Por favor, use este identificador para citar o enlazar este ítem:https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/65602
Título
Life cycle analysis of macauba palm cultivation: A promising crop for biofuel production
Autor
Año del Documento
2018-12
Editorial
Elsevier
Documento Fuente
Industrial Crops and Products, 1 December 2018, vol. 125, p. 556-566
Abstract
The 450 Scenario, which limits the increase in global average temperature to 2 °C, makes it necessary to take steps towards a low-carbon economy. Since the energy sector is a major contribution to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the production of biofuels can play a key role in strategies aimed at climate change mitigation. In this regard, the oil derived from macauba palm (Acrocomia aculeata), mainly constituted of saturated organic chains, has been claimed to hold promise for the production of liquid fuels. The high potential yield, diversity of co-products and various positive features of this emerging energy crop make it an interesting option both from a social and an environmental point of view. Nonetheless, a full environmental evaluation is still missing. In the study presented herein, the impacts produced in its plantation, cultivation and harvesting phases and the associated cumulative energy demand have been determined using a life cycle analysis methodology, in addition to shedding some light on its GHG intensity relative to the other energy crops it can displace. Excluding land use changes and biogenic CO2 fixed by the crop, it was concluded that to produce one ton of macauba fruit in Brazil, the system would absorb 1810.21 MJ, with GHG emissions of 158.69 kg CO2eq in the 20-year timeframe, and of 140.04 kg CO2eq in the 100-year timeframe (comparable to those of African oil palm). Damage to human health, ecosystem quality, and resources would add up to 16 Pt·t−1 according to Eco-indicator 99 methodology. In order to account for the uncertainty derived from improvement and domestication programs, which should affect current production levels, a sensitivity analysis for different productivities was performed. In all analyses, fertilization was found to be responsible for ca. 90% of the impacts, and hence special attention should be paid to the development of alternative fertilizer management schemes.
ISSN
0926-6690
Revisión por pares
SI
Version del Editor
Propietario de los Derechos
Elsevier
Idioma
spa
Tipo de versión
info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion
Derechos
openAccess
Collections
Files in this item
Nombre:
Tamaño:
356.9Kb
Formato:
Adobe PDF
Descripción:
Artículo principal
![Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional](/themes/Mirage2//images/creativecommons/cc-by-nc-nd.png)