scholarly journals LCA-Based Environmental Performance of Olive Cultivation in Northwestern Greece: From Rainfed to Irrigated through Conventional and Smart Crop Management Practices

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 1954
Author(s):  
Konstantina Fotia ◽  
Andi Mehmeti ◽  
Ioannis Tsirogiannis ◽  
George Nanos ◽  
Andreas P. Mamolos ◽  
...  

Olive cultivation is expanding rapidly in the northwestern part of Greece, under both rainfed and irrigated practices. Irrigation can result in larger yields and economic returns, but trade-offs in the water–energy–pollution nexus remain a controversial and challenging issue. This study presents an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Greek olive orchard systems in the plain of Arta (Epirus), comparing rainfed (baseline), Decision Support System (DSS)-based (smart) irrigation practices and farmer experience-based (conventional) irrigation practices. The contributions in this paper are, first, to provide a first quantitative indication of the environmental performance of Greek olive growing systems under different management strategies, and second, to detail the advantages that can be achieved using smart irrigation in olive cultivation in the Greek and Mediterranean contexts. Eighteen midpoints (e.g., climate change, water scarcity, acidification, freshwater eutrophication, etc.), two endpoints (damages on human health and ecosystem quality), and a single score (overall environmental impact) were quantified using the IMPACT World+ life cycle impact assessment method. The LCA model was set up using the OpenLCA software v1.10.3. The functional units were 1 ton of product (mass-based) and 1 ha of cultivated area (area-based) on a cradle-to-farm gate perspective. Irrigated systems had the lowest impacts per mass unit due to higher yields, but showed the highest impacts per cultivated area. The DSS-based irrigation management could reduce water and energy use by 42.1% compared to conventional practices. This is translated into a reduction of 5.3% per 1 ton and 10.4% per 1 ha of the total environmental impact. A sensitivity analysis of impact assessment models demonstrated that the benefits could be up to 18% for 1 ton of product or 22.6% for 1 ha of cultivated land. These results outline that DSS-based irrigation is a promising option to support less resource-intensive and sustainable intensification of irrigated agriculture systems in the plain of Arta.

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 11003
Author(s):  
Andreas Pramudianto

Basically each product or service has its own life cycle. Life Cycle Analysis Method can be used to assess the impact of an activity both production and service activities. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Analisis Mengenai Dampak Lingkungan (AMDAL) is one of the activities that must be fulfilled in order to obtain an environmental permit. EIA activities have a life cycle process that needs to be known and understood so that environmental permits can be obtained. Therefore this study aims to find out the use of the LCA method in EIA procedures. In addition, with the LCA method, EIA activities are expected to be well studied according to the function of this service. LCA can provide to reduce the least impact from environmental damage. This research will be useful for the development of environmental science, especially related to the study of environmental impacts, especially EIA. It is expected that the results of the study will provide a complete picture of the relevance of the LCA method with EIA and the benefits that can be taken. The results of this study will be an important recommendation for decision makers regarding the importance of EIA in development, especially sustainable development through the method used, namely LCA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-224
Author(s):  
Desrina Yusi Irawati ◽  
Melati Kurniawati

Kenaf fiber from the kenaf plant is the excellent raw material for industry because of the various diversified products it produces. To develop sustainable kenaf fiber, information is needed on the strengths and weaknesses of kenaf cultivation systems with respect to productivity and environmental impact. Therefore, a comprehensive environmental and economic impact assessment was conducted from cultivating kenaf to kenaf fiber. The environmental impact assessment uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and economic calculations from the life cycle of kenaf to kenaf fiber to collectors use the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) method. The calculation of environmental impacts is in accordance with the stages of ISO 14040, using a single score assessment. The LCA results show that the treatment stage is the highest contributor of the three groups of impact categories. The highest to the lowest in the impact category group that was influenced by the treatment stage were resources with a value of 21.4 mPt, human health with a value of 8.76 mPt, and ecosystem quality with a value of 1.91 mPt. The cost identified through the LCC is Rp. 6,088,468,333, NVP and B/Cnet are positive. The results of the sensitivity analysis if there is a reduction in production> 6%, the business is still profitable and can be run.


