Sustainable Supply Chains by Integrating Life Cycle Modeling and Techno-Ecological Synergy with Application to Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms

Tapajyoti Ghosh, Bhavik Bakshi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a challenge in water bodies across the planet and are often caused by fertilizer runoff from intensively farmed lands. This chapter describes a framework by which producers of biomass-based products could manage their supply chain to encourage mitigation of HABs and their life cycle environmental impacts, while also considering economic implications. The emphasis is on corn-based products such as ethanol in the region around Lake Erie in Northwest Ohio. It shows how wetland ecosystems could be designed synergistically with farming practices, transportation of the corn, and conversion and use of ethanol. The resulting techno-ecologically synergistic supply chains can be environmentally and economically superior to conventional techno-centric supply chains. The resulting designs can help ethanol manufacturers choose between farms, encourage farmers to adopt wetland ecosystems for intercepting and mitigating nutrient runoff, and determine the location of biorefineries for optimizing environmental and economic objectives.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationEngineering and Ecosystems: Seeking Synergies Toward a Nature-Positive World
EditorsB.R. Bakshi
Pages375-406
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CH-6A20-90391

Keywords

  • air quality regulation
  • biodiversity
  • biogeochemical cycles
  • ecological degradation
  • ecosystem services
  • green vs. gray infrastructure
  • sustainable development
  • techno-ecological synergy
  • vegetation uptake mechanisms
  • water provisioning

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