Global warming impact and energy analysis of tofu product: A case study in ABC factory Merauke

Abstract

Tofu is one of the staple foods that are in demand by the wider community due to its high nutritional content, especially protein, and has quite a lot of processed variants. Therefore, the production of tofu must be developed to obtain the best quality, and adequate quantity of production and at the same time, become a product with an environmentally friendly production process. There are still many conventional tofu factories found in Merauke. However, its production process is still a little concerned about environmental aspects. This study aims to identify inputs, outputs, and environmental impacts of the tofu product life cycle, determine potential sources of impact (hotspots) and recommend improvement scenarios. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is used to estimate and analyze the potential environmental impacts that occur due to the production of 1 kilogram of tofu products at ABC Factory in Merauke. The environmental impact produced by this tofu product is the potential for global warming, so the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that occur will be analyzed. In addition, energy efficiency will be calculated, and conclusions and interpretations will be drawn from the previously analyzed inventory results. The limitation of the system used in this study starts from the soybean cultivation process, transportation of raw materials, and the process of making tofu at ABC Factory. From the results obtained that tofu with local soybean generates GHG emissions is 0.337 kg CO2-eq per kg of tofu, while tofu with imported soybean is 0.801 kg CO2-eq per kg of product. Energy efficiency is indicated by the Net Energy Value (NEV) and the Net Energy Ratio (NER) of the tofu products. The Tofu with local soybean has NEV is 3.529 MJ, while tofu with imported soybean is 0.961 MJ. The value of NER>1 for both tofu products. From the results of inventory analysis, several alternatives can be recommended to reduce the environmental impact that occurs.