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Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40

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Resources, Conservation and Recycling


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec

A comparison of energy use, water use and carbon footprint of


cassava starch production in Thailand, Vietnam and Colombia
Thierry Tran a,f,∗ , Guillaume Da b , Martín Alonso Moreno-Santander c ,
Gustavo Adolfo Vélez-Hernández d , Andrès Giraldo-Toro a , Kuakoon Piyachomkwan f ,
Klanarong Sriroth f , Dominique Dufour a,e
a
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Persyst Department, UMR Qualisud, Montpellier, France
b
CERTES, Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), Créteil, France
c
Universidad del Valle (UniValle), Cali, Colombia
d
Deriyuca LTDA, Cali, Colombia
e
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia
f
Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit (CSTRU), Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Energy use, water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were assessed for the transformation of
Received 17 November 2014 cassava roots into starch by two small-scale (ST1, ST2: 1–2 t starch per day) and one large-scale (VLT:
Received in revised form 24 March 2015 100–200 t starch per day) technologies. The goal of the study was to identify hotspots of energy use and
Accepted 14 April 2015
GHG emissions, as well as sustainable practices, with a view to uncover opportunities to improve the
Available online 16 May 2015
environmental performance of cassava starch production. VLT required 2527 MJ/t starch, mainly (77%)
from biogas used to dry starch, but was the most efficient in terms of water use (10 m3 /t starch) due to
Keywords:
the practice of water recycling between unit operations. ST1 and ST2 were similar in terms of electricity
Cassava starch
Energy efficiency
use (212 MJ/t starch), and were able to rely on solar energy to dry starch, due to the small volumes of
Water use production. In contrast, water use varied from 21 to 62 m3 /t starch due to differences in the design of
Carbon footprint the rasping and starch recovery (extraction) operations. GHG emissions were 149, 93 and 105 kg CO2 eq/t
Greenhouse gas emissions starch for VLT, ST1 and ST2 respectively. For ST1 and ST2, methane emissions from untreated wastewater
were the main contribution to GHG emissions. For VLT, methane was captured to produce biogas and to
dry starch, and the main contribution to GHG emissions was the use of non-renewable grid electricity.
Biogas technology was adopted in the past 12 years in the case of VLT. Previously fuel oil was used instead
of biogas, which resulted in GHG emissions of 539 kg CO2 eq/t starch. VLT used markedly more electricity
than ST1 and ST2, which was necessary to ensure the high output and consistent starch quality. Strategies
to reduce the impacts of cassava starch production could focus on (1) increasing the energy efficiency
of the drying operation, in order to make more biogas available for other uses such as production of
renewable electricity; (2) improving the design of some unit operations with regards to water and energy
efficiency; and (3) promoting the transfer and adoption of water recycling practices.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

1.1. Cassava starch production technologies

Starch production from cassava is a major industry and source


∗ Corresponding author at: CIRAD Office, Research and Development Bldg., Floor of income in several tropical countries such as Thailand, Viet-
3, Kasetsart University, Jatujak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Tel.: +66 868220362; nam, Brazil and Colombia, with an output of 3–4 million tons per
fax: +66 29427628. year (Sriroth et al., 2000a). The industry currently experiences a
E-mail addresses: thierry.tran@cirad.fr (T. Tran), guillaume.da@u-pec.fr (G. Da), strong growth driven by high demand and food prices, as well as
mamoreno@univalle.edu.co (M.A. Moreno-Santander), gustavel777@yahoo.com a diversification of uses of cassava starch, for instance for organic
(G.A. Vélez-Hernández), andres.giraldo toro@cirad.fr (A. Giraldo-Toro),
kuakoon@biotec.or.th (K. Piyachomkwan), aapkrs@ku.ac.th (K. Sriroth),
acids fermentation products, ethanol and bioplastics (Papong et al.,
d.dufour@cgiar.org (D. Dufour). 2014).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.04.007
0921-3449/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
32 T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40

by centrifugation (VLT) or sedimentation (ST1, ST2), to reach a


moisture content of 33–45% wwb; (7) drying consists in drying the
starch to the final moisture of 12–13% wwb, to inhibit microbial
growth and ensure an extended shelf life. In some cases (ST1), the
drying operation may be skipped due to limiting factors such as
energy costs, and the starch preserved under wet conditions (45%
moisture) through a lactic fermentation process (Da et al., 2008)
until sale or further processing. Most of these operations are pow-
ered by electric motors. In addition, pumps are used to bring water
to the factory, and move water, wastewater and starch extraction
milk between operations. The same core set of unit operations is
also found in the descriptions of other small and medium scale
starch extraction technologies in various countries including India
(Manickavasagan and Thangavel, 2006; Sheriff et al., 2005), Nigeria
(Olukunle and Olukunle, 2007) or Ecuador (Ruiz, 1996).

