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Introduction: In primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1), oxalate overproduction frequently causes kidney stones, nephrocalcinosis, and kidney failure. As PH1 is caused by a congenital liver enzyme defect, combined liver–kidney transplantation (CLKT) has been recommended in patients with kidney failure. Nevertheless, systematic analyses on long-term transplantation outcomes are scarce. The merits of a sequential over combined procedure regarding kidney graft survival remain unclear as is the place of isolated kidney transplantation (KT) for patients with vitamin B6-responsive genotypes.Methods: We used the OxalEurope registry for retrospective analyses of patients with PH1 who underwent transplantation. Analyses of crude Kaplan–Meier survival curves and adjusted relative hazards from the Cox proportional hazards model were performed.Results: A total of 267 patients with PH1 underwent transplantation between 1978 and 2019. Data of 244 patients (159 CLKTs, 48 isolated KTs, 37 sequential liver–KTs [SLKTs]) were eligible for comparative analyses. Comparing CLKTs with isolated KTs, adjusted mortality was similar in patients with B6-unresponsive genotypes but lower after isolated KT in patients with B6-responsive genotypes (adjusted hazard ratio 0.07, 95% CI: 0.01–0.75, P = 0.028). CLKT yielded higher adjusted event-free survival and death-censored kidney graft survival in patients with B6-unresponsive genotypes (P = 0.025, P < 0.001) but not in patients with B6-responsive genotypes (P = 0.145, P = 0.421). Outcomes for 159 combined procedures versus 37 sequential procedures were comparable. There were 12 patients who underwent pre-emptive liver transplantation (PLT) with poor outcomes.Conclusion: The CLKT or SLKT remains the preferred transplantation modality in patients with PH1 with B6-unresponsive genotypes, but isolated KT could be an alternative approach in patients with B6-responsive genotypes.

Sustaining the growth of Thailand's bioethanol industry depends markedly on security of feedstock supplies. However, being exposed to crises may impact livelihoods of farmers and discourage them from farming the energy crops. Farmer livelihood sustainability may need to be assessed and monitored. This study was carried out to propose sustainable livelihood outcomes and indicators, and determine causal mechanisms to achieve such outcomes. The UNDP's sustainable livelihood framework was applied. A novel method of data collection, Participatory Process Tracing (PPT) was introduced through which farmers were able to identify achieved sustainable livelihood outcomes and indicators, and causal mechanisms to achieve the outcomes. A variety of sustainable livelihood outcomes primarily related to natural resources, sufficiency of food and income, and social inclusion were encountered by the group farmers. On the other hand, rice growing activity indicated that the solitary farmers were either achieving a single sustainable livelihood outcome of ‘own food production’ or not achieving any outcome at all. The results indicate that group formation is key to enhance farmer livelihood sustainability. There were 10 sustainable livelihood outcomes and 22 indicators proposed and agreed by all farmers for determination of livelihood sustainability. They were proved to be suitable and applicable to Thailand's context. The creation of a livelihood sustainability index based on these sustainable livelihood outcomes and indicators should be encouraged. Nevertheless, the results are sufficiently useful for stakeholders in understanding farmer livelihood outcomes, paths, interconnection and complexity; this can enable policymakers to formulate effective policies and programs.

This study provides insight into the sustainability performance of bioenergy systems for providing cooking and electricity-enabled energy services in the rural growth centres of Zambia. This is achieved by modeling and optimizing a bioenergy supply chain for the provision of these services, and then comparing its sustainability performance to that of existing energy systems. The findings indicate that using biomass-based gasifier-internal combustion engines instead of diesel generators for the provision of electricity-enabled services could result in greenhouse gas, NOX, and SO2 emission reductions of 36, 8, and 97%, respectively. When pellet-gasifier cookstoves are used instead of firewood/three-stone cookstoves for providing cooking services, greenhouse gas and PM2.5 emissions are reduced by 57 and 94%, respectively. Furthermore, households that use bioenergy systems instead of traditional energy systems to deliver cooking and electricity-enabled services can save approximately 275 and 11 US dollars per year, respectively. In general, bioenergy systems outperform existing systems in providing the two energy services in question from a sustainability standpoint. Hence, policymakers must consider their use as alternative energy systems to the existing ones in order to foster sustainable development in rural areas.

Thailand has developed a national roadmap on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and implemented green product procurement (GPP), but the effects of GPP on achieving SCP have not yet been evaluated. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with policies and practices of 15 key institutions were analyzed to identify gaps and practical issues. The analysis of external opportunities and threats with the internal strengths and weaknesses was performed with the stakeholder consultation of at least 160 participants from governmental and private sectors. GPP has induced an increased number of ecolabelled products and services from more than 1,200 manufacturers; however, it has mainly been focused on office supplies. To move forward, the fiscal budget for purchasing ecolabelled products/services should be continually increased and more building materials and circular products should be added to the list. Manufacturers should be motivated to produce eco products by tax incentives. GPP should be expanded to local administrative organizations and the private sector. The monitoring system must be improved through a digital platform to facilitate online reporting. Life Cycle Assessment should be used for assessing the impacts of GPP, not limited to greenhouse gas reduction. Communication with consumers should be enhanced to understand the value of using ecolabelled products, leading to more participation.

Outcome data in primary hyperoxaluria type 3 (PH3), described as a less severe form of the PH's with a low risk of chronic kidney disease, are scarce. To investigate this, we retrospectively analyzed the largest PH3 cohort reported so far. Of 95 patients, 74 were followed over a median of six years. Median age of first symptoms and diagnosis were 1.9 and 6.3 years, respectively. Urolithiasis was the major clinical feature observed in 70% of pediatric and 50% of adult patients. At most recent follow-up available for 56 of the 95 patients, 21.4% were in chronic kidney disease stages 2 or more. For better characterization, samples from 49 patients were analyzed in a single laboratory and compared to data from patients with PH1 and PH2 from the same center. Urinary oxalate excretion was not significantly different from PH1 and PH2 (median: 1.37, 1.40 and 1.16 mmol/1.73m2/24hours for PH1 not responsive to vitamin B6, PH2, and PH3, respectively) but was significantly higher than in vitamin B6 responsive patients with PH1. Urinary oxalate excretion did not correlate to stone production rate nor to estimated glomerular filtration rate. Normocitraturia was present even without alkalinisation treatment; hypercalciuria was found rarely. Median plasma oxalate was significantly different only to the vitamin B6-unresponsive PH1 group. Thus, PH3 is more comparable to PH1 and PH2 than so far inferred from smaller studies. It is the most favorable PH type, but not a benign entity as it constitutes an early onset, recurrent stone disease, and kidney function can be impaired.

