Evaluation and Reduction of the Carbon Footprints Associated with Steviol Glycoside Production
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Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the carbon footprint generated in each step of stevia sweetener (steviol glycosides) production and to find out how to reduce the impact of the sweetener's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, a comparison of the carbon footprints of the sweetener and sucrose is included. A cradle-to-gate LCA was conducted on steviol glycosides (purified rebaudioside A, RA95) production in Thailand. The carbon footprint assessment method is based on the guidelines of the Food Institute, Ministry of Industry in Thailand, corresponding to ISO 14067 and PAS 2050. The study evaluates the carbon footprint by employing two sources of emission factors from the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation database for carbon footprint and OpenLCA Version 1.10.3 with eco-invent database Version 2.2 for comparing the carbon footprint and finding out other impacts. The result from OpenLCA reveals the impact on marine aquatic ecotoxicity, followed by the Depletion of abiotic resources and human toxicity. The results showed that a kilogram of the RA95 releases 32.07 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. The highest GHG emissions came from the raw material procurement process, with 53.01%, followed by production, support system, and material transportation, with 28.09%, 16.47%, and 2.43%, respectively. The three production steps with the highest GHG emissions were the second crystallization, the first crystallization, and the drying process, respectively. The RA95 release a carbon footprint 3.55 times lower than sucrose for the same level of sweetness. The recommendations to reduce the carbon footprint in production are to reduce natural gas usage by improving boiler efficiency and reduce electricity usage by installing an automatic shutdown system for cooling machines (chiller), depending on the production volume. The findings revealed a lower carbon footprint of 0.33 kgCO2eq per kilogram of product after improvement.
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