Life Cycle Assessment of the Sugar Industry: A Case Study of Amir Kabir Sugar Cane Industry

Nowadays, the importance of protecting the environment is obvious, so any action and implementation of any program requires sufficient knowledge of the environment. One way of preserving natural resources and achieving sustainable development, especially sustainable agriculture, is to assess the environmental impacts of the production process of agricultural products through the life cycle assessment. In this study, this method was used to evaluate the environmental impacts of classes of effects based on the ISO standard. The results showed in the production of sugarcane, the classes of effects release to the environment were as following: eutrophication 4.6 kgPO4 --- equivalent, acidification 21.94 kgSO2, and global warming 1701.76 kg equivalent to carbon dioxide, abiotic depletion 0.000087 kg Sb eq, and ozone layer depletion 28 mgCFC. Accordingly, electricity and burning have the highest share per tons of sugar.