1.2. Environmental concerns related to cassava starch production

The development of the cassava starch industry causes signif-


icant environmental impacts. At the agricultural stage, land use
changes, soil nutrients depletion and erosion have been docu-
Fig. 1. Unit operations of the cassava starch extraction process, including mass bal- mented (Howeler, 2002; Valentin et al., 2008; Phan Ha Hai An et al.,
ance of dry matter (dm). Wastewater treatment and biogas production are also 2012). At the processing stage, uses of fossil energy and freshwater
shown. The quantity of wastewater depends on the moisture contents of wet starch are key environmental issues with regards to resource depletion
before drying, bagasse and peels, which vary markedly between factories even using
and greenhouse gases emissions.
the same technology. NB: biogas production and combustion apply only in the VLT
scenario. The main sources of energy for cassava starch production are
electricity to power factory machinery, and biogas and heavy fuel
oil for starch drying. For small scale production, solar drying of
Depending on local resources and economic constraints such as starch is commonly used, but at large scale, flash dryers are used to
access to and costs of energy, freshwater availability and seasonal achieve a high output of starch, as well as consistent product quality
supply of cassava roots, various technologies for processing cassava (Sriroth et al., 2000a). Strategies to reduce fossil energy consump-
roots into starch have developed. A report by IFPRI (1998) defines tion have been developed. The most significant in Thailand in the
micro, small, medium and large scale production units depending past ten years was to replace fuel oil with biogas produced from
on the starch output, respectively less than 1 t starch/day, 1–5 t the factory wastewater (Chavalparit and Ongwandee, 2009; Plevin
starch/day, 5–10 t starch/day and above 10 t starch/day. To this and Donnelly, 2004; Wittmaier et al., 2005). 90% of cassava starch
typology a very large scale category (50–800 t starch/day) can be factories in Thailand now use biogas both for economic and envi-
added, which corresponds to factories operating in Thailand, Brazil ronmental benefits. Other renewable sources of energy can also be
and increasingly the southern part of Vietnam (ADB, 2005). used for starch drying, such as rice husk in regions where both cas-
Previous studies (Da et al., 2013; Rivier et al., 2001; Sriroth sava and rice are grown. At small and medium scale, solar drying
et al., 2000a; Zakhia et al., 1996) investigated the unit operations is used instead of fossil fuels, which reduces energy consumption
of two starch extraction technologies at small scale in the craft vil- but has limitations in terms of production capacity and risk of con-
lages of suburban Hanoi (Vietnam) and in the Cauca department tamination by dust during drying (Da, 2008).
of Colombia, and at very large scale in Thailand, from the point of Freshwater consumption ranges from 10 to 60 m3 /t starch pro-
view of process engineering and energy and water consumption. duced, according to reports from Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and
The small scale technologies, referred to as ST1 and ST2 for the Colombia (ADB, 2005; Marder et al., 1996; Rivier et al., 2001; Sriroth
Vietnamese and Colombian contexts respectively, are fairly spe- et al., 2000a; Zakhia et al., 1996). The type of machinery used is a
cific of the regions where these studies were conducted, although key factor determining water use, in particular the extent of root
some variations of ST2 are in use in Brazil (Marder et al., 1996) washing and rasping efficiency. Marder et al. (1996) found that
for small and medium scale productions. The very large scale- different designs in the root washing machinery in two Brazilian
technology, referred to as VLT, is used with some adaptations in factories had a strong influence on water use for this operation,
different countries including Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam (mainly with variations between 5 and 15 m3 /t starch produced; however
Tay Ninh province) (ADB, 2005). Engineering-wise, starch extrac- lower water use at this stage may have a negative effect on purity of
tion in the case of ST1 and ST2 is a liquid–solid batch process with the end starch product. The same team also indicated that increas-
co-current water circulation, whereas in the case of VLT the process ing the power of the motor driving the rasping machine from
is continuous with a more efficient counter-current water circula- 11.2 to 18.6 kW resulted in finer pulp and higher starch recov-
tion. Despite the contrasting scales and process designs, the same ery (respectively 20% vs 23% of the fresh cassava roots weight),
key unit operations can be identified (Fig. 1): (1) desanding consist which reduced the need for water during the screening operations.
in the dry removal of sand and other solids attached to the cassava Furthermore, recycling practices also contribute to significant sav-
roots; (2) root washing consists in washing the roots, as well as par- ings in water consumption, including water recirculation from the
tial or complete peeling; (3) rasping consists in grinding the roots dewatering back to the extraction operation, and from the extrac-
into a pulp; (4) extraction consists in separating the lignocellulosic tion back to the washing operation. These practices are applied
fibers (pulp) from the free starch with liberal amounts of water, at very large scale (Sriroth et al., 2000a) as well as at small and
typically through a series of three wet sieving centrifuges (Fayose, medium scale in Brazil (Marder et al., 1996), and reduce water con-
2005); (5) separation removes soluble contaminants (proteins, etc.) sumption by 20–60%, for instance from 30 down to 10 m3 per ton
from the starch, by either hydrocyclones (VLT) or sedimentation starch produced (Thailand) and 39 down to 31 m3 per ton starch
(ST1, ST2); (6) dewatering consists in mechanical removal of water produced (Brazil). Improvements to hydrocyclone technology for
T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40 33

starch extraction have been investigated experimentally for appli- Table 1


Dataset used for modeling the VLT scenario with biogas generation.
cation at small scale in Colombia (Vélez Hernandez, 2008) as well as
at large scale in Thailand (Saengchan et al., 2009). A unit-operation Parameter Unit Value
model has been proposed to assess the reduction of water use in COD load of wastewater mg/L 20,000
the case of ST1 (Da et al., 2010). The simulation revealed a potential Methane production m3 /m3 wastewater 6.4
reduction up to 43%. Proportion of methane in biogas % 62
The high water use in turn generates large amounts of wastewa- Energy content of methane MJ/m3 36.0

