Environmental assessment of pig production in Cienfuegos, Cuba: Alternatives for manure management

As pork is indispensable in the diet of Cuban people, the government was forced to prioritize its production. Pig production causes several environmental impacts related with air, water and soil pollution, which can be quantified with the application of Life Cycle Assessment that allows to optimize products and processes by identifying their environmental impacts. Farming systems considered in different Life Cycle Assessment studies show substantial differences in their characteristics, namely: animal productivity, feed composition, manure management and production period, which influences the environmental performance of each system. Therefore, each study is unique for the system it assesses and should be analyzed individually. In Cuba, the environmental implications of pig production, whose understanding is cornerstone to eventually adopt more environmentally sound practices while ensuring high productivity standards, are yet to be quantified. This study provides some fundamental insights in the life cycle of pig production in the province of Cienfuegos. The assessment if focused in large farms of the province of Cienfuegos which causes large environmental impacts. Large farms accounts for the production of 77% of the pigs delivered to slaughter houses in the province. Pig production in Cienfuegos accounts for 7-12% of Cuban production. The quantification of the environmental impacts of pig production resulted in an impact per finished pig of 120 kg of live weight of 1892 MJ abiotic depletion of fossil fuels, 1019 kg-CO2-eq. global warming potential, 36 kg 1.4-dichlorobenzene-eq. human toxicity, 17 kg 1.4-dichlorobenzene-eq. terrestrial toxicity, 1 kg 1.4-ethylene-eq. photo-oxidant formation, 12 kg-SO2-eq. acidification potential and 6 kg PO4-eq. eutrophication potential. It appeared that the main opportunities to improve the environmental performance of pig production in Cienfuegos are reduction of the impacts of the anaerobic lagoons used for manure management on global warming potential, acidification potential and eutrophication and the impact on acidification potential of pig housing. Direct land spreading of manure appears as the best alternative to lagooning, considering the current situation of pig breeding in Cienfuegos

Improved selection of the functional unit in environmental impact assessment of cement

The outcome of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies is strongly influenced by the selection of the functional unit, which must be defined in such a way that, when products are compared, the amounts compared have identical utilities. LCA studies of cements mostly use mass based functional units (MFU). However, since different cements have a different composition and binding capacity, they result in different compressive strength and durability in their applications, so that MFUs are inadequate. Therefore, this study introduces as functional unit the Cement Functional Performance (CFP): mass of cement needed to obtain 1 MPa of compressive strength during one year of durability (kg/(MPa∙year)). To evaluate the effect of the CFP, the environmental performance of three cements is compared. Results show that adding 5% of zeolite to cement results in a similar strength and 1.78 times higher durability of the produced concrete, which is explained by the reduction of chloride diffusion. Moreover, adding 19% of zeolite to cement increases its durability 2.75 times, but reduces compressive strength by 29%. As a result, cement with 5 and 19% of zeolite added has respectively 54 and 36% of the environmental impacts of Portland cement

Water footprint from growing potato crops in Cuba

This article determines the water footprint from the potato crop in Cuba between the years 2009 and 2012 using the CROPWAT model. Climate, yields and fertilization data are specific to each of the areas where the crops were grown. The results are compared with previous works in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the case of Cuba, the results show a difference of 25% with respect to international reports developed with data related to climate and average crops in the country. Other countries in the region have similar levels, although with a smaller gray component and a larger green component. The water footprint from potato crops is also compared with other crops in Cuba, finding that potatoes represent the fourth largest water demand.En el artículo se determina la huella hídrica de la cosecha de la papa en Cuba entre los años 2009 y 2012 utilizando el modelo CROPWAT. Los datos climáticos, de rendimiento y de fertilización son específicos de cada una de las áreas donde se realiza la cosecha y los resultados obtenidos se comparan con los de trabajos anteriores realizados en otros países de América Latina y el Caribe. En el caso de Cuba los resultados muestran diferencias de un 25% respecto a los obtenidos en reportes internacionales elaborados a partir de datos climáticos y de la cosecha promedios del país. Respecto a otros países de la región tienen niveles similares aunque con menor componente gris y mayor componente verde. También se compara la Huella Hídrica de la cosecha de la papa con la de otros cultivos en Cuba estableciéndose que la papa ocupa el cuarto lugar en demanda de agua

Electricity management in the production of leadaAcid batteries: the industrial case of a production plant in Colombia

Electricity stands as the main energy used for lead-acid battery (LAB) manufacturing. This study introduces an energy management methodology to address the electricity consumption in lead-acid battery plants, improving efficiency standards. The “equivalent battery production” is introduced to define the energy performance criteria to be met in the different production sections of the battery plant. The methodology combines the guidelines of the ISO 50001 standard with the energy management framework for manufacturing plants. The result is a structured approach for detecting inefficiencies and pinpointing their sources. The management methodology was implemented during 2016. In the formation area 222 MWh were saved during 2016. This saving accounts for 3.9% less electricity than forecasted by the energy baseline of the area. Additionally, the emission of some 40 tCO2.eq. associated with the generation of the electricity production were saved. Moreover, at plant level 424 MWh were saved, which account for 3.6% less electricity than forecasted by the energy baseline of the plant. In total, around 76 tCO2.eq. were saved as a result of the electricity savings in the plant