Bioethanol is promoted as a transportation fuel due to its perceived benefits; reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, substituting fossil fuels, enhancing energy security, and promoting the rural economy. This study aims to evaluate the availability potential, energy performance, and environmental sustainability of bioethanol from sugarcane molasses in Pakistan. It was found that the current potential of molasses-based bioethanol is enough to replace around 7% of total gasoline consumption in the country. The results indicated that the use of E10 (10% blend of bioethanol with gasoline) instead of gasoline would result in the reduction of GHG emissions by 8%, human carcinogenic toxicity by 3%, and fossil resource scarcity impacts by 9%. However, E10 has comparatively higher impacts than gasoline on acidification by 20% and on freshwater eutrophication by 43%. Further benefits of molasses-based bioethanol were evident in terms of high energy gains where each MJ of the total energy input provided about 2 MJ of energy output from bioethanol and each MJ of fossil-based energy input resulted in the production of around 6 MJ of energy output from bioethanol. Furthermore, considerable improvements in performance were indicated by contemplating different existing practices and plant arrangements.

Sugarcane and cassava are major economic crops in Thailand. They are usually grown in similar geographical conditions, so they effectively compete for the same land. This paper analyzes the social performance of sugarcane and cassava products using Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), together with an analysis of product yields and expected demands for these crops. This study will help with making sustainable agricultural production and consumption decisions. More specifically, it could be used to inform the decision of which crop to choose when the land is suitable for both crops. The key stakeholder groups considered in the study included workers, farm owners, machine owners, and local community. The main social sustainability indicators considered were fair wages, health and safety, working conditions, economic growth, access to technology and loans, market security, and employment generation. The study found that the overall social performance of cassava was slightly better than sugarcane, although both were assessed at the level of very good. Following consideration of the social performance, together with product yields and expected demands for these crops, it is suggested that sugarcane be promoted. However, the challenges of promoting sugarcane also need to be considered.

The performance of floating photovoltaics (FPV) was assessed by this study, a technology with rising popularity in the sustainable energy sector, by comparing its economic and environmental benefits to various types of photovoltaic technologies by utilizing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Cost-Benefit Analysis. The largest impacts were shown from this LCA of a 150 MW FPV plant with a 30-year lifespan, which resulted from the roughly 73 kg of greenhouse gases and 110 m3s of water per MWh generated. Additionally, 21 reservoirs were considered in Thailand to house new FPV plants. Projected power generation scenarios varied between 0.64 GW and 13.28 GW when reservoir coverage percentages ranging from 1% to 20% were used. The Levelized Cost of Energy for several different photovoltaic systems yielded 0.24 USD per kWh for the FPV system, while the ground based polycrystalline and thin film systems were 0.43 USD and 0.54 USD per kWh, respectively. The payback period for FPV was 7.5 years, while for the polycrystalline and thin film it was 7.8 and 16.3 years. This combined with other factors made for a high return on investment for the FPV system. This study recommends a 10% coverage of 21 reservoirs throughout Thailand, allowing for potentially 6.52 GW of installed capacity, which would substantially help the country to reach their 2036 goal of having 30% of the energy mix from renewable sources.

Promotion of sustainable maize production in Northern Thailand, the country’s largest maize-producing region, is crucial to securing the supply of the nation’s feed manufacturing, as well as protecting environmental resources, enhancing social welfare, and improving the livelihoods of farmers and communities. This study aimed to investigate the various sustainable practices of the smallholder highland maize farmers and determine their environmental perceptions of sustainable practices. Face-to-face interviews with local maize farmers in two northern villages of Thailand showed that the farmers performed more sustainable cultivation practices i.e., avoiding the use of prohibited chemicals, but less post-management practices, i.e., managing residues and disposing of agrochemical waste. In addition, the Chi-square test was employed to determine the correlation between various socio-demographic factors and the farming practices. The surveyed farmers perceived the positive environmental impacts of organic fertilizer application and alternative management methods of residues to slash-and-burn, but they did not perceive the same positive impacts for proper agrochemical waste management on the environment. The results of the constraints to the environmental practices identified by the farmers suggested that additional tangible support from the government, such as agrochemical waste disposal facilities and engagement of policymakers and development practitioners, would result in more local-specific interventions that would promote a sustainable highland agriculture system.

Background: Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare genetic disease caused by hepatic overproduction of oxalate that leads to kidney stones, nephrocalcinosis, kidney failure, and systemic oxalosis. Lumasiran, an investigational RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic agent, reduces hepatic oxalate production by targeting glycolate oxidase. Methods: In this double-blind, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned (in a 2:1 ratio) patients with PH1 who were 6 years of age or older to receive subcutaneous lumasiran or placebo for 6 months (with doses given at baseline and at months 1, 2, 3, and 6). The primary end point was the percent change in 24-hour urinary oxalate excretion from baseline to month 6 (mean percent change across months 3 through 6). Secondary end points included the percent change in the plasma oxalate level from baseline to month 6 (mean percent change across months 3 through 6) and the percentage of patients with 24-hour urinary oxalate excretion no higher than 1.5 times the upper limit of the normal range at month 6. Results: A total of 39 patients underwent randomization; 26 were assigned to the lumasiran group and 13 to the placebo group. The least-squares mean difference in the change in 24-hour urinary oxalate excretion (lumasiran minus placebo) was -53.5 percentage points (P

Product-as-a-service business models have been strongly promoted to support a transition to a circular economy. Prams for babies are an ideal product for this type of business model since they are widely used, are mature products, have established design cycles, and are very durable. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment was conducted to compare the environmental impacts of the pram rental business model and the traditional pram ownership business model to serve all children born in Singapore over a period of 5 years. The results revealed that the total environmental impacts of the rental business model were lower than the ownership business model by 29–46%, depending on the impact category. However, the impacts of the pram rental business model were shown to be higher than the ownership business model if rental prams undergo heavy cleaning more than 10 times per year. It is generally recommended that pram users rent a pram if the alternative choice is to own a pram, use it for only 3 years, and then dispose of it. This study provides policy recommendations focused on partnerships between government agencies and pram rental companies to facilitate greater collection, refurbishment, and recirculation of used prams in the market.

