Category: Carbon footprint
Short vs. Long-Distance Avocado Supply Chains: Life Cycle Assessment Impact Associated to Transport and Effect of Fruit Origin and Supply Conditions Chain on Primary and Secondary Metabolites
Avocado consumption and trade are increasing worldwide, with North America and Europe being the main importing regions. Spain is the major European avocado producer (90% of the production), yet it only supplies 10% of the market. Consequently, more than 90% of the avocados consumed in Europe are imported from overseas, mainly from Chile and Peru. In this work, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) impact associated with the transport of two avocado supply chains (short (Spanish) and long (Chilean)) and
Contribution of food loss to greenhouse gas assessment of high-value agricultural produce: California production, U.S. consumption
Food loss (wasted and spoiled food) increases the burden on resources and environmental impacts throughout the entire food chain. This study describes and deploys a model and identifies data sources for estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with food loss from farm production, delivery and refrigeration, retail sale, household consumption, and waste management in the United States using four California-grown high-value produce as case studies. The ratios of food wasted to food produced
What contributes more to life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of farm produce: Production, transportation, packaging, or food loss?
The food production and supply systems are some of the biggest contributors to climate change, and food loss from the entire food chain aggravates the problem. We developed a model to estimate the GHG emissions from the entire food cycle (production, packaging, transportation, refrigeration, and waste management), and applied it to cherries, onions, and plums, the first time these produce have been assessed comprehensively in the United States. We pulled into the analysis 6 additional fruits and
Causes of Hass Avocado Fruit Rejection in Preharvest, Harvest, and Packinghouse: Economic Losses and Associated Variables
The areas planted with avocado in Colombia have increased to position this fruit in international markets. To achieve this goal, the offered fruits need to meet optimal production standards. The aim of this study was to identify the main physiopathologies and damages that may cause the rejection of avocado cv. Hass fruits for export purposes during pre-harvest, harvest, and processing in packinghouses, and quantify the economic impact of said exclusion criteria. Typological characterization and quantification
Conical spouted bed combustor to obtain clean energy from avocado waste
The advantages of spouted bed technology for waste treatment are linked to the high excess of renewable biomass waste generated by the large worldwide consumption of avocado. Therefore, the applicability of avocado waste as fuel in a novel conical spouted bed combustor was investigated. The solid cyclic movement in this reactor innovatively promotes better mass and heat transfer, as well as better energy exploitation of the waste. Local heat transfer coefficients were experimentally determined in
Environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA) and social impact assessment (SIA) of small-scale biorefineries implemented in rural zones: the avocado (Persea Americana var. Americana) case in Colombia
The objective of this study is to compare the environmental and social performance of two small-scale avocado biorefineries implanted in a rural zone in the North of Colombia. Two small-scale biorefineries were proposed. Small-B-1 addressed to produce avocado oil and animal feed, and Small-B-2 focused on the guacamole production. The environmental analysis was done by applying the life cycle assessment methodology. Then, agronomic information and process simulation were required to complete the analysis.