Journal of Cleaner Production 41 (2013) 222e231

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Life cycle assessment of the cogeneration processes in the Cuban sugar industry
Maylier Prez Gil*, Ana M. Contreras Moya, Elena Rosa Domnguez
Departament of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Pharmacy Faculty, Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas, Santa Clara, Villa Clara 54830, Cuba

a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history: Received 28 October 2011 Received in revised form 1 August 2012 Accepted 2 August 2012 Available online 31 August 2012 Keywords: Bagasse Cogeneration Energy Electricity LCA Eco-indicator 99

a b s t r a c t
The cogeneration process from sugarcane bagasse is an alternative way to reduce fossil fuels consumption. In the environmental assessment of products, processes and services the methodology of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is commonly used. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of the life cycle of different cogeneration technologies currently used in the Cuban sugar industry. For doing this, a combination of nine steam generators models with eight turbogenerators was analyzed, for a total of 72 alternatives, using the Eco-indicator 99 and the software SimaPro. The electricity generated daily (1000 kWh) was the functional unit used for the analysis. The results showed that the reduction of this process emissions to the air, water and soil had a favorable effect on the categories of carcinogenesis, radiation, ecotoxicity and land use. The category of Human Health damages reached higher impacts in the cogeneration stage, which represented about 80% of the total environmental impact of the process. It was evidenced that the largest contribution to this category was the emissions of particulate material from bagasse combustion. The combination of the steam generator German Modied EKE 80 with the Russian turbogenerator 2500 was the alternative that involved a reduction of the total impact compared to the rest of alternatives. 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction In the last decades there has been a growing concern about the impact of human activity on the environment which is a receiver of wastes and also a provider of resources and energy. Accordingly, the new environmental culture imposes limits on the acceptance of the uncontrolled exploitation of resources, ending a period in which industrial processes were carried out without concerning about the environmental impact (Rieradevall and Vinyets, 1999; Rodrguez, 2004). Therefore, new strategies are developed to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activity, primarily based on a comprehensive preventive approach that promotes a more efcient use of material and energy resources, increasing productivity and competitiveness. This approach involves the introduction of some technological and management measures for reducing the consumption of materials and energy, preventing waste generation at source, reducing operational risks and other potential environmental impacts throughout the production cycle and all stages of industrial projects development (Contreras, 2007). Sugarcane is considered a valuable crop, since sugar is an essential product for the human life and hence highly demanded in the world market. In the past, the sugarcane industry produced

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 53 42 281164; fax: 53 42 281608. E-mail address: maylier@uclv.edu.cu (M. Prez Gil). 0959-6526/$ e see front matter 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.006

only sugar but now it also produces electricity from bagasse and ethanol from molasses (Ramjeawon, 2004; Buddadde et al., 2008; Nguyen et al., 2009). Bagasse is considered a useful by-product for steam-electricity combined systems and the main source of energy in the sugar production (Botha and Blottnitz, 2006). The electricity generated from bagasse is commonly used in sugar production and the surplus is exported to the national grid (Van den Broek et al., 2000; Ramjeawon, 2008; Renouf et al., 2008; Buddadde et al., 2008; Nguyen et al., 2009; Nguyen and Hermansen, 2012). As the sugarcane industry generates serious environmental problems, it is considered a major pollutant, which requires alternative solutions to minimize its impacts. Emissions and fossil fuels consumption in different life cycle stages are among the elements that contribute to environmental pollution (Prez, 2009; Chauhan et al., 2011; Nguyen and Hermansen, 2012). In this sense, cogeneration processes are implemented using bagasse to generate power at lower cost, which also require the use of several methods to improve their efciency, such as efcient pumps, motors and equipment for heat recovery as pre-heaters and economizers to improve their efciency (Ramjatun et al., 1999; Deepchand, 2001). The current practice of cogeneration can reduce fossil fuels consumption and emissions associated with combustion, preventing global warming. At the same time, the improper disposal of bagasse as a residue from this process is avoided (Van den Broek et al., 2000; Roqueta and Guinda, 2003; Ensinas et al., 2007; Rosen, 2008). However, the use of bagasse as fuel produces