Author(s):  
Beata Hricová ◽  
Ervin Lumnitzer

AbstractEnvironmental performance of each product is defined already at the stage of its design - in its pre-production stage. Environmental quality of the product is one of the most important factors of environmental performance of a product. Environmental quality includes a range of criteria that indicate the nature of the product and its environmental impact throughout its life cycle. The comparative analysis method is one of the ways to assess the environmental quality of the product. The article gives a specific example of the assessments carried out on the impact drills (of one specific brand) with different technical parameters.


2011 ◽  
Vol 471-472 ◽  
pp. 999-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Al-Ma'adeed ◽  
Gozde Ozerkan ◽  
Ramazan Kahraman ◽  
Saravanan Rajendran ◽  
Alma Hodzic

Although recycled polymers and reinforced polymer composites have been in use for many years there is little information available on their environmental impacts. The goal of the present study is to analyze the environmental impact of new composite materials obtained from the combination of recycled thermoplastics (polypropylene [PP] and polyethylene [PE]) with mineral fillers like talc and with glass fiber. The environmental impact of these composite materials is compared to the impact of virgin PP and PE. The recycled and virgin materials were compared using life cycle assessment method according to their environmental effects. Within the scope of the study, GaBi software was used for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis. From cradle-to-grave life cycle inventory studies were performed for 1 kg of each of the thermoplastics. Landfilling was considered as reference scenario and compared with filled recycled plastics. A quantitative impact assessment was performed for four environmental impact categories, global warming (GWP) over a hundred years, human toxicity (HTP), abiotic depletion (ADP) and acidification potential (AP) were taken into consideration during LCA. In the comparison of recycled and virgin polymers, it was seen that recycling has lower environmental effect for different impact assessment methods like acidification potential, abiotic depletion, human toxicity and global warming.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1753
Author(s):  
Giulia Maesano ◽  
Gaetano Chinnici ◽  
Giacomo Falcone ◽  
Claudio Bellia ◽  
Maria Raimondo ◽  
...  

This paper aims to achieve an economic feasibility and life cycle assessment of three different olive cultivation systems in the Mediterranean area through the joint use of economic and environmental indicators, in order to identify the key elements to optimize their economic performance and a lower environmental impact. Three different management systems of olive cultivation were analysed by distinguishing Treatment 1—Fully Irrigated, Treatment 2—Partially Irrigated, and Treatment 3—Non-Irrigated, which were conducted through different levels of irrigation strategies. The three scenarios were examined using a Life Cycle Assessment methodology to assess the environmental impacts, and the impact in terms of water footprint was investigated using the Water Scarcity Index approach. The economic sustainability evaluation of olive cultivation was carried out through economic indicators, taking into account all of the cost and revenue factors of the olive cultivation in each management system. The results showed, overall, a suitable level of profitability of different scenarios, except for the Partially Irrigated treatment, as the investment costs of the irrigation system are not economically sustainable with regard to the revenue obtained. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the importance of irrigation management strategies to decrease agricultural practice costs and the negative environmental impact of olive production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Febilian Adiwinata ◽  
Suprihatin Suprihatin ◽  
Mulyorini Rahayuningsih

