Eco-efficiency has become a cornerstone for any company that seeks to improve their environmental and economic aspects. In this context, the joint use of Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment ...Analysis, known as LCA + DEA methodology, is an emerging and growing line of research. LCA estimates the environmental impacts of the products or services, while DEA evaluates their efficiency, providing targets and benchmarks for the inefficient ones. In this way, both the environmental and economic aspects are considered in the eco-efficiency assessment. Since LCA + DEA methodology is a novel research line, a literature review is necessary to depict its full scope and to support researchers and practitioners. This manuscript presents the first comprehensive and structured literature review of the joint use of LCA and DEA for eco-efficiency assessment. We propose a taxonomy for the reviewed articles based on the theoretical and practical issues of LCA + DEA methodology and classify them accordingly. This classification allows recognizing and discussing the main findings, which offer some managerial implications for professionals who want to start employing this methodology. In addition, a procedure for selecting a suitable method is proposed and the main limitations and research opportunities are identified. Finally, this review could be a starting point and a guide for systematically building knowledge about the in the joint use of LCA and DEA for eco-efficiency assessment.
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•LCA + DEA is an emerging methodology to evaluate eco-efficiency.•A comprehensive review of LCA + DEA studies is carried out.•A taxonomy is proposed based on relevant aspects of LCA + DEA studies.•The proposed taxonomy is used to organize the LCA + DEA literature.•The results are discussed and future research areas are identified.
The effects of climate change and water scarcity on food security in Latin America and the prevalence of metabolic risk factors that increase the likelihood of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among ...Chilean citizens are considered two significant challenges. The 2020 Sustainable Development Goals Report shows that an increasing number of people are suffering from food insecurity, and the growing stress on the environment associated with food production and resource exploitation. Therefore, the evaluation and monitoring of nutritional habits must be addressed because of their central role in meeting healthy and sustainable food goals. The objective of this study was to assess the environmental impacts (carbon and water footprint), nutritional quality and cost of diets of different socio-economic subgroups in Chile, mapping environmental hotspots and food insecurity. It was found that higher income was associated with higher environmental burdens related to food choices and higher dietary costs. Carbon and water footprints ranged from 2.42 to 4.74 kg CO2eq·person−1·day−1 and 1683–3110 L·person−1·day−1 for the first and fifth quintile, respectively. Chilean residents in the highest socio-economic quintile consumed more meat and fewer starch-based products than those in the lowest quintile. Meat was the main contributor to the carbon (56%–59%) and water (40%–43%) footprints and the determining factor in the differences between income quintiles. Although current diets in Chile do not meet nutritional recommendations, diet quality also increased with socioeconomic status. These findings could serve as a reference to implement public policies in Chile, ensuring healthy eating and food security in the context of climate change and water scarcity.
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•Chilean diets were assessed under environmental, nutritional quality, and economic approaches.•Socioeconomic status has a strong influence on diet quality.•High-income consumers obtained the greatest environmental burdens related to food choices.•Meat was the main impact contributor and the key factor between income quintiles.•Differences on food groups intake were observed based on social class.
This research evaluates the economic and environmental feasibility of extracting dietary fibre (DF) from a by-product such as soybean hulls. Techno-economic (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) were ...carried out to identify the critical factors that may limit the implementation of a potential biorefinery plant. The modelling of the process was carried out on the basis of mass and energy balances, as well as the characteristics of the required equipment. TEA indicators such as minimum selling price (MSP), fixed capital investment, manufacturing costs were evaluated. A cradle-to-gate LCA approach and a functional unit (FU) of 1 kg of product (85 % DF content) were considered. Impact categories such as global warming (GW), eutrophication, eco-toxicity, among others, were analysed. The results indicate that the production capacity achieves the plateau at about 56 kt·y-1, with an MSP value of 2.6 $·kg-1. Furthermore, the GW profile was 8.76 kg CO2eq per FU, and the main hotspot is the alkaline digestion stage due to the use of potassium hydroxide (KOH). Nevertheless, the management of the hulls from multi-product food plants and switching KOH production to renewable sources may reduce the profile in almost all categories analysed.
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•Environmental and economic analyses of dietary fibre extraction were addressed.•The minimum selling price was 2.6 $·kg-1 of dietary fibre (with 85 % content).•The global warming category reaches an impact of 8.76 kg CO2eq per kg of product.•The hotspot was the alkaline digestion process due to the use of potassium hydroxide.