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Fig. 1. Life cycle model of the electricity generation from steam in a cane sugar mill.

emissions that cause signicant impacts on human health and the ecosystem, which must be quantied (Renouf, 2002; Jafar et al., 2008; Buddadde et al., 2008; Al-Amin et al., 2009; Grillo et al., 2011). In order to quantify the technologies sustainability, the methodology of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is commonly implemented which is a tool for the environmental assessment of products, processes and services (Rosen, 2008; Ometto et al., 2009; Chauhan et al., 2011; Grillo et al., 2011, Dewulf and Van, 2005). This methodology integrates the environmental impacts during the life cycle of a product and relates them to specic environmental problems. In addition, it also allows setting certain priorities to dene preventive strategies for the improvement of environmental performance (Fullana, 2002; Iglesias, 2005; NC ISO 14040, 2005, Varun et al., 2009). The LCA methodology is usually applied together with several computational programs, and among them, the SimaPro is the most used (PR Consultants, 2004; Goedkoop, 2006; Goedkoop et al., 2007a,b). Besides, different studies show that the LCA can be successfully applied in the sugar industry. Chauhan et al. (2011) have analyzed the current situation of this industry applying the LCA for the environmental assessment of the processes involved there. Others have shown the environmental benets of electricity generated from bagasse compared with that generated by fossil fuels (Van den Broek et al., 2000; Renouf, 2000, 2002; Botha and Blottnitz, 2006; Contreras, 2007; Ramjeawon, 2008; Contreras et al., 2009; Nguyen et al., 2009). In this vein, Van den Broek et al. (2000) compared the generation of electricity from biomass (bagasse during the sugarcane season and eucalyptus during the rest of the year) by the sugar mills of Nicaragua with electricity generated from fuel oil. The comparison was made considering costs, macro-economic impacts and environmental emissions. The results of this comparison showed that the generation of electricity from biomass has signicant macro-economic and environmental advantages. Renouf (2002) presented the ndings of a preliminary LCA of the electricity generation from bagasse in Queensland, Australia. The aim of this study was to determine the environmental benets of bagasse-derived electricity over the coal-derived electricity and offered recommendations for a model as a basis for future studies of

energy systems. Later, Ramjeawon (2008) compared electricity generation systems on the island of Mauritius using different fuels such as bagasse, coal and fuel oil. The results of this comparison indicated that bagasse-derived electricity provides environmental benets for the categories of greenhouse gas emissions, acidication, non-renewable energy input, human toxicity and photochemical smog but it performs poorly in relation to water consumption and eutrophication. These results were similar to those obtained by Renouf (2000). In Cuba, some researchers implemented the LCA to compare four different alternatives for the use of by-products and wastes from sugar production. It is interesting to note that all the alternatives considered cogeneration from bagasse for energy production which reafrmed its environmental benets (Contreras, 2007 & Contreras et al., 2009). Nguyen et al. (2009) conducted an assessment following two practical approaches that reduce consumption of fossil energy in the sugar industry: the rst approach refers to the efcient extraction of energy, in this case electricity from bagasse and cane straw, emphasizing the use of bagasse. The second suggests the conversion to ethanol from sugarcane molasses, which emphasizes the shift from coal to ethanol. It is considered that both approaches can meet the energy needs of the sugar industry. The presented results provide guidance on the strategies to be applied for optimum utilization of biomass as energy source. Casas et al. (2011) evaluated the effects of the integration of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology with the traditional process
Table 1 Steam generators and turbogenerators analyzed/in the study. Steam generator 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Retal 45 Retal 55 Retal 60 Evelma G-4 Villa Clara German German EKE 45 German Modied EKE 60 German Modied EKE 80 Turbogenerator 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Russian P-4-20/2TK Russian 2500 German G-2 German G-3 English ALLEN 4000 English ALLEN 2500 English ALLEN 1500