ter. At very large scale, conventional wastewater treatment consists Source: Adapted from Plevin and Donnelly (2004).
in decantation and fermentation in a series of anaerobic or fac-
ultative lagoons, before release in the local waterway system. In
Thailand, lagoons have been replaced with biogas generation sys- terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (also referred to as car-
tems (Chavalparit and Ongwandee, 2009), such as covered lagoons bon footprint), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools were applied to
or more advanced anaerobic fermentation tanks, such as anaerobic calculate GHG emissions related to factory activities.
fixed-film reactors (AFFR) or up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket sys-
tems (UASB). Both lagoons and biogas production enable a 90–99% 2. Materials and methods
reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), from an initial con-
centration of 20,000–41,000 mg/L (Tran Thi My Dieu, 2003; Mai, 2.1. Data collection
2006; Sriroth et al., 2000a). In addition, biogas systems reduce the
surface of land needed for water treatment, and provide between 70 2.1.1. Description of the starch extraction technologies
and 100% of the starch factory energy needs (Plevin and Donnelly, Primary data for ST1 and ST2 factories were obtained from
2004). At small and medium scale, wastewater management prac- the authors’ own measurements during actual processing oper-
tices are still scarce, and wastewater, with COD levels in the range ations and trial runs, in collaboration with one cassava starch
4800–13,500 mg/L, is often discharged directly in the surrounding factory based in Vietnam (suburban Hanoi region) and one based
river or canal system, resulting in significant levels of pollution in Colombia (Cauca department) in 2008. Data collection included
(Colin et al., 2007; Da, 2008; Tran Thi My Dieu, 2003). Different the composition of the cassava roots used locally as raw materials
factors underlie this situation: small factory operators may not be (starch, lignocellulosic fibers and moisture content), mass balances
able to afford the investment required to build water treatment for each unit operation, and energy and water consumption.
facilities (Peters et al., 2000; Peters, 2005), while the lack of land For ST1, a survey in three craft villages of suburban Hanoi pro-
availability, due to high population density (Hanoi region, Vietnam) ducing cassava starch (Da, 2008) indicated that the factory selected
or mountainous area (Cauca department, Colombia), also restricts for the study was representative of 70% of the existing starch facto-
investments. Strategies to facilitate the adoption of wastewater ries, in terms of type and size of equipments, power of the motors
treatment facilities include process modifications to increase water and processing capacity (1 t starch/day), while other factories used
efficiency, such as water recycling practices (Da et al., 2010; Vélez the same technology but with larger capacities (2–4 t starch/day).
Hernandez, 2008), and the development of affordable systems, for For ST2, the surveyed factory used the same technology as 90% of
instance small scale filters and anaerobic reactors (Colin et al., 2007; the factories operating in the Cauca department, although some
Savitha et al., 2009). equipments were larger than average because the factory had one
Processing of cassava into starch generates by-products, such as of the highest production capacities (2 t starch/day) of the region.
peels, lignocellulosic fibers mixed with unextractible starch (called Follow-up interviews in 2013 indicated that in suburban Hanoi
bagasse in Colombia and Vietnam, and pulp in Thailand), and in several factories have invested in larger machines (capacity 2–4 t
the case of ST1 and ST2, a protein-rich layer deposited over the starch/day) based on the same technology, and that in Colombia
sedimented starch and in the wastewater holding tanks or canals the technology remains the same as in 2008, although new equip-
(referred to as mancha in Colombia, and black starch in Vietnam). ments to increase production capacity are also being tested by a
The peels may be used as fuel for the factory boiler, after sun-drying few factories.
and grinding. The bagasse and mancha are typically used for the The data for the VLT factory were based on measurements pub-
animal feed industry, since up to 60% of the dry weight is made lished by Piyachomkwan et al. (2005), Sriroth (1996) and Sriroth
of starch (Tran Thi My Dieu, 2003; Sriroth et al., 2000b). When no et al. (2000a) in Thailand for factories producing between 100
utilization outlet is available, the by-products are stored in heaps and 200 t starch/day. This range of production capacities is rep-
and landfilled. resentative of the majority of VLT factories in Thailand, with the
Chemicals released in the wastewater can be a concern, such full range of factory sizes extending from 50 to 800 t starch/day.
as sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) used to prevent microbial growth during Data related to factory operations were collected: composition of
processing, or cyanide contained in the cassava roots. Studies indi- cassava roots, water use, mass balances and chemicals consump-
cated that these chemicals are highly diluted (<250 mg/L) or rapidly tion (e.g. alum, SO2 ). Because these data were published several
degraded, and therefore unlikely to cause significant impacts years ago, interviews with factories were conducted in 2012–2013,
(Piyachomkwan et al., 2005; Rojas et al., 1999; Somboonchai et al., which confirmed that the cassava starch extraction process has
2008; Sriroth et al., 2000a). not changed significantly. One major change however was that
These environmental concerns, but also the implementation most cassava starch factories have switched their source of thermal
of clean technologies such as water recycling, wastewater treat- energy from fuel oil to biogas produced from the factory wastewa-
ment and biogas production, point to the potential for adaptation ter since 2004 (Chavalparit and Ongwandee, 2009). Data on biogas
and transfer of sustainable practices between regions, with a view production and use was consequently compiled from a report by
to enhance the overall environmental performance of the cas- Plevin and Donnelly (2004), as well as interviews with stakeholders
sava starch industry. In this paper, we analyze the distribution of (Table 1). Finally electricity use was estimated based on the list of
energy and water use between unit operations of three contrasted the nominal powers of all the machines used in the VLT factory, pro-
technologies for cassava starch production, with the objective to vided by an equipment manufacturer in 2011. The type of materials
identify hotspots of energy and water use, and to assess the poten- and weights of the machines were also collected.
tial for improvements through technology transfers. In order to The data collection was conducted separately for each machine
assess the effects of energy use during cassava starch production in used in the production process, in order to identify the hotspots
34 T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40

