Lca Almonds
Lca Almonds
Lca Almonds
Keywords:
agriculture
agroecosystems
energy footprint
food production
life cycle assessment (LCA)
orchards
Summary
This first article of a two-article series describes a framework and life cyclebased model
for typical almond orchard production systems for California, where more than 80% of
commercial almonds on the world market are produced. The comprehensive, multiyear,
life cyclebased model includes orchard establishment and removal; field operations and
inputs; emissions from orchard soils; and transport and utilization of co-products. These
processes are analyzed to yield a life cycle inventory of energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, criteria air pollutants, and direct water use from field to factory gate. Results
show that 1 kilogram (kg) of raw almonds and associated co-products of hulls, shells, and
woody biomass require 35 megajoules (MJ) of energy and result in 1.6 kg carbon dioxide
equivalent (CO2 -eq) of GHG emissions. Nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water are the
dominant causes of both energy use and GHG emissions. Co-product credits play an
important role in estimating the life cycle environmental impacts attributable to almonds
alone; using displacement methods results in net energy and emissions of 29 MJ and
0.9 kg CO2 -eq/kg. The largest sources of credits are from orchard biomass and shells
used in electricity generation, which are modeled as displacing average California electricity.
Using economic allocation methods produces significantly different results; 1 kg of almonds
is responsible for 33 MJ of energy and 1.5 kg CO2 -eq emissions. Uncertainty analysis of
important parameters and assumptions, as well as temporary carbon storage in orchard
trees and soils, are explored in the second article of this two-part article series.
Introduction
California-grown almonds dominate the global market. In
20122013, California produced 953,000 tonnes of almonds,
constituting 83% of the worlds commercial almond production
(OGA 2013) and occupying more than 315,000 hectares (ha)
of Californias fertile cropland (USDA 2013). As with many
commercially produced crops, almond production demands
Address correspondence to: Alissa Kendall, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of CaliforniaDavis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95618,
USA. Email: [email protected]
2015 The Authors. Journal of Industrial Ecology, published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of Yale University This is an open access article under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12332
Editor managing review: Miguel Brandao
Volume 00, Number 0
www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jie
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Agrochemical
Inputs
Nursery
Model
Transport
Modeling
California
Aqueduct
Model
Groundwater
Pumping
Legend
(Sub)Processes
Farm
Equipment
Modeling
Irrigation
systems
(Co-)Product Flows
Operation
Orchard
Establishment
Orchard
Removal
Hulling and
Shelling
Almond
Kernel
Co-Products for
Livestock
Orchard
Biomass
Orchard
Biomass
In-shell
Almonds
Field N2O
Models
Gasification
Biochar
Model
In-Field
Mulch
In-field
In-Field
Burning
Air
Pollution
Model
r
r
One percent of the trees die and are replaced each year.
Replanting and biomass removal are accounted for on
a yearly basis until year 20, after which no replanting
occurs.
The modeled orchard is established on land previously
occupied by almond orchard and will be replaced with
r
r
Kendall et al., Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emissions for Almonds, Par t I
R E S E A R C H A N D A N A LY S I S
Irrigation
Other
Nitrogen
Potassium
Boron
Zinc
Micro-sprinkler or
sprinkler
Drip
Flood
Saplings
Pollination
Unit
kg N ha1
kg K2 O ha1
g B ha1
kg Z ha1
m3 ha1
m3 ha1
m3 ha1
# ha1
hives ha1
kg kernel ha1
kg kernel ha1
kg kernel ha1
kg ha1
kg ha1
kg ha1
0
1
2
3
Inputs*
0
22
45
90
0
22
45
90
0
448
448
448
0
5.6
5.6
5.6
0 2,794 5,334 8,128
Year
4
135
135
448
5.6
8,280
7 to 25 Clearing
179
224
224
179
224
224
448
448
448
5.6
5.6
5.6
11,176 11,176 11,176
35,073
Sources: Freeman and colleagues (2003a, 2003b); Duncan and colleagues (2006); Connell and colleagues (2006); Freeman and colleagues (2008); Duncan
and colleagues (2011a, 2011b); and Connell and colleagues 2012).
* Pesticides used are listed in table S3 in the supporting information on the Web.
kg = kilograms; N = nitrogen; ha = hectare; K2 O = potassium oxide; g =grams; B = boron; Z = zinc; m3 = cubic meters; # = number.