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Table 2 Main characteristics of the steam generators in Cuban sugar mills (Rodrguez, 1997; INGEMAT, 2008). Steam generator Characteristics Production Steam pressure Steam temperature Efciency Furnace temperature Burning type Emissions to air temperature (outputs) Electricity consumed Index of steam generation Water temperature Unit kg/s kPa K % K e K kWh kg steam/kg bagasse K Retal 45 Retal 55 Retal 60 16.67 2837.10 673.15 85.00 1373.15 473.15 520.00 2.20 403.15 Evelma G-4 9.72 1783.32 623.15 82.00 1323.15 Pack 493.15 350.00 2.20 403.15 Villa Clara 8.89 1823.85 593.15 75.00 1273.15 573.15 20.00 2.00 373.15 German 6.94 1823.85 593.15 75.00 1273.15 573.15 20.00 2.00 373.15 German EKE 45 German modied EKE 60 German modied EKE 80 22.22 2837.10 673.15 87.00 1373.15 453.15 500.00 2.50 423.15

12.50 15.28 1823.85 1783.32 593.15 623.15 80.00 82.00 1323.15 1323.15 Semi suspension 493.15 493.15 415.00 2.20 403.15 450.00 2.20 403.15

12.50 16.67 2837.10 2837.10 593.15 673.15 80.00 85.00 1323.15 1373.50 Semi suspension 493.15 473.15 415.00 2.20 373.15 550.00 2.30 403.15

for the production of sugar-ethanol and bagasse for cogeneration. The analysis was performed using some indicators: global warming potential, air pollution, exergetic efciency, and renewability. The results showed that the integration of the SOFC technology with the traditional process of sugar-ethanol and electricity cogeneration from bagasse is environmentally superior compared to the process which does not integrate SOFC technology, specically concerning greenhouse gas emissions, renewability and exergetic efciency. In Cuba there are different cogeneration systems, necessary to meet the on-site needs of steam and energy in sugar production and to export the surplus to the national grid (Reyes et al., 2002; Mesa and Gonzlez, 2003; Torres, 2007). Studies carried out by Romero et al. (2008) evaluated the environmental impact of those cogeneration systems in the sugar industry, taking into account other evaluation criteria, different from those of the LCA methodology. As it was explained above, the life cycle of the cogeneration systems installed in the sugar industry has not been studied from the environmental viewpoint. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of the life cycle of different cogeneration technologies currently used in the Cuban sugar industry. This way, the most feasible cogeneration system from the environmental point of view was identied.

2.1. Goal and scope denition To evaluate and compare different cogeneration systems currently installed in the Cuban sugar industry through some environmental criteria. 2.1.1. Description of the studied system The basic model for the study was the process of cogeneration from bagasse, its life cycle inventory was created and then modied according to the alternatives to be evaluated. The role of cogeneration in the sugar industry is to generate electricity from the steam produced in the sugar mill in order to meet their on-site needs as well as to export the surplus to the national grid. In this case, 1000 kWh per day is the functional unit established for the comparison of the different cogeneration systems. According to Fig. 1 the life cycle of the process consists of four stages: agriculture, bagasse production, steam generation and electricity generation, with their respective inputs and outputs related to raw materials, energy, products, by-products and emissions to the environment. The agricultural stage includes land preparation, planting and plant cultivation requirements, harvesting and transportation to the sugar mill. In this case, fresh water, fertilizers, pesticides, solar energy, diesel and cane seed are considered as inputs. The outputs are the sugarcane as a result of the process, emissions to water, soil and air associated with the above processes as well as agricultural wastes that are considered to be avoided products (substitute feed for animals). The bagasse production stage is where the juice is extracted from the sugarcane in the mills. Here the mixed juice and bagasse are considered as by-products. Fresh water is used as input at this stage.

