Economic Assessment of Medium and Large-Scale Landfill Mining Business: Case Study Thailand

Thailand produces over 25 million tons of waste yearly, while only a third is utilized. The waste disposed of in the landfill is rarely utilized, and research on the utilization of landfill waste in Thailand is limited. The information regarding the business model and the profitability rate of landfill mining is limited and generally was not displayed to the public. This paper examined the landfill mining business of medium and large-scale businesses in Thailand. Both sites’ business operations were analyzed, and the net present value was presented. The NPV results show that landfill mining is profitable and gives more sustainable waste management. The large scale is highly profitable but requires more investment extensively, while the medium scale is easily adopted and still provides a reasonable profit. Furthermore, to understand the business operation and sensitivity of the operation, this paper uses sensitivity analysis to analyze the factors influencing business profitability. Even though the result displays that both projects are easily profitable, the large-scale operation tends to be simpler as the expense has a lower influence on the business

Environmental Sustainability of Waste Circulation Models for Sugarcane Biorefinery System in Thailand

Sugarcane leaves and trash burning during harvesting, and vinasse management, are major challenges of the Thai sugarcane industry. Identification of the appropriate valorization pathways for both the biomass waste streams using the sugarcane biorefinery concept is necessary. This study aims to assess the environmental sustainability of five CE models, including (1) sugarcane trash for electricity, (2) sugarcane trash to biochar, (3) sugarcane trash as a soil conditioner, (4) vinasse as a bio-fertilizer, and (5) vinasse for power generation. Life cycle assessment has been conducted using the ReCiPE midpoint impact assessment method. The results revealed that all waste utilization scenarios can help reduce the environmental impacts compared to the base case. The utilization of sugarcane leaves and trash for electricity generation brings about the lowest environmental impacts due to the environmental credits from the substitution of Thai grid electricity. The utilization of sugarcane leaves can reduce impacts on climate change, terrestrial acidification, and ozone formation by about 20–104%, 43–61%, and 12–54%. Recycling vinasse as bio-fertilizer and for biogas production for electricity generation can reduce climate change impact by about 28–29%. There is a significant improvement of the avoidance of pre-harvesting burning of sugarcane in the Thai sugar industry, which has led to the big potential of sugarcane leaves biomass utilization. Recommendations to enhance the efficiency of using sugarcane leaves and vinasse are discussed. The integrated waste circulation scenarios on cane leaves and vinasses in the sugar-electricity-ethanol biorefinery shows advancement in the bio-circular-green economy (BCG) aspects for enhancing the environmental sustainability of the Thai sugarcane industry

Impacts of Thai bio-ethanol policy target on land use and greenhouse gas emissions

The growing demand for biofuels has led to an increased demand for feedstocks which in turn is anticipated to induce changes in the cropping systems or land requirement for agriculture use. This study used consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental consequences of possible (future) changes in agricultural production systems and determine their effects on land use change (LUC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) implications when cassava demand in Thailand increases. Six different cropping systems to increase cassava production including converting unoccupied land to cropland, yield improvement, displacement of area currently under sugarcane cultivation and the other potential changes in cropping systems in Viet Nam and Australia are modeled and assessed. The comparative results show that LUC is an important factor in overall GHG emissions of the first generation biofuels especially change in soil carbon stock contributing about 58-60% of the net GHG emissions. Increased cassava production by expanding cultivation area has a significantly larger effect on GHG emissions than increased productivity. The analysis shows that increasing productivity of both sugarcane and cassava are important ways to maximize benefits in using of certain area of Thailand to serve both the food and fuel industries.Consequential LCA Bio-ethanol Cassava Land use Greenhouse gas

Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Bioplastics Production Systems and End-of-Life Options

Bioplastics demand has been increased globally due to concerns regarding environmentally friendly consumption and production. Polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) are promising bioplastics with bio-based feedstocks and property of biodegradability. They are produced by bacterial fermentation of sugars from carbohydrate sources. With flexibility in their properties, PLA, PHAs, and PBS can potentially substitute conventional plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS). This study aims at evaluating the environmental and economic sustainability of bioplastics production together with end-of-life (EOL) options. The combination of environmental and economic indicators, eco-efficiency (E/E), was selected to investigate the performance of PLA, PHAs, and PBS from sugarcane and cassava in comparison with PP. The environmental impacts were determined using life cycle assessment. The product cost was used to represent the economic value. The E/E results showed that the environmental and economic sustainability could be enhanced with 100% mechanical recycling of all kinds of studied plastics. It is also important to highlight that mechanical recycling showed a better performance in terms of E/E than composting of bioplastics

The impact of sugarcane production on biodiversity related to land use change in Ethiopia

Ethiopia produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane as an integrated business. Ethanol production is expected to increase from 30,000 to over 300,000 metric tonnes per year in the second growth and transformation plan (GTP II) of 2020. In GTP II, the total sugarcane plantation area will be 320,000 ha. The intense acquisition of land for large-scale Ethiopian sugarcane plantations has a significant impact on biodiversity. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of sugarcane cultivation on terrestrial biodiversity of Ethiopia as well as on the global species status. Countryside species area relationship model was used to assess the number of species that might be driven to extinction because of land use. The impact was assessed by comparing the status of five taxa: mammals, birds, vascular plant, reptiles and amphibian of the same ecoregion in five broad land use type with three management intensity. The results show that sugarcane cultivation has significant impacts on biodiversity at two stages, which are transformation and occupation, with different magnitudes across five taxa in the three ecoregions. Recommendations for minimizing the impacts of sugarcane cultivation in Ethiopia are suggested including changing the management intensity from intense use to light use. Keywords: Land use change, Biodiversity, Sugarcane, Ethiopia, Countryside species area relationship (SAR) mode

