Prospective life cycle assessment for the full valorization of anchovy fillet leftovers: The LimoFish process

Abstract

Prospective life cycle assessment models were developed and applied at the laboratory and industrial scale with the aim to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the LimoFish process used to produce the fish oil "AnchoiOil", the new organic fertilizer "AnchoisFert" or biogas (by means of anaerobic digestion) after treatment of anchovy fillet leftovers (AnLeft) with agro-solvent d-limonene. Potential impacts for climate change and freshwater eutrophication were estimated at 29.1 kg CO₂ eq/kg AnLeft and 1.7E-07 kg PO₄ eq/kg AnLeft at laboratory scale, and at 1.5 kg CO₂ eq/kg AnLeft and 2.2E-07 kg PO₄ eq/kg AnLeft at industrial scale. Electricity consumption is the main contributor to the environmental impact of the process and plays a significant role in the production of d-limonene, for which cold pressing extraction would reduce the related impacts by ∼ 70 %. The use of the solid by-product as organic fertilizer or input to anaerobic digestion would provide additional environmental benefits to the process. The LimoFish process is a successful example of a low impacting strategy to reduce the demand for natural resources and maximize the application of the circular economy principles in the fishing industry.

Keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biogas; Fish oil; Fish-waste valorization; Life cycle assessment; Omega-3; Organic fertilizer.