Estimation of genetic variation in residual variance in female and male broiler chickens

In breeding programs, robustness of animals and uniformity of end product can be improved by exploiting genetic variation in residual variance. Residual variance can be defined as environmental variance after accounting for all identifiable effects. The aims of this study were to estimate genetic variance in residual variance of body weight, and to estimate genetic correlations between body weight itself and its residual variance and between female and male residual variance for broilers. The data sets comprised 26 972 female and 24 407 male body weight records. Variance components were estimated with ASREML. Estimates of the heritability of residual variance were in the range 0.029 (s.e.50.003) to 0.047 (s.e.50.004). The genetic coefficients of variation were high, between 0.35 and 0.57. Heritabilities were higher in females than in males. Accounting for heterogeneous residual variance increased the heritabilities for body weight as well. Genetic correlations between body weight and its residual variance were 20.41 (s.e.50.032) and 20.45 (s.e.50.040), respectively, in females and males. The genetic correlation between female and male residual variance was 0.11 (s.e.50.089), indicating that female and male residual variance are different traits. Results indicate good opportunities to simultaneously increase the mean and improve uniformity of body weight of broilers by selection

Bridging universities and industry through cleaner production activities. Experiences from the Cleaner Production Center at the University of Cienfuegos, Cuba

The involvement of universities is crucial to identify how Cleaner Production strategies are formed in practice so that companies integrate sustainability into their strategies. This paper discusses the experience of establishing and operating the Cleaner Production Center at the University of Cienfuegos. From 2008 to 2011, the University of Cienfuegos, the Free University of Brussels (Belgium) and the University of Leuven (Belgium) implemented a project, financially supported by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (Belgium) allowing establishing a Cleaner Production Center at the University of Cienfuegos. This first project was followed by a second University of Cienfuegos - University of Leuven one. So far, the collaboration allowed to establish a master program on Cleaner Production that constitutes a bridge between the university and the production and service sector, allowing to promote and implement cleaner production strategies. 34 master students graduated during two graduations and a third one is ongoing. Among the most important results of the master thesis were the yearly reduction of the emission of 60 000 t/a of carbon dioxide equivalent and of the electricity consumption by 400 MWh/a at a cement plant. Research activities on Cleaner Production were upgraded through the collaboration resulting in several publications in peer-reviewed journals with impact factor. This type of North-South cooperation aided establishing and developing the center, by transferring expertise and experience and by providing part of the necessary funding which is difficult to raise by developing economies. This case study offers an interesting practice example about developing academic (training, research) values on Cleaner Production

Energy management in the formation of light, starter, and ignition lead-acid batteries

This paper discusses energy management in the formation process of lead-acid batteries. Battery production and electricity consumption in during battery formation in a battery plant were analyzed over a 4-year period. The main parameters affecting the energy performance of battery production were identified and different actions to improve it were proposed. Furthermore, an Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI), based on the electricity consumption of battery formation (a difficult and rather expensive parameter to measure), is introduced to assess its energy efficiency. Therefore, a Soft Sensor to measure the electricity consumption in real-time (based on the voltage and current measured during battery formation) and to calculate the EnPI is developed. Moreover, Energy Management (EM), aided by the use of energy baselines and control charts is implemented to assess the energy performance of battery formation, allowing the implementation of rapid corrective actions towards higher efficiency standards. This resulted on the average in a 4.3% reduction of the electricity consumption in battery formation

On the evolution of “cleaner production” as a concept and a practice

“Cleaner Production“(CP) is about less and more efficient energy and materials use and the substitution of more harmful products (for the environment and health) by less dangerous ones. CP was the reply of the industry to the call for sustainable development as launched by the WCED (1987) and further elaborated in Rio's Agenda 21 (UN, 1992). During the past 25 years, the concept was put in practice. During this period it changed in scope, methods, and application area. This provided a deeper socio-economic impact to an idea that was originally launched to awaken industry on its environmental responsibilities. This paper provides a review of essentials that contributed to the fundamental changes in CP during the most recent quarter of a century. It takes off with a review of CP definitions illustrating the changes of the content. Changes in scope are exemplified with the increasing importance of “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR). This includes that post-modern companies have not only responsibilities on their economic performance and the environment, but should also act on issues including human rights and resources, business ethics, and community involvement. The links between CP and green and circular economy are indicated. The CP approach is increasingly applied outside the industry. CP for sustainable tourism is discussed in more detail but is only an example of the wider application in e.g. agriculture or health services

Evidence of Color Coherence Effects in W+jets Events from ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV

We report the results of a study of color coherence effects in ppbar collisions based on data collected by the D0 detector during the 1994-1995 run of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, at a center of mass energy sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV. Initial-to-final state color interference effects are studied by examining particle distribution patterns in events with a W boson and at least one jet. The data are compared to Monte Carlo simulations with different color coherence implementations and to an analytic modified-leading-logarithm perturbative calculation based on the local parton-hadron duality hypothesis.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for Higgs bosons decaying to tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for the production of neutral Higgs bosons decaying into tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb-1, were collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We set upper limits at the 95% C.L. on the product of production cross section and branching ratio for a scalar resonance decaying into tautau pairs, and we then interpret these limits as limits on the production of Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) and as constraints in the MSSM parameter space.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PL