| Title |
Enhancing sustainability in charcoal production: Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and by-product utilization to promote circular systems and minimize energy loss |
| ID_Doc |
12214 |
| Authors |
Silva, SAE; Venturini, OJ; Leme, MMV; de Moura, DC; Heck, TD |
| Title |
Enhancing sustainability in charcoal production: Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and by-product utilization to promote circular systems and minimize energy loss |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107115 |
| Abstract |
Brazil is the world's leading charcoal producer, mainly used as an energy source and reducing agent for iron ore in the pig iron and steel industry. Despite its vast production, much of the Brazilian charcoal production remains low-tech and inefficient, with limited utilization of by-products. To address potential environmental impacts, promote a circular economy, and reduce energy waste in the charcoal production chain, this study presents the benefits of using wood carbonization by-products through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The analysis was performed by comparing four scenarios: i) Current wood carbonization; ii) Wood carbonization with combustion of non-condensable gases; iii) Wood carbonization with energy recovering of non-condensable gases for electricity generation; and iv) Assessing the utilization of insoluble tar and biomass waste for generating additional electricity, and the use of Pyroligneous Extract (PE) in eucalyptus cultivation. The results demonstrate that byproduct utilization prevents energy waste, with an estimated potential to generate 0.19-0.26 MWh per ton of charcoal in Scenarios 3 and 4. Furthermore, 3.3 t of CO2 eq./t of charcoal are sequestered from the atmosphere, and Scenarios 2, 3, and 4 can increase this amount by 5.06%, 6.7%, and 0.48%, respectively. This paper introduces an innovative assessment of PE utilization during eucalyptus cultivation, resulting in a 6.16% reduction in greenhouse gas emission and a 46.98% decrease in abiotic resource consumption, attributed to PE's potential to partially reduce pesticide consumption. |
| Author Keywords |
Charcoal production; Biomass; Energy waste; Life cycle assessment; Greenhouse gases; Sustainability |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:001197771700001 |
| WoS Category |
Agricultural Engineering; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Energy & Fuels |
| Research Area |
Agriculture; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Energy & Fuels |
| PDF |
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