scholarly journals Life cycle analysis of raw milk production in Tunisia

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 249-258
Author(s):  
Amira Ghazouani ◽  
Naceur Mhamdi ◽  
Ibrahim-El-Akram Znaidi ◽  
Cyrine Darej ◽  
Norchene Guoiaa ◽  
...  

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of dairy production. A survey was conducted in 20 dairy farms at the governorate of Sousse. The present study aimed to evaluate environmental impact of milk production at the farm regarding GHG emission and energy consumption. In the 20 dairy farms total GHG emissions resulted in a mean of 0.63 +/- 0.2 kg CH4/kg ECM and forage can contribute with a means 0.35 Le kg CO2eq/DM. The main reductions in GHG emissions per kg of FPCM started from 2,347 kg per cow per year and then the reduction slowed down to stabilize at around 6,127 kg FPCM per cow per year.

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lelia Murgia ◽  
Giuseppe Todde ◽  
Maria Caria ◽  
Antonio Pazzona

Dairy farming is constantly evolving towards more intensive levels of mechanization and automation which demand more energy consumption and result in higher economic and environmental costs. The usage of fossil energy in agricultural processes contributes to climate change both with on-farm emissions from the combustion of fuels, and by off-farm emissions due to the use of grid power. As a consequence, a more efficient use of fossil resources together with an increased use of renewable energies can play a key role for the development of more sustainable production systems. The aims of this study were to evaluate the energy requirements (fuels and electricity) in dairy farms, define the distribution of the energy demands among the different farm operations, identify the critical point of the process and estimate the amount of CO2 associated with the energy consumption. The inventory of the energy uses has been outlined by a partial Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, setting the system boundaries at the farm level, from cradle to farm gate. All the flows of materials and energy associated to milk production process, including crops cultivation for fodder production, were investigated in 20 dairy commercial farms over a period of one year. Self-produced energy from renewable sources was also accounted as it influence the overall balance of emissions. Data analysis was focused on the calculation of energy and environmental sustainability indicators (EUI, CO2-eq) referred to the functional units. The production of 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM) required on average 0.044 kWhel and 0.251 kWhth, corresponding to a total emission of 0.085 kg CO2-eq). The farm activities that contribute most to the electricity requirements were milk cooling, milking and slurry management, while feeding management and crop cultivation were the greatest diesel fuel consuming operation and the largest in terms of environmental impact of milk production (73% of energy CO2-eq emissions). The results of the study can assist in the development of dairy farming models based on a more efficient and profitable use of the energy resources.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Yang ◽  
Caixia Hao ◽  
Yina Chai

The development of electric delivery trucks has attracted much attention in recent years. The purpose of this study is to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the total cost of ownership (TCO) of light-duty and medium-duty diesel trucks (DTs), plug-in electric trucks (ETs), and battery-swap ETs. A simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) method and a TCO assessment method are used. Numerical results show that the average GHG emission of light-duty ETs is 69% lower than that of light-duty DTs, while that of medium-duty ETs is 9.8% higher than that of medium-duty DTs. As regards TCO, those of plug-in ETs and battery-swap ETs are 37.8% lower and 21% higher than that of light-duty DTs, while for medium-duty trucks, the TCO of plug-in and battery-swap ETs are 6.7% lower and 18.9% higher than that of medium-duty DTs. The main conclusion of this paper is that light-duty plug-in ETs exhibit the best performance in terms of cost saving and GHG emission reduction. Moreover, ETs show more advantages than DTs when the frequency of use is higher or when the driving environment is more congested.


2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunmin Ou ◽  
Xiaoyu Yan ◽  
Xiliang Zhang ◽  
Zhen Liu

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7515
Author(s):  
Bertrand Teodosio ◽  
Francesco Bonacci ◽  
Seongwon Seo ◽  
Kasun Shanaka Kristombu Baduge ◽  
Priyan Mendis

The need for advancements in residential construction and the hazard induced by the shrink–swell reactive soil movement prompted the development of the prefabricated footing system of this study, which was assessed and compared to a conventional waffle raft using a multi-criteria analysis. The assessment evaluates the structural performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability using finite element modelling, life cycle cost analysis, and life cycle assessment, respectively. The structural performance of the developed prefabricated system was found to have reduced the deformation and cracking by approximately 40%. However, the cost, GHG emission, and embodied energy were higher in the prefabricated footing system due to the greater required amount of concrete and steel than that of the waffle raft. The cost difference between the two systems can be reduced to as low as 6% when prefabricated systems were installed in a highly reactive sites with large floor areas. The life cycle assessment further observed that the prefabricated footing systems consume up to 21% more energy and up to 18% more GHG emissions. These can significantly be compensated by reusing the developed prefabricated footing system, decreasing the GHG emission and energy consumption by 75–77% and 55–59% with respect to that of the waffle raft.


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