Namdari Majid
Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 23;20(7):e0324371. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324371. eCollection 2025.
This study presents a comparative environmental impact assessment of well water extraction systems employed for agricultural irrigation in Iran, focusing on two prevalent energy sources: diesel engines and grid-connected electricity. Utilizing life cycle assessment methodology, the research evaluates key environmental indicators, encompassing abiotic depletion, global warming potential (GWP), human toxicity, aquatic ecotoxicity, acidification, eutrophication, and photochemical oxidation. Data collected from 100 agricultural wells were analyzed to compare the environmental performance of each energy source. The objective is to provide policymakers with data-driven insights for the development of effective mitigation strategies. Environmental analysis revealed that diesel systems emit 1.34 kg CO2/m3, compared to 1.59 kg CO2/m3 in grid systems. While grid-connected systems avoid on-farm emissions, they suffer from high upstream impacts due to Iran's fossil fuel-dominant electricity generation mix (94%). The diesel system showed lower impacts in seven of eleven categories, including GWP, abiotic depletion, and marine ecotoxicity. In contrast, grid systems had slightly lower values in eutrophication (5.29 × 10-4 vs. 1.66 × 10-3 kg PO4 eq) and ozone layer depletion. The overall Environmental Composite Index (ECI) was 3.68 × 10-4 nPt for diesel and 5.77 × 10-4 nPt for electricity, indicating a 56.79% higher burden for the grid-powered system. The findings emphasize the role of local energy mix, pump efficiency, and transmission losses in environmental outcomes, suggesting that improvements in Iran's grid efficiency and a transition to renewable energy are key to reducing impacts.
本研究对伊朗农业灌溉中使用的井水提取系统进行了比较环境影响评估，重点关注两种常见能源：柴油发动机和并网电力。利用生命周期评估方法，该研究评估了关键环境指标，包括非生物耗竭、全球变暖潜势（GWP）、人体毒性、水生生态毒性、酸化、富营养化和光化学氧化。分析了从100口农业井收集的数据，以比较每种能源的环境绩效。目的是为政策制定者提供数据驱动的见解，以制定有效的缓解策略。环境分析表明，柴油系统每立方米排放1.34千克二氧化碳，而电网系统为1.59千克二氧化碳。虽然并网系统避免了农场内的排放，但由于伊朗以化石燃料为主的发电结构（94%），它们受到较高的上游影响。柴油系统在11个类别中的7个类别中影响较低，包括全球变暖潜势、非生物耗竭和海洋生态毒性。相比之下，电网系统在富营养化（5.29×10-4对1.66×10-3千克磷酸根当量）和臭氧层损耗方面的值略低。柴油的总体环境综合指数（ECI）为3.68×10-4 nPt，电力为5.77×10-4 nPt，表明电网供电系统的负担高出56.79%。研究结果强调了当地能源结构、泵效率和传输损耗在环境结果中的作用，表明提高伊朗电网效率和向可再生能源转型是减少影响的关键。
