Hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) incorporating process-based and economic input-output (EIO)based inventory data has been applied in various industries (e.g., wind energy, biofuel). Few hybrid LCA studies have been found in the food industry. This work analyzes the life cycle environmental impacts of the US beef processing industry using process-based and integrated hybrid LCA. The process-based inventory includes all resource inputs and waste outputs associated with a beef processing plant. The EIO-based inventory includes key activities missing in the process-based inventory, such as technical and management service, wood and paper, and industrial equipment. Ten environmental impact categories from TRACI v2.1 and one aggregated environmental single score are considered. The results show that environmental impact from EIO-based inventory contributes a meaningful fraction of the impact for ozone depletion (67%), respiratory effects (42%), fossil fuel depletion (38%), and smog (28%) (as opposed to process-based inventory). These results emphasize the relative potential for the US beef processing industry of greening the supply chain (e.g., technical and management services, industrial equipment) to reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, we perform uncertainty and global sensitivity analysis for key parameters of all environmental
Recent changes related to antimicrobial intervention technologies and reduction in product loss have affected cattle slaughterhouse wastewater streams. In this study, wastewater samples were collected from two cattle slaughterhouses located in the Midwest of the United States, focusing on the overall wastewater, antimicrobial interventions, and viscera and offal processing. The wastewater concentrations were affected by the water use, dilution, processes, and wastewater pretreatment that occurs within the slaughterhouse. Even though there were differences in the wastewater concentrations, the overall wastewater loads for both slaughterhouses were similar. The overall mean total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), 5-day biological chemical demand (BOD5), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) wastewater loads for the two slaughterhouses were 16.8, 10.0, 4.7, and 12.5 kg/1000 kg live weight killed, respectively. Wastewater streams from antimicrobial interventions have low pH and are potential sources of shock loadings. Wastewater from viscera and offal processing has high nutrient concentration; therefore, any improvement in this process could enhance the sustainability the industry.
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