Study on life-cycle carbon emission accounting of cane sugar products based on ammonia-based CO2 capture method

• Published in: Sustainable energy technologies and assessments Vol. 68; p. 103858
• Main Authors: Luo, Lixiao, Zhang, Wei, Zhang, Yu, Feng, Dongdong, Li, Yuzhi, Zhu, Xishan, Ye, Haibo, Chen, Weichong, Qin, Yingsen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Ammonia-based CO2 capture; Carbon emission; Carbon-negative; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Sugarcane products; Sugarcane products; Carbon emission; Carbon-negative; Ammonia-based CO2 capture; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• ISSN: 2213-1388
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seta.2024.103858

[Display omitted] •A life-cycle carbon accounting model for cane sugar is carried out.•A new ammonia-based CO2 capture method is proposed to achieve sugar CO2 reduction.•Fertilizer application is the highest carbon emission in the sugar industry.•CCUS technology can effectively reduce carbon emissions from cane sugar. China’s cane sugar whole life cycle carbon accounting remains blank, which is urgent to formulate an emission reduction strategy. A life-cycle carbon accounting model for cane sugar products is established, with the carbon emission accounting conducted for planting, harvesting, transportation, processing, waste treatment, packaging, and other aspects of the cane sugar industry, which is multi-temporal and multi-scale. The quantitative and systematic assessment of carbon emissions from the cane sugar industry is accomplished. A new ammonia-based CO2 capture method has been innovatively proposed to achieve harmful carbon emission reduction from sugar products using sugar flue gas. The results show that the construction of the cane sugar life-cycle carbon accounting model can more accurately describe the comprehensive carbon footprint of the Chinese sugar industry. The carbon footprint of sucrose is −1.4259 CO2e/kg sugar, of which the highest carbon emission from agricultural fertilizers is 46.9 %. The new ammonia-based CO2 capture method enables 0.1319 t/t sugar of nitrogen fertilizer while achieving an overall reduction of 29 % in carbon emissions from sucrose, significantly reducing carbon emissions from agriculture. Its carbon footprint of cane sugar is greatly degraded to −2.1494 CO2e/kg sugar. The research provides a scientific basis for developing a carbon emission assessment for sugar while demonstrating that cane sugar has a sizeable carbon-negative potential in the future.