Looking for renewable energy sources is one of the main targets in the transition to low-carbon economies. Bioenergy appears as an alternative with great potential, but firstly, it requires ...addressing all aspects that can limit its environmental viability. Stillage has been identified as an environmental concern of the bioethanol production. Thus, eco-friendly strategies for valorizing this resource should be pursued. In this work, three strategies such as composting (non-energy valorization), one-stage anaerobic digestion (with the aim of biogas production), and dark fermentation followed by anaerobic digestion (scheme under development to produce biohydrogen and biogas) were evaluated under a life-cycle perspective; and through process modeling based on literature data. The aim is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of dark fermentation for the management of apple stillage. To do this, a cradle-to-gate and attributional framework were followed, considering impact and damage perspectives. Results showed a very significant environmental load (around 99%) of composting compared to the selected energy recovery schemes, considering the added value of compost and the associated emissions versus those of biofuels. Otherwise, small differences were found between single-stage anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation (up to 16%), mainly, due to changes in chemical consumption and organic matter degradation efficiency.
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•Stillage valorization strategies from the apple distillery industry were analyzed.•Environmental benchmarking of composting, anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation.•Energy demand and direct emissions were the hotspots in all scenarios evaluated.•Close performance for anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation in midpoint impacts.•Dark fermentation process reaches an emission of 0.15 kg CO2eq per kg of H2 produced.
In the transition towards climate neutrality, biorefinery models are considered promising alternatives to processes based on fossil fuels and non-renewable materials. This consideration is attributed ...to the reduction of dependence on non-renewable systems, in line with greener and lower impact technological strategies. However, they imply a profound transformation of the production system, as the variable and stochastic nature of certain renewable sources makes it necessary to have various tools to provide flexibility and optimize the system. Their market penetration is currently limited by their level of development and the regulatory and financial support to implement the paradigm shift. Traditional linear production is still more economically viable compared to circular production models, based on efficiency parameters achieved by years of manufacturing experience. To reverse this trend, it is necessary to leverage its benefits through the use of appropriate assessment tools, as these are the ones that could drive the move towards biorefineries. This is the focus of this research report, which reviews various evaluation methodologies and indicators to effectively evaluate bio-based process schemes. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), Green Chemistry Principles (GCP), certification scheme requirements and Circular Economy Action Plans are reviewed and integrated into a precise assessment framework. To determine their effectiveness, three biorefinery models were evaluated: valorization of apple vinasses, grape must and chickpea peel. Through the combined analysis of bio-based scenarios, it has been possible to identify their benefits, bottlenecks and limitations, and to validate a comprehensive assessment framework that allows an accurate, effective and conscious analysis of bio-based models, promoting their development and market penetration.
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•Bio-based process under a sustainability and circular approach•Use of indicators to evaluate the potential of bio-based alternatives.•Differences between PEF methodology and other LCA-based methods.•Proposition of a methodological combined framework under sustainable and circular perspectives.
Pursuing new sources for food production in a context of demographic growth requires achieving a sustainable production model to face the current climate crisis. The biorefinery concept emerges as a ...technological scheme for the integral processing of renewable resources such as food waste obtained from the processing industry. This research aims to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the valorisation route of chickpea peel to produce dietary fibre. Coupling process modelling with life cycle assessment approaches allows designing the potential biorefinery platform and identifying factors that may restrict its application in large-scale production. Global warming, particulate matter, eutrophication and ecotoxicity-related, fossil scarcity, among others, were the impact categories analysed with a cradle-to-gate approach. Results showed, for instance, that one kilogram of dietary fibre product emits 7.62 kg CO2 eq, 14.08 g PM2.5 and 4.37 g of P eq. Furthermore, alkaline digestion and bleaching were the most impactful stages in the categories analysed, due to the use of potassium hydroxide and sodium chlorite, respectively. This research contributes to rethink chickpea hulls from the food industry as a by-product towards high value-added products with applicability in the same industry.
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•Environmental evaluation of dietary fibre extraction from chickpea hull was addressed.•Alkaline digestion and bleaching were the main hotspots of the product system.•The global warming encompassed a value of 7.62 kg CO2eq per kg of fibre.•In general, renewable energy sources could improve the environmental performance.
Cow milk is a fundamental nutrients source for the human diet at all stages of life. However, the decline in cow milk consumption over the years has been driven by increased consumer awareness of ...animal welfare and the environmental burdens associated. In this regard, different initiatives have emerged to mitigate the impacts of livestock farming, but many of them without addressing the multi-perspective view of environmental sustainability. Thus, the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus emerges as a framework to consider the complex synergies among carbon emissions, water demand, energy requirements and food production. In this study, a novel and harmonised WEF nexus approach has been proposed and applied to evaluate a set of 100 dairy farms. For that, the assessment, normalisation, and weighting of three lifecycle indicators such as carbon, water and energy footprints, as well as the milk yield were carried out to obtain a single value, the WEF nexus index (WEFni), which varies from 0 to 100. Results show that the WEF nexus scores obtained vary from 31 to 90, demonstrating large differences among the farms assessed. A cluster ranking was performed to identify those farms with the worst WEF nexus indexes. For this group, consisting of 8 farms with an average WEFni of 39, three improvement actions focused on the feeding, digestive process and wellbeing of the cows were applied to determine the potential reduction in the two main hotspots identified: cow feeding and milk production level. The proposed methodology can establish a roadmap for promoting a more environmentally sustainable food industry, although further studies are still required in the pathway of a standardised WEFni.
