Low carbon solutions for the food industry
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Abstract
Globally seen, the agro-food sector is one of the great emitters of GreenHouseGases. Starting with agriculture, considering the transport, the processing and the retail, there are hundreds of options to reduce emissions to air, water and soil. Most processes in food industry take place at a rather low temperature below 100°C and at moderate pressures. This situation offers possibilities for solar thermal heating and the utilization of waste heat. The large amounts of organic waste in the whole chain imply potentials for biogas processes, as often as possible combined with a cogeneration of heat and power. Large amounts of energy in the agro-food sector are used for storage, cooling and freezing; here as well are possibilities for energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. Taking also into account the energy efficient options for transport and the possibilities of reusing water from the production processes for irrigation, the whole system starts to be sustainable. Putting all these options together, one ends up with a low-carbon agro-food system, which in an optimal constitution ends up in a Zero-Emissions Agro-Food system.