Investigation of energy and environmental indicators in sugar production from sugar beet

Evaluation of energy and environmental indicators in each activity is nessessery n order to reduce the adverse effects on the environment. The aim of the present study was to investigate energy and environmental indicators in the production of sugar from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). The data of Fariman Sugar Factory, Fariman, Khorasan Razavi, was used. Life cycle assessment method and SimaPro Software were used to determine the environmental loads of product production. The results of the present study showed that the total amount of input energy in the production of one hundred tons of sugar was 4788690.12 MJ. The most effective input energy in sugar production was natural gas with a share of 43%. The values of energy ratio, energy efficiency, energy intensity, and net energy gain indices were calculated as 0.56, 0.02 Kg.MJ-1, 47.9 MJ.kg-1, and -2075499.7 MJ.100tons-1. The share of non-renewable energy consumption was 97.35%. The highest environmental loads were from sugar beet, equipment and machinery, nylon and limestone, respectively. Normalization of environmental indicators in sugar production showed that the effect groups of marine aquatic ecotoxicity, abiotic depletion (fossil fuels), glowbal warming, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity and acidificatin potential had higher values compared to others efect groups.