• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.383-389
• /
• 2011

The negative fishery factors from an environmental perspective are greenhouse gas emissions due to high fossil fuel use, destruction of underwater ecosystems by bottom trawls, a reduction in resources by fishing, and damage to ecosystem diversity. In particular, the greenhouse gas emissions from fisheries is an important issue based on the Cancun meeting in Mexico in 1992 and the Kyoto protocol in 2005. However, no investigations on the GHG emissions from Korean fisheries have been conducted. Therefore, a quantitative analysis of GHG emissions from the Korean fishery industry is needed as a first step to identify a method to reduce GHG emissions from fisheries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of GHG emitted from fisheries. Here, we calculated the GHG emissions from four main Korean fisheries(i.e., large trawls, large purse seines, Danish seines, and bottom pair trawls) using the life cycle assessment(LCA) method. The system boundary and input parameters for each process level were defined for LCA analysis. The fuel use coefficient of each fishery was also calculated. The GHG emissions from edible seafood were calculated considering different consuming areas. The results will be helpful to understand GHG emissions from Korean fisheries.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.892-897
• /
• 2010

LCA (Life Cycle assessment) was carried out to estimate on carbon footprint and to establish of LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) database of sweetpotato production system. Based on collecting the data for operating LCI, it was shown that input of organic fertilizer was value of 3.26E-01 kg $kg^{-1}$ and it of mineral fertilizer was 1.02E-01 kg $kg^{-1}$ for sweetpotato production. It was the highest value among input for sweetpotato production. And direct field emission was 2.47E-02 kg $kg^{-1}$ during sweetpotato cropping. The result of LCI analysis focussed on greenhouse gas (GHG) was showed that carbon footprint was 4.05E-01 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ sweetpotato. Especially $CO_2$ for 71% of the GHG emission and the value was 2.88E-01 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ sweetpotato. Of the GHG emission $CH_4$, and $N_2O$ were estimated to be 18% and 11%, respectively. It might be due to emit from mainly fertilizer production (32%) and sweetpotato cultivation (28%) for sweetpotato production system. $N_2O$ emitted from sweetpotato cultivation for 90% of the GHG emission. With LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment) for sweetpotato production system, it was observed that the process of fertilizer production might be contributed to approximately 90% of GWP (global warming potential). Characterization value of GWP and POCP were 4.05E-01 $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ and 5.08E-05 kg $C_2H_4$-eq. $kg^{-1}$, respectively.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.389-406
• /
• 2011

As part of a feasibility study for introducing carbon labeling of fruit products in Korea, we explore the use of carbon footprints for Korean kiwifruit from Gyeongnam region as a case study. In Korea, the Korean Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) is responsible for the carbon footprint labeling certification, and has two types of certification programs: one program focuses on climate change response (carbon footprint labeling analysis) and the other on low-carbon products (reduction of carbon footprints analysis). Currently agricultural products have not yet been included in the program. Carbon labeling could soon be a prerequisite for the international trading of agricultural products. In general the carbon footprints of various agricultural products from New Zealand followed the methodology described in the ISO standards and conformed to the PAS 2050. The carbon footprint assessment focuses on a supply chain, and considers the foreground and the background systems. The basic scheme consists of four phases, which are the 'goal', 'scope', 'inventory analysis', and 'interpretation' phases. In the case of the carbon footprint of New Zealand kiwifruit the study tried to understand each phase's contribution to total GHG emissions. According to the results, shipping, orchard, and coolstore operation are the main life cycle stages that contribute to the carbon footprint of the kiwifruit supply chain stretching from the orchard in New Zealand to the consumer in the UK. The carbon emission of long-distance transportation such as shipping can be a hot-spot of GHG emissions, but can be balanced out by minimizing the carbon footprint of other life cycle phases. For this reason it is important that orchard and coolstore operations reduce the GHG-intensive inputs such as fuel or electricity to minimize GHG emissions and consequently facilitate the industry to compete in international markets. The carbon footprint labeling guided by international standards should be introduced for fruit products in Korea as soon as possible. The already established LCA methodology of NZ kiwifruit can be applied for fruit products as a case study.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.705-715
• /
• 2010