of energy and water use. In the ST1 case, five pieces of equip- Table 2
Electricity mixes for Thailand, Vietnam and Colombia.
ment are used: a root washer, a rasper-extractor ensuring both
the rasping and extraction operations, a set of two consecutive Thailand Vietnam Colombia
sieves of mesh 70 and 10 (separation operation), two sedimenta- Hydroelectricity (%) 4.8 34.8 67.0
tion tanks, and shelves for air-drying. Additionally two motors are Coal (%) 20.0 18.5 5.2
used to operate the root washer and the rasper-extractor (nominal Natural gas (%) 64.1 33.6 27.6
power 4 and 15 kW, respectively). The distribution of energy use Other (%) 11.1a 13.1b 0.2
Year reported 2008 2010 2010
between the rasping and extraction operations was estimated at
a
40% and 60%, respectively (Da et al., 2008). Two pumps were also Other energy sources in Thailand include mainly renewable energies including
biogas, agricultural waste, paddy husk, sugar cane bagasse, wood, garbage.
used to feed water into the extractor and to transfer starch milk b
Other energy sources in Vietnam include renewable energies (3.2%), petrol
to the final sedimentation tank (0.75 kW, 260 L/min and 0.37 kW, (2.7%), importations (4.7%) and other miscellaneous sources (2.5%).
100 L/min, respectively). In the ST2 case, six pieces of equipment are
used corresponding to the six unit operations (Fig. 1). A particular
characteristic of ST2 is that a single motor (nominal power 9 kW) Nevertheless in order to assess the relative importance of cas-
operates the whole process, through a set of gears and pulleys. In sava farming compared to processing in terms of energy use, the
the VLT case, several machines are used for each unit operation: for energy for cassava farming was estimated at 50% of the energy for
instance the extraction and separation operations are carried out cassava processing (i.e. 30% of total energy use from farm to factory
through a series of coarse extractors, fine extractors and separa- gate), based on previous studies of the production of cassava roots
tors (Sriroth et al., 2000a). Therefore the results of data collection in Thailand (Nguyen and Gheewala, 2008b; Nguyen, 2007). Water
were aggregated per unit operation in order to present results in used for farming is almost exclusively due to evaporation of rain
the same format as ST1 and ST2 scenarios. water from the fields, as no irrigation is usually required. In con-
In addition to the energy use by the unit operations, the energy trast water used for processing is withdrawn from local rivers or
required to supply water to the factories was also calculated, based from underground and is therefore not available for other uses in
on the technical characteristics of a typical water pump and the the local watershed.
estimated distance and depth of pumping in the ST1, ST2 and VLT In order to compare the three technologies (ST1, ST2, VLT), a
scenarios. common functional unit (FU) was defined as one ton of loose, dried
cassava starch at 12% moisture (wet weight basis, wwb) obtained
at the end of the manufacturing process. The quantities of materials
2.1.2. Water and wastewater management (fresh roots, bagasses, crude fibers, water, etc.) and the energy and
The source of freshwater is dependent on the location of the water uses were reported per FU, except when indicated otherwise.
cassava starch factories. In this study, the VLT and ST2 scenar-
ios use surface water taken from nearby rivers or canal systems,
2.3. Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions
and treated with aluminum sulfate, also called alum (dose 100 mg
Al2 (SO4 )3 ,18H2 O/L), to flocculate particles in suspension. In the
Although ST1, ST2 and VLT produce the same product (cassava
VLT case, part of the water used at the extraction stage is also
starch), these three technologies use different quantities of water
treated with sulfur dioxide (dose 250 mg SO2 /L) as anti-microbial
and energy (thermal energy, solar energy, electricity from different
and whitening agent. In contrast, the ST1 scenario uses ground-
sources), and are expected to cause different emissions of CO2 and
water pumped from between 20 and 80 m below surface through
other greenhouse gases (GHG). In order to ascertain the effect of
boreholes, and purified by sand filters.
energy use and wastewater treatment on GHG emissions, the car-
Wastewater effluents from the starch extraction process carry
bon footprint of the processing of one ton of starch was assessed for
mainly cellulosic fibers and starch, resulting in a chemical oxygen
ST1, ST2 and VLT. The reduction in carbon footprint due to the use
demand (COD) of 6200, 4800 and 20,000 mg/L for ST1, ST2 and VLT,
of biogas in the VLT scenario, as compared with the use of fuel oil
respectively (Colin et al., 2007; Da, 2008; Sriroth et al., 2000a). In
before biogas technology was adopted, was also assessed. Conse-
the case of ST1 and ST2, wastewater is discharged directly into
quently two VLT sub-scenarios were assessed, labeled VLT-Biogas
the surrounding canal or river systems, while in the case of VLT
and VLT-Fuel oil.
wastewater treatment facilities remove 90% of the COD load and
Our calculations of GHG emissions followed the Life Cycle
generate 100–120 m3 of biogas/t starch, before discharging water
Assessment (LCA) guidelines and tools for assessing environmental
in open lagoons before release into the local river system.
impacts (ISO 14040 and 14044, ISO, 2006a, 2006b), however, they
The energy recovered in the form of biogas from wastewater
do not represent a full LCA because the assessment was limited to
treatment was estimated based on the following heats of combus-
processing of cassava into starch, without including other phases
tion: 22.3 MJ/m3 for biogas, based on a methane content of 62%
such as cassava farming, transportation, distribution, etc. Addition-
and methane heat of combustion of 36 MJ/m3 (Plevin and Donnelly,
ally the calculations were limited to the climate change impact,
2004); and 41.0 MJ/L for heavy fuel oil (Department of Alternative
which was taken as most relevant with regards to energy use and
Energy Development and Efficiency, 2009).
mitigation of global warming.
The calculations of GHG emissions were based on the inven-
2.2. System boundaries and functional unit for the assessment of tory data of energy and water use for ST1, ST2 and VLT. Additional
energy and water use generic data such as production and distribution of electricity were
taken from the Ecoinvent database (Ecoinvent Center, 2011), with
The system boundaries to assess energy and water uses focused adaptations to take into account different electricity mixes: in
on the factory operations required to transform fresh cassava roots order to better reflect GHG emissions of cassava starch production
into starch, starting from fresh roots delivered at the factory gate within different national contexts, data related to the electricity
to dried cassava starch before packaging (Fig. 1). Wastewater treat- mixes in Thailand, Vietnam and Colombia were gathered (Table 2)
ments were also included in the system boundaries, because of from governmental and international sources (Department of
the high impact of methane emissions. Cassava farming, roots Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, 2009; Energy
transportation, packaging, distribution and use phases were not Sector Management Assistance Program, 2010; Institute of Energy,
included. 2011). The electricity mix used for Vietnam was an average for
T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40 35

