Environmental sustainability assessment of biodegradable bio-based poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from agro-residues: Production and end-of-life scenarios.

In the context of a circular bio-based economy, more public attention has been paid to the environmental sustainability of biodegradable bio-based plastics, particularly plastics produced using emerging biotechnologies, e.g. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) or PHBV. However, this has not been thoroughly investigated in the literature. Therefore, this study aimed to address three aspects regarding the environmental impact of PHBV-based plastic: (i) the potential environmental benefits of scaling up pellet production from pilot to industrial scale and the environmental hotspots at each scale, (ii) the most favourable end-of-life (EOL) scenario for PHBV, and (iii) the environmental performance of PHBV compared to benchmark materials considering both the pellet production and EOL stages. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was implemented using Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) and Environmental Footprint (EF) methods. The results show that, firstly, when upscaling the PHBV pellet production from pilot to industrial scale, a significant environmental benefit can be achieved by reducing electricity and nutrient usage, together with the implementation of better practices such as recycling effluent for diluting feedstock. Moreover, from the circularity perspective, mechanical recycling might be the most favourable EOL scenario for short-life PHBV-based products, using the carbon neutrality approach, as the material remains recycled and hence environmental credits are achieved by substituting recyclates for virgin raw materials. Lastly, PHBV can be environmentally beneficial equal to or even to some extent greater than common bio- and fossil-based plastics produced with well-established technologies. Besides methodological choices, feedstock source and technology specifications (e.g. pure or mixed microbial cultures) were also identified as significant factors contributing to the variations in LCA of (bio)plastics; therefore, transparency in reporting these factors, along with consistency in implementing the methodologies, is crucial for conducting a meaningful comparative LCA.

Technical substitutability of recycled materials in life cycle Assessment: A comprehensive review and framework for quantification.

In evaluating environmental sustainability with methodologies like life cycle assessment (LCA), recycling is usually credited for avoiding impacts from virgin material production. Consequently, the LCA results are influenced by the manner in which the substitutability of virgin by recycled materials is estimated. This study reviews how the scientific community assesses the technical substitutability of recycled materials in LCA. Accordingly, 49 peer-reviewed papers were in-depth analysed, considering aspects such as materials studied, type of substitution, recycled material (rMaterial) application, and life cycle stages (LCSs) where substitution was evaluated. The results show that 49% of the papers investigated material substitutability through technical and economic aspects. 51% of the articles did not consider the final application of the rMaterial. Plastics were the most studied material, and mass was the most used property to quantify technical substitutability. Certain materials were more analysed in specific LCSs (e.g., metals in the natural resource extraction stage). As 51% of the papers developed a new approach for substitutability calculation, this shows that substitutability is still a concept in development. It was noticed in 33% of the papers that substitutability values were taken from external sources, and in some cases were used without considering whether they were representative for a specific case. Aspects such as harmonization, transparency, and consideration of the application of recycled materials, therefore, require more attention in substitutability evaluation. Based on the results, a step-wise framework to measure technical substitutability at different LCSs was developed to guide researchers in including substitutability in LCA studies.

Environmental life cycle assessment of nutraceuticals: A case study on methylcobalamin in different packaging types.