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•A WEF nexus approach is proposed and applied to a sample of dairy farms.•Cow feeding and milk production levels are the main hotspots.•Reformulate fodder composition reports significant improvements.•The WEF nexus index can be a helpful supportive tool for stakeholders.•Further iterations should focus on the weighting and aggregation procedures.
The joint use of life cycle assessment and data envelopment analysis (LCA + DEA approach) for eco-efficiency assessment is a growing research area in which different environmental impacts scores can ...be used. When LCA + DEA is focused only on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, i.e., carbon footprint (CF), the approach is called CF + DEA. In this study, we propose a new CF + DEA method for eco-efficiency assessment that uses a network DEA approach. This approach assumes that an organization contains subprocesses or stages that are interrelated through intermediate products, reflecting a more realistic situation. In this paper, we use a two-stage network structure and a corresponding network DEA model (the general networks slacks-based inefficiency model – GNSBI) for assessing the eco-efficiency of 26 Chilean beekeepers. Moreover, four scenarios are evaluated that consider different objectives from policymakers. This new CF + network DEA method provides more detailed managerial insights for operational and environmental performance, including a broad identification of inefficiency sources. In addition, an improvement plan based on the best practices identified in each process is presented. With this method, an efficient use of resources and greater CF reduction may be achieved.
•A new method for eco-efficiency assessment is proposed.•The new method uses carbon footprint and network data envelopment analysis together.•A two-stage structure and a corresponding network DEA model are used.•An agrifood system of beekeeping production is evaluated using the CF + DEA method.•The network DEA approach provides more detailed managerial insights for CF reduction.
The climate crisis calls for a shift from petrochemicals to bio-based products to reduce environmental consequences. Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most widely used biopolymers, due to its ...mechanical properties and renewable origin, to produce bio-based compostable plastic for food packaging. The objective of this study is to determine the environmental feasibility of a second-generation PLA production based on wheat straw; and the role of a chemical recycling plant on the environmental performance of a bioproduct at an early design stage. A holistic assessment was performed through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology considering both attributional and consequential perspectives, through a cradle-to-grave approach. The attributional LCA results show that lactic acid production was the main contributor due to the wheat straw pre-treatment and downstream separation and purification (DSP) processes. The integration of a recycling plant leads to a significant reduction of burdens, ranging from 1.38 to 0.44 kg CO2eq in the Global Warming category. Furthermore, consequential LCA results shows that the increased demand for substitute products for activities such as feeding, fertilisation and energy generation and the indirect emissions from land use change related to the conversion of land for the cultivation of raw materials are relevant factors in the environmental effects associated with the possible implementation of straw-based bioPLA production system.
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•Attributional and consequential approaches of polylactic acid (PLA) were addressed.•Indirect land use change emissions were relevant in the consequential approach.•Lactic acid is the main hotspot due to the pre-treatment and downstream stages.•Adding recycled lactic acid can reduce the burdens of the polylactic acid profile.•Straw-based PLA entails lower CO2e emissions than first-generation PLA.
•Biomass supply to CHP plant avoids CO2 emissions generated by final disposal.•Pruning residues are the first supply option to minimize CO2 emissions.•Olive pomace is identified as the first supply ...option to minimize costs.•Transport is not a major cost up to a supply radius of 30 km.
This research analyses and proposes an optimization model for the supply of biomass to a combined heat and power (CHP) system with a supply of different biomasses at a local level under Mediterranean conditions. The research aims to quantitatively assess whether it is economical and environmentally beneficial to transport various types of biomasses to the CHP plant, instead of landfilling, determining the biomass required according to the availability of power generation for each biomass of agricultural and agro-industrial origin. To do this, a representative case study has been developed in the Maule Region, Chile to supply power and heat to public, private, and residential buildings. The main biomasses analyzed are olive pomace, fruit pits and vineyard pruning. The results demonstrate that the supply of residual biomass to the CHP plant avoids the emission of CO2e generated by final disposal. Regarding the minimization of CO2e emissions, pruning residues are identified as the first supply option, due to their high heating value. Regarding cost minimization, olive pomace is identified as the first option, followed by fruit pits and pruning material. Furthermore, transport is not a major contributing cost or environmental factor when biomass sources are close to the CHP system, up to a maximum supply radius of 30 km. Finally, despite seasonality of agricultural biomass supply under Mediterranean conditions, it is feasible to adequately supply a small-scale CHP plant. However, this increases the storage costs involved. Other lignocellulosic biomasses could be used to optimize costs and environmental benefits.