The study aimed to assess the socio-economic impacts via employment and paid wage/income for sugarcane production in Thailand due to the mechanization of the harvesting system. The results indicated that the employment level and income of the workers depend on the yield, employment types (temporary or permanent worker) and the skill of workers. These factors need to be considered to prepare for the promotion and support of sustainable agriculture farming by switching from manual to mechanical harvesting which may be established in the near future. Moreover, the training for upskill and reskill of mechanical harvesting and other local jobs should be provided by the government and private sectors to facilitate the workers transition from manual to mechanical harvesting. A list of strategies, plans, and recommendations have also been provided to eliminate the weaknesses and threats of changing to mechanized harvesting which can help to improve the socio-economic situation of the stakeholders in the sugarcane industry.

Biofuels have often been considered to have an advantage towards global warming but have caused controversy over competition for the limited availability of natural resources and the adverse impacts on other environmental aspects. This study evaluates the environmental benefits and impacts of biofuels in Thailand by using life cycle assessment with the Thai Eco Scarcity method derived from existing policies in Thailand. The assessment results showed that E85 (85% ethanol from cassava blended with 15% gasoline) and palm biodiesel had 95% and 43% higher impacts than their fossil fuel counterparts. The evaluation of biodiesel and ethanol revealed many trade-offs between environmental impacts; for example between fossil energy resources and other natural resources i.e. freshwater and land, and also between global (greenhouse gas emissions) and local impacts (pesticides). The importance of using the life cycle thinking concept which avoids problem shifting between impacts and between life cycle stages was also revealed. This is a crucial message in policy-making which has largely equated environmental impacts with greenhouse gas emissions leading to unintended consequences on other impacts. As anticipated, both biofuels perform much better than their fossil counterparts when considering greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy resources. However, including other impact categories, particularly land and freshwater resources, pesticides use and mineral resources completely reverses the comparison, with the fossil counterparts ending up with better environmental profiles. Using a policy-based life cycle impact assessment method reveals comparative results and trade-offs on a single scale which can be easily understood by the policy-makers.

In Thailand, many municipalities lack the information to guide decision-making for improving environmental performance. They need tools to systematize the collection and analysis of data, and then to self-assess environmental performance to increase efficiency in environmental management toward a sustainable city. The aim of this study is to develop a platform for self-assessment of an environmental performance index. Nonthaburi municipality, Hat Yai municipality, and Yasothon municipality were selected to study the work context for six indicators, viz., energy, greenhouse gas, water, air, waste, and green area, which were important environmental problems. The development of an online system called “EcoCitOpia” divides municipality assessment into four parts: data collection, database creation, data analysis, and data display. The municipality can use the system for the assessment of environmental performance and the creation of a separate database based on indicators. The system can analyze the results and display them in the form of radar graphs, line graphs, and tables for use in public communication that will lead to cooperation in solving environmental problems at the policy level for urban development to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

The environmental sustainability of biofuel production is still a debated issue in the world bio-economy development. Therefore, different researches are undergoing to evaluate the sustainability of ethanol production in different countries. This study aimed at analyzing the environmental performance of ethanol production in Ethiopia, considering energy balance and emission reduction using a life cycle assessment approach. It is also intended to identify the environmental hotspots so that possible improvement option can be devised. The life cycle assessment methodology was applied considering three alternative scenarios: 1) Base Case, which is the current situation, 2) Alternative 1, which considers the utilization of biogas from vinasse and bioslurry, and 3) Alternative 2, which includes mechanical harvesting and avoids pre-harvest cane trash burning. The results show that agricultural stage is greatly contributing to the pollutant emissions. The contribution of cane trash burning was significant to all the impact categories considered and avoiding pre-harvest cane trash burning significantly reduced the emissions contributing to global warming, acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, ozone formation, particulate matter and eutrophication. On the other hand, the introduction of mechanical harvesting to avoid pre-harvest cane trash burning increased ecotoxicity, human toxicity and resource consumption (land, water and mineral) impacts. The net energy balance is positive for all the alternatives considered. In addition to using by-products, proper management of fuel utilization at the agricultural stage can further enhance benefits from the sector. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the price of molasses highly influences both energy ratio and greenhouse gas emissions since it completely shifts the allocation of upstream emissions from sugar to molasses.

Thailand's ethanol policy is embedded in the Alternative Energy and Development Plan 2015 (AEDP 2015). The policy goal is to increase ethanol production and consumption in 2036 at 223% of the baseline in 2015. A large demand for feedstock supplies, mainly molasses and cassava to meet the policy target causes concerns over their sufficiency. However, oversupply of ethanol has been observed occasionally. Since ethanol production and consumption are relevant to a number of policies, incoherence and gaps may contribute to the shortcomings. By applying a combined coherence and gap analysis, it is shown that crop zoning is irrelevant to and ineffective in securing the supply of ethanol. On the other hand, demand saturation is primarily due to the ineffectiveness of the state mechanisms. Key factors contributing to the problem are low prices of crude oil, high prices of feedstocks, managing availability of and accessibility to certain types of blended fuels in favor of the low blended ones, incorrect understanding of consumers towards high blended fuels and the public's recent interest towards electric vehicles. Political factors may also account for the slow-growing demand. The developed method is proved to be useful in determining effectiveness of interrelated policies dealing with ethanol.

Rice is a major economic crop which has created local livelihood, careers and incomes in the agricultural sector in Thailand, one of the leading rice producers at global scale. Rice is a key commodity in the agriculture sector requiring the highest portion of water demand, around 40% out of the total sector demand of 65%. This study was aimed to develop the water footprint database of rice farming at the national level to support the information for area-based water management and water footprint label based on the methodology described in ISO14046. The water footprint inventory data associated with the 8 main cultivated rice species were gathered in accordance with the ISO 14046 Water Footprint. The statistical data of rice cultivation area and production in 2016 were used as the basis for sampling to cover 62% of the national annual production with a 90% confidence interval. Eight rice species were sampled by simple random sampling method, covering 62% of the national annual production with a 90% confidence interval. The total number of samples was 817, covering 114 samples of Khao Dok Mali 105, 103 samples of Pathumthani 1, 103 samples of Phitsanulok 2, 112 samples of RD41, 112 samples of Chainat 1, 103 samples of RD6, 70 samples of San Pah Tawng 1 and 100 samples of riceberry. The study found that the rice cultivation in Thailand had an average water footprint inventory of 1665 m3/t and a water scarcity footprint of 334 m3H2Oe/t paddy rice. One hectare of rice cultivation normally required water around 6340 m3/ha on the average. The results showed that Khao Dok Mali 105 has the highest water scarcity (598 m3H2Oe/t paddy rice) as the Northeastern area where it is cultivated, has the highest water stress index. This was followed by RD6, Riceberry, Phitsanulok 2, Pathumthani 1, San Pah Tawng 1 and RD41. Chainat 1 species has the lowest water scarcity footprint (220 m3H2Oe/t paddy rice). The replacement of rice with sugarcane/cassava could potentially reduce the water scarcity footprint by more than half. The shifting of cultivation period when the average rainfall was higher could slightly decrease the amount of total water requirements, whereas the implementation of alternate wet and dry farming system instead of continual flooding system would moderately reduce the amount of total water requirements. It is expected to use the water footprint national database for more effective water resource management for rice cultivation and to support the decisions on national water policy and the implementation of water scarcity footprint label.

