Life Cycle Analysis of CO2 Emissions from Sugarcane Cultivations in Buriram Province

Abstract

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) from sugarcane cultivations of farmers in Buriram Province based on the principle of life cycle assessment of four processes of sugarcane production, including land preparation, planting, nurturing, and harvesting and transportation. There are two forms of cane growing, namely plant cane and ratoon cane. With regard to harvesting, there are three forms: burned cane, fresh cane and burned leaves, and fresh cane. The results of this study revealed that ratoon cane (fresh cane and burned leaves) emitted the maximum carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent of 532.19 kgCO2eq/ton, followed by ratoon cane (burned cane), plant cane (fresh cane and burned leaves), plant cane (burned cane), and plant cane (fresh cane) at 524.91, 436.58, 429.29 and 60.82 kgCO2eq/ton, respectively. Regarding ratoon cane (fresh cane), it emitted the minimum CO2 equivalent of 14.90 kgCO2eq/ton. When considering the process of land preparation in combination with planting, it was found that growing plant cane emitted more CO2 equivalent than that of ratoon cane by 43.22 kgCO2eq/ton. With respect to harvesting methods, harvesting burned cane and fresh cane and burned leaves emitted more CO2 equivalent than that of fresh cane around 38 times for plant cane and 52 times for ratoon cane. Therefore, in producing and selling sugarcane to sugar mills, sugarcane farmers should choose to grow ratoon canes and harvest the fresh canes, which would effectively minimize environmental impact. Keywords:  life cycle assessment, CO2 emission