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Carbon Footprint of Tree Nuts Based Consumer Products

Author

Listed:
  • Roberto Volpe

    (Facoltà di Ingegneria e Architettura, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, Cittadella Universitaria, Enna 94100, Italy)

  • Simona Messineo

    (Siciliacque S.p.A., Via Gioacchino di Marzo, Palermo 90144, Italy)

  • Maurizio Volpe

    (Facoltà di Ingegneria e Architettura, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, Cittadella Universitaria, Enna 94100, Italy)

  • Antonio Messineo

    (Facoltà di Ingegneria e Architettura, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, Cittadella Universitaria, Enna 94100, Italy)

Abstract

This case study shows results of a calculation of carbon footprint (CFP) resulting from the production of nuts added value products for a large consumer market. Nuts consumption is increasing in the world and so is the consumer awareness of the environmental impact of goods, hence the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of food production is of growing importance for producers. Calculation of CO 2eq emissions was performed for all stages of the production chain to the final retail point for flour, grains, paste, chocolate covered nuts and spreadable cream produced from almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts grown and transformed in Italy and for peanuts grown in Argentina and transformed in Italy. Data from literature was used to evaluate CFP of raw materials, emissions from transport and packing were calculated using existing models, while emissions deriving from transformation were calculated empirically by multiplying the power of production lines (electrical and/or thermal) by its productivity. All values were reported in kg of CO 2 equivalent for each kg of packed product (net weight). Resulting values ranged between 1.2 g of CO 2 /kg for a 100 g bag of almond to 4.8 g of CO 2 /kg for the 100 g bag of chocolate covered almond. The calculation procedure can be well used for similar cases of large consumer food productions.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Volpe & Simona Messineo & Maurizio Volpe & Antonio Messineo, 2015. "Carbon Footprint of Tree Nuts Based Consumer Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-18, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:11:p:14917-14934:d:58476
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maurizio Volpe & Carmelo D'Anna & Simona Messineo & Roberto Volpe & Antonio Messineo, 2014. "Sustainable Production of Bio-Combustibles from Pyrolysis of Agro-Industrial Wastes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-17, November.
    2. David M. Filiberto & John L. Gaunt, 2013. "Practicality of Biochar Additions to Enhance Soil and Crop Productivity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-11, October.
    3. Antonio Messineo & Roberto Volpe & Francesco Asdrubali, 2012. "Evaluation of Net Energy Obtainable from Combustion of Stabilised Olive Mill By-Products," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(5), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Asdrubali, F. & Presciutti, A. & Scrucca, F., 2013. "Development of a greenhouse gas accounting GIS-based tool to support local policy making—application to an Italian municipality," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 587-594.
    5. Volpe, Roberto & Messineo, Antonio & Millan, Marcos & Volpe, Maurizio & Kandiyoti, Rafael, 2015. "Assessment of olive wastes as energy source: pyrolysis, torrefaction and the key role of H loss in thermal breakdown," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 119-127.
    6. Messineo, Antonio & Volpe, Roberto & Marvuglia, Antonino, 2012. "Ligno-cellulosic biomass exploitation for power generation: A case study in sicily," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 613-625.
    7. Asdrubali, Francesco & Baldinelli, Giorgio & D’Alessandro, Francesco & Scrucca, Flavio, 2015. "Life cycle assessment of electricity production from renewable energies: Review and results harmonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1113-1122.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elias Marvinney & Jin Wook Ro & Alissa Kendall, 2020. "Trade-Offs in Net Life Cycle Energy Balance and Water Consumption in California Almond Orchards," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Rafael Tordecilla-Madera & Andrés Polo & Adrián Cañón, 2018. "Vehicles Allocation for Fruit Distribution Considering CO 2 Emissions and Decisions on Subcontracting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Eva Polyak & Zita Breitenbach & Eszter Frank & Olivia Mate & Maria Figler & Dorottya Zsalig & Klara Simon & Mate Szijarto & Zoltan Szabo, 2023. "Food and Sustainability: Is It a Matter of Choice?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, April.

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