This paper aims to identify the environmental, socioeconomic, and social hot spots and to find ways to enhance the sustainability of selected food, fuel, and fiber products from sugarcane, i.e., sugarcane, sugar, electricity from bagasse, and molasses-based ethanol. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) were used to examine the environmental, socioeconomic, and social performances of the various sugarcane-based products. All data from the field were collected during the production year 2014/2015. The environmental data were analyzed using the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment method. Social data were analyzed using performance reference points method, using social indicators from relevant standards/guidelines. Interesting results from the study are that some problems such as cane trash burning and overuse of chemical fertilizers and agrochemicals are the main causes not only of negative environmental performance, but also of negative socioeconomic and social performances. Moreover, recommendations to help increase the sustainability of the Thai sugar industry for each stakeholder group have been provided. These include, for example, using demonstration farms in the same areas, zoning of agricultural crops, implementing large area-based agriculture policy, and making local regulation to prohibit cane trash burning.

This study provides a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a sustainably designed office building to be built in Thailand. The building has a gross floor area of 6300 m2 and a lifetime of 50 years. An analysis of four different energy supply scenarios was performed to evaluate methods for reducing grid electricity demand with the goal of optimizing renewable energy usage and minimizing environmental impacts. The scenarios included: (1) the conventional, grid-dependent building, followed by (2) the addition of a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system, (3) a PV system with lithium-ion battery storage, and (4) a PV system with an ice storage system. Scenarios 3 and 4 were included in this study as 16% of the electricity from PV was overproduced during the weekends when the building was unoccupied. The results show that scenarios 2, 3, and 4 reduced operational grid consumption by 33%, 37.8%, and 37.9% but increased metal depletion potential by 23.9%, 34.4%, and 29.0%, respectively. Ice storage led to the greatest reduction in lifetime environmental impacts. Efficient production and utilization of renewable energy in buildings is vital to reducing nonrenewable fuel dependence; however, it is necessary to minimize metal depletion in the implementation of such technologies.

Many life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods established by developed countries are used for studies in Thailand. The results from the studies might not reflect the precise context and interests of Thailand, particularly linked with policy implementation. This study proposes the Thai Ecological Scarcity method based on the political distance-to-target approach, covering relevant environmental impacts and following the Swiss eco-factors 2013. The Thai Eco Factors (TEFs) were developed as the quantitative indicators for the considered pollutants or resources using the normalization and current flows of 2011 obtained mainly from official data sources, as base year data. The critical flows were extracted from relevant existing policy targets of Thailand. Policy preference and damage potential oriented characterization were applied in the calculation of the TEFs. The environmental impacts were classified into 17 categories covering all policy-concerned aspects. In addition, the national environmental burdens of Thailand based on the current status were assessed comparing the target status. It was also seen that environmental impact reduction of 38% could be achieved if all the existing environmental policy targets in Thailand were successfully implemented. This LCIA method is initiated from the current legislation objectives of Thailand. It is anticipated that in the future, updated policy targets and more accurate flow data would be available to improve these developed Thai Eco Factors.

The development of bioethanol can bring about socio-economic and environmental impacts. To support the sustainability analysis of bioethanol development and the decision-making on bioethanol promotion in Thailand, this study aims at assessing the socio-economic and environmental effects of bioethanol production using recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling. The assessment is carried out based on the bioethanol production targets in Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) 2015, capturing cassava ethanol and molasses ethanol. Simulation scenarios are set up to incorporate the role of bioethanol support policies, such as tax reduction, production efficiency improvement, and widening the price gap between gasoline and gasohol, into the analysis. The results show that increasing bioethanol production together with improving the efficiency of feedstock cultivation is the most efficient way to enhance economic growth. However, the higher production and consumption would also lead to more irrigation water demand and air emissions. The presentation of bioethanol support policies’ role in promoting bioethanol along with widespread socio-economic and environmental effects focus are novel. Not only are the results useful for the decision-making towards sustainable bioethanol development, the methods presented in this study should also be a guideline for other socio-economic and environmental impact assessment schemes.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of 48 studies on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biogas production from 2006 to 2018 (13 years). The scope of the study, type of feedstock and impact categories used in the reviewed studies were discussed. Although various studies have been carried out to assess the efficiency and potential of wastes for biogas production, however, little attention has been paid particularly in the developing countries to conduct comprehensive analysis related to the environmental performance of biogas generation based on the LCA methodology. In Malaysia, the utilization of palm oil mill effluent (POME) as the source of energy has recently been expanded due to its abundant production at the palm oil mills. Therefore, this paper also highlights and discusses the feasibility of LCA approach on biogas production from POME as well as the opportunities and challenges from the Malaysian perspective.

Increasing population and affluence have had a direct influence on increasing the energy demand of nations across the globe. Energy from non-renewable fossil resources has associated emissions of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, a major challenge facing us today. The governments of many countries have tried to address the twin issues of limited local availability of fossil resources and greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the use of bioenergy. Bioenergy is not automatically sustainable unlike popular belief. Assessing its sustainability using a life cycle thinking approach reveals many caveats, not only regarding greenhouse gas emissions but also other environmental impacts that are often ignored. The environmental assessment of palm oil-based biodiesel shows the trade-offs when considering all the life cycle stages of the biofuel supply chain and also when multiple impact categories are considered. The so-called carbon neutrality becomes questionable and other impacts from agriculture arising due to the use of land and agrochemicals are also seen to be very significant. Ignoring these in policymaking could result in serious unintended consequences. Thus, the importance of life cycle thinking in sustainability assessment is illustrated. This will be critical in addressing national needs while also moving towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Bagasse-based electricity is gaining attention as an affordable, reliable, sustainable, and promising renewable energy source in Pakistan. Therefore, the focus of this analysis was to identify the environmental burdens associated with bagasse-based electricity production via high-pressure cogeneration. The scope of this study was defined as cradle to gate, involving cane production, cane transportation to the mill, the production of bagasse, and then the burning of bagasse in the cogeneration power plant to produce electricity. The overall results revealed that most of the impacts were contributed by the agricultural phase. For some impact categories&mdash, such as global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, and fossil resource scarcity&mdash, the bagasse-based electricity performed better than the grid mix electricity. However, the grid mix electricity performed better than the bagasse-based electricity in terms of eutrophication, land use, and water consumption. When considering the final damage, the bagasse-based electricity proved to be the favorable option in terms of human health and resource availability, however, ecosystem quality was poor in bagasse-based electricity. In terms of environmental prices, the bagasse-based electricity was found to be a promising option compared to the grid mix electricity.

