Evaluation of food processing with the management of food, water, and energy nexus in Baghdad, Iraq

• Published in: Ciência e tecnologia de alimentos Vol. 42
• Main Authors: YASIN, Ghulam, BRONTOWIYONO, Widodo, OPULENCIA, Maria Jade Catalan, SHARMA, Sandhir, SHALABY, Mohammed Nader, AL-THAMIR, Mohaimen, JALIL, Abduladheem Turki, JABBAR, Abdullah Hasan, ISWANTO, Acim Heri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos 2022
• Subjects: FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY; sustainable development; economic and social needs; food crisis; food, water, and energy nexus; agricultural sector
• ISSN: 0101-2061; 1678-457X; 1678-457X
• DOI: 10.1590/fst.37822

Abstract Efficient use of water and energy is crucial in food processing. One of the major problems in the food processing is the creation of food waste. Reducing food waste is essential to fill the global food gap and help reduce water and energy gaps around the world. Also, efficient use of water and energy in food processing is crucial. Examining scientific sources, it seems that Nexus thinking can be considered as the key to reducing food waste. Proper planning and management of limited water, energy, and food resources to meet society's economic and social needs for sustainable development is always a challenging issue. In this paper, considering the two thermal power plants with coal fuel and natural gas fuel in Baghdad, the relationship between food production, water consumption, energy production, and CO2 emissions has been investigated. Considering three periods (5 years) and estimating demand and forecasting energy and food production, Nexus has been studied between water, food, and energy parameters. During these three periods, the amount of natural gas consumption has increased by 13.13%, 25.7%, and 28.79% compared to the total energy. Also, in the optimal case, the cost of the system is $ 5.65 billion.