2. Materials and methods The LCA tool was used, applying the methodology developed by Contreras (2007) for the production of sugarcane in Cuba, based on the Cuban standards of the ISO 14040 series (ISO 14040 NC, 2005; NC ISO 14041, 2000, NC ISO 14042, 2001, NC ISO 14043, 2001). The phases involved in this methodology are described below:

Table 3 Main characteristics of the turbogenerators installed in Cuban sugar mills (INGEMAT, 2008). Turbogenerator Characteristics Unit Russian P-2.5-20/2TK 2500.00 1765.20 583.15 196.13 11.32 Russian P-4-20/2TK 4000.00 1765.20 583.15 196.13 10.62 Russian 2500 2500.00 2255.53 523.15 196.13 10.08 German G-2 1500.00 1078.73 459.15 196.13 19.80 German G-3 1500.00 1078.73 459.15 196.13 18.50 English ALLEN 4000 4000.00 1765.20 583.15 102.97 11.50 English ALLEN 2500 2500.00 1033.62 Saturation 102.97 17.60 English ALLEN 1500 1500.00 1033.62 Saturation 102.97 18.00

Power Steam pressure Steam temperature Backpressure Index of Steam consumed

kWh kPa K kPa kg steam/kWh

M. Prez Gil et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 41 (2013) 222e231 Table 4 Primary data inventory for the agricultural stage. Alternative: Steam generator RETAL 45 & Turbogenerator Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Unit Known inputs from nature (resources) Solar energy Land use GJ/d m2/d Quantity 19,747.93 2049.00 94.24 151.52 40.67 0.1208 0.2970 0.1460 0.2190 0.0764 0.3560 0.7640 0.0102 0.0509 0.0036 0.0674 45.64 12.54 40.96 7170.64 4097.51 24,585.04 14,628.10 3145.04 0.0363 0.00001 0.0025 0.002 References

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Water m3/d Known inputs from technosphere (materials/fuels) Diesel kg/d Cane seed kg/d Pesticides used Diuron kg/d Glyphosate kg/d Gesapox 80 kg/d MSMA 72 kg/d Amine salt 72 kg/d Isoctilic ester 48 kg/d Asulox 40 kg/d Gramoxone kg/d Amigan 65 kg/d Merlin 75 kg/d Sulfatante 90 kg/d Fertilizer used Urea kg/d kg/d Triple superphosphate (as P2O5) Potassium chloride (as K2O) kg/d Filter cake kg/d Ashes kg/d Vinasse kg/d Known outputs to technosphere. Products and co-products Sugarcane kg/d Known outputs to technosphere. Avoided products Agricultural wastes kg/d Emissions to air Nitrogen oxides kg/d Emissions to water Pesticides kg/d Total nitrogen kg/d Emissions to soil Pesticides kg/d

(Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009) (Valds et al., 1997; Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009) (Prez, 2009) (Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009) (Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009) (Prez, 2009; MINAZ, 2002) (Prez, 2009; MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ., 2002) (Prez, 2009; MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (MINAZ, 2002) (Cairo, 1996; Grciga, 1999) (Cairo, 1996; Grciga, 1999) (MINAZ, 2002) (Prez, 2009) (Reyes et al., 2002) (EPA, 1995, 1997) (EPA, 1995, 1997) (EPA, 1995, 1997) (EPA, 1995, 1997)

In the stage of steam generation bagasse is burned to produce the steam required for the sugar mill. The emitted gases and ash are the main residues obtained at this stage. The exhaust gases are harmful emissions, but the ashes, in this research, are considered avoided products, used to replace chemical fertilizers in the agricultural stage (see Fig. 1). Lastly, at the electricity generation stage steam is converted into electricity using a back pressure steam turbine. The low pressure steam is considered as a by-product in the present study. Here, the combination of nine models of steam generators with eight turbogenerators models currently used in the Cuban sugar industry was also analyzed, for a total of 72 alternatives. They are shown in

