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Ecosystem damage for the Algae scenario and Fish scenario , illustrating the percentage of total impact for each process.
Source publication
Fish oil has been used in conventional aquaculture for decades, despite the known links between increasing global demand for fish and depletion of natural resources and vital ecosystems (FAO, 2020, 2019). Alternative feed ingredients, including algae oil rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has therefore been increasingly used to substitute traditio...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... while the value for both Energy DF and Energy AD was 5.0 × 10 −4 species.yr. Similar to the results at midpoint level, algae oil processing caused about 10% of the Ecosystem damage, while fish oil process caused about 18% ( Fig. 6 ). This suggests that inclusion of by-products had a considerable effect on the total impact on ecosystem quality and effect on biodiversity. ...
Context 2
... production, and the corresponding avoided environmental burden from using the biohydrogen and biogas produced to substitute the German electricity mix, had a considerably high influence on both midpoint and endpoint indicators for the Algae and Fish scenario ( Figs. 4 -6 ). A strong influence of including byproducts was also identified in a study by Elginoz et al. (2020) , who saw a similar trend when assessing innovative food waste management systems where VFA and methanol were produced. ...
Context 3
... while the value for both Energy DF and Energy AD was 5.0 × 10 −4 species.yr. Similar to the results at midpoint level, algae oil processing caused about 10% of the Ecosystem damage, while fish oil process caused about 18% ( Fig. 6 ). This suggests that inclusion of by-products had a considerable effect on the total impact on ecosystem quality and effect on biodiversity. ...
Context 4
... production, and the corresponding avoided environmental burden from using the biohydrogen and biogas produced to substitute the German electricity mix, had a considerably high influence on both midpoint and endpoint indicators for the Algae and Fish scenario ( Figs. 4 -6 ). A strong influence of including byproducts was also identified in a study by Elginoz et al. (2020) , who saw a similar trend when assessing innovative food waste management systems where VFA and methanol were produced. ...
Citations
... The majority of LCA and food literature is related to typical agricultural systems (Kaltsas et al. 2007;Clune et al. 2017;Litskas et al. 2019;Mazis et al. 2021). Recently, LCA was used for assessing the sustainable production of microalgae, as feed source for aquaculture (Schade et al. 2020), wild plant and maize mixtures for biogas production (Lask et al. 2020), food waste (Bartek et al. 2021) and wild game meat (Fiala et al. 2020). However, there is lack of papers that examine the environmental impacts of wild edible species, that are popular and have a potential for cultivation under field conditions. ...
Purpose
Sustainable development goals are highly linked to food systems and there is an urgent need for mitigating the environmental impact of food production. Currently, the integration of wild edible species in commercial farming systems has been suggested as a climate change mitigation measure. However, the environmental impact of such species is scarcely investigated. This study is the first to report the environmental footprint (EF) of golden thistle (Scolymus hispanicus), using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Methods
The analysis was based on a field experiment plus flows and processes from the Agribalyse database. The ReCiPe midpoint (H) method was used for the impact assessment (18 impact categories). The declared unit was 1 ton of golden thistle (cradle-to-farm gate), where inputs used for the production in the field were considered (e.g., machinery, irrigation, fertilizers). For the cradle-to-grave approach field practices, packaging, transportation, cooking and waste disposal were considered. For the comparison of golden thistle with spinach (cradle-to-farm gate), the declared unit was 1 kg of product fresh weight. For the nutritional LCA (NLCA), the declared units were 1 kg of GAE (Gallic acid equivalents), 1 kg of Ca and 1 kg of Mg (micronutrients), proxies for nutritional and health aspects.
Results and discussion
Water consumption (WC), fossil resource scarcity (FRS), freshwater eutrophication (FEU) and global warming (GW) had the highest values per ton of golden thistle; cradle-to-farm-gate, in the scenario of full irrigation. Packaging, transportation to the local market, cooking and waste disposal increased FRS and FEU while the farm practices mainly contributed to the WF and GW. Spinach shows lower impacts when compared to golden thistle (1 ton; cradle-to-farm-gate). Golden thistle performs better when the comparison is based on impacts per kg of GAE (Gallic Acid Equivalents), kg Ca and kg of Mg (nutrients). Our results showed that golden thistle could be an alternative from a nutritional and environmental point of view, only if cultivated under low inputs and sold in local markets.
Conclusions
This work contributes to the environmental impact assessment of food production, focusing on wild plant species cultivation under different scenarios and considering declared units related to NLCA, to capture nutritional and health aspects. The integration of wild edible species such as S. hispanicus in small-scale farms of the Mediterranean basin could be valuable for sustainable food systems design.
