Environmental life cycle assessment of olive oil and biomass briquette production in Lebanon: Insights for sustainable development

This study presents one of the first comprehensive environmental life cycle assessments of olive oil and biomass briquette production in Lebanon, focusing on two interconnected systems: a traditional olive oil press and a briquetting facility. The analysis follows a cradle-to-grave approach and uses...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: El Bachawati, Makram, El Marji, Lea, Boutros, Marleine
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
Repositorio:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:.___________::aea5e818c960c849e6dc824850527632
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2026.102666
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/470310
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Circular economy
Climate change
Environmental impact
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Packaging waste
Sustainability
Waste management
Descripción
Sumario:This study presents one of the first comprehensive environmental life cycle assessments of olive oil and biomass briquette production in Lebanon, focusing on two interconnected systems: a traditional olive oil press and a briquetting facility. The analysis follows a cradle-to-grave approach and uses the EF 3.1 methodology to quantify impacts across 16 categories. Functional units include 2 tons of processed olives, and 50 kg of briquettes. Results show that the olive oil bottling stage accounts for over 60% of total impacts in categories such as climate change and resource use, driven by glass bottles and PVC caps. Briquetting burdens arise mainly from plastic packaging and fossil-based electricity use. Sensitivity analyses reveal that improved waste management reduce impacts by up to 25%, particularly in categories affected by open dumping and burning. The study contributes original inventory data from Lebanon and offers strategies to support circular economy efforts in small-scale agro-industrial systems.