The growing production of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, e.g., methylcobalamin supplements, improves the health of people. This study assesses the environmental footprint of chewable methylcobalamin supplements in four packaging types: blister packs or bottles made of HDPE, PET, or glass. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment is conducted to evaluate the supply to Belgian consumers of the recommended daily dose of methylcobalamin supplementation (1.2 mg) in case of deficiency. The impact of methylcobalamin manufacturing in major producing countries (China as baseline and France) is analyzed based on detailed synthesis modeling of data points coming from patents. The overall carbon footprint (CF) is dominated by the transport of consumers to the pharmacy and methylcobalamin powder manufacturing in China (while its mass share per supplement is only 1 %). The impact is the lowest for supplements in HDPE bottles (6.3 g CO2 eq) and 1 %, 8 %, and 35 % higher for those in PET bottles, glass bottles, and blister packs, respectively. Tablets in blister packs have for other investigated impact categories (fossil resource footprint (FRF); acidification; eutrophication: freshwater, marine, and terrestrial; freshwater ecotoxicity; land use; and water use) the highest footprint and those in HDPE and PET bottles for most the lowest. The CF of methylcobalamin powder manufacturing in France is 22 % lower than in China (2.7 g CO2 eq), while the FRF is similar in both locations (26-27 kJ). The FRF and the difference in the CF are chiefly due to energy use and solvent production emissions. Similar trends as the CF are found for other investigated impact categories. Valuable conclusions are drawn for environmental studies on pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals: (i) including accurate data on consumer transport, (ii) using more environmentally-friendly active ingredients, (iii) choosing appropriate packaging types considering multiple aspects: convenience, environmental footprint, etc., and (iv) providing a holistic picture through assessing various impact categories.

Environmental performance of plastic food packaging: Life cycle assessment extended with costs on marine ecosystem services.

Packaging can play a substantial role in moving towards more sustainable food systems by affecting the amount of food loss and waste. However, the use of plastic packaging gives rise to environmental concerns, such as high energy and fossil resource use, and waste management issues such as marine litter. Alternative biobased biodegradable materials, such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) could address some of these issues. For a careful comparison in terms of environmental sustainability between fossil-based, non-biodegradable and alternative plastic food packaging, not only production but also food preservation and end-of-life (EoL) fate must be considered. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to evaluate the environmental performance, but the environmental burden of plastics released into the natural environment is not yet embedded in classical LCA. Therefore, a new indicator is being developed that accounts for the effect of plastic litter on marine ecosystems, one of the main burdens of plastic's EoL fate: lifetime costs on marine ecosystem services. This indicator enables a quantitative assessment and thus addresses a major criticism of plastic packaging LCA. The comprehensive analysis is performed on the case of falafel packaged in PHBV and conventional polypropylene (PP) packaging. Considering the impact per kilogram of packaged falafel consumed, food ingredients make the largest contribution. The LCA results indicate a clear preference for the use of PP trays, both in terms of (1) impact of packaging production and dedicated EoL treatment and (2) packaging-related impacts. This is mainly due to the higher mass and volume of the alternative tray. Nevertheless, since PHBV has limited persistence in the environment compared to PP packaging, the lifetime costs for marine ES are about seven times lower, and this despite its higher mass. Although further refinements are needed, the additional indicator allows for a more balanced evaluation of plastic packaging.

Environmental Performance Assessment of a Novel Process Concept for Propanol Production from Widely Available and Wasted Methane Sources.

Currently, propanol production highly depends on conventional fossil resources. Therefore, an alternative production process, denoted as "C123", is proposed and evaluated in which underutilized and methane-rich feedstocks such as biogas (scenario BG), marginal gas (scenario MG), and associated gas (scenario AG) are converted into propanol. A first modular-scale process concept was constructed in Aspen Plus, based on experimental data and know-how of the C123 consortium partners. The environmental performance of the considered scenarios was compared at the life cycle level by calculating key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the global warming burden. The results showed that scenario BG is the least dependent on fossil fuels for energy use. Scenario AG seems the most promising one based on almost all selected KPIs when taking into account the avoided gas flaring emissions. The performance of the C123 process concept could be improved by applying heat integration in the process concept.

Towards a comprehensive sustainability methodology to assess anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems: Review of the integration of Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Risk Assessment and Ecosystem Services Assessment.