LCA standards (ISO 14044, 2006), mass allocation was considered


preferable because the distribution of mass between products and
by-products depends on the composition of cassava roots and
changes relatively little over several years, unlike the relative eco-
nomic values of the product and by-products and the exchange
rates of local currencies (Thai Baht, Vietnamese Dong, Colombian
Peso). However, the proportions of by-products actually utilized,
e.g. for animal feed or energy generation, were not determined
within the scope of this study, and the worst-case scenario of no
utilization of by-products was assumed (i.e. 100% allocation to the
main product cassava starch).
Emissions of GHG for ST1, ST2 and VLT were calculated using
(i) Simapro software (Pré Consultants, Netherlands) to model the
cassava starch production process; (ii) the 2006 IPCC Guidelines
for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, volume 5: waste (Doorn
et al., 2006) to assess the emissions of CH4 from wastewater; and
Fig. 2. Energy consumption by unit operations of three cassava starch production
(iii) the emission factors of the ReCiPe method with the “World” and
technologies. VLT: very large scale technology; ST1: small scale technology 1; ST2: Hierarchist weightings (Goedkoop et al., 2009). The GHG emissions
small scale technology 2. The first column (VLT) refers to both VLT-Fuel oil and were expressed in kg of CO2 equivalent/FU.
VLT-Biogas scenarios, with thermal energy generated by either fuel oil or biogas
depending on the scenario. VLT-Fuel oil and VLT-Biogas were assumed to use the
same quantities of energy. The second column is an enlargement of electricity use
of VLT. ST1 and ST2 use electricity only. The numbers on the diagram and on the 3. Results and interpretations
horizontal axis indicate respectively the actual energy use for each operation, and
the total energy use, in MJ/t starch. 3.1. Energy and water consumption

3.1.1. Energy use


the country as a whole, although the proportion of coal-based For VLT-Biogas, biogas was used to dry starch in a flash dryer.
electricity may be higher in the northern part of the country Heat from the combustion of biogas was transferred to the dryer
due to the geographic distribution of coal-fired power plants. The with thermal oil and a heat exchanger system. Thermal energy for
Brazilian mix process available in Ecoinvent was then adapted to starch drying represented 70–75% of the overall energy consump-
Colombia, Vietnam and Thailand by replacing the proportions of tion of the process, at 1944 MJ/t starch (Fig. 2). This figure was in
energy sources for Brazil with the ones gathered for these three line with the energy requirements for artificial drying operations,
countries. The Brazilian mix was selected as most representative of which are estimated at 60% of the total energy consumption in the
electricity production under tropical conditions, although a large food industry (Bimbenet et al., 2007). The volume of wastewater
proportion of processes used in this mix are the same as other and COD generated by the VLT factory produced 101 m3 biogas/t
country mixes, and based on European Union (EU) or Swiss data. starch, or 2254 MJ/t starch. This quantity of biogas covered 100% of
For the same reason, the Brazilian hydroelectricity processes were the thermal energy needed to dry starch, and an additional 21% of
used rather than the European ones, although neither scenarios the electricity needs of the factory (126 MJ/t starch) could also be
may represent adequately the situation in other tropical countries, produced from the remaining biogas (313 MJ/t starch), assuming a
due to respectively the large size of Brazilian hydroelectricity facili- 40% yield for the on-site electricity generator.
ties, and to the non-tropical character of European hydroelectricity. For ST1 and ST2, drying relied on solar energy, with wet starch
Possible differences between tropical and non-tropical hydroelec- spread on flat surfaces outdoors or in open sheds. In some cases
tricity production include the extent of water evaporation from the (craft villages in suburban Hanoi) drying was avoided altogether
dam lakes, and the amount of sediments accumulation and related by selling the wet starch directly to businesses located within the
GHG emissions under different rainfall conditions. same villages for further processing into transformed food-stuffs
Scenarios of methane (CH4 ) emissions from the fermentation of such as noodles, sweets and glucose syrups (Da, 2008; Fanchette
organic matter in wastewater were as follows: for ST1, untreated et al., 2010). This type of production system using solar drying
wastewater with COD of 6200 mg/L was diluted to 4600 mg/L into instead of artificial drying follows from different factors, includ-
local rivers (Da, 2008). For ST2, the COD of untreated wastewater ing: (i) economic constraints arising from the cost of fossil energies
(4800 mg/L) was reduced to 2800 mg/L after removal of the man- (fuel oil), the inability to produce biogas because of low organic
cha, then diluted to 2100 mg/L into local rivers. For VLT-Biogas, matter concentrations in wastewater, and the higher heat losses
wastewater with 90% of COD removed after biogas production and lower energy efficiency of current small-scale flash dryers. For
(remaining COD 2000 mg/L) was released into anaerobic shallow instance, flash dryers prototypes with a capacity of 5–8 t starch/day
lagoons (depth less than 2 m). For VLT-Fuel oil, wastewater with report an actual fuel oil consumption in the range 2880–9000 MJ/t
COD of 20,000 mg/L was released into anaerobic shallow lagoons. starch (70–220 L fuel oil/t starch), compared to 1944 MJ/t starch
In the VLT-Biogas scenario, methane is also emitted during the (47 L fuel oil/t starch) for 200 t starch/day flash dryers (Kuye et al.,
production of biogas from fermentation tanks, and was estimated 2008). (ii) A desirable modification of the functional properties of
based on Plevin and Donnelly (2004) and emission factors from starch through solar irradiation in the ST2 case (Marcon et al., 2009;
IPCC (2006). Mestres and Rouau, 1997). The energy savings due to solar dry-
Cassava starch production results in several co-products with ing compared to artificial drying in the ST1 and ST2 scenarios are
economic value, including peels and bagasse. Part of the GHG estimated to a minimum of 1361 MJ/t starch, based on the latent
emissions could be allocated to the co-products. Preliminary heat of water vaporization (2.27 MJ/kg) and the moisture content
calculations indicated that by-products from cassava starch pro- of sedimented starch (45% wwb), but without taking into account
duction could be allocated at most 10% of the GHG emissions, the energy losses of the avoided drying system.
based on mass allocation (dry-weight basis, cf. mass balance on The total electricity use in the VLT scenario was 582.8 MJ/t starch
Fig. 1), and 4–8% based on economic allocation. In line with (Fig. 2), assuming the several motors powering the machinery were
36 T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40

