Life cycle assessment of the environmental performance of conventional and organic methods of open field pepper cultivation

Summarization: As the scale of the organic cultivation sector keeps increasing, there is growing demand for reliable data on organic agriculture and its effect on the environment. Conventional agriculture uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides, whilst organic cultivation mainly relies on crop rotation and organic fertilizers. The aim of this work is to quantify and compare the environmental sustainability of typical conventional and organic pepper cultivation systems. Methods: Two open field pepper cultivations, both located in the Anthemountas basin, Northern Greece, are selected as case studies. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the overall environmental footprint and identify particular environmental weaknesses (i.e. unsustainable practices) of each cultivation system. Results are analysed at both midpoint and endpoint levels in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the environmental sustainability of each system. Attributional LCA (ALCA) is employed to identify emissions associated with the life cycles of the two systems. Results are presented for problem-oriented (midpoint) and damage-oriented (endpoint) approaches, using ReCiPe impact assessment. Results and discussion: At midpoint level, conventional cultivation exhibits about threefold higher environmental impact on freshwater eutrophication, than organic cultivation. This arises from the extensive use of nitrogen and phosphorus-based fertilizers, with consequent direct emissions to the environment. The remaining impact categories are mainly affected by irrigation, with associated indirect emissions linked to electricity production. At endpoint level, the main hotspots identified for conventional cultivation are irrigation and fertilizing, due to intensive use of chemical fertilizers and (to a lesser degree) pesticides. For organic pepper cultivation, the main environmental hotspots are irrigation, machinery use, and manure loading and spreading processes. Of these, the highest score for irrigation derives from the heavy electricity consumption required for groundwater pumping associated with the fossil-fuel-dependent Greek electricity mix. Conclusions: Organic and conventional cultivation systems have similar total environmental impacts per unit of product, with organic cultivation achieving lower environmental impacts in ‘freshwater eutrophication’, ‘climate change’, ‘terrestrial acidification’ and ‘marine eutrophication’ categories. Conventional cultivation has a significantly greater effect on the freshwater eutrophication impact category, due to phosphate emissions arising from application of chemical fertilizers.Presented on: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessmen

Erosion consequences on beach functions along the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean, Spain)

A methodology to analyse the influence of erosion on beach functions at a regional scale is presented. The method considers erosion hazards at different timescales and assesses consequences by evaluating impacts on recreation and protection functions. To provide useful information to decision makers for managing these functions, hazard and consequences are integrated at the municipal level within a risk matrix. This methodology is applied at the Maresme, a 45-km sandy coast situated northward of Barcelona, which supports a strong urban and infrastructure development as well as an intensive beach recreational use. Obtained results indicate differentiated erosion implications along the region, depending on the management target considered. Thus, southern municipalities are more prone to erosion affecting the protection function of the beach and leisure use by the local population, whereas erosion will have a greater effect on foreign tourism in the northern municipalities. These results highlight the necessity to employ an articulated erosion risk assessment focusing on specific targets depending on the site in question. This methodology can help coastal managers to adopt tailored measures to manage erosion impacts towards specific goals, in a more efficient and sustainable manner

Data for: A dataset of 112 ligands for the preconcentration of mercury, uranium, lanthanum and other pollutants and heavy metals in water

The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectra for mercury (Hg) preconcentration in water along with the EDXRF spectra for 112 ligands, immobilized on anion-selective membranes, screened for calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), lanthanum (La), uranium (U), copper (Cu), and gold (Au) preconcentration in tap water

Data for: A dataset of 112 ligands for the preconcentration of mercury, uranium, lanthanum and other pollutants and heavy metals in water

The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectra for mercury (Hg) preconcentration in water along with the EDXRF spectra for 112 ligands, immobilized on anion-selective membranes, screened for calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), lanthanum (La), uranium (U), copper (Cu), and gold (Au) preconcentration in tap water.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Life Cycle Assessment of Coastal Enhanced Weathering for Carbon Dioxide Removal from Air

