Environmental Life Cycle Analysis of Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) Powders Obtained via Two Drying Methods

Salgado-Aristizabal, Natalia ; Agudelo-Patiño, Tatiana ; Ospina-Corral, Sebastian (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Álvarez-Lanzarote, Ignacio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Orrego, Carlos Eduardo

Resumen: Açaí is a fruit native to Brazil that is found in Colombia, and it is recognized for containing more than 90 compounds with anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and other biological activities. In this study, a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis (LCA) was conducted for the production of açaí powder, following the methodology outlined in the ISO 14040 standard. The investigation focused on examining the impact of utilizing or not utilizing the residues generated during the pulp extraction step as fertilizers. Four scenarios were analyzed and compared: (i) production of açaí powder via vacuum drying, (ii) via spray drying, and via the same two types of drying but using residues from the pulping operation as fertilizer (Scenarios 3 and 4). It was found that to produce 1 kg of açaí in a crop cycle, 1.17 kg of CO2 eq is produced. The drying stage in Scenarios 1 and 2 generated 8.04 and 7.93 kg of CO2 eq, respectively. Similarly, when solid waste is used as fertilizer, CO2 emissions barely increased for Scenarios 3 and 4, respectively. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first carbon footprint study of the production of açaí powder whit these scenarios.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/pr11082290

Año: 2023

Publicado en: PROCESSES 11, 8 (2023), 2290 [16 pp.]
ISSN: 2227-9717

Factor impacto JCR: 2.8 (2023)

Categ. JCR: ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL rank: 80 / 170 = 0.471 (2023) - Q2 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.1 - Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) (Q2) - Bioengineering (Q3) - Process Chemistry and Technology (Q3)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.525 - Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) (Q2) - Process Chemistry and Technology (Q3) - Bioengineering (Q3)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/801586/EU/International Doctoral Programme for Talent Attraction to the Campus of International Excellence of the Ebro Valley/IberusTalent

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Tecnología de Alimentos (Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.)