... Further, although the n-3/n-6 ratios in shrimp fed on P1 and P2 remained lower than that of shrimp fed on F0, the P1 and P2 diets produced optimal PUFA ratios for consumers (mean 0.73 and 0.93, respectively), which should be between 0.5 and 1 due to competitiveness between n-3 and n-6 PUFAs [43]. This ability to manipulate EPA and DHA levels in shrimp tail muscle through varying the level of AO in the feed opens up new opportunities for shrimp farmers to tailor and differentiate products on nutritional quality, perhaps appealing to consumers seeking to increase their intake of EPA + DHA for reported health benefits [13,14,35,44]. ...
Although the benefits of incorporating algal oil (AO) in plant-based aquafeeds have been established for most commercial fish species, knowledge on the effects of such incorporation in shrimp feeds is scarce. The present study assessed how AO inclusion at different levels in a plant-based shrimp feed could promote growth and fatty acid (FA) deposition in the muscle. Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, were fed a reference diet with marine animal ingredients (F0) or a marine-free plant-based diet with vegetable oil (VO) alone (P0), or in combination with 1% (P1) or 2% (P2) AO. After 51 days of culture, zootechnical and nutritional performance of shrimp fed with AO supplemented diets was significantly improved. The sensory attributes of shrimp fed P1 and P2 were slightly improved relative to P0 while the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content was three to four times higher, thereby increasing the nutritional value of shrimp. Therefore, plant-based feeds can sustain an efficient production of L. vannamei with controlled FA profiles, provided they are supplemented with AO. In addition, the use of AO eliminates the reliance of shrimp feeds on the limited supplies of marine ingredients while maintaining the forage fish dependency ratio for fish oil (FO) of zero and allows for the use of more flexible formulae based on different meals of nonmarine origin.
... However, a crucial concern regarding the sustainability and environmental impact of relying on fish as the primary source of DHA worldwide is whether the ever-increasing global demand can be met. Further, traditional fish oil production methods have negative environmental impacts, including ecosystem disruption (Bartek et al., 2021). Therefore, to address concerns regarding the limited availability of DHA from fish and its associated environmental impact, efficient sources of DHA are being explored (Abu-Ghosh et al., 2021). ...
Lipid extraction from microalgae is of great interest as a future resource for various industries. However, the current extraction methods frequently involve the use of solvents that can be costly and environmentally harmful. In this study, an ultrasound-assisted extraction technique was proposed to enhance lipid extraction from Aurantiochytrium limacinum SR21 biomass. This technique optimizes the processes to eliminate the need for solvent, thereby helping alleviate environmental issues associated with the use of solvents. Under optimal conditions (NaCl concentration, 15% [w/v]; ultrasonic frequency, 45 kHz; temperature, 40°C; and treatment time, 30 min), the lipid yield was 27.35%. Further, a comparison of lipid extraction yield under different frequencies at fixed positions within the ultrasonication bath revealed the highest lipid yield (39.52%) under a frequency of 45 kHz, followed by 28 kHz (20.36%) and 100 kHz (13.17%). Therefore, ultrasound-assisted extraction is promising for efficient solvent-free lipid extraction.
... The results for algae oil and fish oil are from Bartek et al. who conducted an extensive LCA on the impacts of algae oil versus fish oil from commercial fishing of wild anchovies (Bartek et al., 2021). They found that algae oil had a lower impact on the metrics considered, including global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, and land use. ...
... The fish oil market is currently valued at $2.1 billion USD and is expected to grow to $3.6 billion USD by 2031 (Fish Oil Market-Global Insights to 2031, making algae oil an attractive alternative. Economic barriers do exist but could be overcome with sufficient infrastructure and technology investments (Bartek et al., 2021). Microalgae, used to produce algae oil, were not considered in the mass flow diagram because harvest numbers are so low (see Table 1), but this could change if algae oil rises as a worthy competitor to fish oil. ...
The global flows of cultivated seaweed were estimated for the year 2019 using a combination of literature review, assumptions, and simple conservation of mass calculations. Red seaweeds were found to be the largest contributors to the hydrocolloids industry, for both food and non‐food applications. Carrageenan‐containing species were found to be the largest contributors to both food (62%) and non‐food (55%) hydrocolloids and are the primary source for water gels, which make up 27% of non‐food hydrocolloids, followed by pet food (16%), toothpaste (6%), and others (6%). Carrageenan also accounts for almost all meat products, which make up 35% of the food hydrocolloid industry, and dairy products, which make up 26%. Agar‐containing seaweeds are used in confections (10% of food hydrocolloids), baking (9%), and other (2%) and make up 15% of non‐food hydrocolloids. Porphyra (nori) is cultivated for direct consumption and makes up 23% of direct food consumption. Cultivated brown seaweeds were found to comprise Laminaria/Saccharina for alginate production (30%), Laminaria/Saccharina for direct consumption (44%), and Undaria for direct consumption (16%). About half of the alginates produced make up 18% of food hydrocolloids, and the other half is used in non‐food hydrocolloids comprising technical grades (28% of non‐food) and animal feed (3%). The results are discussed in the context of emerging markets for seaweed and the potential for seaweeds as a substitute for staple foods, and the environmental impact of seaweed farming is explored through a review of life cycle assessment studies.