Table 1. The main features of the steam generators and turbogenerators are illustrated in Tables 2 and 3. 2.1.2. System boundaries The boundaries of the system are between the agricultural stage, which includes the processes of production of fertilizers and pesticides, and the electricity generation stage (see Fig. 1). The phase of distribution and consumption is not considered here
Table 6 Primary data inventory for the steam generation stage. Alternative: Steam generator RETAL 45 & Turbogenerator Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Unit Quantity References

Table 5 Primary data inventory for the bagasse production stage. Alternative: Steam generator RETAL 45 & Turbogenerator Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Unit Quantity References 2009) 2009) 2009) 2009)

Known inputs from nature (resources) Water m3/d 4.52 (Prez, Known inputs from technosphere (materials/fuels) Sugarcane kg/d 14,628.10 (Prez, Known outputs to technosphere. Products and co-products Bagasse kg/d 4827.23 (Prez, Mixed juice kg/d 14,189.26 (Prez,

Known inputs from nature (resources) Air kg/d 13,886.51 (Prez, 2009) 11.69 (Prez, 2009) Water m3/d Known inputs from technosphere (materials/fuels) Bagasse kg/d 4827.23 (Prez, 2009) Known outputs to technosphere. Products and co-products Steam kg/d 10,620.00 (Prez, 2009) Known outputs to technosphere. Avoided products Ashes kg/d 3.02 (Prez, 2009) Emissions to air Particulate material kg/d 57.30 (EPA, 1995, 1997) kg/d 16,200.00 (EPA, 1995, 1997) Nitrogen oxides (NOx as NO2) kg/d 5.07 (EPA, 1995, 1997) Sulfur oxides (SOx as SO2) kg/d 6460.00 (EPA, 1995, 1997) Carbon dioxide (CO2)

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Table 7 Primary data inventory for the electricity generation stage. Alternative: Steam generator RETAL 45 & Turbogenerator Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Unit Quantity References

Known inputs from technosphere (materials/fuels) Steam kg/d 10,620.00 (Prez, 2009) Known outputs to technosphere. Products and co-products Electrical energy kWh/d 1000.00 (Prez, 2009) Steam kWh/d 7800.89 (Prez, 2009)

because the objective of this study is the process and not the product. 2.1.3. Allocation principles and main assumptions made in the study Some processes not only have a single output to technosphere, but several outputs which can have different uses. The multioutput processes are very common in LCA product systems. The environmental impacts of multi-output processes have to be shared between different products. Each method of allocation has advantages and disadvantages, so its selection depends on the aim of the study. Although the expansion of the system is the preferred method and avoids the allocation, this leads to a more extensive and complex model that requires more data. When the allocation cannot be avoided in the LCA, ISO 14041 proposes the physical properties (mass, energy, exergy, etc.) of products as the best allocation methods (Ekvall and Finnveden, 2001; Kim and Dale,

2002; Dewulf et al., 2005; Dewulf and Van Langenhove, 2005; Jungbluth and Frischknecht, 2006; Curran, 2007; Grillo et al., 2011). In this study, mass-based allocation method was applied for the products (bagasse and mixed juice) obtained in the bagasse production stage. This distribution was used in order to assess the real impact of bagasse. According to this principle, bagasse represents about 25% of the total mass of the products and mixed juice about 75%. Nevertheless, the energy-based allocation method was used in the electricity generation stage, in which the environmental loads were allocated from the products energy content (electricity and steam). According to this method electricity represented 12% of the energy and steam 88%. Thus, the main assumptions taken into account from this analysis are listed below:
-

The functional unit is independent of the energy generated by the turbogenerators (Prez, 2009). The considerations given above for the agricultural stage are the same for all the studied alternatives (Prez et al., 2006; Contreras, 2007; Prez, 2009; Contreras et al., 2009). The material and energy balances are made according to the characteristics of the steam generators and turbogenerators (Prez, 2009). Mixed juice and steam are considered as byproducts in the bagasse production and electricity generation stages, respectively (Prez, 2009) The electricity consumption in the bagasse production and steam generation are supplied by the process itself.

