technologies on the level of the transport system as a whole.     

Impact of Milk Components on Recovery of Viral RNA from MS2 Bacteriophage

Noroviruses are responsible for approximately 44 % of outbreaks involving dairy products for which causative agents are reported. Recovery of viruses from milk and dairy products is a difficult task. The role of different components of milk in the recovery of viral RNA was evaluated in this study. Four model milk formulations (A–D) were prepared by mixing different combinations of lactose, whey protein, casein, and fat in water. Each model formulation was spiked with five concentrations of bacteriophage MS2. The phenol-guanidine thiocyanate-chloroform protocol was used for extracting viral RNA from the model milk formulations and then extracted RNA was measured by a nanodrop spectrophotometer in ng/μl. The results showed that casein and whey protein had the highest negative impact on RNA yield, especially when the number of MS2 was less than 1.3 pfu/ml. The highest RNA recovery was obtained from the model milk formulation containing all four components; lactose, whey protein, casein, and fat. The amount of extracted RNA was closely correlated with the dry matter content of each formulation and the spiked concentration of coliphage using response surface modeling (R²:0.93). It was determined that milk fat is the most effective component in facilitating RNA extraction and the highest RNA yield can be achieved via elimination of whey protein and casein from milk by centrifugation at 40,000×g for 60 min. To achieve the highest viral RNA recovery efficiency by the proposed method, milk fat must be recombined with the supernatant of the centrifuged sample and then homogenized before performing the extraction protocol.     

Sustainability in electrical and electronic equipment closed-loop supply chains: A System Dynamics approach

In this paper we examine the impact of ecological motivation and technological innovations on the long-term behavior of a closed-loop supply chain with recycling activities. Ecological motivation manifests through legislation and green image factor, whereas technological innovations manifest through design for environment. We adopt System Dynamics methodology applied to many environmental systems seeking long-term gains. The developed model is implemented to a real-world supply chain of electrical equipment in Greece. Numerical analysis illustrates the factors concerned, like the delay of the legislation enforcement, to achieve a sustainable future through non-renewable resources and landfill preservation.     

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in European conventional and organic dairy farming

Dairy farming is the largest agricultural source of the greenhouse gases methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) in Europe. A whole-farm modeling approach was used to investigate promising mitigation measures. The effects of potential mitigation measures were modeled to obtain estimates of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from representative dairy model farms in five European regions. The potential to reduce farm GHG emissions was calculated per kg milk to compare organic and conventional production systems and to investigate region and system specific differences. An optimized lifetime efficiency of dairy cows reduced GHG emissions by up to 13% compared to baseline model farms. The evaluation of frequent removal of manure from animal housing into outside covered storage reduced farm GHG emissions by up to 7.1%. Scraping of fouled surfaces per se was not an effective option since the reduction in GHG emissions from animal housing was more than out-weighed by increased emissions from the storage and after field application. Manure application by trail hose and injection, respectively, was found to reduce farm GHG emissions on average by 0.7 and 3.2% compared to broadcasting. The calculated model scenarios for anaerobic digestion demonstrated that biogas production could be a very efficient and cost-effective option to reduce GHG emissions. The efficiency of this mitigation measure depends on the amount and quality of organic matter used for co-digestion, and how much of the thermal energy produced is exploited. A reduction of GHG emissions by up to 96% was observed when all thermal energy produced was used to substitute fossil fuels. Potential measures and strategies were scaled up to the level of European regions to estimate their overall mitigation potential. The mitigation potential of different strategies based on a combination of measures ranged from −25 up to −105% compared to baseline model farms. A full implementation of the most effective strategy could result in a total GHG emission reduction of about 50 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalents per year for conventional dairy farms of EU(15) comparable to the defined model farms.     

A recursive ecological indicator system for the supply chain of a company

This paper proposes the concept of cumulative eco-intensity with which environmental or sustainability indicators are related to the added value of economic activities. The intensities are passed on recursively from supplier to supplier and thus make it possible to include upstream and downstream effects along the supply and waste disposal chain. The process is applied to whole companies and (by contrast with LCA) not to individual products. At comparatively low expenditure for the individual companies, it allows vertical comparisons along the value-adding chain and horizontal comparisons among companies or production locations. This provides a decision-making aid for a company seeking to fulfil its ecological or sustainability responsibility in the entire production and supply chains.     