... Values are referred to the functional units of 73.0 and 36.5 g person -1 year -1 for DHA and EPA, respectively, totaling a blend oil of 0.109 kg person -1 year -1 . Adapted fromLaso et al. (2017); Monsiváis-Alonso et al. (2020);Bartek et al. (2021);Arfelli et al. (2023) Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. ...
Although it is unanimous among scientists and researchers that the food production chain is a substantial contributor to environmental challenges, so far, no food ingredient has been evaluated for its environmental performance relative to planetary boundaries. Given this, this study conducts an analysis oriented to food key ingredients considered essential in human nutrition, namely: proteins, β-carotene as a precursor of vitamin A, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids), using life cycle assessment (LCA) linked to the planetary boundary structure, under nine indices: climate change, biosphere integrity, global biogeochemical fluxes, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, global freshwater use, land use change, chemical pollution, and atmospheric aerosol loading. Protein sources from animals such as beef, pork, and poultry, β-carotene from palm oil and synthetic routes, and fatty acids from fish oil were also compared to alternative sources from microalgae-based ingredients. The results show that protein ingredients of animal origin and alternatives have largely contributed to the disruption of planetary boundaries. However, the worst environmental performance for protein ingredients studied was attributed to bovine protein, matching three risk indices (climate change, ecotoxicity, and photochemical ozone formation) out of the nine evaluated. On the other hand, among fine chemical food ingredients, only vitamin A from palm oil, which is mostly found in a risk and uncertainty zone, when compared to conventional synthetic processes and microalgae-based; these, in turn, operate fully within safe limits. In contrast, only one planetary index is assigned to the uncertainty zone for polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil, the others operate in safe zones equally for microalgae-based processes. Therefore, the conclusions highlight major challenges the food production chain faces to achieve safe and sustainable food. These results guide critical food groups and environmental indicators to prioritize in future efforts to reduce environmental impact.
... From a life cycle assessment perspective, although insect meal has a significant impact on global warming potential in aquaculture due to its high energy use, it is promising for mitigating environmental impacts of aquafeeds related to land use (Tran et al., 2022), suggesting the enormous potential of insect meal to thrive on limited natural agricultural land resources. The challenges for environmental performance still need to be addressed owing to the high use of energy resources (Halfdanarson et al., 2019;Bartek et al., 2021). Additionally, it is a key step to develop more suitable insect species and insect-specific substrates to reduce the effects of environmental factors and increase nutritional performance in the aquaculture industry. ...
... In addition to conducting LCAs for VFA production, other studies have focused on analyzing the environmental impacts of converting these VFAs into more valuable compounds. For example, in a recent study, LCA was conducted for the production of a fish oil substitute using microalgae from food waste [119]. The results from this study showed that for global warming, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, and land use, algae oil involved, respectively, −52 ton CO 2 eq., 3.5 ton SO 2 eq., −94 kg Peq., and 2700 m 2 eq., per ton of DHA. ...
This review addresses the critical issue of a rapidly increasing worldwide waste stream and the need for sustainable management. The paper proposes an integrated transformation toward a next-generation methanization process, which leads not only to treating waste but also to converting it into higher value compounds and greener energy. Although the current and commonly used anaerobic digestion process is useful for biogas production, it presents limitations of resource exploitation and some negative environmental impacts. Focusing on the acidogenic stage in waste stream processing, the paper discusses the recent strategies to enhance the recovery of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). These acids serve as precursors for synthesizing a variety of biochemicals and biofuels, offering higher value products than solely energy recovery and soil fertilizers. Additionally, the importance of recycling the fermentation residues back into the biorefinery process is highlighted. This recycling not only generates additional VFAs but also contributes to generating clean energy, thereby enhancing the overall sustainability and efficiency of the waste management system. Moreover, the review discusses the necessity to integrate life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to evaluate the environmental impacts, sustainability, and processing costs of the proposed biorefinery.
... EPA and DHA are abundant in the marine environment, including fatty fish and algae, which are the primary sources of these PUFAs in the human diet [6]. Approximately 85% of the world's population does not consume the recommended levels of EPA and DHA for optimal health, so marine oils are widely used as nutritional supplements and also as starting materials for some pharmaceutical products [7][8][9]. Due to the limited source of fish oil, there is interest in additional sources of EPA and DHA, particularly sustainable sources such as microalgae, plants and fisheries by-products [10][11][12][13]. Fishery by-products can comprise 50% or more of the total fish mass, of which a significant portion is disposed of in landfills with negative environmental and economic impacts. ...
