Investigating the Effect of using Different Energy Sources on Environmental Indices in Edible Oil Processing

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Yaser Rahmati Khorshidi ¹
• Hemmatollah Pirdashti ²
• Ali Motevali ³
• Seyed Hashem Samadi ⁴
• Benyamin Khoshnevisan ⁵

¹ Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Crop Sciences, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

² Department of Agronomy, Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

³ Department of Mechanical & Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

⁴ Department of Mechanical & Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

⁵ Department of Green Technology (IGT), Life Cycle Engineering, Southern Denmark University, Denmark.

10.22067/agry.2024.89603.1211

Abstract

Introduction
This comprehensive study investigates sustainable energy solutions for rapeseed oil production through a comparative analysis of three distinct operational scenarios: conventional non-renewable energy systems, photovoltaic solar energy implementation, and canola residue gasification technologies. The research was conducted across two major production facilities, Behpak factory in Behshahr, specializing in oil extraction, and Ghoncheh factory in Sari, handling refinement and packaging processes, to evaluate environmental impacts under different energy regimes.
Materials and Methods
Using advanced modeling approaches, the solar photovoltaic system was meticulously designed in HOMER software while gasification processes were simulated through MATLAB, with all primary operational data obtained through extensive interviews with factory engineers. The life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed using SimaPro software with the ReCiPe 2016 model, analyzing every 1000 kg of packaged rapeseed oil output across three fundamental categories: human health consequences, ecosystem quality preservation, and resource utilization efficiency.
Results and Discussion
Simulation results showed that gasification technology achieves optimal performance within an equivalence ratio range of 0.20–0.45, with detailed analysis indicating that exceeding this range significantly reduces both gas yield and system efficiency. At the optimal equivalence ratio of 0.3, the system produced 1,069 kWh of electricity and 2,567 kWh of thermal energy per 1,000 kg of processed oil, representing a substantial improvement over conventional methods. The solar photovoltaic implementation, comprising 5,700 panels, demonstrated remarkable capacity by generating 7.15 million kWh annually, exceeding the factories' energy requirements by 2.9 million kWh. However, an environmental impact analysis revealed crucial differences between the renewable alternatives. While gasification showed a 35% reduction in environmental burdens (45.13 environmental points versus 69.29 points for conventional systems), the solar scenario achieved a more modest 14% improvement. This discrepancy primarily stems from the shift in pollution sources – where conventional systems showed electricity consumption accounting for approximately 50% of environmental impacts across critical categories including global warming potential, ionizing radiation effects, ozone formation, particulate matter generation, terrestrial acidification, ecotoxicity, and fossil resource depletion, the renewable scenarios revealed polyethylene packaging materials as the new dominant pollution source. A detailed examination of impact categories revealed that in renewable energy implementations, polyethylene contributed 60–75% of the remaining environmental burdens, significantly influencing multiple indicators, including climate change metrics, aquatic toxicity parameters, and resource depletion indices. The human health category emerged as the most severely impacted across all scenarios, with particular concern for carcinogenic potential and respiratory effects. Comparative analysis demonstrated that while renewable energy adoption effectively addresses energy-related impacts, it simultaneously highlights material-related challenges that require urgent attention. The gasification scenario, while showing superior overall performance, still exhibited significant impacts from polyethylene inputs, whereas the solar scenario revealed additional concerns related to battery storage systems and water consumption throughout the production chain. These findings carry important implications for sustainable oil production. The study confirms that canola residue gasification represents the most environmentally favorable option among examined alternatives, capable of meeting approximately 50% of energy demands while significantly reducing ecological footprints. Solar photovoltaic systems, while technologically viable and capable of substantial energy generation, show somewhat limited environmental benefits due to persistent packaging-related impacts. Crucially, the research identifies that a comprehensive sustainability strategy must address both energy sources and material inputs, particularly focusing on polyethylene alternatives, to achieve meaningful environmental improvements. The quantitative outcomes provide clear guidance for policymakers and industry stakeholders, with non-renewable systems scoring 69.29 environmental points, gasification at 45.13 points, and solar at 59.48 points in the ReCiPe 2016 evaluation.
Conclusion
This investigation makes significant contributions to the field by: (1) Quantifying the precise equivalence ratio range for optimal gasification of canola residues; (2) Demonstrating the energy surplus potential of solar implementations in industrial oil production; (3) Revealing the critical shift from energy-dominated to material- dominated environmental impacts in renewable scenarios; and (4) Providing concrete data comparing three operational approaches using standardized LCA methodology. The results underscore the necessity of integrated solutions combining optimized energy systems with sustainable material choices to advance environmental performance in edible oil production.
Acknowledgments
 We would like to acknowledge Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University (SANRU) for the financial support and Behpak and Ghoncheh factories for their collaboration.







 




 
 

Keywords

• Gasification
• Non-renewable energy
• Oil extraction
• Photovoltaic

Main Subjects

• Ecological emerging technologies in food production systems

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©2023 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source.

 

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