Towards sustainable food production and climate change mitigation: an attributional life cycle assessment comparing industrial and basalt rock dust fertilisers
Oppon, Eunice and Koh, S.C. Lenny and Eufrasio, Rafael and Nabayiga, Hellen and Donkor, Frank (2024) Towards sustainable food production and climate change mitigation: an attributional life cycle assessment comparing industrial and basalt rock dust fertilisers. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 29 (12). pp. 2257-2268. ISSN 1614-7502 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-023-02196-4)
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Abstract
Purpose: Food production is set to double by 2050 to feed the increasing world population. This poses a global challenge to minimise environmental impacts from intensified production and use of chemical fertilisers. The study investigates whether basalt rock dust fertiliser can be an environmentally sustainable close substitute to expensive conventional rock-derived P and K fertilisers. Method: The study uses the attributional life cycle assessment method to estimate and compare 15 environmental impacts between basalt rock dust fertiliser, a potential source of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and five widely used industrial P and K fertilisers. In addition, we model hypothetical basalt substitution rates for PK fertilisers to highlight potential ecological savings in terms of carbon capture. Results: Basalt rock dust fertiliser has minimal embodied environmental impacts across all 15 impact categories, including global warming, compared to industrial P and K fertilisers. Conclusion: Our results suggest that transitioning to milled basalt as a natural geo-fertiliser to support food production may help address several UN Sustainable Development Goals such as ‘Responsible consumption and production’ and ‘Climate Action and Zero Hunger’.
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Item type: Article ID code: 91288 Dates: DateEvent1 December 2024Published18 July 2023Published Online16 June 2023Accepted24 January 2023SubmittedSubjects: Agriculture Department: Strathclyde Business School > Management Science
Strathclyde Business SchoolDepositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 28 Nov 2024 10:20 Last modified: 02 Dec 2024 13:13 URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/91288