Thailand has been implementing its Alternative Energy Development Plan aiming to replace 20&ndash, 25% of fossil fuels with locally produced biofuels by 2036. The partial substitution of fossil diesel with fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) derived from palm oil is one of the major options but blending beyond 20% of FAME is a concern for use in conventional diesel engines. This problem has led to the consideration of other bio-based diesels also derived from palm oil, namely, partially hydrogenated fatty acid methyl ester (H-FAME) and bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD). This study performed a comparative life cycle assessment of various bio-based diesels using the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment method. The results showed that in comparison to fossil diesel, bio-based diesels have superior performance for global warming and fossil resource scarcity, but an inferior performance for eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, human toxicity, and land use. Considering the collective environmental damages, BHD performed the worst for human health, and all the bio-based diesels showed poor performance for ecosystem quality, while diesel showed poor performance for resource availability. Among the bio-based diesel products, BHD has higher environmental burdens than FAME and H-FAME. Improvements have been suggested to enhance the environmental performance of the bio-based diesels.

The recent increase of fine particulate matter in Bangkok, Thailand has become a widespread public health concern. Wearing a particulate respirator is one method to reduce particulate inhalation and therefore mitigate the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. This study provides an integrated assessment of seven particulate respirator models based on three criteria: effectivity, cost, and environmental impact. The overall effectivity of each model is evaluated by assessing the product’s features associated with facial fit. The cost criterion reflects current market prices for bulk and individual orders. Thirdly, an environmental impact score is determined for the product life cycle of each respirator using life cycle assessment. The study assesses each respirator as it would be manufactured, distributed, used, and disposed of in Bangkok, Thailand. The integrated assessment results in twelve distinct consumer frameworks, reliant on variations of the three criteria, to provide guidance for policy makers and independent consumers in the selection of particulate respirators to optimally suit their needs. Ultimately, the data suggest that a buyer’s ideal respirator choice for short-term use is a disposable particulate respirator with a head strap. For long-term use, the study recommends a low-cost reusable respirator with an exhalation valve and replaceable filters. The average effectivity of reusable respirators is found to be greater than that of disposable respirators, due to their higher average number of available sizes. Reusable respirators are associated with consistently lower environmental impacts. The short-term cost of disposable respirators is much less than those of reusable models, however prices do converge over time.

Thailand has increased wood pellet production for export and domestic use. The variations in production processes, raw materials, and transportation related to wood pellet production make it necessary to evaluate the environmental impacts assessment. The objective of this study was to compare via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), eight different cases of wood pellet production varying in terms of raw materials, production processes, energy use, and the format of transportation and to compare LCA of electricity production from wood pellets and fossil fuels. The comparison results show that leucaena is better as a feedstock for wood pellet production than acacia due to shorter harvest cycle and lesser use of resources. Pellet production consumes the most energy contributing significantly to the environmental impacts. The use of fossil fuels in wood pellet production and transportation also has a major contribution to the environmental impacts. Using wood pellets for electricity production is better than lignite in terms of human health, ecosystem quality and resource scarcity. Recommendations from this study include increasing yield of feedstock plants, shortening harvest cycle, reducing overuse of fertilizers and herbicides, pollution control, reducing fossil fuel use in the supply chain, good logistics, feedstock access, and offering incentives considering the externality cost.

A survey was conducted to explore the adoption, cost and livelihood impact of machinery services by small-scale sugarcane farmers at village level in 11 designated areas across Thailand. Distinct variations of those services were found for land preparation with 12 patterns of tillage service being identified. Average total costs of machinery services were between 45 and 65% of the overall production costs. Costs of harvesting and transport, irrigation and land preparation accounted among the highest. Copying behaviour and being under the quota subsystem played a major role in the adoption of machinery services. Tillage and irrigation services were perceived by a majority of farmers as the most important operation affecting their livelihoods, as determined by indicators such as reduced drudgery, meeting timeliness of operations, increased yield and profit, and reduced concerns over dry spells and droughts. However, those once relying on rainwater alone and experiencing difficulty in maintaining good yields placed the mechanized irrigation services at the highest priority. The quality of machinery services for client farmers especially not in the quota system was of concern as inferior quality of the services was reported in all designated areas. Solutions to the problems and policy implications to enhance the livelihood of farmers and creating demand and supply for machinery services have been suggested.

This study quantifies the environmental burdens created by a planned rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar installation on a university campus in Bangkok, Thailand, and models the potential of rooftop solar to meet the country’s renewable energy goals. Impacts are evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment and recommendations made for upstream purchasing decisions according to different scenarios. Results indicate that main contribution to impacts occurs in manufacturing by stage and from PV modules by component. Impacts generated by the mounting structure and inverters are also significant, and together these components constitute over 90% of environmental burdens. A climate change impact of 0.079 kg CO2-eq/kWh is produced over the lifetime of the system. Energy Payback Time is calculated as 2.5 years, and the Economic Payback Period is 7.4 years. The system is estimated to avoid 1.00E+06 kg CO2-eq over its lifetime. Installation of similar rooftop PV systems on 50% of university and government buildings in Bangkok could result in a net reduction of 4.80E+09 kg CO2-eq. Domestic production of components and recycling of materials is identified as a best-case scenario, with alleviations across all impact categories. Economic analysis suggests on-site electricity consumption paired with a net-metering policy scheme is the best way to incentivize PV solar energy installations.

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted on a low-energy industrial building under construction in Thailand. The building has a gross floor area of 14,938 m2 and a 20-year lifetime. As energy-saving initiatives need to expand beyond the established domain of low-energy residential and commercial buildings, this study demonstrates the successful application of active and passive energy-saving measures to a large, energy-efficient industrial building—the first to be surveyed by an LCA. LED lighting, minimal air conditioning, and passive ventilation architecture reduce operation phase burdens. As a result, the manufacturing phase yields largest impacts in primary energy demand (71%), global warming potential (60%), and four other environmental impact categories. This is largely attributable to steel and concrete production and a higher embodied energy quantity per material. Additionally, four scenarios—a base case, recycling case, photovoltaic system scenario, and combined recycling/photovoltaic scenario—are simulated to evaluate strategies for further energy reduction. Analysis indicates that significant life cycle energy savings can be achieved through recycling (29%) and a rooftop PV system (64%). The combination of both enhancements compensates for all manufactured material embodied energies and results in a building with zero or sub-zero total life cycle energy demand. Buildings that are already low-energy can further reduce environmental impacts through inclusion of the aforementioned approaches in design and implementation.

