Bibliometric Analysis on Sustainability Assessment Methods in the Bioeconomy

Sustainability is meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability assessment is a complex process because it needs to cover multidisciplinary aspects – environmental, economic, and social. The sustainability assessment is created by combining different indicators, and the resulting single holistic value can be used as an indicator for comparison. A successful economic transition towards a bioeconomy can contribute to the achievement of many sustainability goals. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis method is used to analyse Open Access articles from the Web of Science database using bibliometric VOSviewer software. The relationship between sustainability assessment methods and associated keywords is explored through a biometric analysis. A literature review is conducted on the methods and tools of assessing the sustainability of bioresources. The authors have summarised the use of sustainability assessment methods and tools, and their characteristics. The obtained results show that keywords' sustainability assessment methods, in publication have become particularly popular since 2015, as the number of publications increases by more than 100 publications every year. The biggest connection with keywords are keywords 'life-cycle assessment', 'performance', 'management', 'framework', 'model', and 'impact'. Life-cycle assessment, material flows analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis, system dynamics and modelling are popular for assessing sustainability. Each method has advantages and disadvantages; however, it is possible to combine several tools to improve the assessment

Life Cycle Assessment of Black Soldier Fly, Yellow Mealworm and Soybean Protein for Use in Fish Feed

As the consumption of fish in the human diet increases, a larger amount of production is needed. The growing demand for fish also has an impact on fish feed, its production efficiency and the sustainability of using raw materials. To evaluate the sustainability of raw materials and the impact on the environment, three protein alternatives are compared – black soldier fly, yellow mealworm and soybean. Each alternative has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of black soldier fly and yellow mealworm are a valuable source of protein, sustainable growth (as feed can be used for food waste) and no need for arable land. Disadvantages of black soldier fly and yellow mealworm are price, an unbalanced diet can negatively affect growth, and nutritional value effect on the fish vary depending on fly or mealworm species. The advantages of soybeans are price, availability and high protein content, but the disadvantages are a lack of essential amino acids that affect the quality of fish and poor palatability. An LCA study has been carried out for the black soldier fly, yellow mealworm and soybean protein. From PEFCR most relevant impact categories are climate change, particulate matter, acidification, land use, eutrophication terrestrial and water use. The total single score value for black soldier fly protein is 1.43E+01 μPt, for yellow mealworm protein is 3.89E+02 μPt and for soybean protein is 9.72E+01 μPt. Large impact is from electricity consumption, used components for feed. Sensitivity analysis was performed for black soldier fly protein and yellow mealworm protein production, where feed composition was changed. In sensitivity analysis environmental impact is less from the new feed structure. The reason might be that the new feed structure has used food waste and wheat as feed ingredients

Environmental Impact of Natural and Synthetic Astaxanthin Pigments using Life Cycle Assessment

The growing demand for fish and the development of the industry raise concerns about environmental impact. As fish production increases, so does the consumption of fish feed. One of the ingredients in fish feed is pigment, which improves the nutritional value and visual appearance of the product, increasing their marketability. Astaxanthin is a red pigment that also has high antioxidant activity. Natural pigment from microalgae or synthetic pigment may be used in feed. The advantage of natural pigment from microalgae is ecological benefits, as the microalgae culture can sequester carbon and release oxygen. The advantage of synthetic pigment is the economic aspect. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used to determine the environmental impact of natural and synthetic pigments. The results obtained from the LCA are expressed according to the impact categories defined by the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR). Sensitivity analysis was performed for natural pigment, and changes were made only to electricity – electricity is produced by hydropower in Norway, or a country mix from Norway was used. Total single score value for natural pigment is 6.85E+01 mPt, and the largest impact is from preparation of the culture medium phase – from sodium nitrate and magnesium sulfate. Sensitivity analysis results for electricity from a country mix is 4.50E+02 mPt. Total single score value for synthetic pigment is 1.07E-01 mPt. The largest impact is from methanol and electricity consumption. Synthetic pigments have a lower environmental impact than natural pigments; however, a sensitivity analysis shows that the environmental impact can be reduced by choosing an alternative to electricity. It should be noted that the comparison presented reflects a general comparison of alternatives, as the input data is derived from a literature review

Carbon Neutrality in Municipalities: Balancing Local and Centralized Renewable Energy Solutions