Projected change in climate thresholds in the Northeastern U.S.: implications for crops, pests, livestock, and farmers

Most prior climate change assessments for U.S. agriculture have focused on major world food crops such as wheat and maize. While useful from a national and global perspective, these results are not particularly relevant to the Northeastern U.S. agriculture economy, which is dominated by dairy milk production, and high-value horticultural crops such as apples (Malus domestica), grapes (Vitis vinifera), sweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), and maple syrup (sugar maple, Acer saccharum). We used statistically downscaled climate projections generated by the HadCM3 atmosphere–ocean general circulation model, run with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future emissions scenarios A1fi (higher) and B1 (lower), to evaluate several climate thresholds of direct relevance to agriculture in the region. A longer (frost-free) growing season could create new opportunities for farmers with enough capital to take risks on new crops (assuming a market for new crops can be developed). However, our results indicate that many crops will have yield losses associated with increased frequency of high temperature stress, inadequate winter chill period for optimum fruiting in spring, increased pressure from marginally over-wintering and/or invasive weeds, insects, or disease, or other factors. Weeds are likely to benefit more than cash crops from increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Projections of thermal heat index values for dairy cows indicate a substantial potential negative impact on milk production. At the higher compared to lower emissions scenario, negative climate change effects will occur sooner, and impact a larger geographic area within the region. Farmer adaptations to climate change will not be cost- or risk-free, and the impact on individual farm families and rural communities will depend on commodity produced, available capital, and timely, accurate climate projections.     

基于IPAT模型的江苏省能源消费与碳排放情景研究

利用环境负荷模型与"脱钩"理论,对江苏未来中长期的经济发展、能源需求与CO2排放进行了情景分析,并结合当前的环境政策,对三种情景下主要指标的参数和结果进行了设计与分析。研究表明,资源节约型与环境友好型社会的构建,低碳情景是江苏能源-经济-社会的协调发展最合适、也是最现实的方案;通过不同情景的比较,认为低碳情景的实现一定程度上是以减缓经济增长来实现节能减排目标的;低碳情景下能源需求与CO2排放也将明显快速增加,与2007年相比,2030年能源需求总量将增加1.431倍,碳排放总量将达到15 655×104t,未来20 a能源资源的有效供应与合理利用成为制约低碳经济发展的瓶颈因素。最后给出了实现节能减排、促进低碳经济发展的相关建议。     

NUTGRANJA 2.0: a simple mass balance model to explore the effects of different management strategies on nitrogen and greenhouse gases losses and soil phosphorus changes in dairy farms

Farm nutrient management has been identified as one of the most important factors determining the economic and environmental performance of dairy cattle (Bos taurus) farming systems. Given the environmental problems associated with dairy farms, such as emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), and the complex interaction between farm management, environment and genetics, there is a need to develop robust tools which enable scientists and policy makers to study all these interactions. This paper describes the development of a simple model called NUTGRANJA 2.0 to evaluate GHG emissions and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from dairy farms. NUTGRANJA 2.0 is an empirical mass-balance model developed in order to simulate the main transfers and flows of N and P through the different stages of the dairy farm management. A model sensitivity test was carried out to explore some of the sensitivities of the model in relation to the simulation of GHG and N emissions. This test indicated that both management (e.g. milk yield per cow, annual fertiliser N rate) and site-specific factors (e.g. % clover (Trifolium) in the sward, soil type, and % land slope) had a large effect on most of the model state variables studied (e.g. GHG and N losses).     