for non-food applications or further processing, such as paper


production or hydrolysis into glucose syrup. These factors con-
tributed to explain the large water consumption in the ST2 scenario,
because of the lower efficiency of the rasping operation (Da
et al., 2013); lower starch content of the cassava varieties used in
Colombia compared to South-East Asia (respectively 28 and 34%
wwb of starch in the roots used in the present study); and direct
use of the starch for food applications in Colombia, versus fur-
ther processing in Vietnam. Large differences in water use were
observed between the three scenarios, with net consumptions
ranging from 9.8 to 62.1 m3 /t starch and reflecting different water
management practices, as well as local freshwater availability. The
practice of water recycling in the VLT scenario enabled significant
savings, with a net consumption of 9.8 m3 /t starch, compared to
35.9 m3 /t starch in a VLT scenario without recycling, and 20.8 m3 /t
starch in the ST1 scenario. Conversely the high water use of the
ST2 scenario (62.1 m3 /t starch) can be related to the relative abun-
Fig. 3. Freshwater consumption by unit operations of three cassava starch produc-
dance of surface water, except in the dry season when illicit use of
tion technologies. VLT: very large scale technology; ST1: Small scale technology 1;
ST2: Small scale technology 2. The numbers on the diagram and on the horizon- water from the distribution network can occur. Freshwater use by
tal axis indicate respectively the actual water use for each operation, and the total starch factories creates concerns about water depletion in the local
water use, in m3 /t starch. area, in particular in the case of ST1, for which factory operators
reported pumping groundwater from boreholes 20–80 m deep (Da
et al., 2008), compared to 10–20 m in a 1998 survey of the same area
used at 90% of their nominal power during 80% of the average
(Peters et al., 2000). The large volumes of wastewater discharged
12 h daily factory operations (i.e. 9.6 h per day). Similar figures are
directly into the river system in the ST1 and ST2 scenarios (20.2
also quoted in the literature, ranging from 493 to 648 MJ/t starch
and 60.9 m3 /t starch respectively) also create concerns regarding
(Plevin and Donnelly, 2004; Sriroth, 1996). These comparatively
eutrophication and impacts on local ecosystems.
high values reflect the number of machines necessary to ensure the
large capacity of production (200 t starch/day), which outweighs
3.1.3. Potential for reduction of energy and water consumptionx
any potential economy of scale. In contrast, total electricity con-
3.1.3.1. Very large-scale scenario (VLT). In the VLT-Biogas scenario,
sumption was lower in the ST1 and ST2 scenarios, at respectively
the starch drying operation used 1944 MJ/t starch, or 70–75% of
211.0 and 213.1 MJ/t starch. The extraction operation represented
the overall energy consumption of the process. This high energy
the highest electricity consumption for the three scenarios (180,
use may have limited environmental impacts because the current
126, 119 MJ/t starch or 31, 59, 56% of total electricity consump-
source of energy (biogas) is renewable, so that greenhouse gas
tion for VLT, ST2 and ST1 respectively), followed by the rasping
emissions remain small. Nevertheless, reducing energy for drying
operation (166, 50, 79 MJ/t starch or 28, 23, 37% of total electricity
would make more biogas available for other uses, such as on-site
consumption, respectively). These figures reflect the necessity of an
electricity production, thereby reducing the costs of grid electric-
energy-intensive extraction step in order to maximize the breaking
ity and GHG emissions related to the use of electricity produced
of fibers and starch recovery. Moreover, these case studies as well
from non-renewable energy. One option to reduce energy use is
as literature data (Marder et al., 1996) on two starch production
to minimize energy losses in the flash dryer. Current flash dry-
units in Brazil tend to confirm that spending more energy for rasp-
ers are fairly efficient with 50–55% losses (1037 MJ loss/t starch).
ing produces finer bagasse particles and reduces energy use for the
Improvements may be possible by minimizing the times when the
extraction operation. Electricity consumption for the root wash-
factory operates below full capacity, in which case energy losses
ing operation was relatively high in the ST2 scenario (14% of total
can increase up to 67%. An industrial ecology approach to recover
electricity consumption), possibly (1) because starch content in the
heat from the dryers and distribute it to neighbor industries may
cassava roots used in Colombia is lower than in Asia (28% starch
be difficult to implement because VLT starch factories are typically
wwb vs 34% in South-East Asian varieties), so that more roots must
located in the countryside away from industrial centers. Never-
be processed to obtain the same quantity of starch; and (2) because
theless some factories do combine cassava starch production with
peels are also removed in the ST2 scenario, whereas peels are only
chemical modifications, in which case recovered heat can con-
partially removed in the ST1 and VLT scenarios.
tribute to heat the chemical reaction tanks, which operate typically
at 40–50 ◦ C. In such scenario, the waste heat from drying one ton of
3.1.2. Freshwater use starch (1037 MJ/t starch) could heat 5 m3 of water from 25 to 50 ◦ C,
The roots washing operation in the VLT scenario used most assuming 50% heat recovery. Such volume (5 m3 ) corresponds to
water (11.8 m3 /t starch), versus extraction in ST1 and ST2 scenarios the size of a typical reaction tank for starch modification.
(respectively 18.8 and 31.9 m3 /t starch) (Fig. 3). However in the VLT
scenario, water is recycled from downstream operations (separa- 3.1.3.2. Small scale scenario 1 (ST1). In the ST1 scenario, the extrac-
tion, dewatering) back to roots washing, so that the operation using tion operation used most electricity and water. A strategy to reduce
most freshwater was also the extraction, at 6.2 m3 /t starch. Extrac- water use would be to recycle water, for instance from the sed-
tion is the operation where rasped roots are stirred with water to imentation tanks to the root washing and extraction operations,
separate the starch from the fibers. Three factors influencing water which may reduce the net water use from 20 to possibly 10–15 m3 /t
use at this step were identified: firstly the efficiency of the previous starch. Some factories in suburban Hanoi already practice this form
rasping operation (Da et al., 2010) because finer rasping results in of water recycling, however recycled water has a lower pH and
smaller particles, which facilitates the starch recovery and reduces higher microbial contamination (Da et al., 2010), the effects of
water use. Secondly, using more water during extraction increases which should be assessed with regards to starch purity and qual-
starch recovery and the overall yield of the process. Thirdly starch ity. Electricity use in the ST1 scenario was small compared to the
intended for food use requires more washing than starch intended VLT scenario (211.0 and 579.6 MJ/t starch, respectively), and may
T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40 37

