Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Energy Valorization of the Residual Agro-Food Industry

This study assesses the potential environmental impacts related to the energy valorization of agro-food industry waste thought the Life Cycle Assessment methodology (ISO 14040). The system examined consists of a real anaerobic digester coupled with a combined anaerobic digester and heat and power plant (AD-CHP) operating in Sicily. The analysis accounts for all the impacts occurring from the delivery of the biomass to the AD-CHP plant up to the electricity generation in the CHP. The main outcomes of the study include the eco-profile of the energy system providing electricity and the assessment of the contribution of each life cycle phase aimed at identifying the potential improvement area. The obtained results highlight that the direct emissions associated with the biogas combustion process in the CHP account for 66% of the impact on climate change, and feedstock transport contributes 64% to the impact on mineral, fossil fuels, and renewable depletion. The contribution to the impacts caused by the electricity consumption is relevant in many of the environmental categories examined. It ranges from a minimum of about 22% for climate change up to 82% for freshwater ecotoxicity. Then actions aimed at reducing electricity consumption can significantly improve the environmental performances of the energy system examined.

[1]  M. Cellura,et al.  Environmental assessment of a waste-to-energy practice: the pyrolysis of agro-industrial biomass residues , 2021 .

[2]  K. Rajendran,et al.  Techno-economics and life-cycle assessment of biological and thermochemical treatment of bio-waste , 2021, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

[3]  Stelvia Matos,et al.  Technology roadmap of renewable natural gas: Identifying trends for research and development to improve biogas upgrading technology management , 2021 .

[4]  B. Ghorbani,et al.  Thermodynamic and economic evaluation of biomethane and carbon dioxide liquefaction process in a hybridized system of biogas upgrading process and mixed fluid cascade liquefaction cycle , 2021, Process Safety and Environmental Protection.

[5]  A. Dias,et al.  Environmental and energy performance of residual forest biomass for electricity generation: Gasification vs. combustion , 2021 .

[6]  M. Cellura,et al.  Energy and environmental assessment of residual bio-wastes management strategies , 2020 .

[7]  M. Cellura,et al.  Environmental assessment of 2030 electricity generation scenarios in Sicily: An integrated approach , 2020 .

[8]  Zhaohua Wang,et al.  Biomass energy production and its impacts on the ecological footprint: An investigation of the G7 countries. , 2020, The Science of the total environment.

[9]  M. Cellura,et al.  Energy-environmental assessment of the UIA-OpenAgri case study as urban regeneration project through agriculture. , 2020, The Science of the total environment.

[10]  Reinout Heijungs,et al.  On the number of Monte Carlo runs in comparative probabilistic LCA , 2019, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[11]  O. Okoro,et al.  Desulphurisation of Biogas: A Systematic Qualitative and Economic-Based Quantitative Review of Alternative Strategies , 2019, ChemEngineering.

[12]  R. Baumgartner,et al.  The Third Wave of LCA as the “Decade of Consolidation” , 2019, Sustainability.

[13]  Ben Amor,et al.  Exploring the Current Challenges and Opportunities of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment , 2019, Sustainability.

[14]  Shuguang Liu,et al.  Bioenergy production and environmental impacts , 2018, Geoscience Letters.

[15]  Nabin Aryal,et al.  Alternative of Biogas Injection into the Danish Gas Grid System—A Study from Demand Perspective , 2018, ChemEngineering.

[16]  Michael J. Lathuillière,et al.  The WULCA consensus characterization model for water scarcity footprints: assessing impacts of water consumption based on available water remaining (AWARE) , 2018, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[17]  Sara González-García,et al.  The environmental effect of substituting energy crops for food waste as feedstock for biogas production , 2017 .

[18]  Sonia Yeh,et al.  Forest biomass, carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation. From Science to Policy 3 , 2016 .

[19]  Jacopo Bacenetti,et al.  Agricultural anaerobic digestion plants: What LCA studies pointed out and what can be done to make them more environmentally sustainable , 2016 .

[20]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  Evaluation of environmental impacts in the catering sector: the case of pasta , 2016 .

[21]  Gregor Wernet,et al.  The ecoinvent database version 3 (part I): overview and methodology , 2016, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[22]  R. Rana,et al.  Greenhouse gas emissions of an agro-biogas energy system: Estimation under the Renewable Energy Directive. , 2016, The Science of the total environment.

[23]  A. Azapagic,et al.  Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Electricity from Biogas Produced by Anaerobic Digestion , 2016, Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol..

[24]  Qiao-Li Wang,et al.  Life cycle assessment on biogas production from straw and its sensitivity analysis. , 2016, Bioresource technology.

[25]  Giuseppe Ottaviano,et al.  Environmental assessment of electricity generation from an Italian anaerobic digestion plant , 2015 .

[26]  David Styles,et al.  Cattle feed or bioenergy? Consequential life cycle assessment of biogas feedstock options on dairy farms , 2015 .

[27]  I. Alloisio.  The Water-Energy-Food Nexus , 2015 .

[28]  Carlo Ingrao,et al.  Application of Carbon Footprint to an agro-biogas supply chain in Southern Italy , 2015 .

[29]  J. Bacenetti,et al.  The environmental burdens of maize silage production: Influence of different ensiling techniques , 2015 .

[30]  Maurizio Cellura,et al.  Life cycle assessment of storage systems: the case study of a sodium/nickel chloride battery , 2014 .

[31]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  Life cycle environmental impacts of generating electricity and heat from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion , 2014 .

[32]  Sara González-García,et al.  Anaerobic digestion of different feedstocks: impact on energetic and environmental balances of biogas process. , 2013, The Science of the total environment.

[33]  Mikael Lantz,et al.  Environmental performance of biogas produced from industrial residues including competition with animal feed – life-cycle calculations according to different methodologies and standards , 2013 .

[34]  A. Boulamanti,et al.  Influence of different practices on biogas sustainability , 2013 .

[35]  M Guo,et al.  LCA data quality: sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. , 2012, The Science of the total environment.

[36]  T. Rehl,et al.  Life cycle assessment of energy generation from biogas—Attributional vs. consequential approach , 2012 .

[37]  M. Nelles,et al.  Life cycle assessment of the supply and use of bioenergy: impact of regional factors on biogas production , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[38]  Martina Poeschl,et al.  Environmental impacts of biogas deployment – Part II: life cycle assessment of multiple production and utilization pathways , 2012 .

[39]  Pål Börjesson,et al.  Environmental systems analysis of biogas systems—Part II: The environmental impact of replacing various reference systems , 2007 .

[40]  Dallemand Jean-francois,et al.  Brief on biomass for energy in the European Union , 2019 .

[41]  Sala Serenella,et al.  Supporting information to the characterisation factors of recommended EF Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods , 2018 .

[42]  Marelli Luisa,et al.  Life cycle assessment for the impact assessment of policies , 2016 .

[43]  Not Indicated,et al.  International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook - General guide for Life Cycle Assessment - Detailed guidance , 2010 .