Coffee is one of Indonesia's leading commodity that has the potential to be developed for agro-industry. High coffee production has encouraged the establishment of a small and medium coffee industry. The purpose of this study is to analyze possible strategies for implementing cleaner production and evaluate the impact on the environment using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method with a gate to gate scope. The stages of cleaner production research used quick scan techniques, source identification, cause evaluation and option generation implementation. LCA research stages with the determination of the objectives and scope of research, inventory analysis, environmental impact assessment and implementation of improvements. Greenhouse gases (GHG) emission was assessed as an environmental impact parameter. The results showed the alternative potential for cleaner production that was applied the manufacture of drying domes (Payback Period/PBP) 3.18 months with an investment ofRp. 2,285,000), procurement of generator machines (PBP 1.16 months with an investment of Rp. 5,860,000), making air circulation in roasting room (PBP 0.07 months with an investment of Rp. 1,268,000), making of solid waste composting reactor (PBP 2.18 months with an investment of Rp. 3,440,000) and addition packing equipment (PBP 0.45 month with an investment of Rp. 3.057 .000). The results of the LCA analysis show that 1,000 Kg of dry-processed coffee requires energy of 869.92 MJ and produces GHG emissions of 95.58 Kg CO₂eq / ton coffee fruits or 0.42Kg CO₂eq / Kg coffee powder equal to 2.389Kg CO₂eq/month and 28.674Kg CO₂eq/year.Key words : environmental impact assessment, life cycle assessment, small coffee industries


2020 ◽  
pp. 161-165
Author(s):  
Bertram de Crom ◽  
Jasper Scholten ◽  
Janjoris van Diepen

To get more insight in the environmental performance of the Suiker Unie beet sugar, Blonk Consultants performed a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on beet sugar, cane sugar and glucose syrup. The system boundaries of the sugar life cycle are set from cradle to regional storage at the Dutch market. For this study 8 different scenarios were evaluated. The first scenario is the actual sugar production at Suiker Unie. Scenario 2 until 7 are different cane sugar scenarios (different countries of origin, surplus electricity production and pre-harvest burning of leaves are considered). Scenario 8 concerns the glucose syrup scenario. An important factor in the environmental impact of 1kg of sugar is the sugar yield per ha. Total sugar yield per ha differs from 9t/ha sugar for sugarcane to 15t/ha sugar for sugar beet (in 2017). Main conclusion is that the production of beet sugar at Suiker Unie has in general a lower impact on climate change, fine particulate matter, land use and water consumption, compared to cane sugar production (in Brazil and India) and glucose syrup. The impact of cane sugar production on climate change and water consumption is highly dependent on the country of origin, especially when land use change is taken into account. The environmental impact of sugar production is highly dependent on the co-production of bioenergy, both for beet and cane sugar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7386
Author(s):  
Thomas Schaubroeck ◽  
Simon Schaubroeck ◽  
Reinout Heijungs ◽  
Alessandra Zamagni ◽  
Miguel Brandão ◽  
...  

To assess the potential environmental impact of human/industrial systems, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a very common method. There are two prominent types of LCA, namely attributional (ALCA) and consequential (CLCA). A lot of literature covers these approaches, but a general consensus on what they represent and an overview of all their differences seems lacking, nor has every prominent feature been fully explored. The two main objectives of this article are: (1) to argue for and select definitions for each concept and (2) specify all conceptual characteristics (including translation into modelling restrictions), re-evaluating and going beyond findings in the state of the art. For the first objective, mainly because the validity of interpretation of a term is also a matter of consensus, we argue the selection of definitions present in the 2011 UNEP-SETAC report. ALCA attributes a share of the potential environmental impact of the world to a product life cycle, while CLCA assesses the environmental consequences of a decision (e.g., increase of product demand). Regarding the second objective, the product system in ALCA constitutes all processes that are linked by physical, energy flows or services. Because of the requirement of additivity for ALCA, a double-counting check needs to be executed, modelling is restricted (e.g., guaranteed through linearity) and partitioning of multifunctional processes is systematically needed (for evaluation per single product). The latter matters also hold in a similar manner for the impact assessment, which is commonly overlooked. CLCA, is completely consequential and there is no limitation regarding what a modelling framework should entail, with the coverage of co-products through substitution being just one approach and not the only one (e.g., additional consumption is possible). Both ALCA and CLCA can be considered over any time span (past, present & future) and either using a reference environment or different scenarios. Furthermore, both ALCA and CLCA could be specific for average or marginal (small) products or decisions, and further datasets. These findings also hold for life cycle sustainability assessment.


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