我国饲料粮区域产消平衡特征及政策启示

我国饲料粮消耗量大且增长迅速,已经成为我国粮食安全的首要影响因素,准确判断我国饲料粮的区域产消平衡特征对农业相关政策的制订具有重要的现实意义。论文在详细分析各省区不同畜牧产品粮食转化系数的基础上,对区域饲料粮的产消平衡状态及其原因进行了研究。结果显示：1）近年来我国饲料粮消费量快速上升,由2000年的21 730万t增长到2015年的30 549万t,15 a间增长了8 819万t。2）2015年生猪饲料粮消耗量最大,比例达到了44.4%,占据了我国饲料消耗总量的半壁江山。其次为禽蛋与禽肉消耗,消费占比分别为15.8%与12.7%;牛肉、羊肉、牛奶与水产品的饲料粮消费量比例均在5%~9%之间。3）2015年全国饲料粮总计短缺4 276万t,区域上呈现“北余南缺”的格局,东北黑龙江、吉林、内蒙古三省（区）成为我国最重要的饲料粮供应区域。从粮食转换系数与饲养结构来看,“北粮南运”现象是粮食资源的合理配置。论文提出三点政策建议：1）转变消费结构,增加牛肉与牛奶的消费量;2）推动“以粮为纲”向“粮经饲”三元种植结构转变;3）充分利用国际市场,从全球视角保护粮食安全。     

城市污水处理收费标准的提高对居民承受能力的影响

以四川省14个市/县污水处理设施的融资战略分析材料为基础,首先对现行收费标准下家庭用于水和污水处理方面的支出进行了分析,并对承受能力之内的居民支付意愿进行了调查统计;利用FEASIBLE模型模拟了3种未来可能增加融资的战略,并进行了说明;在分析了不同融资战略下收费标准的增长速度后,对3种战略下城市污水处理设施收费标准的提高对居民承受力的影响进行了研究.结果表明,如果没有保护贫穷和弱势家庭的相应措施,那么任何大幅的收费增长都将难以实现.      

低碳产品、定向广告与供应链营销投资策略演化

在对定向广告影响低碳产品制造商、零售商的供应链营销投资策略及其竞争关系分析基本上,建立制造商主导的Stackelberg博弈模型,给出制造商、零售商不同投资策略组合下的支付矩阵,构建以促进低碳产品销售为目标的演化博弈模型,根据产品低碳度、差异化低碳产品,分析不同低碳产品供应链定向广告投资策略演化路径及稳定性,并利用Netlogo进行博弈双方策略演化仿真,揭示消费者低碳偏好度、广告效应因子、价格敏感系数对策略演化路径的影响规律.研究发现,在制造商、零售商有限理性下,成本共担契约不能促成双方定向广告投资合作;产品低碳度不同,低碳供应链演化均衡策略存在差异;与制造商相比,零售商投资定向广告可催生更大市场需求,更有利于低碳产品的普及和推广;对低碳度较高产品,消费者低碳偏好度、价格敏感系数与零售商投资意愿正相关,广告效应因子对零售商投资意愿的影响存在峰值,当广告效应因子在合适范围内时,零售商投资意愿最大.据此,提出了相应的管理启示和决策建议.     

Development of the Pasture Simulation Model for assessing livestock production under climate change

To simulate climate change impacts on pastures and domestic herbivores as well as feedbacks to the atmosphere in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, we have improved a process-based biogeochemical pasture model, PaSim. The overall aim was to simulate the meat and milk production of cattle (suckler cows with their calves, dairy cows and heifers) in response to climate and management, as well as feedbacks to the atmosphere through enteric methane emissions. Herbage intake at grazing was calculated from animal characteristics, herbage availability, diet digestibility and air temperature. With suckler cows, milk production and changes in daily liveweight and body condition were calculated from net energy balance. The net energy intake of dairy cows and their body reserves at turnout to pasture were used to simulate milk production at pasture, daily liveweight and body condition changes, taking into account cow energy requirements and intake capacity. Heifer growth was determined from heifer net energy intake and liveweight. Net energy intake was used to assess enteric methane production through a conversion factor, which depends both on the energy level of the diet and on the herbivore type. The model was assessed against experimental data for animal performance and methane emissions at grazing. Predictions show good agreement with observations. On average, the root mean square error was 6.5, 4 and 2.5% for the liveweights of suckler cows, suckler calves and heifers, respectively, 18% for dairy milk production and 12% for enteric methane emissions. By comparing this new version of the PaSim model to the previous version, we show that a greater accuracy in animal performance modelling improves the sensitivity of the model to interannual climate variability. However, long term (30 years) projections of climate change impacts on grasslands and of radiative feedbacks to the atmosphere are not significantly modified. The originality and the validity domain of the model are discussed.     

