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Estimating Environmental and Economic Impacts of Hermetic Bag Storage Technology

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  • Ma. Cristine Concepcion D. Ignacio

    (Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA
    Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of the Philippines, Los Baños 4031, Philippines)

  • Kurt A. Rosentrater

    (Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA)

  • Dirk E. Maier

    (Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010, USA)

Abstract

Hermetic bag storage is a growing innovative technology that can effectively mitigate insect activity in stored grain and preserve quality without pesticides. This study aimed to estimate the environmental and economic impacts of hermetic storage bags as the basis for the sustainable adoption of the technology. This study demonstrated an approach to estimate the environmental impact of using hermetic bags and their superior economic benefits for storing maize at the 1-ton scale over three years. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of six commercially available hermetic bags (AgroZ ® , GrainPro, Storezo, ZeroFly ® , Elite, and PICS™) from cradle to grave was evaluated and compared using the Sustainable Minds LCA software. The gas barrier liners were analyzed for structure and polymer composition using confocal microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that bag manufacturing had the highest environmental impact contribution, with 84.6% to 90.8% of the total impacts (mPt). The carbon footprint contribution of the total service life delivered for one hermetic bag ranged from 1.1 to 1.7 kg CO 2eq . The economic benefits of using hermetic bags were calculated and compared with traditional storage bag methods for one smallholder farmer using ten (10) hermetic bags storing 100 kg/bag (1 ton) of maize. The results found that using hermetic bags exhibited the highest profit of 1130 USD when used for nine months over three years, while storage loss was maintained at less than 1%.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma. Cristine Concepcion D. Ignacio & Kurt A. Rosentrater & Dirk E. Maier, 2023. "Estimating Environmental and Economic Impacts of Hermetic Bag Storage Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14850-:d:1259139
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeremiah Ng’ang’a & Christopher Mutungi & Samuel M. Imathiu & Hippolyte Affognon, 2016. "Low permeability triple-layer plastic bags prevent losses of maize caused by insects in rural on-farm stores," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(3), pages 621-633, June.
    2. Hatem Alhazmi & Faris H. Almansour & Zaid Aldhafeeri, 2021. "Plastic Waste Management: A Review of Existing Life Cycle Assessment Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, May.
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