Life cycle assessment of the production process of 1l UHT milk (Granarolo)

Abstract

The study, in collaboration between Granarolo s.p.a. and ENEA of Bologna, concerns the valuation of the environmental impact of the production of 1l of milk UHT, and the comparison between two types of packaging: HDPE bottle and tetraprism aseptic. The HDPE bottle is composed by a particular triplestratum:
1. external stratum of virgin HDPE (40%);
2. middle stratum of carbon black and ground (45%)
3. internal stratum of virgin HDPE (15%).

The data is offered by Granarolo s.p.a. of Bologna (Italy). The study followes the metodology of Life Cycle Assessment and uses the software SimaPro 5.0; in the study the analysis refers to three methods: Eco-Indicator 99, EPS 2000 and EDIP 96 to demostrate the analogies in the results. As a functional unit it has chosen 1l of UHT milk, and the analysis bounderies consider the breeding of cows, the thermic treatments of milk (pasteurization, tiration and heat treatment UHT), and its packaging until the final disposal of the pack.

The greatest environmental impact is taken by the breeding of cows, in particular for the fertilizing used in the cultivation of lucern and corn for the fodder. In the phase of packaging the analysis follows a comparison, in fact, there are differences in the environmental and energetic burdens.