Honey and Sugar As Surrogate Products: An Energy Evaluation

Honey and Sugar As Surrogate Products: An Energy Evaluation

E. Simoncini F. Coppola S. Borsa F.M. Pulselli 

Department of Chemistry, University of Siena, Italy

Page: 
143-153
|
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.2495/DNE-V4-N2-143-153
Received: 
N/A
| |
Accepted: 
N/A
| | Citation

OPEN ACCESS

Abstract: 

Exploitation of natural resources has reached an unsustainable level, due to the enormous growth of world population. Industrialized intensive agriculture, in particular, demands a great quantity of natural resources. White sugar is a widespread agricultural product. Its production from sugar beet or sugarcane is very expensive from the point of view of resource exploitation and sustainability. The aim of this paper is to compare white sugar and honey as sweeteners. We compared both processes of production in terms of emergy in order to establish the environmental costs and benefits of both. Transformities of honey and sugar were calculated per unit product and per unit area of land. Honey was found to have a better environmental performance than sugar production, due to the low quantity of non-renewable resources required. The environmental loading ratio indicated that honey production is more environmentally friendly than sugar production.

Keywords: 

agriculture, emergy, environmental loading ratio, honey, sugar, sugar beet, sugarcane, surrogate products

  References

[1] International sugar statistics, www.ilovesugar.com/worldofsugar/internationalSugarStats.htm

[2] Ometto, A.R., Roma, W.L.N. & Ortega, E., Emergy life cycle assessment of fuel ethanol in Brazil, Proc. of IV Biennial International Workshop ‘Advances in Energy Studies’. Unicamp, Campinas: SP, Brazil, pp. 389–399, 2004.

[3] Ulgiati, S., Odum, H.T. & Bastianoni, S., Emergy use, environmental loading and sustain ability an emergy analysis of Italy. Ecological Modelling, 73, pp. 215–268, 1994. doi:10.1016/03043800(94)90064-7

[4] Jiang, M.M., Chen, B., Zhou, J.B., Tao, F.R., Li, Z., Yang, Z.F. & Chen, G.Q., Emergy account for biomass resource exploitation by agriculture in China. Energy Policy, 35, pp. 4704–4714, 2007. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2007.03.014

[5] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World sugar production forecast to increase in 2004/05, 2004.

[6] Bastianoni, S., Emergy, empower and eco-exergy to empower ratio: a reconciliation of H.T. Odum with Prigogine? International Journal of Ecodynamics, 1(3), pp. 227–235, 2006.

[7] Odum, H.T., Environmental Accounting: Emergy and Environmental Decision Making, Wiley: New York, 1996.

[8] Odum, H.T., Handbook of Emergy Evaluation Folio 2: Emergy of Global Processes, Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida: Gainesville, USA, 2000.

[9] Odum, H.T., Brown, M.T. & Brandt-Williams, S., Handbook of Emergy Evaluation Folio 1: Introduction and Global Budget, Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida: Gainesville, USA, 2000.

[10] Factor, G., Longin, E., Villanueva, A. & Welton, C., Life Cycle Assessment of Sugar Production. Cane Sugar versus Beet Sugar, Final Report, Technical University of Denmark, 1998.

[11] Bertuzzi, S., Cecchini, F., Fantin, V., Franchini, F., Neri, P. & Spadoni, G., Analisi del ciclo di vita dello zucchero da barbabietola, ENEA, Protocol no. P135-057, 2005.

[12] Bastianoni, S., Campbell, D., Susani, L. & Tiezzi, E., The solar transformity of oil and petroleum natural gas. Ecological Modelling, 186, pp. 212–220, 2005. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2005.01.015 [13] Odum, H.T., Systems Ecology, John Wiley & Sons Inc.: New York, 1983.

[14] Brandt-Williams, S., Handbook of Emergy Evaluation Folio 4: Emergy of Florida Agriculture, Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida: Gainesville, USA, 2002.

[15] Vorasun, B., Evaluation of recycling and reuse of building materials using the emergy analysis method, University of Florida, Ph.D. Thesis, 1998.

[16] Brown, M.T. & Bardi, E., Handbook of Emergy Evaluation Folio 3: Emergy of Ecosystems, Center for Environmental Policy, University of Florida: Gainesville, USA, 2001.

[17] Odum, H.T., Emergy and Public Policy, Part I-II, Environmental Engineering Sciences,  University of Florida: Gainsville, FL, 1992.

[18] Greenleaf, S.S. & Kremen, C., Wild bee species increase tomato production and respond differently to surrounding land use in Northern California. Biological Conservation, 133, pp. 81–87, 2006. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.025

[19] British Bee Book: A Biography (1500–1976). International Bee Research Association:  London, 1979.

[20] Pinzauti, M., Api e Impollinazione, Regione Toscana: Firenze, 2000.

[21] Philippe, J.-M., La pollination par les abeilles, Edisud: Aix-en-Provence, 1991.

[22] http://www.alive.com/1990a5a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=7

[23] Atti del convegno ‘Il ruolo della ricerca in apicoltura’, Istituto Nazionale Apicoltura: Bologna, 2002.

[24] http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-honey-health.html