Fig. 2. Environmental prole by impact categories/characterization.

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Agricultural wastes (aw) are evaluated as avoided products. This fact is considered for the replacement of maize as animal feed by aw, which have similar nutritional value. In view of that, the resources consumption and emissions during the life cycle of this grain production is prevented. The production process of maize was taken from the Ecoinvent database (Valds, 1997; Contreras et al., 2009). The ashes produced from burning bagasse are considered as avoided product. They are used as fertilizers in the agricultural stage, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers commonly used in Cuban agriculture and all the impacts associated with their life cycle. The processes were taken from the Ecoinvent database (Ponce and Balmaceda, 2000; Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009; Casas et al., 2011). All pesticides that are not included in the database of the software SimaPro are analyzed as unspecied pesticides. The air pollution control technologies in the process of steam generation are not considered in this analysis because it is not common practice in Cuban sugar mills (Prez, 2009). Calculation of emissions in the steam generation stage is performed according to the methodology described by the Cuban National Energy Commission (CNE, 2008). The combustion of bagasse is assumed as a complete combustion and emissions of nitrogen are considered as NOx (Prez, 2009). At the electricity generation stage emissions to the ecosphere were not evaluated (Prez, 2009). In order to compare the cogeneration system with the other stages of the process (agricultural and bagasse production)

from the environmental impact point of view, steam generation stage and electricity generation stage are considered as a single one. 2.2. Life cycle inventory (LCI) The inputs and outputs of the studied alternatives in the LCI were quantied from the results obtained by Prez (2009) taking into account the information available in the reviewed literature, in the Cuban sugar industry, from suppliers, customers and other sources to ensure data reliability and validity. 2.3. Life cycle impacts assessment (LCIA) The method of Eco-indicator 99 was applied with the SimaPro software. The eleven impact categories of this indicator were evaluated using weighting based on the hierarchist cultural perspective. These impact categories are grouped into three categories of damages: Human Health, Ecosystem Quality and Resources (EPA, 1995, 1997; Goedkoop and Spriensma, 2001; PR Consultants, 2004; Contreras et al., 2009; Prez, 2009). The category of damages to Human Health comprises the impact categories of carcinogenesis, respiratory effects of organic compounds, respiratory effects of inorganic compounds, climate change, radiation and ozone layer. The category Ecosystem Quality includes ecotoxicity, acidication/eutrophication and land use while the Resources category comprises mineral resources and fossil fuels.

Fig. 3. Environmental prole by impact categories/weighting.

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Materials, resources and products used in the evaluation were taken from the Ecoinvent database, developed by the Ecoinvent Center, Switzerland.

3.2. Life cycle impacts assessment This section discusses the results of the impacts assessment of the alternative represented by the LCI shown above. The characterization and weighting results according to the LCA methodology are presented. 3.2.1. Characterization results The characterization results are shown in Fig. 2. Most impact categories take positive values (environmentally harmful) except for the categories of carcinogenesis, radiation, ecotoxicity and land use where negative values are obtained (benecial for the environment). These categories are associated with air emissions, water and soil of some organic compounds such as benzene, dioxins, toluene, methylene chloride, hydrouoric acid, phenol, and heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, nickel, chromium, mercury, lead, which are reduced under the term of avoided products. The use of ashes produced in the steam generation stage as fertilizers reduces the use of the chemical ones and therefore the emission of organic compounds and heavy metals associated with the use and production of fertilizers. The use of agricultural wastes contributes to avoid the use of maize for animal feed and all the impacts associated with the high consumption of chemical fertilizers, fossil fuels and damages for occupation and land transformation produced by this crop. In addition, most categories in the agricultural stage show harmful impacts due to the effects associated with the extraction, processing and consumption of fossil fuels. This shows a greater