be difficult to reduce further. One option for improvement could


be to generate renewable electricity with biogas produced from
the factory wastewater, as suggested by the VLT scenario. This
would reduce dependency on the electricity from the grid, and mit-
igate the problems caused by the absence of wastewater treatment
systems, which are two significant concerns in the densely pop-
ulated areas of suburban Hanoi. However, the development of a
reliable small-scale biogas system able to handle important varia-
tions in wastewater supply and organic materials load is needed.
In particular, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of wastewater in
the ST1 scenario is much lower than in the VLT scenario (6200 vs
20,000 mg/L), so that a system of concentration prior to fermenta-
tion may be necessary.

3.1.3.3. Small scale scenario 2 (ST2). In the ST2 scenario, the extrac-
tion operation used most electricity and water, similarly to the ST1
Fig. 4. GHG emissions by unit operations of three cassava starch production tech-
scenario. The high water use was related to the low efficiency of the nologies, calculated with country-specific electricity mixes. VLT: very large scale
rasping step, which yielded large particles from which the starch technology; ST1: small scale technology 1; ST2: small scale technology 2. For VLT,
was more difficult to extract. Therefore strategies to improve both two scenarios, Fuel oil and Biogas, illustrate the reduction in GHG emissions due
the rasping and extraction steps could be considered. To reduce to biogas. The numbers on the diagram and on the horizontal axis indicate respec-
tively the GHG emissions per operation and total GHG emissions, in kg CO2 eq/t
water use appears achievable, since the current 60 m3 /t starch is at
starch (numbers lower than 5 kg CO2 eq/t starch not shown). The category “Biogas”
least twice as high as the water use in the other two technologies. corresponds to GHG losses to the atmosphere during the production of biogas. The
Adapting the rasping technology used in ST1 or VLT would produce category “Wastewater” corresponds to emissions of methane from the fermentation
finer particles, and reduce the need for water during extraction, of organic matter in the wastewater in open lagoons or waterways.
although this approach may also increase electricity use for rasp-
ing. This trade-off between water use and electricity use may be
of these two operations. The higher GHG emissions of factory
worthwhile, considering that electricity use remains small com-
operations in the VLT scenario reflect a trade-off between the
pared to the VLT scenario (213.1 vs 583.2 MJ/t starch). Recycling
objectives of higher production capacity and of lower energy use.
practices would also reduce water use. For instance the root wash-
The comparison of VLT with ST1 and ST2 showed that electricity
ing operation accounts for 15% of the water used in the process, and
use and GHG emissions increased faster with production scale
some of the water from the sedimentation operation could be used
than the potential economies of scale, resulting in higher GHG
for that purpose instead of freshwater; however the risk of increas-
emissions (per FU) at large scale.
ing the concentration of pollutants and of decreasing the quality of
The adoption of biogas technology by starch factories in Thailand
the starch also needs to be taken into account. Reducing the use of
reduced GHG emissions by 72%, from 540 kg CO2 eq/FU in the fuel
water in the ST2 scenario appears important to reduce the volumes
oil scenario (VLT-Fuel oil) down to 149 kg CO2 eq/FU in the biogas
of wastewater to more manageable levels, which would improve
scenario (VLT-Biogas). For cassava starch factories, to produce bio-
the prospects of investments in wastewater treatment facilities; as
gas on-site is also cheaper than to purchase fuel oil, and factories
currently the wastewater is typically discharged directly into local
are able to recover their investment in biogas production facilities
rivers.
within 5 years (Plevin and Donnelly, 2004). Hence in this case study,
biogas technology markedly reduced both operation costs and GHG
3.2. Greenhouse gas emissions related to cassava starch
emissions, which confirms the potential for sustainable production
production
practices from both environmental and economic point of views.
Our results confirm that non-renewable energy is a key source
3.2.1. Country-specific electricity mixes
of GHG emissions, which could be mitigated in the case of cassava
GHG emissions of VLT-Biogas were higher than ST1 and ST2, at
starch production by switching to renewable energy where pos-
respectively 149, 93 and 105 kg CO2 eq/FU (Fig. 4). Two main fac-
sible, and by improving the energy efficiency of unit operations,
tors influenced GHG emissions of cassava starch production. Firstly,
through re-engineering or changes in the management of the pro-
emissions of methane from wastewater were the main contribution
duction line. Additionally, for industries generating large volumes
to GHG emissions in scenarios with no capture of biogas (ST1, ST2
of wastewater containing organic matter, this case study on cas-
and VLT-Fuel oil: 64, 77 and 45%, respectively). Secondly, grid elec-
sava starch production indicates that treating wastewater to limit
tricity from non-renewable energy was the main contribution to
the emissions of methane can substantially reduce GHG emissions,
GHG emissions in the VLT-Biogas scenario (57%), and the second
and generate renewable energy if the methane can be captured and
main contribution in the ST1 and ST2 scenarios.
used as biogas.
The greenhouse gases emitted for each operation of the starch
extraction process are detailed in Table 3. Most emissions of fossil
CO2 by the washing, rasping, extraction and separation operations 3.2.2. Average electricity mix
came from the use of grid electricity, and were related to the pro- In order to dissociate the effect of the country-specific elec-
portions of fossil fuels in the electricity mix of each country: 84.1% tricity mixes, GHG emissions of ST1, ST2 and VLT were calculated
fossil fuel in VLT; 54.8% in ST1, 32.8% in ST2. Emissions of bio- using the average electricity mix of the three countries (Fig. 5). The
genic methane occurred during wastewater treatment, and in the GHG emissions of ST2 increased from 105.2 to 115.5 kg CO2 eq/FU,
VLT-Biogas scenario, were also related to leaks and/or to methane because the high proportion of hydroelectricity in the electricity
dissolved in the water and not captured. mix of Colombia (Table 2) was replaced with non-renewable elec-
Among unit operations, all operations except washing had tricity in the average mix. Conversely, the GHG emissions of ST1
higher GHG emissions in the VLT-Biogas scenario. The extraction and VLT decreased due to the higher proportion of hydroelectricity
and rasping operations contributed most to GHG emissions for the in the average electricity mix. Hence the GHG emissions of a prod-
three technologies, which reflects the high electricity requirements uct can be significantly influenced by the energy infrastructure of
38 T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40

Table 3
Types of greenhouse gases emitted for each operation of the cassava starch production process.

