Environmental Life Cycle Analysis of A & ccedil;a & iacute; (Euterpe oleracea) Powders Obtained via Two Drying Methods

Acai is a fruit native to Brazil that is found in Colombia, and it is recognized for containing more than 90 compounds with anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and other biological activities. In this study, a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis (LCA) was conducted for the production of acai powder, following the methodology outlined in the ISO 14040 standard. The investigation focused on examining the impact of utilizing or not utilizing the residues generated during the pulp extraction step as fertilizers. Four scenarios were analyzed and compared: (i) production of acai powder via vacuum drying, (ii) via spray drying, and via the same two types of drying but using residues from the pulping operation as fertilizer (Scenarios 3 and 4). It was found that to produce 1 kg of acai in a crop cycle, 1.17 kg of CO2 eq is produced. The drying stage in Scenarios 1 and 2 generated 8.04 and 7.93 kg of CO2 eq, respectively. Similarly, when solid waste is used as fertilizer, CO2 emissions barely increased for Scenarios 3 and 4, respectively. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first carbon footprint study of the production of acai powder whit these scenarios.

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A study using GPS tracking on critically endangered Zino's petrels from Madeira, Portugal, has revealed their migration routes. The research found that these birds migrate to the African continent during the warm seasons and return to Madeira during the cold seasons. These findings are significant for the conservation of these endangered birds and understanding their migration behavior.