Agriculture is a key economic sector for developing countries confronting challenges on the overexploitation of land and water resources for food and biofuels crop production. Sugarcane is recognized as a promising crop serving both food and bioenergy needs that are being promoted leading to expansion of the plantation areas. The study assesses the land-water-energy nexus of irrigated and non-irrigated sugarcane production systems in the Chao Phraya and Chi watersheds of Thailand using carbon footprint, ecological footprint, and water scarcity footprint. The results indicate that freshwater resource is essential to sugarcane productivity improvement. Irrigation helps increase the sugarcane yields around 23–54% as compared to the non-irrigated system; the carbon and ecological footprint of sugarcane products are also consequently decreased by around 11–36% and 15–35%, respectively. Nevertheless, the water scarcity potential would be increased. Hence, the efficient irrigation technology like drip irrigation is an important factor to drive sustainable sugarcane production in the future. Land-water-energy nexus management measures for improving sustainability of sugarcane production are also recommended.

Biomass is one of the most important and emerging sources of energy. The objective of this study was, therefore, to explore the potential of energy production from biomass resources available in Ethiopia. The study involved the estimation of bio-energy potential from crop residues, forest, livestock waste, and municipal solid waste (MSW) in the major towns of the country. The paper also presents policy recommendations for sustainable bio-energy development. The crop, forest, and livestock population data were extracted from the Food and Agriculture Organization statistics database (FAOSTAT) and the country's national and regional reports. The results revealed that Ethiopia has a substantial amount of biomass residues, which are not currently being utilized and collected, that can be used without negatively affecting the socio-economic as well as environmental requirements and without compromising food security. The total bio-energy availability of the country was estimated to be 750 PJ per year (46.5% forest residue, 34% crops residue, 18.8% livestock waste, and 0.05% MSW). The study concludes that an integrated bio-energy database, research development, and identification of feasible bio-energy feedstock value chains are needed to fully realize the potential availability of biomass energy. It also recommends that assessment of the bio-energy value chain should be conducted along its life cycle.

This study performs a comparative environmental life cycle assessment between typical, nearly net zero, net zero and energy plus houses in Thailand. It is demonstrated that over the life span of 50 years, in comparison to the typical house, the net zero energy house accounts for 81%, 77%, 90%, 63% and 69% less impacts in terms of global warming, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and photochemical ozone creation, respectively. In a life cycle perspective, the energy plus house is found to be carbon negative and offers net savings towards terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and photochemical ozone creation as well; thanks to its ability to export roof top PV generated electricity to the public grid. The energy plus house is, however, noted to account for 35% higher metal depletion potential in comparison to the typical house. Despite offering considerable environmental impacts reductions in a life cycle perspective, these energy efficient houses are noted to account for higher embodied impacts associated with their manufacturing and maintenance stages in comparison to a typical house. PV panels account for most of these additional embodied impacts and particularly for the energy plus case, are noted to dominate all other materials, even concrete and steel.

This paper discusses the challenges in applying Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) in the Thai sugar industry sector. A case study of an S-LCA of sugar in Nakhon Ratchasima province was undertaken following the UNEP/SETAC guidelines for S-LCA of products. Qualitative evaluation was made to assess an extent to which S-LCA is applicable for the Thai sugar industry sector. Based on the results from this study, the main challenges in applying S-LCA in the Thai sugar industry sector are diversity of scope of study and reference flow choices, difficulty in data collection and data quality, limited choices of social subcategories and indicators to assess social impact at product level for some stakeholder groups and absence of established interpretation approach. Though findings are derived for the sugar industry, many of them could also be applied to other systems. The main social issues that need urgent attention are problems such as cane trash burning that affects local health and safety, low wages, land and water rights. Appropriate ways to conduct S-LCA for Thai sugar industry have been suggested. In addition, it was suggested that the S-LCA of Thai sugar industry should be conducted at provincial level scope.

The public transportation system in Bangkok, Thailand relies on environmentally costly diesel buses that contribute daily to Bangkok's air quality problem. Two potential improvements to this highly polluting public transportation system are the implementation of electric or compressed natural gas buses. This paper analyzes the life-cycle environmental impacts using the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment method (in Global warming, kg CO2-eq, Stratospheric ozone depletion, kg CFC-11-eq, etc.), technical feasibility of implementation, and financial cost of implementing each bus type in Bangkok by calculating these metrics for a single bus and then scaling them to a fleet of that bus type. The entire life cycle of the buses as well as electric bus charging infrastructure is considered. It was found that shifting from diesel to electric or compressed natural gas buses would present a 54–55% or 37–41% decrease in overall damage to human and ecosystem health, an 88% or 80% decrease in resource depletion, and a 48% or 60% decrease in lifetime costs. If the entire diesel bus fleet in Bangkok of 14,127 buses is converted to electric or compressed natural gas buses, the reduction of fine particle (PM2.5) transportation emissions would be approximately 21% and 18%. Of compressed natural gas and electric buses, compressed natural gas buses are the less expensive alternative, while electric buses cause less damage to the ecosystem, human health, and resource depletion. As the environmental impacts of electric buses depend on the regional electricity grid, electric buses also have the potential to further reduce environmental impacts with cleaner electricity production.

The low adoption rates of modern bioenergy systems in the rural areas of Zambia indicate shortcomings within the existing institutional arrangements for a conducive enabling environment for their deployment. To address them, this study employed the SWOT–AHP (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats-Analytic Hierarchy Process)-TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Strengths) technique to assess the effectiveness of such arrangements by building on the insight of the identified stakeholders. This led to the generation of ideas for further policy development for rural-based bioenergy systems. The SWOT-AHP analysis shows that the negative aspects (weaknesses and threats) associated with the enabling environment for the promotion of rural-based bioenergy systems dominate their positive counterparts (strengths and opportunities). Among others, the following policy considerations are vital to the enhancement of the enabling environment in this context: (1) building relevant policy actors' analytical capacity in biomass supply chains for cooking and heating fuels, (2) seeking developed-country support for the effective transfer of bioelectricity technologies, and (3) developing a framework used in planning for the sustainability of rural-based bioenergy systems. To increase the likelihood of their adoption, these strategies must be aligned with the country's higher-level national development goals.

