Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques
The canned fruits industry utilizes high amounts of water and energy, which results in the generation of vast quantities of wastewater and solid waste. The main scope of this study was to compare the environmental footprint of a canned fruits industry (alternative scenario) equipped with appropriate...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | AgriEngineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/1/26 |
| _version_ | 1797614100746862592 |
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| author | Fotini Drosou Tryfon Kekes Christos Boukouvalas |
| author_facet | Fotini Drosou Tryfon Kekes Christos Boukouvalas |
| author_sort | Fotini Drosou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The canned fruits industry utilizes high amounts of water and energy, which results in the generation of vast quantities of wastewater and solid waste. The main scope of this study was to compare the environmental footprint of a canned fruits industry (alternative scenario) equipped with appropriate processes (pulsed electric fields, anaerobic digestion, composting, membrane bioreactors, and ultraviolet treatment) that sufficiently save energy and valorize production wastes to a typical setup that uses conventional waste methods (conventional scenario) via conducting a life cycle assessment study. Based on the results, the life cycle assessment confirmed the fact that the incorporation of the proposed methods, as described in the alternative scenario, dramatically reduced the environmental footprint of the industry, with certain environmental impact categories reaching a decrease of up to 90.00%. More specifically, according to the obtained results, a decrease of 11.81, 64.56, and 89.79% in regards to climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, and freshwater consumption, respectively, was achieved in the alternative scenario compared to the conventional method. The study verified the environmental advantages of integrating such energy saving and waste treatment/valorization technologies across the canned fruits industry’s processing chain, contributing to environmental sustainability and safety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:03:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d68b218485fb45489f2073f22be646da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-7402 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:03:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AgriEngineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-d68b218485fb45489f2073f22be646da2023-11-17T09:03:16ZengMDPI AGAgriEngineering2624-74022023-02-015139541210.3390/agriengineering5010026Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative TechniquesFotini Drosou0Tryfon Kekes1Christos Boukouvalas2Department of Wine, Vine, and Beverage Sciences, School of Food Science, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Process Analysis and Design, Department of Process Analysis and Plant Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Process Analysis and Design, Department of Process Analysis and Plant Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, GreeceThe canned fruits industry utilizes high amounts of water and energy, which results in the generation of vast quantities of wastewater and solid waste. The main scope of this study was to compare the environmental footprint of a canned fruits industry (alternative scenario) equipped with appropriate processes (pulsed electric fields, anaerobic digestion, composting, membrane bioreactors, and ultraviolet treatment) that sufficiently save energy and valorize production wastes to a typical setup that uses conventional waste methods (conventional scenario) via conducting a life cycle assessment study. Based on the results, the life cycle assessment confirmed the fact that the incorporation of the proposed methods, as described in the alternative scenario, dramatically reduced the environmental footprint of the industry, with certain environmental impact categories reaching a decrease of up to 90.00%. More specifically, according to the obtained results, a decrease of 11.81, 64.56, and 89.79% in regards to climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, and freshwater consumption, respectively, was achieved in the alternative scenario compared to the conventional method. The study verified the environmental advantages of integrating such energy saving and waste treatment/valorization technologies across the canned fruits industry’s processing chain, contributing to environmental sustainability and safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/1/26sustainabilityenergy savingwastewater treatmentsolid waste valorizationlife cycle assessmentenvironmental safety |
| spellingShingle | Fotini Drosou Tryfon Kekes Christos Boukouvalas Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques AgriEngineering sustainability energy saving wastewater treatment solid waste valorization life cycle assessment environmental safety |
| title | Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques |
| title_full | Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques |
| title_fullStr | Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques |
| title_short | Life Cycle Assessment of the Canned Fruits Industry: Sustainability through Waste Valorization and Implementation of Innovative Techniques |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of the canned fruits industry sustainability through waste valorization and implementation of innovative techniques |
| topic | sustainability energy saving wastewater treatment solid waste valorization life cycle assessment environmental safety |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/5/1/26 |
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