Carbon footprint and water footprint of cassava starch production : a case study in Thailand | |
| Author | Jitpisut Bukate |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-14-04 |
| Subject(s) | Greenhouse gases--Thailand Product life cycle--Thailand Water conservation--Thailand Cassava flour--Thailand--Environmental aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-14-04 |
| Abstract | This study aimed to investigate the carbon footprint and water footprint of cassava starch production as well as to estimate the footprints reduction by comparing the results between previous and current scenarios related to wastewater treatment and energy recovery of a cassava starch factory in Thailand using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a technique to assess the impacts from gate to the gate stage and defining 1 tonne of cassava starch as a function unit of this study. This research was conducted based on the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data of cassava starch production obtained from a field study, and then analyzed carbon footprint and water footprint by LCA approach through SimaPro version 8.0.1; moreover, volumetric water footprint was studied by following the water footprint assessment manual. The carbon footprint was quantified by using IPCC 2007 GWP 100a method. The analysis reveals that the total carbon footprint of cassava starch production was 522 kg CO₂e per tonne starch, and the electricity consumption of production processes and methane emission from wastewater treatment were the two largest contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. For water footprint profile of cassava starch production at midpoint level, this study used ReCiPe midpoint (H) method, and the results shows that most of the potential water-related impacts, especially freshwater eutrophication (0.21 kg P to fresh water) and water depletion (210 m³ ) were a result of electricity consumption. Furthermore, for endpoint water footprint profile, this study used Pfister et al 2010 method and the results shows that the major contribution was freshwater consumption, particularly, in term of damage to human health (2.00E-06 DALY ) and ecosystem quality (2.02E-08 species/year). In case of volumetric water footprint, the total water footprint of 1tonne cassava starch was 1,864m³ , including 683 m³ green water, 853 m³ blue water, and 328 m³ grey water. The results show that the major driver for volumetric water footprint of cassava starch production attributed to blue water occurred in cultivation process of cassava which was main input of cassava starch production. Moreover, for the footprints reduction results, the percentage of carbon footprint reduction according to implementing project activity of the current scenario was found to be higher than water footprint reduction percentage because the project activity mainly related with energy aspect. Thus, the improvement of sustainability strategy of cassava starch production in term of GHG emissions would be conducted by increasing energy efficiency in line production and also shifting to renewable energy; however, in term of freshwater resource management would be conducted by improving efficiency of the use of water as well as implementing water reuse or recycling activity. |
| Year | 2014 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Annachhatre, Ajit P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh;Bohez, Erik L. J.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2014 |