Process Engineering Group, Marine Research Institute IIM-CSIC, Eduardo Cabello, 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain; Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Process Engineering Group, Marine Research Institute IIM-CSIC, Eduardo Cabello, 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain.
Waste Manag. 2015 Dec;46:103-12. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2015.08.017. Epub 2015 Aug 24.
Reuse and valorisation of fish by-products is a key process for marine resources conservation. Usually, fishmeal and oil processing factories collect the by-products generated by fishing port and industry processing activities, producing an economical benefit to both parts. In the same way, different added-value products can be recovered by the valorisation industries whereas fishing companies save the costs associated with the management of those wastes. However, it is important to estimate the advantages of valorisation processes not only in terms of economic income, but also considering the environmental impacts. This would help to know if the valorisation of a residue provokes higher impact than other waste management options, which means that its advantages are probably not enough for guarantying a sustainable waste reuse. To that purpose, there are several methodologies to evaluate the environmental impacts of processes, including those of waste management, providing different indicators which give information on relevant environmental aspects. In the current study, a comparative environmental assessment between a valorisation process (fishmeal and oil production) and different waste management scenarios (composting, incineration and landfilling) was developed. This comparison is a necessary step for the development and industrial implementation of these processes as the best alternative treatment for fish by-products. The obtained results showed that both valorisation process and waste management treatments presented similar impacts. However, a significant benefit can be achieved through valorisation of fish by-products. Additionally, the implications of the possible presence of pollutants were discussed.
鱼类副产品的再利用和增值是海洋资源保护的关键过程。通常，鱼粉和油加工厂会收集渔港和工业加工活动产生的副产品，为双方都带来经济效益。同样，增值产业可以回收不同的高附加值产品，而渔业公司则可以节省处理这些废物的成本。然而，重要的是不仅要从经济收入的角度来估计增值过程的优势，还要考虑环境影响。这将有助于了解增值残渣是否比其他废物管理方案造成更高的影响，这意味着其优势可能不足以保证可持续的废物再利用。为此，有几种方法可以评估包括废物管理在内的过程的环境影响，提供有关相关环境方面的信息的不同指标。在当前的研究中，对增值过程（鱼粉和油生产）和不同废物管理方案（堆肥、焚烧和填埋）进行了比较环境评估。这一比较是这些过程的开发和工业实施的必要步骤，是鱼类副产品的最佳替代处理方法。所得结果表明，增值过程和废物管理处理都具有相似的影响。然而，通过鱼类副产品的增值可以实现显著的效益。此外，还讨论了污染物可能存在的影响。