Nowadays, a variety of methodologies are available to assess local, regional and global impacts of human activities on ecosystems, which include Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) and Ecosystem Services Assessment (ESA). However, none can individually assess both the positive and negative impacts of human activities at different geographical scales in a comprehensive manner. In order to overcome the shortcomings of each methodology and develop more holistic assessments, the integration of these methodologies is essential. Several studies have attempted to integrate these methodologies either conceptually or through applied case studies. To understand why, how and to what extent these methodologies have been integrated, a total of 110 relevant publications were reviewed. The analysis of the case studies showed that the integration can occur at different positions along the cause-effect chain and from this, a classification scheme was proposed to characterize the different integration approaches. Three categories of integration are distinguished: post-analysis, integration through the combination of results, and integration through the complementation of a driving method. The literature review highlights that the most recurrent type of integration is the latter. While the integration through the complementation of a driving method is more realistic and accurate compared to the other two categories, its development is more complex and a higher data requirement could be needed. In addition to this, there is always the risk of double-counting for all the approaches. None of the integration approaches can be categorized as a full integration, but this is not necessarily needed to have a comprehensive assessment. The most essential aspect is to select the appropriate components from each methodology that can cover both the environmental and socioeconomic costs and benefits of human activities on the ecosystems.

Life cycle assessment of edible insects (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) as a future protein and fat source.

Because it is important to develop new sustainable sources of edible protein, insects have been recommended as a new protein source. This study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental impact of small-scale edible insect production unit in South Korea. IMPACT 2002 + was applied as the baseline impact assessment (IA) methodology. The CML-IA baseline, EDIP 2003, EDP 2013, ILCD 2011 Midpoint, and ReCiPe midpoint IA methodologies were also used for LCIA methodology sensitivity analysis. The protein, fat contents, and fatty acid profile of the investigated insect (Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae) were analyzed to determine its potential food application. The results revealed that the studied edible insect production system has beneficial environmental effects on various impact categories (ICs), i.e., land occupation, mineral extraction, aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity, due to utilization of bio-waste to feed insects. This food production system can mitigate the negative environmental effects of those ICs, but has negative environmental impact on some other ICs such as global warming potential. By managing the consumption of various inputs, edible insects can become an environmentally efficient food production system for human nutrition.

Sustainability assessment of organic waste management in three EU Cities: Analysing stakeholder-based solutions.

This study focuses on a comprehensive sustainability assessment of the management of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Ghent (Belgium), Hamburg (Germany) and Pécs (Hungary). A sustainability assessment framework has been applied to analyse social, environmental, and economic consequences at the midpoint level (25 impact categories) and at the endpoint level (5 areas-of-protection). For each case study, the reference scenario was analysed, along with three solutions to improve the sustainability performance, which were selected and developed with the collaboration of local stakeholders. The solutions focus on food waste prevention, collection (increasing separate collection and household composting) and/or valorisation treatment (insect breeding, bioplastic production and improvement of centralised treatment). The results show that food waste prevention results in substantial improvements in all areas of protection when a significant quantity of food is saved. Solutions proposing innovative treatments such as insect breeding do not show clear improvements at the endpoint level, given current technology development level, but appear promising for some categories such as Revenues, Ecotoxicity, Land Use or Particulate Matter if the substituted products compensate the impact of the treatment (e.g., energy and water use). Enhancing the separate collection of organic waste can improve sustainability, but trade-offs may arise, e.g., decreased environmental savings from energy recovery at incineration. For this, the influence of the electricity mix (more or less decarbonised) should be carefully considered in future studies. The application of the solutions proposed to other cities should also consider potential bottlenecks such as legislation barriers, public acceptance, or management costs.

Life cycle assessment and energy comparison of aseptic ohmic heating and appertization of chopped tomatoes with juice.