Carbon-neutrality in municipalities can be achieved by combining individual heating (IH) and district heating (DH) solutions involving the use of renewable energy sources (RES). Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, but the best solution depends on the specific circumstances of each municipality. As an environmentally friendly and efficient energy use, a decentralised heat supply contributes to achieving energy conservation and emissions reduction goals. Decentralised energy use, such as solar collectors with an accumulation system or biomass as a resource, reduces dependence on centralised heat generation and transmission. Often, the appropriate infrastructure for connection to DH networks has not yet been built. On the other hand, it is easier to make investments to construct proper infrastructure in the case of large-scale centralised heat supply. Moreover, a centralised heat supply with RES can provide more inhabitants with RES heat energy. Within the framework of the study, the possibilities of using renewable energy sources in one of the municipalities of Latvia – the Carnikava parish of Ādaži Municipality – are analysed. The study examines two scenario complexes including IH solutions in buildings or DH solutions with a centralised approach. The study evaluates several alternatives to increase the share of RES (e.g., solar collectors, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) in the centralised heat supply. To evaluate RES individual solutions in various municipal buildings, the study evaluates alternatives with different technical solutions that increase the use of RES in heat supply

Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Microalgae and Synthetic Astaxanthin Pigments

The marketability of fish depends on the visual appearance of the fish, so the feed ingredient pigment contributes to the nutritional value and visual appearance of the product. The benefits of a natural pigment derived from microalgae are the ecological benefits, as the culture can fix carbon and release oxygen. The economic aspect is a benefit of synthetic pigments. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used to determine the environmental impact of natural and synthetic pigments. The results obtained from the LCA are expressed according to the impact categories defined by the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR). A sensitivity analysis was also carried out comparing the environmental impacts of electricity generated with hydropower or using a field mix from Norway for the natural pigment. The total single score value for natural pigment is 1.17E+01 mPt and the largest impact is from sodium nitrate and electricity. The sensitivity analysis results for electricity from the country mix is 1.82E+01 mPt. The total single score value for synthetic pigment is 8.24E−01 mPt, with the largest impact from methanol. Synthetic pigments have a lower environmental impact than natural pigments, but a sensitivity analysis shows that the environmental impact can be reduced by choosing an alternative to electricity. It should be noted that the comparison presented represents a general comparison of alternatives, as the input data is derived from a literature review

Protein Alternatives for Use in Fish Feed – Life Cycle Assessment of Black Soldier Fly, Yellow Mealworm and Soybean Protein

More production is needed as fish consumption increases. The increasing demand for fish also has implications for fish feed, the efficiency of its production and sustainability. Three protein alternatives – Black Soldier Fly, Yellow Mealworm, and Soybean – are compared to assess the sustainability of raw materials and their environmental impact. Each alternative has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of Black Soldier fly and Yellow Mealworm are a valuable source of protein, sustainable growth (as the feed can be used in food waste) and no need for arable land. The disadvantages of Black Soldier fly and Yellow Mealworm are cost, unbalanced diets can adversely affect growth, and the nutritional impact on fish varies depending on the species of fly or mealworm. The advantages of soybeans are price, availability, and high protein content, while the disadvantages are the lack of essential amino acids, which affect the quality of the fish, and poor taste. An LCA study has been carried out on the proteins of black soldier fly, yellow mealworm and soybean. The most important impact categories from the PEFCR are climate change, particulate matter, acidification, land use, terrestrial eutrophication, and water use. The total single point value for the Black Soldier fly protein is 1.43E+01 µPt, the Yellow mealworm protein is 3.89E+02 µPt and the Soybean protein is 9.72E+01 µPt. The significant effect is due to the electricity consumption and the ingredients used in the feed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for Black Soldier fly protein and Yellow Mealworm protein production where feed formulation was varied. In both sensitivity analyses, the lower environmental impact is from the new feed structure, which may be due to the use of food waste and wheat as feed ingredients in the new feed structure

GHG Performance Evaluation in Green Deal Context

Recently introduced European Green Deal has set a target for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This ambitious commitment will bring a serious challenge for the EU. However, the degree of this challenge will not be the same to all EU member states. In this paper, the multi-criteria decision analysis is applied to rank eight selected EU countries (Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden) regarding GHG performance, and thus illustrate different starting points of the transition to carbon-neutrality. In parallel to the widely used indicator of GHG emissions per capita, evaluation incorporates various other criteria covering energy consumption, population size, and the use of renewable energy and fossil fuel, as well as investment and tax rates. TOPSIS analysis shows that the best GHG performance is achieved by Sweden, while Latvia ranks the lowest. The presented evaluation method could be a useful tool in planning implementation of policies to reach Green Deal settings on European, as well as on a national level

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Methods Comparison

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is widely used to solve various decision problems through alternative evaluation. MCDA methods can be used in every field that can define a problem, alternatives and criteria. However, finding the appropriate method can influence the results, in this research five MCDA methods have been tested on the renewable energy sector in Latvia to find the best alternative. The main results showed that TOPSIS, VIKOR and PROMETHEE-GAIA have similar priority selection and the highest ranking was selected for hydropower plant, but MULTIMOORA and COPRAS results were beneficial to Solar PV