2.4. Interpretation of the study All the alternatives were evaluated and compared from the environmental impact point of view, quantifying the impacts and identifying the best alternative. The nal contribution of the inventory data, the processes network as well as environmental proles by impact and damage categories for each alternative were obtained. They were expressed in graphical and tabulated form; which allowed the comparison of the analyzed alternatives and the identication of the stages and systems with the highest impact.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Analysis of the LCI In Tables 4e7 the input and output data are illustrated for each stage of the life cycle of one of the 72 studied alternatives (45 RETAL steam generator with P-2.5-20/2TK Russian turbogenerator). Similar data were used for the evaluation of the rest of the alternatives.

Fig. 4. Environmental prole by damage categories/single score.

M. Prez Gil et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 41 (2013) 222e231 Table 8 Total impact value (Pt) for each alternative (Steam generator & Turbogenerator). Alternative German M EKE 80 & Russian 2500 German M EKE 80 & Russian P-4-20/2TK German M EKE 60 & Russian 2500 German M EKE 80 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Evelma G-4 & Russian 2500 EKE 45 & Russian 2500 Retal 45 & Russian 2500 Retal 55 & Russian 2500 Retal 60 & Russian 2500 German M EKE 80 & English A 4000 German M EKE 60 & Russian P-4-20/2TK Evelma G-4 & Russian P-4-20/2TK German EKE 45 & Russian P-4-20/2TK Retal 45 & Russian P-4-20/2TK Retal 55 & Russian P-4-20/2TK Retal 60 & r Russian P-4-20/2TK German M EKE 60 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK German & Russian 2500 Villa Clara & Russian 2500 German M EKE 60 & English A 4000 Evelma G-4 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK German EKE 45 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Retal 45 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Retal 55 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Pt 0.116 0.123 0.127 0.131 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.133 0.134 0.140 0.140 0.140 0.140 0.140 0.143 0.145 0.145 0.145 0.149 0.149 0.149 0.149 Alternative Retal 60 & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK Retal 55 & English A 4000 Retal 60 & English A 4000 German & Russian P-4-20/2TK Villa Clara & Russian P-4-20/2TK Evelma G-4 & English A 4000 German EKE 45 & English A 4000 Retal 45 & English A 4000 Villa Clara & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK German & Russian P-2.5-20/2TK German & English A 4000 Villa Clara & English A 4000 German M EKE 80 & English A 2500 German M EKE 80 & English A 1500 German M EKE 60 & English A 2500 German M EKE 60 & English A 1500 German M EKE 80 & German G-2 German M EKE 80 & German G-3 Evelma G-4 & English A 1500 German EKE 45 & English A 2500 Retal 45 & English A 2500 Retal 55 & English A 2500 Retal 60 & English A 2500 German EKE 45 & English A 1500 Pt 0.149 0.151 0.151 0.152 0.152 0.152 0.152 0.152 0.162 0.163 0.165 0.165 0.203 0.208 0.222 0.227 0.229 0.229 0.232 0.232 0.232 0.232 0.232 0.237 Alternative Retal 45 & English A 1500 Retal 55 & English A 1500 Retal 60 & English A 1500 Evelma G-4 & English A 1500 Evelma G-4 & German G-3 Retal 55 & German G-3 Retal 60 & German G-3 German M EKE 60 & German G-2 German M EKE 60 & German G-3 German & English A 2500 Villa Clara & English A 2500 German & English A 1500 Villa Clara & English A 1500 Evelma G-4 & German G-2 German EKE 45 & German G-2 Retal 45 & German G-2 Retal 55 & German G-2 Retal 60 & German G-2 German EKE 45 & German G-3 Retal 45 & German G-3 Villa Clara & German G-2 German & German G-3 Villa Clara & German G-3 German & German G-2 Pt