The energy balance and life cycle assessment (LCA) of ohmic heating and appertization systems for processing of chopped tomatoes with juice (CTwJ) were evaluated. The data included in the study, such as processing conditions, energy consumption, and water use, were experimentally collected. The functional unit was considered to be 1 kg of packaged CTwJ. Six LCA impact assessment methodologies were evaluated for uncertainty analysis of selection of the impact assessment methodology. The energy requirement evaluation showed the highest energy consumption for appertization (156 kWh/t of product). The energy saving of the ohmic heating line compared to the appertization line is 102 kWh/t of the product (or 65% energy saving). The energy efficiencies of the appertization and ohmic heating lines are 25% and 77%, respectively. Regarding the environmental impact, CTwJ processing and packaging by appertization were higher than those of ohmic heating systems. In other words, CTwJ production by the ohmic heating system was more environmentally efficient. The tin production phase was the environmental hotspot in packaged CTwJ production by the appertization system; however, the agricultural phase of production was the hotspot in ohmic heating processing. The uncertainty analysis results indicated that the global warming potential for appertization of 1 kg of packaged CTwJ ranges from 4.13 to 4.44 kg CO2eq. In addition, the global warming potential of the ohmic heating system ranges from 2.50 to 2.54 kg CO2eq. This study highlights that ohmic heating presents a great alternative to conventional sterilization methods due to its low environmental impact and high energy efficiency.

Development of a life cycle impact assessment framework accounting for biodiversity in deep seafloor ecosystems: A case study on the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone.

The transformation of ecosystems is known to be a major driver of biodiversity loss. Consequently, supporting tools such as life cycle assessment methods (LCA) include this aspect in the evaluation of a product's environmental performance. Such methods consist of quantifying input and output flows to assess their specific contributions to impact categories. Therefore, land occupation and transformation are considered as inputs to assess biodiversity impacts amongst others. However, the modelling of biodiversity impact in deep seafloor ecosystems is still lacking in LCA. Most of the LCA methods focus on terrestrial biodiversity and none of them can be transposed to benthic deep sea because of knowledge gaps. This manuscript proposes a LCA framework to assess biodiversity impacts in deep seafloor ecosystems. The framework builds upon the existing methods accounting for biodiversity impacts in terrestrial and coastal habitats. A two-step approach is proposed, assessing impacts on regional and on global biodiversity. While the evaluation of regional biodiversity impacts relies only on the benthic communities' response to disturbance, the global perspective considers ecosystem vulnerability and scarcity. Those provide additional perspective for the comparison of impacts occurring in different ecosystems. The framework is operationalised to a case study for deep-sea mining in the Clarion Clipperton Fractures Zone (CCZ). Through the large variety of data sources needed to run the impact evaluation modelling, the framework shows consistency and manages the existing limitations in the understanding of deep seafloor ecosystems, although limitations for its application in the CCZ were observed mainly due to the lack of finer scaled habitat maps and data on connectivity. With growing interest for commercial activities in the deep sea and hence, increased environmental research, this work is a first attempt for the implementation of LCA methods to deep-sea products.

Quantitative sustainability assessment of household food waste management in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

Food waste represents the largest fraction of the municipal solid waste generated in Europe and its management is associated to suboptimal performance in environmental, health, and social dimensions. By processing detailed multi-fold local data as part of a comprehensive and broadly understandable sustainability framework, this study quantifies the environmental and socio-economic impacts of household food waste management in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area based on priorities set by local stakeholders. Five alternative short-term management options have been assessed against the current system, relying on poor separate collection and incineration. Four options involve separate collection of food waste followed by biological treatments (home/centralised composting and anaerobic digestion) while one involves a mix of separate collection and centralised mechanical-biological treatment followed by anaerobic digestion. Among these, separate collection followed by anaerobic digestion coupled with effective nutrient and energy recovery is, according to our findings, the preferred option to improve the sustainability of the current system in all dimensions considered, except for the economic pillar due to the collection costs. Home and centralised composting as well as mechanical-biological treatment are associated to more adverse impacts based on our findings. The study informs local stakeholders and authorities on the potential consequences of their options, thereby allowing them to make sound choices for a future waste and circular economy strategy.

Data quality assessment framework for critical raw materials. The case of cobalt.

Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) require a deep understanding of their societal metabolism, for which robust data and information are needed. However, despite the efforts to build reliable data, some CRMs such as cobalt, are still characterised by lack of data harmonization, lack of connection between datasets, and significant data unavailability. Together with data gaps filling, data quality is a crucial aspect to improve Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Criticality Assessment (CA). Nevertheless, most of the methodologies for Data Quality Assessment (DQA) are not designed for these tools, but for others, e.g. life cycle assessment. The current research addresses the following challenges; a better understanding of the societal metabolism of CRMs; the development and implementation of DQA in MFA and CA; and a better understanding of the available data related to current cobalt flows in the EU technosphere. The underlying life cycle phases of CRMs within the technosphere were identified, together with 15 key parameters. A new DQA matrix was developed, which was subsequently applied to the full dataset collected for cobalt. The dataset was built considering seven high-end applications of cobalt. More than 300 values were gathered, which were analysed in function of different aspects, such as the country/region, and year. Through the data analysis and the application of the DQA framework, data gaps were identified due to low availability and/or low quality. It was concluded that the main deficiency of cobalt data is its reliability, due to lack of information regarding its generation method, and the incomplete stakeholder coverage.

Quantifying the primary biotic resource use by fisheries: A global assessment.

In this paper, the specific primary production required (SPPR expressed as kg-NPP/kg-fish in wet weight) of more than 1700 marine species were calculated directly from 96 published food web models using the newly developed SPPR calculation framework. The relationship between SPPR and other ecological factors were then statistically analyzed. Among- and within-species variability of SPPR were found to be both explained by trophic level (TL), suggesting similar mechanisms underpinning both sources of variability. Among species, we found that harvesting species at higher mean trophic levels (MTL) increases the mean SPPR by a factor of 19 per 1 unit increase in MTL. Based on our empirical relationship, the mean SPPR of more than 9000 marine species were predicted and subsequently used to assess the primary production required (PPR) to support fisheries in five major fishing countries in Europe. The results indicated that conventional approach to estimating PPR, which neglects food web ecology, can underestimate PPR by up to a factor of 5. Within species, we found that harvesting populations occupying a higher TL leads to a higher SPPR. For example, the SPPR of Atlantic cod in the Celtic Sea (TL = 4.75) was 5 times higher than in the Gilbert Bay (TL = 3.3). Our results, which are based on large amounts of field data, highlight the importance of properly accounting for ecological factors during the impact assessment of fisheries.

Quantifying the handprint-Footprint balance into a single score: The example of pharmaceuticals.

Life Cycle Assessment typically focuses on the footprint of products and services, expressed on three Areas of Protection (AoP): Human Health, Ecosystems and Resources. While the handprint is often expressed qualitatively, quantified handprints have recently been compared directly to the footprint concerning one AoP: Human Health. We propose to take this one step further by simultaneously comparing the quantified handprint and footprint on all AoPs through normalization and weighting of the results towards a single score. We discuss two example cases of a pharmaceutical treatment: mebendazole to treat soil-transmitted helminthiases and paliperidone palmitate to treat schizophrenia. Each time, treatment is compared to 'no treatment'. The footprint of health care is compared to the handprint of improved patient health. The handprint and footprint were normalized separately. To include sensitivity in the normalization step we applied four sets of external normalization factors for both handprint (Global Burden of Disease) and footprint (ReCiPe and PROSUITE). At the weighting step we applied 26 sets of panel weighting factors from three sources. We propose the Relative Sustainability Benefit Rate (RSBR) as a new metric to quantify the relative difference in combined handprint and footprint single score between two alternatives. When only considering the footprint, the first case study is associated with an increased single score burden of treatment compared to 'no treatment', while in the second case study treatment reduces the single score burden by 41.1% compared to 'no treatment'. Also including the handprint provided new insights for the first case study, now showing a decrease of 56.4% in single score burden for treatment compared to 'no treatment'. For the second case study the reduction of single score burden was confirmed as the handprint burden was also decreased because of treatment by 9.9%, reinforcing the findings.

Environmental sustainability of conventional and organic farming: Accounting for ecosystem services in life cycle assessment.