Coastal enhanced weathering (CEW) is a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approach whereby crushed silicate minerals are spread in coastal zones to be naturally weathered by waves and tidal currents, releasing alkalinity and removing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Olivine has been proposed as a candidate mineral due to its abundance and high CO2 uptake potential. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of silt-sized (10 μm) olivine revealed that CEW’s life-cycle carbon emissions and total environmental footprint, i.e., carbon and environmental penalty, amount to around 51 kg CO2eq and 3.2 Ecopoint (Pt) units per tonne of captured atmospheric CO2, respectively, and these will be recaptured within a few months. Smaller particle sizes dissolve and uptake atmospheric CO2 even faster; however, their high carbon and environmental footprints (e.g., 223 kg CO2eq and 10.6 Pt tCO2–1, respectively, for 1 μm olivine), engineering challenges in comminution and transportation, and possible environmental stresses (e.g., airborne and/or silt pollution) might restrict their applicability. Alternatively, larger particle sizes exhibit lower footprints (e.g., 14.2 kg CO2eq tCO2–1 and 1.6 Pt tCO2–1, respectively, for 1000 μm olivine) and could be incorporated in coastal zone management schemes, thus possibly crediting CEW with avoided emissions. However, they dissolve much slower, requiring 5 and 37 years before the 1000 μm olivine becomes carbon and environmental net negative, respectively. The differences between the carbon and environmental penalties highlight the need for using multi-issue life cycle impact assessment methods rather than focusing on carbon balances alone. When CEW’s full environmental profile was considered, it was identified that fossil fuel-dependent electricity for olivine comminution is the main environmental hotspot, followed by nickel releases, which may have a large impact on marine ecotoxicity. Results were also sensitive to transportation means and distance. Renewable energy and low-nickel olivine can minimize CEW’s carbon and environmental profile

Removal of Congo red dye from industrial effluents using metal oxide-clay nanocomposites: Insight into adsorption and precipitation mechanisms

The efficacy of magnesium oxide (MgO)-bentonite clay nanocomposite particles (MgO nanoparticles embedded in powdered bentonite clay) for water and wastewater treatment applications is examined herein. Congo red (CR), a widely used azo dye, was used as the model contaminant. For CR concentrations ≤120 mg/L, the optimum nanocomposite dosage was ≤1 g/L, achieving CR removal ≥99% for contact times (mixing durations) ≤10 min, whereas temperature and pH had no significant effect on the treatment process. The removal of CR dye followed the pseudo-second-order model than the first order model. Furthermore, adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm rather than the Freundlich adsorption isotherm (R2 ≥ 0.99), hence confirming monolayer homogenous adsorption. The surface morphological and physicochemical characteristics of the nanocomposite were also identified, and results suggest that CR removal was governed by electrostatic attraction between the protonated hydroxyl groups (i.e., -OH2+), embedded on the nanocomposite surface, and the negatively charged –SO3-groups of the CR dye. When used for the treatment of real printing ink wastewater, CR was practically removed (⁓100%), whereas for real printing and dyeing wastewater (PDW), a more challenging effluent that also contains salts and other contaminants, CR removal was ≥80%. Overall, the produced MgO-bentonite clay nanocomposite hold great promise for sustainable CR removal, a typical contaminant that is released by many industries including printing, tannery and textile, paper, plastic, and paint and coatings

A life cycle assessment of PCM and VIP in warm Mediterranean climates and their introduction as a strategy to promote energy savings and mitigate carbon emissions

The building stock in southern Europe grossly lacks sufficient thermal envelope insulation, leading to high energy inputs and corresponding CO2 emissions. Phase change materials (PCMs) and vacuum insulations panels (VIPs) could be an innovative way to curtail the high heating and cooling energy inputs to maintain comfort; however, their efficiency and environmental performance in the southern Mediterranean climate is largely unknown. To this end, two demo houses, 27 m3 each, were constructed in the island of Crete, southern Greece. The first was constructed using conventional building materials, while in the second PCMs and VIPs were used, as a research test-bed. Actual life cycle inventory (LCI) data were collected and the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was employed to estimate the environmental impacts attributed both to their construction and operational phase. Compared to the conventional demo house the one covered with PCMs and VIPs appear to have a 34% higher total environmental footprint, which is attributed to the production process of PCMs and VIPs. Nonetheless, the energy savings observed during the operational phase, attributed to their higher thermal insulation, can compensate the higher environmental footprint of the construction phase within a year, depending on PCM's enthalpy. Specifically, it was identified that PCMs and VIPs largely reduced daily indoor temperature fluctuations, improving indoor thermal comfort and leading to energy savings. As such, even though their installation is associated with an initial higher environmental footprint, large energy savings, compared to conventional demo house, are achieved during its operational phase. This suggests that the introduction of PCMs and VIPs could be an efficient and environmentally friendly route to enhance energy savings and reduce the environmental footprint of building stock. © 2019 AIMS Press