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Assessment of Energy Consumption and Carbon Footprint of Rice Production Using Life Cycle Assessment Method:Case study in Chongming Island, Shanghai, China
  
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KeyWord:Life Cycle Assessment(LCA); inventory analysis; Chongming Island; rice; carbon footprint; energy consumption
Author NameAffiliation
DONG Long-li State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China 
LI Xiao-ping State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China 
JIANG Xue State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China 
LIU Xiao-chen State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China 
Hits: 2019
Download times: 2889
Abstract:
      Rice production consumes large amount of energy and releases greenhouse gases. Here we used Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) to evaluate energy consumption and greenhouse effect in rice production in Chongming Island, Shanghai. The LCA model included three subsystems of raw materials acquisition and transportation, agricultural materials production and transportation, and cultivation. Inventory analysis and calculation were performed. Producing one ton of rice consumed 4 039.32 MJ of primary energy with environmental impact indices of 0.001 6, and emitted 973.11 kg of CO2 equivalent with environmental impact indices of 0.141 7. The energy consumption was mainly caused by excessive urea fertilization, and carbon footprint was mainly from CH4 and N2O emissions and urea fertilization as well during rice cultivation. Improvement of N utilization efficiency by applying fertilizers from soil testing and reduction of greenhouse gas emission via developing new rice cropping systems are two keys to alleviating environmental impacts during rice production. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the environmental impacts of Chongming rice and addressing key issues in mitigating energy consumption and carbon footprint of rice production.