Today, there is an ongoing debate about the environmental sustainability of the products of organic farming. To compare the performance of conventional and organic farming systems regarding environmental impact and productivity, the comprehensive environmental assessment tool 'life cycle assessment' can be used. The lower crop yields attained by organic systems compared to conventional farming systems might, however, outweigh the benefits of the use of more environmental-friendly practices when evaluating the environmental impact per product unit. Although these practices are beneficial for the environment, which is reflected in the delivery of a range of ecosystem services (ES), the focus is traditionally put only on the (harvested) product. Because the agricultural product involves actually a bundle of ES, the impact should be allocated among the whole output of an agricultural system. In this study, we propose an allocation procedure based on the capacity of agricultural systems to deliver ES to divide the environmental impact over all agricultural outputs (i.e. provisioning and other ES). Allocation factors are developed for conventional and organic arable farming systems. Applying these allocation factors, we demonstrate that for about half of the studied food products (including maize, potato), organic farming has clear environmental benefits in terms of resource consumption in comparison to conventional cultivation methods. This allocation approach allows a more complete comparison of the environmental sustainability of organically and conventionally produced food.

Circular economy indicators: What do they measure?

Circular Economy (CE) is a growing topic, especially in the European Union, that promotes the responsible and cyclical use of resources possibly contributing to sustainable development. CE is an umbrella concept incorporating different meanings. Despite the unclear concept, CE is turned into defined action plans supported by specific indicators. To understand what indicators used in CE measure specifically, we propose a classification framework to categorise indicators according to reasoning on what (CE strategies) and how (measurement scope). Despite different types, CE strategies can be grouped according to their attempt to preserve functions, products, components, materials, or embodied energy; additionally, indicators can measure the linear economy as a reference scenario. The measurement scope shows how indicators account for technological cycles with or without a Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach; or their effects on environmental, social, or economic dimensions. To illustrate the classification framework, we selected quantitative micro scale indicators from literature and macro scale indicators from the European Union 'CE monitoring framework'. The framework illustration shows that most of the indicators focus on the preservation of materials, with strategies such as recycling. However, micro scale indicators can also focus on other CE strategies considering LCT approach, while the European indicators mostly account for materials often without taking LCT into account. Furthermore, none of the available indicators can assess the preservation of functions instead of products, with strategies such as sharing platforms, schemes for product redundancy, or multifunctionality. Finally, the framework illustration suggests that a set of indicators should be used to assess CE instead of a single indicator.

The public health benefit and burden of mass drug administration programs in Vietnamese schoolchildren: Impact of mebendazole.

BACKGROUND: Mass anthelmintic drug administration is recommended in developing countries to address infection by soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH). We quantified the public health benefit of treatment with mebendazole in eight million Vietnamese children aged 5-14 years from 2006 to 2011. This was compared to the environmental impact of the pharmaceutical supply chain of mebendazole, as the resource use and emissions associated with pharmaceutical production can be associated with a public health burden, e.g. through emissions of fine particulate matter. METHODOLOGY: Through Markov modelling the disability due to STH was quantified for hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. For each worm type, four levels of intensity of infection were included: none, light, medium and heavy. The treatment effect on patients was quantified in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). The public health burden induced by the pharmaceutical supply chain of mebendazole was quantified in DALYs through Life Cycle Assessment. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Compared to 'no treatment', the modelled results of five-year treatment averted 116,587 DALYs (68% reduction) for the three worms combined and largely driven by A. lumbricoides. The main change in DALYs occurred in the first year of treatment, after which the results stabilized. The public health burden associated with the pharmaceutical supply chain was 6 DALYs. CONCLUSIONS: The public health benefit of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) averted substantially more DALYs than those induced by the pharmaceutical supply chain. These results were verified in a sensitivity analysis. The starting prevalence for each worm was the most sensitive model parameter. This methodology is useful for policymakers interested in a holistic approach towards the public health performance of MDA programs, enveloping both the treatment benefit received by the patient and the public health burden associated with the resource consumption and environmental emissions of the pharmaceutical production and supply chain.

