Environmental LCA of utilizing red cabbage trimmings as novel products
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Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master Thesis
Master Thesis
Program
Publicerad
2008
Författare
Krewer, Christoffer
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The environmental potential of producing novel products out of RCT (red cabbage trimmings) has been compared with using it as fodder to husbandry. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to make the comparison. It is believed that in the future the volume of by-products from the food chain used as cattle feed will be minimized. The product Red cabbage trimmings was chosen to focus on because of the valuable compounds in the plant, and because of the waste generation in form of RCT that RC (red cabbage) refining means. The novel products that were produced were dietary fiber, phytochemical juice, pectin and MHR (modified hairy regions). Running costs of the process and microbiological activity in the end products were also evaluated in order to assess the realisation of processing RCT into novel products. A system called the RCT system was defined. In this system RCT could be processed into novel products, treated as fodder or composted. These alternatives were later reduced to the production and fodder system, since the compost system proved to be hard to define. The RCT production process system was modeled in higher detail level than the other alternatives (a simulation model in Simulink was made) and was divided in simulation alternatives, based on product mix. The product mixes that were evaluated were: 1. Production of phytochemical juice and dietary fiber. 2. Production of phytochemical juice and pectin. 3. Production of phytochemcial juice, dietary fiber and pectin. In order to compare the two RCT system alternatives two scenarios were designed (the compost excluded). These scenarios were called the process scenario (RCT is processed) and the feed scenario (RCT is treated as fodder). These scenarios were combined with the three alternatives of producing novel products, which resulted in 2x3 different combinations of using RCT. System expansion was used when designing the scenarios. No existing alternative production system that was producing MHR was found, which made any product mix including MHR irrelevant. When the process was modeled according to the original specification the process scenario proved to be the worst one seen from an environmental point of view. A number of improvments were then suggested, and if they were implemented the production process scenario proved to be as environmentally potential as the other scenario. To summarize, this work should be looked upon as a framework used for developing and evaluating the scenarios. Especially the RCT process model is a feasible tool for working with and improving the RCT process.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Miljöteknik , Environmental engineering