2024-08-19 イリノイ大学アーバナ・シャンペーン校
＜関連情報＞
- https://aces.illinois.edu/news/illinois-researchers-develop-index-quantify-circular-bioeconomy
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344924004142
バイオエコノミーシステムの循環性を定量化するスケーラブルな指標 A scalable index for quantifying circularity of bioeconomy systems
Yuanhui Zhang, Sabrina Summers, James W. Jones, John F. Reid
Resources, Conservation and Recycling Available online: 1 August 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107821
Graphical abstract
Highlights
- A circularity index was developed to quantify circularity of resources in bioeconomy systems.
- Circularity index demonstrated improved nitrogen circularity at farm level that used renewable fertilizer.
- Circularity index was applied to environment-enhancing food, energy, and water systems and showed improved energy circularity in comparison to traditional food and agricultural systems.
Abstract
Increasing resource demands and efforts to mitigate anthropogenic impacts have thrust circular bioeconomy into the spotlight. However, there currently lacks a metric to provide singular quantification of circularity. This study showed development of a Circularity Index (CI) with value between 0 (completely linear) and 1 (completely circular) to quantify circularity of resource flows at different system scales, identify weak links in value-chains, and determine tradeoffs in the system. This study describes 1) CI for systems containing consumable, renewable, and recovered resources; 2) CI application for two examples: nitrogen in a corn-soybean farm and energy in the U.S. food and agricultural system. CI showed that nitrogen circularity increased from 0.687 to 0.860 through implementation of renewable fertilizer from manure compared to synthetic fertilizer. CI also demonstrated improved energy circularity in the U.S. food and agricultural system, increasing from 0.179 to 0.843 when integrating food-energy-water systems via hydrothermal liquefaction and nutrient recycling.
