Environmental Assessment of Amylase Used as Digestibility Improvement Factor for Intensive Chicken Production in Brazil
1
Novozymes A/S, 2880 Bagsværd, Denmark
2
DSM Nutritional Products A/S, 4302 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2018, 10(8), 2735; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082735
Received: 22 May 2018 / Revised: 6 July 2018 / Accepted: 14 July 2018 / Published: 3 August 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Life Cycle Assessment)
Abstract
Industrial enzymes can be used to improve the digestibility of livestock feed components, thereby increasing the nutritional value of the feed, and allowing farmers to change and cost-optimize the feed composition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental impacts of adding a starch-degrading enzyme (amylase) to feed for Brazilian chicken production. A lifecycle assessment covering all significant processes in the value chain as well as all significant impact categories was used as analytical tool. The application of amylase increases the energy value of corn in chicken feed and allows saving of costly fat in the feed. In Brazil, the saved fat is used either for biodiesel production or as a replacement for other fats in cleaning and hygiene products. The study showed that approximately 6% of greenhouse-gas emission from Brazilian chicken production could be avoided using the amylase. Using the amylase increases the contribution to nutrient enrichment by 0.6% when the excess fat is used for biodiesel. The use of amylase has little impact on agricultural land use, water consumption and acidification. View Full-TextKeywords:
life cycle assessment; LCA; environment; enzyme; amylase; feed; chicken; broiler
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Gernaey, B.; Sorbara, J.O.B.; Nielsen, P.H. Environmental Assessment of Amylase Used as Digestibility Improvement Factor for Intensive Chicken Production in Brazil. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2735.
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