RESUMEN

The search for sustainability has pointed to the need to transition from a linear to a circular model. However, such a transition is not trivial. Modifying production chains with the focus on reducing virgin raw materials consumption, cut emissions, and prevent waste generation implies implementing new processes and services, which can add considerable environmental impacts to the supply chain. This paper analyzes a real case from a production system aligned with circular economy principles. The production system consists of the manufacturing of baseboards made of recycled Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), obtained from an extensive reverse logistics system composed of different recycling processes. The system's potential environmental impacts were assessed by two widely used methodologies, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Emergy Analysis (EMA). For comparison purposes, the analysis was carried out for a fictional linear production system, in which the baseboard would be made of virgin EPS. EMA attributed a lower emergy load to the circular scenario compared to the linear scenario (8.62E+15 seJ to recycled EPS versus 1.26E+16 seJ to virgin EPS). LCA results indicate both scenarios as environmental preferable depending on the impact category under analysis (e.g. circular system has better performance regarding global warming, while the linear scenario demonstrated better results under water consumption). For the circular scenario, EMA identified the main impact drivers, such as transportation and electricity consumption. From LCA perspective impacts are also driven by electricity consumption. However, differently from EMA, logistics were only significant for Land Use impact category whereas Liquefied Petroleum Gas consumption and, landfill air emissions were identified as impact hotspots. These convergences and differences between the findings of LCA and EMA have demonstrated potentially complementation to broaden available information related to systems, enabling decision makers to act effectively in improving the environmental performance of their production processes, especially when implementing circular practices.

RESUMEN

RESUMO A avaliação de ciclo de vida (ACV) é uma técnica de estimativa de impactos ambientais, como emissão de gases de efeito estufa (CO2eq), para geração de produto ou realização de processo. O objetivo deste estudo foi estabelecer a pegada de carbono para a produção da margarina e da manteiga com uso das normas ISO e PAS aplicadas a uma empresa de alimentos localizada na região Sul do Brasil desde a etapa do campo até a sua forma embalada com unidade funcional de 500 g para distribuição. Três cenários foram abordados para a margarina (óleos de soja provenientes do Sul e do Centro-Oeste com e sem desmatamento por queimada) e dois para manteiga (com alocação por massa e econômica). A modelagem foi realizada com dados primários de produção agrícola e da empresa e secundários do ecoinvent ® . A pegada da manteiga com alocação econômica (2,91 kg de CO2eq) foi maior do que a da margarina produzida com soja da mesma região (1,32 kg de CO2eq). Entretanto, esse coproduto autônomo da indústria de laticínio requer alocação mássica para evitar supervalorização, sendo de fato a menor pegada (0,63 kg de CO2eq). A utilização de grãos de soja do Centro-Oeste aumentou a pegada da margarina (1,58 kg de CO2eq), tendo sido muito intensificado quando empregado desmatamento por queimada (2,69 kg de CO2eq). A produção de leite foi o fator deletério preponderante para a manteiga. Para a margarina, houve duas situações distintas, sua fabricação quando se usa soja da mesma região ou a produção do grão quando este for proveniente de região distante desmatada por queimada.

ABSTRACT Life Cycle Assessment is a technique for estimating environmental impacts, such as the emission of greenhouse gases (CO2eq), for manufacturing product or process realization. The objective of this study was to establish the carbon footprint for the production of margarine and butter using ISO and PAS standards applied to a food company, located in the southern region of Brazil, from the field stage to its packed form with a functional unit of 500 g for distribution. Three scenarios were addressed for margarine (soybean oil from the South and the Midwest with and without burned deforestation) and two for butter (with mass and economic allocation). The modeling was performed with primary data from the agricultural and industrial production, and secondary data from ecoinvent ® . The economically allocated butter footprint (2.91 kg CO2eq) was higher than that of margarine produced with soybeans from the same region (1.32 kg CO2eq). However, this autonomous co-product of the dairy industry requires mass allocation to avoid overvaluation, being in fact the smallest footprint (0.63 kg CO2eq). The use of soybeans from the Midwest increased margarine' footprint (1.58 kg CO2eq) and was greatly intensified with burned deforestation (2.69 kg CO2eq). Milk production was the predominant deleterious factor for butter. For margarine there were two other distinct occasions, which were the manufacture when soy from the same region is used or the production with soybeans from a distant region deforested by burning.