The adoption of carbon foot print system is being activated mostly in the developed countries as one of the long-term response towards tightened up regulations and standards on carbon emission in the agricultural sector. The Korean Ministry of Environment excluded the primary agricultural products from the carbon foot print system due to lack of LCI (life cycle inventory) database in agriculture. Therefore, the research on and establishment of LCI database in the agriculture for adoption of carbon foot print system is urgent. Development of LCA (life cycle assessment) methodology for application of LCA to agricultural environment in Korea is also very important. Application of LCA methodology to agricultural environment in Korea is an early stage. Therefore, this study was carried out to find out the effect of lettuce cultivation on agricultural environment by establishing LCA methodology. Data collection of agricultural input and output for establishing LCI was carried out by collecting statistical data and documents on income from agro and livestock products prepared by RDA. LCA methodology for agriculture was reviewed by investigating LCA methodology and LCA applications of foreign countries. Results based on 1 kg of lettuce production showed that inputs including N, P, organic fertilizers, compound fertilizers and crop protectants were the main sources of major emission factor during lettuce cropping process. The amount of inputs considering the amount of active ingredients was required to estimate the actual quantity of the inputs used. Major emissions due to agricultural activities were $N_2O$ (emission to air) and ${NO_3}^-$/${PO_4}^-$ (emission to water) from fertilizers, organic compounds from pesticides and air pollutants from fossil fuel combustion in using agricultural machines. The softwares for LCIA (life cycle impact assessment) and LCA used in Korea are 'PASS' and 'TOTAL' which have been developed by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Environment. However, the models used for the softwares are the ones developed in foreign countries. In the future, development of models and optimization of factors for characterization, normalization and weighting suitable to Korean agricultural environment need to be done for more precise LCA analysis in the agricultural area.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.904-910
• /
• 2010

LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) carried out to estimate carbon footprint and to establish of LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) database of pepper production system. Pepper production system was categorized the field cropping (redpepper) and the greenhouse cropping (greenpepper) according to pepper cropping type. The results of collecting data for establishing LCI D/B showed that input of fertilizer for redpepper production was more than that for greenpepper production system. The value of fertilizer input was 2.55E+00 kg $kg^{-1}$ redpepper and 7.74E-01 kg $kg^{-1}$ greenpepper. Amount of pesticide input were 5.38E-03 kg $kg^{-1}$ redpepper and 2.98E-04 kg $kg^{-1}$ greenpepper. The value of field direct emission ($CO_2$, $CH_4$, $N_2O$) were 5.84E-01 kg $kg^{-1}$ redpepper and 2.81E+00 greenpepper, respectively. The result of LCI analysis focussed on the greenhouse gas (GHG), it was observed that the values of carbon footprint were 4.13E+00 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ for redpepper and 4.70E+00 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ for greenpepper; especially for 90% and 6% of $CO_2$ emission from fertilizer and pepper production, respectively. $N_2O$ was emitted from the process of N fertilizer production (76%) and pepper production (23%). The emission value of $CO_2$ from greenhouse production was more higher than it of field production system. The result of LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment) was showed that characterization of values of GWP (Global Warming Potential) were 4.13E+00 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ for field production system and 4.70E+00 kg $CO_2$-eq. $kg^{-1}$ for greenhouse production system. It was observed that the process of fertilizer production might be contributed to approximately 52% for redpepper production system and 48% for greenpepper production system of GWP.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.201-210
• /
• 2013

In recent years, with the rising interest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the demand for using environmentally friendly product with low greenhouse gas emission is increasing in the printing industry as well. In this study, the carbon footprint of environmentally friendly product mineral paper that uses less plastic and wood than normal printing paper materials was analyzed by utilizing the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique. An analysis utilizing the LCA technique was done per the Korea carbon footprint certification guidelines and, for scope of study, it included the premanufacturing stage and manufacturing stage except for the use and disposal stages. As a result of the study, the emission coefficient of the mineral paper was calculated to be $0.81kg\;CO_2eq/kg$ and the emission from electricity usage of the entire greenhouse gas emission was calculated to be 45.85% ($0.37kg\;CO_2eq/kg$). In order to reduce greenhouse gas emission, required are the efforts to reduce the environmental loads by using energies that have relatively lower environmental loads, such as improvement in electricity usage efficiency and renewable energy, by increasing product completion rates during the manufacturing process of mineral paper.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.9-17
• /
• 2022

Electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction technology, one of the promising solutions for climate change, can convert CO₂, a representative greenhouse gas (GHG), into valuable base chemicals using electric energy. In particular, carbon monoxide (CO), among various candidate products, is attracting much attention from both academia and industry because of its high Faraday efficiency, promising economic feasibility, and relatively large market size. Although numerous previous studies have recently analyzed the GHG reduction potential of this technology, the assumptions made and inventory data used are neither consistent nor transparent. In this study, a comparative life cycle assessment was carried out to analyze the potential for reducing GHG emissions in the electrochemical CO production process in a more transparent way. By defining three different system boundaries, the global warming impact was compared with that of a fossil fuel-based CO production process. The results confirmed that the emission factor of electric energy supplied to CO₂-electrolyzers should be much lower than that of the current national power generation sector in order to mitigate GHG emissions by replacing conventional CO production with electrochemical CO production. Also, it is important to disclose transparently inventory data of the conventional CO production process for a more reliable analysis of GHG reduction potential.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.879-890
• /
• 2017

The US Pavement Design method (AASHTO) and HDM-4, a road pavement maintenance decision system, are not suitable for domestic pavement design, construction and maintenance. KPRP(Korea Pavement Research Program) has been developed to reflect Korea's environmental conditions and vehicle characteristics, thereby, extending pavement life. The main objective of this study is to select the best alternative through Life Cycle Cost $CO_2$ (LCCC) calculations among three representative maintenance strategies using KPRP design software since the environment cost resulting from the extended pavement life will also differ. The analysis of this study illustrates that cumulative carbon emissions for 40 years in alternative 2 (Cutting and Overlaying at Year 30) is the lowest option among them, and the basic cost of $CO_2$ emission by various road maintenance and repair work can be used for suggesting an optimal maintenance strategy for highway agency.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.52-60
• /
• 2018

In the construction industry, attempts to evaluate the environmental impact of products through life cycle assessment (LCA) approach has been on the rise. However, the domestic construction industry needs to make rapid decisions due to limited budget and schedule, so it is difficult to carry out a review of the environmental load on all resources. The decision-making process requires information on the major influence factors that should be focused on to reduce environmental load. And this information should be quantified so that it can be linked to environmental impact assessment. In this study, the LCA results of road construction cases were analyzed to provide such information. As a result, diesel, ready-mixed concrete, urethane-based paint, aggregate, and asphalt concrete were found to be the main factors that generated 93.17% of the environmental load in the earthwork type of road project. The total environmental cost caused by these affecting factors when constructing 1 km of earthwork type of road project is 242 million won. The analysis also shows that a 10% reduction in the amount of ready-mixed and asphalt concretes can reduce carbon emissions by 5.02% and 2.28% while reducing environmental costs by 11 million won per kilometer. In order to reduce carbon emissions of the earthwork type of road project, it is necessary to actively develop and introduce new methods and eco-friendly materials to reduce the overall use of ready-mixed concrete and asphalt concrete.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.503-518
• /
• 2012

Korean type of no-tillage cultivation method which was applied on this study used the ridge and the furrow and constantly recycling them as it was suitable for Korea's weather and farming conditions. This no-tillage cultivation was reported to have little negative impact such as reduction of production (Kwon et al., 1997). In addition, it was found to have a lot of benefits as it requires less agro-materials and energy costs as well as shortened working hours because tillage operation is not needed. (Yang et al., 2012). According to an analysis, no-tillage cultivation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by $344.7kgCO^2$ (58%) in every 10a ($1,000m^2$) compared to ordinary pepper farming technique (Korea averages). Direct-indirect reduction effects from using fertilizer and using less amount of energy were 92% and 44% respectively both of which can be considered very high. Besides the direct effects of no-tillage cultivation, soil management using no-tillage technique raises carbon sequestration effect on soil as time goes on (West & Marland, 2002), that is why the technique is expected to have constant carbon emission reduction effect. For theses reasons, distribution and expansion of Korean type no-tillage cultivation are expected to play a role as major agro-green technologies for achieving our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural sector.