TY  - SER
AU  - Rahatwal,Satesh Dhondu
AU  - Perret,Sylvain Roger
AU  - Babel,Mukand Singh
AU  - Clemente,Roberto S.
AU  - Sutat Weesakul,
ED  - Thailand (HM King), 
TI  - Application of LCA and virtual water approaches to assess environmental impacts of rice production
T2  - Thesis
PY  - 2010///
CY  - Pathum Thani, Thailand
PB  - Asian Institute of Technology
KW  - Environmental impact analysis
KW  - Thailand
KW  - Rice
KW  - Irrigation
KW  - Water in agriculture
KW  - Water use
N1  - A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the  degree of Master of Engineering in Water Engineering and Management; Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009
N2  - Rice production is the second largest worldwide crop production after maize. It is the mostimportant staple food for a large part of the world{u2019}s population, especially in Asia. While rice  production  creates  food  security,  employment  and  growth,  it  also  generates  adverse  environmental impacts and resource consumption. In order to investigate these impacts, a study has been carried out in Ban Khai irrigation area, in Rayong Province, East Coast ofThailand.  Study  has  been  done  for  Ban  Khai  irrigation  area,  located  at  Rayong  Province,  East Coast of Thailand. Area under rice production at Ban Khai is 70 % of total area (wet season), 40 % of total area (dry season).  Life  Cycle  Assessment  approach  has  been  used,  although  limited  to  farming  system  (partial  LCA,  from  cradle  to  farm  gate,  excluding  off-farm  processing,  packaging,  or  transport).  Apart  from  the  rice  production  at  farm  level,  environmental  impact  from  pollutants,    emission,    water    consumption,    energy    consumption    also    result    from    manufacturing  of  inputs,  raw  materials,  and  machineries  used  during  farm  operations.  LCA methodology can assess such contributions, but it still does not include methods forassessing water use. Such impacts has been investigated through the application of virtual water  /  water  footprint  methodology.  Blue  water  and  green  water  were  assessed  through  Crop  Water  Requirement  concepts  (CWR,  IWR).  Grey  water,  as  pollutant  load,  is  based  upon nitrogen leaching from fertilizers. Both LCA and virtual water components refers to same functional unit, i.e. the production of 1 kg unmilled rice delivered at farm gate. Overall LCA analysis focused on the following impacts categories: water use, energy use, acidification,  eutrophication,  and  global  warming  potential.  Combined  LCA  and  water  footprint approach pointed out the following environmental impacts as per functional unit: blue water (consumptive use) 2 m3 (dry season) and 0.62 m3 (wet season); green water 1m3(dry season) and 1.2 m3 (wet season); acidification is 0.0353 kg SO2-eq; eutrophication is 0.0549  kg  PO4-eq  and  global  warming  potential  is  2.21  kg  CO2-eq.  Global  warming  potential  is  affected  by  fertilizer  application  rate.  As  per  Good  Agricultural  Practices  of  rice  in  Thailand  global  warming  potential  is  2.14  kg  CO2-eq.  Overall,  CH4  emissions  at  field level are the main contribution to GWP of rice as expected. Besides  the  case  study  illustration,  the  research  demonstrates  the  potential  of  LCA  in  the  assessment   of   environmental   impacts   of   production   systems.   However,   it   also   demonstrates  the  great  dependence  upon  existing  methods  for  translating  practices  and  field  operation  sequences  into  emissions  and  pollution.  Although  it  is  tempting  to  apply  existing database and references, it is first essential to gather primary information and data on   these   practices,   and   second,   resorting   to   well-established,   local   measurements   references onto these relationships remain crucial (e.g. the complex interplay between field water management, fertilizer application, and CH4 emission). Green water and blue water concept are very useful and shall be integrated in LCI as theyrefer  to  well-established  methodologies  and  concepts  (CWR  and  IWR).  Grey  water  concept is less useful in LCA context since it includes much more powerful approaches topollutant emission assessments in freshwater compartment. Finally, the research estimated end-point indicators including water stress related ones.
UR  - http://203.159.5.9/ait-thesis/detail.php?q=B04328 
ER  -