To move towards sustainability, finding sustainable ways of using rice husk ash for a large rice producing country like Thailand is essential. This review seeks to find sustainability characteristics of the uses of rice husk ash from power plants. It also reviews how rice husk ash is produced from different power generation technologies. Characteristics of rice husk ash are affected by different factors such as sources, preparation methods and combustion technologies. Different forms of rice husk ash, amorphous and crystalline, suit different applications. Ash from moving grate technology is suggested for use as adsorbent while that from fluidized bed is suggested for use as filler in polymeric composites and in the synthesis of innovative ceramic compounds. The ash from suspension fired technology is suggested for use in the construction industry and zeolite production. In addition to technical viability, using rice husk ash to substitute conventional products helps gain both environmental and economic benefits. Despite claiming sustainable applications of rice husk ash, many research papers report only technical performances of the products. This paper draws out sustainability characteristics of different rice husk ash applications using the “triple bottom line” framework. Potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, cost saving and employment generation of rice husk ash use options have been investigated. Results from the review suggest that using the ash to replace charcoal is the most sustainable option when comparing with other alternatives such as Portland cement, commercial silica and lime. This option could help to reduce GHG up to 1005 kg CO 2eq /t product, to save cost up to 8000 THB/t product, as well as to help generate employment for about 5 person-years/M THB spent in the sector. However, to make the sustainability assessment more comprehensive, other sustainability indicators such as fossil fuel depletion, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, particulate matter formation, total net profit (TNP), total value added (TVA), and incomes of workers are also needed to be considered in future research.

This research assesses resource efficiency and the loss through the processes of the cassava starch production supply chain in order to find opportunities to improve resource use efficiency, reduce loss and recover resources from waste. The case study was conducted at a cassava starch company in the north of Thailand. The starch supply chain includes cassava cultivation, cassava root transport and processing of cassava starch. In the base case, 25,000 tonne of freshwater was used to produce 1000 tonne of cassava starch. Water consumption in the extraction process accounted for over 60% of freshwater use in the supply chain. The extraction and separation processes were the main hotspots because they consumed a large amount of water and a large portion of cassava mass including cassava pulp was separated out at these stages. Over 81% of energy was used in the starch plant including hot air (53%) and electricity (28%). Diesel used for crop production and transport accounted for only 6% and 12% respectively. Drying process was the hotspot in terms of energy use; the process used heat accounting for over 68% of the total energy use in the supply chain. Fortunately, hot air produced from biogas covered 100% of the hot air requirement and electricity produced from biogas covered 86% of the electricity demand in the plant. The conventional system of cassava starch production was compared with an improved one incorporating changes in practice of crop production, transport and starch production. In the improved scenario, in crop production, several nutrient management practices were applied along with fertilizer optimization. The starch plant was modified to enhance water recycling and reduce loss in order to reduce cassava root input. Starch loss reduction was achieved in the fiber and pulp separation processes where the largest starch loss occurred. The results showed that the scenario of improved technology and management could reduce consumption of all resources and emissions including cassava roots (4%), fertilizers (50%), water (30%), wastewater (40%) as well as energy (8%). All of the cassava pulp could be recovered to produce ethanol instead of using for feed with some ending up in the landfill in the base case. All wastewater could be reused for irrigation in the cassava farms instead of being evaporated. Moreover, recovering cassava pulp for ethanol production led to positive energy balance and net GHG benefit of 107 t CO 2 eq/y. Net GHG benefit from wastewater reuse for irrigation in the improve scenario was 3 t CO 2 eq.

Land-use change and expansion for agriculture significantly affect freshwater resource availability which in turn results in different levels of water scarcity and competition among users in different areas and time. The study uses the water stress index as an indicator for determining the potential impact of water use considering water deprivation potential. Considering the case of Thailand, the temporal aspects of water withdrawal and availability have been analyzed and characterized as the monthly water stress index for the 25 watersheds in the country. Wide variations of monthly water stress index are obtained; extreme water stress is observed in the areas of the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin watersheds (the central region) during the dry season because of the large areas cultivating second rice (rice planted in dry season). The target of the Thai government on agricultural land-use change and zoning toward the conversion of about 0.37 M·ha of the upland paddy fields with low productivity to sugarcane was evaluated showing serious implications on the monthly water stress index of the relevant watersheds and the water scarcity footprint potentials of rice and sugarcane production. The results reveal that proper policy can help reduce the amount of water requirement for agriculture in June, July, August and September by about 60–220 M·m3, which in turn results in the decrease in monthly water stress index values. Nevertheless, appropriate measures of water resource management for agriculture still need to be designed to avoid water competition as well as protect the ecosystem.

The study aims to assess climate change mitigation potentials when using biomass-based fuels to replace fossil energy under consequential and attributional modelling approaches. The objectives are also to determine policy implications and to recommend the specific contexts suitable for each modelling choice by using specific illustrative cases on biofuels. Consequential and attributional modelling approaches are chosen for life cycle greenhouse gas emission assessment of several bioenergy options. The assessed functional unit is 1 MJ of energy from molasses-based ethanol, palm-based biodiesel and electricity production from rice straw. The fossil fuel comparators are gasoline (for molasses-based ethanol), diesel (for palm-based biodiesel) and coal and gas (for rice straw). The substituted and substituting product systems are modelled under the global and national markets depending on the market delimitation of each product. The climate change mitigation potentials when using different approaches are dissimilar, because the affected product systems being included in the analysis are not the same. The palm biodiesel could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The molasses-based ethanol and rice straw-based electricity may or may not mitigate the climate change, since it depends on the methodological choices as well as the baseline situations of the product systems being investigated. The main characteristics of consequential modelling as additionality and the inclusion of only actually affected processes under market-based mechanisms while those of attributional modelling as specification and attribution/allocation have limitations. The limitations lead to potential risks on unintended and undesirable consequences (for the attributional model), unfairness and sub-optimisation (for the consequential model) in policy recommendations. This research clearly illustrates how certain modelling choices affect the climate change mitigation potentials of biomass-based fuels in comparison with fossil energy. Specific questions and conditions which could be more suitable for each modelling choice are addressed. The attributional modelling is more suitable for national environmental taxation and emission labelling/accounting for import-export, while the consequential modelling is more appropriate for new production development and eco-design. Due to the potential environmental risks arising from the modelling limitations, the consideration of both the widely applied approaches could support decisions more comprehensively.

