mohammad chenari; Majid Khanali; Mohammad Sharifi; Homa Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate and compare the environmental damage of raw sugar production in the cultivation and industry of Khuzestan province under a conventional linear framework and a circular bioeconomy perspective. The purpose of transition from production systems under linear economy to circular ...
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This study aimed to investigate and compare the environmental damage of raw sugar production in the cultivation and industry of Khuzestan province under a conventional linear framework and a circular bioeconomy perspective. The purpose of transition from production systems under linear economy to circular bioeconomy is to eliminate waste, increase the efficiency of materials and energy, and the production of biodiversity products to increase the sustainability of production systems, including food production systems. This study showed that the production per ton of raw sugar under the framework of linear economy leads to a loss of 167.41 Pt, which production and combustion of natural gas in sugarcane processing have the largest share in causing this damage. In comparison, the results of this study showed that the transition from a linear economy to a circular bioeconomy in which molasses and bagasse as the two major wastes of the sugar industry are converted into alcohol and fuel, respectively, resulted in a 193% reduction in total environmental damage. This result emphasizes that sugar production under the circular bioeconomy not only is a viable solution for existing waste management but also significantly reduces the environmental damage caused by sugarcane production and processing.
Majid Khanali; Mahdieh Mohammadnia Galeshklamei; Asadollah Akram; Homa Hosseinzadeh Bndbafha
Abstract
In this study, energy consumption and pollutant emissions in producing local cookies in Guilan province have been assessed. Optimization techniques in energy consumption to reduce pollutant emissions were also shown using two conventional methods: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and multi-objective genetic ...
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In this study, energy consumption and pollutant emissions in producing local cookies in Guilan province have been assessed. Optimization techniques in energy consumption to reduce pollutant emissions were also shown using two conventional methods: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). Required data, gathered from 30 units preparing local cookies, were used as the preliminary data for energy and environmental analyses. Also, the environmental impacts in cookie production were investigated using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Inputs and output were converted to equivalent energies based on equivalent energy values. Results showed that 30533.66 MJ of energy would be needed to produce one ton of cookies. The share of natural gas in providing energy to produce one ton of cookies was calculated as high as 16945.2893 MJ. Based on LCA results, the global warming (GW) index was calculated as 3732.09 kg CO2 eq. per ton of local cookies.Based on the results of DEA models, the optimum amount of energy consumption is 30221.5856 MJ ton-1, the energy saving percentage is 1.02 %, and the reduction of GW index is 190.3739 kg CO2 eq. per ton of cookies produced in the units. Following patterns proposed by MOGA would results 21.62% reduction in energy consumption, main part of which associated with cookies in which walnuts are used. Based on the optimization results of MOGA, GW index per production of one ton of cookie was calculated as 2923.74 kg CO2 eq.
