Life Cycle Assessment and Cumulative Exergy Demand Analysis of Animal Feed Production From Sugarcane Bagasse: A Case Study

Subject Areas : Environmental policy and management

Shayan Azadeh ¹ , Mohammad Gholamiparashkoohi ² , Davood Zamani ³ , Saeed Firouzi ⁴

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Received: 2023-11-30 Accepted : 2024-05-23 Published : 2024-10-10

Keywords: Animal feed, Cumulative exergy demand, Life cycle assessment, Sugarcane bagasse,

Abstract :

Sugarcane bagasse is a byproduct of the sugar industry and has the potential to be used as a feedstock for animal feed production. This study aims to assess the environmental and resource efficiency of animal feed production from sugarcane bagasse using life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergy analysis. The LCA will evaluate the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of animal feed production, including the cultivation of sugarcane, transportation, processing, and distribution. The exergy analysis will quantify the resource efficiency of the feed production process by assessing the quality of energy and materials inputs and outputs. The findings reveal that feed production has a measurable impact on human health, indicated by a value of 0.30 DALY. In terms of ecosystem quality, feed production emissions have a relatively small impact, with a value of 0.0005 species.yr, indicating a limited effect on the diversity or stability of species within ecosystems. The energy consumption of 93602.34 MJ per ton indeed indicates a significant dependence on non-renewable fuel sources, i.e., fossil fuels. These results show that there is a need to improve energy efficiency and optimal use of energy resources in the actual production process.