The palm biodiesel industry has been promoted for climate change mitigation, energy security and sustainability strategies worldwide. International debates on land use change and unintended consequences from market-driven impacts of biofuel (i.e. biodiesel and bioethanol) production have highlighted the need for an assessment which considers multi-modelling approaches as well as up-to-date improvement technologies. This study assessed potential environmental life cycle consequences of palm-based biodiesel production in comparison with conventional diesel production. Impacts from modelling choices (consequential and attributional life cycle assessment), co-product utilisation during the palm oil milling and biodiesel conversion stages, recent improvement technologies for treating palm oil mill effluent and oil palm breeding, and direct and indirect land use change were assessed using fifteen scenarios. It was found that the different modelling choices as well as the inclusion of direct and indirect land use change highly affected environmental gains and losses compared with the conventional diesel system. The most important contributor to the environmental benefits was utilisation of co-products. When excluding the use phase (because its value did not vary across the different scenarios; except for climate change), the most important contributor in environmental impacts for terrestrial acidification and marine eutrophication, was emissions from indirect land use change. Increased oil palm yields and improved palm oil mill effluent treatment technologies resulted in overall impact reduction; and should be promoted. Various co-product utilisation pathways have shown different impact reduction potentials. Co-products from palm oil mills should be fully utilised for electricity production, animal feed and oil substitution. Glycerol from biodiesel conversion was suggested to be used for animal nutrition. In conclusion, both modelling choices should be used for supporting policies in different contexts. Policy makers need to be aware of the differences in outcomes and risks of both modelling choices and later on select the specific approach which fits their specific decision context. Co-product utilisation should be optimised in order to increase the total impact reduction. Recommended co-product utilisation pathways, oil palm variety and wastewater treatment technologies can be used for further enhancing the sustainability of palm oil industry.

This research aims to assess the current freshwater use in the cassava supply chain for food, feed fuel in the Mun basin, and the water scarcity impact and possible options to increase cassava production to meet the future demand following the Renewable and Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) target. This research analyzes freshwater use based on ISO 14046 water footprint assessment. The analysis was implemented based on a life cycle perspective that determines the impact on freshwater use from cassava products along their supply chain. Both direct water use and indirect water use that associated are analyzed. Midpoint impact of water use was assessed using water stress index (WSI) to calculate water scarcity footprint. The results show that in the current situation, total freshwater use of all cassava-related product in Mun basin in the base case is 1140 million m3/year. When WSI was applied, water scarcity footprint of all cassava-related products in the Mun basin in the base case was only 147 million m3/year. In the scenario 1, increasing irrigation to increase yield in the existing cassava cultivation area in the Mun basin has the largest water use compare to other scenarios. Scenarios 2 and 3, expanding cassava cultivation area in Mun basin and in other regions, have lower water and water scarcity impact than scenario 1. The benefit from transforming paddy rice (in unsuitable areas) to cassava cultivation was also good. However, more resources are required including land, energy, or fertilizer, and other environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emission or eutrophication could be increased from the increasing resource use. Therefore, the decision-making process needs to consider the trade-off between those factors, and a more complete life cycle assessment (LCA) on the envisioned alternatives should be applied for further analysis. The increasing demand of biofuels derived from cassava can increase stress on water in the Mun River basin. Increasing irrigation water use in the area as per requirement could possibly increase yield to meet the future feedstock demand but has large water scarcity impact. However, this could be alleviated by using groundwater from additional wells in the farm. Expanding cassava cultivation area could be another option having low water scarcity impact, but it requires more resources and could increase other environmental impacts that need to be further analyzed by a complete LCA.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of oil palm biomass waste utilization, with the goal of providing palm oil mill owners the best options for biomass applications in order to limit carbon emissions and optimize economic potential. As the third largest producer of palm oil in the world, Thailand is very entrenched in the industry and thus is an ideal country to implement waste utilization strategies. The biomass byproducts result from the processing of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from the oil palm plant in order to extract the main commodity, crude palm oil (CPO). This paper assesses six major biomass byproducts that result from the processing of the oil palm plants: empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel shells (PKS), mesocarp fiber, oil palm fronds, oil palm trunks, and palm oil mill effluent (POME). The associated net greenhouse gas emissions were calculated for each biomass’ potential utilization pathway. The results of the study found that 4 of the 6 biomass waste products have alternative utilization options that resulted in net negative carbon emissions. Regarding the utilization options that are recommended, EFB shows net emissions of −0.14 t CO2 equivalent, −5.33 for shells, −17.68 for fiber, and −0.594 for trunks. In addition, the assessment of the added value for each product guides decision making to ensure economic viability. This analysis is unique in that it encompasses various utilization pathways for each of the major oil palm waste products in one comprehensive study. By comparing the results of these pathways, an optimal use for every waste product is recommended to decrease the overall climate change impact of the mill.

Through a comparative life cycle analysis of typical, nearly net zero, net zero and energy plus houses in Thailand, each having a net floor area of 141.4 m2; this study demonstrates that the operational electricity demand of typical houses can be reduced by 37% by incorporating various energy saving measures and goes further to establish that this reduced demand can be partially, fully or-over met through in-house electricity generation by solar photovoltaic. Over a period of 50 years, the transition from typical to nearly net zero and net zero energy houses is assessed to offer total life cycle primary energy savings of about 69% and 86%, respectively; while the energy plus house is assessed to have (i) a potential of feeding in 7450 kWh of electricity into the public grid each year and (ii) the capability of being energy neutral in a life cycle perspective over a duration of 16 years. The embodied energies through the evolution from typical to energy plus houses are however noted to grow up to 214%, mainly because of the manufacture of photovoltaic panels.

Thailand has been promoting biofuel production and consumption to substitute transport fuels in order to utilize domestic resources and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. This study adopted a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method using “distance-to-target” approach based on the Swiss Eco Scarcity method. It is developed by using Thailand's current situation of pollutants emissions and natural resources use in line with the three related national policy goals i.e. GHG, primary energy and freshwater resources; the Eco-Factors are 1.6, 0.13 and 1.9 Thai Eco Point (TEP) per kgCO 2 e, MJ NRE-eq and m 3 in respective units. These were used for an LCA comparison between cassava-based ethanol and palm oil-biodiesel with their fossil fuel counterparts on an energy basis. The LCA results indicate both biofuels have lower impacts than the equivalent fossil fuels and the main contributor is GHG emissions from biofuel production. The sensitivity analysis also indicated the given policy related to freshwater and GHG influence the biofuel benefits. Therefore, the strong policy and technical options in energy production are still required for sustainable biofuels following the government intention.