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Life Cycle Assessment on Osmotically Dehydrated Cut Potatoes: Effects of Shelf-Life Extension on Cultivation, Waste, and Environmental Impact Reduction

Sotiris Kottaridis (), Christina Drosou, Christos Boukouvalas, Magdalini Krokida, Maria Katsouli, Efimia Dermesonlouoglou and Katerina Valta
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Sotiris Kottaridis: Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece
Christina Drosou: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Christos Boukouvalas: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Magdalini Krokida: Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Maria Katsouli: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Efimia Dermesonlouoglou: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Katerina Valta: Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece

Waste, 2025, vol. 3, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of osmotically dehydrated, fresh-cut, pre-packaged potatoes compared to conventional untreated ones. The case study focused on a small processing line in Naxos Island, Greece, aiming to extend shelf-life by up to 5 days. The analysis covered the full value chain, from cultivation to household consumption, considering changes in energy and material use, transport volumes, waste generation, and cultivation demand. Three scenarios were assessed: (i) conventional untreated potatoes, (ii) dehydrated potatoes using market glycerol, and (iii) dehydrated potatoes using glycerol from vegetable oil treatment. Systems and life cycle inventories (LCI) were modelled in OpenLCA v2.4 software with the ecoinvent v3.11 database, applying the Environmental Footprint (EF) method, v3.1. The selected impact categories included the following: global warming potential, water use, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater and marine eutrophication, energy resource use, particulate matter formation, and acidification. Results showed that applying osmotic dehydration (OD) improved environmental performance in most, but not all, categories. When market glycerol was used, some burdens increased due to glycerol production. However, using glycerol from vegetable oil treatment resulted in reductions of 25.8% to 54.9% across all categories compared to the conventional scenario. Overall, OD with alternative glycerol proved to be the most environmentally beneficial approach.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; sustainability; potatoes; osmotic dehydration; glycerol; food preservation; food waste reduction; small-scale food production; municipal waste; plastic waste; food consumption and waste estimation; Fresh4ever (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q16 Q18 Q2 Q20 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q3 Q31 Q38 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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