预酸化＋UASB＋CASS工艺处理乳业废水

乳业废水中乳蛋白、乳脂肪的生物降解比较慢,转化不毫全时容易引起污泥上浮,脂肪及其中间产物（尤其是游离的长链脂肪酸）会对厌氧微生物产生抑制作用。这里介绍一种乳业废水处理技术-预酸化＋UASB＋CASS工艺,经过2年多实际工程运行表明,此工艺有效的克服以上难题,并且运行稳定,处理费用低,操作管理方便。     

基于生命周期视角的种养一体化奶牛场环境经济效益评估

准确评估种养一体化奶牛场的经济性能与环境绩效,是相关支持政策制定的基础,也是促进奶业低碳生产的关键.本文基于生命周期视角,对非种养一体化奶牛场（non-IPBS）和种养一体化奶牛场（IPBS）养殖过程中的温室气体排放、能源消耗、水消耗、土地占用等环境成本和经济效益进行评估.结果表明,non-IPBS生产1t标准牛奶（FPCM）的净收益为1427元,而IPBS的实际净收益提高7%,如果青贮玉米自给率从当前的32%提升到100%,则实际净收益将提高19%,同时,该净收益的提高率取决于耕地流转费用,临界点为14695元/hm²;相比non-IPBS,IPBS生产1tFPCM的温室气体排放、能源消耗、水消耗、土地占用分别减少6%、6%、5%、7%,如果青贮玉米自给率提升到100%,则相应减少16%、16%、11%、14%.IPBS在降低青贮玉米种植的化肥施用、解决养殖场粪便污染等方面优势明显,在提升养殖经济效益、降低温室气体排放等方面具有巨大潜力,值得推广.     

Value flow analysis based on EAP industrial chain: case of Huaning in Xichang,Sichuan

In this paper, based on symbiotic network of Eco-agricultural Park (EAP), value flows of different industrial chains are studied, and input–output efficiencies of industrial chain and individual enterprise accounted independently are compared in the case of Huaning EAP. The results indicate: (1) the total profit of industrial chain of feedstuff processing, breeder duck breeding, laying-hen breeding, farm garden, dairy farm and milk processing is more than the sum of profits of individual enterprises independently accounted, with a difference of 950,800 RMB yuan. Input–output efficiency of this industrial chain is 1.30 times higher than the average that of individual enterprises accounted independently. (2) The total profit of industrial chain of feedstuff processing, dairy farm, grass farm, laying-hen breeding and milk processing is more than the sum of profits of individual enterprises accounted independently, with a difference of 3,258,800 RMB yuan. Input–output efficiency of this industrial chain is 1.45 times higher than the average that of individual enterprises accounted independently. (3) Through collaboration among enterprises in the industrial system, the benefits of the industrial chain are much higher than the sum of those obtained by individual enterprises, which is benefited from the performance of resource and by-product exchange network among enterprises in the EAP.     

Stepwise environmental product declarations: ten SME case studies

The lack of reliable communication tools is anticipated to become an important barrier to design and sell products with improved environmental performance. In this paper, environmental product declarations, EPDs, and in particular a Stepwise EPD approach is investigated as a means to overcome the communication barrier. The experiences of ten European SMEs who have tried to use Stepwise EPDs for market communication and as a basis for eco-design are described and discussed. The experiences suggest that Stepwise EPDs based on life cycle assessment can be a cost-efficient tool to improve the environmental performance of products. For normal marketing activities the Stepwise EPDs were disappointing. Using the underlying LCA as a platform for in-depth communication with selected parties in the supply chain showed more promise.