Co-digestion of rice straw and cow dung to supply cooking fuel and fertilizers in rural India: Impact on human health, resource flows and climate change.

Anaerobic digestion of cow dung with new feedstock such as crop residues to increase the biogas potential is an option to help overcoming several issues faced by India. Anaerobic digestion provides biogas that can replace biomass cooking fuels and reduce indoor air pollution. It also provides digestate, a fertilizer that can contribute to compensate nutrient shortage on agricultural land. Moreover, it avoids the burning of rice straw in the fields which contributes to air pollution in India and climate change globally. Not only the technical and economical feasibility but also the environmental sustainability of such systems needs to be assessed. The potential effects of implementing community digesters co-digesting cow dung and rice straw on carbon and nutrients flows, human health, resource efficiency and climate change are analyzed by conducting a Substance Flow Analysis and a Life Cycle Assessment. The implementation of the technology is considered at the level of the state of Chhattisgarh. Implementing this scenario reduces the dependency of the rural community to nitrogen and phosphorus from synthetic fertilizers only by 0.1 and 1.6%, respectively, but the dependency of farmers to potassium from synthetic fertilizers by 31%. The prospective scenario returns more organic carbon to agricultural land and thus has a potential positive effect on soil quality. The implementation of the prospective scenario can reduce the health impact of the local population by 48%, increase the resource efficiency of the system by 60% and lower the impact on climate change by 13%. This study highlights the large potential of anaerobic digestion to overcome the aforementioned issues faced by India. It demonstrates the need to couple local and global assessments and to conduct analyses at the substance level to assess the sustainability of such systems.

Environmental impact assessment and monetary ecosystem service valuation of an ecosystem under different future environmental change and management scenarios; a case study of a Scots pine forest.

For a sustainable future, we must sustainably manage not only the human/industrial system but also ecosystems. To achieve the latter goal, we need to predict the responses of ecosystems and their provided services to management practices under changing environmental conditions via ecosystem models and use tools to compare the estimated provided services between the different scenarios. However, scientific articles have covered a limited amount of estimated ecosystem services and have used tools to aggregate services that contain a significant amount of subjective aspects and that represent the final result in a non-tangible unit such as 'points'. To resolve these matters, this study quantifies the environmental impact (on human health, natural systems and natural resources) in physical units and uses an ecosystem service valuation based on monetary values (including ecosystem disservices with associated negative monetary values). More specifically, the paper also focuses on the assessment of ecosystem services related to pollutant removal/generation flows, accounting for the inflow of eutrophying nitrogen (N) when assessing the effect of N leached to groundwater. Regarding water use/provisioning, evapotranspiration is alternatively considered a disservice because it implies a loss of (potential) groundwater. These approaches and improvements, relevant to all ecosystems, are demonstrated using a Scots pine stand from 2010 to 2089 for a combination of three environmental change and three management scenarios. The environmental change scenarios considered interannual climate variability trends and included alterations in temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, wind speed, Particulate matter (PM) concentration and CO2 concentration. The addressed flows/ecosystem services, including disservices, are as follows: particulate matter removal, freshwater loss, CO2 sequestration, wood production, NOx emissions, NH3 uptake and nitrogen pollution/removal. The monetary ecosystem service valuation yields a total average estimate of 361-1242 euro ha(-1) yr(-1). PM2.5 (<2.5 µm) removal is the key service, with a projected value of 622-1172 euro ha(-1) yr(-1). Concerning environmental impact assessment, with net CO2 uptake being the most relevant contributing flow, a loss prevention of 0.014-0.029 healthy life years ha(-1) yr(-1) is calculated for the respective flows. Both assessment methods favor the use of the least intensive management scenario due to its resulting higher CO2 sequestration and PM removal, which are the most important services of the considered ones.