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0.237 0.237 0.237 0.238 0.244 0.244 0.244 0.250 0.250 0.253 0.253 0.258 0.258 0.261 0.261 0.261 0.261 0.261 0.261 0.261 0.284 0.284 0.254 0.840

German M: German Modied, English A: English ALLEN.

contribution to the category of fossil fuels at this stage than at the rest of the stages. Also, the categories of respiratory effects of inorganic compounds and acidication/eutrophication show harmful impact values at the steam and electricity generation stage. 3.2.2. Weighting results by impact categories Fig. 3 illustrates the weighting results by impact categories, observing that the category of respiratory effects of inorganic compounds has the highest harmful environmental impact, justied by the emission of particulate material, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide as the main pollutants from the cogeneration process. Then, a disadvantage of bagasse burning is the generation of signicant volumes of particulate material, which contributes to damages to Human Health. Furthermore, the harmful impact at this stage is emphasized by the impact category of acidication/eutrophication due to the inorganic compounds emissions too. 3.2.3. Single score results by damages categories Single score results by damages categories are shown in Fig. 4 for all the stages of the cogeneration process. The steam and electricity generation stage contributes to the greatest environmental load where the damages to Human Health show the highest value, about 80% of the total impact at this stage. This behavior is largely due to the respiratory effects of inorganic compounds. The agricultural stage shows the highest contribution to the Resources category with an emphasis on diesel consumption. On the other hand, there is a benecial effect on the Quality Ecosystem given by the improvement of land use, which is justied by the results discussed above. The bagasse production stage shows lower results in all the categories in comparison with the rest of the stages. 3.3. Alternatives comparison One of most outstanding results of the impact assessment lies on the possibility to compare the studied alternatives. The nal evaluation given for each alternative had a similar behavior to the one explained in Section 3.2. The alternatives comparison was

made according to the single score (Pt). The total impact values for each alternative are shown in Table 8 in ascending order. The combination of the steam generator German Modied EKE 80 with the Russian turbogenerator TR 2500 shows the least environmental impact, based on the total score for each alternative, which is associated with resources consumption and emissions to the environment. This steam generator shows a higher index of steam generation which involves a reduction of sugarcane consumption that inuences all stages of the cogeneration process life cycle. This performance implies a reduction of land use, diesel, fertilizers, pesticides and transportation at the agricultural stage. 4. Conclusions This research provides detailed results for assessing the environmental performance of the electricity generation process through different alternatives of cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse. The categories of carcinogenesis, radiation, ecotoxicity and land use showed benecial impacts on the LCA, which were associated with the replacement of chemical fertilizers and animal feed use. The greatest impacts of the analyzed system are on the damages to Human Health, which are related to the respiratory effects of inorganic compounds in the process of steam and electricity generation, specically the amount of particulate material emitted into the atmosphere. Besides there are also evidenced signicant damages to Resources derived from the consumption of fossil fuels at the agricultural stage. This is a disadvantage of cogeneration from bagasse. Of all the studied alternatives, the combination of the steam generator German Modied EKE 80 with the Russian turbogenerator TR 2500 showed the most benecial environmental impacts of cogeneration for the Cuban sugar industry conditions. 5. Recommendations It is recommended to apply the results of this study in combination with a technical and economic analysis for each cogeneration system operating in the Cuban sugar industry and assess more advanced cogeneration systems.

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The application of gas purication technologies is also suggested in order to remove the particulate material from the combustion gases, which could reduce the environmental impact of the cogeneration system from bagasse. Finally, the use of agricultural wastes and its combination with bagasse as fuels should be analyzed from the technical, economic and environmental point of view.

Acknowledgments This study was possible thanks to the International Collaboration Programme that is developed between Flemish Interuniversity Council in Belgium and the Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas (VLIR-UCLV), specically the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Central University of Las Villas and EnVoc Research Group of the Faculty of Bioengineering at the University of Ghent.

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