Operation VLT Fuel oil VLT Biogas ST1 ST2

Washing Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2


Rasping Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2
Extraction Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2
Separation Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2 Fossil CO2
Drying Fossil CO2 (from grid electricity and fuel oil) Fossil CO2 (from grid electricity) n/aa (sun-drying) n/aa (sun-drying)
Biogas n/aa Biogenic CH4 n/aa n/aa
Wastewater Biogenic CH4 Biogenic CH4 Biogenic CH4 Biogenic CH4

Note: Biogenic CO2 was not included within the scope of this study, with the assumption that biogenic CO2 emitted during the cassava starch process was balanced by CO2
absorbed during the growth of cassava plants, and hence did not contribute to increase the net amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
a
n/a: not applicable.

the country of production. On the international export market, this 4. Discussion


might give an advantage to products from countries using a higher
proportion of renewable energies, provided production costs, labor In this study, electricity use and methane emissions from the
costs and other key criteria are also competitive. fermentation of wastewater were the main contributions to GHG
emissions. GHG emissions from the use of chemicals were small.
3.2.3. Contribution of factory machinery to the GHG emissions of The GHG emissions analysis complemented the energy use analysis
cassava starch extraction by demonstrating that the type of energy (fossil or renewable) and
The survey of machinery used in a VLT factory indicated that the the electricity mix have a strong influence on GHG emissions, and
most common materials were steel and stainless steel (Table 4). that energy use and GHG emissions are not necessarily correlated.
Based on (1) the weights of the machines and motors, (2) a con- For instance low GHG emissions from low energy use in the ST1
servative estimate of 20-year and 10-year life expectancy for and ST2 scenarios were counterbalanced by high methane emis-
respectively the machines and motors, taking into account replace- sions from wastewater. In contrast, renewable biogas in the VLT
ment parts, and (3) an average yearly production of 32,500 tons scenario enabled to meet the high energy needs while limiting GHG
of starch (200 tons per day for 162.5 full day equivalent/year), the emissions. This information is important for certification methods
amounts of steel and stainless steel needed for starch production such as the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
were 236 and 138 g/FU, respectively. The corresponding GHG emis- Energy use was higher and water use was lower in the VLT sce-
sions were small (1.1 kg CO2 eq/FU or 1% of total GHG emissions) nario. This mainly reflected the higher energy necessary to ensure
compared to the GHG emissions caused by energy and water use. high output, high water efficiency and consistent starch quality. In
For the ST1 and ST2 scenarios, the contributions to GHG emissions order to reduce energy use in the VLT scenario, and hence reduce
from machinery were of similar magnitude. The GHG emissions the use of non-renewable grid electricity, a strategy can be to
related to other materials such as concrete and metals for the con- increase the energy efficiency of the unit operations using most
struction of the factory buildings were also assumed to be small energy, such as drying and rasping.
relative to the quantity of starch produced over a factory lifetime. Water use was higher in the ST1 and ST2 scenarios, and resulted
Pardo and Zufia (2012) report similar values for the inputs of steel (1) in high volumes of wastewater discharged in the river system,
for food processing machinery: 100–550 g/ton of product, with the and (2) in high emissions of methane. Sustainable production prac-
exception of high pressure processing equipment at 9100 g/ton of tices in the VLT scenario, such as water recycling, could be adapted
product. to ST1 and ST2 to reduce both water consumption and wastewater,
and therefore the cost of investment in wastewater treatment facil-
ities. Small-scale biogas technologies (Amigun and von Blottnitz,
2010) could be adapted to ST1 and ST2 and reduce methane emis-
sions, provided the issue of low and fluctuating concentrations of
organic matter in the wastewater stream can be solved. The impacts
of high water use could be assessed in relation with the availability
of water in the regions concerned: the high water use of ST2 may
not necessarily be a concern, as the amount of water available in

Table 4
Dataset used for modeling the machinery and motors used in a very large scale (VLT)
cassava starch factory.

Description Unit Value

Factory lifetime Years 20


Machinery lifetime Years 20
Motor lifetime Years 10
Main materials: steel and stainless steel
Fig. 5. GHG emissions by unit operations of three cassava starch production Machinery weights kg 450–30,000
technologies, calculated with an average electricity mix. VLT: very large scale tech- Motor weights kg 80–3000
nology; ST1: small scale technology 1; ST2: small scale technology 2. For VLT, two Starch produced over factory lifetimea tons 650,000
scenarios, Fuel oil and Biogas, illustrate the reduction in GHG emissions due to bio- Weight of machinery steel g/t starch 0.3–27.1
gas. The numbers on the diagrams and on the horizontal axis indicate respectively Weight of machinery stainless steel g/t starch 1.2–40.6
the GHG emissions per operation and total GHG emissions, in kg CO2 eq/t starch Weight of motors g/t starch 0.3–36.9
(numbers lower than 5 kg CO2 eq/t starch not shown). The category “Biogas” cor-
a
responds to GHG losses to the atmosphere during the production of biogas. The The calculation of the amount of starch produced over a factory lifetime was
category “Wastewater” corresponds to emissions of methane from the fermentation based on 300 days operations per year and average starch production of 114 tons/day
of organic matter in the wastewater in open lagoons or waterways. to account for the low season when factory operates below full capacity.
T. Tran et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 100 (2015) 31–40 39

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