Rattanawan Mungkung

Implications of the biofuels policy mandate in Thailand on water: the case of bioethanol.

The study assesses the implications of the bioethanol policy mandate in Thailand of producing 9 M litre ethanol per day by 2021 on water use and water deprivation. The results reveal that water footprint (WF) of bioethanol varies between 1396 and 3105 L water/L ethanol. Cassava ethanol has the highest WF followed by molasses and sugarcane ethanol, respectively. However, in terms of fresh water (especially irrigation water) consumption, molasses ethanol is highest with 699-1220 L/L ethanol. To satisfy the government plan of bioethanol production in 2021, around 1625 million m(3) of irrigation water/year will be additionally required, accounting for about 3% of the current active water storage of Thailand. Two important watersheds in the northeastern region of Thailand are found to be potentially facing serious water stress if water resources are not properly managed. Measures to reduce water footprint of bioethanol are recommended.

Product carbon footprinting and labeling in Thailand: experiences from an exporting nation

Product carbon footprinting has gained much attention in recent years as many national and international standards have been formulated as well as several carbon labeling schemes. Thailand has also made efforts in this direction over the past several years and is in fact the first country in the southeast Asian region to have developed national guidelines for carbon footprint calculation and labeling. During the process of conducting product carbon footprinting for pilot studies, many issues of concern were raised, some of which may be common to all countries, while others were more specific for tropical countries exporting agricultural products. Experiences are drawn from the study of several national (Publicly Available Specification 2050, Japanese and Thai national guidelines) and international (ISO14067) standards, including the application of some of these to several product carbon footprinting studies. Issues of data collection, grouping of products, co-product allocation, land-use change, product category rules, type of carbon label and consumer understanding have been discussed, with some possible solutions given to address these issues. The cost of carbon footprinting and labeling are also discussed, along with their implications on companies implementing carbon footprinting. Finally, suggestions are made for issues to be discussed at the international level with a view to harmonizing the carbon footprinting methodology, as well as to address the specific concerns of developing countries that have a large volume of agriculture-based exports.

Global Initiative on UPCYCLE Carbon Footprint Certification and Label Systems for Creative Waste Management and Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Upcycling aims at turning scraps and wastes into new materials or products with equivalent quality or better than original through creative design. The upcycling processes are based on the direct use or the technology and production processing with consideration of potential environmental impacts and greenhouse gas. This is in line with the national policy on waste management by applying the principle of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), as well as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste management. In addition, upcycling is seen as one way to add values on wastes and promote the development of creative economy. Under this context, the UPCYCLE Carbon Footprint certification and verification system was initiated and developed in June 2015 under the leadership of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. There are five criteria in the UPCYCLE Carbon Footprint certification scheme: (1) scraps and wastes, (2) upcycling process, (3) product quality, (4) creative design, and (5) carbon footprint. For the requirement of carbon footprint, the avoided GHG emissions of upcycle materials or products shall be higher than their life cycle GHG emissions. A case study of upcycled glass tiles was used to demonstrate how to calculate the associated carbon footprint. It aims to be used as a communication and marketing tool to ensure that the certified upcycled materials or products are made from wastes/scraps, fit for use, have a good quality, and friendly to the environment.

Eco-design and Life Cycle Assessment of Japanese Tableware from Palm-Melamine Bio-composites

Palm waste upcycling has become a national policy due to the increase of palm oil plantations for alternative energy production. Because of the large waste volumes of 5.4 million tons per year, this study explores the potential use of palm wastes for innovative materials and eco-products as well as their commercial applications. The concept of eco-design was applied at the very beginning of designing phase by considering the use of waste as raw materials. Currently, there is no alternative application of palm wastes beyond being incinerated for heat or being turned into particleboards. The potential impacts from transport were minimized in the production of tableware by sourcing palm wastes from local palm mills at the nearest location. Processing procedure of fiber preparation included sundrying and grinding the palm fiber, followed by steam explosion (pressure at 18 bars, temperature at 200 °C, for 5 min). After that, the treated fibers were ground to the smallest size (lesser than 0.1 mm) to be mixed homogeneously with melamine compound. The ratio of palm fiber compound varied from 10, 20, and 30 % by weight. The goal of the new compound aims at maximum fiber content that complies with eco- or bio-based environmental product declaration. There are two sets of design: origami (inspired by a Japanese paper folding) and organic (inspired by mushroom forms). The new palm-melamine bio-composites were tested for their qualities in accordance with the required industrial standards: TISI 1245. Using palm fiber of 10 % of the total weight gave the best quality results, while the higher fiber content failed for water absorption as well as acid resistance tests. To facilitate the commercial application, the optimal production conditions at the lab scale were adjusted for actual industrial processes of a local melamine manufacture. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to ensure that the use of palm-melamine bio-composite had the potential reduction on all impact categories. Prototypes were made and carbon footprinting was performed to support the environmental product declaration in terms of kgCO2e per piece. Through the integration of eco-design and LCA, the tableware from palm-melamine bio-composites has been developed and supported with environmental footprint information, so that customers can better engage in environmental practices.