Simulasi Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Proses Produksi Gula di Brazil dengan OpenLCA

Abstract

Sugar is one of the most important agricultural commodities for mankind. Brazil is one of the largest sugar cane producers in the world, so dosing environmental impacts on the sugar production process in Brazil can be a reference for other countries. In addition to increasing environmental awareness, the sugar industry must also use environmentally friendly and sustainable processes. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the most important methods for measuring the environmental impact of a process. The aim of this study is to measure the environmental impact of the sugar production process in Brazil. LCA simulations are carried out with the OpenLCA software, which is equipped with an ecoinvent database. The scope of the life cycle assessment simulation includes the planting of sugar cane in the process of sugar production (cradle to gate). The results of the environmental impact assessment show the value of the global warming potential (GWP) of 304.73 kg CO₂ equivalent per ton of sugar products. From this value, the bigest contribution to the GWP is the sugar milling process, which is 1544 kg CO₂ equivalent per ton of sugar products. The plantation sector now contributes -2681 kg CO₂ per ton of sugar products, as it plays a role in absorbing CO₂ in the environment for sugar cane growth.