Land suitability class and implications to Land-Water-Food Nexus: A case of rice cultivation in Thailand

Arable land and water resource scarcity for food production to fulfill the growing demand is a global challenge. Expansion of rice cultivation in Thailand without planning increases land and water depletion especially for the low-productivity rice cultivation areas. The Thai government has an agricultural zoning policy on promoting rice cultivation using land suitability classes for efficient use of land and costs; however, there is still some rice grown on land with low suitability. The study evaluated the land suitability class implications on major and second rice cultivation in view of the Land-Water-Food Nexus performance using Chainat, a key province of rice cultivation in Thailand, as the study area. The land and water intensity indicators were calculated using a normalized approach as the Land-Water-Food Nexus Index (LWFNI). The geographic information system (GIS) tool was used to analyze land-use classification, interpolate the rainfall, and overlay the land suitability classification with the Land-Water-Food Nexus of rice. Rice cultivation on highly suitable areas has a higher LWFNI score for resource efficiency and economic value. Scenarios were considered for changing rice cultivation in marginally and unsuitable areas to alternative crops to conserve water and reduce costs. The option for alternative crops to replace the base case with major rice and mungbean scenario was the most water-saving at about 3,601 m3/ha/year and made a profit increase of about 84,106 baht/ha. Additionally, the major rice and peanut scenario achieved the most profit increase of about 302,366 baht/ha and saved water at about 2,081 m3/ha/year

Economic Assessment of Medium and Large-Scale Landfill Mining Business: Case Study Thailand

Thailand produces over 25 million tons of waste yearly, while only a third is utilized. The waste disposed of in the landfill is rarely utilized, and research on the utilization of landfill waste in Thailand is limited. The information regarding the business model and the profitability rate of landfill mining is limited and generally was not displayed to the public. This paper examined the landfill mining business of medium and large-scale businesses in Thailand. Both sites’ business operations were analyzed, and the net present value was presented. The NPV results show that landfill mining is profitable and gives more sustainable waste management. The large scale is highly profitable but requires more investment extensively, while the medium scale is easily adopted and still provides a reasonable profit. Furthermore, to understand the business operation and sensitivity of the operation, this paper uses sensitivity analysis to analyze the factors influencing business profitability. Even though the result displays that both projects are easily profitable, the large-scale operation tends to be simpler as the expense has a lower influence on the business

A Tier-Wise Method for Evaluating Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment

As a decision support tool, life cycle assessment (LCA) is prone to multiple uncertainties associated with the data, model structures, and options offered to practitioners. Therefore, to make the results reliable, consideration of these uncertainties is imperative. Among the various classifications, parameter, scenario, and model uncertainty are widely reported and well-acknowledged uncertainty types in LCA. There are several techniques available to deal with these uncertainties; however, each strategy has its own pros and cons. Furthermore, just a few of the methods have been included in LCA software, which restricts their potential for wider application in LCA research. This paper offers a comprehensive framework that concurrently considers parameter, scenario, and model uncertainty. Moreover, practitioners may select multiple alternatives depending on their needs and available resources. Based on the availability of time, resources, and technical expertise three levels—basic, intermediate, and advanced—are suggested for uncertainty treatment. A qualitative method, including local sensitivity analysis, is part of the basic approach. Monte Carlo sampling and local sensitivity analysis, both of which are accessible in LCA software, are suggested at the intermediate level. Advanced sampling methods (such as Latin hypercube or Quasi-Monte Carlo sampling) with global sensitivity analysis are proposed for the advanced level

The net cost of biofuels in Thailand--An economic analysis

Biofuels are expected to represent a growing portion of liquid fuel consumption in Thailand due to environmental and social considerations in conjunction with policy goals supporting their domestic production and consumption. This paper reviews the economic costs associated with biofuel policy implementation in Thailand in the short term target year of 2011. Internal (production) and external (environmental, social, etc.) costs and benefits are evaluated, and, where possible, monetized. Domestic production of biofuel is calculated to be 9.5 billion THB (317 million USD) more expensive than importing the equivalent amount of petroleum. The environmental benefits from GHG savings as well as losses due to increased ground level ozone formation and government expenditure to support the biofuel industry yield a total "net cost" of 8.6 billion THB or 121 THB (4.04 USD) per capita for the year 2011. This result is contextualized with the (non-monetized) consideration that although biofuels are somewhat more expensive in the short term, their domestic production allows virtually all of the money to stay within the Thai economy as opposed to being sent abroad. This fact, coupled with significant uncertainty in future petroleum prices, could strongly influence the direction of Thai policy with respect to biofuels.Economic analysis Biofuels Thailand

A Tier-Wise Method for Evaluating Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment

As a decision support tool, life cycle assessment (LCA) is prone to multiple uncertainties associated with the data, model structures, and options offered to practitioners. Therefore, to make the results reliable, consideration of these uncertainties is imperative. Among the various classifications, parameter, scenario, and model uncertainty are widely reported and well-acknowledged uncertainty types in LCA. There are several techniques available to deal with these uncertainties; however, each strategy has its own pros and cons. Furthermore, just a few of the methods have been included in LCA software, which restricts their potential for wider application in LCA research. This paper offers a comprehensive framework that concurrently considers parameter, scenario, and model uncertainty. Moreover, practitioners may select multiple alternatives depending on their needs and available resources. Based on the availability of time, resources, and technical expertise three levels—basic, intermediate, and advanced—are suggested for uncertainty treatment. A qualitative method, including local sensitivity analysis, is part of the basic approach. Monte Carlo sampling and local sensitivity analysis, both of which are accessible in LCA software, are suggested at the intermediate level. Advanced sampling methods (such as Latin hypercube or Quasi-Monte Carlo sampling) with global sensitivity analysis are proposed for the advanced level