Life cycle assessments of residual hemp biomass from cannabidiol production focusing on disposal pathways and biomethane recovery via anaerobic digestion

IF 10.9 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Resources Conservation and Recycling Pub Date : 2025-07-31 DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108525

Alana Teresa Griggs , Anthony Roulier , Nelson A. Granda , Jasmina Burek

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Abstract

About 90 % of residual hemp biomass from cannabidiol (CBD) production is treated as waste through landfilling incineration, or composting. This study conducted a screening-level life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental impacts of these conventional end-of-life options with anaerobic digestion (AD). AD was also evaluated for its circular economy potential by substituting biomethane for traditional fossil fuels (natural gas and propane) used in CBD production. The LCA assumed a realistic operational AD efficiency of 60 %, yielding 286.7 mL CH₄/g volatile solids, comparable to other organic substrates. Among the waste treatment scenarios, AD exhibited the lowest environmental impacts. However, when examining fuel substitution, natural gas remained the lowest impact option compared to biomethane and propane. These results highlight trade-offs between waste treatment and fuel replacement strategies and emphasize the need for future work to assess the broader feasibility and benefits of integrating circular bioenergy systems within the CBD industry.

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大麻二酚生产中残留大麻生物质的生命周期评估，重点是处置途径和通过厌氧消化的生物甲烷回收

大约90%来自大麻二酚（CBD）生产的残留大麻生物质通过填埋焚烧或堆肥作为废物处理。本研究进行了筛选级生命周期评估（LCA），以比较这些传统的生命终止选择与厌氧消化（AD）对环境的影响。该研究还对生物甲烷替代CBD生产中使用的传统化石燃料（天然气和丙烷）的循环经济潜力进行了评估。LCA假设实际操作AD效率为60%，产286.7 mL硫酸ch /g挥发性固体，与其他有机底物相当。在废弃物处理方案中，AD的环境影响最小。然而，当研究替代燃料时，与生物甲烷和丙烷相比，天然气仍然是影响最小的选择。这些结果突出了废物处理和燃料替代策略之间的权衡，并强调了未来工作的必要性，以评估将循环生物能源系统整合到CBD产业中的更广泛的可行性和效益。

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来源期刊

Resources Conservation and Recycling 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

22.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

625

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns. Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.