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Table 2 Annual co-product mass and fate based on a weighted average for five surveyed shelling and hulling operations
Fate
Mass (kg)
Handler
Handler
Dairy feed
Dairy feed
Energy (50%) and livestock bedding (50%)
Bioenergy
24,330,652
1,902,324
37,984,437
385,006
10,992,532
637,894
31.6
2.5
49.3
0.5
14.3
0.8
Co-products
Brown-skin almonds
In-shell almonds
Hulls
Hash
Shell
Woody biomass
* May
Kendall et al., Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emissions for Almonds, Par t I
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Kendall et al., Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emissions for Almonds, Par t I
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Table 3 Estimation of N2 O emission factors (EFs) of flood, micro-sprinkler and sprinkler, and drip-irrigated almond orchards in California
Irrigation
system type
Flood
Micro-sprinkler and Sprinkler
Drip
EF of direct N2 O
emission (g N2 O-N
g1 N applied)
EF of indirect N2 O
through NH3 (g N2 ON g1 N applied)
EF of indirect N2 O
through NOx (g N2 ON g1 N applied)
3.48 103
3.30 103
3.12 103
6.6 104
4.3 104
4.7 104
1.16 103
1.10 103
1.04 103
4.0
Other Operations
3.5
Hulling & Shelling
3.0
Harvest
2.5
Irrigation
2.0
1.5
Biomass Management
1.0
Nutrient Management
0.5
Pest Management
0.0
Co-Product Credit
-0.5
-1.0
GWP
Figure 2 GWP100 and total energy results by life cycle stage for 1 kg of almonds and final results using displacement and economic
allocation methods (assuming mean annual yield of 1.892 kg ha1 ). The y-axis values for the total energy bar represent the actual values in
MJ divided by 10; so, the total energy for 1 kg of almonds is 35 MJ and the net results after the co-product credit are 29 MJ. GWP100 =
global warming potential for time horizon of 100 years; kg = kilograms; ha = hectare; MJ = megajoules.
GHG emissions in water-scarce regions, such as Californias southern San Joaquin Valley, is a topic of future
research.
Co-product treatment methods have a strong effect on
the outcomes of this analysis, in particular, for co-products
used in power generation. Though, in economic terms, power
generation is a very low-value use of co-products, when displacement calculations are used that assume biopower displaces
the average electricity fuel mix in California, large energy,
emission, and GHG credits are generated. This can be viewed
as a methodological source of large variability, but might also
be viewed as a philosophical issue. Displacement calculations
implicitly assume that, in the absence of electricity generated
from almond co-products, the average fuel mix currently used
would replace it. This may be a reasonable assumption in the
short term, but, actually, as Renewable Portfolio Standards for
electricity become more stringent (CPUC 2013), it might be
more appropriate to assume that other renewable power sources
are displaced. Such an assumption would significantly change
displacement calculations and lower the credits attributable to
co-products used in power generation.
In addition, the potentially higher economic value for
renewable fuels used in California electricity are not reflected
R E S E A R C H A N D A N A LY S I S
Figure 3 GWP100 comparison of in-hull almond kernel to the edible fraction of other unprocessed food products.
(Note: Co-products are not accounted for in the reported values, and results are drawn from multiple sources, which may use different
methods and system boundaries.) GWP100 = global warming potential for time horizon of 100 years.
Conclusion
This article examined typical almond production in California using weighted-average data and consensus values for
almond production inputs. As with all agricultural products,
almonds are subject to the inherent variability of region and
climate, which affects yields, biogeochemical emissions from
orchard soils, and cultural practices of growers. This analysis
also shows the critical importance of understanding the fate
of co-products from orchard production, their utilization for
energy production, and the use of displacement calculations
for allocation. The second article in this series explores these
key questions of variability, uncertainty, and scenarios that
represent the heterogeneity of existing practices and explores
the potential for changes over time that may significantly affect
the environmental performance of almonds, such as changes
to energy recovery technologies and irrigation technology.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Almond
Board of California (Project No.: 10-AIR8-Kendall), entitled
Greenhouse Gas and Energy Footprint of California Almond
Production, Principle Investigator Dr. Alissa Kendall. This
research was also supported, in part, by the Specialty Crop
Block Grant Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) through Grant 14-SCBGP-CA-0006, Principle
Investigator Dr. Sonja Brodt. Its contents are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent
the official views of the USDA.
The authors thank all of the growers, nursery owners, orchard management companies, and colleagues who generously
gave their time and provided data and assistance to this project,
Kendall et al., Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emissions for Almonds, Par t I
R E S E A R C H A N D A N A LY S I S
and particularly to Dr. Johan Six and Dr. David Smart, and
their respective research teams, for assistance in provision of
data and guidance on field N2 O emissions.
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Supporting Information
Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article at the publishers web site:
Supporting Information S1: This supporting information includes detailed data on transport distances for orchard inputs,
the modeling of N2 O emissions, life cycle inventory development, the results for assessed flows, and economic allocation
calculations.
Kendall et al., Life Cycle Energy and GHG Emissions for Almonds, Par t I
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