Fish oils are widely consumed around the world to increase omega-3 fatty acid intake. Due to negative impacts on marine resources and ecosystems from an increasing demand for fish, alternative sustainable sources are under investigation. Squid viscera contains up to 10% oil by mass and is available as a byproduct from squid processing. Squid viscera oil is a source of EPA and DHA and contains the xanthophyll carotenoid astaxanthin, known for its significant anticancer, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and cardiovascular properties. In the raw form, squid viscera oil has a high free fatty acid (FFA) content, so conventional alkaline refining results in low yield and loss of astaxanthin. As a higher-yielding alternative, the current study optimized lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of squid viscera oil to convert FFA into acylglycerol using a custom-built one-liter immobilized enzyme reactor. To monitor the reaction progress and assess its impact on the oil, we analyzed lipid classes, fatty acid composition and astaxanthin levels. Under optimized conditions, FFA was reduced from 40% to 2.7% in 10 h and 1.7% in 24 h, with no significant effect on EPA and DHA levels, and astaxanthin being retained. Squid viscera presents a safe and sustainable additional source of marine-derived EPA and DHA oil.
... LCA should also be applied towards comparing the environmental impacts of GM microalgal-derived products with similar, conventionally sourced products. This will facilitate the creation of relevant benchmarks for products from industrial microalgal biorefineries (Bartek et al., 2021). As the fields of genetic and metabolic engineering rapidly advance while the regulatory landscape continuously evolves, a rigorous and dynamic Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) process must be developed to ensure that GM microalgae can be successfully commercialized while meeting health and environmental safety concerns. ...
Fruit and vegetable wastes are linked to the depletion of natural resources and can pose serious health and environmental risks (e.g. eutrophication, water and soil pollution, and GHG emissions) if improperly managed. Current waste management practices often fail to recover high-value compounds from fruit wastes. Among emerging valorization methods, the utilization of fruit wastes as a feedstock for microalgal biorefineries is a promising approach for achieving net zero waste and sustainable development goals. This is due to the ability of microalgae to efficiently sequester carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, utilize nutrients in wastewater, grow in facilities located on non-arable land, and produce several commercially valuable compounds with applications in food, biofuels, bioplastics, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutics, and various other industries. However, the application of microalgal biotechnology towards upcycling fruit wastes has yet to be implemented on the industrial scale due to several economic, technical, operational, and regulatory challenges. Here, we identify sources of fruit waste along the food supply chain, evaluate current and emerging fruit waste management practices, describe value-added compounds in fruit wastes, and review current methods of microalgal cultivation using fruit wastes as a fermentation medium. We also propose some novel strategies for the practical implementation of industrial microalgal biorefineries for upcycling fruit waste in the future.
... The main countries where LCA has been applied as an exciting tool to identify the sustainability of microalgal biotechnology are the United States, followed by China, Brazil, Italy, Germany, and others ( Figure 2). industry has witnessed a growing prevalence, particularly in assessing products and services within the food and energy sector [14,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The LCA tool enables precise quantification of environmental emissions, pinpointing vital aspects, contrasting processes, and appraising the potential for adopting innovative production methods in contrast to current alternatives [10]. ...
... cohnii Germany [14] Environmental impact assessment of the algae at the industrial scale for food production. ...
... Several LCA studies have shown that microalgae cultivation can have a reduced environmental footprint compared to traditional animal food production methods. For example, cultivating microalgae from wastewater could be integrated with other agricultural practices, such as aquaponics, to create a closed-loop system that reduces waste and improves resource efficiency [14,70] while producing new raw materials that can be used within the aquaponics production facility as plant fertilizer or bio-stimulants. Another significant environmental challenge relates to greenhouse gas emissions. ...
This study evaluated the environmental impacts of producing 1 kg of biomass for animal feed grown in inland fisheries effluents as a culture medium using the ReCiPe method. Four scenarios with two downstream alternatives were modeled using the life cycle assessment method: Algal Life Feed (ALF), Algal Life Feed with Recycled nutrients (ALF+Rn), Pelletized Biomass (PB), and Pelletized Biomass with Recycled nutrients (PB+Rn). The findings reveal a substantial reduction in environmental impacts when wastewater is employed as a water source and nutrient reservoir. However, the eutrophication and toxicity-related categories reported the highest normalized impacts. ALF+Rn emerges as the most promising scenario due to its reduced energy consumption, highlighting the potential for further improvement through alternative energy sources in upstream and downstream processes. Therefore, liquid waste from fish production is a unique opportunity to implement strategies to reduce the emission of nutrients and pollutants by producing microalgae rich in various high-value-added metabolites.
